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SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 5/2/2013

Anaheim Ducks 673860 Maybe Ducks' Andrew Cogliano can rest easier after playoff debut 673861 Ducks hit their stride as playoffs commence 673862 Whicker: Ducks' Lovejoy in the right spot 673863 DUCKS NOTEBOOK: Andrew Cogliano gets wake-up call

Boston Bruins 673864 Leafs expect Tyler Bozak to play in Game 1 vs. Bruins 673865 Nathan Horton will be game-time decision 673866 Game 1: Maple Leafs at Bruins preview 673867 Tonight's Leafs lineup 673868 Tonight's Bruins lineup 673869 Bruins and NHL 2013 playoffs live coverage 673870 Game 1 final: Bruins 4, Maple Leafs 1 673871 Bruins head into the third period up 4-1 over the Maple Leafs 673872 Phil Kessel ready to face the music 673873 Bruins start new season -- they hope 673874 Just like Bruins of old 673875 Buckley: Leafs no doubt will be better 673876 Fluttering Toronto shows green side 673877 Notebook: Wade Redden rewards Claude Julien 673878 B’s confidence lacking 673879 Tyler Seguin’s be-Leaf tested 673880 Bruins look to build off their new momentum 673881 B's flip switch

Carolina Hurricanes 673882 Hurricanes’ Ron Francis opens NC sports hall to hockey

Chicago Blackhawks 673883 Wild's Harding up for all challenges 673884 Hawks' Bolland, Emery unlikely for Game 2 673885 Blackhawks will play Penguins at Soldier Field in 2014 673886 Fortunate Hawks get needed wake-up call 673887 Oduya's off-the-glass pass unforgettable 673888 Blackhawks looking to hoist more meaningful trophy 673889 NHL sets date, time for Blackhawks vs. Penguins at Soldier Field 673890 Wild’s defensive style forces freewheeling Blackhawks to muck it up 673891 Blackhawks’ depth played big role in Game 1 victory 673892 Blackhawks have come out hitting in playoffs 673893 Blackhawks to host Penguins in Soldier Field night game 673894 Suter played how many minutes for the Wild?!? 673895 Oduya’s pass still hot topic for Blackhawks 673896 NHL confirms Soldier Field game 673897 Hawks should come out with purpose in Game 2 673898 Harding expects to start Friday for Minnesota 673899 Blackhawks find success with the third line 673900 Bolland, Emery still questionable for Game 2 673901 NHL announces Stadium Series game at Soldier Field

Colorado Avalanche 673902 Seth Jones' early coach had big role in young defenseman's development

Columbus Blue Jackets 673903 Blue Jackets' Gaborik faces surgery, should be ready for fall camp

Dallas Stars 673904 Lehtonen looking to make smooth transition to Dallas summers, grab more of leadership role 673905 Should Stars consider switching Jamie Benn back to wing? Do they have the centers to do so?

Detroit Red Wings 673906 Red Wings' Mike Babcock unlikely to make changes for Game 2 against Ducks 673907 Ducks pleased about keeping Red Wings' Eurotwins off scoreboard in Game 1 673908 Helene St. James: Red Wings' outlook sunny as they aim to even series in Anaheim 673909 Red Wings coach Mike Babcock likely to give young guys another chance in Game 2 673910 On off-day, Red Wings lament lackluster effort in Game 1 673911 Ducks' Teemu Selanne takes advantage of Lidstrom-less Red Wings 673912 Taking care of, moving puck vital for if Wings hope to survive 673913 Red Wings irritated, but still motivated for split in Anaheim 673914 Red Wings coach Mike Babcock: Game 2 lineup tweaks possible 673915 No panic in Detroit Red Wings dressing room after playing 'five Game 7s in a row' during last 10 days 673916 After containing Red Wings' Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Ducks brace for 'angry' stars in Game 2 673917 Red Wings' coach Mike Babcock mulls changes for Game 2; Todd Bertuzzi available if club needs him 673918 Ageless Anaheim Ducks wonder Teemu Selanne victimizes Detroit Red Wings again in Game 1 673919 Like their teammates, Detroit Red Wings playoff rookies need to be better in Game 2 vs. Anaheim 673920 Red Wings know danger of falling behind 2-0 673921 CAPUTO: Red Wings better wake up or playoff run will be short (with video) 673922 CAPUTO: Red Wings have to have “urgency” Thursday

Edmonton Oilers 673923 Edmonton Oilers GM Craig MacTavish scouting role players in the playoffs

Florida Panthers 673924 Injury-ravaged Panthers went from first to worst

Los Angeles Kings 673925 Kings have to step up play going into Game 2 at St. Louis 673926 Blues want to keep momentum going against Kings 673927 On line combinations and match-ups 673928 Kings looking to counter Blues’ forecheck 673929 FOX Sports West clarifies broadcast plan, apologizes 673930 May 1 practice report 673931 May 1 practice quotes: Dustin Penner 673932 Waking up with the Kings: May 1

Minnesota Wild 673933 Wild playoff updates: Backstrom, Pominville remain day-to-day; Kuemper recalled 673934 Blackhawks show off depth in Game 1 against Wild 673935 Wild's Harding stays on task with Game 2 in Chicago on deck 673936 Souhan: Drama of Game 1 reminds us what playoff hockey is all about 673937 Wild notes: Focus turns to generating more offense against Chicago in Game 2 673938 Blackhawks notes: Chicago is used to living on the edge 673939 Minnesota Wild suddenly find themselves all-in with Josh Harding 673940 Tom Powers: Minnesota Wild need to play with more fire 673941 Minnesota Wild: Josh Harding was Plan B. Who was Plan C? 673942 Minnesota Wild call Niklas Backstrom 'day-to-day,' recall Darcy Kuemper

Wild Continued 673943 Chicago Blackhawks: Wild give fortunate favorites needed wake-up call 673944 Harding's story inspires even a Chicago fan 673945 Charley Walters: National anthem sets Chicago's United Center into high gear 673946 Video: Blackhawks fans admire Wild goalie Josh Harding 673947 Wild: Josh Harding's performance with MS 'positive for our cause' 673948 Minnesota Wild: Twitter reaction to Josh Harding's performance

Montreal Canadiens 673949 The NHL … in all its opening-round glory 673950 ‘Caveman’ Brandon Prust leads Canadiens in beard growing 673951 Daniel Alfredsson’s star shines brightly against the Canadiens 673952 Being tough guy a tough job, Senators’ Chris Neil says 673953 No pressure on Canadiens, Michel Therrien insists 673954 Jack Todd: The time is now for Canadiens’ Carey Price 673955 “We don’t feel the pressure. We apply the pressure,” Therrien says 673956 Mike Boone joins the panel for new HIO show

Nashville Predators 673957 Vote to get Nashville Predators' Mike Fisher on cover of NHL14 673958 Trotz views World Championships as a mental health holiday

New Jersey Devils 673959 Olympic winner in Belleville 673960 Power Plays

New York Islanders 673961 Penguins Crush Isles Without Crosby 673962 NY Islanders get destroyed by Pittsburgh Penguins in first playoff appearance since 2007 673963 Penguins punish Isles in opener 673964 Penguins’ Crosby not cleared to play 673965 Islanders outclassed in Game 1 loss to Penguins 673966 Jack Capuano goes with veteran Marty Reasoner in Game 1 673967 Penguins' Sidney Crosby out for playoff opener against Islanders 673968 Islanders rudely welcomed back to playoffs by Penguins in Game 1 673969 Islanders lose to Pittsburgh Penguins in first-round opener

New York Rangers 673970 Turned Loose, Ovechkin Once Again Turns Heads 673971 Ryan Callahan and Rangers must contain Washington Capitals' power play, Tortorella 'sick of practicing,' Staal 673972 Ryan McDonagh once again will battle Alex Ovechkin when Rangers face Capitals 673973 Daily News writer Pat Leonard breaks down Rangers - Capitals series 673974 Power Plays 673975 Rangers Capitals Matchups 673976 Playoffs open with Rangers needing to play disciplined 673977 Restless Ovechkin ready to go 673978 New blood does Rangers good 673979 Rangers-Capitals skinny 673980 NHL playoffs: These are not same old Caps 673981 John Tortorella eager to get Rangers-Capitals series started 673982 Derek Stepan: Mr. Consistency … now comes the big test

NHL 673983 Kings have to step up play going into Game 2 at St. Louis 673984 Don Cherry reiterates comments on female reporters: ‘I don’t think women should be in there’

Ottawa Senators 673985 Daniel Alfredsson’s star shines brightly against the Canadiens 673986 Top 10 keys to victory for Senators 673987 Playing at Forum no big deal for younger Alfredsson 673988 Upset specials: 10 teams that foiled NHL experts 673989 Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson dispenses playoff advice to young team ahead of playoff series vs. M 673990 Ottawa Senators rookie Jean-Gabriel Pageau overcomes the odds to play in NHL 673991 Ottawa Senators' Chris Neil and Montreal Canadiens' Brandon Prust renew hostilities 673992 Montreal Canadiens counting on vets during playoff series against Ottawa Senators 673993 Montreal Canadiens say they're not feeling the pressure heading into playoff series against Ottawa Senators 673994 Ottawa Senators defenceman Erik Karlsson having all sorts of fun on Twitter 673995 Ottawa Senators-Montreal Canadiens predictions from Sun hockey writers 673996 Ottawa Senators goaltender Craig Anderson loose before playoff opener against Montreal Canadiens

Philadelphia Flyers 673997 This is your journey ... don’t let others dictate the destination 673998 Steve Mason ready to challenge Ilya Bryzgalov in Flyers camp 673999 Laviolette: Giroux did ‘terrific job’ in first year as captain

Phoenix Coyotes 674000 Phoenix Coyotes find life without an owner makes it tough to succeed

Pittsburgh Penguins 674001 Islanders notebook: Nabokov pulled in second period 674002 Pens’ Crosby, Orpik out for Game 1 against Islanders 674003 Kovacevic: Are these Penguins serious? 674004 Olympics were factor in Penguins’ game at Soldier Field 674005 Islanders overwhelmed in Game 1 loss to surging Penguins at Consol 674006 Penguins’ Game 1 victory over Islanders proves to be ‘special’ 674007 Penguins notebook: Neal leaves in 2nd period after being slashed 674008 Penguins to play Blackhawks at Soldier Field in Chicago next year 674009 Crosby won't play in Penguins' playoff opener 674010 First shot is a charm for Penguins rookie Bennett 674011 Penguins prove successful against veteran Nabokov 674012 Collier: Letang & Co. execute objective 674013 Penguins notebook: Crosby misses playoff opener 674014 Fleury gets shutout, Dupuis scores twice as Penguins smack Islanders, 5-0

San Jose Sharks 674015 Sharks will face Canucks' Luongo in Game 1 674016 Purdy: Sharks are victorious in a game of hard knocks 674017 San Jose Sharks beat Vancouver Canucks 3-1 in playoff series opener 674018 San Jose Sharks notebook: Scott Hannan gets the nod over Matt Tennyson 674019 San Jose Sharks' Marty Havlat leaves playoff opener with injury 674020 Thornton glad Torres is on his side 674021 Gomez out vs. Canucks; who's in on D? 674022 Sharks-Canucks first round schedule 674023 Luongo gets the call for Game 1 674024 Sharks-Canucks Game 1 at a glance 674025 Sharks-Canucks: By the numbers 674026 Wingels-to-Boyle keys Game 1 win for Sharks 674027 Kurz's Instant Replay: Sharks battle back to win Game 1

St Louis Blues 674028 Blues updates: Players expecting big pushback from LA in Game 2 674029 Gordon: Blues take small step down long road 674030 Tipsheet: NHL's true Tuesday night hero 674031 Steen keeps puck from memorable goal 674032 Schwartz has emerged from Tarasenko's shadow 674033 Blues expect Kings to push back in Game 2 674034 Blues gain edge on Kings in opener 674035 Blues fully expect Game 2 to be all-out assault by Kings 674036 Steen in right place at right time for Blues in Game 1

Tampa Bay Lightning 674037 Yzerman: 'I'm not going to be held to timelines'

Toronto Maple Leafs 674038 Bruins’ domination means Leafs will have to review all options 674039 Bruins hammer Leafs in Game 1 674040 Mirtle: Do the Leafs have a chance against the Bruins? 674041 Maple Leafs in playoffs: Bruins ready to pay the price 674042 Boston Bruins ‘flip switch,’ power up for post-season: Feschuk 674043 Maple Leafs schooled by Bruins in return to playoffs: Cox 674044 Boston Bruins’ Shawn Thornton expects physical, but controlled, series against Leafs 674045 Leafs vs. Bruins: All bets off, mayors agree 674046 Maple Leafs in playoffs: Watch Game 1 at Maple Leaf Square party 674047 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Boston Bruins: Tale of the tape: Who’s bigger? 674048 Maple Leafs in the playoffs: ‘Very, very winnable series,’ says Nazem Kadri 674049 Maple Leafs lineup filled with questions prior to Game 1 against Boston Bruins: Cox 674050 Maple Leafs juggle lines before first game against Boston Bruins in NHL playoffs 674051 Maple Leafs: Trio of deals with Bruins helped set stage for playoff clash: Cox 674052 Maple Leafs: Returning Bozak expects close-mouthed Kessel to make some noise against Bruins: DiManno 674053 What Maple Leafs must do to beat Boston Bruins in the NHL playoffs: Feschuk 674054 Maple Leafs vs. Bruins: Game 1 at a glance 674055 Bruins won't be underestimating Maple Leafs' Reimer 674056 'It’s a very, very winnable series': Kadri on Leafs vs. Bruins 674057 Leafs top players on wrong side of equations 674058 Reimer blames himself 674059 Bruins look ready to handle anything Leafs can dish out 674060 Maple Leafs' ugly loss, period by period 674061 Leafs vs. Bruins: Breaking down the first round series 674062 Maple Leafs hope Tyler Bozak brings balance to attack 674063 Bruins vs. Leafs promises to be a hard-hitting affair 674064 Long suffering finally ends for Maple Leafs fans 674065 Just like old times: Leafs dominated by Bruins in return to playoffs

Vancouver Canucks 674066 A Roberto Luongo start vs. Sharks? Throw one more log on Canucks’ goaltending fire 674067 Luongo to start Game 1 as Schneider 'not healthy enough' to face Sharks (with video) 674068 Ryan Kesler's disturbingly quiet night 674069 I Watched This Playoff Game: Canucks vs San Jose Sharks, May 1, 2013 674070 Canucks extend home-ice playoff losing streak in 3-1 series-opening setback to Sharks 674071 Game Within Game: Sharks show teeth to Canucks 674072 Malhotra still feels he can play 674073 Canucks fourth line ready to feed off Lapierre’s playoff energy 674074 Sharks don’t care which Canucks goaltender they face 674075 Canucks-Sharks Gameday: When we look back at the 2013 season, we won’t believe our eyes 674076 Surprise, surprise: goalie saga continues, as Roberto Luongo gets start against Sharks 674077 Shock announcement: Luongo’s the man tonight for Canucks! 674078 What they’re saying in San Jose: Brent Burns could be ‘X’ factor in series 674079 San Jose Sharks aren’t strictly the Big Joe and Marleau Show like in the past 674080 Willes: And you thought goaltending soap opera was over 674081 Sharks impose their will, don't need to win battle of skill 674082 Willes: The more things change, the more they stay the same 674083 Gallagher: Same old players and the same old coach playing the same old game with the same old results 674084 The Provies Nightly Awards 674085 Sharks 3 Canucks 1: Sluggish start as Vancouver can't get it in playoff gear 674086 Under The Microscope: Keeping Bieksa's minutes down works well 674087 Malhotra not ready to call it a career yet 674088 Luongo gets Game 1 start for Canucks

Washington Capitals 674089 Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin shows he’s a captain worth following 674090 The autographed Caps car 674091 The Rangers are wary of Washington’s potent power play 674092 Joel Ward’s status uncertain for Game 1 vs. Rangers 674093 Capitals insist it’s not the 'good old days' as they open playoffs vs. Rangers 674094 Wilbon picks Caps to go to Stanley Cup finals 674095 Capitals-Rangers: Top five story lines to watch unfold 674096 Washington Capitals’ playoff letdowns, year by year 674097 Nowhere to go but Cup: Capitals look to shake past playoff failures 674098 Understated approach pays off for Capitals coach Adam Oates 674099 Jim Williams: Capitals-Rangers playoff series offers plenty of TV options 674100 Thom Loverro: Rangers' angry coach John Tortorella comes to town to face Capitals

Websites 674110 ESPN / Penguins' determination fits to a 'T' 674111 ESPN / Bad penalty, bad bounce costs Isles 674112 ESPN / Sidney Crosby won't play in Game 1 674113 ESPN / Six outdoor games not such a bad thing 674114 ESPN / Pens have all that ... and Crosby, too 674115 ESPN /Kings' Greene still waiting for return; 674116 ESPN / Kings in unusual position: trailing a series 674117 USA TODAY / Penguins rout Islanders in opener 674118 USA TODAY / Sidney Crosby ruled out of Game 1 674119 USA TODAY / Penguins, Blackhawks to play at Chicago's Soldier Field

Winnipeg Jets 674101 Jets prospect Lowry named WHL player of the year 674102 Young prospects will get every opportunity to stick with the big club: Cheveldayoff 674103 It's all about team for Scheifele 674104 Jets prospect Lowry named WHL's player of the year 674105 Playing poker 674106 Winnipeg Jets prospect Adam Lowry named the Western Hockey League Player of the Year 674107 No word on extension for Noel: Jets GM non-committal 674108 Surgery possible for Evander Kane's wrist injury 674109 Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff can tap dance with the best of them SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129

673860 Anaheim Ducks

Maybe Ducks' Andrew Cogliano can rest easier after playoff debut

By Lisa Dillman

May 2, 2013

You go through 458 regular-season NHL games before appearing in the playoffs for the first time and the reward is spending quality time against Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg.

It's little wonder that speedy Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano endured what he called a sleepless night before Game 1 on Tuesday against the Detroit Red Wings. Fortunately, for Cogliano, his centerman and quasi-mentor happens to be Saku Koivu.

Koivu served as a calming force, and that third line, which includes Daniel Winnik, kept the Red Wings' top threats off the scoresheet as Zetterberg, Datsyuk and Justin Abdelkader combined for eight shots on goal. Datsyuk, who had eight points in the final three regular-season games, had one shot in Game 1, which the Ducks won, 3-1, at Honda Center.

"They like playing with each other and they did a great job," Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau said. "Granted, they probably angered those two guys and they'll play a lot better next game because I'm sure the other guys are gonna ramp it up a little bit."

Sitting back and waiting was simply not an option in Tuesday's playoff opener. Cogliano said he felt as though every battle against that top line took everything out of him because of the strength of Zetterberg and Datsyuk.

"They're so dangerous through the neutral zone, if you give them any time they're going to make plays," Cogliano said. "They're so good with the puck. And he does things, especially Datsyuk, with the puck, that you never really see before.

"I feel like even when I have the puck on my stick and I'm skating out of the zone, he's always around or behind me or waiting to pick the puck off me. So the only defense you can play against them is playing on the offense and keeping them in their end for some of the shift and hopefully create scoring chances yourself."

Said Zetterberg: "I think we need to sustain more pressure in their end. Yesterday was too much one and done."

Cogliano's long wait to appear in the playoffs was a byproduct of his four seasons in Edmonton. The Oilers traded him to the Ducks in the summer of 2011 and the Ducks missed the playoffs last season.

"I think the one guy that keeps me in check, and I know keeps [Winnik] in check is Saku," said Cogliano, who had 13 goals and 23 points this season. "I respect him more than anyone pretty much in the league and it's great to play with him. To have him in my ear telling me little things, giving me insights, is something special."

Red Wings Coach Mike Babcock indicated he was not planning on making changes for Game 2 and then addressed a point about the rookies on his team getting a feel for the tightness of playoff hockey. Three of his defensemen played in their first Stanley Cup playoff game Tuesday.

"We talked about it before the series started," Babcock said. "I don't think you've got to get hit by a car to understand that it hurts."

The game was a battle of special teams, and the Ducks scored two power-play goals to Detroit's one. Teemu Selanne scored the game-winning goal on the power play early in the third period.

It was a vintage one-timer from the left-wing circle. Selanne was asked how many he had scored from that spot.

"A couple hundred, probably," he said. "I don't know. That has been my favorite spot. Lately, I have been more in the middle in the power play. It doesn't really matter. We know that the power play and the penalty killing is going to be a huge part of our success at any level."

It was the 42nd playoff goal for the 42-year-old.

There is often a tap dance with Selanne about his future. On Wednesday, the banter with reporters was more about plans for the Olympics next year in Sochi, Russia, not his NHL future.

"I said [no] after Salt Lake City too. So I don't believe myself anymore," said Selanne, smiling.

LA Times: LOADED: 05.01.2013


Ducks hit their stride as playoffs commence

By ERIC STEPHENS

ANAHEIM – Questions began to percolate around the Ducks about their playoff readiness during an erratic month-long stretch with not much to play for, since their postseason ticket was essentially punched in March.

After a Game 1 win over Detroit, the Ducks' playoff switch is firmly set to the on position.

The Ducks might have suffered from a lack of focus in the final weeks of the regular season but they were plenty engaged Tuesday night in a series-opening, 3-1 victory over the Red Wings in front a lively, overflow crowd at Honda Center.

Maybe there was concern about their pedestrian 8-9-2 finish. None of it came from within the Ducks, who used the season's final week to tune up their game.

"We played three great hockey games at the end of the season," center Ryan Getzlaf said after an optional practice Wednesday. "I thought our guys did a great job turning it on at the end of the year so that when we hit the playoffs, we were in stride."

The Ducks hoped that they established a formula for playoff success, at least in this first-round series that continues with Game 2 on Thursday night. A combination of composed, tight defensive work, strong goaltending and a humming power play proved highly effective.

Two decisions by Bruce Boudreau in his first playoff game as the Ducks' bench boss paid off in Game 1. One was giving Jonas Hiller the call over Viktor Fasth in goal. Hiller had a sharp effort with 21 saves.

When asked if he's pleased to not worry about a goaltending controversy after Game 1, Boudreau said jokingly, "So far. I was waiting for (the question). Are you going to start Viktor Fasth? I've done stranger things."

"I felt that I played really solid," Hiller said. "Had some good saves in key moments. The goal was a late bad bounce. It's tough to scare yourself. I know what I felt comfortable with. I know where I can improve. Hopefully I can play better tomorrow."

The second was handing the assignment of shutting down Detroit stars Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg to the Daniel Winnik-Saku Koivu-Andrew Cogliano third line. All Datsyuk and Zetterberg could manage were four shots between them.

"I think we played our game plan pretty much perfect," Cogliano said. "There's times where we let them have a couple of good chances right in front of the net that Hillsy had to make good saves on.

"But we felt like in the neutral zone, we did a good job containing their speed. I think the other thing that we needed to do was get on the forecheck a little bit more and try to wear down their defensemen."

That is one tactic the Ducks will try to further employ for Game 2. No longer are they going into a playoff series having to deal with the regal Nicklas Lidstrom on their back end controlling the tempo and triggering the Wings' transition game.

Niklas Kronwall has taken over as Detroit's top dog on the blue line but the Wings had Brendan Smith and Danny DeKeyser playing in their first playoff games. A month ago, DeKeyser was skating for Western Michigan.

"Obviously when they had Lidstrom and (Brad) Stuart, their defense was more experienced," Ducks winger Teemu Selanne said. "You try to take advantage of the things that you can do. And obviously not to have to play against Lidstrom every night, it's a totally different game."

Red Wings coach Mike Babcock knows that there are some green youngsters gaining experience alongside old hands Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Johan Franzen and Daniel Cleary. "I don't think you've got to get hit by a car to know that it hurts," Babcock said.

What Babcock focused on Wednesday was getting his troops to attack better, whether with the forecheck that the Wings can do on their own or through the neutral zone where there'll be met with a challenge.

"We weren't very good coming out of our zone," Babcock said. "We didn't have a lot of speed so we didn't have attack time. I didn't like our game very much.

"It seemed that there's two parts always to it. There's their part and there's your part. So we've got to give them credit for what they did and fix what we didn't do and move ahead."

Zetterberg said facing the Koivu-centered line wasn't unexpected and credited the three with their defensive play.

"We can't really get caught in the neutral zone," he said. "We've got to get pucks deep. Play in their end. They're playing good defense so we just got to be a little better creating more chances.

"There's nothing on the rush so you've got to spend time in their end."

Orange County Register: LOADED: 05.01.2013


Whicker: Ducks' Lovejoy in the right spot

By MARK WHICKER

ANAHEIM – Four Ducks have won a Stanley Cup. Ben Lovejoy has carried one.

For a few ethereal seconds, Lovejoy held the chalice at Joe Louis Arena. It was 2009, when Pittsburgh became the first team in 38 years to win a Final Game 7 on the road.

Lovejoy was a Penguins roadie. He and other minor leaguers from Wilkes-Barre took all the playoff trips with the Penguins and skated early in the mornings.

Such an emergency crew is generally called the Black Aces, for the practice jerseys they wear. That was originally a pejorative term, since minor league coach Eddie Shore considered it bad luck if the Black Aces ever had to play.

Then, for the games, Lovejoy and these particular Aces would wear their suits to the game and sit – or stand – wherever they could.

"That night we didn't have seats," Lovejoy remembered. "I was standing behind the goal, near the Red Wings' family section. I cheered once, and everybody's head snapped back. So when we scored I cheered internally."

The Penguins led, 2-1, with 10 minutes left. The Aces knew they should go downstairs, for the potential party. They also didn't want to hex themselves.

"But we couldn't miss the opportunity," Lovejoy said. "We went down and put on our gear. I think I hugged the Wilkes-Barre guys about 20 times so we wouldn't feel out of place.

"We were there every step of the way. But we were along for the ride. I played two games for them in November, I think. So I never say I won the Cup. I'm hungry."

The Ducks are only one-sixteenth of the way to dinner. All they have is a 1-0 first-round lead over a proud and irritated Detroit team, with Game 2 on Thursday.

On Tuesday, Lovejoy briskly passed to Teemu Selanne on the power play and watched Selanne rip the game-winner past Jimmy Howard.

"I usually try to shoot there," he said. "But Teemu has a lot more goals than I do."

He has been in the midst of things for the Ducks ever since they got him for a fifth-round draft choice Feb. 6.

The Penguins called him at his apartment at 9 p.m. He was on a plane at 7 the next morning, to join the Ducks in Dallas.

"I didn't sleep a wink," he said. "Since we didn't play any teams from the West, I had paid less attention than usual, but I looked at the standings and said, 'Oh. The Ducks are 8-1. I'm going to a good hockey team.' Everything about this has been special."

He is a plus-6 and has played 17:40 per game. His arrival gave the Ducks seven credible defensemen, and allowed Bruce Boudreau to rest his older D-men when needed.

He has played on both special teams. Last year, in 34 Penguins games, he averaged 13:15.

Lovejoy also brought a right-handed shot with him. All the other Ducks defensemen are lefties.

"If you had a son and he wasn't a goalie I'd make him a right-handed defenseman," Boudreau said. "They're like left-handed relievers in baseball. You know, the guys who have a 6.00 ERA and yet they're still there."

Senor vice president David McNab said he has no idea why righties are so rare.

"Maybe it's because you pick up a stick, and you put your dominant right hand on top of it and then grab it with your left and shoot it that way," he said. "At least that's the theory."

In any case, a left-right D pair is ideal for moving a puck, as the Kings proved in 2012 when they had three.

"And the Penguins had a lot of right-handers," Lovejoy said. "I'm the only one here, so this has been cool. If there's a situation in the defensive zone, I get to be that guy."

Lovejoy felt crowded in Pittsburgh but not resentful, and the Penguins remembered him fondly.

It was said that Sidney Crosby liked him because Lovejoy was the only player who would dare hit him when Crosby was rehabbing.

"We notoriously battled in practice," Lovejoy said. "During the lockout we'd practice hard for 45 minutes and then play some sort of game. And he and I would battle. He can't turn it off.

"Even the guys on his team started rooting against him, because, even though he'd rarely lose, it was so much fun to see him react when he did.

"He's so talented, so driven. He gets credit for speed and skill, but to me he's the best grinder in the world. I think that's why we all were in such good shape this year. He kept pushing people."

Crosby also put Lovejoy's fingerprints on a Cup. They were soon wiped off. The feeling wasn't.



DUCKS NOTEBOOK: Andrew Cogliano gets wake-up call

By Elliott Teaford

Posted: 05/01/2013 04:16:42 PM PDT

Updated: 05/01/2013 09:29:02 PM PDT

ANAHEIM - Andrew Cogliano admitted he didn't sleep at all Monday night. Game 1 of the Ducks' first-round playoff series against the Detroit Red Wings was less than 24 hours away and he revealed Wednesday that he was too excited to get any shut-eye.

After all, it was Game 1 for him, too.

Cogliano has played 458 regular-season games in his six-season NHL career, including 130 with the Ducks over the past two years. But it wasn't until Tuesday that he participated in his first Stanley Cup playoff game, a 3-1 victory for the Ducks over the Red Wings at the Honda Center.

"It was unbelievable," Cogliano said. "It was a great time. I'm glad we got the win. Just the atmosphere and intensity of the game is another level. I never, obviously, experienced (something) like that before. But the overall excitement you just feel like every play out there means something.

"It's just magnified that much more. It's a good feeling."

Cogliano didn't get a chance to dip his toe in the playoff waters. No, he jumped in head first.

He had no choice.

Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau teamed the 25-year-old with fellow winger Daniel Winnik and slotted veteran center Saku Koivu between the playoff newbies, forming a shutdown line that was asked to shadow the Red Wings' top offensive threats, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg.

Justin Abdelkader was the third member of Detroit's top line for Game 1.

The results were just

what the Ducks needed. The Cogliano-Koivu-Winnik line kept Datsyuk and Zetterberg off the scoresheet, no mean feat considering Datsyuk had a team-leading 49 points (15 goals, 34 assists) and Zetterberg added 48 points (11 goals, 37 assists) in the regular season.

Cogliano and Koivu used their speed and their smarts and Winnik provided a bit of brawn against the Red Wings' darting and creative pair. Datsyuk finished with only one shot on Jonas Hiller's net and Zetterberg had just two as the Ducks outshot the Red Wings 27-22 overall.

As ever, the 38-year-old Koivu provided advice and counsel to Cogliano, serving as a reassuring voice in his ear before, during and after the most important game of his career. If Game 1 was any indication, Cogliano is a pretty good listener, too.

"He doesn't talk too much but when he does, everything is bang-on," Cogliano said of Koivu, a veteran of 61 playoff games. "(Tuesday) night, he said, `Let's play smart. Let's play in control.'

"They (Datsyuk and Zetterberg) are going to get (scoring) chances every game. But it's a matter of executing and staying with what we have to do. When a guy like Saku says that, you just kind of take it and you think about it for a second and you think about all the experiences he's been through. For me to play with him and be a part of his line, I really cherish it."

In the end, nothing the Cogliano-Koivu-Winnik line accomplished was a surprise to Zetterberg. He said he expected to see Koivu on the ice whenever he and Datsyuk went over the boards. The key is adapting and adjusting for Game 2 of the best-of-7 series tonight at the Honda Center.

"I think we need to sustain more pressure in their end," Zetterberg said. "(Tuesday) was too much one and done. They're playing good defense. They're clogging up the neutral zone pretty good. We've got to get the puck deep and go to work in their end."

Flash not finished

Teemu Selanne became the second-oldest player in NHL history at 42 years, 9 months to score a winning playoff goal when he gave the Ducks a 2-1 lead during their 3-1 win in Game 1. Mark Recchi was 43 when he scored a winner for the Boston Bruins in Game 3 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final.

How long can the "Finnish Flash" keep playing?

"We know he loves the game a lot," Zetterberg said when asked about Selanne's longevity. "As long as his body is healthy, he will continue to play. He's still a factor out there. There's a pretty good chance I'll see him again next year."

Selanne won't divulge his plans for 2013-14 until after the playoffs. He said some time ago he wouldn't play in the 2014 Olympics. But he said Wednesday he also said after the 2002 Games that he would quit international competition only to return for the 2006 and '10 Olympics.

"So I don't believe myself anymore," said a laughing Selanne, who has played in five Olympics.

Learning on the job

Detroit coach Mike Babcock iced a lineup for Game 1 that included three defensemen with zero playoff experience. The Ducks pressured all six of the Red Wings' defenseman relentlessly and had success in creating turnovers with an aggressive forecheck.

"I don't think you got to get hit by a car to understand that it hurts," Babcock said when asked if the youngsters had a feel for the playoff experience now. "I think they're aware of the fact that there's going to be more intensity, but sometimes being involved in it helps you out."

LA Daily News: LOADED: 05.01.2013

673864 Boston Bruins

Leafs expect Tyler Bozak to play in Game 1 vs. Bruins

By Michael Vega, Globe Staff

After missing the last two regular-season games with an upper-body injury suffered last Wednesday at Tampa Bay, Toronto's top centerman, Tyler Bozak, is expected to be back in the lineup for the Maple Leafs Wednesday night in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series against the Bruins.

Bozak, who centers Toronto's top line between James van Riemsdyk and Phil Kessel, tied for fifth in team scoring this season with 28 points (12 goals, 16 assists). During Wednesday's morning skate at TD Garden, Bozak, 27, said nothing was going to keep him from making the first NHL playoff appearance of his career.

"No, not really,'' said Bozak, who practiced taking faceoffs with former Northeastern coach Greg Cronin, now an assistant with the Leafs, who dropped the puck. "We've worked hard as a group and as a team in here, and there’d be nothing worse than having to sit back and watch the most important time of the year.

"I’m excited that I healed up quicker and I’m just excited to get this under way. It’s going to be a fun experience.''

Boston Globe LOADED: 05.01.2013


Nathan Horton will be game-time decision

By Fluto Shinzawa, Globe Staff

Nathan Horton will be a game-time decision for Game 1 of the playoffs tonight, Bruins coach Claude Julien said. Horton didn’t play the last five games of the regular season because of an upper-body injury.

It’s a good bet Horton will play, based on the morning skate. Horton took regular line rushes with Milan Lucic and David Krejci.

The more uncertain lineup spot is the No. 3 left wing. Kaspars Daugavins practiced on the third line Tuesday. Rich Peverley was a spare forward. Both skated on the third line this morning, with Daugavins taking the first shift.

Daugavins played efficiently in the last two games. Daugavins is a left-shot forward. Peverley, a right shot, would have to play his off wing. However, Peverley has playoff experience and would be skating alongside Chris Kelly, his longtime center. Peverley can also take faceoffs.

* The healthy scratches will be Dougie Hamilton, Aaron Johnson, Carl Soderberg, and Jay Pandolfo. All four stayed on the ice for extra work after their teammates retreated to the dressing room.



Game 1: Maple Leafs at Bruins preview

By Fluto Shinzawa, Globe Staff

Good morning from TD Garden, where the Bruins will launch the 2013 playoffs tonight against the Maple Leafs.

Nathan Horton practiced Tuesday for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury on April 20. Horton could be available tonight to play alongside usual linemates Milan Lucic and David Krejci.

Rich Peverley, a playoff regular, could be a healthy scratch. Peverley was a spare forward in Tuesday’s practice. Kaspars Daugavins took regular shifts on the No. 3 line with Chris Kelly and Jaromir Jagr.

Puck drop: 7 p.m.

TV/radio info: NESN (Jack Edwards, Andy Brickley, Naoko Funayama),98.5 The Sports Hub (Dave Goucher, Bob Beers)

Records: Leafs 0-0, Bruins 0-0

Projected Leafs lineup (courtesy of the Toronto Star):

James van Riemsdyk-Tyler Bozak-Phil Kessel

Joffrey Lupul-Mikhail Grabovski-Nikolai Kulemin

Clarke MacArthur-Nazem Kadri-Matt Frattin

Leo Komarov-Jay McClement-Colton Orr

Carl Gunnarsson-Dion Phaneuf

Mark Fraser-Cody Franson

John-Michael Liles-Ryan O’Byrne

James Reimer

Ben Scrivens

Healthy scratches: Joe Colborne, Frazer McLaren, Ryan Hamilton, Jake Gardiner, Mike Kostka

Projected Bruins lineup:

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton

Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin

Kaspars Daugavins-Chris Kelly-Jaromir Jagr

Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Dennis Seidenberg

Andrew Ference-Johnny Boychuk

Wade Redden-Adam McQuaid

Tuukka Rask

Anton Khudobin

Healthy scratches: Dougie Hamilton, Aaron Johnson, Rich Peverley, Carl Soderberg, Jay Pandolfo

Storylines: Wade Redden is expected to play tonight on the third defensive pair with Adam McQuaid. The Bruins traded a conditional 2014 seventh-round pick to St. Louis for Redden. The condition was that it would become a sixth-round selection if Redden appeared in one playoff game… McQuaid will make his first postseason appearance since 2011. McQuaid missed last year’s playoffs because of a concussion… The primary question with the Maple Leafs is the availability of Tyler Bozak. The top-line center didn’t play the last two games because of an upper-body injury. If Bozak can play, he should slot in between James van Riemsdyk and Phil Kessel… Kelly Sutherland and Chris Lee will be the referees. Jean Morin and Scott Driscoll will be the linesmen.



Tonight's Leafs lineup

Posted by Fluto Shinzawa, Globe Staff May 1, 2013 06:46 PM

Based on pregame warmups:



Clarke MacArthur-Nazem Kadri-Leo Komarov

Frazer McLaren-Jay McClement-Colton Orr



John-Michael Liles-Mike Kostka

James Reimer

Ben Scrivens



Tonight's Bruins lineup

Posted by Fluto Shinzawa, Globe Staff May 1, 2013 06:45 PM

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton




Zdeno Chara-Dennis Seidenberg

Andrew Ference-Johnny Boychuk


Tuukka Rask

Anton Khudobin

* James Reimer will start in goal for the Leafs.



Bruins and NHL 2013 playoffs live coverage

Staff

Updates and insight on the Bruins during the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Bruins face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round series. Here's the schedule:

- Game 1: Wed. May 1 -- Maple Leafs at Bruins, 7 p.m. (NESN/CSNBC)

- Game 2: Sat. May 4 -- Maple Leafs at Bruins, 7 p.m. (NESN/CSNBC)

- Game 3: Mon. May 6 -- Bruins at Maple Leafs, 7 p.m. (NESN/NHL)

- Game 4: Wed. May 8 -- Bruins at Maple Leafs, 7 p.m. (NESN/NHL)

- Game 5: Fri. May 10 -- Maple Leafs at Bruins, 7 p.m. (NESN)

- Game 6: Sun. May 12 -- Bruins at Maple Leafs, TBD (NESN)

- Game 7: Mon. May 13 -- Maple Leafs at Bruins, TBD (NESN)



Game 1 final: Bruins 4, Maple Leafs 1

Wednesday, May 1, 2013 -- Mark Daniels

For those wondering if the Bruins could turn it on for the playoffs got their answer – at least for tonight – as the B’s ran over tonight the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 at the Garden in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.

Though they dominated - outshooting Toronto 40-20 - the game didn’t start off on a strong note for the Bruins.

James van Riemsdyk scored a power-play goal just 1:54 into the contest, knocking in his own rebound past Tuukka Rask. It took the Bruins some time, but they responded in a big way getting two goals in the final four minutes of the first period from Wade Redden and Nathan Horton.

The game-tying goal came from Redden at 16:20. Gregory Campbell tried for a wraparound shot but his attempt ended up sliding to the top of the circle. Redden caught the loose puck, on the edge of the left faceoff circle, and sent a slap shot to the net. The puck bounced off the left wrist of Toronto goalie James Reimer and trickled into the net

Redden was in the middle of it all again at 19:48. With :07 left in the Bruins power play, Redden again sent a slap shot toward the net. This time, Horton was there to tip the puck over Reimer’s glove to extend the Bruins lead to 2-1.

The Bruins added two more goals in the second period thanks to David Krejci and Johnny Boychuck.

Krecji started things off by sending a bad pass to Horton, who fell to his knees trying to gain possession. But Krejci skated to the right post, collected the loose puck and beat Reimer between the legs for the score at 10:36.

Around five minutes later, Krejci sent a drop pass to Boyhuck and the Bruins defender unloaded on Reimer, firing the puck, from the right point, off the post and in at 15:44.

The Bruins had two goals waved off by the officials – one by Tyler Seguin in the second and another by Patrice Bergeron in the third.

Game 2 is back at the Garden this Saturday at 7 p.m.

Boston Herald LOADED: 05.01.2013


Bruins head into the third period up 4-1 over the Maple Leafs


The Bruins have turned it up a notch here in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals and head into the third period up 4-1 over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

A 1:10 of the period, it looked like Tyler Seguin added to the Bruins lead, putting the puck past James Riemer following a 2-on-1 with Brad Marchand. But the replay showed that Seguin’s slap shot hit off the top post and the officials took away the goal.

There was no contesting David Krejci’s goal at 10:36.

The Bruins center started off the possession passing the puck in the front of the net to Nathan Horton. The pass, however, was off the make and Horton fell to his knees trying to control the puck. But Krejci skated to the right post, collected the loose puck and beat Reimer five-hole to give the Bruins a 3-1 lead.

The onslaught continued with Johnny Boychuck getting a goal at 15:44. Boychuck received the puck from a Krejci drop pass and put everything into his slap shot sending a rocket off the post and in past Reimer to put the Bruins up 4-1.

At 13:59, “Kessel” chants broke out at the Garden after Phil Kessel collided with Dennis Seidenberg and slid into the net.

Tyler Bozak came away with the loose puck for a breakaway, at 8:40, but Tuukka Rask made a nice kick save for the stop.

Patrice Bergeron was put in the box for slashing at 15:56, but the Bruins killed the penalty.

The Bruins ended the last 34 seconds of the period on a power play and will open up the third with the man advantage.



Phil Kessel ready to face the music


Before he faced the music (the fans), Phil Kessel faced the music (the media).

After avoiding a media scrum on Monday in Toronto, Kessel met with reporters today at the Garden – hours before his Maple Leafs faced off against the Bruins in today’s Game 1 quarterfinal matchup. It’s been four years since the Bruins traded Kessel to Toronto for what turned out to be Tyler Seguin and Dougie Hamilton.

In 22 games against the B’s, Kessel hasn’t fared well. He has 9 points (three goals, six assists) with a minus-22 rating. Other than the Bruins, his worst plus/minus is minus-8 against Pittsburgh, Nashville and Carolina.

When asked about the 2009 trade and all the attention he was getting, Kessel said it was out of his hands.

“That’s four years ago so I don’t think it really matters that much anymore,” Kessel said. “It’s about the team. We’re going to have to play a good hard game out there. (The Bruins are) a great team. It’s going to be a battle.”

In past series in the Garden, Bruins fans have been all over Kessel. A “thank you, Kessel,” chant has been heard when Seguin scores and of course he hears the boos. But the 25-year-old said he’s not worried about the potential jeers.

“It’s fine,” Kessel said. “I like it here. I had three great years here. Great memories. They were great to me when I was here. I figure, when you leave you’re always going to get the grief so it’s ok. But I enjoyed playing here and they had great fans. I think it’s going to be a good atmosphere tonight.”



Bruins start new season -- they hope

Wednesday, May 1, 2013 -- Steve Conroy

There's no denying that the Bruins season didn't end the way they wanted it to, going 2-5-2 in their final nine and then coughing up a chance to win the Northeast Division on the final night of the regular season. The biggest problems they face as they approach tonight's Game 1 against the Maple Leafs can be a found in a mirror.

So it was no surprise that coach Claude Julien answered the way he did when asked what he expected of the Leafs tonight.

"I don't care," he said after the morning skate at the Garden. "It's more about what I expect from our team. I don't care what they do. What I care about is what we do. That's the stage our team is at right now. We took some strides in the right direction at the end of the ear, yeven though we didn't always get the results. We had a rough last month of the season...but we have a chance to get a fresh start and we've got an opportunity to right the ship and get momentum going the right way. That's what my focus is on."

Julien said Nathan Horton (hand/wrist) will be a game-time decision and he wouldn't divulge whether Kaspars Daugavins or Rich Peverley would be the third line left wing. But judging from both Tuesday's practice and this morning's skate, it certainly looks like Horton will be in, as will Daugavins. Horton did not appear to be limited and Daugavins took the first line rushes with the third line with Chris Kelly and Jaromir Jagr.

The third line has been an ongoing issue, even when things were going well for the B's.

"It's a new season," said Kelly. "We've been trying to find some chemistry, but the time to think about chemistry is past. It's time to just go out and play and work, play the game the way it should be played. If we do that, then we'll be fine."

It looks like the Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Horton line will be back together for the first time in a couple of weeks. The unit enjoyed some highs early in the season and then the lows got so low the line was broken up. Krejci for one was happy to get another shot together.

"It feels good. We had a good practice and we're excited for tonight," said Krejci, who started the playoffs slowly the last two years. "We're just going to go out there and try our best. We know we haven't played with each other for a long time now, but I don't think it's going to make a difference. We're just going to go out there and work our hardest and try to do our best that we can to win."

There was a slight scare in the morning skate when Tyler Seguin flipped a shot from the side of the net that caught Tuukka Rask on the unpadded side of the his leg near the knee area. Rask hit the ice in what appeared to be part pain, part playful embellishment. Whatever the case, Rask finished the skate without seeking the attention of the medical staff.

Meanwhile, Toronto first line center Tyler Bozak, who missed the last two games with a shoulder injury, is ready to go. Though Randy Carlyle said Bozak's 100 percent, it will be interesting to see how well he can take faceoffs.

It will also be interesting to see how well the Leafs, in the playoffs for the first time since 2004, will handle the moment, as well as handle a team that that has had its number for a long time. The Leafs did make some headway in their personal battle with the B's this year. They broke an eight-game losing streak with a win in Toronto and then two nights later forced the B's to go to a shootout to beat them.

"We're going to respect them," said Carlyle. "We're not going to be in awe of them."



Just like Bruins of old

Stephen Harris

It only took the Bruins 49 games to find themselves.

One of the ancient axioms of hockey met its demise last night at the Garden. Turns out you can just flip a switch.

Rarely this season, if ever, did the Bruins deliver a truly complete 60-minute performance. That would be defined as very sound team defense, lots of offense, strong special teams, all four lines and three pairs rolling and playing with energy and speed, grit and cohesivness.

You know, the way the Bruins performed in a rather memorable postseason two years ago.

All season, we didn’t see much more than the occasional glimpse of such play. When B’s players predicted, night after night, that the team would return to form once the playoffs got under way, to be honest it seemed less prediction than sheer hope.

Or maybe a pipe dream. Teams aren’t supposed to play lousy for 31⁄2 months and then suddenly deliver a masterpiece.

But everything changed for the Bruins last night in Game 1 of the first round against the Toronto Maple Leafs. All doubts were erased and the confidence of the team and every player was reborn as the B’s played their best all-round game of the season, widely outclassing the Leafs, 4-1.

“It was just a matter of kind of turning the page and getting a fresh start,” said coach Claude Julien.

After being perplexing and sloppy in so many games this season, hockey was fun to watch again. The B’s performance would have stacked up well with many of their best showings en route to the Stanley Cup two years ago.

There were so many positive elements. The passes were sharp and accurate, creating many, many good scoring chances. The B’s generated speed up and down the ice. They forechecked like crazy, won battles, banged bodies hard, forced turnovers. They back-checked and broke up most Toronto plays before they got going.

The Julien system, unidentifiable in most games this season, was back in form and working flawlessly, mostly because the players wanted to make it work. The B’s played with great support for each other, as that layered look returned: If one guy couldn’t make the play, there always seemed to be a teammate waiting just behind to cover for him.

Unlike in so many games, the Bruins kept pressing and pressing for the next goal and the next. So soft and panicky in so many third periods this year, last night they buried the Leafs with a true killer instinct.

If they suddenly looked like a great team, David Krejci delivered a performance to remind one what a great player he can be.

“We haven’t had many of those,” said Krejci of the team’s performance. “It felt pretty good. A full 60 minutes, a good effort by all four lines.”

Krejci put up a goal and two assists, as the B’s peppered Toronto goalie James Reimer with 40 shots. The Leafs reportedly tried hard to land Roberto Luongo at the trade deadline, and last night you could see why. Wingers Nathan Horton (goal) and Milan Lucic (two assists) were flying all night, right with Krejci.

“When David is skating and he’s also pretty intense, meaning he’s not afraid to finish hits and go in the corners and battle for pucks, he’s one of those players who fears nothing,” said Julien. “When he’s really got his mind set to play hard and get involved, he’s really a great player.”

Krejci didn’t care to discuss similarities between this game and the great one the B’s played in the 2011 playoffs, or the bad ones earlier this season.

“Two years is a long time ago, we have a different team now,” he said. “We took it as a new season: Close a chapter and open a new one. Everybody starts from 0-0. We win the first game and we’re pretty happy about it. But

we know it’s going to be a long series.We get to regroup. We have our next game on Saturday. We’re going to have to play the same way, only better.

“Playoffs are so different than the season. You try to build something. I feel like we build something in the first game; we have to carry it on in the second. Obviously it felt pretty good, but we know Toronto is going to be even better on Saturday. We have to bring our ‘A’ game again.”

Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli looked like a pretty happy guy as he headed home after the game, all the very real doubts about his team gone.

“It’s too early to say I’m relieved,” said Chiarelli. “It was a good game, but it was just one game. We had four lines rolling and our (defensemen) were all good. We were working in straight lines up and down the ice.”

The were playing hockey the way they’re supposed to play. Finally.



Buckley: Leafs no doubt will be better

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Steve Buckley

The tricky part about evaluating the Bruins’ 4-1 Game 1 beatdown of the Toronto Maple Leafs last night at the Garden is determining how much of it was good hockey by the winning team . . . and how much of it was woefully bad hockey by the losing team.

It’s true that this was the Leafs’ first Stanley Cup playoff game in nine years, which means they’re a tad organizationally rusty at all this. And they surely played like it, with forward Nazem Kadri going so far as to say of rookie goaltender James Reimer: “We left Reims out to dry most of the game.”

But to blame all this on the not-ready-for-primetime Maple Leafs is to tell only half the story, Bruins fans, because your guys played with all the hustle, determination, spirit, joie de vivre — the list goes on and on — that you’ve been looking for the past six weeks.

The Bruins fell behind early but then, suddenly, it was the early days of the regular season all over again, back when the B’s were playing like a team destined to go deep into the tourney. The Bruins scored four straight goals, by Wade Redden, Nathan Horton, David Krejci and Johnny Boychuk, and Tuukka Rask stopped everything that a not-so-hot Leaf offense threw at him.

“I thought we played a solid game,” said Bruins coach Claude Julien. Sure, that’s a rather boilerplate, TD Garden-variety quote, but geez: When was the last time the big guy was able to say that?

“Even after Toronto scored that first goal, I felt our team was still in good shape and had lots of time,” he said. “You know when you get that feeling? Our players were really focused.

“The last two months have been hard for us. And the last week and a half, with six games in nine days, and when you include what happened between those days . . . it’s been draining for players.

“I think we’re all sentimental about what’s happened to the city, and it was just a matter of turning the page from the regular reason and getting a fresh start.”

And it was as though those members of the Bruins with question marks stapled to their backs got mad as hell and weren’t going to take it any more. Now that could pretty much apply to all the Bruins, given the way they stumbled through the last weeks of the regular season, but we’re really talking about a short list that includes Milan Lucic, Nathan Horton and Rask.

And all three of these guys played as though they’re in this for the long haul — Horton with his goal, Lucic with a couple of assists, and Rask . . . well, he may have had an easy night, but mark it down as a nice way to ease himself back into the heavy lifting of the postseason after being limited to opening the gate the last two years.

“Even though they got that goal, we never let up for 60 minutes,” said Rask, who was respectfully sporting a Massachusetts State Police cap during his postgame presser. “They got a couple of tips and one half breakaway and stuff like that, but our team defense . . . we looked ready to play and it was good to see. We gotta stay with it and push forward.”

The Big, Bad Bruins History Book reminds us that the Run to the Cup two springs ago began with back-to-back opening-round losses to the Montreal Canadiens. So, yes, absolutely, the local hockey club needs to, as Rask put it, “say with it and push forward.”

And it does need to be said again: The Leafs were brutal last night. Toronto forward Frazer McLaren put it better than any pundit when he said of the Bruins, “They won the game and they won it handily.”

The smart money is on the Maple Leafs not being so clumsy in Game 2. Maybe this was just a Welcome Back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the First Time in Forever thing for them. But for those of you who worried that the Bruins would open Game 1 of this series as though it was (fill in pretty

much any game from the last month of the regular season here), you can now chill a little.

You wanted the Bruins to play like they mean business and, man, did they mean business last night.



Fluttering Toronto shows green side


Boston Bruins

Mark Daniels

Fifteen Toronto Maple Leafs players made their playoff debuts in last night’s Eastern Conference quarterfinal series opener against the Bruins.

After 60 minutes of hockey, you could probably tell.

During last night’s 4-1 win, the Bruins skated all over the Maple Leafs, who are in the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons. The B’s outshot their division foes 40-20. They controlled the action in the final two periods. And after an early power-play goal from James van Riemsdyk, the Bruins seized the game’s momentum.

“That was a tough one to lose, especially after the start we had, scored the first goal of the game. You’d think we’d build off that, but we self-destructed,” Toronto center Nazem Kadri said. “They got a couple goals at the end of the first and never looked back.”

The Maple Leafs got their first power play 1:38 into the game. It took them only 16 seconds to take advantage when van Riemsdyk backhanded a rebound past Tuukka Rask. And for the first 15 minutes, Toronto skated with purpose and with momentum.

But playoff hockey is a fickle beast. And the Bruins stormed back. First, a goal from Wade Redden tied it at 16:20 . Nathan Horton then gave the Bruins the lead with 12 seconds left in the period.

In the second period, it got worse with goals from David Krejci and Johnny Boychuk.

Van Riemsdyk said it was a valuable lesson.

“Yeah, obviously, it’s a nice experience for a lot of guys who haven’t played in (the playoffs) before,” van Riemsdyk said. “That’s a tell-tale sign out there, how much different the level is and how different things can come back to bite you if you don’t take care of them.”

On the receiving end of this Bruins beatdown was goalie James Reimer, one of those 15 playoff rookies. Though the Bruins had two goals overturned, they scored in various ways against Reimer — off his arm, off the post, over his glove and between his legs. His arm was still sore after Redden’s first period goal bounced off it and into the net.

“I don’t think I was surprised by anything,” Reimer said. “I felt like I was well prepared and ready to go, but definitely the crowd is more into it (than in the regular season) and there’s a little more intensity. You have to find a way to keep calm, no matter what way the game is swinging.”

Toronto wasn’t able to do that, taking only six shots in the final period.

“You have to give them a lot of credit, but at the same time we feel like we shot ourselves in the foot,” said Toronto winger Frazer McLaren. “Like Kadri said, we self-destructed there.”



Notebook: Wade Redden rewards Claude Julien


Steve Conroy

Bruins Notebook

For a time, it seemed like Wade Redden might just be an extra body for the Bruins, an insurance plan.

The defenseman, picked up at the trade deadline from St. Louis for what is now a sixth-round pick in 2014 (had he not played in the playoffs, it would have been a seventh rounder), was a healthy scratch for his first six games with the Bruins, and seven of the first eight.

But in the last week of the season, it became clear that the 35-year-old veteran had worked his way into the top six for the playoffs, and he had quite a return to playoff action last night. Redden scored the B’s first goal on a long range slapper, and then assisted on Nathan Horton’s power-play deflection that turned out to be the game-winner in the 4-1 triumph over the Maple Leafs at the Garden.

Not bad for a guy who didn’t even know if he’d be in the NHL this year. He’d been banished to the AHL by the Rangers for two seasons before the Blueshirts bought him out at the end of the lockout in January. He signed as a free agent with the Blues but became expendable when they obtained Jay Bouwmeester and Jordan Leopold.

Redden was thrilled to be a part of it again.

“Yeah, it was fun to be back out there, that’s for sure,” said Redden. “I said before, I’m going to try to get the most out of it. I’ve been away for a while, so it was good to get back in there.”

While he may have been slow to get in the lineup, it doesn’t look like he’ll be leaving it anytime soon.

“I think the coaches and the team here knew what I could do and who I am,” said Redden, who played a total of 16:57, 4:41 of that on the power-play. “I just came in and worked hard to just get the chance. That’s really what you look for.

“Things have gone pretty decent. They believe that I can get the job done for them, so that’s a big part of it. The role I’ve got, I’ve just got to make the most of it there and be a part of the team — help them get the wins as much as I can. I guess that’s really what I’m here to do.”

Said coach Claude Julien: “I was really happy for him. I think he’s a player that has gone through some rough times. What we’ve tried to do when he came here is make him feel welcome, make him feel appreciated, and give him some confidence that way. So far, it’s paid dividends.”

Gettin’ hot in here

As expected, things got testy between the two teams. It started with an elbow from Andrew Ference on Mikhail Grabovski that wasn’t called a penalty in the first period. Ference said he didn’t know what play reporters were talking about when he was asked about it after the game, but there’s an outside chance he could get some supplemental discipline.

But it didn’t stop there. Colton Orr got a double minor for crosschecking Johnny Boychuk in the back after a clean Boychuk hit on Grabovski. Orr later wound up getting 16 minutes of penalties in the third period for various infractions, while Leo Komarov got a misconduct for getting into it with Brad Marchand.

Marchand swung his stick at James van Riemsdyk when the Leaf went downstairs on him.

“He speared me in the privates, so I reacted,” said Marchand.

At the end of regulation, Komarov and Chris Kelly received fighting majors.

Leafs coach Randy Carlyle did not lobby publicly for a suspension for Ference.

“To me, those are hits in the game. Sometimes in the playoffs, you’re going to see physicality. It’ll be front and center,” said Carlyle. “It’s a game that’s made to be physical. You’re allowed to hit people. To judge if it was offside, a bad hit or a belligerent hit, that’s not for me to judge. That’s for people in the league to make those determinations.”

Third line change

Kaspars Daugavins got the nod as the third line left winger with Kelly and Jaromir Jagr. He had two shots on net in 9:52 of ice time.

The line didn’t set the world on fire, but it didn’t hurt them either. It’ll be interesting to see if Julien continues with Daugavins or re-inserts Rich Peverley, a healthy scratch last night.

The B’s other healthy scratches were Carl Soderberg, Jay Pandolfo, Dougie Hamilton and Aaron Johnson.



B’s confidence lacking


Stephen Harris

As the Bruins entered the final week of the regular season 11 days ago, president Cam Neely offered a candid appraisal of a team that underperformed but hoped to be playing better in time for the playoffs.

Among his observations: “There’s no way anyone in this organization is writing anything off. We’ve got a lot of good players, a lot of top talent on our team. My feeling is that we’re going to get this turned around and play the way we’re capable of playing.”

So after the final week of games, in which the B’s showed hints of improvement, how did Neely feel going into last night’s playoff opener against Toronto?

“No question we’re playing more like we need to play,” he said. “It is going in the right direction. We’re starting to play more like we need to play as a team to be successful. But quite frankly, if we can start getting more than two goals a game, that will certainly be beneficial.”

Indeed, the sputtering Bruins managed just 18 goals in their last nine games with a 2-5-2 record. Neely, like many around his club, hopes that a lucky goal or two might shake the B’s out of their slump.

“We need a little puck luck,” he said. “Also, you have to be able to work your way into the dirty areas. There’s not a lot of pretty goals scored these days. You’ve got to get some dirty goals. You’ve got to battle your way through the defense and find a way to get to the dirty areas.”

The Bruins are well-suited to that kind of offense, but haven’t always displayed the physical comitment to make it happen. They are also capable of playing an up-tempo, speedy transition game.

“Yeah, another of the things I’d like to see our team do more is start going wide and driving to the net,” Neely said. “And get more pucks on the net. From that wide drive, even if you don’t score, the rebound may lead to something good.”

A key flaw in the B’s play is that players too often pass up a dangerous shot in an attempt to set up a better one. More often, such efforts end up producing no shot at all.

“If you’re in a good shooting position on the ice, take the shot,” Neely said. “Unless, of course, you’ve got a perfect play to make. But I just think when you’re struggling to score, you try to get too cute, too fancy, and that’s when you end up with nothing.”

In general, Neely wants his team to see the ice better and make better decisions. Long so attentive to the details of Claude Julien’s system, the B’s frequently have played sloppy and un-cohesive hockey.

“We have to do a better job of reading what’s in front of us,” Neely said. “Take the ice that’s given to us, and create speed. I think we have done a better job recently of having better breakouts and getting to the offensive zone, but once you get to the offensive blue line you have to read the situation: ‘Can I drive to the net? Do I have to chip and chase? Or can I curl up and try to hit the late guy?’ We have to do a better job of reading the situation.”

In the final analysis, Neely mostly sees a team lacking in confidence.

“We had that great start, where everyone was feeling extremely confident,” he said. “Then we fell into times where we weren’t playing as well, we weren’t scoring, and the confidence dips. But I think the guys should feel good about the direction we’re heading. They should take some confidence from that, and then hopefully we can get some lucky goals.”



Tyler Seguin’s be-Leaf tested


Mark Daniels

As a child, Tyler Seguin frequently sat in the stands at the Air Canada Centre with his father Paul. He cheered, envisioned himself on the ice, and hoped for a Toronto Maple Leafs win and eventual playoff run.

Seguin got his wish. He’s in the NHL and was on the ice last night as the Maple Leafs made the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons. But rather than wearing blue and white, he wears black and gold as his Bruins locked horns with Toronto in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

Though his loyalty changed, Seguin said the series still is sentimental.

“It was my hometown. So I’d go to Leaf games all the time,” Seguin said prior to the game. “When we go and play at the ACC, I’ll kind of look up at some sections where I know I was sitting growing up as a kid with my dad. I grew up hoping we’d at least make the playoffs and here we are playing against (the Bruins). It’s a cool experience.”

Seguin never forgot his roots. When he was 13 he played at the Westwood Arena for the Toronto Young Nationals, 19 miles from the Air Canada Centre. When the Bruins won the Stanley Cup, in his rookie season, Seguin brought the Cup back to Toronto and to Westwood for other potential pro prospects to see.

But with the nostalgia that a series with Toronto brings, there’s also the ever-popular comparison with Phil Kessel.

In 2009, the Bruins traded Kessel to the Maple Leafs for a 2010 first-round pick, a 2010 second-round pick, and a 2011 first-round pick. Neither the Bruins nor the Maple Leafs knew what would become of the draft picks, but the B’s emerged with Seguin and another Toronto native Dougie Hamilton with those chips.

Seguin doesn’t believe comparisons to Kessel are justified.

“It’s not like they knew I was going to be the pick. It was just a pick and it happened to be me and Dougie,” Seguin said. “I guess it’s going to be linked just because it’s what people want to talk about and have stories. But other than that, I think Phil is a great player and I definitely have respect for him on the ice. I’ve met him a few times off the ice. He’s a good guy.”

As he skated last night, Seguin was living his dream, only this one includes the twist of a Toronto loss.

“It’s an exciting experience, but I want to take it as just a playoff run,” Seguin said. “(It’s) not about who you’re playing. You’ve got to come out and make sure you’re ready.”



Bruins look to build off their new momentum


After a strong 14-2-2 start, the Bruins struggled going 14-12-4 down the stretch. After losing the final two games of the regular season and losing the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference, the Bruins needed to find their offense and reset.

Tonight they did just earning a dominating 4-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.

“It was just a matter of turning the page right now from the regular season and getting a fresh start,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said. “I think mentally that was the big difference. And that’s why you probably saw a big difference from our team. And at the same time we’ve been through this before, and you always hope that your experience is going to help you through this. But having said that, you hear coaches say it’s one game. And we’ve got to be prepared to go out and do the same thing again next game.”

The Bruins got production from all over their lineup. Wade Redden and Nathan Horton scored in the first and then David Krejci and Johnny Boychuk added to the lead in the second. It was the type of offensive production that was lacking at the end of the season for the B’s

David Krejci said the Bruins hope to continue their new found momentum.

“Playoffs are so different than in-season,” Krejci said. “You’re trying to build something, and I feel like we built something in the first game. We have to carry it on into the second, but we know that Toronto is going to be even better on Saturday, so we have to bring our ‘A’ game again.”

Added Zdeno Chara: “We’re just trying to focus on going game-by-game. Our focus was on the first game and now we have to put that behind and focus on the second.”



B's flip switch

Steve Conroy

Maybe it was all the back-to-basics work they’d done in losing efforts finally paying off. Maybe it was the sight of a team they’d dominated for the last couple years. Or maybe they actually can just flip a switch.

Whatever the case, the Bruins last night truly did turn the page and start a new season, dominating the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. After falling behind on an early power-play strike by the Leafs, the B’s scored four unanswered goals, and probably could have had a half-dozen more, to coast to a 4-1 win at the Garden.

“We have (a switch) in the back,” deadpanned Dennis Seidenberg, nodding to the players’ lounge. “We just turned it over.”

He was, of course, kidding. While it was hard to truly believe in this team when it kept losing important games, it’s undeniable the Bruins were starting to show signs of their old selves. After a healthy scratch, Milan Lucic was ramping up his game going. The fourth line was dominating shifts. The team as a whole was more physically and emotionally engaged.

And last night, they put it all together. The B’s got goals from Wade Redden, Nathan Horton, David Krejci (1-2-3 totals and first star) and Johnny Boychuk and, though they did not score in the third period, the B’s protected their lead by continuing to take it to the Leafs.

“The last four games or so we seemed to be turning the corner,” said coach Claude Julien. “As I’ve often said, when you have a winning streak and you keep winning, you sometimes see some things and it takes a while before you start paying a price for it. I think it was the same way with our team (conversely). We were playing better but we weren’t getting rewarded with the wins, but you could see us turning the corner. Today our guys were focused, they were ready. And at the same time, we’ve been here before, there was some experience behind it. And I thought we played a solid game.”

The B’s spotted the Leafs, in the playoffs for the first time since 2004, a James van Riemsdyk power-play goal just 1:50 into the contest, but the B’s pretty much dominated from that point. After missing on several great chances, Redden finally got the B’s on the board at 16:20 when his bad angle shot from outside the left circle broke off goalie James Reimer’s glove and in.

Then came a game-changing sequence at the end of the period. With Dion Phaneuf in the box for slashing Tyler Seguin, van Riemsdyk had a shorthanded bid that hit the crossbar behind Tuukka Rask, bouncing high and out into the zone. Instead of going for the puck, van Riemsdyk went for a hit and the B’s were able to break out with speed. Redden fired a shot and with 11.7 seconds left on the clock, Horton deflected it past Reimer. The play was reviewed to see if Horton’s stick was too high, but the goal was upheld.

If van Riemsdyk’s shot was a couple of inches lower, maybe, maybe it’s a different game. But after falling down 2-1, the Leafs didn’t put up much of a fight, at least not in a hockey sense.

“I just thought we self-destructed,” said Toronto coach Randy Carlyle.

While much has been made of the Leafs’ muscle, most of it is on the fourth line with Frazer McLaren and Colton Orr. The B’s used the brawn they have on the top two lines and the back end to pound Toronto’s skill players Phil Kessel, Mikhail Grabovski and Joffrey Lupul. Lucic had four hits to go along with two assists and Shawn Thornton handed out five hits and Brad Marchand chirped the Leafs’ stars all night.

The B’s got themselves some breathing space with goals from Krejci and Boychuk in the second, but they never let up. They outshot the Leafs 40-20 and, unlike in the regular season, they actually felt safe.

“I didn’t feel like our team sagged at any time in the game,” Julien said. “We kept the tempo and control where we wanted it to be.”

It is, of course, just one game and you would have to think the Leafs would try to respond to such a thorough, utter defeat. A win Saturday in Game 2 and the Leafs’ mission in the first two games would be accomplished.

Those are things to think about moving forward. Looking back, the B’s couldn’t have started any better.


673882 Carolina Hurricanes

Hurricanes’ Ron Francis opens NC sports hall to hockey

By Chip Alexander

Published: May 1, 2013

RALEIGH — During a visit to the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame a couple of years ago, Ron Francis couldn’t help needling the hall’s executive director, Don Fish.

"I jokingly said to Don they had the football paraphernalia and basketball paraphernalia and tennis stuff," Francis said Wednesday. "I said, ‘There’s no pucks up there and no hockey sticks. We’ve got to change that.’"

Change has come. On Thursday, Francis will give the hall its first hockey representative as a member of the class of 2013. Sticks and pucks are in.

Francis’ selection was fitting. He was the Carolina Hurricanes’ first big free-agent signing after the team moved to North Carolina in 1997, turning some heads in the NHL and giving the franchise added credibility in a new market. As team captain, he helped the Canes reach the Stanley Cup finals for the first time in 2002.

After his playing career ended, Francis joined the Canes’ management team, making Raleigh home for his wife Mary Lou and their three children. He continued to help the sport grow and find its niche. He’s an investor in the team.

"One reason I signed here in 1998 that was intriguing to me was the chance to sell our sport in a new area," Francis said. "I said at the time I signed I firmly believe in our sport, I firmly believe it’s something people will like. To have me go into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame as the first member of hockey and the first member of the Carolina Hurricanes with such a prestigious group, it’s a great feeling to know that our sport has come a long way."

Francis is one of 11 inductees this year, a large class. The others are: former North Carolina basketball coach Bill Guthridge and UNC football star Kelvin Bryant; baseball’s Tommy Helms, softball star Wade Garrett; tennis champion Mildred Southern; and longtime high school football coach Marion Kirby and football standout Rich McGeorge.

Marty Sheets, who won hundreds of Special Olympics medals, is in the class of 2013. Being honored posthumously are Hugh Morton, the Grandfather Mountain owner and sports photographer, and journalist Bob Quincy of Charlotte.

The press conference Wednesday was filled with basketball talk. Even the grandson of James Naismtih, the man who invented the game, was on hand for a presentation to the hall.

But hockey finally has found its place -- in the hall, in the state.

"What an addition to the great sports tradition we have to bring a guy like Ron Francis into the hall," Fish said. "He’s the first but he won’t be the only one."

Fish mentioned former Canes captain Rod Brind’Amour, general manager Jim Rutherford and former defenseman Glen Wesley as others who should receive consideration.

"They’ve made a great contribution and we’re going to have a great run on hockey at the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame," Fish said.

For Francis, a native of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, being inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007 was the ultimate.

"As a kid growing up and that’s your sport, it’s like a basketball kid growing up wanting to get in the basketball hall of fame,” he said.

Francis’ playing credentials included 23 seasons of sustained excellence, two Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins, 549 goals and 1,249 assists.

Of his 23 NHL seasons, 16 were spent with the Hartford Whalers and Hurricanes. His Hurricanes’ jersey number, No. 10, has been retired since January 2006.

The Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup in 2006, becoming the first major-league franchise in the state to win a championship. Francis joined the front office as director of player development in November 2006, later serving as associate head coach and director of player personnel.

Francis, 50, now is vice president of hockey operations, working with Rutherford on all hockey-related matters.

The Hurricanes were honored by the N.C. sports hall last year, when winning the Stanley Cup title was made a part of the hall’s "Great Moment" series. Now, Francis is a member.

"I’ve been able to sell a sport I absolutely love to a new market," he said. "It’s great to see our sport and the Carolina Hurricanes organization become a part of the sports culture in this community and in the state.

“I wasn’t expecting this. I’m just thrilled they chose me to kind of lead the way in."

News Observer LOADED: 05.01.2013

673883 Chicago Blackhawks

Wild's Harding up for all challenges

By Brian Hamilton

Chicago Tribune reporter

May 2, 2013

Josh Harding is on medication for multiple sclerosis and had played in two games since January before he received about as little warning as imaginable Tuesday night that he would start a Stanley Cup playoff game against the league's best team.

A couple of hours later, he very nearly had backstopped his team to a victory against said best team.

By any sane measure, this is remarkable. He didn't even see the announced starter for the Wild, Niklas Backstrom, go down in warmups with the Blackhawks circling down the other end. All Harding saw was captain Mikko Koivu skate over, and all he heard was a four-word directive from Koivu — Hards, get in there — and he figured he would be the goalie until someone said he wasn't.

In more than an hour of ice time, Harding let two shots elude him, stopping 35 others. After the Game 1 loss at the United Center, and again Wednesday, he refused to consider this good enough. He refused to discuss the disease that threatens the nerve cells in his brain and spine, let alone his career. He refused to call this a moment of triumph, because triumph didn't happen.

"The positives are you don't have time to get nervous and stuff like that, but the negatives are you prepare a certain way but you don't prepare the exact same way as if you were starting," Harding told reporters in Minnesota on Wednesday.

"You can sit back here and look at the positives and negatives all you want, but I got thrown in there, we lost and I have to get better."

It is difficult to calculate how much distance there is to cover between Game 1 and "better," all things considered, but everyone may have their answer Friday. Backstrom is day to day with that mystifying lower-body injury, and there is a Game 2 coming against the top-seeded Hawks. The Wild can see Harding starting that and multiple others.

Here is where one notes that Harding had played in two NHL games since Jan. 30, the date of his last start at this level. In that span, he had to address the proper course of medication for his MS, a process he would describe later to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune as "a lot more complicated than people would actually know."

The topic inevitably came up Tuesday and Wednesday, but Harding swatted it away, too.

No comment, he said. No excuses, is what he meant.

"It's nothing short of amazing," Hawks captain Jonathan Toews said. "Obviously you have a lot of respect for a guy like that. I don't remember his quotes exactly (from Tuesday), but it was along the lines of him not wanting any sympathy or anything like that, and he's going to keep playing and keep working. You have to respect an opponent like that."

Harding went public with the multiple sclerosis diagnosis during the lockout because it wouldn't be a distraction to on-ice proceedings. He only discussed it further when the media pegged him as the Wild's nominee for the Bill Masterton Trophy, an award given to the player who best demonstrates perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication the game.

His last NHL action before Tuesday was an April 26 relief effort of Backstrom, in which he gave up the final three goals in a 6-1 drubbing against the Oilers that very nearly obliterated the Wild's postseason chances altogether.

"I was anxious for a lot of reasons to see him have a chance to bounce back," Wild coach Mike Yeo told reporters Wednesday. "He was thrown into a tough situation … and I'm sure he was looking for an opportunity to get back in there, too. Obviously he wasn't expecting it to happen like that."

Said Harding: "You can take positives out of (any) game, but I don't think there's really any sense taking the negative. You need to learn from your mistakes, but focus on the positive. Every day is a new day."

On this particular new day, there was no shortage of support and exaltation of the job Harding did under every conceivable kind of duress in Game 1.

Harding shrugged at it, as there is no carryover of credit to Game 2.

"You know what? I'm not aware of it," Harding said. "I don't follow what you guys all say. Sorry, but I have to take care of my business, and there's a lot of time in the summer to get caught up on all that stuff."

As of the moment, he's the last person standing between the Wild and a hasty introduction to that long, idle summer. He has endured a great deal to be in that position, so that is all he can concern himself with. He's a starting goaltender in the Stanley Cup playoffs against the best team in hockey, until someone tells him he isn't.

Chicago Tribune LOADED: 05.01.2013


Hawks' Bolland, Emery unlikely for Game 2

By Chris Kuc

It doesn't appear the Chicago Blackhawks will have the services of center Dave Bolland and backup goaltender Ray Emery for Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Wild on Friday night.

Bolland missed the final three games of the regular season with a groin injury and also the Hawks' 2-1 overtime victory over the Wild in Game 1 on Tuesday night at the United Center. Emery has not played since leaving during the first period of the Hawks' 4-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on April 24 with a lower-body injury.

"Hopefully, they will be skating (Thursday)," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said Wednesday at the United Center. "We're hopeful on that. I don't want to comment too much on Friday right now on that."

During Bolland's absence, Michal Handzus has been centering the second line with Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp. Quenneville said no decision has been made on whether Bolland would return to the No. 2 line or drop to his more familiar third-line spot when he comes back.

"A lot of times those decisions are made for you on a need basis or the player's health (or) how he's playing," Quenneville said. "We make adjustments or alterations to his contribution on how his game he is. Bolland has always been useful. (During) playoffs he seems to jump up to the challenge. We'll see when he gets back where he'll be utilized."



Blackhawks will play Penguins at Soldier Field in 2014

Tribune report

9:38 AM CDT, May 1, 2013

The Chicago Blackhawks will host the Pittsburgh Penguins at Soldier Field on Saturday, March 1, 2014, at 7 p.m. , the NHL announced Wednesday.

"Our fans and our teams love outdoor games," Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “The Chicago game, at Soldier Field, will be a match-up of two recent Stanley Cupchampions at a landmark stadium."

This will be the Blackhawks second regular-season outdoor NHL game. The team played the Detroit Red Wings in 2009 at Wrigley Field.

“Returning hockey to where it originated, in the cold elements of an outdoor rink, by playing at Soldier Field in Chicago will no doubt be a game the players will have circled on next season’s schedule,” said Mathieu Schneider, NHLPA Special Assistant to the Executive Director. “This will be a great event for hockey fans in Chicago and Pittsburgh, and one that they won’t soon forget.”



Fortunate Hawks get needed wake-up call

David Haugh

April 30, 2013

A man of few words, and front teeth, Bryan Bickell flashed a smile only a hockey mom could love Tuesday night, summing up how it felt to score the winning goal in the Blackhawks' 2-1 overtime victory over the Wild.

"It's special,'' Bickell said. "It was fun. Exciting.''

Harrowing escapes often are. When Bickell took a nifty pass from Viktor Stalberg and beat Wild goalie Josh Harding with 3:25 left in OT to win Game 1, the United Center erupted with a mixture of joy and relief. The better team won. But it took the Hawks too long to make it obvious which team was better.

"We found a way to win,'' Jonathan Toews said.

Championship teams do.

A night that ended with the Hawks finally looking good again began with them feeling lucky.

In what looked like another gift from the hockey gods, Wild starting goaltender Niklas Backstrom needed help off the ice during warm-ups after he injured his left leg reaching for a puck. Enter Harding, who made three starts all season after being diagnosed last fall with multiple sclerosis. The last time Harding started against the Hawks, on Jan. 30, he let two of their first four shots past him in seven minutes. The Hawks marketing department couldn't have written a better opening scene for the playoff script than a Wild drama calling on the understudy.

Yet less than five minutes later, Corey Crawford surprisingly gave everybody reason to wonder if both teams had started the playoffs using their backup goalies.

Crawford gave up the kind of goal that raised questions we all thought he had answered with a bounce-back season. Cal Clutterbuck sneaked a goal past Crawford from the left circle at the 4:48 mark to suck the enthusiasm out of a building filled with 21,428 people expecting much more. What a Clutterbuck indeed.

It wasn't fair or rational, but the reaction to Clutterbuck's goal around Chicago quickly shifted the focus from the maturing goalie who helped win the William M. Jennings Trophy for fewest goals allowed to the one who has lost two straight playoff series. Crawford recovered to make two terrific saves in the final minute of the period and one game-saver in overtime, long after doubt crept in when the first puck slipped past No. 50.

"It was tough to get over,'' Crawford said. "But I was able to bounce back.''

True, but how many Hawks fans asked one another in the first period how bad Ray Emery's lower-body injury was? How many Chicagoans watching the Wild take a 1-0 lead Googled "Presidents' Trophy Curse'' on their computers or smartphones? Did any team need an early reminder that the playoffs guarantee nothing more than the Blackhawks?

No.

"Maybe we just had to get that out of the way,'' Toews said. "When they scored that first goal, we just sat on the bench and said, 'Hey, we've just got to relax and play and treat it as another game.' Bring our pace up. That's what playoff hockey is all about.''

Playoff hockey is all about overcoming adversity, a foreign concept to these Hawks.

They went 36-7-5 and finished the season with fewer complaints than losses. When asked about rough stretches last week, coach Joel Quenneville identified periods instead of games. There were three. The Hawks' idea of hardship was fog on the tarmac delaying the team's charter plane.

They needed this struggle.

This isn't the NBA playoffs, in which the Heat harbor realistic hopes of sweeping their way to another title. The Stanley Cup represents the toughest championship in pro sports to win. Winning 16 playoff games in eight weeks will test the Hawks more than dominating 48 regular-season games in 99 days. They should thank the Wild for reinforcing that in a first period that became the Hawks' 15 minutes of blame.

The Hawks can beat the Wild in the first round but won't win another Cup this way. On CSN Chicago, the great Pat Foley accurately described the Hawks as "out of sorts.'' On the ice, they opened the game as if they exhaled after seeing Backstrom leave. This didn't consistently look like the team that won the Presidents' Trophy. This looked like the team that had been ousted in the first round two straight years.

The Hawks can say they were ready to begin a postseason that carries a Stanley-Cup-or-bust mandate, but that start was no way to show it.

The Wild knew they couldn't outskate the Hawks, so they adjusted. They emphasized defense, clogging lanes and blocking shots. They rallied around a goaltender — and his inspiring story — who found out he was starting a half-hour before the puck dropped.

They responded to the big moment. By the end of a special night for Bickell, the Hawks remembered how too.



Oduya's off-the-glass pass unforgettable

By Brian Hamilton and Chris Kuc

Chicago Tribune reporters

7:37 p.m. CDT, May 1, 2013

They remember the goals, and they might remember the pass that precipitated the goal, but rare is the pass before the pass that lodges in anyone's memory banks.

And then there was Blackhawks defenseman Johnny Oduya's off-the-glass, into-the-ether outlet pass that sparked the rush to Bryan Bickell's overtime winner against the Wild in Game 1 on Tuesday night, which hockey aficionados won't soon forget.

"That might have been one of the best indirect passes you'll ever see," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said Wednesday.

Oduya corralled the puck in the deep corner of the Hawks' end and for a half-moment drew in Wild defenseman Ryan Suter. Then Oduya flung it off the glass so it sailed high over a leaping Suter and landed just beyond center ice, hitting the speedy Viktor Stalberg in stride. Stalberg then fed Bickell for the score.

"I saw both Stally and Bicks — especially Stally — just taking off," Oduya said. "So I was just trying to get it by whoever that defenseman was there on the wall. I'm just happy it wasn't (the Bruins' 6-foot-9 Zdeno) Chara or somebody like that, who probably would have picked it down. But it got over him and ended up in a good spot."

Recovering: It doesn't appear the Hawks will have the services of center Dave Bolland and backup goaltender Ray Emery for Game 2 on Friday night.

Bolland missed the final three games of the regular season and Game 1 with a groin injury, while Emery has not played since leaving during the first period of the Hawks' 4-1 win over the Oilers on April 24 with a lower-body injury.

"Hopefully they will be skating (Thursday)," Quenneville said.

Elemental: The NHL officially announced the Hawks' game against the Penguins on March 1, 2014, at Soldier Field. Part of a series of outdoor stadium games, it will begin at 7 p.m.

"That's an exciting matchup … that a lot of people probably look forward to," Hawks captain Jonathan Toews said. "For the guys who were in this locker room that had a chance to play at Wrigley Field (in 2009), it was an amazing day. It will be a different venue, but to be at home here again will be a pretty cool thing."

Added winger Patrick Sharp: "I was here for the Wrigley Field game in 2009. That was one of the highlights of my career in Chicago. It was a special day. It's going to be fun to play in that game. Hopefully the weather is nice and it's not too cold."

In awe: Hawks defenseman Brent Seabrook marveled at the 41 minutes, 8 seconds of ice time Suter logged for the Wild in Game 1.

"We noticed he was out there quite a bit," Seabrook said. "We saw the sheet after the game, and 41 minutes is unbelievable. I remember going back to last year, Duncan (Keith) and I played 30 minutes … that felt like a lot. Forty-one was pretty crazy."

Hit parade: Two relatively docile teams not known for physical play or any sort of rivalry combined for 76 hits in Game 1, including 40 for the Hawks.

"It's playoff hockey," said Andrew Shaw, who led the Hawks with seven hits. "It's obviously a lot more physical and intense. In a seven-game series, you have to wear down the opponent."

He said it: Sharp on the playoff mullets being sported by teammates Patrick Kane and Brandon Saad: "In 2010, Kaner and I got the mullets originally, and I backed out the day before the first game and I ended up getting a short haircut. I didn't want to deal with my mom and dad giving me heck

after every game, telling me I looked like an idiot. So we'll leave that up to those two."



Blackhawks looking to hoist more meaningful trophy

BY RICK MORRISSEY

April 30, 2013 11:10PM

Updated: May 1, 2013 11:45AM

The Blackhawks say that, right now, their fantastic regular season carries about as much weight as lint.

Jonathan Toews says it. So does Duncan Keith. Patrick Kane’s playoff mullet agrees, though his locks could be saying, “If Andre Agassi’s hairstyle was wrong in the 1990s, I don’t want to be right!”

You can’t blame the Hawks for downplaying how well they did from January through April. They don’t want to put any more pressure on themselves than is already there. The NHL playoffs are unpredictable enough that looking back — or ahead — doesn’t accomplish much.

But, sorry, the regular season means a lot when you win the Presidents’ Trophy for racking up the most points in the league. It means that anything less than a Stanley Cup being hoisted will be a disappointment. It means that not making the Stanley Cup Finals will be a colossal failure. Is that unfair? Is that piling on too much pressure? Too bad. It’s what comes with having the best regular-season record in the NHL. It’s what happens if you want to be great.

The Hawks opened the playoffs with a 2-1 victory over the eighth-seeded Wild on Tuesday night, thanks to Bryan Bickell’s game-winner in overtime. Pressure? What pressure?

Goalie Corey Crawford was spectacular, building on his regular-season success. That might shut up some of his internet critics, the ones who believe he’s soft, though I doubt it. They must have been cackling when the Wild took a 1-0 lead on its first shot of the game, a wrist shot by someone named Cal Clutterbuck, which would seem to be punishment enough. But Crawford went on to make some great saves, the biggest in overtime on Zach Parise.

“That was a crazy (game),’’ Crawford said. “What a big win. I don’t know what to say.’’

The United Center was predictably crazed. That’s because Blackhawks fans see the same thing: a very talented team that started the season with a streak of 24 games with at least a point. They see a team that set a franchise record with 11 straight victories. They see a team that has every right to think about winning the title.

The regular season is not meaningless right now. It’s there to offer confidence and context. It’s there as a reminder of all the good things the team has going for it — the four lines, the team speed, the penalty killing, the stellar defense and the great goaltending.

It’s there to say, you really should win this thing.

“It’s inevitable that people are going to think that,’’ Kane said. “It’s not a bad thing for us. We put ourselves in that situation.’’

You don’t have to look far to find top seeds that have crashed spectacularly in the postseason. In 2009-10, the Capitals lost to eighth-seeded Montreal. Last season, Presidents’ Trophy winner Vancouver lost in the first round to the eighth-seeded Kings, who ended up winning the Stanley Cup. Eight of the past nine winners of the Presidents’ Trophy didn’t win the Stanley Cup.

But just because history is full of upsets doesn’t make those upsets any less embarrassing.

If having the best record in hockey is a curse come playoff time, well, give me the curse. It means you’re doing a lot of things right. I’m not sure what the alternative is supposed to be for those fans frightened by the weight of the Presidents’ Trophy. Should the Hawks have tried to lose games to finish second in the points race?

That kind of superstition is from another time. As we speak, I picture some Hawks fans stirring eye of newt into a bubbling cauldron. This team is too good to get caught up in that stuff. On the other hand, hockey is the most

capricious of the four major sports. The puck does indeed bounce strangely at times. You might have noticed that it’s not round.

Following the theme of this being the Hawks’ season, Minnesota goalie Niklas Backstrom got hurt during warm-ups. Very nice of him. A cakewalk, right? Um, no. Josh Harding, who started just three games this season, was excellent.

After a slow start, the Hawks ended up putting 37 shots on him. It was as if they remembered how good they are and how hard they play.

“I think everything gets washed away right now,’’ Keith said of the regular season. “That’s where it’s at. Right now, we’re going to be in a dogfight against Minnesota.’’

Yeah, but the big dog will win.

Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 05.01.2013


NHL sets date, time for Blackhawks vs. Penguins at Soldier Field

STAFF REPORT

May 1, 2013 11:04AM

The Blackhawks will host the Pittsburgh Penguins in a regular-season outdoor night game at Soldier Field next year. The NHL announced Wednesday the game will be played at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 1. Other outdoor games are expected to be announced soon.

The Blackhawks hosted the Detroit Red Wings at Wrigley Field on Jan. 1, 2009 in an afternoon game, as part of the Winter Classic series before 40,818 fans.



Wild’s defensive style forces freewheeling Blackhawks to muck it up

BY MARK LAZERUS

May 1, 2013 9:10PM

Updated: May 2, 2013 2:28AM

Of the myriad things Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane can do on the ice — the spin-o-ramas, the seeing-eye passes, the snapping wristers, the sharp-angle snipes — there’s one simple action that almost makes his skin crawl: dumping the puck in the offensive zone. To Kane, that’s akin to giving up a chance to make something great happen.

“Sometimes the best play isn’t really to dump it in and go chase it, go forecheck and hit,” Kane said. “Instead, pull it back and regroup and come back with speed and try to attack that way. Make direct plays. That’s how we want to play; that’s our game.”

Of course, that’s a regular-season mentality. It doesn’t usually work like that in the playoffs. And it certainly won’t work against the Minnesota Wild, not if it plays in Game 2 on Friday the same way it played in Game 1 — diving in front of shots (21 blocked shots) and clogging skating and shooting lanes by collapsing in front of its net.

The Wild plays a defensive style to begin with, but with starting goalie Niklas Backstrom day-to-day with a lower-body injury — and uncertain, at best, for Game 2 — it’s playing even more conservatively to protect backup goalie Josh Harding.

So carrying the puck across the blue line with speed? Making tic-tac-toe passing plays? Playing the high-flying, high-scoring highlight-reel hockey the Hawks are known for? Don’t count on it. The Wild wants to play games that end up 1-0, 2-1 or maybe — gasp — 3-2.

“Doesn’t have to be pretty,” coach Joel Quenneville said Wednesday after the Hawks’ 2-1 overtime victory Tuesday. “If we want to play a pretty game in that type of traffic, it’s going to lead to them having success. So I think we’ve got to play an uglier game and more of a faster game.”

And the Hawks are used to that, too. Counting Game 1, they’re 20-3-5 in one-goal games this season and have yet to lose in overtime while winning six times in sudden death. And eight of the Hawks’ last nine playoff games have gone to overtime.

That’s not just Wild hockey. That’s playoff hockey.

“Those are the tough games that you’ve got to play and that you want to be a part of,” defenseman Brent Seabrook said. “They’re exciting. It’s a nervous feeling, but it’s exciting. . . . The boys fought hard all year in games like that, and I think that’s prepared us well.”

So while the Hawks prefer to play a more freewheeling offensive style, they’re confident in their ability to muck and grind their way through the Wild defense, as well.

“That has a lot to do with their coaching staff over there and the way they play the game,” winger Patrick Sharp said. “They’re well-disciplined, good in all areas. And chalk it up to playoff hockey. There aren’t going to be too many easy games or easy opportunities out there to score. We feel comfortable playing that style of game. It suits us. We’ve proved we can be successful playing that way. So we know what we’re in for.”

That means the Hawks have to make the most of the few odd-man rushes they generate with their own defensive play. Plays such as Johnny Oduya’s flip pass off the boards that sparked the two-on-one in overtime that led to Bryan Bickell’s winning goal — “Might have been one of the best indirect passes you’ll ever see,” Quenneville said — are one way to create offense against the Wild. The other is to dump and chase and try to create traffic in front of the net.

While it might be more fun to score with pretty passing, third-chance thwack-ins during cluttered goalmouth scrums count just the same on the scoreboard.

“That’s how they’ve played us all season, and we kind of expected that in Game 1,” Hawks captain Jonathan Toews said. “I don’t think that’s going to

change very much. It’s up to us to keep being as tough as we can on their goaltender, maybe get some more of those second shots and some more traffic in front of him. We’ve just got to keep wearing them down.”



Blackhawks’ depth played big role in Game 1 victory

BY MARK POTASH

May 1, 2013 8:52PM

Rotations tend to shrink in the postseason, particularly in the NBA and baseball. But the grind of a Stanley Cup playoff series makes depth invaluable in hockey and the Blackhawks already are showing theirs off.

Deep into the first overtime against the Minnesota Wild in Game 1 of their Western Conference quarterfinal series, the Blackhawks’ third line of Andrew Shaw, Viktor Stalberg and Bryan Bickell and their No. 3 defensive pairing of Johnny Oduya and Michal Roszival applied a master’s stroke to a finger-painting to give the Blackhawks a 2-1 victory and a 1-0 series lead.

Shaw’s big hit behind the Hawks’ net led to Oduya’s pinpoint flip pass off the glass to a streaking Stalberg, who deftly passed to Bickell for the winning goal. The Blackhawks’ top two lines are world-class. But in a 1-against-8 series the Wild are intent on mucking up, that might end up being the prettiest goal of all.

‘‘That line was doing everything for us,’’ Hawks captain Jonathan Toews said. ‘‘They were hitting, creating chances, scoring. They were setting the tone for everybody else. The way they played is the way we want all four lines to bring it.

‘‘We all know we had a slow start and got better as we went along. We’ll be ready to lay the same way those three did [in Game 2 on Friday night].’’

After two years of struggling to find the right combinations to support their heralded core, the Blackhawks have the depth and versatility to rival their 2010 Stanley Cup championship team. Even then, it took a series or two for Kris Versteeg, Dave Bolland, Andrew Ladd, Troy Brouwer and Co. to exert their influence.

But in Game 1 of the opening series it already made a difference. Roszival (27:11) and Oduya (26:47) led the Hawks in ice time, ahead of stars Duncan Keith (25:17) and Brent Seabrook (25:37). The Wild, on the other hand, rode Norris Trophy candidate Ryan Suter for all they could. Suter played 41:08 — an admirable night of work, but a difficult pace to sustain over five, six or seven games.

‘‘[Suter] was unbelievable,’’ Seabrook said. ‘‘He’s obviously a key to their team. We saw the stat sheet after the game and 41 minutes — it’s unbelievable. Last year Dunc and I played 30 minutes [in an overtime game] and it felt like a lot — 41 ... was pretty crazy.’’

The Hawks are looking forward to countering Suter’s excellence with their depth — right down to defenders Oduya and Roszival and their fourth line of Michael Frolik, Marcus Kruger and Brandon Bollig.

‘‘He’s a tremendous defenseman. There aren’t many guys around that can do that,’’ Oduya said. ‘‘It’s something obviously we see, too. We want to try and force him to make as many tough plays as possible and wear him down. That’s tough to do. But ... we have enough forwards to keep him busy. If we keep playing our game eventually we’ll break through.’’



Blackhawks have come out hitting in playoffs

BY MARK POTASH

May 1, 2013 9:10PM

Andrew Shaw’s big hit on Torrey Mitchell that ignited the winning rally in Game 1 of the Blackhawks’ Western Conference quarterfinal series against the Minnesota Wild wasn’t by chance.

The Hawks outhit the Wild 40-36 on Tuesday night — an expected uptick from the regular season, and a significant improvement in physical play from last year’s opening-round loss to the Phoenix Coyotes.

The Hawks were outhit 247-181 against the Coyotes. They won statistical physical battle only in Game 4 — 41-39 — the game after Raffi Torres knocked Marian Hossa out of the series with a concussion.

Shaw led the Hawks with seven hits. Defenseman Michal Rozsival had six.

‘‘It’s playoff hockey — obviously a lot more physical and intense,’’ Shaw said.

Passing fancy

The legend of Johnny Oduya’s ‘‘pass off the glass’’ over the outstretched arm of Wild defenseman Ryan Suter and right to a Viktor Stalberg to set up a 2-on-1 for the winning goal is growing by the hour.

‘‘That might be one of the best indirect passes you’ll ever see,’’ coach Joel Quenneville said ‘‘To get that much air on it to draw the defenseman and just over his head and Viktor picking up in full flight ... I”m giving him credit thinking that he saw it exactly how the play unfolded.

Giving credit

The Blackhawks didn’t want to turn Wild goaltender Josh Harding into Ken Dryden — or even Sergei Bobrovsky — overnight. But they have a healthy respect for the backup who is suffering from multiple sclerosis and was outstanding on short notice in Game 1.

‘‘It’s nothing short of amazing,’’ Hawks captain Jonathan Toews said, admiring Harding’s attitude that he did not want any sympathy.

Notes

Center Dave Bolland (groin) and goalie Ray Emery (lower body) are unlikely to be -available in Game 2 on Friday night, coach Joel Quenneville said.

◆ For the Wild, goaltender Niklas Backstrom and forward Jason Pominville (concussion) are day-to-day and uncertain for Game 2. They recalled goalie Darcy Kuemper from the AHL.

◆ The NHL confirmed that the Hawks will host the Pittsburgh Penguins at Soldier Field on March 1 next season, at 7 p.m., as part of the “NHL Stadium Series.”



Blackhawks to host Penguins in Soldier Field night game

By Bloomberg

The Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins are heading outside again. Just not on New Year's Day this time.

The NHL announced Wednesday that the Blackhawks and Penguins will play at Soldier Field next year. The regular-season game between two of the league's marquee franchises will be played on Saturday night, March 1.

"It's an exciting thing," Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said. "I think that's an exciting matchup especially that a lot of people will probably look forward to. The last time around a lot of the guys that were in this locker room that had the chance to play at Wrigley Field, it was an amazing day and a lot of things about it made it special. So it will be a different venue but to be at home here again, that will be a pretty cool thing."

The Blackhawks hosted the Detroit Red Wings at Wrigley Field on Jan. 1, 2009, as part of the Winter Classic series. Some 40,818 fans attended the game at the home of the Chicago Cubs.

The March 1 date for Chicago and Pittsburgh is part of a series of outdoor regular-season games planned for next season. The league is planning to announce more games soon.

"It's a great experience," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "You go back to when we were over at Wrigley and I think everybody had the time of their lives. It's a special game. Once we get into that season, you really anticipate it. You look forward to it."

This will be the third outdoor regular-season game for the Penguins since 2008. Pittsburgh played Buffalo at Ralph Wilson Stadium for the first NHL Winter Classic five years ago, then hosted the Washington Capitals at Heinz Field for the 2011 Classic.

Daily Herald Times LOADED: 05.01.2013


Suter played how many minutes for the Wild?!?

By Tim Sassone

Even the Blackhawks' defensemen did a double take when the official statistics arrived after Game 1 and they saw Minnesota defenseman Ryan Suter had played more than 41 minutes.

"He's a tremendous defenseman," said the Hawks' Johnny Oduya. "There aren't many guys around who can do that. We want to force him to make as many tough plays as possible, try and wear him down, even though that's very tough.

"We have enough forwards to keep him busy. If we keep playing our game eventually we'll eventually break through him."

Hawks workhorse Brent Seabrook had nothing but praise for Suter.

"During the game we noticed he was out there quite a bit,"Seabrook said. "Then we saw the sheet after the game and he had 41 minutes, it was unbelievable. I remember Dunc (Keith) and I played 30 minutes at the end of overtime and it felt like a lot. Forty one is pretty crazy."

Suter joked that he is a good glider.

"You don't think about it, you're just going out there and playing," Suter said. "I enjoy playing a lot of minutes. I feel the more you play, the more you are into the game."

Let's get physical:

Minnesota coach Mike Yeo was pleased with his team's play in Game 1 for the most part.

"One thing I thought that we did well is we played a good structured game," Yeo said. "But for me one key is take that structure and to add a physical element to it. We definitely need to bring a nastiness to our game. There were situations where we could have done that.

"The flip side is you have to make sure against a team like that, you start running around and take yourself out of position, they'll gladly take a hit to make a play to score a goal.

"But that's one area we can improve as a team is bringing that physical element within the structure of our game. We have to make sure that we're making their defense pay a price."

Stifling style:

It's not exactly the same as when Jacques Lemaire coached the Wild and played a neutral zone trap, but Minnesota is known for playing tight games like Tuesday's 2-1 overtime loss to the Hawks.

"That's how they've played us all season," Jonathan Toews said. "We kind of expected that in Game 1 and it's not going to change. We have to keep wearing them down as much as we can. We like to think of ourselves as an offensive team that can score in a lot of different ways."

Brent Seabrook sees it the same way.

"I expected a tight series, low-scoring games," Seabrook said. "Minnesota has always defending the front of their net extremely well. The clean looks through the middle of the ice in their end are going to be hard to find."

Hits-ville:

The Hawks were credited with 40 hits in Game 1, a season high for them. Minnesota had 36. Andrew Shaw led the Hawks with 7.

"It's playoff hockey and obviously a lot more physical and intense," Shaw said. "In a seven-game series you've got to wear down the opponent."



Oduya’s pass still hot topic for Blackhawks

By Tim Sassone

"That might have been one of the best indirect passes you'll ever see" is how Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville described defenseman Johnny Oduya's bank pass off the glass in overtime to Viktor Stalberg that led to Bryan Bickell's winning goal Tuesday in Game 1.

"I think Johnny tried to do that, to get that much air on it to draw the defenseman and just get it over his head to Viktor picking it up in full flight," Quenneville said. "I'm giving him credit, thinking he saw it exactly how the play unfolded. It turned out to be a special pass."

That's exactly what Oduya was trying to do and it worked perfectly, giving the Hawks a 2-1 win. Just the fact he kept the puck in play, risking a delay-of-game penalty at that critical stage with less than four minutes to play in overtime, made it special.

"It started down in the corner and I saw Stalberg taking off and I was just trying to get it by whoever that defenseman (Ryan Suter) was there on the wall," Oduya said.

"I was happy it wasn't (Boston's 6-foot-9 Zdeno) Chara or someone like that who probably would have picked it down, but it got over him and ended up in a good spot where Stalberg could make a great play. It worked out."

Oduya's teammates appreciated the difficulty of the pass, particularly fellow defenseman Brent Seabrook.

"It looked more like a football pass than a hockey play," Seabrook said. "He was sort of in a tough spot there in our own zone and you had to get the puck out. Coaches say and defensemen talk about it, if you've nothing, the glass is your best friend.

"With a guy like Stalberg with his speed you can catch guys with that. You can make races for him and give him opportunities to skate and beat guys. He's got to be one of the fastest guys, if not the fastest guy, in the league.

"It was nice to see that play happen and nice to see a defensive play like that lead to a goal."

Jonathan Toews said that play doesn't always work, but it did there.

"When you have speed like we do up front to throw pucks up into areas like that, it doesn't always work out perfectly, but he made a heck of a play there," Toews said.

Oduya's big play capped a game in which he played almost 27 minutes, second highest among the defensemen to partner Michal Rozsival, who was over 27 minutes.

By comparison, Seabrook played 25:37 and Duncan Keith 25:17. Oduya thought that was both a reflection of how the game went and how he and Rozsival were playing.

"If you do good you usually get more ice time and vice versa, too," Oduya said. "I think that just proves the depth on the team where we can have certain lines and certain pairings at times that may play a little bit more than usual. Whoever is maybe a little more hot that day might play a little more. As long as we can win games that's what we want to do."

Quenneville had Oduya and Rozsival on the ice at all the key times, especially in overtime, but it was Keith and Niklas Hjalmarsson who drew the assignment of playing against Minnesota's top line of Zach Parise and Mikko Koivu.

"I thought we had balance on the back end as far as the number of minutes," Quenneville said. "I think it was more of matchups. Duncs and Hammer were getting the one assignment and it left a little bit more for the other guys."



NHL confirms Soldier Field game

By Tim Sassone

The Blackhawks are going outside again.

It was made official by the NHL on Wednesday that the Hawks and Pittsburgh Penguins will play a regular-season outdoor game 7 p.m. Saturday, March 1, 2014, at Soldier Field.

The event is part of the 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series.

It’s going to be the second time the Hawks have played outdoors, having hosted Detroit in the Winter Classic on New Year’s Day in 2009. That event drew a crowd of 40,818 to Wrigley Field with thousands more watching from the rooftops across the street.

“It was a great experience,” Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “I think it you go back to when we were at Wrigley, I think everyone had the time of their life. It’s a special game. I think once we get into that season you look forward to it.”

The Hawks just started the playoffs so it’s hard to think that far ahead, but Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp said they are looking forward to going back outdoors.

“It’s an exciting thing and that’s an exciting matchup that probably a lot of people look forward to,” Toews said. “The last time around, the guys that were in this locker room that had a chance to play at Wrigley Field, it was an amazing day and a lot of things about it made it special. It’ll be a different venue, but to be at home here again it will be a pretty cool thing.”

Said Sharp: “It’s a long ways away, but I was here for the Wrigley Field game in 2009 and it was one of the highlights of my career in Chicago. It was a special day. We were able to skate at Soldier Field with the Wounded Warriors this year and it was a pretty cool set up. Hopefully the weather is nice and it’s not too cold.”

Andrew Shaw has never played outside during his pro career.

“It’s pretty cool and it would be great to be a part of it,” Shaw said. “The fans love it and it’s great for us. It would be awesome to play in front of so many fans.”

Hawks president and CEO John McDonough has not tried to hide the fact he has lobbied for a return trip to the Winter Classic. While this isn’t the Winter Classic, it’s good enough for McDonough.

“The Chicago Blackhawks are privileged to be included in the National Hockey League’s Stadium Series,” McDonough said “Hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins at iconic Soldier Field promises to be a unique experience for our organization and our fans.”

This will be the Penguins’ third outdoor game.



Hawks should come out with purpose in Game 2

By Barry Rozner

If this seems a familiar refrain for Blackhawks fans, well, it’s because it is.

“I think when we play (the Wild), that’s the area (the slot) they defend well,” said coach Joel Quenneville. “We might have been a little bit too much on the outside.

“We gotta put more pucks and more traffic at the net, and even though we got some zone time, we weren’t getting anything out of it. It’s tough to penetrate that slot and pretty goals might be tough to come by.”

The Hawks obviously possess a great deal of skill, but this is the playoffs and going 1-on-3 or 1-on-4 isn’t going to work very often this time of the year.

Marian Hossa (6) and Patrick Kane (4) combined for as many attempted shots blocked as the entire Minnesota team, which blocked 21 shots to 10 for the Hawks.

Of the six teams playing Tuesday, only defensemen Drew Doughty (L.A.) and Jay Bouwmeester (St. Louis) had as many as 4 shots blocked.

“The kind of game the (Wild) play. That’s their strength. They keep you to the outside and block a lot of shots,” said Viktor Stalberg. “They’re not going to give you much, so you have to get the puck to the net and look for rebounds.

“We might have tried to make the pretty play a few times. I’m sure that’s something we’ll talk about in here and make some adjustments.”

Game 1 was reminiscent of the entire Phoenix series a year ago — minus the brutal physical beating the Hawks took for six games. Tuesday night, the Hawks were going offside at the blue line with regularity, as the Wild stepped up into their rush.

No one was more frustrated than Kane with the Minnesota tactics, but the answer is simple. If they’re blocking your shots or standing up at the blue line, get pucks deep and make their defense pay in the corners.

Against Phoenix, the Hawks were very slow to change their game as the Coyotes built a wall five across inside the blue line and the Hawks didn’t adjust until Game 6, when they carried the play for two periods and just couldn’t break through Mike Smith.

Quenneville can’t let that happen again. The Hawks will probably come out in Game 2 and play more beneath the circles, looking for turnovers and bad angle shots and rebounds.

The Hawks had the better of the play after the first period Tuesday and dominated zone time with little to show for it, but that will change Friday night. The Hawks just have too much skill for Minnesota, and if they show some patience at both ends of the ice, this series shouldn’t be too difficult.

“I think they had a good plan and we have to tinker with some things to get better,” said Bryan Bickell. “But it’s going to be a good series.”

It will be a good series with a lot of close games, but it should still be a short series.

Corey Crawford is on top of his game, and the Hawks’ defense had great balance with minutes played. While Ryan Suter had to log 41:08 and partner Jonas Brodin 34:20, Michal Rozsival (27:11) and Johnny Oduya (26:47) led the Hawks.

In the past, it would have been Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook at close to 40 minutes, but Tuesday they both played 25 minutes, and Nick Leddy and Niklas Hjalmarsson were at 22.

That’s going to pay dividends in the later rounds if Quenneville can continue to manage minutes in that fashion and maintain confidence in all three pairs in any situation.

And the fact that they got the winning goal from their third line also is huge. A key coming in was secondary scoring, and they’ve already gotten a very

big goal from the combination of Bickell and Stalberg, two guys who must perform for this to work in 2013.

Still, the Hawks will need their superstars to play like superstars, and if Kane is already frustrated, wait until the likes of Anaheim, St. Louis and Vancouver start throwing their weight around and make Kane a constant target. They can’t afford to have him taking shifts off if things aren’t going his way.

The Hawks came out tight and emotionally unprepared for a tight-checking, low-scoring playoff game. Quenneville suggested the Hawks might have been reading a few too many press clippings, but the guess here is they won’t make that mistake again and will be ready to play Friday from puck drop.

That’s crucial because the fewer games they have to play now, the more they’ll have in the tank later.

And they’re going to need it.



Harding expects to start Friday for Minnesota

By Tim Sassone

Minnesota goalie Josh Harding expects to start Game 2 on Friday against the Blackhawks unlike Tuesday when he was pressed into service with short notice after Niklas Backstrom, the Wild’s No. 1 goaltender, got injured in the warmup.

Darcy Kuemper was recalled from Houston of the AHL on Wednesday. The only news on Backstrom Wednesday from Wild coach Mike Yeo was lower-body injury, day to day.

“I just kind of took it as I’m playing until somebody comes and tells me I’m not,” Harding said.

Harding has gotten an outpouring of support due to his multiple sclerosis. Michael J. Fox tweeted about him Tuesday night and Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said Wednesday what Harding did in Game 1 was nothing short of amazing.

Harding made 35 saves in Minnesota’s 2-1 loss in overtime.

“I have a lot of respect for a guy like that,” Toews said. “I read his quotes about not wanting any sympathy, he’s going to keep working, keep playing. You have to respect an opponent like that, especially when he’s going through something like that.

“Seeing the way he played, the stops he made were pretty cool. We know he’s stepping into that spotlight an assuming that responsibility, which isn’t an easy thing to do.”

Playing through adversity and injuries is commonplace for hockey players, but playing with a disease like MS makes even the Hawks stand up and take notice.

“It seems commonplace in today’s game, especially hockey, to play through injuries and different situations,” Patrick Sharp said. “You have to tip your hat to what Josh is going through on their side.

“It’s pretty amazing that he’s able to play at the level he does, it’s an inspiration for a lot of people.”

Harding said he didn’t see Backstrom get hurt.

“I went out there and tried to give the team a chance to win, but unfortunately it didn’t turn out that way,” Harding said. “You can look at the positives and negatives to it. The positives are you don’t have time to get nervous, but the negative is you don’t prepare the same way as if you were starting.”



Blackhawks find success with the third line

Staff Writer

May 1, 2013, 3:15 pm

Bryan Bickell finished with a sliding backhand, a shot not normally in his repertoire. Viktor Stalberg, received a great pass from Johnny Oduya and sent another nice one Bickell’s way. And Andrew Shaw’s hit on Torrey Mitchell behind the net led to the whole sequence’s start.

The Chicago Blackhawks’ third line has been a steady presence all regular season. On Tuesday night it was an especially noticeable one. That line’s work led to the game-winning goal and the Blackhawks’ 1-0 Western Conference quarterfinal series lead over the Minnesota Wild. And with successful playoff teams needing contributions from everyone, the Blackhawks are off to a good start with the third line’s work.

“(Stalberg’s) been great all year. He uses his speed so well and creates a lot with it,” Brent Seabrook said. “Bicks scoring last night was big for the group but for him as well. It gives him confidence. He can take over a game sometimes when he’s playing well.”

The three have developed a chemistry that’s basically lasted all season, and they have their niches. Stalberg, of course, is the speedster. Bickell, who said he worked on his skating in Europe during the lockout, has shown more speed to go with his physical side. Shaw, also physical, just plays that gritty game.

[Watch: Blackhawks pull game 1 win ot thriller]

“We all play similar; we play a cycle game and get pucks behind their D,” Shaw said. “(Stalberg and Bickell) have big bodies and throw them around. It’s been working for us and we’re going to stick to it.”

Good idea. On a night when the Blackhawks were finally showing a physical presence, the third line combined for 12 of the team’s 40 hits. Shaw had a team-high seven of them. Captain Jonathan Toews said the trio set a great example.

“That line was doing everything for us last night: hitting, creating chances and scoring. Bicks scored a huge goal obviously, “ he said. “They were setting the tone for everyone else. The way they were playing is how we want all four lines to bring it to the next one. We had a slow start and got better. But we’ll be ready to play the same way that those three did.”

Third line's the charm]

It’s all about contributing in whatever way you can when you’re a role player. The Blackhawks’ third line did that throughout the regular season. It’s off to a rousing start in the “second” season.

“That’s been a key line for us. It can do different jobs, score goals, check and be physical,” Toews said. “They’re proving they can play a huge role in this one.”

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 05.01.2013


Bolland, Emery still questionable for Game 2

Staff Writer

May 1, 2013, 1:00 pm

Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville was hopeful that Dave Bolland and Ray Emery would practice with the team tomorrow, but he didn’t want to comment on the their status for Game 2 against the Minnesota Wild.

Bolland and Emery have been sidelined for a bit now, but their status is still listed as day to day. Emery did come back in the Blackhawks’ late regular-season game against the Edmonton Oilers, but left before the end of the first period after re-aggravating his lower-body injury.

Meanwhile, the Blackhawks stayed off the ice on Wednesday. They’re happy to be up 1-0 after a tough game against the Wild, but they know they have to start much better in Game 2.

“Game 1 we were ready emotionally, we were fired up. Probably too much,” Patrick Sharp said. “We want to make sure we’re ready for Game 2, keep the crowd into it.”

The Wild traveled back home after Game 1, in which Josh Harding was the late goaltending start after Niklas Backstrom was hurt in pregame warmups. Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported today that Backstrom is getting checked out and is day to day with a lower-body injury. Russo reports Jason Pominville is also day to day.



NHL announces Stadium Series game at Soldier Field

Staff Writer

May 1, 2013, 9:30 am

The NHL has had such success with their Winter Classic game that they wanted to expand the outdoor- game roster.

The Chicago Blackhawks will host the Pittsburgh Penguins at Soldier Field on March 1, 2014, the league officially announced today. The game is part of a Stadium Series, a group of regular-season outdoor games planned for the 2013-14 season. TSN first reported the series, and the Blackhawks’ involvement in it, a few weeks ago.

The Blackhawks-Penguins game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. CT start.

“The Chicago Blackhawks are privileged to be included in the National Hockey League’s Stadium Series,” said Blackhawks president John McDonough said in a statement. “Hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins at iconic Soldier Field promises to be a unique experience for our organization and our fans.”

The Blackhawks hosted the Winter Classic on New Year’s Day, 2010, losing to longtime Central Division rival Detroit.

“Returning hockey to where it originated, in the cold elements of an outdoor rink, by playing at Soldier Field in Chicago will no doubt be a game the players will have circled on next season's schedule,” said Mathieu Schneider, NHLPA Special assistant to the executive director. “This will be a great event for hockey fans in Chicago and Pittsburgh, and one that they won't soon forget.”

The Winter Classic is no longer a unique game]

TSN reported in mid-April the other Stadium Series games, which have yet to be officially announced by the NHL:

Ducks vs. Kings at Dodger Stadium, Jan. 25

Devils vs. Rangers at Yankee Stadium, Jan. 26

Islanders vs. Rangers at Yankee Stadium, Jan. 29

Senators at Canucks, BC Place, March 2


673902 Colorado Avalanche

Seth Jones' early coach had big role in young defenseman's development

By Mike Chambers

The Denver Post

Posted: 05/01/2013 01:01:00 PM MDT

Updated: 05/01/2013 04:18:11 PM MDT

Among all the coaches who have helped Seth Jones develop into hockey's most attractive NHL draft prospect and likely Avalanche franchise defenseman, Kent Murphy might be most proud.

Murphy coached Jones in his final three years in Colorado, for the Littleton Hawks (two seasons) and Colorado Thunderbirds (one) from ages 10 to 13. Murphy said Jones was incredibly gifted at age 10, when he made his peewee double-A team as a second-year squirt. The team, mostly comprised of 12- and 13-year-olds, went on to win the national championship in 2005, with Jones serving as a top-four defenseman.

The captain of that team was Nick Shore, who played for the University of Denver the past three seasons and recently signed with the Los Angeles Kings. Another kid "playing up" on that team with Jones was current DU freshman Quentin Shore, Nick's brother, although Quentin was limited to a third-line forward.

Jones — now 18 and the surefire No. 1 pick in the June 30 NHL draft, in which the Avs possess — played another season for Murphy's double-A Littleton team as a first-year peewee before the Thunderbirds introduced a peewee team and Murphy as its coach. Jones served as captain of that team, which was ranked No. 1 most of the season and lost in USA Hockey's national championship game. Jones moved back to Texas, where he was born, at age 13 when his father, Popeye Jones, became an assistant coach for the Dallas Mavericks.

Murphy said Jones was always the most intelligent kid on the ice, seeing the game and reacting like an adult. While he is surprised Jones is now the most attractive undrafted 19-under player in the world, Murphy said he knew Jones would have a chance to play professionally.

"His maturity, composure and work ethic were special," Murphy said.

Murphy, a North Dakota native, began coaching peewees around the Bloomington-Jefferson suburb in Minnesota, watching many of his kids go on to NCAA and NHL careers. He moved to Colorado and joined Littleton, and in 2001 he led the Hawks' double-A peewees to Colorado's first Tier II national title with a handful of players that would go on to play for DU, Colorado College and other Division I teams.

His team in 2003, led by future Pioneers star Drew Shore, also won the Tier II national championship before Jones came along. Murphy has since retired from coaching, got married and focuses on his banking business.

Jones intended to move back to Colorado and play for the Angelo Ricci-coached U16 Thunderbirds in 2010, but instead remained with the Dallas Stars Elite, playing for its U18 team. Ricci's team, led by Quentin Shore and current DU defenseman Josiah Didier, went on to win Colorado first Tier I national title in 2011.

"How good would we have been with Seth?" Ricci said.

Ricci, who played at DU in the 1990s, has worked with Jones since he began playing hockey in mites (8-younger).

"The thing about Seth, you could see his skill set, and you knew he was a going to be a big kid. But his brain, he's special," Ricci said. "With any great player — Wayne Gretzky or Nicklas Lidstrom — they see the game before it even happens. They make the right plays at the right times. Everyone keeps talking about his skating, but his brain is the thing that's really special, and he knows when to utilize those assets that he has."

Ricci said Jones could make a huge impact in the black Denver community.

"If he does what he's capable of doing, he can do so much for the game demographically," Ricci said. "I don't know if he's ready for that stuff, but it's going to be thrusted upon him."

Denver Post: LOADED: 05.01.2013

673903 Columbus Blue Jackets

Blue Jackets' Gaborik faces surgery, should be ready for fall camp

By Aaron Portzline

The Blue Jackets billed Marian Gaborik’s trip to Philadelphia as a mere precaution, but it was serious enough for him to pack an overnight bag in case surgery was needed.

Gaborik, 31, will have surgery soon to repair a “mesh patch” put in place during surgery for a sports hernia in June 2001, when he played for the Minnesota Wild. Dr. William Meyers, an expert in core injuries such as sports hernias, examined Gaborik yesterday and is scheduled to perform the procedure.

“Marian experienced some soreness toward the end of the season, and after undergoing his exit physical (on Sunday) and further examination today, it was decided that surgery is the best option for a quick and full recovery,” said John Davidson, the Blue Jackets’ president of hockey operations, in a statement. “Marian will have the surgery and, after a three- to four-week recovery period, will be able to resume offseason training.”

That means Gaborik will not be able to play for Slovakia in the world championships, which begin on Friday, but he is expected to be healthy for the start of Blue Jackets training camp in September.

Gaborik, who has one season remaining on a contract that pays him $7.5 million a season (salary-cap figure), had three goals, five assists and a plus-5 rating in 12 games with the Blue Jackets after being acquired from the New York Rangers on April 3.

Gaborik is no stranger to injuries or surgery, especially in the abdominal and groin areas. Last summer, he had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder after playing through the injury during the Stanley Cup playoffs. He would have missed the start of this season if it weren’t delayed by the NHL lockout.

Gaborik is one of many Blue Jackets players who ended the season with significant injuries, and is one of two who requires surgery. Right winger Jared Boll played the final two weeks of the season with a sports hernia.

Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 05.01.2013

673904 Dallas Stars

Lehtonen looking to make smooth transition to Dallas summers, grab more of leadership role

Kevin Sherrington

Published: 01 May 2013 06:11 PM

In a perfect world, you would probably like Kari Lehtonen to go play in the World Championships, starting May 4 in his native Helsinki.

After all, the Stars goalie has played just two playoff games in his NHL career and struggled at the World Championships last season (2-2 with a 2.85 GAA and .894 save percentage) before bowing out with a knee injury. He could use any experience under pressure he can find.

But Lehtonen has a lot on his plate, so he decline an invitation from team Finland. For the first time in his career, he will not summer in Atlanta and work out with his usual trainer. Instead, he will stay in Dallas with wife Abbe and their newborn son, and he will find a new way to train here.

"I want to spend some time with my family," he said. "I want to take some time off and be a dad. That's exciting. I can start a little earlier to work out and skate and I should be good to go."

Lehtonen had a rough season. At times, he was spectacular. At times, not. The Stars still don't really know if he is an elite goalie or not. He battled a groin injury again (just like last season). He faded down the stretch again (just like last season). He posted a 2.66 GAA, which ranks him 32nd among the goalies who qualify for post-season awards (50). His save percentage of .916 ranks 19th.

Clearly, the Stars have to improve and cut down on shots against _ they were 22nd in the NHL at 31.0 per game _ but Lehtonen also has to improve.

"We had some ups and downs and definitely didn't get the results we wanted," he said. "On a personal level, I don't think I played as well as I wanted to. That will make me hungrier to work hard this summer and get ready for the next year. It's going to be nice to be able to use these guys here to prepare for the season. It was a little iffy there at times with the lockout, trying to figure what is a good thing to do, where to skate. It's going to be nice to go out there and skate with the goalie coach for the whole summer."

The guess is the Stars will retain goalie coach Mike Valley, and he will have a hand in Lehtonen's training this summer. Lehtonen said he has heard new GM Jim Nill preach culture change, and said he has an idea of what that means.

"We have to expect more from each other, for ourselves. Everybody has to get better. I am sure there are going to be new pieces added to the team and hopefully those guys can help us take the next step," he said. "There are too many games that kind of slip by and you have to be more ready. Winning is hard, we all know that, but we have to be ready to go the extra mile."

Lehtonen will start his five-year, $29.5 million contract next season and now is one of the key pieces of this team. He said he understands he has to be a part of the leadership group.

"Goalies are a little different, but still this year I felt that," he said. "Especially when guys started going out the door, you realize that you are one of those players that younger guys look up to. That was a little bit of a new situation for me. I've just been hanging in the background and doing my job, but that is something that is part of this and I am excited to take bigger steps in being a leader off the ice, too. That's something I want to do and I think I need to do."

As for international play, there are the Olympics in 2014 in Russia.

"That would be huge," he said. "That's something I would really love to be part of before I'm done playing. Hopefully, I can be part of it, but we (Finland) have a lot of good goalies. It's a fair game. I have to play well."

Dallas Morning News LOADED: 05.01.2013

673905 Dallas Stars

Should Stars consider switching Jamie Benn back to wing? Do they have the centers to do so?

MIKE HEIKA / REPORTER

Published: 01 May 2013 12:19 AM

One of the great experiments of the Joe Nieuwendyk era was moving Jamie Benn from wing to center. Nieuwendyk, who played center himself, saw a lot of the characteristics needed to play the pivot in the NHL in Benn's game.

He is big, he likes to carry the puck, he can beat people himself in open ice.

But with Nieuwendyk now gone, it will be interesting to see how the Stars view Benn and the center position.

Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said he is convinced Benn can be a center. Gulutzan had Benn as a winger in the AHL playoffs and watched him score 26 points (14 goals, 12 assists) in 24 playoff games. He has had him as a center the past two seasons and has seen mixed results.

Benn last season tallied 63 points (26 goals, 37 assists) in 71 games and was plus-15. This season, he had 33 points (12 goals, 21 assists) in 41 games and was minus-12. He won 46.2 percent of his draws last season and 46.1 percent this season.

"Initially, I thought he was a better winger," Gulutzan said. "But watching this year, and especially the second half of this year, and we had some little heart-to-heart talks about bearing down at that position, and what I have seen from the back end is he certainly can play center. He's such a smart player, there's no question in my mind he can play that position and be one of the best at it. But it's a process. You can't just take a guy off the wing and stick him at center and say you're going to be a great center. But he's going to be."

Benn had to play head-to-head down the stretch against Anze Kopitar in Los Angeles, Joe Thornton in San Jose and Pavel Datsyuk vs. Detroit. The Stars lost all three games, Benn had one point and was minus-4. Gulutzan said Benn was battling a wrist injury down the stretch that seriously hampered his play.

Benn said he just tried to fight through.

"I was out there playing and shooting pucks, so I don't think it affected me at all," he said.

Benn said he is used to the center position now.

"I've been playing center for two years now, and I feel good out there," he said. "Obviously, faceoffs are the biggest part of my game that I have to concentrate on, and the responsibility in the D zone to be a better player, and to be a plus player."

He said he looks forward to facing the best players in the league and having to defend against them.

"It's obviously a challenge, but it's a fun challenge," he said. "I definitely look forward to matching up against those good players, because you want to be better than them. You want to be the best every shift."

The Stars might not have any choice but to play Benn at center. They lost Derek Roy at the trade deadline, and they were pushing up Cody Eakin and Vern Fiddler at the end of the season. While those two could play in the no. 2 and No. 3 spots, respectively, the Stars would still have to get a No. 1 center. And as new GM Jim Nill said, you can't go buy those at Kmart.

Dallas has a possible prospect in Radek Faksa, but he seems more a second or third line center. They also could take a center in the draft and try to bring him in, but that would mean more growing pains.

"We're going to have to draft and develop," Nill said. "There may be a trade we have to make, but they do need some centermen here. That's one of the weaknesses here. You build your team: center, defense and net. The defense is good here, the goaltending is fine, and now we just need to fill a couple holes up top."

Whether or not that involves moving Benn back to the wing will be a topic worth watching.

Dallas Morning News LOADED: 05.01.2013

673906 Detroit Red Wings

Red Wings' Mike Babcock unlikely to make changes for Game 2 against Ducks

4:42 PM, May 1, 2013

By Helene St. James

ANAHEIM, CALIF. — Coach Mike Babcock didn’t sound like he was planning to make any changes as the Detroit Red Wings look to even their first-round series.

For one thing, he said he plans on keeping Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg together, even after they were rendered ineffective by the Ducks’ checking line centered by Saku Koivu.

The Wings opted to play soccer in the sunshine of Southern California on Wednesday rather than hit the ice, not unusual once the playoffs began. The Wings lost Game 1 Tuesday at Honda Center, 3-1, undone by special teams that saw the Ducks convert on their first three power plays.

Reiterating what he said after the loss, Babcock criticized the Wings’ inability to move the puck with speed.

“I think as a group we didn’t feel we played very well,” Babcock said. “We didn’t execute very good coming out of our zone, we didn’t have a lot of speed, so therefore we didn’t have attack time.”

Babcock has two big, veteran wingers available in Todd Bertuzzi and Mikael Samuelsson, but again Babcock sounded the caution over inserting players into the playoffs after not having played for months.

“I think it’s great to have veterans that are ready to go,” Babcock said. “But if you haven’t played the whole year, I’ve got to hope that it’s going. I haven’t spent a whole lot of time feeding my family on hope. It’s usually on know. So that’s the part. So, sleep on it one more time, and decide.”

Babcock had the line of the day when asked about the benefit of alll his playoff rookies having gotten a real taste of how much tighter games are this time of year.

“I don’t think you’ve got to get hit by a car,” Babcock said, “to understand it hurts.”

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 05.01.2013


Ducks pleased about keeping Red Wings' Eurotwins off scoreboard in Game 1

4:18 PM, May 1, 2013 |

By Helene St. James

ANAHEIM, CALIF. — The Ducks got the job done in Game 1 — and immediately approached Game 2 with the same wariness.

After an optional practice today at Anaheim Ice, Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau cautioned against too much optimism in light of the commanding job his team’s third line did against Detroit's superstars. Headlined by Saku Koivu in the middle, Andrew Cogliano (Michigan) and Daniel Winnik shut down Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, holding them off the scoreboard in Tuesday's 3-1 victory at the Honda Center.

"They like playing with each other, and they did a great job," Boudreau said. "Granted, they probably angered those two guys, and they'll play a lot better next game because I'm sure the other guys are going to ramp it up a little bit."

Boudreau matched Koivu's line against Datsyuk's, and largely had Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan against Johan Franzen, Valtteri Filppula and Daniel Cleary.

"Once we found out who we were playing," Boudreau said, "our shutdown line has been Saku's line all year. It's not like we've never done that before. A lot of that was he always played against the best centers. So I thought, with Pavel and Henrik and (Justin) Abdelkader not all being 6-foot-4, it would be a fair matchup. And I think it worked well for both teams. Nobody scored five-on-five."

Boudreau also was pleased about limiting the Wings to 11 shots on goal through the first 40 minutes in Game 1. "I think we block a lot of shots when we're playing really good," he said. "You'd love to slow them down in the neutral zone, but they're a difficult team to slow down in the neutral zone, because they stretch their wingers out so far, and you have to back up with them and you have to honor that or you end up getting in trouble.

"I just think tenacity — we worked pretty hard in our own zone. Didn't always do the right thing, but we worked hard at it, and then we blocked a lot of shots."

WHO? Five-time Olympian Teemu Selanne joked that he "doesn't believe himself" when it comes to saying he's done playing international hockey. He named the 2010 Vancouver Olympics as among his favorites.

Asked his memory of the 2006 Winter Games in Torino, Italy, Selanne pretended not to remember what happened (his Finns lost in the final to Sweden, with the gold medal-winning goal scored by none other than former Detroit great Nicklas Lidstrom).

"That's why I'm happy he's not around anymore," Selanne said.



Helene St. James: Red Wings' outlook sunny as they aim to even series in Anaheim

May 2, 2013

By Helene St. James

ANAHEIM, CALIF. — Had they done their best and lost, maybe they would have sulked. When the reviews yielded a clear path to a tie, it made more sense to relish the sunshine.

The Red Wings have lost the opening game of a playoff round before, which is why it was hard for them not to think they can still leave Anaheim with a 1-1 series, provided they just show a little progress tonight in Game 2 at the Honda Center.

So, the Wings opted to stay off the ice Wednesday, because like Southern California so often is, it was warm and sunny and entirely too pleasant to hole up in a cold rink.

“We should do this outside,” coach Mike Babcock noted as he talked to reporters after a workout session at Anaheim Ice. At one point, more than half the players were in a circle outside, playing their usual game of two-touch soccer.

Babcock ventured inside to talk to reporters, as did captain Henrik Zetterberg, goaltender Jimmy Howard, defenseman Niklas Kronwall and forward Daniel Cleary, the scorer in Tuesday night’s 3-1 loss. The universal theme was one of optimism: If the Wings just remember how they played to get here, they sure can play their way into a victory tonight.

“We have to do a better job in our overall game,” Kronwall said. “There are a lot of things that we didn’t do that we have been doing over the last few weeks that got some wins and got us into the postseason. There are lot of things we can work on, one of them being moving the puck a lot better out of our own zone, getting through the neutral zone, and then, of course, spending more time in the O zone.”

The Ducks had success in Game 1 thanks in particular to veteran checker Saku Koivu, who did a masterful job leading his third-line shut-down group against Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, holding them off the scoreboard.

“That’s their matchup line, and we knew that was going to be against us,” Zetterberg said. “We can’t really get caught int he neutral zone. We’ve got to get pucks deep and play in their end. They’re playing good defense, so we’ve just got to be more creative and create better chances. There’s nothing on the rush, so you’ve got to spend time in their end. We need to sustain more pressure in their end.”

The Wings’ goal against the Ducks came on a power play; very little got done five-on-five. The consensus for tonight is that the Wings have to manage the puck better — get it in the first place, which means better movement from the defense, and then throw it on Jonas Hiller, and get to the net for second chances. That’s how playoff games are won.

“We just didn’t play good enough,” Cleary said. “Going through the neutral zone, they have a good system. They’re disciplined like all playoff teams are. I think as players, we just have to hang onto it and be strong on your stick and make plays, get cycling, get it to the point. We have to get more traffic. Hiller’s night was a little too easy.”

If the Wings are disappointed about anything, frustrated about anything, it’s how little they resembled the team that won four straight games before Tuesday.

It wasn’t just Zetterberg and Datsyuk who were unable to generate quality chances; Johan Franzen’s group with Cleary and Valtteri Filppula didn’t have much going after the first period. They played all night against Ryan Getzlaf’s line, but Filppula had one of the best chances in the first period. The third line looked like a group that hadn’t been in the playoffs before, with newbies Damien Brunner and Joakim Andersson.

As Babcock put it, no one was special.

“We had good chances in the third period,” he said, “but to me, that’s not how you play the game. You come out and you go after the other team for 60 minutes and sometimes the momentum is going to go different ways,

and that’s natural on the road. The second period was very average. We had push in the third, but nothing sustained shift after shift after shift.”

What happened Tuesday night in Anaheim was mirrored in the other two playoff games that night, with the home team winning. What happened Wednesday in Anaheim mirrored what the Wings have done so often when they trail in a playoff series, with a game of soccer and a frank evaluation of the future. The Wings maintained all April they were in control of their destiny, and they still do.

“The key for any team on the road is to get a split,” Cleary said. “We’ve been here numerous times. We feel like if we play the way we know we can play, things will work out.”



Red Wings coach Mike Babcock likely to give young guys another chance in Game 2

May 2, 2013

By Helene St. James

ANAHEIM, CALIF. — Mike Babcock has a couple of veteran options available if he wants to change his lineup, but it’s highly unlikely he’ll do so.

The Wings head into Thursday night’s Game 2 at Honda Center trailing their first-round series with the Ducks after losing Game 1, 3-1. Babcock didn’t completely rule it out Wednesday, but he didn’t sound like he was leaning toward inserting Todd Bertuzzi or Mikael Samuelsson into the lineup.

Babcock’s concern is that neither guy has played in months, and it’s hard for anyone to jump into the pace of the playoffs, much less guys in their late 30s. Instead, Babcock seems more inclined to bank on getting better performances out of his playoff newcomers, a group that includes defensemen Brendan Smith, Jakub Kindl and Danny DeKeyser, along with almost the entire third line.

“Everything goes a little faster, it’s more physical, there’s less time to move the puck,” Henrik Zetterberg said. “You’ve just got to get used to playing that. They’re good players, and they’ll get used to it. My first playoff game, it was not easy, and the more experience you get, the better you will get.”

Coach Mike Babcock said the topic was discussed Wednesday morning, but also pointed out that, “I don’t think you’ve got to get hit by a car to understand it hurts.

They’re aware of the fact there’s going to be more intensity, but sometimes just being involved in it is going to help you out.”

Damien Brunner got just one shot on net despite playing 15 minutes, almost three of that on power plays, but Babcock isn’t inclined to pull one of the top scorers from the regular season.

“I just look at the scoresheet, and he’s on it,” he said. “And then I look at a whole bunch of guys, and they’re never on the scoresheet. So, what I’ve learned over time is, you can be big and you can be strong and you can check like crazy and have no points game after game after game. Or you can be small and you can be not that great defensively and you might even turn some pucks over, but you get stats all the time. You’ve got to decide what you like. I like guys who can score.”

MOVE THE PUCK: One of the biggest problems for the Wings in Game 1 was getting the puck. The quick movement from the back end that played such a role in last week’s four-game winning streak.

“We couldn’t get it up to them quick enough for some reason,” defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “We made it too hard on ourselves, and that’s something we have to look after moving forward. that we get the puck to the forwards as soon as possible, and in speed.”



On off-day, Red Wings lament lackluster effort in Game 1

By Ted Kulfan

Anaheim, Calif. — One thing was very clear about the Red Wings, as they gathered for an off-ice workout Wednesday at Anaheim Ice.

Hours after losing Game 1 to the Anaheim Ducks, 3-1, the stench of the loss still was around the team.

"We just didn't play good enough," said forward Daniel Cleary, the Red Wings' lone goal-scorer.

What bothered the Red Wings most was their inability to sustain any pressure on the Ducks — they managed just 22 shots on Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller — and a forecheck that didn't work well enough.

There's a lot to improve before Thursday's Game 2.

"As a group, we feel we didn't play very well," coach Mike Babcock said. "We didn't execute very good coming out of the zone, we didn't have much speed, therefore we didn't have much attack time. Too much separation between four forwards and defense.

"We didn't like our game very much."

There wasn't anything the Ducks did that surprised the Red Wings. Anaheim played its usual grinding, defensive game that made it tough on the Red Wings.

It's up to the Red Wings to improve, quickly, for Game 2 Thursday night.

"We have to be a lot stronger on the puck and not turn it over, be a little harder to play against in their zone and not be one (shot) and done," goalie Jimmy Howard said. "It's going to be tight out there; I expect it to be for the rest of the series. It's one of those things where you know it's going to come down to bounces."

Rookie initiation

The Red Wings had six players make their NHL playoff debuts Tuesday night.

Forwards Joakim Andersson and Damien Brunner; defensemen Danny DeKeyser, Jakub Kindl and Brendan Smith; and backup goalie Jonas Gustavsson all were involved in their first NHL postseason game.

"Just from my perspective, you're out there excited and everything is like a blur," Howard said. "The speed is the big thing from the regular season to the playoffs. Now that they have a game under their belts, they'll have more of an impact."

He'll sleep on it

Babcock wouldn't commit to any lineup changes for Game 2.

Veteran forwards Todd Bertuzzi and Mikael Samuelsson are available, as are two veteran defensemen, Ian White and Carlo Colaiacovo.

Bertuzzi and Samuelsson have missed nearly the entire season with injuries and Babcock isn't sure what to expect from them.

"It's great to have veterans who are ready to go," Babcock said. "It's just I've been around long enough to understand when you haven't played the whole year, I have to hope that it's going (good). I haven't spent a whole lot of time feeding my family on hope, it's usually on know."

Detroit News LOADED: 05.01.2013


Ducks' Teemu Selanne takes advantage of Lidstrom-less Red Wings

By Ted Kulfan

Anaheim, Calif. — The goal was classic Teemu Selanne, stationed in the left circle on the power play, ready to shoot.

Selanne, at age 42, did something he's done so often in his career: score the winner. This time it was Tuesday night's 3-1 Anaheim victory over the Red Wings in the opener of their playoff series.

His third-period, power-play goal broke a 1-1 tie.

"It was the end of the power play, so I just tried to shoot there and hope for the best," Selanne said.

This is a guy with 675 regular-season goals in his NHL career, and Tuesday's goal was his 42nd in the playoffs.

How many has Selanne scored in just that spot in the left circle? Selanne thought briefly.

"A couple hundred probably — I don't know," Selanne said Wednesday. "But that's been my favorite spot. Lately I've been more in the middle on the power play but it doesn't really matter.

"You just try to get open and someone will see you. There's been a lot of different combinations this year on five-on-five and on the power play. That's how it goes."

It's a different Red Wings lineup that Selanne is facing these days, too. Gone is long-time nemesis Nicklas Lidstrom, off to retirement, and the loss of Brad Stuart makes the Red Wings a much different team.

"Obviously, in the past when they had Lidstrom and Stuart, they had more experience," Selanne said. "You try to take advantage of things that you can do. Not having to play against Lidstrom every night, it's a totally different game."



Taking care of, moving puck vital for if Wings hope to survive

Gregg Krupa

Detroit lost Game 1 in Anaheim, 3-1, on Tuesday, with the third Ducks goal going into an empty net.

The Red Wings played well, but lacked the brisk puck movement that helped them improve their play late this season. They also gave it away too frequently. Improving in both those areas could pay big dividends in Game 2 tonight.

The Ducks got two power-play goals by Nick Bonino and Teemu Selanne on screen shots. Jimmy Howard could not be faulted on either and was on top of his game, especially controlling rebounds and limiting the Ducks chances.

Francois Beauchemin scored after Howard was pulled.

Daniel Cleary scored for the Red Wings, deflecting Jakub Kindl's shot from the point in the first period to even the game 1-1. But the Red Wings offense was lackluster at times.

Here are five factors important in Game 1.

Critical energy

The intrinsic oomph the Red Wings tapped with their backs to the wall to make the playoffs by winning the last four games was not available Tuesday.

It was not for lack of trying. But it did seem the Red Wings were just short of their best effort and pace.

It really showed when it came to finishing plays and scoring.

Valtteri Filppula had the puck on his stick in the Ducks crease with no one there but him and goaltender Jonas Hiller, and Filppula was unable to get a shot into the air and over Hiller in the first period.

Late, Justin Abdelkader whacked at a puck as he stood on top of the crease and Hiller's glove was just a bit too fast.

One quick faceoff win led to the first goal for the Ducks. One quick recovery on a loss in the circle led to the third.

Both times, the Red Wings were just off the pace.

Puck movement, control

The Red Wings had 11 shots through two periods, 22 overall. That is not enough offense.

Part of the shortage was a lack of puck movement. Part of it was turning it over too much in their zone and trying to move it through the neutral zone.

It felt a lot more like games in January and February, when the Red Wings defensemen were not getting the puck up ice quickly enough, there was too much distance between the back end and the front end and it all added up to not enough shots on the opposing netminder.

At one point, the Ducks had 16 shots at regular strength, to five for the Red Wings.

"I didn't think we were moving it enough on the back end," coach Mike Babcock said.

Said Niklas Kronwall: "We didn't get it through the neutral zone well enough. There was a whole lot we could do better."

The Red Wings also gave the Ducks the puck 14 times, with Gustav Nyquist and Brendan Smith responsible for three apiece and Kindl and Jonathan Ericsson, two each.

That is way too much, and if Howard had not played so well — and if the Red Wings had not played well otherwise — it could have provided the Ducks with a much greater margin of victory.

It also meant the Red Wings had to overcome mistakes too frequently to get the offense going, an offense already challenged by a lack of efficient passing.

Big guns quiet

Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and Johan Franzen were kept off the scoring sheet.

The Red Wings need them because the Ducks offensive power is three lines deep, while Detroit struggles to muster two most nights.

The Ducks third line of Andrew Cogliano (Michigan), Saku Koivu and Daniel Winnik did a good job of defending Zetterberg, Datsyuk and Abdelkader.

It was a closely played game, for long stretches. If they remain close, Zetterberg, Datsyuk and Franzen doubtlessly will provide much of the scoring.

If they do not, it will be a short series.

What inexperience?

The Red Wings played with four players in their first playoff game and more who had seen just a few, but it barely showed.

It is often in the playoffs when inexperience shows and the mistakes of youth appear in moments of great stress. But, Danny DeKeyser, Joakim Andersson and Damien Brunner all gave good accountings of themselves.

Andersson, 9-for-14 in the faceoff circle, was left out for some big draws on the penalty kill.

DeKeyser continues to give the impression that he is almost never out of position.

"I thought lots of them were fine," Babcock said. "But none of them were great."

One and done

Howard played well, essentially keeping the Red Wings close throughout, limiting the damage in the first period when they were outshot 6-2 in the first 15 minutes and in the second, when they were outshot 10-5.

His biggest strength seemed to be one of his weaknesses, generally — rebound control.

If Howard can continue to limit second chances for strong finishing goal scorers like Corey Perry, Bobby Ryan and Selanne, the Red Wings could prevail.



Red Wings irritated, but still motivated for split in Anaheim

By Ted Kulfan

Anaheim, Calif. — Instead of skating Wednesday, the Red Wings chose to work off the ice.

Some players even took to another sport — soccer — to relax.

In a way, it was fitting, considering many Red Wings felt they kicked away an opportunity to take an early advantage against the Ducks in the first round.

The Red Wings simply didn't play in a 3-1 Game 1 loss.

Which makes tonight's Game 2 that much more vital.

"We understand the importance of Game 2," said forward Daniel Cleary, who scored the lone Red Wings goal Tuesday on the power play. "The key for any team on the road is to get a split. … We feel if we play the way we know we can, things will work out for itself."

What hurt and irritated the Red Wings most was:

Their inability to generate any speed with the puck;

Their inability to put any pressure on the Ducks; and

Their inability to get the puck from the defense to the forwards.

Mike Babcock compared it to the first half of the season, when the team's fractured play was common with so many new faces in the lineup.

"As a group, we didn't feel we played very well," Babcock said. "We didn't execute very good coming out of zone, we didn't have much speed, therefore we didn't have much attack time. Too much separation between four forwards and defense. We didn't have energy on our forecheck.

"We didn't like our game very much."

There wasn't anything the Ducks did that surprised the Red Wings. Anaheim played its usual grinding, defensive game.

"We have to be a lot stronger on the puck and not turn it over, be a little harder to play against in their zone and not be one (shot) and done," goaltender Jimmy Howard said.

Said Cleary: "The only surprise was we just didn't play hard enough on the puck, or fast enough."

Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau usually doesn't prefer to match lines, but he did in Game 1, and the Ducks did a fine job stifling the line of Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Justin Abdelkader. They also shut down the line of Valtteri Filppula, Johan Franzen, and Cleary.

"We knew what it was going to be," Cleary said. "There was no room out there, which in the playoffs is what you expect. That's the way it's going to be.

"The onus falls on the players going through the neutral zone. They have a good system and they're disciplined. We just have to get into it and be strong with the stick on the puck and make plays. Get cycling, get more traffic. (Game 1) was a little too easy."

While the Red Wings didn't give much up defensively, they believe there's more improvement that can be achieved offensively.

"We need to sustain more pressure in their end," Zetterberg said. "They're playing good defensively, locking up the neutral zone pretty good. We have to get pucks deep and go to work in their end.

"They spent more time in our end and that's what we have to change. They were good at creating turnovers and stuff like that in the neutral zone, something we have to do."



Red Wings coach Mike Babcock: Game 2 lineup tweaks possible

By Ted Kulfan

Anaheim, Calif. — Will there be lineup changes for the Red Wings in Game 2 of their first-round series against the Ducks tonight?

Mike Babcock was coy about the subject Wednesday.

But with veterans Todd Bertuzzi and Mikael Samuelsson available, there's a good chance Babcock could change the mix.

"It's great to have veterans who are ready to go," Babcock said.

"It's just I've been around long enough to understand when … you haven't played the whole year, I have to hope that it's going (good). I haven't spent a whole lot of time feeding my family on hope; it's usually on know."

Bertuzzi, who hasn't played since Feb. 7 because of an injured back, could replace Jordin Tootoo, whose crosschecking penalty in the first period Tuesday led to Anaheim's first goal.

Bertuzzi, cleared to play within the last two weeks, would supply the Red Wings with some size, grit and offensive ability that would be welcome on a team that sorely needed offense in Game 1.

Less likely would be changes on defense, although Babcock has options there, too: Veteran defensemen Ian White and Carlo Colaiacovo are available.

Defending Brunner

Brunner, who had 12 goals during the regular season, was shut out in Game 1, credited with one shot.

Babcock, however, remains confident in Brunner.

"The one thing I've heard all year is Bruns can't do that or doesn't do that," Babcock said. "I look at the score sheet, and he's on it. There's a whole bunch that are never on the score sheet.

"What I've learned over time is you can be big and strong and check like crazy and have no points game after game, or you can be small and not that great defensively and you might even turn the puck over and you can get stats all the time.

"You have to decide. I like guys who can score."



No panic in Detroit Red Wings dressing room after playing 'five Game 7s in a row' during last 10 days

Brendan Savage on May 01, 2013 at 8:30 PM

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Detroit Red Wings didn't panic when they were outside of the NHL playoff race looking in entering the final week of the regular season.

So don't expect them to do it now after dropping Game 1 of their first-round playoff series against the Anaheim Ducks, who won 3-1 Tuesday night at the Honda Center.

The Red Wings finished the regular as the NHL's hottest team by winning their final four games to move from ninth place to seventh in the Western Conference, earning a sixth playoff matchup with the Ducks while avoiding a first-round date with regular-season champion Chicago.

Had the Red Wings lost any of those games in regulation, their streak of consecutive playoff appearances would have ended at 21.

"We've played five Game 7s in a row there," said goaltender Jimmy Howard, who made 24 saves in Game 1. "So we've been playing playoff hockey for a while now. Little setback last night but I think it's been forgotten about and everyone is looking forward to getting back out there and playing tomorrow night."

If the Red Wings were tight Wednesday, they weren't showing it.

They had an optional off-ice workout at Anaheim Ice and several players – Howard included – took advantage of the warm weather to kick around a soccer ball and throw a football outside the rink.

• Despite Howard's optimism – did you expect him to take any other approach to the series? – history says dropping Game 1 on the road means the Red Wings will likely lose the series as well.

In the 29 series where the Red Wings have lost Game 1 on the road, they have an 8-21 record. That includes a 2-9 mark since 1970.

The only two times they won since 1970 after dropping the opener was in 2010, when they beat Phoenix in seven games, and 1997, when they knocked off Colorado in six before winning the Stanley Cup.

Henrik Zetterberg talks about Detroit Red Wings needing more traffic in front of Anaheim Ducks net Red Wings got only 22 shots in a 3-1 Game 1 loss to the Ducks.

• Five Red Wings – Joakim Andersson, Damien Brunner, Danny DeKeyser, Jakub Kindl and Brendan Smith – made their NHL playoff debuts in Game 1.

Anaheim's Andrew Cogliano also made his postseason debut and said it was everything he imagined.

"It was unbelievable," said Cogliano, who got no sleep Monday night. "It was a great time. I'm glad we got the win. Just the atmosphere and intensity of the game, it's another level. I obviously never experienced it before.

"But the overall excitement, you just feel like every play out there means something and it's magnified that much more. It's a good feeling. It's fun to know you have to 20 guys playing for one goal. It's a great thing to be a part of."

• Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau had a little fun with the local media Wednesday.

After answering a few questions, Boudreau told the assembled press corps to "go have some lunch." At that point, one of the local reporters asked Boudreau if he was buying.

"No ... not when we get the sixth page," Boudreau cracked to the amusement of reporters.

So much for coaches and players claiming they don't read the newspaper.

• The same two goalies who started Game 1 will be back in the nets Thursday night.

It's a given Howard is going to play every game for the Red Wings barring an injury or some other unforeseen circumstances but there was some question as to whether Boudreau would go with Jonas Hiller or Viktor Fasth after they split time during the regular season.

Hiller played 1,498 minutes in 26 regular-season games while Fasth played 1,428 minutes in 25 games.

Hiller got the nod in Game 1 and made 21 saves.

"I think there's a possibility he'll play Thursday," Boudreau deadpanned. "The only one that went in was a double deflection off (Daniel) Cleary's head. They had some great chances. We're gonna have to play better. They had too many good chances in front of the net. They're very good at it.

"I don't know if Hiller is going to be able to continue making all those saves even though he's a great goaltender. We'll just have to be a better team."

So there's no goalie controversy for the Ducks?

"So far," Boudreau said. "I was thinking about it."

Michigan Live LOADED: 05.01.2013


After containing Red Wings' Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Ducks brace for 'angry' stars in Game 2

Ansar Khan

on May 01, 2013 at 7:01 PM, updated May 01, 2013 at 7:10 PM

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Anaheim Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau lauded Saku Koiuv's line for containing Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg on Tuesday, but issued a warning.

“They probably angered those two guys and they'll play a lot better the next game,'' Boudreau said.

Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock needs his entire team to play better in Game 2 of their Western Conference quarterfinal playoff series Thursday at the Honda Center.

The Red Wings generated little attack (22 shots) in their 3-1 loss in Game 1 because they didn't spend much time in the offensive zone, unable to sustain a forecheck. The main problem, Babcock said, was the defense's inability to move the puck to the forwards.

The Red Wings, not nearly as potent offensively as they have been, desperately need to get the puck to Datsyuk and Zetterberg, players who combined for four goals and 18 points in the final four games of the season to get their team into the playoffs.

Anaheim Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau talks about matching lines with Detroit Red Wings in Game 1 Boudreau normally doesn't concern himself with matchups but playing against Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk changed that philosophy

“We need to sustain more pressure in their end; there was too much one-and-done,'' Zetterberg said. “They’re playing good defense. They’re clogging up the neutral zone pretty good, so we’ve got to get pucks deep and work in their end.”

They have to find a way to outplay Anaheim's quick and crafty line of Koivu, Andrew Cogliano and Daniel Winnik. Boudreau usually doesn't match lines, but he made an exception for the Red Wings.

“Our shutdown line has been Saku's line all year and it's not like he's never done that before,'' Boudreau said. “A lot of that was he always played against the best centers. So I thought with Pavel and Henrik and (Justin) Abdelkader not all being 6-foot-4 it might be a fair matchup.''

Koivu told his younger linemates to play smart and in control against Detroit's stars.

“They’re so dangerous through the neutral zone that if you give them any time they’re going to make plays,'' Cogliano said. “They’re so good with the puck, especially Datsyuk (doing things) that you never really seen before. I feel like even when I have the puck on my stick and I’m skating out of the zone he’s always around or behind me waiting to take the puck off me.''

It was Cogliano's playoff debut, after 458 regular season games, mostly with the Edmonton Oilers.

“I feel like every battle I won against those guys took everything out of me just because they’re so strong. The only defense you can play against them is playing on offense and hopefully create scoring chances yourself.''

That matchup allowed the Ducks to play their big line of Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan against Detroit's second line of Valtteri Filppula centering Johan Franzen and Daniel Cleary.

Getzlaf was glad to not have to deal with Datsyuk and Zetterberg.

“Those are two really talented players who work hard,'' Getzlaf said. “It’s going to be a battle and a grind for us as a group, especially (for) that line against those guys.

“I’ve played against them many times and it’s not fun. (Koivu's line) did a great job, as well as Beauch and Cam (defensemen Francois Beauchemin and Cam Fowler) in shutting those guys down.”

Babcock said he hadn't decided if he'll make any lineup changes. He might insert big forward Todd Bertuzzi, who was cleared to play last week after being idled since Feb. 7 (back/leg).

The Red Wings scored 15 goals in their final four games, an outburst for them, but knew there would be less room to skate in the playoffs, as always.

“Frustrate us? I don't know,'' Cleary said. “I just don't think we played the way we've been playing.

“We just have to hang onto the puck and make plays, get cycling, get it to the point, get more traffic. (Goaltender Jonas) Hiller's night was a little too easy.

“We'll play better in Game 2.''

Is the Game 1 disappointment enough to make Datsyuk and Zetterberg angry?

“Well, I don’t know about angry,'' Babcock said. “I think as a group we didn’t feel that we played very well.''



Red Wings' coach Mike Babcock mulls changes for Game 2; Todd Bertuzzi available if club needs him

Ansar Khan


ANAHEIM, Calif. – Quick update following media availability with the Detroit Red Wings and Anaheim Ducks today:

After the Red Wings' off-ice workout, coach Mike Babcock said he hadn't decided on potential lineup changes for Game 2 of the Western Conference quarterfinal playoff series Thursday at the Honda Center (10 p.m., Fox Sports Detroit).

If Babcock makes a change, one possibility is inserting forward Todd Bertuzzi into the lineup. Bertuzzi was a healthy scratch the final two regular season games and in Anaheim's 3-1 win Tuesday in Game 1. That's because Babcock did not want to change a winning lineup.

But, Bertuzzi, who's been out since Feb. 7 with a pinched nerve in his back that affected the strength in his leg, would give the team another big body who can score.

“Well, I think it’s great to have veterans that are ready to go,'' Babcock said. "I’ve been around the game a long time and understand that when a guy misses training camp … you know when the guy holds out from training camp and gets a new contract, you know how good he is that year? Why isn’t he very good? He missed training camp.

"So now if you haven’t played the whole year, I’ve got to hope that it’s going. I haven’t spent a whole lot of time feeding my family on hope. It’s usually on know.”

Offense is the main concern for the Red Wings. The main problem, Babcock said, was t he defense's inability to move the puck quickly and efficiently to the forwards. As a result, the Red Wings spent too much time in their own zone and not enough time on the forecheck.

Babcock said he will keep stars Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg together, along with Justin Abdelkader. Anaheim's checking line of Saku Koivu, Andrew Cogliano and Daniel Winnik did a good job of neutralizing Detroit's big line, which had been on a roll the final four games of the season.

“We understand the importance of Game 2. The key for any team on the road is to get a split,'' Red Wings forward Daniel Cleary said. "We've been here numerous times. We feel if we play the way we know we can play, things will work out for itself. We didn't play well enough. We expect a better effort, better execution in Game 2.''



Ageless Anaheim Ducks wonder Teemu Selanne victimizes Detroit Red Wings again in Game 1

Brendan Savage

on May 01, 2013 at 7:00 AM, updated May 01, 2013 at 7:03 AM

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Bruce Boudreau wasn't expecting Teemu Selanne to score Tuesday.

But it didn't take long for the Anaheim coach to realize the most experienced player on either team was going to get at least one good look in Game 1 of the Ducks' first–round playoff series against the Detroit Red Wings.

"I've known him long enough that you can tell when he has his legs early," Boudreau said. "The puck was following him a little bit tonight. I didn't know if he was going to score but I knew when he was on the ice there was going to be a chance."

Boudreau was right.

Selanne only got one opportunity but he made it count, one-timing a shot past Jimmy Howard on a power play 1:29 into the third period for the game winner in a 3-1 victory over the Red Wings at the Honda Center.

"It just came into my mind (to shoot quickly)," Selanne said of his only shot on goal. "Usually I'll hold the puck and try to make a play but it came into my mind if I get the puck, I'm going to shoot as fast and I can on the short side.

"It's good to see those go in."

Selanne took a pass from Ben Lovejoy and fired it past Howard for his 42nd career playoff goal after Detroit's Jakub Kindl shot the puck into the stands and was penalized for delay of game with 18.9 seconds left in the second period.

Selanne's power-play marker was a painful reminder for the Red Wings of another big goal he bagged back in 2007, when he scored in overtime of Game 5 in the Western Conference Finals to put Detroit on the brink of elimination and move the Ducks one step closer to their first and only Stanley Cup.

"He shoots the puck differently than most guys," said teammate Bobby Ryan. "It's just a sweeping motion. I shoot just like him. We're the only two I've seen. Most guys take the one-timer and it's a different motion.

"But he gets it away quicker than anyone I've ever seen. It's just a flick of the wrist and it's powerful and it's accurate. And those two things are deadly, especially when it's coming off No. 8's stick."

It's no wonder the Red Wings were interested in acquiring Selanne at the trade deadline last season before he ultimately decided not to waive his no-trade clause and remain in Anaheim, where he has played for 14 seasons in a 20-year career.

Against the Red Wings Tuesday, Selanne was playing in his 112th career playoff game after appearing in 1,387 during the regular season with Winnipeg, San Jose, Colorado and Anaheim.

He may be the oldest player in the series but ask his teammates and they'll tell you he hasn't lost anything at age 42.

"He has so much passion for hockey," said goaltender Jonas Hiller, who made 21 saves. "He's just that natural-born goal scorer. He always tries new things, even in practice. It's just amazing to see him.

"He's still one of the quickest guys out there. He came up big again for us tonight."

In 46 games this season, Selanne had 12 goals and 12 assists. He's topped the 40-goal barrier seven times, scored at least 50 three times and led the NHL with 76 as a rookie in 1992-93 for Winnipeg.

NOTEBOOK: The Red Wings got a brief scare in the second period, when Corey Perry's skate clipped Howard in the face as Perry was skating across the crease between Howard and defenseman Niklas Kronwall.

Howard appeared to be shaken up and had to take his mask off when the whistle blew but he was OK and had no hard feelings toward Perry.

"His skate just hit me in the face," Howard said. "I was trying to get out of the way. It was nothing, it was harmless."

Perry was penalized two minutes for goaltender interference but the Red Wings couldn't capitalize on the power play.



Like their teammates, Detroit Red Wings playoff rookies need to be better in Game 2 vs. Anaheim

Brendan Savage


ANAHEIM, Calif. – The five Detroit Red Wings who made their NHL playoff debuts Tuesday night against the Anaheim Ducks didn't do a whole lot to help win Game 1 of the Western Conference playoff series.

But they weren't alone.

Nobody really stood out for the Red Wings in a 3-1 loss to the Ducks in the opener of the first-round series at the Honda Center. And that's something that will have to change if the Red Wings want to even the series Thursday before heading back to Joe Louis Arena for Games 3 and 4.

That includes the five Red Wings appearing in their first playoff game – forwards Joakim Andersson and Damien Brunner as well as defensemen Danny DeKeyser, Jakub Kindl and Brendan Smith.

All played a regular shift and will need to contribute more if the Red Wings want to avoid a short series.

"Now that we've got several rookies with the first game under their belt, they'll be out there hopefully making a little bit more of an impact," goaltender Jimmy Howard said Wednesday. "From my experience, the first game you're out there, you're excited and it sort of seems like everything is a blur.

"Expect after the first game to get the jitters out and go on (with) as business as usual."

Howard said all the talk about the regular season and playoffs being two entirely different games isn't overblown at all.

"Definitely is, the speed of the game is," said Howard, who made 24 saves in his 29th career playoff game. "It's definitely faster than regular season. You've always got to expect the unexpected. Guys are going shoot from everywhere, throw the puck on net.

"So you've got to be aware."

All five of the postseason rookies played at least 15 minutes with Kindl, a three-year NHL veteran, seeing the most ice time at more than 21 minutes.

But Kindl also gave the puck away twice and it was his delay of game penalty with 18.9 seconds left in the second period that led to Teemu Selanne's game-winning power-play goal early in the third.

Andersson and Brunner, playing on the third line with Gustav Nyquist – who appeared in just his fifth career playoff game – combined for one shot and two giveaways with Andersson also taking a minor penalty. Smith gave the puck away three times.

DeKeyser had perhaps the best game among the five with two blocks and three hits in 15:23.

Veteran Niklas Kronwall had no issues with his five teammates in their playoff debuts.

"It's always good to have it over with," Kronwall said. "We'd have liked to have played better than we did and have the win. But it's first to four. Have to make sure we do the things we need to do to have success and I think the younger guys were just fine last night. I didn't think there was any nervousness.'

"The less they think the better off they'll be. Just go out there and play. If you start thinking out there you end up in trouble. I think they were pretty good yesterday and will get even better tomorrow.''

Coach Mike Babcock agreed.

"It was their first playoff game," Babcock said. "It's good to get it out of the way. I think when our group sees it (on film) they'll understand we weren't as good as we need to be or are capable of being. I didn't think anyone was special for us."



Red Wings know danger of falling behind 2-0

By CHUCK PLEINESS

Wednesday, 05/01/13 06:19 pm

The Detroit Red Wings as a whole know the difference of coming home tied after two games in a series or hitting home ice in an 0-2 hole.

“We understand the importance of Game 2,” Daniel Cleary said. “The key for any team on the road is to get a split. We’ve been here numerous times. We feel if we play the way we know we can play, things will work out for itself. We didn’t play well enough (in Game 1). We expect a better effort, better execution in Game 2.”

Game 2 is Thursday night in Anaheim, after the Ducks beat Detroit in Game 1, 3-1.

Losing Game 1 of a playoff series on the road hasn’t worked for the Wings in the past, with the squad coming back to win a series just twice in 11 tries since 1970.

“The onus falls on the players,” said Cleary, who scored the Wings’ only goal on the power play Tuesday. “Going through the neutral zone, (Anaheim has) a good system, they’re disciplined, all playoff teams are. We just have to hang onto it, be strong on your stick, on the puck, and make plays, get cycling, get it to the point and get more traffic. (Jonas) Hiller’s night was a little too easy.”

The Wings, who are 8-21 all-time when dropping Game 1 of a playoff series on the road, managed just 11 shots through two periods, finishing with 22 in the series opener.

“That’s most of the time the goals that are scored in the playoffs,” said captain Henrik Zetterberg when asked if the team needs to get more shots on goal to produce dirty goals. “You’ve got to make the right decision when to shoot and when not to shoot. And most of the time it’s better to shoot than not to shoot. In the same time too, you have to be in front of the net, you have to be there for second chances. Most of the time it’s the rebounds that go in, so first we have to get people in there and then we can shoot the puck.”

In Game 1, the Wings had problems getting the puck seamlessly from the backend up to the forwards.

“I think a lot of times when we end up in trouble it’s when we don’t make that first tape-to-tape pass,” defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “We put ourselves in too much trouble. We tried to look for something better and when there’s not then that’s when we end up in trouble. We have to do a better job of getting back to the puck a lot quicker and when we do get the puck make sure it goes to one of our guys.”

Three of the Wings’ blue liners – Jakub Kindl, Brendan Smith and Danny DeKeyser – were making their playoff debut in Game 1.

Smith had three giveaways, while Kindl, who had two giveaways, had a costly delay-of-game penalty with 19 seconds left in the second period that led to the eventual game-winning goal.

“I don’t think you have to get hit by a car to understand that it hurts,” Wings coach Mike Babcock said when asked if his young players now know how tight playoff hockey games are. “I think they’re aware of the fact that there is going to be more intensity, but sometimes just being involved helps you out.”

“The less they think the better off they’ll be,” Kronwall said. “Just go out there and play. If you start thinking out there you end up in trouble. I think they were pretty good (Tuesday) and will get even better (Thursday).”

Babcock also had an issue with his team’s forecheck, or lack of one.

“I thought we forechecked real poorly, we didn’t have much energy on it,” Babcock said. “But the big thing is, you get a chance to go back for the puck you want to execute the first time and get moving. And if you don’t you spend too much time in your own zone and when it’s time to forecheck you’re changing your line. You never spent any time in their zone. I thought we spent a lot of time doing that (Tuesday).

“In saying all of that, we had good chances in the third period,” Babcock continued. “But to me that’s not how you play the game. You play the game when you come out and you go after the other team for 60 minutes, and sometimes the momentum is going to go different ways, and that’s natural on the road. I thought our first period was real good. I didn’t think we got better after that at all. I thought our second period was very average to say the least. And then I thought we had a push in the third, but nothing sustained shift after shift after shift.”

Lineup changes

Babcock did not know if he would make any changes to his lineup for Game 2.

Veteran forwards Todd Bertuzzi and Mikael Samuelsson are both cleared to play, along with veteran defensemen Ian White and Carlo Colaiacovo and rookie Brian Lashoff.

“I think it’s great to have veterans that are ready to go,” Babcock said. “I’ve been around the game a long time and understand that when a guy misses training camp. … you know when the guy holds out from training camp and gets a new contract, you know how good he is that year? Why isn’t he very good, (because) he missed training camp. So now if you haven’t played the whole year, I’ve got to hope that it’s going. I haven’t spent a whole lot of time feeding my family on hope, it’s usually on know.”

Bertuzzi has been out since Feb. 7, but seems to most likely to get in the lineup if Babcock decides to make a change.

Macomb Daily LOADED: 05.01.2013


CAPUTO: Red Wings better wake up or playoff run will be short (with video)

By PAT CAPUTO

Posted: Wednesday, 05/01/13 08:15 am

“Urgency” is one of those overused sports buzzwords, like “intensity” and “focus.”

Hockey has its own unique lingo, though. All three words are rolled into one — “jump.”

Whatever the term, it was missing for the Red Wings.

They didn’t play awful hockey Tuesday night to open the Stanley Cup playoffs. However, they didn’t play well enough to win, either.

A 3-1 defeat to the Anaheim Ducks is what they deserved. It didn’t look that bad — a close road loss (the last goal was into an empty net). Yet, it wasn’t good, either.

If the Red Wings don’t play considerably better in Game 2 Thursday and beyond in this series, it will be a quick exit.

This isn’t 2002. Or 2008. It isn’t the late 1990s. The Red Wings’ margin for error is minimal.

The Red Wings only scored one goal. They didn’t deserve more. They didn’t put much sustained pressure on Anaheim goalie Jonas Hiller until a desperate and too-little, too-late surge near the end.

The Red Wings also allowed two power-play goals. It not only didn’t speak well for their penalty-killing unit, but about the infractions. Both goals came after the Red Wings took unnecessary penalties.

The first was a call on Jordin Tootoo, whose aggression was often appreciated by Red Wings’ fans during the regular season. Yet, such ill-advised penalties were the biggest concern when he was signed as a free agent during the summer. Also, defenseman Jakub Kindl shot the puck into the stands out of his own zone — an automatic delay of game penalty. Teemu Selanne, the oldest player in the NHL and one of the league’s all-time great goal scorers (11th all-time), subsequently scored a power play goal. It turned out to be the game-winner.

Jimmy Howard, the Red Wings’ goalie, played a game that was typical of many in his playoff career. He didn’t play poorly, but he just got outplayed by a bit.

Selanne’s goal, for example, was to the short side from a relatively deep point, yet sharp angle. Howard may have been screened on the shot, but wasn’t he out of position? He probably should have been hugging the post more.

Those are three mistakes — and they added up to one playoff loss. The Red Wings don’t score enough goals anymore to overcome errors and lackluster stretches during the course of a game.

Conversely, the Red Wings didn’t put enough pressure on the Ducks to force miscues.

The idea of the Red Wings being a dangerous No.7 seed in these playoffs is based largely on the way Howard played during the stretch run of the regular season. He still only allowed two goals Tuesday, but it was how that second goal was scored which raised some eyebrows. He faced more shots than Hiller, but it was Hiller who was just a little better.

Good, well, isn’t good enough from Howard. The Red Wings need some brilliance thrown in there. They need more than just solid NHL goaltending. They need a world-class goalie.

It was revealed in the opener, again, how misguided the NHL is when it comes to protecting its players.

Corey Perry, who has won a Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP, kicked Howard in the head with his skate. The NHL, for some reason, has come to tolerate kicking incidents (see Matt Cooke and Erik Karlsson). It’s a dangerous precedent. Nothing on the ice can do more damage than a skate blade.

The series isn’t over. The goal of opening on the road is always to get a split to seize home ice advantage.

The Red Wings get another shot in Game 2. They need to take advantage of it.

Pat Caputo is a senior sports reporter and a columnist for The Oakland Press.



CAPUTO: Red Wings have to have “urgency” Thursday

By Pat Caputo

Posted: Wednesday, 05/01/13 09:40 pm

“Urgency” is one of those overused sports buzzwords, like “intensity” and “focus.”

Hockey has its own unique lingo, though. All three words are rolled into one - “jump.”

Whatever the term, it was missing for the Red Wings.

They didn’t play awful hockey Tuesday night to open the Stanley Cup playoffs. However, they didn’t play well enough to win, either.

A 3-1 defeat to the Anaheim Ducks is what they deserved. It didn’t look that bad - a close road loss (the last goal was into an empty net). Yet, it wasn’t good, either.

If the Red Wings don’t play considerably better in Game 2 Thursday and beyond in this series, it will be a quick exit.

This isn’t 2002. Or 2008. It isn’t the late 1990s. The Red Wings’ margin for error is minimal.

The Red Wings only scored a goal. They didn’t deserve more. They didn’t put much sustained pressure on Anaheim goalie Jonas Hiller until a desperate and too-little, too-late surge near the end.

The Red Wings also allowed two power-play goals. It not only didn’t speak well for their penalty-killing unit, but about the infractions. Both goals came after the Red Wings took unnecessary penalties.

The first was a call on Jordin Tootoo, whose aggression was often appreciated by Red Wings’ fans during the regular season. Yet, such ill-advised penalties were the biggest concern when he was signed as a free agent during the summer. Also, defenseman Jakub Kindl shot the puck into the stands out of his own zone - an automatic delay of game penalty. Teemu Selanne, the oldest player in the NHL and one of the league’s all-time great goal scorers (11th all-time), subsequently scored a power play goal. It turned out to be the game-winner.

Jimmy Howard, the Red Wings’ goalie, played a game that was typical of many in his playoff career. He didn’t play poorly, but he just got outplayed by a bit.

Selanne’s goal, for example, was to the short side from a relatively deep point, yet sharp angle. Howard may have been screened on the shot, but wasn’t he out of position? He probably should have been hugging the post more.

Those are three mistakes - and they added up to one playoff loss. The Red Wings don’t score enough goals anymore to overcome errors and lackluster stretches during the course of a game.

Conversely, the Red Wings didn’t put enough pressure on the Ducks to force miscues.

The idea of the Red Wings being a dangerous No.7 seed in these playoffs is based largely on the way Howard played during the stretch run of the regular season. He still only allowed two goals, but it was how that second goal was scored which raised some eyebrows. He faced more shots than Hiller, but it was Hiller who was just a little better.

Good, well, isn’t good enough from Howard. The Red Wings need some brilliance thrown in there. They need more than just solid NHL goaltending. They need a world-class goalie.

It was revealed the opener, again, how misguided the NHL is when it comes to protecting its players.

Corey Perry, who has won a Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP, kicked Howard in the head with his skate. The NHL, for some reason, has come to tolerate kicking incidents (see Matt Cooke and Erik Karlsson). It’s a dangerous precedent. Nothing on the ice can do more damage than a skate blade.

The series isn’t over. The goal opening on the road is always to get a split to seize home ice advantage.

The Red Wings get another shot in Game 2. They need to take advantage of it.


673923 Edmonton Oilers

Edmonton Oilers GM Craig MacTavish scouting role players in the playoffs

May 1, 2013. 3:42 pm

Jim Matheson

The most damning quote from Edmonton Oilers’ GM Craig MacTavish at his season-ending presser this week was his opinion of the role players offensive ability. “The best thing they were going to be was a non-factor.” Double ouch.

If so, I suspect MacTavish is watching playoff teams and taking notes on what he wants from bottom six forwards next year? There were some pretty good examples on display on opening night and there will be another one Wednesday when the Bruins trot out Gregory Campbell, Soupy’s boy, Daniel Paille and the abrasive Shawn Thornton as a fourth line.

On the first nght of the post-season, MacTavish got an eyeful of these guys, though.

*Third-line wingers Daniel Winnik and Andrew Cogliano in Anaheim. Oops, Cogliano used to be an Oiler. More on that later.

*Viktor Stalberg and Bryan Bickell flanking the abrasive centre Andrew Shaw in Chicago.

*The Snap, Cracknell and Pop fourth-line St. Louis trotted out with big Ryan Reaves, whose dad Willard used to be a star CFL running back, former WHL winger Adam Cracknell and Chris Porter.

When you see Cogliano’s speed creating problems for Detroit most of the night Tuesday, you have to wonder why the Oilers traded Cogliano for a second-round draft this June. OK, he didn’t fit in the middle here, not with another small centre Sam Gagner. But, Cogliano could have played on the wing, couldn’t he? He did resist, at first, the suggestion he turn himself into a Todd Marchant type player, regardless of position, but now he’s bought in in Anaheim. Excellent penalty-killer, good checker, just enough offence. And Winnik? He’s played in Phoenix, he’s played in Colorado, he’s played briefly in San Jose. The Ducks got a steal when they signed him to a two-year deal as a free-agent. He’s 6’2″ and 210 pounds, and he can skate. He’s got an edge, too.

Stalberg and Bickell are on the Oilers radar as UFAs in July. Bickell, (6’4″, 233) who got the OT game-winner against Minnesota goalie Josh Harding off a Stalberg feed Tuesday, will come fairly cheap. He’s making barely more than the NHL minimum now, $600,000. Stalberg, who might be one of the five fastest players in the league, is 6’3″ and 209 pounds. He’ll be more expensive as a free-agent, but the bottom line is both guys are 27. They had exactly the same points and goals (9 and 23 pts) this season in secondary roles on the powerhouse Hawks. I like Stalberg better.

Shaw isn’t available, but he’s feisty and he had nine goals too.

None of the Blues’ fourth-line guys has a contract that’s ending in July but they are the prototype of an effective group. Blues’ coach Ken Hitchcock says Reaves (four goals, 7 1/2 minutes ice-time) has only scratched the surface. He thinks he can be a third-line player because he can skate and get in on the forecheck. He’s also tough (79 PIMS in 42 games). Cracknell was a scorer in Kootenay, 93 points his final year, but he’s a crushing hitter at the NHL level at 216 pounds. He’s UFA in July. Porter, who will be best man at Zach Parise’s upcoming wedding with both guys U of North Dakota players, is a journeyman but effective and, again, 205 pounds.

The Bruins’ fourth line could be the best with Campbell and Paille and Thornton for muscle. They’re get in on defences, and Campbell and Paille kill penalties.

Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 05.02.2013

673924 Florida Panthers

Injury-ravaged Panthers went from first to worst

By Harvey Fialkov, Sun Sentinel

6:43 PM EDT, May 1, 2013

Playing makeshift hockey in Pompano's Glacier Ice and Snow Arena three times a week.

Getting injured overseas.

Not what you would call ideal preperation for the grueling, condensed, 48-game season the Panthers faced after the lockout ended.

Combine that with a league-leading 337 man-games lost to injury, porous goaltending and an historically inept penalty-killing unit, and the Panthers plummeted from Southeast Division champs last season to NHL chumps this season.

The Panthers were 15-27-6 and finished dead last in the league for the first time.

By the second half of the season, coach Kevin Dineen seemed to be running a development camp, with eight players making their NHL debut amid a lineup of 12 players who were 25 years old or younger.

"That stings. That you're at the bottom of the pile," Dineen said. "That is a brutal reality of our situation and that something we have to sit on for four months."

However, injuries created opportunities for promising rookies such as goalie Jacob Markstrom, Jonathan Huberdeau and Drew Shore, while giving increased responsibilities to young veterans Shawn Matthias and Peter Mueller.

For the season in review, see Page 6C.

Three thingsthat went right

Panthers cubs excel: Huberdeau, 19, displayed superstar potential as he tied for the NHL rookie lead with 31 points in a bid to become the franchise's first Calder Trophy winner.

Markstrom shed his future tag, and Shore proved that AHL experience isn't always the best path to the pros. The snapshots of skill shown by rookies Quinton Howden, Nick Bjugstad, Alex Petrovic, T.J. Brennan and Colby Robak, as well as having the second draft pick next month, has General Manager Dale Tallon optimistic about a, "bright future.''

Power-play respect: Despite injuries or departures of five of last year's six leading goal scorers on the power play, the Panthers man advantage was ranked sixth at a 20.4 percent efficiency. Led by power-play quarterback Brian Campbell (17 power-play points), the Panthers were 13-5-1 when they scored a PPG, but an abysmal 2-22-5 when they didn't.

No doubting these Tomases: Although two-thirds of last year's top line, Stephen Weiss and Kris Versteeg, were rarely on the ice, a couple of veteran Tomases picked up the offensive slack. Fleischmann led the Panthers in scoring for the second straight season with 35 points. Kopecky had a team-leading 15 goals, matching a career-high.

Three thingsthat went wrong

Injury bug proved lethal: Basically missing four of their top six forwards in the opening month led directly to two five-game losing streaks the Panthers never recovered from. The Panthers used 37 players, one less than the league high. "I think our case was a little extreme, unfortunately," said captain/defenseman Ed Jovanovski, who played just six games. "So many guys going down at the same time and leaving the responsibility to players that don't have much NHL experience. It's tough on them, to throw them into the fire."

Putrid PK: The Panthers were ranked 30th in penalty killing, allowing a league-leading 39 PPGs for a lowly success rate of 74.2 percent or the lowest percentage since the Senators' 73.3 percent in 1993. "You have to be desperate to kill penalties and work harder than the opponent,'' Campbell said. "That's unacceptable and something we need to fix, and fix quickly.''

Early net deficits: Backup Scott Clemmensen finished with a career-worst 3.97 GAA, and starter Jose Theodore suffered a season-ending groin injury on March 2. His 3.29 GAA was his worst since 2005-06, while his four wins was his lowest since 1998. Markstrom showed flashes of greatness laced with bouts of inconsistency. Early soft goals allowed by all three goalies had opponents outscoring Florida 61-34 in first periods, leading to a 4-23-4 record when trailing after one.

Three thingsto watch this offseason

Just get fit: The offseason's priority is for all of the recovering Panthers to mend and come back stronger. A stern Dineen made it clear in the player's exit meetings that they better come to the first day of training camp on Sept. 11 in top condition. "That is not the starting point," Dineen said. "They're aware of that now, and they'll be aware of it when I make a call in July."

Free agents to keep: Tallon has two of his own big unrestricted free-agent decisions to make in Weiss, 30, and Theodore, 36. Given their age and injuries, Weiss, who's making $3.1 million, would have to take a hometown discount, while Theodore would have to accept a backup role. It would behoove Tallon to re-sign RFA Mueller, 25, who proved his durability and value with 17 points. Ditto for Matthias, 25, who came of age during a torrid March in which he scored 11 of his career-high 14 goals. Expect the Panthers to tie up Markstrom and possibly pursue free-agent forwards Tyler Bozak, David Clarkson and Bryan Bickell, who Tallon drafted during his Chicago days.

Draft smart: Tallon saw five of his 2010 draft picks show off their skills in snapshots this season, and he now has the second overall pick on June 30 to bolster an anemic offense with high-scoring Halifax center Nathan MacKinnon. The Panthers also own the first pick of the second round, two fourth-rounders, as well as a fifth and sixth.

Sun Sentinel LOADED: 05.01.2013

673925 Los Angeles Kings

Kings have to step up play going into Game 2 at St. Louis

Helene Elliott

7:44 PM PDT, May 1, 2013

ST. LOUIS — From being overwhelmed by the Blues' frenzied forechecking at the start to losing on a stunning misplay by Jonathan Quick at the end, the Kings know they must improve in several areas to leave Scottrade Center on Thursday with a split of the first two games of their opening-round playoff series.

Speaking after an optional practice Wednesday, the morning after the team's 2-1 overtime loss at St. Louis, Coach Darryl Sutter was clear about who must step up. Asked how the Kings can counter the Blues' energetic fourth line of Chris Porter, Ryan Reaves and Adam Cracknell, Sutter was blunt: "Some of the boys that play on our fourth line have to play like big boys."

He also indicated he won't reunite top-line center Anze Kopitar — who has no goals in 17 games — with long-time winger Dustin Brown. It's likely Brown will stay with Mike Richards and Justin Williams, putting Kopitar with Jeff Carter and Dustin Penner in anticipation of the Blues again matching burly David Backes against Kopitar. Carter ranked fourth in the NHL with 26 goals.

"Jeff and Kopi play really well together, and they play a lot of power play time together. They have something there," Sutter said. "So that's the reason we did it. And quite honest, Mike and Brownie really were our best line by a long shot [Tuesday] night. So it's really more on Kopi to play better, not putting somebody with him to help him.

"I wish I got to play with the leading goal scorer in the Western Conference."

It seemed likely defenseman Matt Greene will be scratched again, and that's after Sutter acknowledged playoff newcomers Jake Muzzin and Keaton Ellerby "had trouble early in the game" that put pressure on the other four defensemen.

One of that quartet, Robyn Regehr, suffered a broken nose when he was hit by Backes' skates during a scramble behind the net early in the third period. He bled profusely but missed only a few shifts.

"I think the first skate came in and the blade barely missed me. And then the second, I just kind of got hit by the back of the heel," said Regehr, whose nose was swollen and purple Wednesday. "I was very lucky I didn't get sliced."

Sutter's decision on Greene hinges on the defenseman regaining his timing after playing only four games following back surgery.

"You don't just put him in the lineup because he's Matt Greene. Matt Greene has to be able to play, to perform," Sutter said. "We were hoping to get more games from him, and he got banged up. We'll see. I'm quite happy playing those two kids because they're both very capable too."

Sutter and players repeated their support of Quick in the wake of Alex Steen's winning goal, the first playoff overtime short-handed goal since Edmonton's Fernando Pisani scored against Carolina in Game 5 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Final.

If Quick could be faulted for anything, it might be for turning and exposing the puck to the forechecking Steen instead of keeping the puck between the boards and his body. Steen darted in, took the puck away and scored on a wraparound backhander.

"It's a tough play for Quickie," defenseman Drew Doughty said. "I'm going back on the left side and their guy's kind of with me. I don't think [Quick] had an out on the other side. I was calling for a rim around the boards, and I can see why he doesn't want to rim it, because that creates a battle for me. So it was just a tough bounce.

"He tried to make the right play. He drew the guy in and tried to bank it to me, and I would have been able to take off because that guy would have been low. It was the right play to make. It was just unfortunate how it panned out. ... No one is blaming him for that loss."

To avoid another loss, Doughty said the Kings must counter the Blues' forecheck better and get their own forecheck going.

"We have to be quicker," Doughty said. "They're coming hard on their forecheck. They're banging bodies. They're creating those little turnovers, and I think a lot of times when they created those turnovers we kind of went into panic mode and tried to make up for that mistake quickly, and I think that's the wrong thing to do."



Blues want to keep momentum going against Kings

By R.B. FALLSTROM

2013-05-01 15:45:43

ST. LOUIS – Alexander Steen's overtime goal could be a lot more than a game-changer for the St. Louis Blues. However fluky the finish, they know they can beat the Kings.

Now, they'll try to keep the upper hand against the defending Stanley Cup champions.

"I think we had the adrenaline going and were excited being our home opener in the playoffs and a lot to prove," forward Andy McDonald said Wednesday. "We just have to make sure that we match that again, and maybe even bring it up a notch. We know that they're going to come out a lot harder."

Blues coach Ken Hitchcock invoked the hockey gods after Steen picked goaltender Jonathan Quick's pocket behind the net and scored short-handed to stun the Kings, 2-1, in the series opener Tuesday night. He stopped just short of calling it a must win, given the Kings' eight-game winning streak in the series entering Game 1.

The Kings also swept the Blues in the second round last year and had 3-0 series leads against every opponent. Coach Darryl Sutter is confident that Quick, whose play got the Kings to overtime, will shake off his crucial giveaway.

"There was no issue with Jonathan last night," Sutter said. "You can say he made a mistake. He was trying to make a play, he was buying some time. The best two players on the ice were Steen and Quick, so I don't think either one's talking about bouncing back."

Quick was not among the dozen or so players participating in an optional skate Wednesday, and did not meet with reporters.

Most of Game 1, the Blues looked like the team that won 12 of its last 15 to earn the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference and home-ice advantage against the Kings, who finished just one point behind.

"I don't think we focused as much on them as we did ourselves," Steen said. "I thought we came out with a lot of jump and played the way we wanted to play. But being said, that's Game 1 and it's behind us now."

The Kings were saying that for a different reason. Forward Dustin Penner said the finish "makes that game hurt more, but that game's over. The onus is on the older guys and the veteran guys to curtain any negativity we have toward the way that game ended."



On line combinations and match-ups

Posted by JonRosen on 1 May 2013, 4:23 pm

Since Dustin Brown’s suspension that led to a line shake-up in Game 47 of the regular season, there have been mixed results from forwards on the team’s re-shuffled top two lines.

Justin Williams has offered the best production since the adjustment, registering two goals, three points, a plus-two rating and 10 shots in the two regular season games and one playoff game.

On the other end of the range of production, Jeff Carter and Anze Kopitar have combined for one assist and a minus-one rating since the Minnesota game.

Darryl Sutter singled out the play of the Brown-Richards-Williams line as being the most consistent in last night’s overtime loss and addressed a question after practice on Wednesday on whether he had considered reverting to a line combination that was together for much of the second half of 2011-12 and 2012-13.

Sutter, on whether he has thought about putting Kopitar back with Brown and Williams:

“You know, the reason we [adjusted the lines] was knowing full well who we were playing, and that 42 (David Backes) plays against 11 (Anze Kopitar). Mike has struggled on the road this year, and if you look at it, it has a big thing to do with the regular season – it wasn’t Kopi’s line. It was whoever Mike was playing with. That line struggled on the road. Jeff and Kopi play really well together. They play a lot of power play time together, and they have something there. So that’s the reason we did it, and quite honest, Mike and Brownie and Willie were our best line by a long shot last night. So it’s more on Kopi to play better, not on putting somebody with him to help him. I wish I got to play with the leading goal scorer in the Western Conference.”

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 05.01.2013


Kings looking to counter Blues’ forecheck


The Los Angeles Kings are a team that thrives on puck possession and aggressive puck-moving mentality that encourages the defensemen to transfer the puck up to the forwards quickly in order to gain entry into the offensive zone.

It was a challenge in Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals as the St. Louis Blues relied on a consistent forecheck that disrupted Los Angeles’ ability to use crisp passes in exiting its own zone with speed.

Robyn Regehr, on the physicality of the Blues and how they were able to sustain pressure:

“I think we didn’t do a very good job of coming out of our zone, especially in the first half of the game. That allowed them to get into our zone, get the forecheck going and really played to their strengths. So for us, we need to counter that and get back to doing a better job in executing our game. I think you’ll see a much different team in Game 2.”

Regehr, on how the team can counter St. Louis’ forecheck:

“Well, a better job moving the puck, I think…breaking out on the forecheck. We know that they want to come in and be very aggressive on that forecheck, so we all as a five-man group have to get back very quickly and make very short little plays, because that’s the only thing you can do when you’re under a lot of pressure like that. You can’t spread out, because you need to support one another. So if we do that, we’ll be fine.”

Regehr, on what changed to allow the Kings to carry the play in overtime:

“Well, I think you saw us just moving the puck a little bit better and not spending as much time under pressure. When we can get those pucks up to our forwards as quickly as possible, they were doing a good job getting it in and also cycling. You saw a couple shifts there where a guy like Dustin Penner in the corner really took advantage of his size and strength, and that’s more of the stuff that we need to do.”

Darryl Sutter, on avoiding a forecheck by advancing pucks and using speed in neutral ice:

“When we did it, that’s exactly right – with speed through the neutral zone. We did that. And when we didn’t, it shows up. Same with them. It’s not like it was every shift. Then, they would have beat us 15-nothing [with] the play being in our zone all the time. That’s not the case. Move pucks quick and expect to get hit.”

Sutter, on whether St. Louis has improved its physical play compared to last year:

“I don’t know. I mean, Ryan and Stewart and Backes are still the leaders in it – and Barret – and they were physical guys last night. We knew that last year. I don’t really look at it as a physical thing. I think both teams are fast teams that work. So it’s not so much the ‘physical’ part of it. I mean, it’s like talking about Muzzin and Keaton. I mean, Muzz got knocked on his ass three or four times early, and then he knocked guys on their ass. I don’t look at it like that. You know what it’s like in playoffs. I mean, there’s more contact, but if you’re running around trying to make contact, then usually you’re out of position or you’re taking a penalty. If you look at last night, there was a power play goal and a shorthanded goal, so special teams are fairly important, and if you [learn] anything from last year’s series, St. Louis took a lot more penalties. In fact, in Game 2 last year, if I remember right, I think they took nine minor penalties in Game 2. I’m not sure about the ‘physical’ part of it. I think both teams are going to play hard.”



FOX Sports West clarifies broadcast plan, apologizes


When Justin Williams tied the game with less than 32 seconds remaining last night to prolong Game 1 of the Kings-Blues Western Conference Quarterfinals, FOX Sports West / Prime Ticket was tasked with a challenging decision on how to broadcast three of its partners on only two channels. There is an overflow channel that had been available for regular season Dodgers games in the past, though it was not utilized in this situation.

FOX Sports West chose to use a split-screen to broadcast both the Kings and Clippers at the same time, a decision that was soundly rejected by Kings fans, who did not have the option of switching over to the national broadcast of the playoff game. Whereas the Clippers game was simultaneously broadcast on TNT, the CNBC national broadcast of Kings-Blues was blacked out in the Los Angeles area.

You are certainly well aware of this, and may have even sent an email – or a tweet, perhaps – to FOX Sports West to express your frustration.

On Wednesday, FOX Sports West offered an apology for its programming decision and clarified how the situation would be handled should there be another challenging overlap of a combination of Kings, Ducks, Clippers, Dodgers and Angels games.

“We sincerely apologize to the Kings and the Clippers and their fans,” said Steve Simpson, senior vice president and general manager, FOX Sports West and Prime Ticket. “We didn’t serve them as well we should have with our coverage of last night’s games. Going forward, there is a plan in place to ensure all remaining playoff games are seen in their entirety, which includes lifting local blackouts if necessary.”



May 1 practice report


BACK AT IT

The Kings held an optional practice at Scottrade Center on Wednesday. 12 skaters got on the ice with goaltender Jonathan Bernier: Matt Greene, Alec Martinez, Jake Muzzin, Keaton Ellerby, Tyler Toffoli, Colin Fraser, Dwight King, Kyle Clifford, Dustin Penner, Jordan Nolan, Trevor Lewis and Brad Richardson.

REGEHR REBOUNDS

Robyn Regehr toughed out a broken nose suffered when the heel of David Backes’ skate caught him in the face during a battle behind the Kings’ net early in the third period. Regehr acknowledged his luck in that it wasn’t any part of the skate blade that made contact with his face.

On the number of broken noses he has suffered in his NHL career, Regehr kept a sense of humor.

“I’ve stopped counting,” he said.

GREENE A GO?

Darryl Sutter was asked after practice about what would influence his decision to re-insert Matt Greene into the lineup.

“If he’s healthy,” Sutter responded.

Greene suffered an undisclosed injury in the loss to Detroit on April 24 that has kept him “day-to-day” over the previous week. It prevented the Kings from continuing to break in the veteran defenseman to late-season hockey after he returned from a back injury that had limited his 2011-12 regular season time on ice to 76 minutes and 26 seconds.

Sutter acknowledged that getting Greene acclimated to the pace of playoff hockey was also a consideration.

“It’s not just healthy, but he’s got to be up to speed. He needed about 10 games, to be quite honest,” Sutter said. “You just don’t put him in the lineup because he’s Matt Greene. Matt Greene has to be able to play and perform. We were hoping to get more games, quite honest, from him before, and he got banged up. We’ll see. I’m quite happy playing those two kids (Muzzin and Ellerby) because they’re both very capable, too.”

On Muzzin and Ellerby, Sutter thought the pair grew into their minutes after a trial-by-fire first period.

“Well Keaton had actually played a few minutes one (playoff) game – he got hurt actually, he said, in Florida – last year. So really, it was both their first games, and as a pair, early in the game, it looked like it was their first games, and that’s not a criticism. You know what…they both played a lot better as the game went on, but at the same time it put a lot of pressure on the other four guys early, and…a big reason why we spent so much time in our own zone was those kids had trouble early in the game.”

MORE FROM FOUR

Darryl Sutter wasn’t surprised by the performance of St. Louis’ fourth line of Ryan Reaves, Chris Porter and Adam Cracknell, which had built up a reputation late in the season of providing hungry, relentless minutes while showing a knack for providing secondary scoring. The three combined for 18 hits even though none of them played more than 11:41 in the overtime win.

Sutter was blunt about what he’s looking for from his own “grittier” players.

“Some of the boys that play on our fourth line have to play like big boys.”

“Our fourth line has been interchangeable because, quite honest, some of the kids haven’t played very well. I know everybody goes back to last year, but those kids that we brought up last year have not played very well this year, so we were hoping for them to play better now and better in a hurry.”



May 1 practice quotes: Dustin Penner

Posted by JonRosen on 1 May 2013, 10:42 am

On “intangible steps” to block out the ending of last night’s game:

“I think we’ll obviously go over video…We didn’t lose the game on one play last night. There were a bunch of plays that led to it. They had a guy step up at an opportune time. Their special teams were better, and their five-on-five play was better that warranted them drawing more penalties. So we had a chance to steal one. That’s why we play seven games.”

On responding and matching St. Louis’ effort:

“They came out strong. We knew they would. It’s their home rink. They’d lost, I think, the last eight games against us…We weren’t as prepared as we need to be. We’re coming here Thursday to win one game.”

On if there’s anything the team might be able to exploit that it didn’t take advantage of:

“Probably shot opportunities, especially Grade-A scoring chances that missed the net or were blocked.”

On whether the team is aiming for more puck possession down low:

“I think we’ve got to put pucks in better spots off the dump-ins. Make sure we’re getting two guys on the puck. It’s not always the first cycle where we need to make a play, but the second and third one after. So we’ve got to put those chips and cycles behind the net in better spots.”

On the different challenge of being behind in a series, compared to last year:

“I think we’ve been trying to approach Thursday night’s game the same way that we did last year. We were taught a lesson last game in our own preparation, what needs to be better, and we have to get better to where we were last playoffs.”

On if it is more difficult to bounce back with the way Tuesday’s night’s game ended:

“No, it just makes that game hurt more. That game’s over with. That’s professionalism. The onus is on the older guys and the veteran guys to curtail any negativity we have towards the way that game ended.”

On “intangible steps” to block out the ending of last night’s game:

“I think we’ll obviously go over video…We didn’t lose the game on one play last night. There were a bunch of plays that led to it. They had a guy step up at an opportune time. Their special teams were better, and their five-on-five play was better that warranted them drawing more penalties. So we had a chance to steal one. That’s why we play seven games.”



Waking up with the Kings: May 1

Posted by JonRosen on 1 May 2013, 7:40 am

-The Los Angeles Kings almost snuck away with one last night before the Hockey Gods rewarded the St. Louis Blues with a just and deserved 2-1 overtime victory in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. In a more acute analysis of the conclusion, Alex Steen used one of his many hustle plays to force Jonathan Quick into a turnover behind his own net to score the shorthanded overtime game-winner as the Kings goaltender waited for Drew Doughty to get into position so that he’d be able to make a pass to the corner to start a breakout. Steen’s goal came as both teams were attempting a line change 41 seconds into a four-minute Kevin Shattenkirk double minor in which Los Angeles wasn’t able to set up in the offensive zone. Had this game gone the other way, it could have had a catastrophic effect on the psyche of a Blues team that ultimately beat the Kings for the first time in nine attempts. It didn’t, and now the Kings are the team that must rebound from a Game 1 loss for the first time since the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

-Despite the miscue, Quick was the best player on the ice after Steen. His mid-second period point blank saves on Jaden Schwartz were reminiscent of the saves he made on Andy McDonald early in Game 1 of last year’s playoff series, while his third period save on a backhand-forehand David Backes move on a partial, contested breakaway (see above) began to shift the momentum towards Los Angeles in the third period of a one-goal game. At the other end of the ice, Brian Elliott was in the form that he had displayed for much of April, when he was named the NHL’s second star for the month. He looked behind himself once or twice in overtime but made important saves when facing intermittent pressure earlier in the game, including getting what appeared to be a skate on a Jeff Carter shot that hit the post during L.A.’s late first period power play.

-Daryl Evans made a point of highlighting special teams in our KingsVision Game 1 preview yesterday, and he was on to something. Of the 10 goals scored in last night’s playoff games, only two were scored during five-on-five play. Of the remaining eight goals, five were scored on the power play, while a shorthanded goal, a 6-on-5 goal and an empty net goal rounded out the scoring.

-I’ll be continuing these thoughts with host Mike Ross on NHL Network Radio at 7:45 am PT, accessed at SIRIUS 207 / XM 92. If you’re free, I hope you’ll give us a listen.


673933 Minnesota Wild

Wild playoff updates: Backstrom, Pominville remain day-to-day; Kuemper recalled

Posted by: Michael Russo: May 1, 2013 - 3:15 PM

Fresh off its 2-1 overtime loss last night in Chicago, the Wild assembled at Xcel Energy Center today after flying back home following the game. With two off-days before Game 2 Friday and the team having been in a playoff grind lately, the short flight between here and Chicago gave the opportunity for the team to come home, sleep in their own beds, use their own facilities, etc.

The Wild didn’t practice today, but most the players came down for meetings or treatment. Scratches Nate Prosser, Brett Clark and Justin Falk were on the ice today with goalie Darcy Kuemper, who was recalled from AHL Houston.

Niklas Backstrom, who was injured in warmups last night, was down at the rink getting looked at today. Coach Mike Yeo said he is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. But the way Backstrom skated off yesterday, I think the assumption now is Harding will start Game 2 with Kuemper backing him up.

Jason Pominville continues to be day-to-day and, like I said, was not on the ice with last night’s scratches. Obviously a lot of guys looked to be banged up last night. Matt Cullen seemed to aggravate his injury. Clayton Stoner only played a few shifts in the first and 8 minutes in the game after getting hit hard by Andrew Shaw. Several guys, like Jared Spurgeon, Marco Scandella and Ryan Suter, blocked some shots from close-range, so I’m sure they’re smarting.

But as far as Yeo knows now, the guys that played in Game 1 should be ready for Game 2. We will see at Thursday’s practice before the team returns to Chicago.

Harding says he is feeling good today and if need be, he can start Friday. He didn’t see Backstrom get injured in warmups.

Mikko came and said, ‘Hards, get in there,’” Harding said. “I went in and finished warmup, and I took the end shots, and I thought that somebody would tell me if I wasn’t playing so I just prepared like I was playing.”

He left the ice with three or four minutes left like the starter would. He say in his stall and there was no sign of Backstrom.


Harding has gotten an outpouring of support due to his multiple sclerosis. Michael J. Fox tweeted about him last night. Same with former teammate Eric Nystrom. Jonathan Toews told the Chicago press today that his performance last night was “nothing short of amazing.”

As you know, Harding has made it clear he wants to be treated normally, that he’s just one player on the roster, and doesn’t want to make this about MS.

“I have to take care of my business, and there’s a lot of time in the summer to get caught up on all that stuff,” he said.

Yesterday late in warmups, Zach Parise skated up to Harding along the red line and gave him a few words of support and a tap with his stick.

Parise said he basically told him it was his time.

“He’s a leader on this team,” Harding said. “He helps guys out when they need it, and he just gave me a little bit of a boost, and I really appreciated it. I thanked him after the game.”

Lot of questions about the Wild’s backup situation if an injury arose to Harding or he had to be pulled. Basically, it can only be a player on your roster, so since the Wild didn’t have Kuemper there, it would have had to be a position player.

On last night’s game, Yeo said, “One thing I thought that we did well is we played a good structured game. But for me one key is take that structure and to add a physical element to it. We definitely need to bring a nastiness to our game. There were situations where we could have done that. The flip side is you have to make sure against a team like that, you start running

around and take yourself out of position, they’ll gladly take a hit to make a play to score a goal. But that’s one area we can improve as a team is bringing that physical element within the structure of our game.

“We have to make sure that we’re making their D pay a price. We have to make sure we’re getting pucks behind them and I thought our forecheck wasn’t enough a factor in the game for us. A lot of that for me was our entries coming through neutral zone. We turned a few pucks over. Especially early in the game, we have to do a better job of setting the tone.”

On a power play that doesn’t include Charlie Coyle on the first unit, Yeo said Kyle Brodziak has “been there a lot more and we've had a lot of success when he has been there. So that's what it comes down to. He's also another faceoff guy.” (in other words if Mikko Koivu’s booted from the circle).

On the power play that went 0 for 4, Yeo said, “We just sat down and watched it again and broke it down and we're planning on sitting down with the guys now as well. For me, it's sort of the mentality we brought. I thought that we were a little too slow and a little too passive against a team that plays tight, they play to the inside, so if you're not aggressive and ready to attack in certain situations than it's pretty easy for them to keep you to the outside.”

Yeo definitely got defensive about questions about the lack of offensive chances by Parise, Koivu and Coyle against Toews’ line:

“The challenge is, now what if we score the overtime winner? What's the story today? Are they saying what a great job that our top line did and how their top line needs to find more, because 5-on-5 they didn't have much either. And that's one important thing to remember. The difference in the game was we scored one 5-on-5 goal, and they scored one 5-on-5 goal, and they got one power play [goal] and we didn't.”

Still, the Blackhawks have a lot more weapons. I’ll just plainly say it, no chance the Wild wins the series if the top line doesn’t find a way to get more scoring chances.

“Right,” Yeo said. “But at the same time, we also need them to play defensively the same way they did. And this is kind of what we talked about last night. We have to continue to have the same defensive focus and game plan but if we go out there and we just try to outscore those guys shift after shift than they can hurt you to.

So it's building within our game and that has to be the base of it, but now we've got to piece by piece get a little bit better. And there are areas that we can get better -- in particular in the offensive zone. We weren't there enough and we didn't stay there long enough when we were there. This time of year, getting pucks through to the net, creating those scrums, that's how a good majority of those goals are scored.”

Game 2 is crucial.

“Well there's no question there's a big difference between being 1-1 and down 2-0,” Yeo said. “But having said that, we have to make sure we approach it with the right mindset. We have to go in with desperation for sure, but our goal is to get the split and that's what we're focused on.

I'll update this with some more Parise stuff after I transcribe.

I will be on KFAN at 5:20 with Dan Barriero and on KFAN Thursday morning from 9:15-11 a.m. with Paul Allen.

CHICAGO STUFF TODAY, courtesy of my friend, Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun

ODUYA

on Suter playing 41 minutes

“He’s a tremendous defenceman. There aren’t many guys around who can do that. We want to force him to make as many tough plays as possible, try and wear him down, even though that’s very tough. We have enough forwards to keep him busy. If we keep playing our game eventually we’ll eventually break through him.”

on Minnesota shutting things down, protecting Harding.

“We know they’re doing a great job trying to block as many shots as possible, but if our game is working we’re going to fine.”

TOEWS

on Wild style

“That’s how they’ve played us all season. We kind of expected that in Game 1 and it’s not going to change. It’s up to us to keep being as tough as we can on their goaltender, get more second efforts and more traffic. We have to keep wearing them down as much as we can.

“We like to think of ourselves as an offensive team that can score in a lot of different ways.

on Harding

“It’s nothing short of amazing. I have a lot of respect for a guy like that... I read his quotes about not wanting any sympathy, he’s going to keep working, keep playing. You have to respect an opponent like that, especially when he’s going through something like that. Seeing the way he played, the stops he made was pretty cool. We know he’s stepping into that spot light an assuming that responsibility, which isn’t an easy thing to do... but what we want to do as a team is be tougher on their goaltender. We need to do that.”

SHARP

“That’s a lot to do with their coaching staff over there and the way they play the game, well disciplined, good in all areas. There’s not going to be too many easy games or easy opportunities to score. But we feel comfortable playing that style of game. We’ve propven we can be successful playing that way.”

Playing through adversity like Harding is:

“It seems commonplace in today’s game, especially hockey, to play through injuries and different situations. You have to tip your hat to what Josh is going through on their side. It’s pretty amazing that he’s able to play at the level he does, it’s an inspiration for a lot of people. My personal story would probably be Duncan Keith in the playoffs in 2010. I don’t even know if he missed a shift, maybe one or two, after he lost nine teeth. That’s one thing that was pretty impressive to me.”

“Sometimes when you have bumps and bruises or minor injuries you look to the guy next to you that is dealing with something much worse and it makes it a little easier.”

No mullet for him, just Saad and Kane

“In 2010 Kaner and I got the mullets originally but I backed out the day before the first game. I didn’t want to deal with my mom and dad giving me heck after every game, telling me I look like an idiot. We’ll leave that up to those two.”

SEABROOK

on Suter

“It was unbelievable. During the game we noticed he was out there quite a bit. Then we saw the sheet after the game and he had 41 minutes. It was unbelievable. I remember Dunc and I played 30 minutes at the end of overtime and it felt like a lot. 41 is pretty crazy.”

QUENNEVILLE

On the Oduya pass off the glass to set up the OT winner: “I think that was one of the best indirect passes you’ll ever see. I think Johhny saw the play unfolding and meant to do that. It turned out to be a special pass.”

Fighting through Minnesota’s style: “I expected a tight series, low scoring games. Minnesota has always defending the front of their net extremely well. The clean looks through the middle of the ice in their end are going to be hard to find.

“If we want to play a pretty game into that type of traffic it’s going to lead to them having some success. We have to play an uglier game.”

Star Tribune LOADED: 05.02.2013


Blackhawks show off depth in Game 1 against Wild

Article by: JAY COHEN , Associated Press

Updated: May 1, 2013 - 3:14 PM

CHICAGO - The Minnesota Wild got a terrific effort from Josh Harding in a tough spot. Ryan Suter helped Minnesota keep Chicago's high-powered attack in check, and the Wild still lost Game 1 to the Blackhawks.

The problem for Minnesota is the same one Chicago presented all season long to the rest of the NHL, and it could become even more important as the series moves forward.

The Blackhawks are so deep that it's tough to keep track of everyone.

Take the overtime goal in Tuesday night's playoff opener, which went to Chicago's third line. Or the ice time on the score sheet, which showed a pretty even distribution for the Blackhawks compared to an astounding 41 minutes for Suter and 34 for fellow Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin.

"Every shift's critical, and it's important that you hold up your end of the bargain," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "Your depth's going to get challenged and I think we found out all year it was one of the strengths of our team. This year, in the playoffs, I don't think that's changed at all, maybe it would even be that much more important."

Minnesota's depth was challenged when goalie Niklas Backstrom was scratched with a leg injury after he hurt himself while reaching for a puck as he warmed up for Game 1. Harding, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis diagnosis last summer and played in just five games this season, responded with 35 saves.

Harding could be in the net again for Game 2 on Friday night at the United Center.

The Blackhawks rolled to an NHL-best 36-7-5 record this season, winning the Presidents' Trophy for the first time in 32 years and raising the expectations for a second championship in four years. Nine players had at least 20 points, helping Chicago to 149 goals — second only to high-scoring Pittsburgh.

Beyond Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp, rookie Brandon Saad and speedy Viktor Stalberg are all capable scorers. Bryan Bickell and Dave Bolland came up with a handful of big plays this year. Defensemen Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Niklas Hjalmarsson can contribute on both sides of the ice.

Thanks to all that depth, Chicago kept winning even when injuries popped and forced Quenneville to shuffle the lines a bit. Bolland and goalie Ray Emery, who have been out with lower body injuries, could practice on Thursday, but Quenneville was uncertain about their availability for Game 2.

From the stars to the role players, the Blackhawks have received contributions up and down the roster this season. And they think it could make a difference as the series wears on against the Wild.

"That's supposed to be one of those advantages we have as a team, that if the game goes late like it did last night, that we still have a lot of energy," Toews said Wednesday. "We still have a lot of legs and we can keep going and rely on whoever it is to score that overtime goal. It doesn't really matter who gets the job done. We'll find ways to wear teams down."

Jay Cohen



Wild's Harding stays on task with Game 2 in Chicago on deck

Article by: MICHAEL RUSSO , Star Tribune

Updated: May 2, 2013 - 12:09 AM

An inspirational showing in an emergency start earned Josh Harding compliments, but the Wild goalie is keeping his focus on Game 2.

Whether he wants to be or not — and he doesn’t — Josh Harding continued to be a major story around hockey Wednesday, one day after being called upon at the last second to play goalie for the Wild in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Harding, making his first career playoff start and first NHL start since experiencing complications from multiple sclerosis, made 35 saves in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp called Harding an “inspiration for so many people.” Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said the way Harding played “was nothing short of amazing.”

Former teammate Eric Nystrom tweeted, “Harding exemplifies everything [a] hockey player should be! No quit, no feeling sorry, just battling against all odds fearlessly.”

Even celebrity Michael J. Fox, who has Parkinson’s disease, tweeted, “NHL playoffs! Yes !!! Josh Harding... Great story.”

Harding is genuinely uncomfortable with all the hoopla surrounding his appearance Tuesday. He wouldn’t care if the story was simply about an impressive performance by a goaltender who had to flip that mental switch in warm-ups and go from backup to starter in a snap.

But Harding doesn’t want to be known as the goalie with MS. What’s more, with it crucial that the Wild focuses on returning to Chicago and forcing a split, he doesn’t want to be considered a hero because he backstopped a playoff game with MS.

“I have to take care of my business, and there’s a lot of time in the summer to get caught up on all that stuff,” Harding said of the outpouring of support.

The Wild’s longtime backup knows he must get refocused for Friday’s Game 2 because the chances are good he will be starting.

Niklas Backstrom is day-to-day because of what coach Mike Yeo is calling a lower-body injury. But considering Backstrom had to struggle off the ice in discomfort Tuesday and considering he has had groin and hip issues in previous seasons and considering the Wild recalled Darcy Kuemper even though the Houston Aeros had a playoff game Wednesday night, all signs point toward Harding being between the pipes Friday.

“We have a lot of confidence in him and we know how good of a goalie he is,” teammate Zach Parise said. “I can’t imagine what’s going through his mind at the time going through that circumstance, but I thought he rose to the occasion and played great, and really gave us a chance to win.

“I don’t know what Backy’s status is, but if it’s Josh moving forward, we have a lot of confidence in him, too.”

Harding didn’t see Backstrom get hurt Tuesday. He was on the ice stretching when Backstrom reached for a rebound to his right. He pushed off and seemed to pull something in his left leg.

“Mikko [Koivu] came and said, ‘Hards, get in there,’ ” Harding said. “I went in and finished warm-up, and I took the end shots.”

Harding began a final lap around the zone. As he reached the red line, Harding was joined by Parise, who gave him a few words of support and a tap of his stick.

“He’s had a hard year. We all know that. He’s gone through a lot,” Parise said. “I was just telling him it was his time now.”

Harding departed the ice like the starter would with four minutes left in warm-ups. When he got to his locker, Backstrom wasn’t sitting in the stall to his left.


The Wild did a quality job defensively to protect him. Defenseman Jared Spurgeon blocked seven shots. Marco Scandella and Ryan Suter combined for eight, and Suter logged 41-plus minutes.

“They played great,” Harding said. “I don’t know how many blocked shots they had [21], but they had a lot. There were guys that were sacrificing, and that’s playoff hockey. We need to do whatever it takes to win. I think all the guys did that.”

Harding gave the Wild a chance to win Tuesday. The Wild couldn’t get it done, making Friday absolutely critical.

“There’s no question there’s a big difference between being 1-1 and down 2-0,” Yeo said. “But having said that, we have to make sure we approach it with the right mind-set. We have to go in with desperation for sure, but our goal is to get the split and that’s what we’re focused on.”



Souhan: Drama of Game 1 reminds us what playoff hockey is all about

Article by: JIM SOUHAN , Star Tribune

Updated: May 1, 2013 - 11:55 PM

An intense, compelling opener set the tone for more to come.

There is no mainstream American sport that becomes as gloriously transformed during its postseason as hockey.

After five years of playoff abstinence, the Wild on Tuesday night provided a reminder of how the Stanley Cup playoffs are to the NHL regular season as Imax is to earbuds.

During a 2-1 overtime loss to Chicago at the United Center, the Wild’s players conducted a 76-minute tutorial on what it means to play a game of brutal and sudden consequences.

Tuesday, there was no salvaging a point or waiting for the shootout. There were no staged fights between pseudo-skaters. There were players pushing through injuries, knowing that the reward for winning would be another two months of slashes and hip checks.

There was noise. Constant and deafening noise, from the time Jim Cornelison belted out the national anthem and United Center became a cauldron filled with red jerseys and throbbing eardrums.

“They have to pump something into the speakers there, because it’s so loud,’’ defenseman Ryan Suter said. “You look up in the crowd and everyone’s singing.’’

“That’s pretty incredible, what they do during the anthem,’’ forward Zach Parise said. “That’s pretty awesome. I think we did a really good job of handling that. We played smart, we didn’t give them quality chances early, and I think we did a good job of controlling the crowd. … When you can do that in that building, that’s a good sign.’’

The NHL playoffs magnify drama and heighten moments.

After starting Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom injured himself in warm-ups, Josh Harding played brilliantly on short notice despite having spent the season undergoing treatment for multiple sclerosis.

Matt Cullen took a hit to his right leg and skated off the ice, grimacing, only to return a few minutes later. Mike Rupp broke a skate and crawled from the goalline to the bench. Mikko Koivu covered himself in ice after the game.

Ryan Suter played more than 41 minutes, and wound up making a pass one-handed, whether because of circumstance or a sore body part. In perhaps the greatest testament to the inspirational powers of playoff hockey, Pierre Marc-Bouchard threw a body check.

“I think that’s one area where we need to continue to get better as a team,’’ coach Mike Yeo said. “One thing I thought we did well was we played a good, structured game. But for me, one key is to take that structure and add a physical element to it.’’

Physical play will increase whether the Wild is an instigator or not. The first game of a best-of-seven Stanley Cup playoff series provides a layer of bruising, an undercurrent of antagonism. As the series progresses, anger will become an accelerant.

Not that anyone was angry Wednesday. The Wild flew home from Chicago late Tuesday night, so everyone could sleep in their own beds.

Parise came to the interview room still wearing his skates, seemingly more enthralled by playoff hockey than discouraged by the loss.

“There are times when you’re going to have a disappointing game, or a disappointing result to a game,’’ he said. “You can’t let it carry over.’’

Suter walked out of Xcel Energy Center carrying his son, who was carrying a miniature hockey stick, on his shoulder.

“We’re going to their building,’’ he said. “We have to win one there. I mean, we’re all excited to get playing again.’’

With a rusty backup goalie pressed into duty, the Wild had several chances to win Game 1. Jason Zucker hit the inside of the left post, only to have the puck scoot behind Chicago goalie Corey Crawford without going into the net. Koivu and Parise took shots from the slot late in the third period and in overtime.

“I thought mine was in,’’ Parise said.

Tuesday, the line between winning and losing was as thin and defined as a facial scar. Friday night, the Wild, having reminded Minnesotans what playoff hockey looks like, goes back for more.



Wild notes: Focus turns to generating more offense against Chicago in Game 2

Article by: MICHAEL RUSSO , Star Tribune

Updated: May 2, 2013 - 12:34 AM

The Wild must find ways to generate more against the team that gave up the fewest goals in the NHL during the regular season.

Defensively, it’s hard to imagine the Wild playing better against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Wild didn’t give the offensive juggernaut much in Tuesday’s 2-1 overtime loss in Game 1 of the Western Conference first-round playoff series.

Now the Wild must find ways to generate more against the team that gave up the fewest goals in the NHL during the regular season. It could start with more physical play.

“We have to make sure that we’re making their [defensemen] pay a price,” coach Mike Yeo said. “We have to make sure we’re getting pucks behind them, and I thought our forecheck wasn’t enough a factor in the game for us.”

The Zach Parise-Mikko Koivu-Charlie Coyle line was limited to five shots.

“I was going to look at a little of the film, of our lines and shifts,” Parise said. “I thought we had too many what I call one-and-done plays, where we get into the zone and try to make a play and it gets broken up and we’re back out of our zone.

“We’ll have to see and find things we can do a little better and hold onto the puck a little more. That’s been one of our strengths this season, of our line, is getting the puck down low, and I don’t think we did a very good job of that last night.”

Koivu won 12 of 19 faceoffs, but Parise said he and Coyle, as well as the defensemen, need to help Koivu win more.

“They’re the type of team that if you don’t win the draw against them, you could be chasing the puck the whole shift,” Parise said.

Powerless play

The Wild’s power play finished the regular season ranked second on the road, but it went 0-for-4 Tuesday, including advantages in the third period and overtime with the score tied at 1-1.

Yeo said they will meet with the power-play units Thursday after breaking down the video.

“We were a little too slow and a little too passive against a team that plays tight,” Yeo said. “They play to the inside, so if you’re not aggressive and ready to attack in certain situations than it’s pretty easy for them to keep you to the outside.”

Iron man

Defenseman Ryan Suter said he felt good Wednesday after logging a franchise-record 41 minutes, 8 seconds in Game 1.

“It’s unreal,” Parise said. “He comes off the ice after what seems like a two-minute shift, and he’s not even breathing heavy. I don’t get it. I wish I was the same way. He played a lot of hockey [Tuesday] and he comes in [Wednesday] and looks like he had a day off [Tuesday]. I can’t say I’m surprised.”

Said Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook: “We noticed he was out there quite a bit. … We saw the sheet after the game, and 41 minutes is unbelievable. I remember going back to last year, Duncan [Keith] and I played 30 minutes. … That felt like a lot.

“Forty-one was unbelievable. It was pretty crazy.”

No backup needed

Left with no other goalie with Niklas Backstrom hurt, Yeo smiled slyly when asked what the Wild would have done Tuesday night if Josh Harding was injured or played poorly.

“I don’t know,” Yeo said. “I didn’t like some of the choices that were being thrown at us.”

Who?

“[Goalie coach] Bob Mason maybe,” Yeo said. “[TV color man and former goalie] Mike Greenlay, maybe. [Assistant to the GM and former goalie] Jim Mill.”

Truth is, the Wild would only have been permitted to use a player on its roster, meaning it would have had to been a skater with no third goalie on the roster.

“Josh got hit there in the third period — I think [Jonathan] Toews kind of hit him — and I was thinking, ‘What happens if he goes down?’ ” Suter said. “Luckily, we didn’t have to deal with that.”

Darcy Kuemper was recalled from Houston of the AHL on Wednesday.

Pominville questionable

Forward Jason Pominville (head), who has missed three games, is questionable to return Friday.



Blackhawks notes: Chicago is used to living on the edge

Article by: BOB HURST , Special to the Star Tribune

Updated: May 2, 2013 - 12:35 AM

Over the course of 48 games, the Blackhawks played in 16 games decided by one goal, either in regulation or in overtime, and were involved in 11 shootouts.

Chicago went 8-3 in games that were won by a goal in regulation, 5-0 in overtime and 6-5 in shootouts.

“We won so many games in the regular season that either went into overtime or were tight games, so there was great experience,” right winger Marian Hossa said. “We find a way to win.”

The Blackhawks beat the Wild 2-1 with 3 minutes, 25 seconds left to play in overtime Tuesday night on Bryan Bickell’s goal. It was Chicago’s eighth overtime postseason game in its past nine playoff contests, dating to Game 6 of the 2011 Western Conference quarterfinals against Vancouver.

The Blackhawks struggled through a first period that had them down 1-0 to the Wild.

“We didn’t like our start to the game, we didn’t like our first period, but we progressed and found a way,” Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “That’s something we were pleased with, but we have to be better.

“We know we’re in a fight now, and we know we have to pick up the pace. I didn’t like getting behind early; it’s not the pace we’re accustomed to beginning games. Hopefully we can learn from that and get better.”

Goaltender Corey Crawford had 21 saves from the second period on after giving up a first-period goal to Cal Clutterbuck.

“It was definitely a battle,” Crawford said. “That’s not the way you want to start a game.”

Etc.

• The Blackhawks didn’t practice Wednesday, so there were no updates on injured winger Dave Bolland (groin) and goalie Ray Emery (lower body). Neither dressed Tuesday.



Minnesota Wild suddenly find themselves all-in with Josh Harding

By Chad Graff

Posted: 05/01/2013 12:01:00 AM CDT

Updated: 05/01/2013 07:03:29 PM CDT

Zach Parise stopped next to Josh Harding a few minutes before the puck dropped in the Minnesota Wild's first playoff game in five years. It was also a few minutes after Harding learned he was starting Game 1.

After the whirlwind that has been Harding's past seven months, Parise wanted to share a few words with the goalie before his first start since January.

"It's your time now," Parise told the 28-year-old goalie.

His time came after Niklas Backstrom's time. And up until Game 1 on Tuesday night, April 30, it looked as if there wouldn't be time for anyone else.

Backstrom played in 27 of the Wild's final 28 games and 42 of the 48 regular-season games. At 24-15-3, he is perhaps the biggest reason the Wild squeezed into the playoffs as a No. 8 seed.

Coach Mike Yeo had ridden Backstrom through a hot March that led them to the division lead. Then things went south and Yeo rode Backstrom through a must-win performance in Colorado last weekend. Tuesday was supposed to be more of the same. Backstrom would start Game 1, and then Game 2 and likely every playoff game the Wild played.

After Harding's multiple sclerosis diagnosis last fall and subsequent leave late this winter as he adjusted to medicine, and after trading away one of the team's two top goalie prospects in the package they used to acquire Jason Pominville, the Wild really didn't have any other option.

It's easy to make the case that Yeo burned out Backstrom.

The goalie likely should have

played less at the end of March and early April. Regardless, the Wild were successful with Backstrom in the goal for the long haul this shortened season. The plan was for more of the same in the playoffs.

That changed with one pregame slip.

On Tuesday, Yeo said Backstrom was "day to day" after suffering a "lower body injury" during warmups for Game 1.

"Well, we'll just have to see how he comes in tomorrow," Yeo said.

It's easy to say the Wild should have hedged their Backstrom bet by playing Harding or Darcy Kuemper more.

But Harding wasn't ready to resume NHL play until two weeks ago, and Kuemper was sent back to the minor leagues at that point. After Backstrom got shellacked early on in the home finale, Harding came in and gave up three goals against the lowly Edmonton Oilers.

At that point, it was easy to make the case that Harding wasn't even the second-best goalie in the organization. He had played once in 10 weeks and got booed off the ice by home fans in his last outing.

But Yeo remained confident in the goalie and opted against calling up Kuemper for the playoffs despite having plenty of room on the roster. (Kuemper was called up Wednesday.) Then Tuesday, the unthinkable happened. Backstrom, the Wild's iron man, got hurt knocking away a warmup shot minutes before the playoff opener against the NHL's best team.

Exit Backstrom. Enter Harding.

"I was anxious for a lot of reasons to see him have a chance to bounce back," Yeo said of Harding. "He was thrown into a tough situation in that Edmonton game, and if you know Josh, he's a competitor, and I'm sure he was looking for an opportunity to get back in there, too. Obviously he wasn't expecting it to happen like that. You've got confidence in the guys in your room."

On Tuesday, Harding was the reason the Wild nearly beat the league's best team. He stopped 35 shots and kept a high-powered offense at bay with help from a dedicated defense.

If Backstrom is forced to miss multiple games, can Harding repeat that performance? Over multiple games?

"Yes," Yeo said.

Harding bailed out the Wild's all-in bet on Backstrom in Game 1.

But how likely is it that a goalie who has played 117 NHL minutes the past 10 weeks keeps it up an entire series against the league's best team? To do so would be the story of the season for the Wild.

"We have a lot of confidence in him, and we know how good a goalie he is," Parise said. "I can't imagine what's going through his mind at the time going through that circumstance, but I thought he rose to the occasion and played great, and really gave us a chance to win -- gave us a lot of chances to win. I don't know what Backy's status is, but if it's Josh moving forward, we have a lot of confidence in him, too."

After Backstrom skated off the ice during warmups Tuesday, team captain Mikko Koivu skated over to Harding.

"Hards," he said, "get in there."

It was his time.

After his Game 1 performance -- and for as long as Backstrom is out -- it is still his time.

Pioneer Press LOADED: 05.02.2013


Tom Powers: Minnesota Wild need to play with more fire

By Tom Powers

Posted: 05/01/2013 12:01:00 AM CDT

Updated: 05/01/2013 07:00:49 PM CDT

No one from the Wild has called a Chicago Blackhawk "mush head." But with luck it's coming.

"Mush head" is the term famously used by former Wild tough guy Derek Boogaard to describe Mr. Brad May of the Anaheim Ducks. May, a hard-knuckles type, had just sucker-punched Wild defenseman Kim Johnsson and knocked him out of the Ducks-Wild playoff series in 2007.

Mush head: It conjures up a lot of Images.

There was a lot of fire in that first-round series, eventually won by the Ducks in five games. We even had a pregame brawl before Game 5 in Anaheim. It was an interesting pregame brawl, although nothing like the one before a North Stars' playoff game against the Oilers in 1991.

Before that game in Edmonton, the players started skating closer and closer to each other during warmups. Finally, Bobby Smith and Dave Brown locked skates and went down in a heap. My lingering memory is of referee Kerry Fraser, in dress pants, shoes and a white T-shirt, pulling players apart 20 minutes before the opening faceoff.

I'm not condoning such violence, mostly because I couldn't stand the abuse from all the touchy-feely types who inhabit this I'm-OK-you're-OK world. But one thing about the playoffs that I do enjoy is the temporary reprieve from Eurohockey. For 82 regular-season games -- 48 this shortened campaign -- we have players skating in little circles, cycling, poking at the puck and saying "excuse me" after any sort of contact.

We went from the rugged North American

up-and-down game to a hybrid style and then to pure Eurohockey. Now guys skate twice as fast as they used to but can't direct a puck past a goaltender to save their lives. Sometimes it looks more like an exercise class than a sporting event.

That usually changes in the playoffs when the North American style again becomes evident because emotion triumphs over robotics. And the playoffs are all about fiery hockey games.

Against the Blackhawks in Game 1 on Tuesday night, April 30, the Wild

put forth a structurally sound, properly positioned effort. They were very businesslike. But there was very little fire.

"I think that that's one area that we have to continue to get better as a team," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "For me, one key is to take that structure and add a physical element to it. We definitely have to bring a nastiness to our game. I think there were situations where we could have done that."

Yes, and that doesn't necessarily mean running around haphazardly. The Wild have to get the puck behind the Hawks defensemen and then rub those defenders into the end boards. They have to add an element of ferocity to their forecheck. And they can't quit on plays so easily, content to back off and let the Hawks take over.

If they do those things, play more aggressively, the temperature of the series will rise. If they don't, they aren't going very far. Chicago has superior talent. The only equalizer is emotion.

"I thought there were some times when we were a little too passive," Zach Parise agreed. "I think we can do a better job of not necessarily just setting up in our controlled forecheck, but where we can actually get in there on our forecheck and not be so passive and not back out."

It takes a while to transition from Eurohockey to playoff hockey, especially for a team that hasn't been in the postseason for a while. But there isn't a lot of time to spare. And there aren't quite as many mush heads in the league that will ignite the sort of rhubarb that gets both sides all worked up.

Oddly enough, a strikingly similar incident to the May-Johnsson mugging occurred in that same North Stars-Oilers series in which there was the pregame brawl. When a scrum broke out on the ice, tough Kelly Buchberger jumped the North Stars' Ulf Dahlen, who like Johnsson was a talented but finesse-style Swede.

I mentioned in the newspaper the next day that it was the equivalent of a hunter opening fire on Bambi. That morning, Dahlen approached me in the airport with the paper tucked under his arm.

"Who is this Bambi?" he wanted to know.

So the Wild's task is clear. Structure, positioning, defensive awareness ... blah, blah, blah. That's all well and good, but now it's time to add some fire to their game.



Minnesota Wild: Josh Harding was Plan B. Who was Plan C?

By Bruce Brothers

Posted: 05/01/2013 12:01:00 AM CDT

Updated: 05/01/2013 07:13:48 PM CDT

What if Josh Harding had gotten hurt, too?

The Wild were down to their final goalie in their Stanley Cup playoff series opener against the Blackhawks in Chicago on Tuesday night, April 30, after Niklas Backstrom suffered an injury during pregame warmups.

For more than 76 minutes of a game won 2-1 by Chicago in overtime, Harding was Minnesota's only remaining goalie.

Asked Tuesday if there was a backup plan, coach Mike Yeo shook his head.

"I don't know," he said. "I didn't like some of the options that were being thrown at us."

Yeo said people suggested goaltending coach Bob Mason, TV analyst Mike Greenlay or even assistant general manager Jim Mill -- all former goalies -- could step in. In reality, they would have needed to use someone on the team's active roster.

Who?

"I was wondering that," Wild defenseman Ryan Suter said. "Josh got hit there in the third period -- I think (Jonathan) Toews kind of hit him -- and I was thinking, 'What happens if he goes down?' Luckily, we didn't have to deal with that."

In the NHL's early years, teams often had just one goaltender. If he was hurt, an amateur goalie from among the spectators often would be called on to play.

Now?

"They would've given us enough time to deal with it if that situation arose," Yeo said. "But I didn't want to have to think about that."

With Backstrom still day-to-day, the Wild called up Darcy Kuemper from Houston of the American Hockey League on Tuesday.

Just in case.



Minnesota Wild call Niklas Backstrom 'day-to-day,' recall Darcy Kuemper

By Chad Graff

Posted: 05/01/2013 12:01:00 AM CDT

Updated: 05/01/2013 02:48:22 PM CDT

Injured goalie Niklas Backstrom and forward Jason Pominville are day-to-day, Minnesota Wild coach Mike Yeo said Wednesday, May 1.

With backup Josh Harding the only healthy goalie, the Wild called up Darcy Kuemper from the American Hockey League Houston Aeros, who are in a playoff series with Grand Rapids.

Backstrom suffered a lower-body injury on a routine sliding save during pregame warmups for the Wild's first playoff game Tuesday night against the Chicago Blackhawks.

"He's ... getting checked out," Yeo said of Backstrom. "Not much of an update. ... We'll just have to see how he comes in tomorrow. Not to be sarcastic, but hence the day-to-day."

Harding, who missed most of the season because of his reaction to medication for multiple sclerosis, had made only one appearance for the Wild since Feb. 7. In that game, he allowed three goals to the Edmonton Oilers on 12 shots.

Harding was impressive in Tuesday's 2-1 overtime loss, making 35 saves.

"I was anxious for a lot of reasons to see him have a chance to bounce back," Yeo said of Harding. "He was thrown into a tough situation in that Edmonton game, and if you know Josh, he's a competitor and I'm sure he was looking for an opportunity to get back in there, too. Obviously, he wasn't expecting it to happen like that. You've got confidence in the guys that are in your room."

Harding said he didn't know he was starting until just before the game, when Backstrom wasn't in his locker room stall.

"I just

kind of took it as I'm playing until somebody comes and tells me I'm not," Harding said.

Backstrom made a save on a shot during warmups, then slid to his right to attempt a save on the rebound and pulled up hurt. He made it to the bench, where he was helped away from the area.

Harding said he didn't see the play.

"I really didn't," he said. "Mikko (Koivu) came and said, 'Hards, get in there.' I went in and finished warmups, and I took the end shots."

Kuemper, 22, spent time as Backstrom's backup earlier this season while Harding was out. Kuemper has a .916 save percentage and 2.08 goals-against average in 288 minutes of NHL time this season.

The Wild and Blackhawks will play Game 2 in Chicago on Friday.

Follow Chad Graff



Chicago Blackhawks: Wild give fortunate favorites needed wake-up call

By David Haugh

Posted: 05/01/2013 12:01:00 AM CDT

Updated: 05/01/2013 07:08:58 AM CDT

CHICAGO -- A man of few words, and front teeth, Bryan Bickell flashed a smile only a hockey mom could love Tuesday night, summing up how it felt to score the winning goal in the Blackhawks' 2-1 overtime victory over the Wild.

"It's special," Bickell said. "It was fun. Exciting."

Harrowing escapes often are. When Bickell took a nifty pass from Viktor Stalberg and beat Wild goalie Josh Harding with 3:25 left in OT to win Game 1, the United Center erupted with a mixture of joy and relief. The better team won. But it took the Hawks too long to make it obvious which team was better.

"We found a way to win," Jonathan Toews said.

Championship teams do.

A night that ended with the Hawks finally looking good again began with them feeling lucky.

In what looked like another gift from the hockey gods, Wild starting goaltender Niklas Backstrom needed help off the ice during warm-ups after he injured his left leg reaching for a puck. Enter Harding, who made three starts all season after being diagnosed last fall with multiple sclerosis. The last time Harding started against the Hawks, on Jan. 30, he let two of their first four shots past him in seven minutes. The Hawks marketing department couldn't have written a better opening scene for the playoff script than a Wild drama calling on the understudy.

Yet less than five minutes later, Corey Crawford surprisingly gave everybody reason to wonder if both teams had started the playoffs using their backup

goalies.

Crawford gave up the kind of goal that raised questions we all thought he had answered with a bounce-back season. Cal Clutterbuck sneaked a goal past Crawford from the left circle at the 4:48 mark to suck the enthusiasm out of a building filled with 21,428 people expecting much more. What a Clutterbuck indeed.

It wasn't fair or rational, but the reaction to Clutterbuck's goal around Chicago quickly shifted the focus from the maturing goalie who helped win the William M. Jennings Trophy for fewest goals allowed to the one who has lost two straight playoff series. Crawford recovered to make two terrific saves in the final minute of the period and one game-saver in overtime, long after doubt crept in when the first puck slipped past No. 50.

"It was tough to get over," Crawford said. "But I was able to bounce back."

True, but how many Hawks fans asked one another in the first period how bad Ray Emery's lower-body injury was? How many Chicagoans watching the Wild take a 1-0 lead Googled "Presidents' Trophy Curse" on their computers or smartphones? Did any team need an early reminder that the playoffs guarantee nothing more than the Blackhawks?

No.

"Maybe we just had to get that out of the way," Toews said. "When they scored that first goal, we just sat on the bench and said, 'Hey, we've just got to relax and play and treat it as another game.' Bring our pace up. That's what playoff hockey is all about."

Playoff hockey is all about overcoming adversity, a foreign concept to these Hawks.

They went 36-7-5 and finished the season with fewer complaints than losses. When asked about rough stretches last week, coach Joel Quenneville identified periods instead of games. There were three. The

Hawks' idea of hardship was fog on the tarmac delaying the team's charter plane.

They needed this struggle.

This isn't the NBA playoffs, in which the Heat harbor realistic hopes of sweeping their way to another title. The Stanley Cup represents the toughest championship in pro sports to win. Winning 16 playoff games in eight weeks will test the Hawks more than dominating 48 regular-season games in 99 days. They should thank the Wild for reinforcing that in a first period that became the Hawks' 15 minutes of blame.

The Hawks can beat the Wild in the first round but won't win another Cup this way. On CSN Chicago, the great Pat Foley accurately described the Hawks as "out of sorts." On the ice, they opened the game as if they exhaled after seeing Backstrom leave. This didn't consistently look like the team that won the Presidents' Trophy. This looked like the team that had been ousted in the first round two straight years.

The Hawks can say they were ready to begin a postseason that carries a Stanley-Cup-or-bust mandate, but that start was no way to show it.

The Wild knew they couldn't outskate the Hawks, so they adjusted. They emphasized defense, clogging lanes and blocking shots. They rallied around a goaltender -- and his inspiring story -- who found out he was starting a half-hour before the puck dropped.

They responded to the big moment. By the end of a special night for Bickell, the Hawks remembered how too.



Harding's story inspires even a Chicago fan

Ben Garvin

Posted: 05/01/2013 12:01:00 AM CDT

Updated: 05/01/2013 10:30:48 PM CDT

A Minnesota photographer walked into a Chicago bar Wednesday, May 1, expecting to tell a story about rivalry and trash talk but walked away instead with a story about real respect.

"(Josh) Harding played a great game; he was unbelievable," said Jordan Golberg, a die-hard Blackhawks fan and owner of the Third Rail Tavern on Madison Street in Chicago. "That guy played like he was possessed. He was better than everybody last night."

The praise didn't stop there.

"To lose in overtime on that last play, I don't know too many goalies who could've stopped that," said Anthony Provinzino while nursing a pint of ale. "The pass, the puck in the net. There was nobody on the planet who could have stopped that."

Provinzino was especially moved to learn that Harding was recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

"When the game started, I was rooting for the Blackhawks 100 percent, wanted to see them win and win quick," he said. "But then after hearing the commentators explain what he's had to go through, I want to see (Harding) accomplish something that no other athlete in history has ever done.

"The inspiration that he's providing for the team and other people throughout the world that are actually suffering from a disability and are trying to power through it is worth far more than a Cup."



Charley Walters: National anthem sets Chicago's United Center into high gear

Charley Walters

Posted: 05/01/2013 12:01:00 AM CDT

Updated: 05/01/2013 10:20:22 PM CDT

Perhaps no arena in the NHL has fans more hyped for games -- especially playoff games -- during the national anthem than Chicago's United Center.

"It's just loud," Wild star defenseman Ryan Suter said Wednesday, May 1, a day after the Blackhawks thrilled the hometown crowd by winning their opening playoff game against the Wild 2-1 in overtime.

"I don't know ... they have to pump something in the speakers there because it's loud. It's very loud. You look up, everyone's cheering and singing. It's a great atmosphere; it really is."

The Vikings got quality backup players of solid character when they signed defensive end Lawrence Jackson and defensive back Jacob Lacey from the Detroit Lions as free agents. That's the word from one NFL official in the know.

Jackson and Lacey are also said to be good teammates.

It shouldn't be long before the Twins promote last year's first-round draft pick, Byron Buxton. In 22 games for Class A Cedar Rapids this season, the speedy outfielder, who doesn't turn 20 until December, has 31 hits, including five doubles, three triples and four home runs with 21 runs batted in and 25 runs scored. He's hitting .392 and has stolen nine bases in 13 tries.

Recently retired major league umpiring crew chief Tim Tschida, who is from St. Paul and resides in Wisconsin, is an assistant high school baseball coach at Cumberland. Tschida wears uniform No. 44 and coaches first base. No

word on whether he disputes umpires' calls.

The major league baseball minimum salary, which was $480,000 last year, is $490,000 this season and goes to $500,000 next year. In 1969, the minimum salary was $10,000.

About 50 hopefuls are expected to compete in the St. Paul Saints' open tryouts Friday at Midway Stadium. Saints rookies are paid about $800 per month.

Explosive-leaping Jarvis Johnson, who will be a junior next school year at DeLaSalle, has basketball offers

from Minnesota, Penn State and Providence.

The Twins had strong walk-up sales for their weekend series against Texas at Target Field, moving them up to No. 17 in the major leagues (27,731 average per game).

Minnesota United players and staff of the North American Soccer League have signed a pledge by Athlete Ally, a nonprofit organization promoting anti-homophobia in sports and "respect and welcome (for) anyone of any sexual orientation," the New York Times reports.

Carl Pavano, 37, who was 2-5 with a 6.00 earned-run average for the Twins last season, is out of baseball.

New head boys basketball coach at Holy Angels High is Jesse Foley.

Pitcher Cole Nelson, 23, an Edina High grad who this week signed with the St. Paul Saints, had been traded to the Twins by the Detroit Tigers in the Delmon Young deal two years ago.

Ex-KARE Channel 11 news anchor Mike Pomeranz is pregame host for San Diego Padres telecasts, while ex-Fox Sports North reporter Robby Incmikoski covers sports in Pittsburgh.

Look for Jim Rantz to present Tom Mee and Rick Aguilera to present Eddie Guardado at Twins Hall of Fame inductions June 14 at Target Field.

University of St. Thomas athletics director Steve Fritz, the retired Hall of Fame Tommies men's basketball coach, recently received an Outstanding Service Award from the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

Providence College's Molly Illikainen, sister of highly recruited 6-9 Grand Rapids (Minn.) basketball star Alex Illikainen, was named to Hockey East's all-rookie team. Sister Morgan Illikainen is a standout sophomore hockey player for Dartmouth.

Gary Urcheck, who played for Bill Musselman at Ashland College, is helping raise $1.25 million to renovate the Kates Gymnasium to honor the late Timberwolves-Gophers coach.

DON'T PRINT THAT

It looks like Flip Saunders could be joining the Timberwolves in either an ownership or management capacity by Friday.

Word is the reason the Wild were not included among NHL teams that are expected to play six outdoor games next season is because Minnesota could end up getting the league's Winter Classic outdoor event in 2015 at Target Field, which is to host major league baseball's All-Star Game in 2014.

The Wild's opponent could be the Chicago Blackhawks, their current playoff foe.

Don't be surprised if ex-Gophers basketball coach Tubby Smith takes assistants Joe Esposito and Vince Taylor with him to Texas Tech.

Former Gophers linebacker Mike Rallis, who at 6 feet 2, 243 pounds clocked a 4.69-second 40-yard dash at his NFL pro day coupled with a 38-inch vertical jump and 25 consecutive bench presses of 225 pounds, leaves Thursday for Miami for minicamp with the Dolphins.

Could be a sleeper: Former Spring Lake Park and Bemidji State overachieving 6-5, 260-pound tight end Brian Leonhardt, who begins minicamp with the Oakland Raiders next week.

Ex-Gophers fullback Jon Hoese, 6-2, 245, also is with Oakland.

OVERHEARD

Wild defenseman Ryan Suter, who played 41 minutes in Tuesday's 2-1 overtime loss in Chicago, joking about how he is able to spend that much time on the ice: "I'm a good glider."



Video: Blackhawks fans admire Wild goalie Josh Harding

Ben Garvin

Posted: 05/01/2013 12:01:00 AM CDT

Updated: 05/01/2013 10:26:17 PM CDT

A Minnesota photographer walked into a Chicago bar on Wednesday, May 1, expecting to tell a story about rivalry and trash talk, but walked away instead with a story about real respect.

"(Wild goalie Josh) Harding played a great game, he was unbelievable," said Jordan Golberg, a die-hard Blackhawks fan and owner of the Third Rail Tavern on Madison Street in Chicago. "That guy played like he was possessed. He was better than everybody last night."

The praise didn't stop there.

"To lose in overtime on that last play, I don't know too many goalies who could've stopped that," said Anthony Provinzino while nursing a pint of Fat Tire Amber Ale. "The pass, the puck in the net. There was nobody on the planet who could have stopped that."

Provinzino was especially moved to learn that Harding was recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

"When the game started, I was rooting for the Blackhawks 100%, wanted to see them win and win quick," Provinzino said. "But then after hearing the commentators explain what he's had to go through, I want to see (Harding) accomplish something that no other athlete in history has ever done. The inspiration that he's providing for the team and other people throughout the world that are actually suffering from a disability and are trying to power through it is worth far more than a cup."



Wild: Josh Harding's performance with MS 'positive for our cause'

By Bruce Brothers

Posted: 05/01/2013 12:01:00 AM CDT

Updated: 05/01/2013 10:25:39 PM CDT

It wasn't just that Josh Harding played well in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the top-seeded Chicago Blackhawks that inspired everyone from actor Michael J. Fox to St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman.

Or that he did it on short notice after starting Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom was hurt during pregame warmups.

It was that Harding did it while dealing with multiple sclerosis.

And though Harding didn't want to talk about it after the 2-1 overtime loss, Maureen Reeder of Minneapolis, executive vice president of the Midwest Region of the National MS Society, was thrilled about it the following day.

"It's amazing. It's positive for our cause, and it's positive for him, too," Reeder said Wednesday, May 1. "We're delighted that he's doing so well in living with MS."

Holly Anderson, president of the Upper Midwest Chapter of the MS Society, says people with MS were defined by the disease 15 or 20 years ago but that's no longer true. When someone with a high profile such as Harding reveals his situation, as he did before the season, it helps.

"A lot of people with MS are worried about disclosing it," Anderson said. "You can live well with this disease; you can live a great life despite the disease."



Minnesota Wild: Twitter reaction to Josh Harding's performance

Pioneer Press

Posted: 05/01/2013 12:01:00 AM CDT

Updated: 05/01/2013 10:20:26 PM CDT

HARDING TWEETS

Some reaction to Josh Harding's Game 1 performance, in light of having multiple sclerosis:

"NHL playoffs! Yes !!! Josh Harding... Great story."

-- Michael J. Fox (@realmikefox)

"It's nothing short of amazing."

-- Blackhawks' Jonathan Toews (via Chicago Tribune's Chris Kuc (@ChrisKuc)

"Incredible game last night @mnwild. Proved they could skate with best in league. And #JoshHarding was inspiring."

-- St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman (@mayorcoleman)

"Easy to root for Minnesota Wild goalie Josh Harding. Diagnosed with MS early this year. Battling in OT vs Chi."

-- ESPN's Linda Cohn (@lindacohn)


673949 Montreal Canadiens

The NHL … in all its opening-round glory

ROY MacGREGOR

Published Wednesday, May. 01 2013, 9:30 PM EDT

Last updated Wednesday, May. 01 2013, 9:35 PM EDT

Think of it as the Reverse Stanley Cup.

Most long-time fans do. They have learned, after decades of spring watching, that hockey is the only sport where the season climax does not come at the end.

It is on right now.

The season high point can at times spread into the second round. But by and large, as NHL playoffs grew from two rounds to three and now to four, hockey became the only sport known where interest goes down as the playoffs move along.

Montreal Canadiens' Francis Bouillon (55) collides with Ottawa Senators' Chris Neil during second period NHL hockey action in Montreal, Wednesday, March 13, 2013.

Think you know which teams will make it through the NHL playoffs? Prove it

Baseball, of course, peaks at the World Series. Football has the Super Bowl and the Grey Cup as season finales.

But hockey? Not the same at all.

By the time the Stanley Cup is decided – this year it could be as late as June 28, when the days are already getting shorter – hockey-mad Canadians will still be watching but the television numbers will not tell the whole story. They will be watching in part out of passion, especially in the unlikely event of a home team still standing, in part out of habit, in part boredom. Wars of attrition actually aren’t as interesting as they are played up to be.

By the fourth round, hockey has slipped hugely from the conversation power it holds in the opening round or two. Those who cover the final – believe me, this is a fact – are by late June praying for a sweep, the very worst that can happen to what should be a championship moment.

But the opening round … this is the NHL’s great glory.

There is hockey on every night, often several games. And the excitement is often matched by the unexpected.

Just take Tuesday’s opening night of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs as but one example of irrefutable evidence:

Minnesota Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom goes down in the warmup, forcing backup Josh Harding – having played but five games this year after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis – into the net, and Harding dramatically carries his team to overtime before losing 2-1 to the top team of the regular season, Chicago Blackhawks.

Ageless Teemu Selanne, 42 going on 22, scores the winning goal in the third period to lead his Anaheim Ducks to a 3-1 victory over the once-so-powerful Detroit Red Wings.

The St. Louis Blues dump defending-Stanley-Cup-champion Los Angeles Kings 2-1 on a short-handed overtime goal by Alex Steen after an incredibly sloppy play by Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick – last year’s Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the most valuable player of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

And that is just opening night.

Wednesday night, the first round turned to the east, where dramatics were already well-scripted by sending ultra-shy Toronto Maple Leafs sniper Phil Kessel up against the loud and brash team that gave up on him, Boston Bruins. When will Sidney Crosby return from his busted jaw to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins against the New York Islanders and sudden superstar John Tavares?

In the Western Conference, could the Vancouver Canucks start to live up to their rapidly aging promise as they met the San Jose Sharks, equal mystery achievers?

Thursday will see the remaining teams begin the postseason: Montreal Canadiens flamboyant young defenceman P.K. Subban against Ottawa Senators brilliant young defender Erik Karlsson; hockey’s two most polarizing personalities – Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin and New York Rangers coach John Tortorella – meeting in Washington.

As Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson put it Tuesday: “a lot of good storylines.”

The best stories – crushing to some, exhilarating to others – come in upsets, something that is virtually a tradition in the first two rounds. The Red Wings, for all their modern success, have been victimized numerous times in Round 1 (Edmonton Oilers in 2006, Anaheim in 2003, San Jose Sharks in 1994). And only last year the lowly Kings dumped the high-flying Canucks in a mere five games before going on to win the Stanley Cup.

Dramatic upsets can happen in second rounds, as well, none more famous than the 1986 “own goal” that stopped the Oilers, sending the Calgary Flames on to the final, which they lost to Montreal, and denying Wayne Gretzky’s team a shot at five consecutive Stanley Cups.

Such, of course, is the beauty of hockey every night, results every morning, talk all day long and into the next night.

It helps, of course, to still have a chill in the air and, in some parts of the country, snow on the ground.

It is, after all, hockey. A game that should not, under any circumstances, be played on June 28, when the days are so precious and already growing shorter.

(Just for the record, on this date in 1967, the Toronto Maple Leafs became Stanley Cup champions.)

Globe And Mail LOADED: 05.02.2013


‘Caveman’ Brandon Prust leads Canadiens in beard growing

By BRENDA BRANSWELL, THE GAZETTE May 1, 2013 8:14 PM

MONTREAL — With post-season play underway in the National Hockey League and playoff beards sprouting up, Canadiens rookie Brendan Gallagher has low expectations for the facial hair on his chin.

“I’m prepared to be the worst — on the team for sure, I’m assuming in the entire playoffs,” said Gallagher, 20.

“This will not grow much more,” he laughed.

When he played major-junior for the Vancouver Giants, Gallagher noted a lot of players couldn’t grow beards, so they got Mohawk haircuts instead.

“Everyone on the team got a Mohawk and we’d actually dye it team colours, which looks cool at the start,” he said.

Growing a playoff beard is an NHL tradition that players attempt with varying degrees of success.

Canadiens forward Brandon Prust showed up at practice this week freshly shaved only to start growing another beard for the playoffs.

“Shaving this off, I’ve had a lot of reaction to that,” Prust said. “I haven’t seen my skin on my face probably since I shaved it last year before playoffs.”

Prust is taking part for the second year in a row in the National Hockey League Players’ Association’s “Beard-a-thon” that has raised over $300,000 for the Heart and Stroke Foundation during the past two Stanley Cup playoffs.

More than 25 NHL players are participating in this year’s event, including Canadiens forward David Desharnais and Vancouver Canucks forward Ryan Kesler. Fans can also take part in the Beard-a-thon.

“I had a pretty good one last year, so I’m hoping to beat it,” Prust said after the Canadiens practice on Wednesday in Brossard.

“We just kind of send pictures in and see how our beard’s progressing and stuff as we go.”

Forward Colby Armstrong joked about his version of the playoff tradition.

“I’ve got a neck beard,” he said. “It’s a new kind of beard.”

Prust can grow a beard “in like one day,” Armstrong said.

“That’s why we call him ‘the Caveman.’ ”

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 05.02.2013


Daniel Alfredsson’s star shines brightly against the Canadiens

By DAVE STUBBS, THE GAZETTE May 1, 2013 9:06 PM

MONTREAL — All this talk about how Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson has been poison to the Canadiens over the years?

Bah.

Check Alfie’s lifetime statistics on Montreal ice and you see he’s got only two measly assists.

Oh. That total would be for his three games played from 1995-96 at the Montreal Forum.

At the Molson, then Bell Centre, Alfredsson has been a wee bit busier and a whole lot more productive.

The 40-year-old skates Thursday into Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarter-final against the Canadiens with 46 points in that building — 14 goals and 32 assists in 42 games played.

Lifetime in Montreal and back home in Kanata, Alfredsson shows a staggering 105 points in 89 games — 31 goals and 74 assists.

That’s more — by far — than the numbers he’s put up against any other NHL opponent; Alfie has 84 points in 89 games against Buffalo, his second-ranked victim.

On Wednesday outside his team’s dressing room, the organized mess of that night’s Rihanna concert clogging Bell Centre corridors, Alfredsson briefly considered whether there was any reason why he’s enjoyed so much success against the Canadiens during his 17-season NHL career.

“Not that I can think of off the top of my head,” he finally replied. “I’ve always enjoyed playing in this building. It’s a beautiful city, I don’t know if that has anything to do with it.

“Montreal fans are really passionate. It’s always a loud, energetic building. I’m really looking forward to (Thursday) to see how loud they can get.”

This, in hockey, is what’s known as reverse trash talking.

Alfredsson was destined to enjoy stellar numbers against the Canadiens for the duration of his career, for this reason:

His first point registered on Montreal ice came on Feb. 10, 1996 at the Forum, an assist on the 5-3 game-winning goal scored by Ottawa captain Randy Cunneyworth, the Senators coached by Jacques Martin.

“I don’t remember too much about the Forum, but I remember us winning there,” Alfredsson said, smiling.

Indeed, the victory that night snapped a four-game Senators losing streak and a nine-game string of losses to the Canadiens.

“Not to be ignorant, but I didn’t know much about the NHL before I came over (from his native Sweden),” Alfredsson said.

“It’s not until we moved in here (to the Molson/Bell Centre) and everybody was talking about how they missed the Forum that I realized how big a deal it was.”

Alfredsson’s first goal in Montreal came on the power play at the Molson Centre on Dec. 23, 1996, his 13th of the season, when he swept in alone and beat Habs goalie Jocelyn Thibault in a 6-0 Senators win.

So roughly 1,100 games later and another 111 in the playoffs — though none of the latter against the Canadiens — Alfredsson leads his Senators into the postseason.

“It’s going to be a great series, the cities being so close to each other and Ottawa being a pretty new franchise compared to Montreal,” he told a knot of reporters, his curls flipping out from beneath his Senators cap.

“Before we had the team (born for the 1992-93 season), people were either Toronto or Montreal fans. We had a lot of Montreal fans in Ottawa and we’re converting them one step at a time. We think this series will go a long way toward helping that, as well.”

Alfredsson doesn’t expect the series to be a showcase for classic hockey. The playoffs are more about pouncing on the opponent’s mistakes and capitalizing, then slamming the door shut on his attempt to fight back.

“What you get in the playoffs is just two teams that will give everything they have,” he said. “It’s not going to be the most beautiful hockey you’ve ever watched, it rarely is in the playoffs. It’s grinding and physical, paying attention to the details, and special teams.”

Alfredsson is an inspiration to every player in the Senators dressing room, and no doubt (silently) to more than a few of the Canadiens.

He left Ottawa at the end of last season, his future undecided. But as the lockout pressed on, it seemed more likely almost by the day that he’d be back for another rodeo.

Even now, there’s talk that this will be Alfredsson’s final NHL postseason.

“It could be (the final playoff run), though I said that last year, too,” he said. “It doesn’t change anything for me, if it is. I just want to make the most of every opportunity.

“I hate losing. Give everything I have, as an athlete — it’s what everybody wants to do. You look back, no matter what happens, to say you’ve prepared the best, given everything you have and see where you end up.

“The game has changed from when I joined the league until now. You have to learn to adapt all the time. When you’ve been around and played a lot of playoff games, you know how to handle the situations a little better.

“You learn not be over-anxious and more accustomed to everything around. Everybody who steps on the ice the first game of the playoffs gets butterflies. I’m sure I’ll have them (Thursday) night.”

Alfredsson spoke almost wistfully of his first playoff series, a seven-game conference quarter-final loss to the Buffalo Sabres in his sophomore year.

He recalled the energy, how the tiniest detail of a game, an afterthought in the regular season, was picked apart as a possible game-changing moment in sudden-death hockey.

The closest Alfredsson has come to the Stanley Cup was in 2006-07, the Senators breezing through three rounds before being dusted by the Anaheim Ducks in a five-game final.

This time, he said of his own situation, clearly in the twilight of his playing days, “there’s no urgency. It’s a great opportunity.”

“I’m extremely happy to be in the playoffs with this team again and have another shot. You make the most of it because you never know if you’re going to be back. That’s the way I’ve always approached it, from the beginning of my career.”

And again, Alfie’s road begins in Montreal.



Being tough guy a tough job, Senators’ Chris Neil says


MONTREAL — Ottawa Senators enforcer Chris Neil was standing in the depths of the Bell Centre Wednesday afternoon following his team’s practice in LaSalle, wearing a broad, gap-toothed grin that showed him to be a few Chiclets shy of a full package.

And the man whose every molecule Canadiens fans will detest (again) beginning Thursday night was speaking eloquently, almost fondly of a Habs rival.

This is how you build a bitter, heated rivalry?

“When he’s going, their team is going,” Neil said of Canadiens’ Brandon Prust, who like the Senators heavyweight will bring a surly attitude and important energy to Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarter-final.

It’s not so much if as when Neil and Prust’s gloves will fall off their fists this series, or that they’ll at least cross swords.

“I look at (Prust) as a leader and for me, we’re similar players. I look forward to the challenge. It’s right up my alley, that style of game. I’m hoping we’re going to be out against each other.

“I’m not worried about that,” Neil said of a Prust matchup. “Whenever I’m on the ice, I’ll go out, work hard, finish my checks and hopefully I chip in.”

Canadiens fans would have been terribly conflicted had they listened to Neil at full length. The 33-year-old will be, and should be, one of their prime vocal targets Thursday. But in conversation on the eve of the opener, he was engaging, funny, thoughtful, even profound.

This is a ruffian who in 779 NHL games over 11 seasons, all with the Senators, has spent 2,005 minutes in penalty boxes — the equivalent of nearly 33½ games?

For the record, Neil has eight goals and 14 assists in 63 career games against the Canadiens. His 181 penalty minutes are second-high to his 273-minute total in 62 lifetime games vs. Toronto, but his 91 hits against the Habs are more than he’s laid out against any other NHL team.

“For tough guys in the NHL, there’s a respect factor,” Neil said, again speaking of Prust, whose 2.28 penalty minutes per game average in 317 NHL matches is fractionally below Neil’s 2.57.

“It’s one of the toughest jobs in the league, the guys in an enforcer role or who go out and stick up for their teammates. They know what’s coming. You’ve got to put your neck on the line. I have a respect for everyone who does it. (Prust) is one of the guys who does, and I have respect for that.”

It will be Neil’s job to get under the skin of the Canadiens generally and goaltender Carey Price specifically. He grinned when asked whether Price might expect to see more of Neil’s face or butt, backed into the goal crease, for the series duration.

“I don’t know. What do you like looking at better?” he replied mischievously.

Neil said that this year’s compressed schedule has been a physical grind.

“You’re getting banged up more because every game is a playoff game to a certain extent,” he said. “We had a lot of injuries early and we’ve been getting guys back, guys we’ve missed and who we’ve welcomed back with open arms because they make us that much better.

“With the grind of the season, there was no time to rest. You just had to keep going.”

Neil did spend a little time Wednesday hailing his own team, not to get lost in a maudlin admiration of the opponent.

He suggested that goalie Craig Anderson, no matter that he missed 18 games this season with a sprained ankle, “is the MVP of the whole league. He’s been phenomenal.”

You can’t argue with the fact that Anderson is the NHL’s top goalie in save percentage, .941, and goals-against average, 1.69.

And Neil lauded captain Daniel Alfredsson, 40, and defenceman Sergei Gonchar, 39.

Alfredsson, he said, “is a guy who just comes up with that big goal when you need it. Game in and game out, being his age and still playing is a phenomenal story. And the way he’s played this year, I think he has a couple more left in him.”

Neil joked about Gonchar, whom earlier in the season he had nicknamed Benjamin Button from the movie adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1922 novel, the character growing younger instead of older.

“I think Alfie’s the same way,” he said of the perpetually youthful Alfredsson. “We call Gonchar ‘Benjie’ all the time. Well, I do, anyway.”

Like everyone else on both teams, Neil can’t wait to get the playoffs started.

“This is what you play for. It’s what you put the jersey on for, for the chance to play for the Stanley Cup,” he said. “At the end of the day, you want to give yourself the best opportunity to hoist that Cup.”

If that means Neil must drop his respect for the Canadiens as though they’re loose mitts, so be it. And Habs fans would expect nothing less from their hero, Brandon Prust, with whom the Senators tough guy seems to be on a collision course.



No pressure on Canadiens, Michel Therrien insists

By Pat Hickey, THE GAZETTE May 1, 2013 8:14 PM

MONTREAL — Michel Therrien says his team isn’t feeling any pressure as the favourite going into its first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Ottawa Senators.

And the coach doesn’t think there’s any pressure on the five Canadiens who will be experiencing NHL playoff action for the first time.

“We don’t feel pressure, we want to apply pressure,” Therrien said after his team wrapped up three days of practice in preparation for the opening game in the best-of-seven series Thursday at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., CBC, RDS, TSN-690 Radio).

Therrien predicted a long and arduous series and was careful to avoid any inflammatory comments that would find their way to a bulletin board in the Senators’ locker room.

He dismissed Ottawa coach Paul MacLean’s suggestion that there was pressure on the Canadiens as the favourite in the series and then he went on to praise MacLean’s work in getting to the playoffs despite a string of injuries.

When he was asked whether the bad blood between Brandon Prust and Chris Neil might spill over into the post-season, he ducked the question and praised Neil for his competitive spirit.

Inexperience could be a concern for both teams going into Game 1. The Canadiens have three rookies — Brendan Gallagher, Alex Galchenyuk and recall Jarred Tinordi — while Max Pacioretty and Raphael Diaz are seeing playoff action for the first time.

Ottawa will have at least five rookies in the lineup, including Cory Conacher, Jakob Silfverberg and Mika Zibanejad.

Therrien said he has talked to his young players and he believes that they are ready for their first taste of the playoffs.

Tinordi, who could be a factor in the post-season, appeared calm after practice Wednesday. He has been soaking in the playoff atmosphere since being recalled from Hamilton last week and has been getting tips from his father Mark, a former NHL defenceman with 70 playoff games under his belt.

“It’s exciting,” said Tinordi, whose NHL experience is limited to eight games. “I remember my first game, I didn’t sleep much the night before. I was pretty jittery. I’m taking a different approach this time. I want to play my game and not get too ramped up. I’m sure all the emotions will be there on the day of the game, but right now I’m just focused on Ottawa.”

Tinordi said he expected the atmosphere at the Bell Centre would be crazy, “but we have to use that in a positive way.”

The 6-foot-6 Tinordi is important because he gives the Canadiens some size and his physical play helps fill the void left by Alex Emelin’s season-ending knee injury.

The Canadiens have spent a good part of the past three days working on special teams, particularly the penalty-kill, which has struggled for most of the season. The addition of Tinordi and the return of Prust and Raphael Diaz from injuries can help the Canadiens turn this area of the game around.

“We’re ready,” said Diaz, who is back to playing 20 minutes a game after missing 25 games with a concussion. “It’s about blocking shots and getting in the shooting lanes. One of the biggest parts of the PK is to be in the lanes and you have to know when to force and when to stay back. You don’t want to force a player when he has good control because then he can make a pass and you’re out of position.

“The PK is about work, it’s about heart and it’s about four guys working together,” added Diaz. “The last couple of games, we’ve been good and I think we’ll take that into the playoffs.”

Therrien will start the playoffs with almost the same lineup he employed last Saturday in Toronto. The one exception will be in goal with Carey Price replacing Peter Budaj.

Ryan White, who returned Saturday from a five-game suspension, gets another shot at centre on the fourth line with Prust and Travis Moen. Jeff Halpern is better than White in the faceoff circle, but White is the more physical player and the line may be designed to keep Neil’s competitive spirit in check.

Game 2 in the series is scheduled for the Bell Centre Friday night, with the series moving to Scotiabank Place in Kanata for games Sunday and Tuesday.



Jack Todd: The time is now for Canadiens’ Carey Price

By JACK TODD, Special to THE GAZETTE May 1, 2013 8:14 PM

MONTREAL — When Carey Price was downright surly at the beginning of this week, fans of the Canadiens should have been doing back-flips.

The normally genial Price was ticked. Look out, world.

Face it: you need some fire to play goal in this town, especially around playoff time. The Canadiens are to goaltenders what the Yankees are to pitchers: You come here and you soar, or the place eats you alive.

With Price, after six seasons with the Canadiens, we’re still waiting to see. Will he be an eagle — or chicken dinner with all the trimmings? For Price to display that surly temperament with the opening game still three days off could be a sign that he’s channelling the legendary Patrick Roy as he prepares for a post-season that could define his career.

Earlier this week, Roy was a guest on L’antichambre on RDS, along with fellow members of the 1993 Stanley Cup team, Guy Carbonneau and Vincent Damphousse.

When the conversation turned to Price, Roy talked about the crucial issue of confidence and how he needed to regain his confidence after the Canadiens lost the first game of the ’93 playoffs to the Nordiques in Quebec City, 3-2 in overtime. Roy and his teammates then fell into a 2-0 hole after a 4-1 loss in Game 2 and came back to Montreal with their confidence shaken.

What followed was one of the most remarkable playoff runs in any sport. It began when the Canadiens won Game 3 in Montreal on April 22, 2-1 in overtime, the first of 10 straight overtime victories that would lead to a parade along the usual route.

“With that game,” Roy said of that first overtime victory, “we started to get our confidence.”

Startling words. Patrick Roy, the greatest clutch goaltender of all time, needing to get his confidence? The king of cocky himself, the guy whose wink at Marty McSorley after a save later that spring would become the hallmark of cool?

But here was Roy this week, talking about how the Canadiens began to gain their confidence with that overtime win in Montreal.

Could something like it happen again? Not the 10 straight in overtime — but a lengthy playoff run led by a cool and confident Carey Price?

On the surface, it doesn’t seem likely. Montreal hopes for a 20th anniversary Stanley Cup rest on the wide shoulders of a goaltender who is 8-15 in the playoffs for his career and coming off a season in which he finished 29th in the league in goals-against average and 35th in save percentage — while in the opposing net, Ottawa has Craig Anderson, who finished the year ranked first in the league in both GAA (1.69) and save percentage (.941).

Before you rush out to bet the farm on Anderson and the Senators, however, remember that in the high-pressure world of professional sports, games and careers can turn on a single play. Price has never received the credit he deserved for a brilliant playoff series against the Bruins in 2011 — simply because he ultimately lost in overtime of the seventh game.

Facing the eventual Stanley Cup winners, Price matched Tim Thomas save for save. What if Nathan Horton’s shot didn’t find its way through a pile of bodies in front of Price and into the far corner in overtime? What if Price had made the save and the Canadiens went back to the other end and scored?

Price would have beaten the Bruins in seven, the kind of victory that might kick-start a legend. Instead, the Canadiens tipped into the slough of a brutal, 28th-place season — and Price today is still looking for the signature playoff run that will mark him as the latest in a pantheon of great Montreal goalies that runs from Georges Vézina through Roy himself.

When coach Michel Therrien said this week that “Carey Price is our best player” and that he has absolutely no doubts about Price, he was blowing

smoke. Off this season, Price’s buddy P.K. Subban is the Canadiens’ best player and if Therrien truly has no doubts, then he must have had his eyes closed through those late-season games when Price couldn’t stop a beach ball with a fungo bat.

Therrien knows what he’s doing, however: he was trying to shore up Price’s confidence. Even if the coach has his private doubts, he’s not going to undermine his star goalie by expressing them on the eve of the playoffs.

Tending goal in Montreal is not a job you would wish on anyone. The pressure is unworldly, far greater than anywhere else in the hockey world. (The Maple Leafs have as much media scrutiny and fan attention, but it comes with far less in the way of expectations. After all, how can you have expectations when you haven’t won anything since 1967?)

In Montreal, a goalie is expected to win. If he doesn’t, it gets ugly. The weight of expectations crushed a pretty good goalie named Jocelyn Thibault, after he had the misfortune to be traded for Roy. Every time Thibault let in a soft one, you could see by his body language what it did to him. His shoulders would slump, he would hang his head.

Thibault’s successor, José Theodore, had at least a measure of Roy’s cockiness. It’s an absolutely essential ingredient if you’re going to play goal in this town: Theodore used it to engineer two epic series wins over the Bruins and to win the Hart and Vézina trophies.

Price? Like it or not, it’s on him now. He’ll need all the confidence he can get at a time when he should be reaching the pinnacle of his career: Price will turn 26 this summer. Roy won his first Cup at 20, his second at 27.

For Carey Price, the time is now. If he can do it, there’s a place in the pantheon with his name on it.

If he can’t? If Therrien has to turn to Peter Budaj for one game or the duration of the series?

Let’s not go there …



“We don’t feel the pressure. We apply the pressure,” Therrien says

Posted by Stu Cowan

There was no change to the lines as the Canadiens practised Wednesday morning in Brossard as preparations continued for the first-round playoff opener Thursday night at the Bell Centre against the Ottawa Senators (7 p.m., CBC, RDS, TSN Radio 690).

The lines again were: Ryder-Plekanec-Gionta; Pacioretty-Desharnais-Bourque; Galchenyuk-Eller-Gallagher; Moen-White-Prust.

Defenceman Yannick Weber joined Jeff Halpern and Colby Armstrong to form a fifth line.

Defence pairings were: Markov-Subban; Gorges-Diaz; Bouillon-Tinordi; Kaberle-Drewiske.

The Canadiens took to the ice about 30 minutes before the 11 a.m. scheduled start to work on the power play and penalty-killing.

“We don’t feel the pressure,” coach Michel Therrien told reporters after practice. “We apply the pressure.”

When asked about Ryan White, who practised on the fourth line, Therrien said: “I really liked the way he played the last game. He played with emotion. He’s a hard guy to play against. I think he learned from the past. He’s a lot more disciplined than he was. He was good on faceoffs. We all know that playoffs the intensity is always there. So he’s an intense player.”

Therrien said he spoke to the five Canadiens players who don’t have any NHL playoff experience: Max Pacioretty, Jarred Tinordi, Brendan Gallagher, Alex Galchenyuk and Raphael Diaz.

“I spoke to them,” the coach said. “I think it’s important to get their feeling. For me there’s no pressure about those guys coming into the playoffs. Like I told them, don’t feel the pressure. Put the pressure, establish the pressure on the other team. That’s the way we have to deal with the pressure … our young kids did a great job through the course of the season. One thing I like about our young kids, they got better and better and better. So that’s a good sign. Sometimes you’re going to see young kids, they got a great start and (things) could be more demanding at the end of the year. And those kids progressed.

“Even a guy like Pacioretty, who is a veteran, he hasn’t played in the playoffs, so I took the time to sit down with him and I wanted to know how he was feeling. And he’s feeling pretty good, so it’s a good sign.

“We also have good young veterans … who have experienced really important games and knew how to react well.”



Mike Boone joins the panel for new HIO show

The Gazette May 1, 2013

MONTREAL — Mike Boone, a fan favourite on Hockey Inside/Out with his popular live blog for every Canadiens game, is the guest on the latest episode of the HIO show, which is now live at hockeyinsideout.com/show.

Boone joins Gazette sports editor Stu Cowan and columnist Dave Stubbs for a look back at the surprising regular season that was and a look ahead to the post-season as the Canadiens begin their quest for a 25th Stanley Cup.

Among the topics discussed is whether Carey Price is the goalie who can carry the Canadiens to that elusive Cup.

“I’m not entirely sure,” Boone says. “Let’s wait and see what happens in the first period of the first game on Thursday. If he lets in a couple of easy ones on the first few shots, I mean we’re off to the races. All the doubts of late season will resurface. So there’s tremendous pressure on him.”

Price won the Molson Cup as the Canadiens’ player of the year based on three-star voting by fans, and the panel talks about who the real MVP was during the regular season.

Among the other topics discussed and questions answered during the show are:

Will Peter Budaj make an appearance in goal during the playoffs?

Should Brendan Gallagher win the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year?

Which rookie will be the better player five years from now: Gallagher or Alex Galchenyuk?

Should P.K. Subban win the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenceman?

Does Andrei Markov have enough gas left in his tank for the playoffs?

Who was the best forward on the Canadiens this season?

Did GM Marc Bergevin do enough at the NHL trade deadline?

What was Bergevin’s best move this season?

Boone will continue with his live blog during every Habs playoff game, starting Thursday night when the puck drops for Game 1 of Canadiens vs. Senators (7 p.m., CBC, RDS, TSN Radio 690).

For all the latest news and features during the Canadiens’ Stanley Cup run, go to hockeyinsideout.com.


673957 Nashville Predators

Vote to get Nashville Predators' Mike Fisher on cover of NHL14

May 2, 2013 1:25 AM

Tennessean News Services

Nashville Predators forward Mike Fisher beat out teammate Brandon Yip in the first round of the EA Sports NHL ’14 cover vote to advance to the second round.

EA Sports is encouraging fans to vote on Twitter today as that voting counts double.

To vote, log on to Twitter and use #NHL14Fisher in tweets.

The regular fan vote can be found at covervote.nhl.com or accessed through nashvillepredators.com.

Tennessean LOADED: 05.02.2013

673958 Nashville Predators

Trotz views World Championships as a mental health holiday

Wednesday, May 1, 2013 at 5:21pm

By David Boclair

One possibility is for Barry Trotz to lie on a couch.

Instead, the Nashville Predators coach will stand behind a bench to work through the frustration of a disappointing season. He will be an associate coach for Team Canada at the 2013 World Championships, which begins Friday — seven days since the Predators wrapped with a loss to Columbus.

“When you don’t make the playoffs — for me, it’s like therapy this year,” Trotz said. “I sort of have closure on this year and I get to do something.”

Canada begins play Saturday with a game against Denmark at Stockholm, Sweden (half of the event also takes place at Helsinki, Finland). The medal round begins May 16 and the championship game is May 19.

Trotz will coach a team that currently includes such notable NHL players as Philadelphia forward Claude Giroux, Edmonton forward Taylor Hall, Carolina forward Jordan Staal, Florida defenseman Brian Campbell and Phoenix goalie Mike Smith.

Former Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff is the head coach, and Phoenix Coyotes coach Dave Tippett is, like Trotz, an associate coach. Those three filled the same roles in 2009, when Canada won a silver medal.

“We’ll be sitting there dissecting some of the stuff for Team Canada and from the other opponents, maybe just sitting round at lunch and start talking about a certain aspect of the game or what you do with your teams during the year,” Trotz said. “… It’s different hockey. So from a hockey standpoint you have to expand you’re horizons a little bit. And you’re with really high-level people — high-level players — in a short-term competition.”

This is the third time Trotz has been an assistant for Canada at the event. Perhaps it is just coincidence, but in the years that followed the last two (2003 and 2009) the Predators made the NHL playoffs.

“You get the competitive juices going,” Trotz said. “You get some different ideas. You see things a little differently and it’s a good thing because it only helps for next year.”

It certainly has not hurt.

Nashville City Paper LOADED: 05.02.2013

673959 New Jersey Devils

Olympic winner in Belleville


Staff

Former New Jersey Devils hockey player Grant Marshall, a Stanley Cup winner, places a medal on student Paul Barone, while Sandy Lane Owner/Director Elaine Perna watches. Sandy Lane Nursery School in Belleville held a week-long Olympics for its students, closing out the week with special ceremonies on April 19, with a visit from Marshall. See more photos, page 6.

Bergen Record LOADED: 05.02.2013

673960 New Jersey Devils

Power Plays

Last Updated: 2:09 AM, May 2, 2013

Posted: 2:09 AM, May 2, 2013

Slap Shots Blog

Brooks on Twitter

1. Adam Henrique

Just 1:03 into overtime, he scored the game-winner that sent the Devils to the Stanley Cup Finals.

2. Martin Brodeur

Brodeur was tested early and often in this one. He stopped 35 shots as the 40-year-old returned to the finals.

3. Ryan McDonagh

With the Rangers trailing 2-0, McDonagh led the Ranger comeback, setting up goals by Ruslan Fedotenko and Ryan Callahan to tie the game. He had two assists and was a plus-2.

Key Moment

Just 1:03 into over time Adam Henrique was the hero, poking a loose puck past Henrik Lundqvist to seal the Devils’ 3-2 victory and end the series.

Schedule

Game 1: Rangers 3, Devils 0

Game 2: Devils 3, Rangers 2




Last night: Devils 3, Rangers 2 (OT)

Devils win series, 4-2

New York Post LOADED: 05.02.2013

673961 New York Islanders

Penguins Crush Isles Without Crosby

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, KEN BELSON and JEFF Z. KLEIN


Pascal Dupuis scored twice, Marc-Andre Fleury made 26 saves and the top-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins opened the playoffs with a 5-0 romp over the visiting Islanders on Wednesday night.

Beau Bennett, Kris Letang and Tanner Glass also scored for the Penguins, who had no trouble against the upstart Islanders even with their star player, Sidney Crosby, sidelined by a broken jaw. Pittsburgh hardly needed its captain to continue its mastery of the Islanders, who made their first playoff appearance since 2007.

“I thought some guys worked hard and played a good game,” Islanders Coach Jack Capuano said. “Again, with our club, we need all 20 guys going, and we didn’t have all 20.”

The Penguins, the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, beat Evgeni Nabokov four times in the game’s first 22 minutes, including goals by Letang and Dupuis 32 seconds apart early in the second period to send Nabokov to the bench after he stopped just 11 shots.

Kevin Poulin came on in relief and surrendered a soft goal to Glass.

Game 2 is Friday in Pittsburgh.

The Penguins hoped to have Crosby back for the first time since he was struck in the face by a puck on March 30 in a game against the Islanders. Doctors, however, declined to clear him, feeling his jaw wasn’t healed enough for contact. Pittsburgh rolled to the top of the East even though Crosby missed the final quarter of the season. The Penguins were bolstered by the arrival of the trade deadline acquisitions Jarome Iginla, Brenden Morrow, Jussi Jokinen and Doug Murray.

The Islanders haven’t won a playoff series in 20 years, and the drought will extend to 21 quickly if they can’t keep Pittsburgh’s skaters in check. “When you make it easy on them, they’re going to light you up,” Islanders forward Matt Martin said.

BRUINS 4, MAPLE LEAFS 1 Nathan Horton scored the go-ahead goal late in the first period and Boston used a revived offense to beat visiting Toronto in their first-round Eastern Conference playoff opener.

The Bruins scored more than three goals for the first time in 10 games. They closed the regular season on a 2-7 skid that dropped them to the No. 4 seed in the conference. “There were some signs probably the last four games or so; we seemed to be turning the corner,” Coach Claude Julien said. “We were playing better. We weren’t getting rewarded with wins.”

The Maple Leafs, who are in the playoffs for the first time since 2004, lost four of their last six regular-season games.

Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday night in Boston, where the Bruins have won six straight against the Maple Leafs.

OUTDOOR GAMES The Chicago Blackhawks and the Pittsburgh Penguins will face off in a regular-season matchup at Soldier Field on March 1 as part of an expanded set of N.H.L. outdoor games next season.

The N.H.L. announced the game Wednesday as part of a series that had been widely reported recently and is also expected to include outdoor games in New York, Los Angeles and Vancouver, British Columbia.

Since 2008, when the N.H.L. held its first Winter Classic, in Orchard Park, N.Y., outside Buffalo, teams and cities have been clamoring to host outdoor games. The games have generated impressive television ratings, healthy merchandise sales, and opportunities for teams and cities to sell sponsorships and tickets.

“The local perspective is so unbelievably powerful,” said John Collins, the chief operating officer at the N.H.L. “Everybody in that market — even people who don’t write about hockey — are forced to cover hockey for the four or five days we’re in the market.”

In the coming weeks, the N.H.L. is expected to announce a game between the Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings at Dodger Stadium; a Rangers-Devils game and a Rangers-Islanders game at Yankee Stadium; and a matchup between the Ottawa Senators and the Canucks at B.C. Place in Vancouver.

The games in New York, set for Jan. 26 and 29, will be held the week before the Super Bowl is played in East Rutherford, N.J., on Feb. 2.

New York Times LOADED: 05.02.2013


NY Islanders get destroyed by Pittsburgh Penguins in first playoff appearance since 2007

By Steven Lorenzo / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Wednesday, May 1, 2013, 10:38 PM

PENGUINS 5, ISLANDERS 0

The Pittsburgh Penguins looked every bit the top seed in the Eastern Conference on Wednesday — even without Sidney Crosby — thrashing the Islanders in Game 1 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Pascal Dupuis scored twice, Marc-Andre Fleury got his sixth career playoff shutout and the Pens coasted to a 5-0 win at Consol Energy Center.

“You can call it jitters if you want, but our guys have been down this road for the last month and a half,” Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. “I just thought our execution was very poor tonight. When you don’t have the puck and you’re chasing all night, you’re not going to accomplish a whole lot.”

Pittsburgh seized control from the start. After an ill-advised interference penalty from defenseman Brian Strait, Pittsburgh rookie winger Beau Bennett beat Evgeni Nabokov off the crossbar just 3:30 into the game. Nabokov was beaten again 10 minutes later when Dupuis wristed in a rebound to up the Pittsburgh lead to 2-0.

The Pens continued the onslaught early in the second stanza with a Kris Letang power-play goal, followed by another Dupuis goal 32 seconds later.

With the score 4-0, Capuano had seen enough of Nabokov and pulled him in favor of Kevin Poulin. Nabokov was shaken up in the first period by a Jarome Iginla slap shot and never seemed to recover.

“He wasn’t hurt,” Capuano said. “We weren’t playing well, so I’m not going to leave him to hang out to dry. When you make those decisions you try to get your team going a little bit.”

Fleury was terrific between the pipes, stopping all 26 Isles shots.

Meanwhile, a collective physical effort from Pittsburgh held star Islanders center John Tavares without a shot on goal.

“We have to push ourselves a lot more than we think we do,” Tavares said. “It’s going to hurt a little bit to win hockey games, especially against a team like this on the road.”

The Islanders will try to bounce back on Friday in Game 2.

Crosby’s return to the playoffs is still uncertain. Sid the Kid broke his jaw on March 30 against the Islanders and has yet to return.

New York Daily News LOADED: 05.02.2013


Penguins punish Isles in opener

By BRETT CYRGALIS


Posted: 1:51 AM, May 2, 2013

PITTSBURGH — It would have been near impossible to imagine a way in which this postseason could have started any worse.

The welcome-back-to-the-playoffs gift the Islanders received was a 5-0 thumping at the hands of the top-seeded Penguins last night at the CONSOL Energy Center, a game that was as complete in its dominance as it was in its demoralization.

“It’s frustrating and it’s a little embarrassing, too,” said forward Colin McDonald, slumped at his locker looking as beaten as could be. “We have to find a way to put this one behind us.”

That might be easier said than done, as the 0-1 hole in this best-of-seven, first-round series seems right now to be about as insurmountable as one could imagine. The Penguins were playing without Hart Trophy favorite Sidney Crosby (broken jaw), stout defenseman Brooks Orpik (lower body), and for the majority of the final two periods without sniper James Neal (ankle).

Yet they still mopped the ice with the young and inexperienced Islanders, who hope they didn’t break their franchise’s six-year postseason drought just to be wiped out without a fight.

“Obviously we’re not going to win with that effort,” said the Isles star center John Tavares, who was almost entirely negated by the physical and smart blue-line combo of Douglas Murray and Kris Letang. “We’ve got to move on, we’ve got to be better. That wasn’t very good at all.”

There could have been some nerves for the Islanders, who played well down the stretch of the regular season to secure the eighth seed, but still had a roster where 15 of the 20 players were making their postseason debuts. So just 3:30 into the game, with the new Igloo rocking, the Penguins got a power-play goal from rookie fourth-liner Beau Bennett, the 1-0 lead turning into 2-0 after Pascal Dupuis got the first of his two on the night just 10 minutes later.

By 1:51 into the second, the Penguins had scored another two goals within 32 seconds of each other coming off a back-breaking tripping penalty on Marty Reasoner. Down 4-0, coach Jack Capuano pulled goalie Evgeni Nabokov for 23-year-old rookie Kevin Poulin and just about conceded his team’s fate in its first taste of the postseason.

“Somebody said it in the locker room, it’s got to hurt to play,” said Nabokov, the veteran leader now with 81 games of postseason experience. “It’s too easy. We have to come out next game and we have to be ready, be more physical, and just make it hard on them every inch of the ice.”

Nabokov added that while with the Sharks he remembered a game when his team was blown out by the Red Wings, only to fight back to win the next one. But this is not the same Sharks team he was on, and he’s aware of that. He just hopes the rest of the team does, as well, otherwise Game 2 tomorrow night might be another fall on the way down.

“We have to battle them for every inch of the ice because that’s the only way we can play with that team,” Nabokov said. “They’re too skill, they’re too good.”



Penguins’ Crosby not cleared to play

By BRETT CYRGALIS


Posted: 1:01 AM, May 2, 2013

PITTSBURGH — It was pretty clear Wednesday morning how much Sidney Crosby wanted to play. But the Penguins star center had his broken jaw to blame for him having to sit out his team’s 5-0 win over the Islanders in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series at CONSOL Energy Center.

How long Crosby is out is anyone’s guess at this point. Though he had been practicing for over a week with a clear face shield, he had a meeting with a team doctor on Tuesday and was not given clearance to play.

“He said everything was good,” said Crosby, who underwent surgery inserting titanium plates to hold pieces of his jaw together, as well as extensive dental work that isn’t yet complete. “He just wasn’t prepared to declare me [ready] to play.”

ISLANDERS PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

Crosby took part in an extensive morning skate, staying on well past the rest of his teammates.

With Game 2 Friday night, followed by Game 3 Sunday at noon at the Coliseum, it’s still unsure when Crosby will be able to make his return.

“Obviously, I would have loved to have had a chance to play tonight, but that’s not the way it is,” said Crosby, who missed the final 12 games of the season. “I wanted to make sure I’m ready when the time comes.”

* After spending the final 10 games of the regular season as a healthy scratch, veteran center Marty Reasoner was reinserted into the Isles’ lineup. He skated on a fourth line between Matt Martin and Casey Cizkas, and took a back-breaking tripping call early in the second that led to two Penguins goals 32 seconds apart to make it 4-0.

“Sometimes after a game you get emotional and the first thing that runs through your head is some guys didn’t have their best games and maybe we’ll make changes,” said coach Jack Capuano.

“But until you watch the tape and analyze the situation, as we move forward, there is a chance there could be some changes, for sure.”

Before the game Capuano lauded Reasoner’s defensive game, his face-off ability and his previous 23 games of postseason experience. If the 36-year-old is replaced, it likely would be with either Eric Boulton or Jesse Joensuu.

* The Penguins played without defenseman Brooks Orpik (lower body), who is listed as day-to-day. Sniper James Neal also left the game early in the second period with an ankle injury and didn’t return, and Jussi Jokinen left late in the third with a leg injury. Coach Dan Bylsma declined to update the status of either.



Islanders outclassed in Game 1 loss to Penguins

By BRETT CYRGALIS

Last Updated: 10:27 PM, May 1, 2013

Posted: 10:27 PM, May 1, 2013

PITTSBURGH—There are few ways this postseason debut for the Islanders could have gone any worse.

The moments of hope that the young Islanders had a chance in this first-round series against the mighty Penguins were short-lived last night at the CONSOL Energy Center, where the result of Game 1 was never in doubt and the Penguins ran away with a demoralizing 5-0 win.

Very few people gave the eighth-seeded Islanders a chance in this best-of-seven series, and it didn’t take long to reinforce all the common opinions.

The Islanders were flat-footed, got outworked, outskated and absolutely outclassed. And that was all as the Penguins played without Hart Trophy favorite Sidney Crosby (broken jaw), stout defenseman Brooks Oprik (lower body), and almost all of the final two periods without sniper James Neal (left with ankle injury).

The third period might as well have been a celebratory walk-through, as it was in the second when the Islanders went from scratching for life to dead and buried. Already down 2-0 after the first, the Islanders started the second period on the penalty kill — and made things worse when Marty Reasoner took a brutal tripping call on Evgeni Malkin.

The 23-second 5-on-3 didn’t produce, but two seconds after it expired Kris Letang ripped a wrist shot from right circle past Evgeni Nabokov to make it 3-0, just 1:19 into the period. With the building rocking, it was just 32 seconds later when Pascal Dupuis added his second goal of the game, making it 4-0.

That chased Nabokov out of his net, getting replaced by rookie 23-year-old Kevin Poulin. With just under seven minutes remaining in the period, Poulin gave a little piece of insurance to the Penguins, allowing a bad-angle goal to Tanner Glass, the 5-0 lead seeming as insurmountable as anything imaginable.

There might have been some nerves to start the game for the Islanders, as 16 of their 20 players never had been the postseason. By watching the game more than pressing the action, they ended the franchise’s first 20 minutes of playoff action in six years down 2-0.

The first goal came after Brian Strait took a tough interference penalty, slamming into perpetual pest Matt Cooke seconds after Cooke planted Thomas Hickey into the boards with a high hit. On the ensuing Penguins’ power play, rookie fourth-liner Beau Bennett skated right past Andrew MacDonald and Reasoner, then lifted one over Nabokov’s shoulder to make it 1-0, 3:30 into the game.

Near the end of the period, with the Isles somewhat stemming the tide, there was a scramble in the slot after Nabokov had denied Craig Adams hacking attempts at the right post. When Nabokov came out to save a Jarome Iginla shot, the puck ended up on the blade of Dupuis, who batted it into the open net for 2-0 lead.

The Islanders did have a good chance to make a statement on a power play midway through the first, but regardless of some good looks, got only one shot on goal. The opportunity for life — not just in this game, but to set a precedent of resiliency for the series — went for naught.



Jack Capuano goes with veteran Marty Reasoner in Game 1

Published: May 1, 2013 8:49 PM

By ARTHUR STAPLE

PITTSBURGH - Marty Reasoner is an unlikely answer if you're asking the Isles playoff trivia question of who on the roster has the most career playoff goals.

His six lead the way, recorded in 23 playoff games -- though his last was with the Oilers a decade ago, in 2003. But even with that distant experience, Jack Capuano felt Reasoner, a healthy scratch the final 10 games of the season, was worth putting back in the lineup for Game 1.

"With the lineup we have and the youth we have, I feel it's a good situation to have Marty Reasoner back in there," Capuano said Wednesday. "I think Marty can do the job for us, no question."

Reasoner centered the fourth line between Casey Cizikas and Matt Martin in Game 1, taking the Jesse Joensuu/Eric Boulton spot. David Ullstrom was also a candidate to play, but Capuano wanted Reasoner for his faceoff and penalty-killing ability in addition to that playoff experience.

"You just have to stay ready mentally," said Reasoner, who was scratched 17 of the 48 games. "Right now, you just draw on past experience and try to keep the guys loose and relaxed."

The Isles did not dress a player who has played a postseason game for them. Radek Martinek, a healthy scratch, is the only one on the roster who has appeared in a playoff game for the Isles, in 2003 and 2004.

Orpik out for Pens

Defenseman Brooks Orpik, a stalwart of the Penguins' defense, sat out Game 1 with a lower body injury. The Pens made Tyler Kennedy a healthy scratch, instead putting rookie Beau Bennett in for his first playoff game. Bennett scored the game's first goal at 3:30 of the first . . . The Isles went with Brian Strait over Matt Carkner and Martinek on defense.

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 05.02.2013


Penguins' Sidney Crosby out for playoff opener against Islanders

Originally published: May 1, 2013 12:17 PM

Updated: May 1, 2013 8:21 PM

By RON MUSSELMAN

PITTSBURGH - The painful wait continues for Sid the Kid.

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was not medically cleared to return for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs Wednesday against the Islanders at the Consol =Energy Center.

He suffered a broken jaw on March 30 in a game against the Islanders and has not played since, missing the final 12 regular-season games.

Crosby met with his doctor Tuesday, but was not given the green light to return to game action because his jaw is not completed healed. He has been practicing.

"He said everything looks good, he just wasn't prepared to clear me to play," Crosby said after Wednesday morning's skate. "Obviously, I would have loved to have the chance to play, but it's not the way it is and I'll make sure I'm ready when the time comes."

Crosby said there still is no timetable for his return and he doesn't have another appointment scheduled with his doctor. Game 2 is Friday.

"[The doctor] just said that he'll be in touch with me, to let him know if I feel anything different," Crosby said. "But I'm sure he'll be around and checking up things pretty closely.

"[He] didn't give me a date, and I'm sure if he gives me a date, he knows I'll have a pretty high expectation [of coming back]."

For the third consecutive day, Crosby worked with the Penguins' fifth line during the morning skate. He also had a half-hour session with Mike Kadar, the team's strength and conditioning coach.

"Whenever I kind of take a regular morning skate, I'm sure that will be a pretty good sign I'm in," Crosby said.

Penguins coach Dan Bylsma believes his team will succeed, with or without Crosby. The Penguins went 8-4 in the regular season after Crosby was injured against the Islanders when a slap shot by Brooks Orpik deflected off the Islanders' Brad Boyes and hit Crosby in the face.

At the time, Crosby was leading the NHL scoring title by a wide margin and was the favorite to capture the league's Most Valuable Player Award.

"We've played a lot of hockey without Sid on our lines and we played most of our games this year with him," Bylsma said. "We've been playing and preparing with or without Sidney Crosby in our lineup.

"If you are talking about the impact of not having one of the best players in the game in your lineup, certainly you would like to have him in there. But we've played the last section of our season without him and we've been practicing that way for this week."



Islanders rudely welcomed back to playoffs by Penguins in Game 1

May 2, 2013 12:16 AM By MARK HERRMANN

Welcome to the playoffs. The Islanders barely had time to wipe their feet on that nice friendly mat, buoyant about taking that first step into the postseason. And they found out it was a trap door. Oops.

The best the Islanders can say after their 5-0 drubbing in their first postseason game since 2007 is that they got it out of the way. The next best thing is that the Islanders are decidedly more of an underdog now than they were at 7:30 , a few minutes before the opening faceoff against the Penguins. Being in the position to overcome something has summoned the best from these Islanders.

"I think we've been in that role ever since I got here, so we're pretty used to it," John Tavares said earlier yesterday. "I don't think many people expected us to be here, probably not many people are giving us a chance in this series. I really don't know that, but we've gotten used to that. We want to take this head on."

For this one night, they took it on the chin. Tavares, one of the elite players in the NHL, was marked so tightly and effectively that he did not even get off one shot. He promises to be forgetful, fast.

"We're going to need to. We don't have much time," Tavares said afterward. "Series are long, but at the same time they can be short, too. We know we have to be a lot better. We didn't make it too hard on them for most of the game. We need to definitely get this out of us and regroup."

Everyone in hockey knows the score: The Islanders were a consensus last-place pick in the preseason, given little chance to make the playoffs. That they reached the postseason was considered an upset. In fact, they had played so well down the stretch that many experts had said this week that they expected the Islanders to give the Penguins a pretty good tussle. The loss, and the way it happened, put the Islanders back into the long-shot category.

To their credit, even though many of the players had never been in the postseason before, the Islanders did not see this trip as a mere bonus for having had a nice season. Complacency wasn't their problem Wednesday night. Nerves were. "That's not an excuse," Kyle Okposo said. "We've still got to play hard. We've got to learn from that and move on."

Their mantra this week had been "just play our game." The idea was to hold off stage fright or over-trying by remaining as normal as possible. They learned, though, that normal doesn't measure up if the other side raises its game. The Penguins' level was about at the ceiling of CONSOL Energy Center. Islanders coach Jack Capuano said his team did not match the opponent's physical intensity.

It wasn't only the first-timers who had a rough go. Goalie Evgeni Nabokov, a veteran of 80 playoff games, was the first to leave, getting pulled only 1:51 into the second period, after the fourth goal. Capuano said it wasn't a matter of Nabokov's performance -- a couple of the goals resulted from sloppy clearing attempts. "I'm not going to leave him in there and hang him out to dry," the coach said.

Penguins coach Dan Bylsma, who used to run the Islanders' power play as an assistant during the Alexei Yashin era, noted Wednesday morning that these Islanders had not been given their due in the preseason.

"They have a good group of young players that are kind of growing up together," he said. "They're a formidable team."

The Islanders, unaccustomed to such compliments, were a forlorn team by the end of Wednesday, trying to figure out how to put a nightmare behind them.

"The sun is going to rise tomorrow," Kyle Okposo said. "A new day."

And the Islanders will be back behind the 8-ball, a more pronounced underdog, which could bring out the best in them.



Islanders lose to Pittsburgh Penguins in first-round opener

Originally published: May 1, 2013 6:25 PM

Updated: May 1, 2013 11:29 PM

By ARTHUR STAPLE

PITTSBURGH -- The Islanders got to the playoffs by working harder than their opponents.

Once they got to the postseason last night, however, they made it very easy for the Penguins to take control of this series.

The Islanders fell behind early, chased pucks and lost battles all over the ice in a 5-0 loss to the Penguins to open this Eastern Conference quarterfinal. Evgeni Nabokov was pulled after allowing four goals on 15 shots through 21:51, John Tavares was pushed around and held without a shot and there was very, very little to take out of the Islanders' first playoff game since 2007.

"It's got to hurt to play, and this was too easy," Nabokov said. "We have to come back for the next game and be ready, be more physical and just make it harder on them on every inch of the ice. It's the only way we can play with that team."

The Penguins were without Sidney Crosby, still not fully healed from a broken jaw, but that hardly mattered the way the rest of his team ran roughshod over the seemingly jittery Islanders, who had 11 players making their playoff debuts.

Brian Strait took an early penalty for knocking down Matt Cooke away from the play and, after Andrew MacDonald's clearing pass deflected off linesman Greg Devorski's leg instead of going the length of the ice, Penguins rookie Beau Bennett roofed a shot over Nabokov just 3:30 in to open the scoring.

The Isles settled themselves and got a few shots on Marc-Andre Fleury, but not enough quality chances. Pascal Dupuis scored the first of his two goals later in the first period off a scramble in front of Nabokov for a two-goal hole.

The Pens chased Nabokov with two goals in 32 seconds early in the second, the first a power-play goal by Kris Letang.

That power play came about when Mark Streit, another of the Islanders who looked a bit overwhelmed by the occasion, was caught flat-footed on a clearing pass and grabbed a hold of Brandon Sutter to prevent another scoring chance in the final minute of the first. Then Marty Reasoner took a tripping penalty on Evgeni Malkin in the opening minute of the second, and the deadly Penguins had a 23-second, two-man advantage.

Letang rifled a shot over Nabokov's shoulder just as Streit's penalty expired.

Dupuis scored his second in the slot after he beat Lubomir Visnovsky for position in front of Nabokov.

Kevin Poulin came on and allowed a softie by Tanner Glass from the side boards at 13:07 of the second, but the game was over by then.

Fleury made 26 saves for the shutout as the Penguins gained a full head of steam from this opener, going 2-for-4 on the power play and outworking the Islanders. The visitors went 0-for-4 with the man advantage, just another area where they failed.

"I'm not really sure what it was," said Matt Martin, who recorded 10 hits. "We got away from the game plan. They're one of the Cup favorites -- when you make it easy on them, they're going to light you up."

It was the Islanders' worst playoff loss since consecutive 6-0 defeats by the Rangers in Games 1 and 2 of the Atlantic Division semifinals in 1994.

The Penguins had Brenden Morrow, Cooke and Douglas Murray out on the ice most time against Tavares, who tried to give as good as he got but often ended up on his fanny. It was an unpleasant playoff debut for Tavares, to say the least.

"We're going to need to [forget it quickly]," he said. "We don't have much time. These series are long, but sometimes they can be quick, too."

Jack Capuano said there may be some lineup changes, but he simply needs more from everyone for Game 2 here tomorrow.

"We lost battles," he said. "We've just got to work harder. We'll see when the puck drops on Friday night."


673970 New York Rangers

Turned Loose, Ovechkin Once Again Turns Heads

By BEN ROTHENBERG


ARLINGTON, Va. — Alex Ovechkin was one of the last players on the ice for the Washington Capitals’ first postseason practice Monday, but he quickly made up for any lost time. While his teammates glided in circles around the rink, Ovechkin hit the ice at nearly full speed and dashed toward the first idle puck he saw, slamming it into the back of the vacant net.

Alex Ovechkin after scoring against the Lightning in a 6-5 victory in April. In games this season in which he scored at least one goal, the Capitals were 19-3-2.

He coasted with his teammates for his next quarter-lap around the ice. But once he crossed the far blue line, he again exploded toward a loose puck, snapping it into the other unattended net.

With that eye for the net and a looser tether under the more offensively tilted system of Adam Oates, the team’s first-year coach, Ovechkin has again been hockey’s toughest player to contain. After switching from the left wing to the right at the beginning of the season, he led the N.H.L. in goals for the third time in his career, but for the first time in four seasons, notching 32 in the 48-game season.

He also led the league in shots taken for the seventh time in his eight N.H.L. seasons, rebounding from a sixth-place finish in that category a year ago.

“He’s leading the league in shots again; he’s hammering guys; he’s got all this energy,” Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner said. “I think a lot of it’s got to do with the way the coaches have kind of let him go a little bit, to be able to free run in the way he used to. When he has the opportunity and he’s given the chance to go and do that, he can make ridiculous things happen.

“The puck seems to be on a string for him right now. He’s shooting it good. The power play is working, which is a benefit to him as well. So he’s playing the way that we need him to play if we ever expect to win.”

The Capitals open the postseason at home Thursday night against the Rangers, the fourth time in the last five seasons the teams have met in the playoffs. But a playoff berth was not a given after the Capitals sputtered to a league-worst 2-8-1 start.

The main reason was clear. Ovechkin’s personal statistics are directly correlated to the Capitals’ success this season. In games in which he scored at least one goal, the Capitals were 19-3-2, including a 6-0-0 mark when he scored multiple goals. Washington was 8-15-1 when Ovechkin did not score. He scored only three times in the first 11 games.

“You could see he was just frustrated,” Alzner said. “When pucks aren’t going in for you, and you’re hitting poles and you’re fanning on pucks, it’s not fun.”

He added: “When he has a spotlight like he does and people are asking him so many questions, that’s got to weigh on you. So I think he was having probably a little bit of an internal thing going. But him being the pro that he is, he found a way to get out of it.”

By scoring 24 times in the final 23 games of the season, Ovechkin powered the team into first place in the weak Southeast Division.

“Sometimes when you have to step up, you step up,” he said.

Ovechkin, 27, is in his fourth season as the team’s captain, but he does not embrace the role in the nautical sense, smoothly steering the ship with calm, subtle adjustments to the wheel. Rather, his spark is the chief energy source for the team, a heavy shovelful of coal to the furnace.

“He’s pretty much the engine for our team,” Alzner said. “So it’s great that he’s going right now. Hopefully, he’s got a few more miles.”

The Capitals prevailed in first-round meetings with the Rangers in 2009 and 2011. But the Rangers won last year’s second-round series, limiting Ovechkin to three goals and one assist.

Rangers defenseman Marc Staal usually drew the job of marking Ovechkin in past series, but he is recovering from an eye injury and said he would probably not play in Game 1.

“He’s got a great shot — he shoots from everywhere,” Staal said. “The closer you can be to him, the better. You’ve got to get up in his face so he doesn’t have room to pull and rip it.”

This time around, Rangers Coach John Tortorella may at times divide his top defensive pairing to make sure either Ryan McDonagh or Dan Girardi is on the ice when Ovechkin is.

McDonagh, who will probably be matched against Ovechkin most often, said he welcomed the challenge. But Ovechkin is not the Rangers’ only concern.

“He’s the leading goal scorer in the league, but he’s making other guys around him better, too,” McDonagh said. “You can’t forget there’s four other guys on the ice. The big thing is not to turn pucks over: make them defend and wear their defensemen down so they can’t join the rush.”

Capitals players also cited the strong play of Ovechkin’s Swedish linemates, center Nicklas Backstrom and left wing Marcus Johansson.

“His linemates contribute a lot to it,” Capitals forward Troy Brouwer said. “Ovie, when he starts scoring goals, he gets confidence, he starts working harder. And Nicky and Jojo, they’re very special players; they’re skilled passers. And maybe a lot of the time when most people don’t think they can see Ovie open, those guys can, and they can make a play. And you give Ovie enough looks, and he’s going to bury them.”

Ovechkin more effectively used his teammates as the season progressed and he grew more comfortable on the right flank.

“I think he’s been not trying to do too much on his own,” center Mathieu Perreault said. “He’s using more of his center and wingers, giving the puck and trying to get back open. At the start of the year and into last year, he was trying to do it more on his own and tried to carry the puck all over and do it by himself.”

The veteran center Matt Hendricks said Ovechkin’s leadership improved as his play became more selfless.

“I think he’s a little calmer; I think he’s thinking a lot more now instead of just reacting and saying things,” Hendricks said. “And I think he’s seeing the entire game in a broad spectrum instead of just his own personal points and things like that. I think he’s seeing the benefits of what he can do all over the ice instead of just scoring goals for us.”

Ovechkin, perhaps spurred by past playoff shortfalls, has grown more mature, the veteran forward Jason Chimera said.

“I think you eventually know how little time there is to win in this league,” Chimera said. “And as every year passes, you kind of look back and say, ‘Oh, maybe I ruined another chance.’ I think a lot of times you look back and think you got to get going and you need to win now. And that was the big key, I think. That maturity, it shows.”

Perreault added that Ovechkin’s off-ice preparation had also improved.

“He shows up a little earlier for practice and stuff,” Perreault said. “But, I mean, he does his own thing. It’s Ovie.”

New York Times LOADED: 05.02.2013


Ryan Callahan and Rangers must contain Washington Capitals' power play, Tortorella 'sick of practicing,' Staal closer to return

BY Pat Leonard

The Rangers’ ability to defeat the Washington Capitals in their first-round playoff series will have everything to do with staying out of the penalty box and killing off the Caps’ league-leading power play when they’re shorthanded.

The Blueshirts are aware, and they know it will be a challenge to try and set the tone in Thursday night’s Game 1 at a hostile Verizon Center without crossing the line and committing early miscues out of aggression.

“You have to find that line and control your emotions and make sure you don’t step over it,” said Rangers captain Ryan Callahan, the leader of New York’s tone-setting hits when they generate solid starts. “That’s going to be the big thing for us going into Game 1 is making sure we control that and use that energy in the right way and not get in the box.”

The Rangers were disciplined in the regular season, tied with the Chicago Blackhawks for fewest penalty minutes with 9.2 per game. But Washington boasts the NHL’s top power play (26.8%), led by Alex Ovechkin’s league-leading 16 power play goals and defenseman Mike Green’s superb play at the point.

“Those are definitely dangerous guys,” said forward Darroll Powe, one of the Rangers’ top penalty killers. “So you’ve got to keep a special eye on them and make sure we give them as little time and space as possible, for sure.”

The Rangers’ penalty kill went through some rough stretches in the 48-game season and finished in the middle of the pack at 15th (81.1%). But the Blueshirts were much better while going 10-3-1 in their final 14 games, killing off 35-of-41 opponents’ power plays (85.4%), a success rate that would have ranked them sixth in the NHL if they’d been able to sustain that all season.

Powe’s early-season acquisition from the Minnesota Wild helped the unit. He joined a group of forwards that now late in the season has done more of the shot-blocking that John Tortorella wants to see.

“That’s what playoff time’s all about is not letting pucks get to the net and sacrificing everything to help the team,” Powe said after Wednesday’s practice at Greenburgh, the Rangers’ final full practice before Game 1. “Every time you block a shot you may not be laying out, but you see (Callahan) doing it every day, lying down to block a shot. Our D-men they block so many shots. (Dan Girardi) does it all the time and all of our other defensemen and forwards have been doing it, so it’s going to be important for us to do that going forward.”

Henrik Lundqvist anchors the penalty kill in net and called special teams, both the power play and penalty kill, “a key in this series.” But as Callahan said, the best way to stop Washington’s man advantage is to keep them off the ice.

“I think (our penalty kill) has room to improve, but they’re a dangerous power play,” Callahan said. “And I think the biggest thing for us is to stay out of the box and net let their power play get on the ice. They’ve shown that no matter how good the (opponent’s) penalty kill is, they’re going to get chances and they’re going to get opportunities. So our penalty kill is going to have to be at its best, but we’ll have to stay out of the box, too.”

Now for more notes from Wednesday’s practice in Greenburgh:

REST, BUT NOT REALLY

Lundqvist did not skate with the team on Tuesday because the Rangers said he was “resting,” but on Wednesday Lundqvist said that didn’t mean he was at home sitting on his couch.

“Just because we had that many days, we decided to take one more day off and do some strength stuff in the gym instead,” said Lundqvist, who started 43 of 48 games this season, including the final 14. “It was not a complete day off. It was an off-ice day. I think it’s going to help me in the long run.”

Lundqvist admitted that given the long break between Saturday’s regular-season finale and Thursday’s Game 1 against Washington, he’s glad he made the start against the Devils at the Garden on Saturday. The Blueshirts already had locked up a playoff spot going into the game, but playing and getting the 4-0 shutout win helped Lundqvist stay fresh and confident.

“Yeah, I think looking back at it now, it was good that I played that game because we’ve had so many days off,” Lundqvist said. “I mean even if we started Tuesday I would have been fine, but the way it’s played out now, I thought it was a good decision, yeah.”

Lundqvist, by the way, is wearing a new mask – or “bucket,” as he says – for the playoffs (photo here).

SPEAKING OF THE SCHEDULE …

For the second straight day, but more directly this time, Tortorella talked negatively about the extended break between Saturday’s regular-season finale and Thursday’s Game 1. The NHL adjusted its postseason schedule due to the regular season being extended a day by Boston’s rescheduled game against Ottawa, and also due to the NBC Sports Group’s desire to televise every game nationally on either NBC, NBC Sports Network or CNBC.

“We're sick of practicing,” Tortorella said. “We're not used to it. Especially this year, you're playing every other day. Even the coaches, I mean, we’re just used to playing, and this is the time of year you should be playing. Again, I’m not complaining. It's a long time (off), and I can tell the players are just chomping at the bit to play. We cut our practice short today just to get on the plane and get out of here.”

Tortorella admitted the extra time gave coaches the ability to break down a lot of information on the Capitals. But he insisted this much time wasn’t necessary.

“It certainly wasn’t like our training camp, but it affords you time to not group everything into one meeting, so we spread our meetings out the first two days,” Tortorella said. “We had no meetings today, but our first two days – as far as the tapework we needed to do and the meetings – we spread it out, so it’s not all jammed in. We got a lot accomplished. There’s no question we got a lot accomplished. But you can also hurt your team by practicing too much especially at this time of year. So we’re ready to play and I’m sure the other team is saying the same thing.”

STAAL-MOST THERE?

Rangers defenseman Marc Staal, who has not played since March 5 due to a right eye injury, sounds like he is close to a return, even if it doesn’t happen in Game 1.

“I’m not gonna … probably not going to play tomorrow,” Staal said.

Remember the last time Staal was close to playing and Tortorella said he wasn’t going to be in the lineup? Oh right, last year’s Winter Classic – the Rangers said the day before that Staal wouldn’t play, then the day of the game announced he would replace – wait for it – Jeff Woywitka in the lineup.

Staal, who was returning from concussion symptoms last season, now is dealing with blurry vision in his right eye after being hit with a deflected puck on March 5 at the Garden against the Flyers. But he’s been practicing for weeks and getting used to faster play with his new visor, and he looks like he’s back in shape.

MORE INJURY UPDATES

Brian Boyle (right knee) and Ryane Clowe (likely concussion) have not practiced any day this week but are traveling with the Rangers to Washington, D.C. Derek Dorsett (broken clavicle) is still practicing in a non-contact jersey but is traveling and hopes to be available at some point during the series.

NASH UNDERSTANDS PRESSURE

Rangers winger Rick Nash acknowledged that for him, personally, in the playoffs: “It’s time to step up now.” Read my feature on Nash in today’s Daily News here. I’ll have more later on the website previewing Rangers-Capitals, including how the Blueshirts intend to stop Ovechkin.



Ryan McDonagh once again will battle Alex Ovechkin when Rangers face Capitals

By Pat Leonard / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Thursday, May 2, 2013, 12:52 AM

WASHINGTON -- Ryan McDonagh doesn’t have a household nickname like ‘The Great Eight,’ but if he stops Alex Ovechkin in the sixth-seeded Rangers’ first-round playoff series against the third-seeded Washington Capitals, he will.

“You want to play against the best,” McDonagh said Wednesday after the Rangers’ final practice before Game 1 at the Verizon Center Thursday night. “You want to help the team win, and if that’s the position or role they want me in, I’m going to try to do it the best I can.”

McDonagh, 23, did his best in this same arena exactly one year ago, when he logged an unthinkable 53:21 of ice time in a 2-1, triple-overtime Game 3 victory. The Rangers went on to win their second-round series over Washington in seven games.

“You have a little bit of confidence from that,” said McDonagh, a University of Wisconsin product who wears No. 27 and is known affectionately to some teammates as ‘Mac Truck.’ “You remember the style that they play, you remember the building, that atmosphere and how that crowd is . . . You draw on your past playoff experiences. And you want to play even better.”

His task beginning on Thursday, though, is to shut down the hottest player in the NHL.

Ovechkin, 27, led the league this season in goals (32) and power-play goals (16) playing on the right wing, a move first-year coach Adam Oates made at the beginning of the season. Ovechkin scored 20 of his goals in the final 19 games of the regular season, when Washington went 15-2-2 to win the Southeast Division.

McDonagh plays the left side so he, not top-pair partner Dan Girardi, draws the direct matchup with Ovechkin. Injured left-side defenseman Marc Staal could return during the series, and Michael Del Zotto will log heavy minutes on the left side, as well. But McDonagh (6-1, 213 pounds) has earned the opportunity to check Ovechkin by demonstrating a unique combination of speed, size and intelligence.

This will be, after all, a battle of former first-round picks. Ovechkin was Washington’s No. 1 overall selection in the 2004 draft. McDonagh went 12th overall to the Canadiens in the 2007 draft, but the Rangers swiped him from Montreal in a trade four years ago that sent Scott Gomez in a package to the Habs.

“That’s the toughest position to play in our game,” John Tortorella said Wednesday of the defenseman’s role. “I think what has really (elevated McDonagh) into being the player he is right now is if he makes a mistake in a shift, it never bothers him. He just goes out and plays again and is better the next shift. I think that has really helped him become who he is. And obviously you look at his abilities: his skating covers up for so many different things as far as positioning. So he's a full package.”

“It’s also his smarts and the way he thinks the game,” Rangers third-pair defenseman John Moore said. “For him to think the game at an elite level, you almost need to be a step ahead of those (top offensive) players.”

Ovechkin is well-acquainted with how the Rangers intend to stop him: by limiting his space and shooting angles. In last year’s second-round series, Ovechkin had three goals and an assist but failed to register a point in Games 1, 3 and 7.

“They block shots, they can hit, they can create some plays,” Ovechkin said in Washington. “I like those kind of battles, all the time. We’ll see. I don’t know if Staal will be able to play or not. Again, it doesn’t matter who you’re going to play against, who’s going to be on D. They’re going to try to do their best, and so are we.”

The Rangers will play team defense. The Capitals will try to use their full arsenal, including their league-best power play. But the series could hinge on how well McDonagh contains Ovechkin. If he succeeds, someone surely will find something that rhymes with “twenty-seven.”



Daily News writer Pat Leonard breaks down Rangers - Capitals series

By Pat Leonard / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Thursday, May 2, 2013, 12:37 AM

WASHINGTON -- The Rangers and Capitals can’t get out of each other’s way. In Game 1 at the Verizon Center on Thursday night, the Eastern Conference rivals will open their fourth head-to-head playoff series in the last five years.

The Blueshirts won last year’s second-round series in seven games, but Washington eliminated the Rangers in 2009 and 2011 and owns home-ice advantage this season as the three seed taking on the sixth-seeded Blueshirts. Washington also finished the regular season with a 15-2-2 record, making the Caps the NHL’s hottest team entering the postseason.

Here is a position-by-position breakdown of the series:

FORWARDS

Top center Derek Stepan (team-high 44 points) and power winger Rick Nash (team-high 21 goals, 42 points) pace the Rangers’ attack, which is top-heavy and inconsistent but also opportunistic. The forecheck of Carl Hagelin and Ryan Callahan sets the tempo, while Mats Zuccarello and Brad Richards are counted on for playmaking. The Capitals, meanwhile, boast a Big Three of captain Alex Ovechkin (NHL-high 32 goals, team-high 56 points) and centers Mike Ribeiro (49 points) and Nicklas Backstrom (48 points, 40 assists). Ovechkin is the NHL’s hottest player. Washington is missing forward Brooks Laich (sports hernia surgery), but the Rangers also lack depth with Brian Boyle (right knee) and Ryane Clowe (likely concussion) out indefinitely.

EDGE: Capitals

Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist makes a save earlier in the season against the Capitals.

KOSTAS LYMPEROPOULOS/LANDOV

Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist makes a save earlier in the season against the Capitals.

DEFENSEMEN

The Rangers have three defensemen in Dan Girardi, Ryan McDonagh and Marc Staal who are more complete than anyone on Washington’s blue line. Staal has not played since injuring his right eye on March 5 but is getting closer to a return. Capitals defenseman Mike Green has 26 points and is the minutes leader of a group that includes John Carlson, Karl Alzner and John Erskine. But the Rangers are much deeper, with Michael Del Zotto, Anton Stralman, Steve Eminger and deadline acquisition John Moore all capable and durable.

EDGE: Rangers

RELATED: RANGERS' MCDONAGH ONCE AGAIN WILL BATTLE 'THE GREAT 8'

GOALIES

Rangers veteran Henrik Lundqvist (24-16-3, 2.05 goals against average, .926 save percentage) is challenging for a second straight Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender at age 31. Washington’s 23-year-old Braden Holtby (23-12-1, 2.58 GAA, .920 save %) just completed an inconsistent first season as the Caps’ full-time starter, but he nearly beat Lundqvist and the Rangers in last year’s seven-game, second-round series as a rookie.

EDGE: Rangers

The Rangers continue to buy into John Tortorella's no-nonsense attitude.

KOSTAS LYMPEROPOULOS/LANDOV

The Rangers continue to buy into John Tortorella's no-nonsense attitude.

COACHES

Ex-Ranger Sean Avery called for John Tortorella’s firing on March 30 after a 3-0 loss in Montreal, but Callahan and the Rangers stood behind their 54-year-old coach and continue to buy into his no-nonsense attitude and defense-oriented system. Tortorella captured the 2004 Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning and got the Rangers to last season’s Eastern Conference finals. The Capitals’ Adam Oates, 50, struggled at the beginning of his first season as head coach to bend the ears of his players. But now he has everyone on board and feeling loose as the Southeast Division champions roll into the postseason.

EDGE: Rangers

SPECIAL TEAMS

This is the Rangers’ biggest concern. The Capitals boast the NHL’s top power play (26.8%), led by Ovechkin’s league-leading 16 power-play goals and Green’s superb play at the point. The Rangers’ penalty kill is middle of the road (15th, 81.1%) but finished 35 of 41 (85.4%) in their final 14 games and must be at least that efficient in this series. Then the Blueshirts need to ratchet up their own power play, which finished just 23rd out of 30 teams (15.7%) and 4 of 37 in its final 10 games. This could be the key to the series. Washington’s penalty kill was 27th in the NHL this season (77.9%) and could cost the Caps if the Rangers get their act together on the man advantage.

EDGE: Capitals

PREDICTION

The Capitals are loose and red hot, so if the Rangers don’t clamp down on Washington’s offense and its power play immediately, this could be a quick series. Fortunately for the Blueshirts, Ryan McDonagh is more than up to the task of playing the left side to contain Alex Ovechkin, who is thriving in his move to the right wing. Washington is playing like the better team right now, but a possible Marc Staal return added to the presences of McDonagh, Dan Girardi and Henrik Lundqvist will smother the Caps. Then Rick Nash will prove why the Rangers traded for him last summer — this time when it matters most.

RANGERS IN 7



Power Plays


Posted: 2:09 AM, May 2, 2013

Slap Shots Blog

Brooks on Twitter

1. Adam Henrique

Just 1:03 into overtime, he scored the game-winner that sent the Devils to the Stanley Cup Finals.

2. Martin Brodeur

Brodeur was tested early and often in this one. He stopped 35 shots as the 40-year-old returned to the finals.

3. Ryan McDonagh

With the Rangers trailing 2-0, McDonagh led the Ranger comeback, setting up goals by Ruslan Fedotenko and Ryan Callahan to tie the game. He had two assists and was a plus-2.

Key Moment

Just 1:03 into over time Adam Henrique was the hero, poking a loose puck past Henrik Lundqvist to seal the Devils’ 3-2 victory and end the series.

Schedule






Last night: Devils 3, Rangers 2 (OT)

Devils win series, 4-2



Rangers Capitals Matchups

By LARRY BROOKS


Posted: 1:40 AM, May 2, 2013

WASHINGTON — No team in the NHL played better hockey the final five weeks of the season than the Capitals, who came from nine points behind the Jets on March 20 to grab the Southeast title and third seed in the East with an 11-1-1 and 15-2-2 stretch run that makes the Blueshirts’ 10-3-1 finish appear lukewarm by comparison.

These aren’t last year’s Dale Hunter Caps, who lost in seven to the Blueshirts in the conference semifinals while trying to out-black-and-blue the Black-and-Blueshirts, Washington blocking 169 shots to New York’s 112.

These Caps can still grind, but under Adam Oates, the new man behind the bench, they have become an attack team, pressuring the puck and creating off the rush while deadly with the man advantage. Conversely, they are vulnerable to the counter, having surrendered the fourth-most shots in the league with the second-poorest GAA of playoff qualifiers.

Neil Miller

Henrik Lundqvist

Goaltending

Henrik Lundqvist, as tough a competitor as there is in the business, has regained his elite form following a first half in which he was undermined by inconsistency. The King has been very quick around the net while challenging shooters, and, for the most part, has minimized, if not eliminated, juicy rebounds and sharp-angle goals to the glove side.

Washington’s Braden Holtby is unflappable and capable of stealing games. He does leave loose change around the net and can be prone to surrendering the odd marginal goal; though not many lately.

Defense

Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh both stepped up after Marc Staal went down in early March, but No. 18’s absence creates matchup problems for coach John Tortorella and puts a strain on Michael Del Zotto and Anton Stralman. The Rangers’ D must be careful not to be over-aggressive going for the hit in the corners which would leave the front of the net open.

Mike Green’s return to form — 12 goals to lead NHL defensemen — has restored an offensive dimension to a deep Caps blue line that offers a blend of skating ability and toughness. John Carlson joins the attack while Karl Alzner stays at home.

Forwards

The Derek Stepan-Ryan Callahan combination has become deadly, with Carl Hagelin’s speed completing the Rangers’ most dangerous unit. Brad Richards has experienced a late season revival, regaining the assignment as second-line pivot between Rick Nash and Mats Zuccarello. It’s not about getting chances at this point for Nash; it’s about finishing them. That’s why he was hired. Depth is a major issue with Brian Boyle and Ryane Clowe (and Derek Dorsett) sidelined. Derick Brassard’s game slipped the last two weeks. Tortorella can only shorten his bench so far, so soon.

Alex Ovechkin, the Rocket Richard winner with 32 goals, appears unconquerable, an immovable object and irresistible force firing lasers on a line with complementary talents Nicklas Backstrom and Marcus Johansson. Mike Ribeiro centers Troy Brouwer and Martin Erat on a unit that is extremely tough to handle down low. Third-line grinding winger Jason Chimera always gives the Rangers fits.

Special teams

The Rangers’ power play has been hit and miss (more miss than hit) all year though Richards’ revitalization should give the unit a boost. Callahan and Stepan are a dynamic PK tandem, but the Blueshirts have been

ordinary shorthanded, finishing 15th overall and 26th on the road in man-down efficiency.

The Caps fire away with Ovechkin and Green running the show on a power play that led the NHL at 26.8 percent. The penalty kill has been inferior, fourth-worst in the NHL, setting up a weakness vs. weakness confrontation when the Rangers have the man advantage.

Coaching

John Tortorella grew relatively comfortable with his personnel following the transformation around the trade deadline but will have to resist the temptation to cut down to 13 players by the third period of the first game if the Rangers are going to advance in the tournament marathon.

Adam Oates displayed an admirable amount of patience and poise in his first head coaching job in working with — not against — Ovechkin.

Prediction

Depth will be an issue, but if Blueshirts, who had third-best 5-on-5 goal ratio in NHL at 1.30 behind only Chicago (1.52) and Pittsburgh (1.35), can maintain discipline and stay out of box, they should prevail. Rangers in 6.



Playoffs open with Rangers needing to play disciplined

By LARRY BROOKS


Posted: 1:33 AM, May 2, 2013

WASHINGTON — Let us break down this Rangers-Capitals first-round playoff series that begins here tonight to its most fundamental equation.

The Blueshirts had the third-best five-on-five goal ratio in the NHL at 1.30 during the regular season, eclipsed only by prohibitive conference favorites Chicago (1.52) and Pittsburgh (1.35).

The Caps, meanwhile, were 10th at 1.07.

The Rangers were a middling penalty-kill team overall, 15th in the league at 81.1 percent, and feeble on the road, fifth-worst in the NHL at 75 percent.

While Washington had the NHL’s most potent power play at 26.8 percent overall while second-best at home at 27.2 percent.

All of which adds up to this essential truth as communicated yesterday by Derek Stepan, who teams with Ryan Callahan on the Rangers’ top penalty-kill unit: “The best kill is not to be in the box.”

“We have to do our best to stay disciplined and not get ourselves in trouble,” Stepan said. “We’re aware of that.”

Or, as Callahan said, “It’s no secret how dangerous their power play is. Staying out of the box is definitely one of the keys for us.”

RANGERS PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

This marks the third straight year and fourth in the last five tournaments in which the Blueshirts and Caps have met, the Rangers’ seven-game victory in the conference semifinals last year following first-round defeats in seven games in 2009 and in five games in 2011.

Indeed, after taking the opening two games of the 2009 series, the Rangers and Henrik Lundqvist have lost seven of the last eight playoff games in D.C., the only victory last year’s Game 3 triple OT classic.

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Callahan said. “It’s a matter of playing a good road game. We know they’re going to come with a lot of energy the first 10 or 15 minutes, so we have to be ready for that.

“We’ve been in playoff-style games for the last three weeks, and that’s when we’ve been at our best. We have to take that energy level and raise it a notch.”

Coach John Tortorella hasn’t said whether he’ll keep his shutdown defense pair of Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi intact to match against Alex Ovechkin, but chances are better that the Blueshirts will stand if the tandem is united and fall if it is divided; at least as long as Marc Staal remains sidelined.

Staal clearly was uncomfortable responding to the direct question put to him yesterday about whether he had ruled himself out for Game 1, the alternate captain all too aware of the coach’s “loose lips sinking ships” philosophy.

But the defenseman did say, “I’m probably not going to play. As I’ve said before, I have good days and bad days, and I’ll keep taking it day by day and hopefully it will get better.”

The Rangers scored two goals or fewer in 13 of their 20 games in last year’s playoffs, getting to four in only Game 1 of the first round against Ottawa. That was the primary motivation in trading for Rick Nash, whom management perceived as the missing link.

“It’s a deal you do 10 times over if you get the chance,” Tortorella said of the exchange in which Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, Tim Erixon and a first-round pick went to Columbus. “You just don’t get that kind of player.”

Nash has won a Gold Medal for Canada in the Olympics and World Championships, but never has played in so much as a winning game in the NHL playoffs, his Jackets swept in four by the Red Wings in 2009 in his only previous trip to the tournament.

No. 61 is a multi-dimensional player, but he needs to score in this tournament and he needs to score in this series.

“It’s time to step up now,” Nash said. “There are no other options. That’s the way it has to go.”

That, and the Rangers staying out of the penalty box.



Restless Ovechkin ready to go

By HOWIE KUSSOY


Posted: 1:13 AM, May 2, 2013

ARLINGTON, Va. — The wait for Washington seems endless. Four days have passed since the Capitals last played a game and the hottest team in hockey has found it hard to find patience, making Alex Ovechkin start to sound like Allen Iverson.

“To be honest, these are kind of boring days,” Ovechkin said Wednesday following the team’s practice. “I’m pretty happy [tonight] it starts. I can’t wait.”

The Russian superstar has reason to be restless in anticipation of tonight’s first game of the first-round playoff series against the Rangers at the Verizon Center. Back to being the game’s most dangerous scorer, Ovechkin can’t wait to get back on the ice after totaling 23 goals in the past 23 games and leading the NHL with 32 goals this season, capturing the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy for the first time since 2009, after averaging nearly 54 goals over his first five seasons.

Performing below the bar he set so high, tallying 70 combined goals in the previous two seasons, the two-time MVP was revived after being released from the shackles of last season’s defensive-oriented system under former coach Dale Hunter who, Ovechkin noted Wednesday, “[taught] only one thing.”

Under coach Adam Oates, Ovechkin can once again play to his strengths rather than be diminished in a rigid system that suffocated what made him special. And it’s carried over to all facets of his game.


“I think he’s playing a better overall game than ever, defensively and offensively,” said forward Jason Chimera, in his fourth season with the Capitals. “It’s not like he was playing bad. It just wasn’t always going in. Now, when he’s hot, it feels like everything is going. It’s the best I’ve ever seen him play.”

Oates ignited the semi-dormant volcano by shifting Ovechkin to right wing, despite initial resistance from the 27-year-old. The reasoning was sound. Oates wanted his superstar to get more touches. Though lined on the right, Ovechkin will often improvise, criss-cross the ice and change alignments, keeping the attack unpredictable.

Ovechkin, and linemates Marcus Johansson and Nicklas Backstrom, credit the success of the non-traditional patterns on the wings to the communication and trust that has developed over multiple years playing with each other.

“I think we all just know each other better now playing together so long,” said Johansson. “It’s good for the whole team to see him scoring. That’s what he does. Once he got used to playing on the right wing, he was gonna be as good of a hockey player as he was earlier and he’s shown that.”

In three playoff series against the Rangers in the past four seasons, Ovechkin has scored three goals in each series. He was held pointless in two games against the Rangers this season before his surge started, but had a goal and an assist in a March 24 win, part of the Capitals’ 15-2-2 run to end the regular season.

With Rangers defenseman Marc Staal likely out to open the series, Ovechkin expected to see a lot of Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh — prepared for the challenge, prepared to present one.

“They’re good defensively and I like the challenge,” said Ovechkin. “It’s a big challenge for me, for them as well. Who’s going to stop who? Are they going to stop me? Am I going to beat them? We’ll see.”

* Joel Ward participated in practice for the third straight day, but the 32-year-old winger is unsure he will play tonight. Ward missed the final nine games of the regular season with a knee contusion.



New blood does Rangers good

By LARRY BROOKS

Updated: 6:14 AM, May 2, 2013

Posted: 1:05 AM, May 2, 2013

WASHINGTON — A year ago, we knew exactly who and what those guys were when the playoffs began. They were Black-and-Blueshirts and they were Bluebloods who for the most part had been nurtured within the organization and had coalesced to earn top seed in the East.

Now, though, as the first round of this year’s tournament opens here tonight against the Caps, there is an essential question about the Rangers, and it is the one that Butch and Sundance asked one another: “Who are those guys?”

The core was split, first over the summer in the trade for Rick Nash, and then again at the trade deadline with the trade of Marian Gaborik. Fourteen players made their Rangers’ debuts this season, albeit some in cameo roles. Seven guys expected to play tonight did not participate in last year’s trip to the conference finals.

There is no real identity to this group though the core principles have survived the loss of core principals. There was no training camp in which to develop a mindset. These guys just haven’t been together that long.

Except this team did find its stride down the stretch in going 10-3-1, and 9-3-1 after the moves around the April 3 deadline. And except that as Brad Richards tells it, that’s when the team truly became a team for the first time this lockout season.


“I think we’ve become a lot more sure of ourselves as a unit since the deadline,” Richards told The Post following yesterday’s short practice at home that preceded the flight to D.C. “There were a lot of ifs and buts and wondering; a lot of changes early. “But it calmed down after the deadline. Things have been a lot more stable the last few weeks.”

If John Tortorella has alluded to it once, the coach has alluded to it 100 times. The moves in which the Rangers added Ryane Clowe, Derick Brassard, John Moore and a few days before that, Mats Zuccarello, solidified the lineup.

The additions gave the coach more options he trusted while allowing him to subtract J.T. Miller and Chris Kreider as well as, of course, Gaborik, who had become a ceaseless topic of conversation.

Moves were made and tension was lifted. There still were questions, specifically after the defeats in Philadelphia and Florida, but they were different questions. There was different talk.

Trading Gaborik changed the subject. And so did defeating the Penguins 6-1 in the first game after the deadline when Clowe joined the lineup without sleep after taking a red-eye from California and when Brassard and Moore arrived at the Garden within 15 minutes of the opening faceoff.

“It was just, ‘Go play,’ ” said Richards. “We played and we had fun and we all realized that we had a good team.

“It took a lot of pressure off us mentally. It refreshed everybody.”

The core was split, but Henrik Lundqvist remains, and so do Black-and-Blueshirt lettermen Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh (and perhaps at some point, Marc Staal), and Ryan Callahan, Derek Stepan, Carl Hagelin and Michael Del Zotto, who went through it all a year ago, all the way to Game 6 of the conference finals.

“I think we learned a lot of lessons,” said Richards, the lone Ranger to have won a Stanley Cup. “We learned about closing out games and closing out series; about how games are won on big plays at the right time.

“I think the history of hockey shows that young teams grow a lot from one year to the next after going through the kind of experience we had last year.”

Last year, we knew who they were. Now, we’re not quite sure. Richards, though, has no doubts.

“I’ll give you the clichés about preparing for Game 1, focusing on one game at a time and taking it one series at a time, because they’re all true,” said Big Moment Brad. “But with the goaltending we have and the people we have, I go into this thinking we have a legitimate chance to win the Stanley Cup.

“I like our chances as much as anybody.”



Rangers-Capitals skinny


Andrew Gross

Rangers at Capitals

Game 1, Today, 7:30 p.m.

TV: MSG, NBC Sports Network

Radio: ESPN-FM 98.7

KEYS TO THE SERIES

Special teams: The Rangers have to stay out of the penalty box to keep the Capitals' top-ranked power play, featuring Alex Ovechkin and D Mike Green, from getting too many opportunities.

Goaltending: The Rangers should have the edge with Henrik Lundqvist over the Capitals' Braden Holtby, but last year's seven-game series nearly was a tossup between the two. Only one game was decided by more than one goal and neither team scored more than three goals in any game.

Who carries the momentum? Both teams enter the playoffs among the hottest in the NHL – the Capitals finished the season on a 15-2-2 roll while the Rangers were 10-3-1 in April.



NHL playoffs: These are not same old Caps

BY ANDREW GROSS

GREENBURGH, N.Y. – Four series in five years certainly makes for a playoff rivalry. But amid the familiarity of once again facing the Capitals lies a bit of a new challenge for the Rangers.

The Capitals have once again reinvented themselves.

"Their top guys are really skilled and, lately, their power play has been really hot," said Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist. "But they've changed the way they've played over the years, so it's a different look. Four, five years ago, they were all about offense. Last year, it was more about defense. This year, it's a mix."

The sixth-seeded Rangers open their Eastern Conference quarterfinal against the third-seeded Capitals tonight at Verizon Center seeking their first Stanley Cup since 1994. Game 2 is Saturday afternoon, and the series shifts to Madison Square Garden for Games 3 and 4 on Monday and Wednesday.

"They're probably the hottest team," Rangers defenseman Anton Stralman said. "It's probably a different team than we played."

The Rangers went 2-0-1 against the Capitals in the lockout-shortened, 48-game season. But the Capitals, in their first season under Adam Oates, finished on a 15-2-2 roll to win the Southeast Division after being 13th in the conference prior to the streak and seven points off the division lead.

"Personnel-wise, it's been the same but, record-wise, they've really changed," Rangers defenseman Steve Eminger said. "I guess it's hard to go off the last couple of games because they're a totally different team."

The Rangers beat the Capitals, then coached by the defensive-minded Dale Hunter, in seven games in last year's conference semifinal. The Bruce Boudreau-coached Capitals beat the Rangers in the first round in 2009 and 2011.

Some of the components, of course, are the same. Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin, reunited on a top line with center Nicklas Backstrom along with Marcus Johansson, led the NHL in scoring with 32 goals after scoring 14 in the Capitals last 13 games.

And the trio of Mike Ribeiro, Troy Brouwer and Martin Erat gives the Capitals two potent lines.

"It's probably the top [six forwards] in the game," Rangers defenseman Michael Del Zotto said. "One of the keys is staying out of the [penalty] box."

The Capitals' power play ranked first in the NHL with 44 goals in 164 chances (26.8 percent).

"[Ovechkin] is playing well, but I think we know how to contain him," Rangers left wing Carl Hagelin said. "We can't give him a chance on the power play to take his one-timers. You'll take two, three penalties a game, that's enough. To take more than that, sooner or later, he's going to find the net."

Of course, the Capitals must have concerns about the Blueshirts as well, even if the Rangers' game has not changed as dramatically with John Tortorella behind their bench since 2009.

Beating the Capitals last season put them in the conference final for the first time since 1997, before they lost to the Devils in six games.

The Rangers, thanks to the re-signing of Norwegian playmaker Mats Zuccarello and the acquisitions of the rugged Ryane Clowe from the Sharks and center Derick Brassard and defenseman John Moore from the Blue Jackets, used a more balanced lineup to go 10-3-1 in April.

Even with Clowe (undisclosed, possible concussion) and the 6-foot-7 Brian Boyle (right leg) out along with top defenseman Marc Staal (right eye), the Rangers are playing confident hockey.

"We just control games more for 60 minutes and we don't get hurt [on the scoreboard] when we're not playing the way we need to," Rangers center

Derek Stepan said. "We've got to try to continue to bring that into the playoffs if we want any chance."

BRIEFS: Staal said he was "probably not going to play" tonight. … Clowe and Boyle also will accompany the team to Washington. … F Derek Dorsett (clavicle), out since March 7, is not cleared for contact but will travel and is hopeful that he'll be available later in the series.



John Tortorella eager to get Rangers-Capitals series started

Published: May 1, 2013 8:42 PM

By ANTHONY RIEBER

GREENBURGH, N.Y. - There's nothing left to say. It's time to play.

"Yeah, we're sick of practicing," Rangers coach John Tortorella said after the Rangers had their third straight day of practice in anticipation of Thursday night's playoff opener against the Washington Capitals at the Verizon Center.

Days off were rare in this lockout-truncated season. So how weird was it for the Rangers and Capitals to have what amounted to a minicamp before the playoffs?

"We're not used to it," Tortorella said. "Especially this year. You're playing every other day. Even the coaches, we're just used to playing. This is the time of the year you should be playing. I'm not complaining, but it's a lot of time. I can tell the players, they're champing at the bit to play. We cut our practice short just to get on the plane and get out of here.

"It certainly wasn't like training camp, but it affords you time to not group everything into one meeting. So we spread our meetings out the first two days. It's not all jammed in. We got a lot accomplished, but you can also hurt your team by practicing too much, especially at this time of the year."

The Rangers and Capitals are well-acquainted; they are meeting in the playoffs for the third straight season and fourth in the last five. The Rangers ousted Washington last season in a thrilling seven-game Eastern Conference semifinal series that included a triple-overtime game.

So that gives the Rangers an advantage, right?

Wrong.

"We've got new guys here," captain Ryan Callahan said. "They've got new guys there. It's a new series."

One of the Rangers' new guys is Rick Nash, whose playoff experience is limited to four games with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2009 (they were swept by Detroit). Nash will be looking for his first postseason win on a bigger stage than the Blue Jackets can afford a star player.

"I haven't had the biggest amount of [pressure] on me," Nash said. "We'll find out. It's something that all great athletes have done. It's time to step up now."

Notes & quotes: Marc Staal (eye) said he would "probably not" play Thursday night, though a return at some point in the series seems likely . . . Brian Boyle (right leg) and Ryane Clowe (possible concussion) did not practice. Derek Dorsett (clavicle) skated in a non-contact jersey. All four traveled with the team to Washington.



Derek Stepan: Mr. Consistency … now comes the big test

By Rick Carpiniello

GREENBURGH — It sounded kind of crazy when the words came out of John Tortorella’s mouth Saturday — not that you don’t expect the occasional baloney from the Rangers coach.

On a team with Henrik Lundqvist, Ryan Callahan and Rick Nash, there was Tortorella at the end of the regular season calling Derek Stepan the club’s most important player.

Maybe he is that, maybe he isn’t. It would be a tough argument to make against Lundqvist, the team’s MVP, or against Captain Callahan, or Nash, the newcomer and most dangerous player.

But Stepan, except for a slow start, has easily been more consistent than any of those players, and he plays in all situations — and his penalty-killing duty became extremely crucial after the Rangers lost so many PK-duty regulars in the summer.

All the 22-year-old center did in the lockout shortened season was A) replace Brad Richards as the team’s No. 1 center; B) make every winger who played with him better; C) lead the team in scoring (18 goals, 26 assists, 44 points and a +25 rating) and D) prove to be one of the team’s best defensive forwards.

“I think he has evolved,” Tortorella said Monday. “He struggled early. He was penciled in to be our No. 2 center. I was worried if he could handle that coming into this year. He has been our No. 1 center as he has evolved into it, and I am totally confident that he is going to be able to handle all the things going into this playoff series.”

The playoff series against Washington, which begins Thursday in D.C. — and whatever happens beyond, if anything, will go a long way toward defining Stepan at this young age. Because he has struggled in the postseason, going without a point in a five-game loss to the Capitals two seasons ago, and scoring a single goal (albeit a huge goal) in 20 playoff games last spring.

“Playoffs have never been my strong point,” Stepan said, before trailing off into his humble team-speak, when the I becomes we, when questions about himself become answers about the group.

He did allow that he learned a lot from the Rangers’ run to the Eastern final last spring.

“You’ve been through it once now and you understand how you’ve got to carry yourself and you get that aspect of it,” Stepan said. “But every playoffs is new and it’s exciting and it’s going to have a different feel to it.

“It doesn’t mean anything. It’s a new year, a new playoffs. You learn from it and you move on. … You just learn how you need to play in a playoff series, what it takes to play in a playoff series, what atmospheres are like in a playoff series — all the things that it takes to win playoff games, how you handle yourself when you win one, how you handle yourself when you lose one, all that stuff adds up.

Like his numbers added up. He had points in 12 of the final 14 games of the season, and had 15 goals and 35 points the last 30, all of which must have a cash register ringing in his agent’s head. Stepan, making $875,000 this year, will be a restricted free agent July 1.

“He’s prepared,” Tortorella said. “He does a lot of work and that’s an intangible that he has that some players don’t, as far as being prepared for all situations. I think that has helped him in his confidence and it keeps on growing.”

That’s the difference between Stepan and, say, Chris Kreider or J.T. Miller. Or the difference between, even, Stepan — who made it directly to the NHL out of college and scored a hat trick in his first game — and Michael Del Zotto or Ryan McDonagh or even Callahan, who did play minor hockey first.

“Yeah, some of the other kids don’t get it,” Tortorella said. “They will eventually. I think they’ll be taught. But Step had that right away and you could see that right away when he first came to us. I think that progresses players quicker. I mean, he’s a 22-year-old guy that I use in every freakin’

situation. And he’s a guy, as I’ve said, I was worried about him being our No. 2 center going into the year. He’s proven to all of us that he’s taken a huge step this year.”

The pun was not intended.

Rockland Journal News: LOADED: 05.02.2013

673983 NHL

Kings have to step up play going into Game 2 at St. Louis

Helene Elliott

7:44 PM PDT, May 1, 2013

ST. LOUIS — From being overwhelmed by the Blues' frenzied forechecking at the start to losing on a stunning misplay by Jonathan Quick at the end, the Kings know they must improve in several areas to leave Scottrade Center on Thursday with a split of the first two games of their opening-round playoff series.

Speaking after an optional practice Wednesday, the morning after the team's 2-1 overtime loss at St. Louis, Coach Darryl Sutter was clear about who must step up. Asked how the Kings can counter the Blues' energetic fourth line of Chris Porter, Ryan Reaves and Adam Cracknell, Sutter was blunt: "Some of the boys that play on our fourth line have to play like big boys."

He also indicated he won't reunite top-line center Anze Kopitar — who has no goals in 17 games — with long-time winger Dustin Brown. It's likely Brown will stay with Mike Richards and Justin Williams, putting Kopitar with Jeff Carter and Dustin Penner in anticipation of the Blues again matching burly David Backes against Kopitar. Carter ranked fourth in the NHL with 26 goals.

"Jeff and Kopi play really well together, and they play a lot of power play time together. They have something there," Sutter said. "So that's the reason we did it. And quite honest, Mike and Brownie really were our best line by a long shot [Tuesday] night. So it's really more on Kopi to play better, not putting somebody with him to help him.

"I wish I got to play with the leading goal scorer in the Western Conference."

It seemed likely defenseman Matt Greene will be scratched again, and that's after Sutter acknowledged playoff newcomers Jake Muzzin and Keaton Ellerby "had trouble early in the game" that put pressure on the other four defensemen.

One of that quartet, Robyn Regehr, suffered a broken nose when he was hit by Backes' skates during a scramble behind the net early in the third period. He bled profusely but missed only a few shifts.

"I think the first skate came in and the blade barely missed me. And then the second, I just kind of got hit by the back of the heel," said Regehr, whose nose was swollen and purple Wednesday. "I was very lucky I didn't get sliced."

Sutter's decision on Greene hinges on the defenseman regaining his timing after playing only four games following back surgery.

"You don't just put him in the lineup because he's Matt Greene. Matt Greene has to be able to play, to perform," Sutter said. "We were hoping to get more games from him, and he got banged up. We'll see. I'm quite happy playing those two kids because they're both very capable too."

Sutter and players repeated their support of Quick in the wake of Alex Steen's winning goal, the first playoff overtime short-handed goal since Edmonton's Fernando Pisani scored against Carolina in Game 5 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Final.

If Quick could be faulted for anything, it might be for turning and exposing the puck to the forechecking Steen instead of keeping the puck between the boards and his body. Steen darted in, took the puck away and scored on a wraparound backhander.

"It's a tough play for Quickie," defenseman Drew Doughty said. "I'm going back on the left side and their guy's kind of with me. I don't think [Quick] had an out on the other side. I was calling for a rim around the boards, and I can see why he doesn't want to rim it, because that creates a battle for me. So it was just a tough bounce.

"He tried to make the right play. He drew the guy in and tried to bank it to me, and I would have been able to take off because that guy would have been low. It was the right play to make. It was just unfortunate how it panned out. ... No one is blaming him for that loss."

To avoid another loss, Doughty said the Kings must counter the Blues' forecheck better and get their own forecheck going.

"We have to be quicker," Doughty said. "They're coming hard on their forecheck. They're banging bodies. They're creating those little turnovers, and I think a lot of times when they created those turnovers we kind of went into panic mode and tried to make up for that mistake quickly, and I think that's the wrong thing to do."


673984 NHL

Don Cherry reiterates comments on female reporters: ‘I don’t think women should be in there’

Sean Fitz-Gerald | 13/05/01 | Last Updated: 13/05/02 1:18 AM ET

“Listen,” Don Cherry said. “I could tell you stories … guys are going to act like jerks in front of women. I don’t believe in it. I think they should have a room by the side.”

Don Cherry said he wanted to get something off his chest, which on Wednesday was covered by a black-and-yellow checkered jacket.

Four days after dropping a bombshell on his final Coach’s Corner segment of the regular season — “I don’t believe women should be allowed in the male dressing room” — Cherry opened his appearance Wednesday with what seemed at first like an attempt at clarification. And then, he walked right back to where he started.

He began by referencing an article written for ESPN.com by Robin Herman, a former hockey reporter with The New York Times. Herman wrote an open letter to Cherry after hearing what he said about not allowing female reporters in the dressing room.

“Don, you were my hero,” she wrote, after revealing Cherry, then coach of the Boston Bruins, had become the first coach in the NHL to allow for equal access into the dressing room.

“I let her in, had no problem at all,” Cherry said on Wednesday night. “The Bruins, I went in, and told them to act decent.”

He paused.

If [the athletes] are going to act the way they act … you would not want your daughter or sister in there, believe me

“Why have I changed my mind? I’ll tell you why I’ve changed my mind,” he said. “I have seen things and I have heard of things that go on in the dressing room when the women are in there [that] are disgusting.”

Co-host Ron MacLean tried to steer him back to the notion that female reporters are professionals, doing a job, who need access to the dressing room.

“You’re OK with that, right?” MacLean asked.

Cherry kept rolling.

“If [the athletes] are going to act the way they act … you would not want your daughter or sister in there, believe me,” he said.

MacLean tried again: “But if you could change one thing, it would be ‘it’s OK to be reporters in the dressing room.’”

I don’t believe in it. I think they should have a room by the side

“Listen,” Cherry said. “I could tell you stories … guys are going to act like jerks in front of women. I don’t believe in it. I think they should have a room by the side.”

MacLean, again, suggested that a dressing room is an office in which all reporters need to work.

“I don’t care what it is,” Cherry said. “I don’t think women should be in there.”

National Post LOADED: 05.01.2013

673985 Ottawa Senators

Daniel Alfredsson’s star shines brightly against the Canadiens


MONTREAL — All this talk about how Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson has been poison to the Canadiens over the years?

Bah.

Check Alfie’s lifetime statistics on Montreal ice and you see he’s got only two measly assists.

Oh. That total would be for his three games played from 1995-96 at the Montreal Forum.

At the Molson, then Bell Centre, Alfredsson has been a wee bit busier and a whole lot more productive.

The 40-year-old skates Thursday into Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarter-final against the Canadiens with 46 points in that building — 14 goals and 32 assists in 42 games played.

Lifetime in Montreal and back home in Kanata, Alfredsson shows a staggering 105 points in 89 games — 31 goals and 74 assists.

That’s more — by far — than the numbers he’s put up against any other NHL opponent; Alfie has 84 points in 89 games against Buffalo, his second-ranked victim.

On Wednesday outside his team’s dressing room, the organized mess of that night’s Rihanna concert clogging Bell Centre corridors, Alfredsson briefly considered whether there was any reason why he’s enjoyed so much success against the Canadiens during his 17-season NHL career.

“Not that I can think of off the top of my head,” he finally replied. “I’ve always enjoyed playing in this building. It’s a beautiful city, I don’t know if that has anything to do with it.

“Montreal fans are really passionate. It’s always a loud, energetic building. I’m really looking forward to (Thursday) to see how loud they can get.”

This, in hockey, is what’s known as reverse trash talking.

Alfredsson was destined to enjoy stellar numbers against the Canadiens for the duration of his career, for this reason:

His first point registered on Montreal ice came on Feb. 10, 1996 at the Forum, an assist on the 5-3 game-winning goal scored by Ottawa captain Randy Cunneyworth, the Senators coached by Jacques Martin.

“I don’t remember too much about the Forum, but I remember us winning there,” Alfredsson said, smiling.

Indeed, the victory that night snapped a four-game Senators losing streak and a nine-game string of losses to the Canadiens.

“Not to be ignorant, but I didn’t know much about the NHL before I came over (from his native Sweden),” Alfredsson said.

“It’s not until we moved in here (to the Molson/Bell Centre) and everybody was talking about how they missed the Forum that I realized how big a deal it was.”

Alfredsson’s first goal in Montreal came on the power play at the Molson Centre on Dec. 23, 1996, his 13th of the season, when he swept in alone and beat Habs goalie Jocelyn Thibault in a 6-0 Senators win.

So roughly 1,100 games later and another 111 in the playoffs — though none of the latter against the Canadiens — Alfredsson leads his Senators into the postseason.

“It’s going to be a great series, the cities being so close to each other and Ottawa being a pretty new franchise compared to Montreal,” he told a knot of reporters, his curls flipping out from beneath his Senators cap.

“Before we had the team (born for the 1992-93 season), people were either Toronto or Montreal fans. We had a lot of Montreal fans in Ottawa and we’re converting them one step at a time. We think this series will go a long way toward helping that, as well.”

Alfredsson doesn’t expect the series to be a showcase for classic hockey. The playoffs are more about pouncing on the opponent’s mistakes and capitalizing, then slamming the door shut on his attempt to fight back.

“What you get in the playoffs is just two teams that will give everything they have,” he said. “It’s not going to be the most beautiful hockey you’ve ever watched, it rarely is in the playoffs. It’s grinding and physical, paying attention to the details, and special teams.”

Alfredsson is an inspiration to every player in the Senators dressing room, and no doubt (silently) to more than a few of the Canadiens.

He left Ottawa at the end of last season, his future undecided. But as the lockout pressed on, it seemed more likely almost by the day that he’d be back for another rodeo.

Even now, there’s talk that this will be Alfredsson’s final NHL postseason.

“It could be (the final playoff run), though I said that last year, too,” he said. “It doesn’t change anything for me, if it is. I just want to make the most of every opportunity.

“I hate losing. Give everything I have, as an athlete — it’s what everybody wants to do. You look back, no matter what happens, to say you’ve prepared the best, given everything you have and see where you end up.

“The game has changed from when I joined the league until now. You have to learn to adapt all the time. When you’ve been around and played a lot of playoff games, you know how to handle the situations a little better.

“You learn not be over-anxious and more accustomed to everything around. Everybody who steps on the ice the first game of the playoffs gets butterflies. I’m sure I’ll have them (Thursday) night.”

Alfredsson spoke almost wistfully of his first playoff series, a seven-game conference quarter-final loss to the Buffalo Sabres in his sophomore year.

He recalled the energy, how the tiniest detail of a game, an afterthought in the regular season, was picked apart as a possible game-changing moment in sudden-death hockey.

The closest Alfredsson has come to the Stanley Cup was in 2006-07, the Senators breezing through three rounds before being dusted by the Anaheim Ducks in a five-game final.

This time, he said of his own situation, clearly in the twilight of his playing days, “there’s no urgency. It’s a great opportunity.”

“I’m extremely happy to be in the playoffs with this team again and have another shot. You make the most of it because you never know if you’re going to be back. That’s the way I’ve always approached it, from the beginning of my career.”

And again, Alfie’s road begins in Montreal.

Ottawa Citizen LOADED: 05.02.2013


Top 10 keys to victory for Senators

by Wayne Scanlan

on May 1, 2013

MONTREAL – There will be myriad opportunities for the Ottawa Senators to establish themselves in this NHL quarterfinal playoff series.

But no time like the present.

A quick strike would do wonders for the 7th-seeded Senators against a Montreal Canadiens team that finished second in the Eastern Conference but limped toward the finish with a 2-6 win-loss mark before winning their final two games against Winnipeg and Toronto.

Gaining a split on the road is a playoff cliché, but winning the opener here would allow the Senators, and especially their young players, an opportunity to taste early success and cast doubt on a Montreal club that had hit some April pot holes. Here’s 10 factors that could lead to an Ottawa playoff upset in the series:

1. ANDY BE DANDY

When he was bowled over by a hurtling New York Rangers forward in late February, Craig Anderson was the NHL’s goaltending king, tops in all substantial categories and a lead name in discussions about Vezina and Hart Trophy candidates. The ankle injury that sidelined Anderson for five weeks, likely took him out of the running for major awards, but if he can return to the form he had before getting injured, the Senators will not have a problem in this series. That’s not a slam dunk. Anderson was good down the stretch, but not lights out, as he was in January and February.

2. PRICE POINT

No fans in hockey suffer mediocrity as poorly as fans in Montreal. As the Habs struggled, winning the division by default as Boston also swooned, boos rained down on goaltender Carey Price, the brunt of the discontent, fairly or not. Price will hear it again if the Senators can get on him early. They need to be hockey’s version of a pesky ball team against an ace pitcher. If Price settles in, he can be a game changer.

3. PUT THE POWER IN PP

The one aspect of the Senators game that can put a scowl on the face of GM Bryan Murray is the power play. Decent at the start of the year, it has been miserable without Jason Spezza and Erik Karlsson, and finished 20th in the league at 15.8 per cent. The Montreal PP was sharp, 5th overall with a 22.4 per cent conversion. The good news for Ottawa? The Canadiens had one of the weakest penalty kill units in the NHL, 23rd with a 79.8 success rate. That plus the return of Karlsson could mean there are power play goals to be had.

4. THESE MEN ARE KILLERS

Special teams matter, especially in the postseason. And no team in hockey was more proficient at killing penalties than the Senators. Can they stop the league’s fifth-best power team, Montreal? If they can, it could make the difference in what figures to be a close series.

5. JOIE DE VIVRE

In the prelude to Game 1, the Senators have been a loose, happy group. You never saw such goal celebrations at a practice as the team exhibited at the Dollard St-Laurent arena in La Salle on Wednesday. The message from above is to enjoy the atmosphere, relish rather than fear the moment. So far, so good. Ottawa needs that spirit in the games.

6. BE PHYSICAL

Before they can impose their will on the Canadiens, the Senators need to impose their bodies on them. “Crash and bang,” as winger Chris Neil says. “We have the advantage in height and weight,” said Senators head coach Paul MacLean, “but the game is played on the ice.” The game will open up for Ottawa if they can wear down the Habs.

7. HAPPY UNDERDOGS

MacLean has done a good job selling Ottawa’s place as the lower seed, just-happy-to-be-here guys. Let the favorites feel the heat. “They are the Montreal Canadiens,” MacLean said, “the most storied team in hockey.” The Habs legacy can be a burden.

8. PRESSURE HABS

Montreal’s defence is not a long suit, which is why Price has had some long nights. If the Senators can get pucks in and establish a forecheck on the Canadiens, they will win most nights.

9. DEFEND

Back in the days of Spezza-Heatley-Alfredsson, the Senators used to score their way out of trouble. Today they defend their turf, keep games tight. If this becomes a track meet, neutral hockey fans are better served for it, but if Ottawa tries to counter-punch goal for goal, it will be in trouble. The Senators like their chances in a low scoring series.

10. ROAD ICE ADVANTAG

To the home team go the expectations. Starting on the road is not the worst thing for the Senators, it could even be to their benefit. There is no one in the Bell Centre they need to impress, they can be themselves, play their game, feed off the energy in one of hockey’s great arenas. Finally, in the words of Karlsson, “go time.”



Playing at Forum no big deal for younger Alfredsson

by Wayne Scanlan

on May 1, 2013

MONTREAL — Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson is one of the few active National Hockey League players who can say he played in the old Montreal Forum. Alfredsson was a rookie at the time, 1995-96.

“I remember us playing there, I don’t remember much else,” Alfredsson said Wednesday about his three appearances in the historic arena.

“I didn’t know much about the NHL before coming over here (from Sweden). Only when people talked about missing the Forum (after the Canadiens moved to the Bell Centre) did I realize how big a deal it was.”

WE’RE TALKING ABOUT PRACTICE

Players like to play, teachers like to teach. Asked if he missed the opportunity to “practise systems” because there was so little time between games during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 NHL regular season, Alfredsson said: “Not as much as the coaches.”

The compressed schedule took a toll mentally, Alfredsson said, because there was little chance to recover between games.

TIME FOR HEROES, NOT SUPER HEROES

Senators forward Erik Condra says there’s some truth to the feeling that players must give a little extra come playoff time, but he suggests there’s a limit to how far they can push.

“You don’t become super human just because you’re playing in the playoffs,” said Condra, who, as a top penalty killer, will likely be vital for the Senators during the first-round series against the Canadiens. “You can try to bump up your game, but you don’t want to do it too much because you still have to be the player that you are. It’s a little more intense, but it’s still the same game. I noticed that when we went on the Calder Cup run (with Binghamton in the American Hockey League in 2011) and again last year. You play your same game. Just make sure you do the right things.”

That message appeared to carry around the Senators dressing room on Wednesday.

“Not to overthink, and don’t get carried away with all the stuff around,” rookie forward Mika Zibanejad said. “Don’t make it a bigger deal than it is.”

SPOTLIGHT ON RED LIGHT

Senators goaltender Craig Anderson said pressure was part of the job description no matter whether it was Ottawa or Montreal.

“There’s always pressure,” Anderson said. “If there wasn’t any, it means you don’t care. Everyone on our team cares a lot.

“Pressure can be a good thing. It can force you to play better.”

MEAT AND POTATOES

What’s the strategy for Game 1?

“A lot of forechecks, banging and crashing,” Senators winger Chris Neil said, pretty much outlining his own job description. “That’s fine by me. That’s my style.”

The Senators hope their physical play and size advantage will wear down the Canadiens.

“Over a seven-game series, you want to play guys hard who play a lot of minutes for them,” Neil said. “If (Montreal defenceman P.K.) Subban is playing 30 minutes for them, we want to make it a hard 30. The same with (Andrei) Markov, and they’re going to do the same with some of our guys.”

Neil will once again confront grinder Brandon Prust, who played for the New York Rangers before signing with the Canadiens last off-season, and gives him credit.

“The enforcer role, protecting your teammates, is one of the toughest jobs in the league,” Neil said, “and I’ve got respect for everyone who does it.”



Upset specials: 10 teams that foiled NHL experts

By Ian Mendes, Ottawa Citizen May 1, 2013

The Ottawa Senators might have some of their stars back in the lineup for the start of the playoffs, but not a single expert is picking this team to hoist the Stanley Cup.

Thanks to a late-season stumble, the Senators will start the playoffs on the road and with the same expectations as they had a year ago, when they scraped into the playoffs as the eighth seed in the National Hockey League's Eastern Conference.

If the Senators are able to make a lengthy run this spring, they could find themselves on this list of the greatest underdog teams in NHL history.

1. 1990-91 Minnesota North Stars

The 1990-91 North Stars are the best example of a Cinderella team in recent history. They finished the regular season with just 68 points, 12 games under .500, but they went on a magical playoff run, knocking off the President's Trophy winner (Chicago), the second-best team in the league (St. Louis) and the defending cup champions (Edmonton). The clock finally struck midnight on them in the Stanley Cup final, but not before they took the Pittsburgh Penguins to six games.

2. 1937-38 Chicago Blackhawks

NHL historians will insist that the 1938 Blackhawks were the worst team to hoist the Stanley Cup. They finished with only 14 wins during the 48-game season but squeaked into the playoffs because the Detroit Red Wings finished two points behind them. The Blackhawks were dead last in the NHL in goals scored during the regular season but found their scoring touch during the postseason. They knocked off Montreal, New York and Toronto in succession to win the Stanley Cup.

3. 2005-06 Edmonton Oilers

The Oilers gained a lot of confidence in the first round of the playoffs, knocking off the Red Wings, who had won the President's Trophy with 124 points. From there, Edmonton became the first eighth seed to reach the Stanley Cup final, coming up just a game short of winning against Carolina.

4. 1981-82 Vancouver Canucks

The 1981-82 Canucks will be best remembered for Roger Neilson's towel-waving antics in the playoff series against Chicago. They were the classic plucky underdog team, finishing under .500 during the regular season but finding their stride in the playoffs. They started the post-season on an amazing 11-2 run before being swept in the Cup final by the New York Islanders juggernaut.

5. 1995-96 Florida Panthers

Although the 1982 Canucks were famous for waving the white towel, the 1996 Panthers became synonymous with plastic rats. Florida fans littered the ice with the tiny plastic rodents as their team reached the Stanley Cup final for the only time in franchise history.

Along the way, they knocked off the top-seeded Flyers and heavily favoured Penguins.

6. 2001-02 Carolina Hurricanes

The 2002 Hurricanes went into the playoffs as the 15th-best team to qualify for post-season but made it all the way to the cup final. What made Carolina an intriguing case was that it found success using a tandem of goalies: Arturs Irbe and Kevin Weekes. However, Carolina proved this run had been a complete fluke by finishing dead last in the NHL a season later with just 61 points.

7. 1992-93 New York Islanders

The 1993 Islanders are the only team on this list that didn't at least make the Stanley Cup final, but they deserve major consideration as one of the all-time great underdog teams. Despite losing leading scorer Pierre Turgeon in the first round - thanks to a brutal hit from the Washington Capitals' Dale Hunter - the Islanders reached the Conference final. David

Volek's overtime winner in Game 7 over the two-time cup-champion Penguins will go down as one of the greatest upset moments in NHL history.

8. 1998-99 Buffalo Sabres

Fans in Buffalo probably believe this team should be atop this list, if for no other reason than the Sabres were cheated out of the Stanley Cup on a controversial Brett Hull goal for the Dallas Stars. Before that, the Sabres became the lowest-seeded team from the Eastern Conference to qualify for the final.

9. 1994-95 New Jersey Devils

The Devils weren't exactly major underdogs, considering they reached Game 7 of the Conference final the previous year, but they never had home-ice advantage during the playoffs and set an NHL record by winning 10 post-season road games. Nobody gave them a shot to win in the Cup final, but they stunned the hockey world by sweeping the Detroit Red Wings.

10. 2011-12 Los Angeles Kings

There is some debate here as to whether the 2012 Los Angeles Kings were major underdogs or just major underachievers during the regular season, but the Kings deserve some consideration for this list because they were the first eighth seed to hoist the cup. They took a 3-0 lead in every series they played despite starting on the road each time.

Ian Mendes covers sports for Rogers Sportsnet and is co-author of the book The Best Seat in the House, with Jamie McLennan. Follow him at Twitter.com/ ian_mendes.



Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson dispenses playoff advice to young team ahead of playoff series vs. Montreal Canadiens

Don Brennan

First posted: Wednesday, May 01, 2013 09:11 PM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, May 01, 2013 09:31 PM EDT

MONTREAL — As they chugged down the Via rails Tuesday afternoon, the Senators thought they knew where they were headed.

But Montreal is not just a pretty city with a unique culture. Not at this time of year, when the local hockey team is still alive. No, Montreal is playoff mad, and the Bell Centre, well, it's going to be absolutely insane.

"I'm really looking forward to it," Daniel Alfredsson said of Thursday's Game 1 in this long-awaited series between his Senators and the Canadiens, whose house seats more visitors (21,273) than any other in the NHL. Not that many of the customers will be using those chairs when the teams take the ice.

"I'm looking forward to seeing how loud they can really get."

Without question, it will be like nothing any of them have ever witnessed. Ever. New York's Madison Square Garden, where many of them cut their NHL playoff teeth last spring, hosts a loud mansion party by comparison. And Ottawa? In recent years? Let's not even go there right now.

The atmosphere at the Bell Centre, especially in the post-season, is by far the best. And while none of them realize what awaits, a full quarter of the Senators roster — Cory Conacher, Mika Zibanejad, Eric Gryba, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Robin Lehner — has no NHL playoff experience.

Lehner will almost certainly spend the evening on the bench as Craig Anderson's backup, but the number of post-season-raw Senators rises back to five if you consider that Jakob Silfverberg only played in two games of the series with the Rangers last April.

They've all been in a championship final, most have won one. They all have big-game experience. But not like this.

How the group reacts to the pressures could very well determine Ottawa's chances of claiming the very important first game. And the series.

"We've had some meetings in the last couple of days ... obviously having the building in Montreal and our building too, it's going to be really loud," said Alfredsson. "It's easy to get too jacked up, maybe. (You) just control your emotions. Take deep breaths. I think the easiest part is once the puck drops. Everything leading up to that point kind of gets you carried away at times."

While the Habs have their rookies too, the Senators had 14 of them at various points this season. As it turned out, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Along with the playoff first-timers, five others have just one post-season experience under their belt.

The Senators may wear red and white, but they are very much a green team.

"A big part of our success is the energy and enthusiasm they've brought to the game," said coach Paul MacLean. "I think it's helped our veteran players. The schedule has been pretty compressed and it can be difficult to be prepared for games, but I think the youthful energy they've brought has helped our experienced players helped them with their experience."

One advantage Ottawa will have on Montreal is in size.

"But it's not an advantage unless you use it," said Zack Smith, who recently turned 25. "We'll have to be physical. They have smaller players, but they're shifty, they're fast. Sometimes they're hard to contain. There's advantages to having a bigger team, and there's advantages to being smaller. It's just a matter of who uses it better."

Still, words of advice Alfredsson will offer teammates include "keep," "your," "head," and "up."

"The biggest difference is not only the pace, but it's the physicalness," said Alfredsson. "I think everybody steps it up one notch. Guys that hit a lot

normally do so even more, and guys that don't hit normally start hitting in the playoffs.

"It's a big part of it, so having some big bodies that like to play that way and are good at it, usually their game fits this time of year even better."

This will be Alfredsson's 14th trip to the playoffs, and what he most remembers about his first, a seven-game swing with the Sabres in 1997, is the atmosphere at home games.

"Every little detail, every little small hit and if you just hit the glass and missed the guy, the building goes really loud and crazy," he said. "The whole city lifts up at playoff time. Everybody. That's where all the focus is on hockey."

At 40, he knows this could also be the last time he will enjoy the playoffs.

"I thought that last year, too," said Alfredsson. "Doesn't change anything for me if it is. You just want to make the most of every opportunity. I hate losing. I'm going to give everything I have.

"Everybody that steps out on the ice for the first game of playoffs, you still get butterflies. I'm sure I'll have that too."

Yes, the butterflies are everywhere in Montreal. Already.

"There's been a lot of excitement, from getting on the train (Tuesday) to getting here," said Zack Smith. "You can feel the buzz around town. It's exciting. It's playoff hockey. Playing on the road in a market like Montreal then going back home to Ottawa, it's going to be exciting the whole time. It's been exciting so far, and it hasn't even begun yet."

The wait is nearly over.

PLAYOFF SENIORITY

Most games played

Sergei Gonchar: 125

Daniel Alfredsson: 111

Chris Phillips 104

Chris Neil: 81

Milan Michalek: 47

Least games played

Cory Conacher: 0

Mika Zibanejad: 0

Eric Gryba: 0

Jean-Gabriel Pageau: 0

Robin Lehner: 0

Ottawa Sun LOADED: 05.02.2013


Ottawa Senators rookie Jean-Gabriel Pageau overcomes the odds to play in NHL

By Tim Baines ,Ottawa Sun


For much of his life, Jean-Gabriel Pageau has been told he's too small to play with the big boys.

For much of his life, he's been proving people wrong, beating the odds.

Now, in his first year out of junior hockey, the 5-foot-9, 163-pound (and that might even be debatable) Pageau, son of Jean and Yda, is going into a playoff battle with the Montreal Canadiens.

A fourth-round draft pick of the Senators (96th overall) in 2011, Pageau began this season with Ottawa's AHL club in Binghamton. The Ottawa native had seven goals and 22 assists in 69 games, doing whatever was asked, no questions asked, even if it meant fourth-line duty. Called up for the last nine games of the regular season, the centre has become a fixture in the lineup, contributing two goals and two assists. He has big-league skills. Last season, with Chicoutimi and Gatineau in the QMJHL, he had 32 goals in 46 games.

"People always told me I was too small and I wouldn't get a chance to play in a Stanley Cup playoffs," Pageau, 20, said. "It's exciting to prove everybody wrong. You don't have to be big and strong or have extremely big talent. You just have to keep believing, give everything you have every day and good things can happen."

"It's a wonderful story," said his dad. "Smaller guys need to know if you have a dream, work hard, don't put the blame on anybody else. Dreams are possible. We told (Jean-Gabriel) early, 'You can't control how tall you are. Focus on what you can control.' "

The fact that Jean-Gabriel is in the Senators lineup, that he's in an NHL playoff series, is remarkable. Eight months ago, it wasn't even a certainty he would play in Binghamton.

"I never quit believing in my dreams, but at the start of the season, I was just trying to make Binghamton ... I stayed 2 1/2 months in the hotel, they weren't sure if they were going to keep me," said Pageau. "I kept working and I learned a lot in the American league. I didn't expect to play in the NHL so quickly. This is a dream come true. I am trying to give it everything I've got and enjoy every moment."

Usually one of the smaller players as he rose up through the minor hockey levels, Pageau remained focused, determined to get better and better.

"When he was younger, people thought it would be hard for him to play competitive hockey because of his size," said Jean. "When he started playing contact hockey, it seemed like a lot of guys wanted to take his head off. He learned very young to keep his head up. I think he always felt he had to prove himself, show that he could play at any skill level."

He watched and listened, knowing that Daniel Briere and Claude Giroux -- guys with Gatineau connections -- were making an impact at the highest level.

Now it's his time, his chance to make an impact. There are guys walking around the streets with Senators jerseys, No. 44 -- Pageau -- stitched across the back.

"A lot of friends bought my jersey," said Pageau. "They're showing great support. It gives me motivation to keep going. I didn't win a Memorial Cup, so I'm going to do my best to help the team win a Stanley Cup."

Jean was born in Montreal; he lived in South Shore for 10 years. He was a Canadiens fan -- until the team traded Rogie Vachon. Angry, he detached himself from the team, cheering for anybody but the Habs.

"Playing (Montreal) is the best thing that could happen," said Jean. "If my son could be an element in the Senators beating the Canadiens, I'd be very happy.

"Many of my friends are (Montreal) fans. They call and say, 'I'm hoping for your son, but I'm not going to cheer against the Habs.' "

You can bet Jean-Gabriel will have a big cheering section of his own -- people that believe in him and believe in the Senators.

Dreams really can come true.

LOCAL BOYS

Players from the region who have worn a Senators jersey:

D Hank Lammens (Brockville) -- 1993-94

D Jason York (Nepean) -- 1996-01

C Steve Martins (Gatineau) -- 1998-99, 2005-06

C Todd White (Kanata) -- 2000-04

RW Shean Donovan (Carleton Place) -- 2007-10

D Andre Benoit (St. Albert) -- 2011, 2013

D Mark Borowiecki (Ottawa) -- 2012-13

D Marc Methot (Ottawa) -- 2013

C Jean-Gabriel Pageau (Ottawa) -- 2013



Ottawa Senators' Chris Neil and Montreal Canadiens' Brandon Prust renew hostilities

By Bruce Garrioch ,Ottawa Sun


BROSSARD, Que. — Chris Neil is the talk of the town.

The Senators and Montreal Canadiens haven't even dropped the puck for Game 1 of their first-round series yet and Neil certainly hasn't dropped the gloves with anybody, but the Ottawa winger is getting plenty of attention on the eve of this battle.

The bad blood between Neil and Montreal winger Brandon Prust started in last year's playoff series between the New York Rangers and Senators. It heated up again during the shortened season after Prust signed with the Habs and is sure to boil over again.

"There was certainly some bad blood built up there," said Prust following a skate Wednesday.

There were plenty of questions about Neil put to Montreal players by reporters in the last 48 hours. The Canadiens are certain Neil's going do everything he can to get under their skin and it's important for them to have discipline to win this series.

"He plays his role (well)," said Prust. "That's his job to go out there and be physical. He's one of the better ones at it in the NHL."

The Habs don't want Neil to become a distraction.

"They're going to play their game. They're going to follow the game plan and it will be the same for us. Chris Neil, I'm conscious of him, I have a lot of respect for him," said Habs coach Michel Therrien.

"He's a player who is hard to play against. He always does a good job. He's a guy who defends his teammates and brings a lot of intensity."

Prust said he can't afford to let Neil become a distraction.

"You don't want to get frustrated with anybody," Prust said. "Sometimes that's what happens when we start playing bad, guys get frustrated. We've got to make sure we don't get frustrated with anybody out there. We can't get frustrated with their game plan.

"We've got to stick with everything. Frustration can lead to a lot of things. We've got to keep our cool. Worry about a lot of things and stick to the game plan. (What happened) was awhile ago. It's the playoffs. So nothing needs to be carried over. There's nothing carried over, it's going to start in the playoffs. Bad blood starts about (one) minute in."

All that being said, Prust respects Neil and the opponents.

"I'm looking forward to reuniting with all the Ottawa Senators," said Prust. "That was a good series last spring and I'm looking forward to it again.

"I have to deal with everybody. I have to hit everybody and play everyone hard. Everybody has to step up and be hard to play against in the playoffs. It's not just one guy."

THIS N' THAT

Prust has shaved off his beard to get involved in an NHLPA fundraiser. He hadn't gone beardless since last year when he did it while with the Rangers ... Therrien will have to choose from five forwards -- Colby Armstrong, Travis Moen, Ryan White, Jeff Halpern and Prust -- for three positions on the fourth line when he makes his roster decisions. "It's going to be a game-time decision," said White. "We're going to need everyone. Even when I wasn't playing during the last little bit of the season, your mind-set is always to be ready. It's a long playoff run and the teams that win need everybody."

AROUND THE BOARDS

Captain Brian Gionta said the break between games has been long. "It's nice to get a couple of days of practice, but at some point you want to get going," he said. The Habs haven't played since Saturday vs. the Toronto

Maple Leafs and have tried to treat this week as a mini-camp to prepare for the playoffs ... Asked if Habs G Carey Price would be seeing more of his butt or his face during the series, Neil didn't miss a beat: "I dunno. What do you like looking at better?" ... An Eastern coach on the acquisition of winger Michael Ryder from Dallas in exchange for Erik Cole. "He's been a great fit for them and he's going to bring them some leadership," said the coach.

THE LAST WORD

Max Pacioretty has played 246 regular season games, but the Habs winger never has been in the playoffs. He's looking forward to finally getting the chance. "I'm really looking forward to this," said Pacioretty, who was injured during the club's last run in 2010. "I've never had an opportunity to make a name for myself in the playoffs and this is my opportunity. We have a special group here and we all want to show the league what we can do. Everybody here has something to prove around the league." Pacioretty is playing with a chip on his shoulder.



Montreal Canadiens counting on vets during playoff series against Ottawa Senators



BROSSARD, Que. — The Montreal Canadiens hope to rely on their experience in Round 1 of the playoffs.

While the Habs have five newcomers as they prepare to open the playoffs against the Senators Thursday night, they're hoping veterans like Michael Ryder, Brian Gionta, Travis Moen, Colby Armstrong and Jeff Halpern will be positive influences.

"I think it's huge, having veteran guys that can kind of lead the way for the young guys," said Moen, who won a Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2007 with a victory over Ottawa in the final.

"I think the first game, they'll have a bit of jitters, but it's great to see young guys in the lineup. They bring that enthusiasm and that young, youthful energy. It's going to be fun watching them out there. Obviously, a lot of us remember what it was like to play our first playoff game."



Montreal Canadiens say they're not feeling the pressure heading into playoff series against Ottawa Senators



BROSSARD, Que. — Michel Therrien scoffed at the notion.

The Montreal Canadiens coach appreciated the praise he received from Paul MacLean, but Therrien wouldn't have anything to do with the suggestion by the Senators coach that all the pressure is on the Habs because they're the No. 2 seed.

After three days of buildup for the first modern-day playoff series between the Senators and Canadiens, all the talk will finally turn to action Thursday when the puck is dropped for Game 1 at the Bell Centre.

MacLean attempted a little gamesmanship with reporters in Ottawa Tuesday, declaring nobody was picking the Senators to win this series because the Canadiens are a historic franchise and the No. 2 seed in the East.

"For sure, they're the favourites," said MacLean.

Well, Therrien wasn't going to let anybody — and most certainly not his opponent in this best-of-seven series — heap any more weight on the shoulders of the Habs.

"We don't feel the pressure, we apply the pressure. That's the way I see it. There's no pressure," said Therrien following a 35-minute skate at the club's practice facility Wednesday.

"We got there and we gave ourselves a chance to be part of the playoffs and that's a good thing. After that, the next goal was to work to get the home-ice advantage because that's another thing that we thought was important.

"But there's no pressure. Pressure is coming from both sides. The pressure is to perform well and I'm sure they've got the same pressure because they want to perform as well they're supposed (to). That's what people are expecting.

"This is going to be a long and tight series, and it should be exciting for both teams and the fans that are involved."

You can't blame the Senators for trying to play the role of underdog. They finished as the No. 7 seed with a victory over the Boston Bruins on the final night of the season. They overcame serious injuries, defying the odds by making the playoffs.

However, the Habs aren't exactly viewed as odds-on favourites to win the Stanley Cup this spring. They struggled to find consistency down the stretch and while may be favoured in this series, it's not by a huge margin.

"It's easy to say (Montreal is feeling heat). The pressure is to play well and do our thing," said winger Colby Armstrong. "That's the same as the pressure that's on them. There's nothing else that we can worry or think about.

"I'm sure there's little games played here and there. (MacLean) is a veteran coach, he's been to the playoffs with Detroit, so he's got a lot of experience with that I'm sure. Whatever he wants to say, we're worried about what we're doing in here."

The Habs think this series couldn't be more evenly matched.

"You always give your opponent credit," said Habs captain Brian Gionta. "It's going to be a pretty close battle. Both teams are pretty comfortable if you look up and down the lineup.

"You've got some old veterans, you've some young guys. I think goaltending is going to be key in this series and it's going to be a tough series."

Since taking over the Habs last summer, Therrien has helped engineer a huge turnaround for this historic franchise. They were a laughingstock last

spring under GM Pierre Gauthier, but GM Marc Bergevin has brought stability.

As much as Therrien didn't want to get involved in a debate with MacLean, he maintained the Habs are going to be fine because of the lessons they learned while dealing with adversity through the course of the shortened season.

"I will leave it to the experts to dictate who they think will win," said Therrien. "It goes both ways. Some favour the Senators and some favour us. I'm not going to comment on that. We had pressure this year.

"We wanted to surprise some people. Not a lot of people believed in our team for one reason or another. It was a source of motivation for our club. From that standpoint, we want to continue surprising the hockey world."

After Game 1, there will be pressure on the loser to win Game 2. Then, we'll know who is really feeling it.



Ottawa Senators defenceman Erik Karlsson having all sorts of fun on Twitter

By Don Brennan ,Ottawa Sun


MONTREAL — Erik Karlsson is bringing fans along for the playoff ride.

While playing cards and listening to tunes on the team's train trip to Montreal, Karlsson expanded his "multitasking" skills by answering questions from his Twitter followers -- a list that has reached almost 43,000 in a week.

"Nice guy eh?" the Senators' star defenceman said with a grin when a reporter brought up the subject Wednesday at Bell Centre.

Karlsson added he'll continue to interact with his peeps via the social network in the upcoming days.

"When the feeling moves me, I think," said Karlsson, who shared a photo of the new burgundy loafers he picked up after practice. "There's a lot of different questions out there. People want to know things. If you have some time, you might as well answer them."

A burning question some have is the meaning of the "lalala" Karlsson's hashtags in Twitter posts.

"You're going to figure it out after awhile I think," he said. "It's still early in the Twitter career. It's a very special thing."

And the "soFHappy" he also hashtags?

"You can figure that one out yourself," said Karlsson. "(The F) can mean a lot of words."



Ottawa Senators-Montreal Canadiens predictions from Sun hockey writers


Staff

BRUCE GARRIOCH

WHO WINS: Sens in six

WHY THE SENS WILL WIN: The Sens have given the Habs all they can handle all season. Scoring doesn't come easily for Ottawa, but the penalty killing has been excellent and goaltending from Craig Anderson second to none. The Senators have plenty up front and a deeper back end. Ottawa is comfy at Bell Centre.

KEY MATCHUP: Max Pacioretty vs. Milan Michalek.

Pacioretty will be making his playoff debut. He was injured in 2011 when the club lost to the Bruins in Round 1, and this is his chance to shine on the big stage. Michalek has looked good since returning from a knee injury and can score.

AEDAN HELMER

WHO WINS: Sens in six

WHY THE SENS WILL WIN: The Canadiens limped down the stretch, exposing a potential weakness with some uncharacteristically shaky goaltending contributing to blowout losses at the hands of the Leafs, Penguins, Capitals and Flyers. The Sens won't be carrying the same weight of expectations, and are riding an emotional high with a lineup bolstered by the return of Erik Karlsson and Jared Cowen.

KEY MATCHUP: Craig Anderson vs. Carey Price

Teams are evenly matched just about everywhere you look -- evidenced by the season series, where three of four games were decided by a single goal -- with four deep forward lines, a defence corps anchored by savvy veterans and hotshot youngsters, and a pair of potential Jack Adams finalists manning the benches. The best goaltender wins.

TIM BAINES

WHO WINS: Habs in seven

WHY THE HABS WILL WIN: I want to pick the Sens, but home-ice advantage will make a difference. And when I say home-ice advantage, I mean Scotiabank, too. There are plenty of Montreal fans in the area. The Sens will need Craig Anderson and Erik Karlsson to be better than Carey Price and P.K. Subban.

KEY MATCHUP: Paul MacLean vs. Michel Therrien.

Yep, the coaches. Both teams had exceptional seasons ... especially when you consider the devastating injuries the Senators played through. Give the coaches plenty of credit and they will try and outsmart each other here.

DON BRENNAN

WHO WINS: Sens in seven

WHY THE SENS WILL WIN: The hockey gods have started smiling on them. They have added a fresh Erik Karlsson and Jared Cowen down the stretch, and have drawn an opponent with whom they match up very well. They won't get through Round 2, but this series will have significant drama and inevitably be decided by Ottawa's 40-year-old captain. Daniel Alfredsson loves playing the Habs. He has more career points against them than any other team.

KEY MATCHUP: The Young Guns -- Brendan Gallagher and Alex Galchenyuk vs. Mika Zibanejad and Jakob Silfverberg.

Four of the NHL's top freshman forwards will be on display and each should make an impact. The relentless Gallagher appears to be the favourite to win the Calder Trophy. Silfverberg, the oldest of the bunch at 22, had a taste of the NHL playoffs last spring after establishing as the best player in Sweden.

Zibanejad was one of the Sens best forwards in the second half of the season.



Ottawa Senators goaltender Craig Anderson loose before playoff opener against Montreal Canadiens

By Don Brennan ,Ottawa Sun


MONTREAL — Craig Anderson was anything but tense the day before the start of the Senators-Montreal Canadiens playoff series.

Asked how he likes the matchup with Habs goalie Carey Price, the Senators' No. 1 puckstopper was full of fight — if only just the playful kind.

"I think if we squared off at centre ice, we'd have a good tilt," Anderson said with a smile.

Did he and teammates plan to go to the Rihanna concert at Bell Centre Wednesday?

"No I think most of the guys' wives are waiting back in Ottawa for her to go there (Thursday)," said Anderson.

Will it bother Anderson if and when Montreal fans start chanting his name in Game 1?

"If they're saying 'Andy,' that means I'm doing something right," he said. "If they're saying 'Go Habs Go,' I think they're saying 'Go Sens Go.' I don't know, I've got this hearing impairment. I'm not really sure."

A Montreal reporter asked a guy who covers the Senators if Anderson is always this "funny." The answer is not really. But if he is feeling pressure to live up to his Vezina Trophy-type season — when Anderson set an NHL record with a .941 save percentage -- then he's certainly not showing it.

Maybe the fact he has one playoff series with a strong hockey-market team under his belt helps. Anderson had a solid .933 save percentage and 2.00 goals against average in last spring's seven game series with the New York Rangers.

"You try to use your past experiences and grow from that, try to get better," said Anderson. "Obviously, the more experience you have, the easier it is to alter your pattern or figure out a way to have success."

But somebody, somewhere, is sure to take offence to what he said next.

"New York is a tough place to play, an exciting place to play, and Montreal is no different, if not even on a bigger scale," said Anderson. "The Canadiens could arguably be Canada's team, if you want to take that argument. At least it's the French-speaking Canadians' team, that's for sure. They're passionate. The fans here know their players, they know the entire league, they know everybody. They know the game. That's probably the biggest difference I would say, between Montreal and New York. Everybody in Montreal knows about the game of hockey. Where in New York, the fans know about the game, but just your everyday people, they don't know so much."

Anderson knows that besting Price -- who is under a tremendous amount of pressure in Montreal -- will not be easy.

"Price is a good goalie, he gives his team a chance to win every night," said Anderson. "Same thing last year with (Henrik) Lundqvist. You knew he was going to give his team a chance to win.

"When you know a guy is going to show up every night, when he's got the reputation of showing up every night, it forces you to elevate your game."

The Senators don't need Anderson to be better than he was this season -- but given the lack of goal scoring from his teammates in the 48-game campaign, keeping it at the same level might be necessary.


673997 Philadelphia Flyers

This is your journey ... don’t let others dictate the destination

Bernie Parent, Philly.com

Posted: Wednesday, May 1, 2013, 4:30 PM

Looking back to my childhood hockey years, I never realized that I was subconsciously setting goals to reach my purpose. I listened to my opponents as they wished for someone else to fall down so they could capitalize on the opportunity to take a shot, to take advantage of someone else’s misfortune.

The approach has never entered my mind, and still doesn’t. I always believed in what I could do. I created my own opportunities. I didn’t have the time (or the patience) to wait around for someone else’s mistake, with the uncertainty that it may never come. So I made my own success. If it didn’t work out, then I would identify my mistake, learn from it, correct it and move on.

Sure, learning from other peoples’ mistakes may work for the short-term. But analyzing your personal success using someone else’s model is a waste of too much time and too much energy.

The most successful people do not invest their time in worrying about what other people think of them. Get busy, drive your passion, and move in the direction of your goals. If you allow yourself to actively participate in these three steps, you shouldn’t have time to focus on the successes of others and how they’ve accomplished them. Concentrate on enhancing yourself and moving toward your purpose.

It’s tough to move forward when you’re busy looking behind you. It slows you down immensely. You’ll easily forget how far you’ve come and what steps are necessary to move forward.

Holding yourself accountable for your success builds confidence, charisma, and helps you to make solid decisions, whether you’re in the business arena or working toward personal life goals. You always get what you attract. If you fill up your mind with fear of other people, it will allow your competition to surpass you while you’re left choking on the dust they’ve kicked up.

Recognize and revel in your own journey, and enjoy it while it lasts. After all, you are the only person in possession of it, and you are solely responsible for the outcome.

Use this method as a key ingredient in building your success. You hear a lot of people closely examining their competition, as if doing so will ensure your success. During my hockey career and beyond, it NEVER EVER entered my mind that I would lose my job to someone else. Because if it had, I would have been left in the dust before my career even began. I make the conscious effort to focus on how I can improve myself.

That, my friends, is when the magic happens.

Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 05.02.2013


Steve Mason ready to challenge Ilya Bryzgalov in Flyers camp

Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer

Posted: Thursday, May 2, 2013, 2:02 AM

Ilya Bryzgalov, the wannabe cosmonaut who enjoys critiquing journalists in his spare time, cannot be blamed for the Flyers' failure to make the playoffs this season.

The quirky Russian goalie was good, not great, and his overall numbers - a pedestrian 2.79 goals-against average and career-worst .900 save percentage - are somewhat misleading. Because of his team's poor defensive play, Bryzgalov faced an inordinate number of odd-man rushes and breakaways.

Bryzgalov, who will turn 33 next month, was one of the league's true workhorses. During one stretch, he started 31 of 32 games, including 22 straight.

"I wore down," he admitted late in the season.

He wore down, in part, because the Flyers did not have a dependable backup until they acquired Steve Mason on April 3.

Bryzgalov got more rest after Mason arrived, but his numbers in his final seven games were almost identical (2.71, .897) to his overall season.

If the Flyers do not buy out the last seven years of Bryzgalov's contract next month, there will be a spirited battle for the No. 1 spot during training camp.

Coach Peter Laviolette said competition brings out the best in people. Bryzgalov and Mason agree.

In seven games with the Flyers, Mason was great, not good. He had a 1.90 goals-against average and a .944 save percentage.

It was a small sample, but the 24-year-old Mason seems to have regained the mojo he displayed while winning the rookie-of-the-year award after the 2008-09 season.

For a goalie, Mason said, "the entire game is all about confidence."

The 6-foot-4, 217-pounder called the trade that brought him from Columbus for Michael Leighton and a third-round 2015 draft pick a "rebirth" of sorts.

"The last three years in Columbus beat me down, mentally, more than anything else," he said in a phone interview the other day. "There were a lot of expectations we couldn't meet, and you work hard to get them, and we couldn't get results.

"I left the baggage there and got a fresh start."

And maybe - just maybe - he gave the Flyers a glimpse of their future.

As a rookie, Mason had a 2.29 goals-against average and .916 save percentage while recording 10 shutouts.

The next 31/2 years, playing for the lowly Blue Jackets, were a major struggle for Mason, and, in an ironic twist, he lost the job this season to Sergei Bobrovsky, whom the Flyers had dealt to Columbus. Bobrovsky emerged as a leading candidate for the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the league's top goalie.

"I just think he needed a change," said goalie coach Jeff Reese, referring to Mason, though the words also fit Bobrovsky's situation. "He's always had the talent."

In his short time with the Flyers, Mason displayed more athleticism than Bryzgalov and seemed to develop a great rapport with Reese, who moved the goalie back in the crease and got quick results.

"If you've never been a goaltender, it seems like a minor adjustment, but it's really a big deal," said Mason, who will turn 25 on May 29 but already has played five NHL seasons. "It makes you be more patient and hold your feet longer and be in a set position, waiting for a shot - instead of turning and the shot is right there. It makes a big difference. Sometimes, I'd be getting there [his spot] before the new player even got the pass. For me, it makes for a much calmer game."

Mason said spending a month with the Flyers was invaluable; it helped him form bonds with teammates and will make training camp a lot smoother.

"Coming here and working with Jeff Reese and getting to know the players was huge," he said. "Everybody made me feel at home. It feels like I've been here a lot longer than I have."

He welcomes a battle for No. 1 with Bryzgalov - if the Flyers don't buy out the veteran.

"I think competition is always a good thing, no matter what position," Mason said. "I'm not sure what will happen, but I'm not worried about it. I'm just excited about the opportunity and want to make the most of it."

In the offseason, he plans to work five days a week with a trainer near his home outside Toronto. "You do everything you can in the summer to make sure you're ready," he said. "I plan to come to Philly early to hit the ground running. I'll probably get here three or four weeks before camp to settle in and talk with Jeff Reese."

If the Flyers knew Mason's late-season stint wasn't a fluke, they probably would use a compliance buyout on Bryzgalov on June 30.

But because Bryzgalov has a better track record than Mason over their careers, the Flyers may keep him as insurance and have the two compete for the starter's spot. If the Flyers did that, they could make a buyout decision after next season.

It all depends, club sources said, on whether a player becomes available in the offseason and the Flyers' need to be freed of Bryzgalov's annual $5.7 million cap hit.

Bryzgalov vs. Mason

In a small sample - seven appearances, including six starts - goalie Steve Mason was lights-out after the Flyers acquired him from Columbus on April 3.

Here are the numbers posted by Mason and starter Ilya Bryzgalov while they played for the Flyers this season, along with their career statistics:

Ilya Bryzgalov

Goals Save

W-L-OT against pct.

With Flyers this year 19-17-3 2.79 .900

Career 208-149-45 2.55 .913

Steve Mason

Goals Save

W-L-OT against pct.

With Flyers this year 4-2 1.90 .944

Career 100-101-27 2.87 .905

Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 05.02.2013


Laviolette: Giroux did ‘terrific job’ in first year as captain

Sarah Baicker

May 1, 2013, 9:00 am

VOORHEES, N.J. -- Almost exactly a year ago, Flyers coach Peter Laviolette proclaimed Claude Giroux the "best player in the world."

But in 2013, the Flyers’ first-year captain looked only like a very good player, netting just 13 goals in 48 games and seldom executing the on-ice magic he made look effortless last season.

That said, Laviolette was pleased with what he saw from Giroux in the 25-year-old’s first year wearing the “C” on his chest -- both in spite of the team’s rough season and because of it.

“I think he did a terrific job as the captain of the team,” Laviolette said at Sunday's team break-up day. “It was a tough year for a first-year captain, and I think he did a really good job. He has terrific leadership qualities. He's driven. He is an excellent teammate.

“I think sometimes when you're not successful -- or not as successful as you'd like to be -- you really get to, whether you want to or not, use and try that leadership, and it becomes more in the forefront.”

Giroux didn’t exactly struggle this season. He led the Flyers in points with 48, and his goal total ranked third, behind only Jakub Voracek (22) and Wayne Simmonds (15). But there were plenty of times when he simply didn’t look like the player he was last season, or even the season before.

This was the first time in Giroux’s NHL career that he didn’t take a step forward with the new year. However, that doesn't mean he wasn't successful in his first season as captain, according to general manager Paul Holmgren, especially because of weird schedule and shortened season.

“Claude’s a young captain put into a situation where [there was] a 48-game schedule coming out of the lockout,” Holmgren said. “I think he performed admirably under those circumstances.”

As for the captain himself, Giroux had one very simple takeaway from his first year wearing the "C."

“Can’t really put a lot of pressure on yourself,” he said. “Obviously, there’s more responsibility, but you’ve got to go out there and play, just play your game. That’s pretty much it.”

Giroux didn’t say whether he feels he put too much pressure on himself this year. But from an outsider’s perspective, that does seem to be, at least partially, the case. He seemed particularly frustrated at times -- like all the players in the Flyers’ locker room -- but he seemed to take on too much responsibility for the Flyers' losing ways. By all accounts, that seemed to affect his play on the ice.

The good news, though, is that he absolutely should be able to learn from it. He will emerge from this season a stronger, more experienced leader.

And, this summer, his plan is no different from that of last summer or the one that preceded it.

"Obviously, it’s the same thing every summer," Giroux said. "Just go lift some weight and try to get faster and stronger. That’s what the game’s all about, how fast you can be and how strong you can be. Just got to focus on that."

Despite his being a novice captain, and despite the many questions that faced the team ahead of this lockout-shortened season, expectations were high on both Giroux and the Flyers as a whole. But Giroux is young, despite his five years of NHL experience, and he had big skates to fill in taking over the captaincy: Chris Pronger, who played his last game way back in November 2011, was the Flyers' last captain.

But, Giroux said, he didn't set goals or expectations for himself -- or the team as a whole -- this year.

“There’s no real expectations,” Giroux said. “I think it’s just go out there, play your game. Like I said, we have new pieces to the team and stuff, so

you can see at the end of the season we got together, got closer, and started playing our game a little bit more.

"Can’t blame anybody but ourselves for not being in the playoffs.”


674000 Phoenix Coyotes

Phoenix Coyotes find life without an owner makes it tough to succeed

By Sarah McLellan

Wed May 1, 2013 5:57 PM

The novelty of being the beloved underdog has faded.

What once was the Coyotes’ source of admiration has now pushed them to the sidelines this postseason, and the difficulty of life without an owner — minimized before by unexpected success — is painfully obvious.

The Coyotes passed the best-before date of this schtick after their inspired journey to the Western Conference finals last spring, and this season they became what they probably should have been all along: a low-budget team that can’t afford the resources it needs to stay competitive.

“I’ve never used that as an excuse for our performance, and I just don’t feel just because we came up short we should use that as an excuse,” General Manager Don Maloney said. “It is what it is. It’s the reality we deal with. It’s not ideal. Going forward we hope it is resolved and yet when I look at our payroll, it is what it is. We still had enough to be a playoff team and that’s the way I’m going to continue to look at it. But certainly it makes it more challenging to be a playoff team.”

For all the coups Maloney has pulled over the years in piecing together a competitive roster, one of the few times he miscalculated — signing center Matthew Lombardi — derailed the Coyotes because Maloney had met the limit of a league-regulated payroll with that contract and couldn’t add scoring help later in the season when the team needed it most.

That’s how narrow the room for error has become.

“We’ve thought it was a competitive disadvantage to be in the spot we’re in,” captain Shane Doan said. “Nobody wants to be in this spot. There’s a reason why teams that go through what we go through usually struggle.”

This off-season coincides with the expiration of two very important contracts — those of Maloney and coach Dave Tippett — and that should be enough to finally dismiss the ownership sideshow, which reaches its four-year anniversary Sunday.

“There’s gonna be some clarity to it one way or the other this year because if it gets to July 1 and there’s no owner, I’m without a contract,” Tippett said. “I’m gonna coach somewhere next year. I hope it’s here. But I’m gonna coach somewhere next year.”

As ominous as this all sounds, the feasible possibilities for relocation do little to suggest the Coyotes will own a new address come this fall.

A move to Quebec City or even Kansas City would affect the new realignment plan the league is implementing next season, although both have arenas that could support hockey.

Seattle would keep the team in the same division, but arena conditions there are less than optimal.

Cities with minor-league teams, such as Houston, are always an option because they have the infrastructure to absorb a team, but they usually don’t carry the same cachet as the Phoenix market.

Maloney said he and the league have discussed an operating plan for the next few months and expects to receive more direction, even as soon as this week.

But whether the news he’s really waiting for comes with enough time to improve the Coyotes, that’s still unclear.

“We all want to win,” Maloney said. “We’re all competitive in this business. At some point, you have to be in a position that you know you have a chance to win a championship. Until we have our ownership in a better place, our chances are not great.”

Arizona Republic LOADED: 05.02.2013

674001 Pittsburgh Penguins

Islanders notebook: Nabokov pulled in second period

Josh Yohe

Penguins Reporter

Goalie Evgeni Nabokov, one of the few New York Islanders players with postseason experience, was rudely welcomed back by the Penguins on Wednesday night at Consol Energy Center.

In fact, the situation was so bad for the 37-year-old Russian that he was pulled in favor of Kevin Poulin early in the second period of an Eastern Conference first-round series against the Penguins. Nabokov allowed four goals before the second period was two minutes old.

His misfortune began early in the first period during a Penguins power play when the Islanders left Jarome Iginla open for consecutive one-timers. The second was a vicious blast that struck Nabokov directly in the head.

After making the save, Nabokov fell to the ice and, a moment later, officials stopped play.

Nabokov stayed down for close to a minute while being assisted by Islanders trainers but opted to remain in the game. He allowed the Penguins' first goal — on a bad angle shot from rookie Beau Bennett — two shots later.

Nabokov is a veteran of nine unsuccessful Stanley Cup playoff stints with the San Jose Sharks.

New experience

This marks the first Stanley Cup playoff game for 16 Islanders players and coach Jack Capuano. Many of them shrugged off the lack of experience, but Capuano was a little more direct. He explained that, in every hockey player's youth, big games happen in which lessons can be learned.

Veterans needed

Veteran center Marty Reasoner is often a healthy scratch, but the Islanders started him on their fourth line. Capuano acknowledged before the game that having a veteran presence in a lineup filled with youngsters was crucial.

Tribune Review LOADED: 05.02.2013


Pens’ Crosby, Orpik out for Game 1 against Islanders

Josh Yohe

Penguins Reporter

May 1, 2013, 12:03 p.m.

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby and defenseman Brooks Orpik will not play tonight's home Stanley Cup playoff opener against the New York Islanders.

“Obviously I'm out tonight,” said Crosby, who is unsure when he will return.

Crosby visited doctors regarding his broken jaw on Tuesday and was told that the condition is improving but that it would not be safe for him to play in Game 1.

He will be replaced by center Jussi Jokinen.

“I'm ready to help the team in any way I can,” Jokinen said.

Coach Dan Bylsma said the Penguins are ready for the Islanders regardless of who makes up his lineup.

“We have been playing and preparing without Sidney Crosby in our lineup,” Bylsma said. “We will be ready to go for Game 1.”

Orpik has been out for more than a week with a lower-body injury. Like Crosby, he skated before and during Wednesday's morning skate.

However, Orpik isn't ready to return to the lineup. Defenseman Deryk Engelland will replace Orpik on a top-four pairing with Paul Martin.

“I'm ready to go,” Engelland said. “Games in the playoffs are more physical. That's more my style.”



Kovacevic: Are these Penguins serious?

Dejan Kovacevic

Sports Columnist

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

May 1, 2013, 11:21 p.m.

It was Game 1, it's only the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and there are many, many more laps of the rink to go. But at least this much could be definitively discerned from the Penguins' 5-0 throwdown of the Islanders on Wednesday night:

These guys are fairly serious about this whole Cup thing, huh?

No, really.

If your team is in the playoffs to live off skill and speed alone, you might see a power play that tinkers with tic-tac-toe passes.

Or you can simply set up Jarome Iginla for a patented Howitzer from the point that nearly knocks Evgeni Nabokov into oblivion, striking him in the upper part of the mask and felling him momentarily.

“Oh, those masks are pretty strong,” Iginla said with a grin. “But, yeah, I got it in the sweet spot, and what happened … that's part of the game.”

The guy at the other end?

“No sympathy,” Marc-Andre Fleury said. “I don't know if I should say that. … It does ring, sure. I had a few. When you get hit really hard, it rings your ears, and the straps on your mask pop off. But it's playoffs.”

Sure is.

If your team is in those playoffs to live off legitimate five-line depth, you might see a rookie's legs shaking with his first shift.

Or you can see baby-faced Beau Bennett — commendably inserted by Dan Bylsma — storm around the defense, size up Nabokov from a severe angle and whiz a shot — where else? — right by his head for the first goal.

Hey, if your keeper's hurt, take him out.

“I'm just looking for the shot, honestly,” Bennett said. “There was a little slot there, and I was fortunate enough to hit it.”

And those jitters?

“When I went out there, I was pretty amped up. But there was no time for that.”

If your team is in the playoffs to pace itself and cause the least amount of trouble, you might see everyone avoiding Nabokov or handling him with kid gloves.

Or you can watch Craig Adams virtually steamroller him to set up a Pascal Dupuis fourth-crack goal.

“Our guys played hard,” Dupuis said.

If your team is in the playoffs to live off its unrivaled firepower, you might see forwards cheating up ice on breakouts, turnovers at the blue lines and other selfish stupidity. Think Philadelphia, circa 2012.

Or you can watch Evgeni Malkin chip the puck off the glass much the way you'd expect from … oh, Tanner Glass.

“You just want to make the easy play, the sure play,” Mark Eaton said. “Stars, too.”

If your team is in the playoffs buoyed by having the best player in hockey replaced by the best player in hockey, you might look down your nose at the legit MVP candidate on the other side.

Or you can bury poor John Tavares at pretty much every turn, whether it's Matt Cooke sending him flying backward, Kris Letang flattening him with the

left shoulder on a 50/50 puck or Brenden Morrow pile-driving him spark a late melee.

“That'll be a big part of this series,” Morrow said, thoroughly unapologetic. “We know what he can do. We can't let him.”

Tavares finished with zero shots.

And, oh yeah, if your team is in the playoffs with a cozy lead through one, a bigger lead early in the second, the Consol Energy Center din as loud as ever … well, you get it.

You pour it on.

You watch Glass score, for crying out loud.

You step on the head, or you just shoot at it and keep shooting, whichever works.

Well, not to be the downer, but I'll remind: This was Game 1.

Ray Shero and Bylsma have been pushing a theme of “4” for several months now, and that was formalized with the printing of “4” T-shirts the players were sporting after the morning skate.

A fourth Stanley Cup?

Nope. Just four wins. Enough for a series.

And after going down in the first two rounds to Montreal, Tampa Bay and Philly in the three springs since that third Cup, that seems not only like a healthy approach but a mandatory one.

These Islanders won't run and hide. Anyone who thinks they will wasn't paying attention to the NHL's seventh-highest scoring team and all that Tavares and mates — including some of the game's fastest wingers — were able to create. They're tough and resilient, and coach Jack Capuano immediately promised he'll test the depth, too: “Our 20 guys didn't get it done. But we'll be back.”

If your team is in the playoffs with truly serious intent, it'll be smart enough to grasp that.



Olympics were factor in Penguins’ game at Soldier Field

Rob Rossi

NHL/Penguins Reporter


May 1, 2013, 11:24 p.m.

Veterans of two Winter Classics, the Penguins were coveted by the NHL for the series of outdoor games next season.

The Penguins will play the Chicago Blackhawks at Soldier Field, home of the NFL's Bears, on March 1. The game is scheduled for 8 p.m.

NHL chief operating officer John Collins asked the Penguins to participate, and they accepted because of the event's close proximity to the 2014 Winter Olympics, CEO David Morehouse said.

“The last Olympic gold-medal game (2010) had all NHL players and a big (television) audience, so being part of the outdoor game around then was something we liked,” Morehouse said.

“We like to help the NHL with these kinds of signature events.”

The NHL has not yet committed to sending its players to the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia, from Feb. 7-23.

The Penguins were visitors at the debut Winter Classic on Jan. 1, 2008, and they played host to the Washington Capitals in the 2011 Classic at Heinz Field, which was moved to the New Year's Day evening because of inclement weather.

Playing parts in two previous outdoor games made accepting the NHL's Stadium Series offer easier, Morehouse said.

Details for tickets are being worked out, Morehouse said, but he added the Penguins will get an allotment for the game at Chicago.

The Stadium Series will open with the 2012 Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium.

In addition to Solider Field, other venues tabbed for outdoor games include Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium, New York's Yankee Stadium (twice) and B.C. Place in Vancouver.

The Penguins have not ruled out seeking another outdoor game for Pittsburgh, though they have not settled on Heinz Field or PNC Park as the proposed venue.



Islanders overwhelmed in Game 1 loss to surging Penguins at Consol

Jerry DiPaola


May 1, 2013, 10:27 p.m.

Nothing worked Wednesday night for the New York Islanders in the first game of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series against the Penguins.

Not 26 shots on goal, none of which had any effect on the final score — a 5-0 Penguins victory at Consol Energy Center.

Not even a shoulder directed less than lovingly at Penguins defenseman Douglas Murray by Islanders left winger Matt Martin in the first period.

At that point, the Islanders were making a game of it — or, at least, trying to do so while trailing in the first period.

When the margin became lopsided less than two minutes into the second period on goals 32 seconds apart by the Penguins' Kris Letang and Pascal Dupuis, all that was left was for Martin to turn into a pest, making continual runs at as many Penguins players as he could find.

Martin said his style of play didn't change with the score.

“I always try to play the same, physical, mix it up,” he said. “As a team, we should have been trying to do that a little more. Our game plan was to be physical from the start and for whatever reason we didn't do a good job of that.

“For most of the game, we made it easy on them and if you do that they can run up the score. They have way too much talent.”

Late in the game, center Marty Reasoner threw a hip into the Penguins' Jussi Jokinen, triggering a brief scrum among several antagonists.

None of it mattered, as far as the Islanders were concerned. The Penguins thoroughly frustrated the No. 8 seed Islanders, who were making their first playoff appearance since 2007.

Said coach Jack Capuano: “I thought we didn't have the work ethic and our execution was poor.”

Capuano was so concerned about his team's lack of physicality that he pulled goaltender Evgeni Nabokov early in the second period after the Penguins had seized a 4-0 lead. Capuano said Nabokov was unhurt after a Jarome Iginla one-timer struck him in the forehead, sending him to the ice.

“I wasn't going to leave him in there and hang him out to dry,” Capuano said.

Penguins defenseman Matt Niskanen expects a better effort from the Islanders in Game 2 on Friday.

“They're not just going to go away, just because we got an early lead,” he said. “They're not going to quit, so they're obviously trying to get things turned around, a little momentum, hopefully, from that. We've just got to stand our ground and not let it affect us.”



Penguins’ Game 1 victory over Islanders proves to be ‘special’

By Rob Rossi

May 1, 2013, 10:24 p.m.

The Penguins believe they are a special team.

They may be if their special teams deliver as they did in the Stanley Cup playoff opener.

Two power-play goals and a perfect penalty kill drove a 5-0 victory Wednesday over the New York Islanders at Consol Energy Center.

The Penguins lead a best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal, 1-0. Game 2 is Friday, also at home.

The result was not unexpected.

Islanders coach Jack Capuano had gone out of his way to remind that the Penguins won 36 of 48 games in a truncated regular season.

Those wins were delivered despite a penalty kill that rated 25th overall — there are only 30 NHL clubs — at less than 80 percent.

The Islanders were around 80 percent on the power play during the season, but they went 0 for 4 with the advantage in Game 1.

“We have huge respect for their power play,” Penguins left winger Matt Cooke said, citing the “high skill level” of young Islanders forwards such as John Tavares and Matt Moulson.

Skill is often trumped by desire in black-and-blue playoff games, and the Penguins played like they wanted this opener.

Defenseman Mark Eaton blocked eight shots.

Winger Tanner Glass scored his first career postseason goal — “a relief,” he said — but was equally satisfied by six hits.

Center Brandon Sutter, in his first playoff game, matched the hit total of bruising defenseman Douglas Murray. They each were credited with five.

Eaton, Glass, Sutter and Murray are part of the penalty kill, which looked like its old self — like before Philadelphia ravaged the Penguins for 12 power-play goals in Round 1 last postseason — for the first time in more than a year.

The Penguins had been a top-three penalty kill in two seasons prior to that series loss to the Flyers. The power play's dominance was overshadowed, though.

The Penguins were 9 for 29 (31 percent) in Round 1 last postseason, and they carried that over into the regular season, which they finished second overall on the power play at 24.7 percent.

They went 2 for 3 in Game 1 before focusing on defense while working a fourth power play late in regulation.

Rookie winger Beau Bennett and defenseman Kris Letang scored power-play goals during the Penguins' race to a 4-0 lead in the first 21 minutes and 51 seconds.

Wingers Pascal Dupuis (twice) and Glass also scored for the Penguins, but the power play's early dominance was crushing to the Islanders.

The Penguins generated seven shots on their three early power plays.

Winger Jarome Iginla, new to the mix after joining the Penguins in a late-season trade from Calgary, set up Letang's power play goal.

Teammates have implored him to shoot more, and he now is comfortable reminding the same of some of them — including center Evgeni Malkin, who placed four shots on net and recorded two assists.

“It's definitely a focus, to put some pucks (on net),” Iginla said. “We're trying to gain momentum off of (the power play), and that's putting shots on the net.”

This series is young, but momentum belongs to the Penguins because they were special in Game 1.



Penguins notebook: Neal leaves in 2nd period after being slashed

By Kevin Gorman and Josh Yohe

May 1, 2013, 10:00 p.m.

The Tribune-Review

The Penguins beat the New York Islanders with ease in Game 1 of their Stanley Cup playoffs first-round series Wednesday night at Consol Energy Center but lost left winger James Neal. Neal, who missed eight games in April with a concussion, left early in the second period after being slashed by Islanders defenseman Travis Hamonic and crashing into the boards during a five-on-three power play. Neal appeared to be favoring one leg during the ensuing faceoff. Neal was 10th in the NHL with 21 goals this season, including a hat trick in the season finale against Carolina.

• Penguins captain Sidney Crosby and defenseman Brooks Orpik skated in the morning practice but weren't ready for the postseason opener. Crosby visited the doctor Tuesday and was told that while his broken jaw is improving, he isn't yet ready to absorb contact. “He said everything looks good,” Crosby said. “He just wasn't prepared to clear me to play. Obviously I would have loved the chance to play, but that's not the way it is.” Crosby was struck in the face by an Orpik shot March 30 and hasn't played since. He has been skating in practices for the past five days. Crosby will visit the doctor again shortly, though he isn't certain of a timeframe for when he might return. “I'll just wait and see,” Crosby said. “He wouldn't give me a date.”

• Orpik, who had played in all 75 of the Penguins' playoff games during the past six seasons, missed his first playoff game. He is day to day with a lower-body injury, and has not played since April 23. Deryk Engelland replaced him in the lineup.

• Left winger Tanner Glass scored his first career playoff goal on a wrist shot for a 5-0 lead at 13:07 of the second period. Glass scored one goal during the regular season.

• Pascal Dupuis had his second career two-goal playoff game. He scored his 13th career playoff goal at 13:23 of the first period on a backhander for a 2-0 lead and added another on a five-on-three power play at 1:51 of the second for a 4-0 lead. His other two-goal game came against Vancouver May 8, 2003, when he was a member of the Minnesota Wild.

• With the assist, Adams has scored 16 percent of his points with the Penguins in the playoffs. Of his 63 career points with the Penguins, 10 points (six goals) have come in the postseason.



Penguins to play Blackhawks at Soldier Field in Chicago next year

By Seth Rorabaugh

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

May 1, 2013 12:06 pm

The Penguins will be heading outside once again.

Today the NHL formally announced the Penguins will face the Blackhawks at Soldier Field in Chicago next season. The game is scheduled to be held March 1, 8 p.m and will be part of a series of outdoor games staged by the NHL next season.

This will be the third outdoor game the Penguins will have participated in. They defeated the Buffalo Sabres, 2-1, in a shootout at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y. in 2008 and lost to the Capitals, 3-1, at Heinz Field in 2011.

The Blackhawks have played in one outdoor game in 2009 when they lost to the Detroit Red Wings, 6-4, at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

Soldier Field, home of the NFL's Chicago Bears, hosted two college games in February between Notre Dame and Miami (Ohio) as well as Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Post Gazette LOADED: 05.02.2013


Crosby won't play in Penguins' playoff opener

By Dave Molinari


May 1, 2013 1:56 pm

Sidney Crosby won't be playing in the Penguins' playoff opener tonight.

Crosby, whose jaw was broken by a deflected puck March 30, was examined Tuesday and told that the fracture has not healed enough for him to resume playing.

"He said everything was good," Crosby said. "He just wasn't prepared to declare me (ready) to play. Obviously, I would have loved to have had a chance to play tonight, but that's not the way it is.

"I wanted to make sure I'm ready when the time comes."

The Penguins will open their first-round series against the New York Islanders today at 7:38 p.m. at Consol Energy Center.

Crosby said he does not have another appointment with the doctor scheduled, that "I'm sure he'll be around and checking on things pretty closely."

He added that the doctor "didn't give me a date, and I'm sure if he gives me a date, he knows I'll have a pretty high expectation (of receiving clearance to return then)."

Crosby was a runaway leader in the NHL scoring race and a heavy favorite to be named the league Most Valuable Player when a shot by teammate Brooks Orpik deflected off Islanders forward Brad Boyes and slammed into his face.

The fractured jaw forced Crosby to sit out the final 12 games of the regular season, and Tampa Bay winger Martin St. Louis overtook him last week to claim the scoring title.

Crosby had to undergo surgery, during which titanium plates were used to hold the pieces of his jaw together, and has had extensive dental work, with more to come.

He worked out on the ice at Consol Energy Center with conditioning coach Mike Kadar before the Penguins' game-day skate this morning, then participated in the skate itself, but did so with other forwards expected to sit out Game 1.

"Whenever I take a regular morning skate," Crosby said, "I'm sure that will be a pretty good sign that I'm in."

Post-Gazette LOADED: 05.02.2013


First shot is a charm for Penguins rookie Bennett

Shelly Anderson


May 2, 2013 12:20 am

It was a split-second, laser-precision shot, but there was a lot that led up to Beau Bennett's power-play goal.

A rookie winger who worked on his own progression in his first NHL -- and pro -- season, Bennett's game grew quickly to the point that the Penguins felt comfortable not only putting him into the lineup in the playoffs, but also sending him out on a power play for his first shift.

He rewarded them with the first goal in a 5-0 smackdown against the New York Islanders Wednesday night in Game 1 of a first-round Eastern Conference series at Consol Energy Center.

The shot, from near the bottom of the right circle, cut upward, across the front of Islanders goaltender Evgeni Nabokov and into the far upper corner of the net at 3:30 of the first period.

"That's something I work on quite a bit, that short-side shot," Bennett said. "Luckily, it went in the spot I wanted it to."

It was Bennett's first NHL playoff goal on his first NHL playoff shot in his first NHL playoff game.

Bennett, 21, was the Penguins' first-round pick in the 2010 NHL draft, out of Los Angeles. He spent the first several months this season with Wilkes-Barre-Scranton of the American Hockey League.

He was first called up in mid-February and had three goals, 14 points in 25 games.

There was some question about whether the Penguins would dress Bennett in the playoffs, where the learning curve can be steep.

Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said two things went into that decision -- the responsible play he showed after he was called up in mid-February and his offensive flair.

"He actually showed a lot more in the beginning than lately that made that decision," Bylsma said. "He's come up with big plays defensively, shot blocks. He's been solid defensively, and that early on got him more opportunity -- more games, different situations."

Bylsma said Bennett's play in a three-game road trip late in the season to Carolina, Tampa Bay and Florida filled in any gaps in Bennett's game.

"In a fourth-line role, he added a dimension to our fourth line that we don't have," Bylsma said. "That's an ability to hold on to the puck, to make a play in the offensive zone. That really was a trial run for his opportunity."

In those three games, Bennett had a goal, two assists and a plus-minus rating of plus-2.

"When I first came in here, I was just trying to be responsible, get pucks out, not be a liability," he said. "As of late, I've been trying to hold onto the puck a little bit more and make plays from there. It's just a confidence thing."

Bennett began the game Wednesday as a member of the fourth line with Craig Adams and Tanner Glass. He later got moved up to the top line with Evgeni Malkin and Chris Kunitz after James Neal left the game early in the second period because of an unspecified injury.

That's quite a bump up from potentially being a healthy scratch.

Bennett found out he was in the lineup earlier in the day, but to play it safe, he went through his normal night-before routine, which included a late dinner with teammates.

"I'm not that superstitious," he said.

Still, he'll grow a playoff beard if he can -- "I've been growing that out all year," he joked about his blond peach fuzz -- and might try growing out his dark-blond hair.

That might help him fit his nickname better. His teammates call him "Sunshine."

"It's from 'Remember the Titans,' the California kid with the long, blond hair," Bennett said. "I'm growing it out. I'll see what happens. It gets pretty ratty at some point."



Penguins prove successful against veteran Nabokov

By Jenn Menendez


May 2, 2013 12:16 am

The New York Islanders carted their most veteran player, goalie Evgeni Nabokov, to Pittsburgh for the playoffs with 80 games of playoff experience and 37 birthdays behind him.

By 1:51 of the second period, the sun barely set outside Consol Energy Center, and the Penguins had driven Nabokov to the bench.

Nabokov gave up four goals on 15 shots and was replaced by backup Kevin Poulin who gave up one more goal in the Penguins' 5-0 rout.

Coach Jack Capuano said he pulled his veteran to give his team a lift, not because of a poor performance.

"We weren't playing well. I'm not going to leave him out there to hang him out to dry," said Capuano.

"When you make those decisions you try and get your team going a little bit ... it had nothing to do with his performance at all."

Capuano indicated changes to multiple parts of the lineup will be considered after watching game tape.

The Islanders were 8-1-4 in their past 13 games to make the playoffs, and had relied on Nabokov's presence during that stretch.

He was drilled with a slapshot to the forehead by Jerome Iginla just minutes into the game, but appeared to recover and stayed in goal.

Islanders star center John Tavares said his team did not play well enough in front of its goalie.

"He's played phenomenal for us [this season]. We know we didn't play well enough in front of him. We have to be better," said Tavares.

"He wants to be out there playing and contributing. I know it bothers him to not be in the net and he's a great goalie. He'll be ready for next game and we have to be to."

The Islanders trailed by a massive margin less than two minutes into the second period.

Penguins rookie Beau Bennett found a sliver of net off a tough angle to beat Nabokov at 3:30 of the first period on the power play and Pascal Dupuis threw in a rebound at 13:23 to make it 2-0.

In the second period Nabokov faced two shots: both were goals.

Kris Letang made it 3-0 at 1:19 of the second period on the power play and Dupuis backhanded in a rebound with Nabokov at the opposite corner of the crease at 1:51 to make it 4-0.

"I mean, he's a veteran guy. I think you look at his career, his resume and you look at his stats," said Tavares. "He'll be ready to play."

Poulin faced six second-period shots, including one by Tanner Glass, who found his five-hole at 13:07 to run the score to 5-0.

"I didn't really expect the shot from there," said Poulin. "I was taking information, and he caught me taking information. That's all."

It was his playoff debut and came unexpectedly.

"It's different. When you go in mid-period, even mid-game that's the backup's job," said Poulin, who appeared in just five games this year. "You always have to be ready to be mentally in there, even physically.

"It was my first actually playoff game. [It] was exciting. [I was] a little bit nervous at the beginning, but the more the game went on the more was comfortable."

Poulin finished with 10 saves on 11 shots.



Collier: Letang & Co. execute objective

By Gene Collier


May 2, 2013 12:14 am

Kris Letang had the puck near the high interior arc of the left faceoff circle, early in the second period, and he was dragging it, dragging it, dragging it toward the center dot with the kind of mounting menace someone once called malice aforethought.

In a blink, or some insane measurement that equals less than a blink, that puck was in the net behind playoff veteran Evgeni Nabokov, the suddenly beleaguered goalkeeper of the New York Islanders.

If Nabokov even saw Letang's shot, there was no visual evidence of it, and there was even less of any tangible sense that he could have done anything about it if he had.

"It's a 5-on-3 [situation] so you don't have that much pressure," Letang said with an invisible shrug. "It's fun to get the puck as close as that, so you just wait for an opening or a passing lane. I was looking to pass first because we just made a quick play down low. I was waiting for a pass but after a while I just looked off the goalie, and just shot it."

The wicked wrister was the 26-year-old's 11th career playoff goal; only Larry Murphy had more among Penguins defensemen. But Letang wore his typical expression, the one that says whatever is going on around him is pretty much the way things ought to be. Thirty-two seconds later, Pascal Dupuis swept home a rebound to make it 4-0 and Game 1 was in the Penguins' bag.

If Letang wants to take a few seconds to torture the netminder in a game when the Penguins are getting five goals without even having to give Sidney Crosby a uniform, that's apparently his prerogative, but here's another way, the most important way, in which Letang and defensive partners Paul Martin and/or Mark Eaton figure into they way things ought to be in this Eastern Conference quarterfinal.

Penguins coach Dan Bylsma put Letang and Martin on the ice against New York's splendid top line of John Tavares, Brad Boyes and Matt Moulsen and kept them there. The sounds of silence that pervaded that gambit got interrupted only when Letang banged Tavares into the boards or when Tavares tried to bump Letang off the puck behind the Penguins net and wound up his can.

Through two periods, Letang had been on the ice longer than anyone except Marc-Andre Fleury, Martin only slightly less, and both were on the pond almost as long as Nabokov, who retired to the bench after failing to stop four of the Penguins' first 15 shots.

By comparison, Fleury was kept relative inactive while the teammates in front of him kept forcing New York's forwards to the perimeters.

"Nothin' too specific," said Eaton, whose second-period assist was his first point of the season. "We just wanted to be aware when we had the puck, and be aware when [Tavares] was on the ice. The best way to defend those guys is to make them play in the defensive zone.

"We just tried to manage the puck and make them play a 200-foot game most of the night. It's a good start for us, but that's all it is, a good start. It's one game."

Too true, but the obvious impact of having the gifted Tavares held not only goalless but stone shotless can't be overstated, nor perhaps, can the value of putting a shutout in his head at the top of the series. Still, in a game which the Penguins were without not only Crosby but also defensive cornerstone Brooks Orpik, Letang's brilliance was the primary impetus that resulted in a 1-0 best-of-seven series lead.

"I think we tried to take their time and space away," Letang said. "Either by having a good gap or being physical with them. They have a really good line there with Tavares, Boyes and Moulson and if you take their time away, they won't be as effective."

This too, if you listen to the paid prognosticators, is the way things ought to be, and it's anything but a surprise when you consider that the skunking of the Islanders Wednesday night was the 16th time the Penguins have beaten this team in the past 18 matches inside the city limits.

That does nothing, of course, to lessen the distance between the Penguins and their mission in this first round. All it means is that an ability to execute one major objective has been demonstrated, and is to shut down the top New York line.

"There are other dangerous guys, too," Bylsma said. "[But] Tavares is a guy we have to be very careful of. I thought we did a good job of doing that [Wednesday night] and at both ends of the rink."



Penguins notebook: Crosby misses playoff opener

By Dave Molinari and Shelly Anderson


May 2, 2013 12:01 am

The Penguins never targeted a date for Sidney Crosby to return to their lineup.

Still haven't, for that matter.

Crosby, though, had been hoping to get medical clearance to resume playing by the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

And while he apparently came close, Crosby had to sit out Game 1 of the opening-round playoff series against the New York Islanders Wednesday night at Consol Energy Center after his doctor determined that his fractured jaw hadn't mended quite enough.

"He said everything was good," Crosby said. "He just wasn't prepared to declare me [ready] to play. Obviously, I would have loved to have had a chance to play [in Game 1], but that's not the way it is. I wanted to make sure I'm ready when the time comes."

Whether that will happen in Game 2 Friday night at Consol Energy Center apparently hasn't been determined.

Crosby said Wednesday he did not have another appointment scheduled, but added that "I'm sure he'll be around and checking on things pretty closely."

Crosby hasn't played since March 30, when a slap shot by teammate Brooks Orpik deflected off Islanders forward Brad Boyes and slammed into his face, fracturing his jaw and knocking out an unspecified number of teeth.

He had to undergo surgery, during which titanium plates and screws were used to hold the pieces of his jaw together, and has had extensive dental work, with more to come.

Although he acknowledged being frustrated that he couldn't dress for the opener, Crosby took a fairly pragmatic perspective on his recovery and return.

"It's out of my control," he said. "It's something I've come a long way with. It's been a long time. I just hope that eventually -- soon -- I will be able to get out there."

Crosby worked out on the ice with conditioning coach Mike Kadar before the game-day skate and participated in the skate itself, albeit as part of the fifth line.

"Whenever I take a regular morning skate," he said, "I'm sure that will be a pretty good sign that I'm in."

Orpik skates with team

Orpik participated in the game-day skate -- his first time on the ice with his teammates since he left a game April 23 because of an undisclosed injury -- but joined Crosby as the only two Penguins who missed Game 1 because of injury.

"They didn't really give me a time frame," said Orpik, who had been skating on his own for a few days. "I was hoping somewhere around here [for getting back to practice]."

Orpik said it's frustrating missing the opening of the playoffs, but noted, "Having Sid to talk to is not a bad thing."

The Penguins' healthy scratches were forwards Joe Vitale and Dustin Jeffrey, and defensemen Simon Despres and Robert Bortuzzo.

Outside game definite

The NHL made official what was reported some time ago: The Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks will play a regular-season game outdoors March 1, 2014, at Soldier Field, the home stadium of the NFL Chicago Bears. It

will start at 8 p.m. and be part of an NHL Stadium Series of outdoor games. More will be announced soon.

Big change for Fleury

Leading up to the playoffs, Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury fielded a lot of questions about how he and the team might play differently than they did a year ago in a first-round loss to Philadelphia.

One thing is decidedly different for Fleury -- he is now a father. Baby Estelle was born last week.

"It's fun to go home to that little face. It's life-changing," said Fleury, who joked that it's never too early to start indoctrinating his daughter to the ways of hockey. "I showed her the butterfly. She should be good to go soon. Very flexible. More than me."



Fleury gets shutout, Dupuis scores twice as Penguins smack Islanders, 5-0

By Dave Molinari


May 2, 2013 12:26 am

The New York Islanders are in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2007.

That means there have been a lot of springs lately when the lights were off -- and the hope was missing -- at Nassau Coliseum.

Had to feel just awful at the time. Probably seems like the good old days now.

The Islanders had the misfortune to make their return to postseason play against a deep and talented and highly motivated opponent at Consol Energy Center Wednesday night, and got a 5-0 loss against the Penguins in Game 1 of their opening-round series to show for it.

And, while the Penguins' margin of victory doesn't necessarily mean much -- after all, a dominating five-goal decision counts for no more than one earned in five overtimes -- the way they earned it surely does.

If coach Dan Bylsma had handed out a to-do list before the game, his players would have checked off just about everything on it.

"It was a feel-good kind of game, yes," said winger Pascal Dupuis, who scored two goals.

Some of the reasons for that:

• Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 26 shots to record his sixth career playoff shutout and purge any rancid memories of the 2012 playoffs that he might have retained.

• The Penguins' special teams completely outplayed those of the Islanders -- the power play scored on two of four chances, the penalty-killers were 4 for 4.

• Center Evgeni Malkin, looking to rebound from a relatively ordinary regular season, was visible just about every time he went over the boards and set up a couple of goals.

• Offensive contributions came from all areas of the lineup, as no fewer than 10 players picked up at least one point.

• Islanders center John Tavares, an elite talent, was hit at nearly every opportunity, something that could take a toll over the course of the series if it continues.

"The way we came out, being physical on their top guys, the way we battled, I don't know if they were expecting that," Dupuis said.

New York actually finished with a 41-36 edge in hits, but that stat was a bit misleading.

"For most of the game, we made it pretty easy on them," left winger Matt Martin said. "If you do that, they're just going to run up the score on you."

About the only negative for the Penguins was winger James Neal left the game with an unspecified injury early in the second period, after a hit from defenseman Travis Hamonic. There was no word on the nature or severity of his problem.

"I don't have [an update], and I'm not going to give you one," Bylsma said.

The Penguins began the game without two regulars, center Sidney Crosby and defenseman Brooks Orpik.

Crosby missed his 13th game because of a broken jaw, and his status for Game 2 Friday night at Consol Energy Center is unclear. Orpik had his team-leading streak of 75 consecutive playoff appearances end because of an undisclosed injury.

Beau Bennett got the only goal the Penguins would need at 3:30 of the opening period as his playoff debut echoed the way Mario Lemieux broke

into the NHL in 1984. As Lemieux did in his first regular-season game, Bennett scored on his first shift. On his first shot.

The Penguins were on a power play when he beat New York goalie Evgeni Nabokov from the bottom of the right circle. Twenty-five seconds before Bennett scored, becoming the first Penguins rookie since Jordan Staal did it in Ottawa in 2007 to get a goal in his first playoff appearance, Nabokov had been shaken up by a Jarome Iginla slap shot that slammed into his mask.

Dupuis made it 2-0 at 13:23 by backhanding in an Iginla rebound, and the Penguins put the game out of reach with two goals in a 32-second span early in the second.

Kris Letang threw a shot past Nabokov from the left side on a power play at 1:19 and Dupuis scored on another backhander at 1:51. Tanner Glass closed out the scoring at 13:07, beating Kevin Poulin, who replaced Nabokov after Dupuis' second goal. It was his first point in 25 career playoff games.

The outcome had been settled long before. The outcome of the series is far from settled, despite the way it has begun.

"It was a really good game for us, but we know it's one game," Iginla said. "It didn't matter what the score was. They're not going to be happy right now. And desperation only grows as the series goes on."


674015 San Jose Sharks

Sharks will face Canucks' Luongo in Game 1

By David Pollak

[email protected]

Posted: 05/01/2013 12:59:42 PM PDT

Updated: 05/01/2013 01:59:00 PM PDT

VANCOUVER -- The Sharks learned they will be facing veteran goalie Roberto Luongo in Game 1 of their playoff series against the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night, but said that it didn't matter who would be in the net against them.

The Canucks have had goalie issues all season and Luongo had fewer starts than Cory Schneider, who missed the final two games of the regular season because of an undisclosed injury.

"I can tell you the fact there's been a lot of debate as to which goaltender is going to start here in Vancouver," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said, "is a much bigger story here in Vancouver than it is in the Sharks locker room. We're going to have to beat a good goaltender either way."

The Sharks have had success over the years against both goalies, with a record of 10-9-4 over the years against Luongo. This season, San Jose was 3-0 against the Canucks, facing Schneider each game.

"Either one we go against is going to be a big challenge for us," Sharks captain Joe Thornton said. "We've got to get a lot of shots, a lot of traffic and hope a couple squeak by. They're both fantastic goalies, but equally as tough."

McLellan said he had not made a decision on a replacement for injured defenseman Jason Demers, but it appeared from the morning skate that he was at least leaning toward veteran Scott Hannan over rookie Matt Tennyson. Hannan was paired with Brad Stuart while Tennyson skated with assistant coach Jim Johnson.

Center

Scott Gomez, who missed the final two games of the season with general soreness, will not be in the lineup tonight as James Sheppard will center the fourth line.

San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 05.02.2013


Purdy: Sharks are victorious in a game of hard knocks

By Mark Purdy

Mercury News Columnist

Posted: 05/01/2013 10:46:43 PM PDT

Updated: 05/01/2013 11:52:10 PM PDT

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Just once in San Jose Shark history, it would be nice to have an angst-free playoff series. As if it would ever happen.

As we all know, no such thing exists for our beloved Los Tiburones. The team specializes in never-easy victories and agonizing defeats. Wednesday night, it was the former. Yet, even though the Sharks prevailed by a score of 3-1 in Game 1 here Wednesday night against the Vancouver Canucks, there were the usual moments of torment and discomfort along the way.

Such as, say, when the Sharks found themselves trailing by a score of 1-0 halfway through the second period. They had dominated the first period but produced zero goals. Then they gave up a fluky score on a sequence where one of their own players -- the replay seemed to indicate Raffi Torres -- put the puck into Vancouver's net during a dogpile of a scrum.

"I think I might have put it in," Torres conceded after the game. "But, ultimately, we've got to do a better job of boxing them out."

Or just boxing them, period. Wednesday was a violent night, with unleashed intensity on both sides. But the upside for the Sharks was, they did not let the strange and bad-luck goal change their flow.

Often in past playoff series, in similar situations, the Sharks have become frustrated and started trying too hard, eventually giving up more goals. This time, the opposite happened. The Sharks stayed in control of their game and kept doing

the little details correctly, over and over.

This led to three goals and victory. Little-detail crisp passing on a power play and ... bang. Logan Couture tied the game. Bang. Little-detail grinding stuff by Tommy Wingels outside the crease and ... bang. Dan Boyle put the Sharks ahead, 2-1, on an alert scoop-up shot after the puck squirted to him from Wingels. Little-detail net-attack by Patrick Marleau and ... bang. He applied the finisher by sending the puck over the line off the stick of a Vancouver defenseman.

"We weren't too cute," said Boyle. "We weren't too fancy."

"That's playoff hockey," said Shark captain Joe Thornton. "I thought we had a great first period. They had a better second period. And we were able to capitalize in the third."

If you didn't know better, you'd think the Sharks had done this many times before. Not so. The last time they won a Game 1 in a playoff series by more than one goal was in 2007 at Detroit, 2-0. They've been in 11 playoff series since then. But they've never had the luxury of holding a two-goal lead into the final minutes.

What does it mean? We'll see in Game 2 on Friday night. Between now and then, the two teams will be icing down their bruises. The Sharks and Canucks came out skating hard -- but hitting harder. And then even harder. It was as if both teams wanted to disprove their leaguewide reputation as alleged "soft" teams.

Wednesday night, softness took the ferry to Victoria Island. The slamming and thudding could be heard all the way to the rafters of Rogers Arena. And there were consequences. The Sharks' Martin Havlat suffered some sort of injury in the first period and never returned to the ice. Vancouver's Ryan Kesler, who missed games during the regular season with a broken foot, took some blows and kept pushing but did not appear to be moving with his usual effectiveness.

Boyle said the physicality was no surprise.

"I think that's just Game 1 in every series," Boyle explained. "Both teams are so excited to get going."

"You know, the night before, you're sitting in your hotel room watching the other games," said Shark centerman Joe Pavelski. "And you're seeing the intensity. You're ready for that."

Said Torres, who provided some of the major thudding: "When you play in a tough building like this, with so many good 'D' men on the other team, you really have got to make it uncomfortable for them."

The Sharks' persistence in violence, however, was the most impressive thing. After the second-period lull that Thornton mentioned, they found a way to rev up the engines again and score the two muck-it-up goals that were the difference.

In so doing, they were able to solve Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo, the surprise starter for the Canucks in replacement of Cory Schneider. He's out with a mysterious "body injury," according to Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault.

Luongo, the Canucks' backup goalie, has had his ups and downs over the last few years but he was excellent Wednesday. He made several highlight saves during the Sharks' two first-period power plays, sparking hearty name-check salutes of "Loooooooooo" from the upper deck. He stopped everything he saw, with the exception of Couture's laser shot. And then the Sharks created havoc in front of him for the two other goals.

Non-cute and non-fancy is definitely the way to go from here forward against the Canucks. As a bonus, it might ease the Sharks' playoff anxiety. But don't count on that. Non-anxiety is not a franchise tradition.



San Jose Sharks beat Vancouver Canucks 3-1 in playoff series opener

By David Pollak

[email protected]

Posted: 05/01/2013 10:20:43 PM PDT

Updated: 05/01/2013 11:52:04 PM PDT

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- The Sharks reached the Stanley Cup playoffs on the strength of their strong home-ice record, but Wednesday night the road was not a problem.

Not after third-period goals by Dan Boyle and Patrick Marleau gave San Jose a 3-1 come-from-behind victory over the Vancouver Canucks and a 1-0 lead in their best-of-seven rematch of the 2011 Western Conference finals.

"All year the road hasn't been kind to us, so to come here and win Game 1 is huge," Sharks captain Joe Thornton said of a San Jose team that was 8-14-2 away from HP Pavilion this season. "Hopefully we can grab some confidence on the road from here on out."

The victory came despite the fact right wing Marty Havlat left the game midway through the first period with an undisclosed injury, forcing coach Todd McLellan to juggle his lines the rest of the way.

But Havlat's absence didn't slow down linemate Logan Couture, who scored San Jose's first goal on a power play in the second period and assisted on Marleau's as well. Sharks goalie Antti Niemi made 29 saves, letting only one puck past him after a pileup in front of the crease.

McLellan liked his team's effort -- dominating the first period, holding on when the Canucks pushed back in the second and then pulling away in the third.

"That's probably the way we have to win, the way we've been winning," he said. "A resilient group -- everybody's important, everybody gets to play."

The biggest mystery in the 48 hours leading up to the series was whether the Canucks would start Roberto Luongo or Cory Schneider in goal. Ultimately, Canucks coach Alain Vignault indicated that Schneider was not fully healed from an undisclosed injury.

For the first 20 minutes, it took Luongo at his best to keep the Sharks off the scoresheet, as San Jose looked like the quick, high-energy team that went 12-3-1 down the stretch to secure a playoff spot the last week of the season.

By holding off the Sharks, Luongo enabled the Canucks to get on the scoreboard first, though it took a mad second-period scramble. With Niemi down and Couture in the net behind him, the puck somehow found its way over the goal line off Raffi Torres' stick, survived a review and was eventually credited to Kevin Bieksa at 12:26.

That lead didn't last long, thanks to Couture.

After Canucks right wing Zach Kassian was sent to the penalty box for roughing Couture at 16:00, the Sharks' leading goal-scorer made it personal 35 seconds later when he took a pass in the high slot from Boyle and fired it through traffic and past Luongo.

"It's always nice when the penalty is taken on you," Couture said of his power-play goal. "Obviously Kassian hit me high and the ref made a good call."

San Jose took the 2-1 lead at 9:17 of the third period after Tommy Wingels fought for position to get to the rebound of a Joe Pavelski shot and shoved the loose puck to a pinching Boyle.

Marleau picked up the insurance tally at 14:37, taking a behind-the-net pass from Couture and firing a shot that deflected past Luongo off Vancouver defenseman Dan Hamhuis' stick.

Havlat had 3:16 of ice time in five shifts before leaving for reasons the Sharks did not shed light on after the game. McLellan then used a range of

players to fill his spot on Couture's line the rest of the game, including Wingels, Pavelski and Torres.

"The coaching staff did a great job putting lines together," Couture said. "Guys knew where they were going. It wasn't too tough."

The series continues here Friday night, with the Sharks assured of no worse than a split before heading home.

"We'll go to bed happy tonight," Boyle said, "but we've got some more work to do here in the next one."



San Jose Sharks notebook: Scott Hannan gets the nod over Matt Tennyson

By David Pollak

[email protected]

Posted: 05/01/2013 09:33:32 PM PDT

Updated: 05/01/2013 10:56:16 PM PDT

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- With defenseman Jason Demers out with an ankle injury, Sharks coach Todd McLellan opted to go for veteran Scott Hannan over rookie Matt Tennyson as the blue-line replacement in Wednesday night's Game 1.

Hannan was acquired at the trade deadline as playoff insurance, but his experience is offset by the puck-carrying potential of Tennyson. Using Hannan, however, allows Stuart to stay on his preferred right side.

"Everyone wants to be in there, in the battle," said Hannan, 34, who was acquired at the trade deadline from the Nashville Predators. "This is the time of the year you love to play and it'll be exciting to be a part of it."

Using Hannan also allowed Stuart to play on his preferred right side, something that may also have been a factor in McLellan's decision.

Both Hannan and Stuart acknowledge they aren't big on jumping into the play, but each said they knew when it was the necessary move.

"Obviously our game is in our own end, moving the puck and making a good first pass," said Hannan, whose last playoff game for San Jose came on May 7, 2007, against the Detroit Red Wings. "When the opportunity presents itself, you have to jump in to create offense. When you don't, it's tough on the forwards to maintain pressure."

Rookie defenseman Mike Irwin grew up a 90-minute ferry ride from here on Vancouver Island, but his parents were not able to make it to Game 1 from there home on

Brentwood Bay.

"Mom runs a day care out of our house and it would've been tough to cancel on the parents," Irwin said, adding his dad is a retired police office who now drives a school bus. Both his parents expect to be in Rogers Arena for Game 2 on Friday.

Irwin enjoyed the fact he was facing the Canucks in his initial NHL postseason.

"The opportunity to play in my first playoff series and it's in my backyard," he said. "It's the team I grew up watching and I get the opportunity to play them so I'm really excited."

Scott Gomez was not in the lineup, missing his third game since being on the receiving end of a solid open-ice hit by Eric Cole in the April 23 game against the Dallas Stars. That meant James Sheppard was again centering the fourth line between Andrew Desjardins and Adam Burish.

McLellan talked before the game about not having Gomez in the lineup.

"He's been a solid centerman for us. It affects us power play-wise and what you don't see or hear is, it affects us on the bench and in the locker room," the coach said. "The guy's won two Stanley Cup championships and over the last two or three weeks, he's almost been like another coach for us."

Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault had a quick quip ready when he was asked why hard-nosed center Ryan Kesler did not skate with his teammates in the morning.

"We've got him locked in the back. We're feeding him raw meat," Vigneault joked. "The beast will be ready tonight."



San Jose Sharks' Marty Havlat leaves playoff opener with injury

By David Pollak

[email protected]

Posted: 05/01/2013 09:15:41 PM PDT

Updated: 05/01/2013 09:48:26 PM PDT

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Sharks coach Todd McLellan was forced to juggle his lines for most of Game 1 on Wednesday night after right wing Marty Havlat was forced to leave with an undisclosed injury about midway through the first period against the Vancouver Canucks.

Havlat had 3:16 ice time in five shifts before leaving. He was credited with one shot on a power play, and it took Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo's best save of the opening period to keep the puck out of the net.

McLellan used a range of players to fill Havlat's spot the rest of the first period on a line with Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau, including Tommy Wingels, Joe Pavelski and Raffi Torres.



Thornton glad Torres is on his side

Staff Writer

May 1, 2013, 4:00 pm

VANCOUVER – It was midway through the third period, and the Vancouver Canucks were ahead 4-1 over the San Jose Sharks in Game 4 of the 2011 Western Conference finals.

Sharks captain Joe Thornton was playing the puck in the offensive zone along the wall, and was caught looking the wrong direction when the Canucks’ Raffi Torres flattened him. The clean hit separated Thornton’s shoulder, rendering him ineffective in Game 5, as the Canucks’ ended the Sharks’ season.

Thornton remembered the hit from his now teammate on Wednesday morning.

“I was just kind of coming up the half wall, and it wasn’t a crazy hard hit or anything, he just got me when I was down a little bit,” Thornton said. “It just kind of separated my shoulder. It wasn’t a vicious hit or anything, it just got me in the right spot.”

Torres, who said he’s never talked to Thornton about the hit, said: “A lot of people say hits are momentum changers, but for me it’s just part of the game.”

Although the Canucks had pretty good control of the series at the time of the hit, the series ended at that point, as the Sharks weren't going to win without Thornton at his best. And, it’s still a good example of how opponents have to be aware of when Torres is on the ice. That’s probably why the Canucks reportedly had interest in re-acquiring him at the trade deadline before Doug Wilson sent a high third round pick to Phoenix in exchange for the 31-year-old sparkplug on April 3.

In 11 games with the Sharks, Torres had two goals and four assists for six points and just four penalty minutes. He’s proven to be more effective than the departed Ryane Clowe, whom he was essentially brought in to replace.

Part of the reason he’s fit in so well is thanks to the man he incapacitated two seasons ago. When asked who has helped him feel welcome on the Sharks, Torres said: “[Thornton], obviously. He’s a great leader. Pavelski has been great. It’s a really light room, and guys all step on each other’s toes in a fun way. It’s a loose room and a good room, so it’s a good vibe.”

Todd McLellan senses Torres is at ease, too.

“Based on my dealings with him and meeting with him on different occasions, he seems to be comfortable. He hasn’t shown any effects on the ice of being tentative or anything, so I would say he’s fitting in well.”

Torres will be playing in his first playoff game since Game 3 of first round last season while still with Phoenix, when he was suspended for the remainder of the postseason and into the 2013 regular season for his devastating dirty hit on Chicago’s Marian Hossa.

Upon his return in early February, there were questions as to whether or not Torres could still be an effective NHL player, as he would undoubtedly be under the microscope on a nightly basis. He’s answered them positively in the last three months.

“I haven’t seen any pull back in his game, not only in his time here, but even in Phoenix,” McLellan said. “I think the staff did a lot of good things there to help him get through that and allow him to play his game. He’s just carried that on here. I haven’t seen him pull up, or be tentative. He has to play aggressive and hard."

Torres said: “The history I have, it’s not on my side, but at the end of the day I’ll just keep going the way I’m going. I’m not trying to lose myself at certain times on the ice.”

Thornton is glad to have Torres on his side this time around in what should be a nasty and chippy first round clash.

“He’s a wild card. He’s a great skater and punishing hitter, and you’ve definitely got to be aware of where he is on the ice. Hopefully this time around it works out well for us,” he said.



Gomez out vs. Canucks; who's in on D?

Kevin Kurz

May 1, 2013, 1:00 pm

VANCOUVER – Scott Gomez, who missed the last two games of the regular season, will not play against the Canucks in Game 1 on Wednesday.

Gomez is presumably still feeling the effects of a heavy hit in the neutral zone by Dallas’ Erik Cole on April 23.

Todd McLellan said Gomez’s absence affects the club on a number of levels.

“He’s been a solid centerman for us,” McLellan said on Wednesday. “It affects us power play-wise, and what you don’t see or hear, it affects us on the bench and in the locker room.

“The guy has won two Stanley Cup championships. Over the last three weeks, he’s almost been like another coach for us. On the bench, he’s been able to direct guys to do things the right way and help us out – shift length, and that type of stuff. He’s been a big addition there. He won’t play tonight, but we’ll see where we’re at for Game 2.”

As McLellan mentioned, the second power play unit may suffer without Gomez. Eight of Gomez’s 15 points this season came with a man advantage (all assists).

He registered a power play assist three times in his previous six games before the injury, including April 21 vs. Columbus, and the game in which he was hurt against Dallas when he recorded the primary assist on a beautiful set up to Raffi Torres.

The Sharks’ fourth line will consist of Adam Burish centering James Sheppard and Andrew Desjardins.

One decision McLellan will have to make before the game is whether or not to play Scott Hannan or Matt Tennyson. From the look of the morning skate, Hannan seems likely to get the nod for Game 1, paired with Brad Stuart.

McLellan wouldn’t commit to Hannan publically, though.

“We will have to make that decision still,” he said. “Come game time, we’ll still be making it. We’ll look at what their lineup is like throughout warmup. We have an idea, but we’re not sure. We’ll go with an inexperienced puck-mover, or we’ll go with a ton of experience.”

Roberto Luongo starting instead of the injured Cory Schneider had a predictable reaction from McLellan.

“I can tell you the fact that there’s been a lot of debate over which goaltender is going to start here in Vancouver is a much bigger story in Vancouver than it is in the Sharks’ locker room. We’re going to have to beat a good goaltender either way.”



Sharks-Canucks first round schedule

Staff Writer

May 1, 2013, 12:15 pm

Programming note: Sharks-Canucks Game 1 coverage kicks off tonight at 7 p.m. Comcast SportsNet California with Sharks Pregame Live. Stick around after the final horn for Sharks Postgame Live.

A complete breakdown of the Sharks-Canucks series schedule, with all games airing on Comcast SportsNet California:

Game Matchup Date Time Result

1 Sharks at Canucks Wednesday, May 1 7:30 PT Preview

2 Sharks at Canucks Friday, May 3 7 PT Preview

3 Canucks at Sharks Sunday, May 5 7 PT Preview

4 Canucks at Sharks Tuesday, May 7 7 PT Preview

5* Sharks at Canucks Thursday, May 9 7 PT Preview

6* Canucks at Sharks Saturday, May 11 TBD Preview

7* Sharks at Canucks Monday, May 13 TBD Preview

The entire first round can be seen on Comcast SportsNet California, with Sharks Pregame Live and Sharks Postagme Live bookending every game.



Luongo gets the call for Game 1

Kevin Kurz

May 1, 2013, 11:15 am

VANCOUVER – The first big question in the Sharks-Canucks Western Conference Quarterfinal series has been answered.

Roberto Luongo will get the start in net for Vancouver tonight in Game 1, as Cory Schneider is still apparently feeling the effects of an undisclosed injury. Luongo played in the Canucks’ final two regular season games with Schneider on the shelf.

On April 27 in Edmonton, he allowed seven goals on 37 shots as Vancouver rested several of its key players. Five of those goals came in a span of less than four minutes late in the third period.

Luongo, who said he found out this morning he was starting, has already put that performance behind him.

“It’s already erased. It’s long gone. This is the playoffs, everybody starts off at zeros, and away we go,” he said.

Regarding the Sharks, Luongo said: “They’re a tough opponent. They’ve got some skilled forwards and some good playmakers out there. We’ve got to be sharp, and make sure we don’t give those guys time and space.”

Canucks coach Alain Vigneault doesn’t expect Schneider’s absence to affect his team.

“I don’t think for our group having Roberto in goal is a concern,” he said. “He’s a pretty good goalie. He’s been through a lot of battles, he’s played some real solid hockey for us, and tonight he’s playing and I’m sure he’s looking forward to the opportunity.”

In 20 games this season, Luongo was 9-6-3 with a 2.56 goals-against average and .907 save percentage. Rookie Joe Cannata, a 23-year-old 2009 draft pick who has never played an NHL game, will back up Luongo.

The Canucks held an optional skate on Wednesday morning, and Ryan Kesler was a notable absence. Where was he?

“We’ve got him locked up in the back, and we’re feeding him raw meat. The beast will be ready tonight,” Vigneault joked.



Sharks-Canucks Game 1 at a glance

Kevin Kurz

May 1, 2013, 10:15 am

INSIDE THE MATCHUP

- San Jose dropped a 3-2 decision to the Kings on Saturday, and with losses in three of its last four contests, ended with the No. 6 seed in the playoffs. The Sharks have now made the postseason nine consecutive campaigns -- the second-longest active streak in the league (Detroit -- 22).

- The Canucks were blown out, 7-2, by the Oilers on Saturday and finished up the regular season by losing four of their last six games overall (2-3-1 record). Vancouver has made the playoffs five straight seasons by winning the Northwest Conference in each of those campaigns.

- The Sharks beat the Canucks all three times the two clubs met in 2012-13, including a 3-2 shootout win at Rogers Arena on March 5. San Jose and Vancouver have split the last 10 regular-season meetings overall, with nine of tilts were settled by a single tally.

- Including a marker in the Sharks' season finale, Logan Couture had nine points (6g, 3a) in his last nine games of 2012-13 overall. Couture finished with a team-best 21 goals this year -- fourth most in Western Conference.

- Henrik Sedin (45 pts) and Daniel Sedin (40 pts) led the Canucks in scoring this season -- the seventh consecutive year that the twins have been the top two scorers on the team. The Sedins have combined to score just five points (3g, 2a) in their last seven skates vs. the Sharks (since the beginning of 2011-12).

- San Jose averaged 16.7 blocked shots per game during the regular season -- most in the Western Conference and second most in the league overall (Toronto -- 17.2).

- Vancouver won the only all-time postseason meeting between these two clubs, 4-1, in 2011.

Programming note: Sharks-Canucks Game 1 coverage kicks off tonight at 7 p.m. Comcast SportsNet California with Sharks Pregame Live. Stick around after the final horn for Sharks Postgame Live.

Series schedule

Game 1 - Sharks @ Vancouver

Tonight, 7:30 p.m.

Game 2 - Sharks @ Vancouver

Friday, May 3, 7 p.m.

Game 3 - Vancouver @ Sharks

Sunday, May 5, 7 p.m.

Game 4 - Vancouver @ Sharks

Tuesday, May 7, 7 p.m.

Game 5* - Sharks @ Vancouver

Thursday, May 9, 7 p.m.

Game 6* - Vancouver @ Sharks

Saturday, May 11, TBD

Game 7* - Sharks @ Vancouver

Monday, May 13, TBD

Vitals (regular season)

Sharks

Goals per game: 2.42 (24th)

Goals-against per game: 2.33 (6th)

Power play: 20.1 percent (7th)

Penalty kill: 85.0 percent (6th)

Canucks

Goals per game: 2.54 (19th)

Goals-against per game: 2.40 (T – 9th)

Power play: 15.8 percent (22nd)

Penalty kill: 84.0 percent (8th)

Probable lines

Sharks

Patrick Marleau - Logan Couture - Marty Havlat

TJ Galiardi - Joe Thornton - Brent Burns

Raffi Torres - Joe Pavelski - Tommy Wingels

James Sheppard - Adam Burish - Andrew Desjardins

Matt Irwin – Dan Boyle

Marc-Edouard Vlasic - Justin Braun

Brad Stuart – Scott Hannan

Antti Niemi

Thomas Greiss

Canucks

Daniel Sedin – Henrik Sedin – Alex Burrows

Mason Raymond – Derek Roy – Jannik Hansen

Chris Higgins – Ryan Kesler – Zack Kassian

Andrew Ebbett – Maxim Lapierre – Dale Weise

Dam Hamhuis – Jason Garrison

Alex Edler – Kevin Bieksa

Andrew Alberts – Frank Corrado

Roberto Luongo

Cory Schneider

Keep an eye on…

Sharks: Logan Couture. The Sharks’ best player this season not named Antti Niemi, the Sharks will need Couture to continue his rise to stardom. Couture finished with 10 points in his last 12 games, often playing against the other team’s top line, and he’ll have to have an impact during five-on-five play for the Sharks to have a chance in the series.

Canucks: Ryan Kesler. It’s been a frustrating season injury-wise for the former Selke Award winner, but he’s now fully healthy and ready to have an impact. It will be interesting to see where Kesler lines up against the Sharks, whether it’s Couture’s line or Joe Thornton’s line. He was a pain in the you-know-what for the Sharks two years ago, and Kesler will be looking to repeat that performance in this series.

Injuries

Sharks: Jason Demers (sprained left ankle) and Scott Gomez (soreness) are out.

Canucks: Cory Schneider (undisclosed) is probable. Manny Malhotra (eye), David Booth (left ankle) and Chris Tanev (leg) are out.

Quoteable

“You certainly remember who puts you out every year. It’s still pretty fresh.” – Dan Boyle, on losing to the Canucks in the 2011 Western Conference finals



Sharks-Canucks: By the numbers

Staff Writer

May 1, 2013, 8:00 am

VANCOUVER - The Sharks and Canucks are set to meet in the postseason for only the second time in the history of each respective franchise. Here are some numbers and perspectives I suspect will play a factor in this best of seven playoff series.

Vancouver notables

- Canucks are 13-13 all time in first round series, have won 5 of last 6 playoff openers

- Won 5th consecutive Northwest Division title this season

- When scoring first, Canucks went 20-6-5 this year

San Jose Notables

- 9th consecutive postseason appearance (2nd longest active streak in NHL), Also in playoffs 14 of last 15 years

- Two 7-game win streaks this regular season (also accomplished by CHI, PIT)

- When scoring first, Sharks went 20-3-2 this year

Sharks' Gomez ruled out for Game 1]

Remaining players from 2011 Postseason (last time SJ/VAN met)

-San Jose (10): Thornton, Boyle, Couture, Marleau, Pavelski, Vlasic, Demers, Desjardins, Braun, Niemi

-Vancouver (16): H. Sedin, D. Sedin, Kesler, Burrows, Edler, Bieksa, Hansen, Higgins, Raymond, Hamhuis, Lapierre, Tanev, Ballard, Alberts, Luongo, Schneider

Collective Playoff Experience

Sharks: 1094 games played

Canucks: 834 games played

San Jose Leaders: Scott Gomez (140), Patrick Marleau (129), Brad Stuart (124), Joe Thornton (114)

Vancouver Leaders: Henrik Sedin (95), Daniel Sedin (92), Alex Burrows (63), Kevin Bieksa (61)

Collective Stanley Cup Winners

San Jose: Gomez, Boyle, Stuart, Burish, Niemi

Vancouver: None

X-Factors for Vancouver

Cory Schneider: Only 8 games (345 Mins) of playoff experience, but 1.91 GAA in that period

Roberto Luongo: Didn't face Sharks at all this year, while Schneider went 0-2-1

Ryan Kesler: Didn't play against Sharks in regular season;(otherwise 13 points in 17 games, -5 rating)

X-Factors for San Jose

Brent Burns: Played only once vs. Vancouver this season (as forward). In 24 games as forward (20 points, +5 rating)

Raffi Torres: Only player to skate for both teams (Played 103 total games with Vancouver 2 seasons ago)

Logan Couture: 21 Goals this year (5 game-winning) & 51 blocked shots (2nd among all NHL forwards)



Wingels-to-Boyle keys Game 1 win for Sharks

Kevin Kurz

May 1, 2013, 11:45 pm

VANCOUVER – Hopefully, Tommy Wingels had a brief but friendly conversation with teammate Dan Boyle after the media vacated the Sharks’ locker room on Wednesday night.

Wingels battled for the puck with Vancouver’s Derek Roy and Dan Hamhuis at the side of the net after Joe Pavelski sent it towards the crease, and managed to get just enough of it to an open Boyle, who lifted in the game-winner at 9:17 of the third period. The goal broke a 1-1 tie and the Sharks went on to win Game 1 of their first round series with Vancouver at Rogers Arena, 3-1.

After the game, Boyle credited the “hockey gods” with the puck ending up on his tape for one of the easier goals he’ll ever score.

Although it might make for a better story, Wingels’ stick wasn’t touched by the divine. It was just good, old-fashioned hard work at the side of the net that was the key sequence in San Jose’s playoff opening win.

“A bit of a scrum, and I was able to poke it loose to the weak side,” Wingels said. “We knew [Roberto] Luongo was paddle down on his right side, so I just poked it over there, and Dan was there to put it in.”

Patrick Marleau added the insurance on a slick backhanded pass from behind the net by Logan Couture with 5:23 to go in regulation, as the Sharks pocketed a vitally important road win. San Jose has had trouble all season long winning away from HP Pavilion, but can take a commanding two-games-to-none lead when the series resumes on Friday.

If nothing else, the Sharks have seized home ice advantage. They were 17-2-5 at HP Pavilion in the regular season.

“All year the road hasn’t been kind to us, so to come in here and win Game 1 is huge,” Joe Thornton said. “Hopefully we’ll grab some confidence on the road from here on out.”

Couture scored a power play goal in the second period prior to setting up Marleau’s goal, tying the game at 1-1. Raffi Torres inadvertently put the puck in his own net earlier in the frame to give Vancouver the lead.

The Sharks showed good puck movement before their leading goal-scorer showed why he is one of the more dangerous snipers in the game when he has the puck in the slot.

Couture quickly got the shot off when Boyle found him, and before a sliding Ryan Kesler made it over in time. Kevin Bieksa may have been screening Luongo with 3:25 to go before the second intermission.

“I don’t know if Lou saw it,” Couture said. “I put it where I wanted to, though, so I was happy with that.”

It was even more satisfying in that Couture drew the unnecessary roughing penalty to Zack Kassian at the 16-minute mark, giving the Sharks the man advantage in the first place. Kassian hit Couture up high and was caught by an official on the kind of penalty that drives a coach crazy.

Couture said: “It’s always a nice one when the penalty is taken on you. Kassian hit me high, and the ref made a good call. It was good to score.”

Couture had 21 goals in the regular season, and Todd McLellan raved about the 24-year-old, as he’s done so often in recent weeks.

“Logan elevated his play again tonight,” McLellan said. “Very good in all three zones, was a catalyst on the power play, very good on the penalty kill. It sounds like we’re talking about a hell of a player, and that’s what he is.”

The Sharks had the early energy thanks to a buzzing power play in the first period. After Dale Weise was whistled for high-sticking at 2:36, San Jose fired seven shots on Luongo over the next two minutes, but could not get it past him.

The Vancouver goalie, who only learned he was starting for an ailing Cory Schneider on Wednesday morning, made a brilliant pad save on Marty Havlat and gloved a blast by Thornton to keep it scoreless.

Although they didn’t get on the board, the power play benefited San Jose in other ways, according to McLellan.

“I thought the power play early for us really gave us the momentum,” he said. “It got us going and got us into the series. Even later in the game where we needed that goal, we got it on the power play. That was a big part of it.”

Boyle agreed: “We had some good looks in that first period. … You’re looking for the power play to get momentum. You’re not going to score every time. [Couture] scores a huge goal in the second and that gets us back into it. You need the power play to come through, and we came through with a huge goal tonight.”

The Sharks were playing with a shortened bench for most of the night, as Havlat left midway through the first period and did not return.

“He was gone pretty early, and we had to juggle lines a lot," McLellan said. "I thought fatigue started to settle in with a few of our players, and we kept our shifts real short, and we won some faceoffs which allowed us to get fresh people on the ice, which was real important.”

The Sharks have won nine of the previous 14 series in their history in which they’ve taken a 1-0 lead. That won’t mean anything on Friday night at 7 p.m., of course.

“We’ve got some more work to do here in the next one,” Boyle said.

Chances are, he’ll credit Wingels by then for his work in the first one.



Kurz's Instant Replay: Sharks battle back to win Game 1

Kevin Kurz

May 1, 2013, 9:30 pm

VANCOUVER – Dan Boyle and Logan Couture each had a goal and an assist, as the Sharks took the opening game of their Western Conference quarterfinal series against Vancouver at Rogers Arena on Wednesday night, 3-1.

Boyle gave the Sharks a 2-1 third period lead, their first of the game. Joe Pavelski passed the puck to Tommy Wingels at the side of the net, and Wingels held off Derek Roy at the side of the net to Roberto Luongo’s right. He slid the puck to an open Boyle, who easily lifted in the tiebreaker at 9:17.

Patrick Marleau's goal earned the Sharks some insurance at 14:37, taking a brilliant backhanded feed from Couture behind the net and beating Luongo with a shot that trickled in off of Dan Hamhuis, who was trying to defend Marleau in the slot.

The Canucks opened the scoring in the second period, but the Sharks responded on the power play.

Vancouver broke the scoreless tie at 12:26. Kevin Bieksa’s shot led to a mad scramble in front of the Sharks’ net, and Raffi Torres inadvertently slipped the puck through Antti Niemi and Couture, who was behind his goalie. Mason Raymond appeared to make contact with Niemi just before the goal, which was credited to Bieksa.

Zack Kassian’s undisciplined roughing penalty on Couture put the Sharks on their third power play of the night. Boyle found Couture in the high slot and Couture’s laser beat Luongo high at 16:35 to tie it at 1-1 at the second intermission.

It didn’t take long to realize the game would be emotional, as Pavelski and Ryan Kesler exchanged some light pushing and shoving before the opening faceoff. Vancouver’s Dale Weise leveled Matt Irwin into the boards in the first period, while Torres drilled Canucks rookie Frank Corrado at the blue line later in the frame.

In the second, Jannik Hansen ran into TJ Galiardi with what looked to be a high hit, and Galiardi was slow to make his way back to the bench midway through the period.

Pavelski finished with two assists.

Special teams

The Sharks finished 1-for-4 on the power play. In the first period, eight of their 15 shots came with a man advantage, including seven in a span of two minutes when Weise was called for high-sticking at 2:36.

Vancouver was 0-for-2.

In goal

Niemi made 29 saves in the win, while Luongo stopped 25.

Luongo got the start for the injured Cory Schneider, who did not dress for the game. Schneider missed the Canucks’ final two regular season games with an undisclosed injury.

It didn’t take long for Luongo to get into the game early. He robbed Marty Havlat on a brilliant pad save on an early Sharks power play on what was his best save of the night.

Since 2010, Niemi leads all NHL goaltenders with 47 playoff games 26 wins. Luongo is second with 40 games and 21 wins in the postseason.

Lineup

Havlat, who missed the final game of the regular season with an undisclosed injury, left midway through the first period and did not return. Scott Gomez also did not play, presumably still feeling the effects of a hit from Dallas’ Erik Cole on April 23.

On defense, Scott Hannan got the call over rookie Matt Tennyson.

Kesler played for the first time against the Sharks, after missing all three games of the season series.

Up next

Game 2 is in Vancouver on Friday night at 7 p.m. The series shifts back to San Jose for games three and four at HP Pavilion on Sunday and Tuesday, both at 7 p.m.


674028 St Louis Blues

Blues updates: Players expecting big pushback from LA in Game 2

Jeremy Rutherford

Gordon: Blues take small step down long road

The Blues took their first step toward Stanley Cup contention by just reaching the playoff bracket, which was no small feat during this lockou… Read more

A day after their 2-1 overtime win over LA in Game 1, the Blues remained focused on their club and what needs to improve Thursday in Game 2. But every last one of the players referenced the strong pushback the club will get from the Kings on Thursday night.

Here’s a sample:

Andy McDonald: “We’ve got to realize that we scored on the power play to give us the one-goal lead. There’s a lot of areas we need to improve on. Certainly they’ve taken it to us in the regular season and in the playoffs last year. Hopefully it builds confidence in our room that these guys are beatable, and they’re the defending Stanley Cup champions, but if we play our game, we can play right there with them. But my point is it’s Game 1, and I think we had the adrenaline going, being excited, home opener in the playoffs, a lot to prove, and we just to be sure that we match that tomorrow night and maybe even bring it up a notch because I know that they’re going to come out a little harder.”

Patrik Berglund: “We’ve been really struggling against them, so I think we played a solid 60 minutes. We played OK in OT. I think we kind of backed off in OT, but we played so physical and we had so much energy. When the playoffs come, the fans are really into it and helping us a lot. It was nice to get the win, but there’s plenty of more games to come.”

Chris Stewart: “What was the record again? How many in a row did they beat us? Eight in a row, right? You put that to rest. I thought we showed some things, but at the end of the day it’s one down, three to go. But you know they’re going to come out tomorrow a (ticked) off hockey team. They’re probably not too happy with the way they played. I thought we came out with the right attitude. We showed that we meant business. But we’re going to expect a big pushback tomorrow.”

Alexander Steen: “I think we did a good job of controlling the emotion. The building was real loud and it was a lot of fun yesterday. It was a good high-paced playoff hockey game. It was a lot of fun to be part of, it’s obviously nice to come out one on the winning side of it yesterday. But it’s one win and it’s the first of four, so we need to regroup here today and go back at them tomorrow. I don’t think we focused as much on them as we did ourselves. I think the way we played the last month of the season, the way we started April and kept progressing is something that was real positive… now it’s playing the same way but intensifying it. I thought yesterday we came out with a lot of jump and played the way we wanted to play, but that being said, that’s Game 1 and it’s behind us now.”

OSHIE'S FIRST GAME BACK

In his first game back after ankle surgery, T.J. Oshie played 18 minutes, 1 seconds in Game 1 Tuesday. He was a minus-1 with one shot on goal, one hit and one takeaway.

“The ankle felt great,” Oshie said. “I think more so it was emotions and getting that first game under me. The first two periods two periods felt a little better, slipped a little bit in the third. But that was more so erring on the side of caution as far as not letting them score a goal. But I felt really good and actually I’m surprised at how well I feel today.”

Of Oshie’s return performance, Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said: “First go, OK. He got caught watching a little bit, but for a first game back after a month to walk into something like that's not fun. I thought he did fine until he got tired. Then he started playing with his eyes maybe. I think he recognized that. He'll be better in Game 2. He's one of those guys for us that we need to be better, and I think he will be as he gets accustomed. That's a heck of a game to have to walk into after a month layoff.”

Oshie said that it was perhaps better that his first game back in the lineup was a playoff game. “I think it was actually fortunate for me because everyone was a little bit nervous, so I fit in alright,” he said.

Oshie played with Patrik Berglund and David Perron on a line that had so-so reviews Tuesday. The three watched some film together Wednesday morning and had a chat with Hitchcock.

“We all agree that we’ve got to be a little bit better on the forecheck,” Oshie said. “I think that comes with trusting each other. Obviously we haven’t played together as a line for a while, so just trusting that the other guy is going to do his job so that we can be a little more aggressive on the forecheck, I think that will open up a lot of areas on the ice to move the puck and create some offense.”

FACEOFF SUCCESS

The Blues won 64 percent of the draws in Game 1 against LA. That surprised Hitchcock because in the regular season the Kings were ranked No. 4 in the NHL at 52 percent. The Blues were No. 13 (50.7).

“We were looking to draw even,” Hitchcock said. “I don’t think we’ve been above 50 percent maybe once in the last little while. Just getting above 50 percent surprised me. That’s a good sign if we keep going.”

Andy McDonald was 8-1, David Backes was 14-6 and Chris Porter was 4-2.

“It’s really important,” McDonald said. “Starting with the puck, you get out on a shift and you end up chasing around for the first 20 seconds, it makes it tough. That’s an area that we’ve been strong in, we’ve got a lot of great guys in the circle and it’s one of the little things that becomes more important in the playoffs, late in games when it’s a tight game. Hopefully we can continue that.”

REAVES RUNNING AROUND

Ryan Reaves had a season-high nine hits Tuesday, accounting for nearly a quarter of the Blues’ 38 hits. And he dished them out in 9:20 of ice time.

“You look at Reaves having nine hits in nine minutes,” Oshie said. “That’s got to be close to a record of some sort.”

Two of Reaves’ rock-em-sock-em hits came just seconds apart and mere feet apart.

"I was a little out of position, kind of running around like an idiot for a couple seconds,” he said. “I think I had to get the crowd into it early and send that message."

Odds & Ends

- T.J. Oshie on Wednesday referred to the line of Adam Cracknell, Chris Porter and Ryan Reaves as the “CPR” line, using the first letter of their last names. The nickname, which had been mentioned previously by fans, seems to fit well because the line provides life to the team. Asked if “CPR” was catching on in the locker room, Oshie said: "I dont know. I saw it on Twitter so I just threw it out there. It’s easier than going through all of their names.”

- Hitchcock didn’t comment on the lineup for Game 2 on Thursday, so it’s uncertain if Vladimir Tarasenko will return to ice. When asked if the Blues made it out of the game healthy, Hitchcock said everyone is day to day.

- Los Angeles defenseman Matt Greene (undisclosed injury), who sat out of Game 1, did skate on Wednesday, but he’s not expected to play Wednesday in Game 2.

St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 05.02.2013


Gordon: Blues take small step down long road

Jeff Gordon

Blues updates: Players expecting big pushback from LA in Game 2

In his first game back after ankle surgery, T.J. Oshie said it felt great; players know Kings will be out to prove something in Game 2. Read more

The Blues took their first step toward Stanley Cup contention by just reaching the playoff bracket, which was no small feat during this lockout-shortened season.

As Los Angeles Kings coach Darryl Sutter notes again and again, games were “crammed down the throats” of players during the condensed schedule.

The Blues took their second big step by starting the postseason with a stellar performance. They swarmed the Kings much of Tuesday night during their 2-1 overtime victory.

So far, so good – but now the Blues must raise their play again and again to keep going. They must build on their success by achieving more success. They must reach previously unseen levels of performance.

This team is one game into process. Will the Blues morph into a serious Cup threat? Or will this team plateau well short of the goal?

All Game 1 provided was a starting point and some reaffirmation that the Blues have some potential.

“We’ve played a lot like this . . . in the last month,” Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said during his post-game media session. “We did this against Chicago. We did this against Vancouver. We did this in Minny twice. We’ve played a lot like this. Maybe not as physical or as emotional – that’s what playoffs are. But we’ve been playing at least every second game like this for over a month now. This is the way we’ve been playing.

“That’s why, when I said to you folks ‘we’re confident,’ we’re playing as well as we’ve played all year. We’re playing that way right now.”

But . . .

“All that does is give us an overtime win,” he said. “That’s how good the hockey club we’re playing against is. So we’re going to have to find a way to keep getting better and better as this series moves on, because we know in that room, they will.”

The Kings and Blues are both well-prepared. Both teams are well-coached. The Kings carry the extra confidence of a Cup winner, but the Blues are gaining some belief too.

“From our standpoint, we needed to talk about something other than coming close,” Hitchcock said. “We needed to start talking about ‘here’s how you win.’ You can only go to that well so many times or the players stop believing in it. We gave a big push today and were rewarded for it, so we’ve got something to draw on. We’ve got some experience now to draw on.”

Now it is up to individuals to step up, one by one, and make a difference. “Playoffs are about players stepping up,” Sutter said before the series.

Alex Steen gave the Blues a maximum effort Tuesday night. He flew around the rink at warp speed. He could have scored three or four goals, but for Jonathan Quick’s brilliance in the Los Angeles net.

Rookie forward Jaden Schwartz was a marvel. Time after time, he used his speed and quickness to get to pucks and his tenancity to gain, control and advance the puck against much larger opponents.

Ryan Reaves followed the example of big wingers Dwight King and Jordan Nolan of the 2012 Kings by banging away shift after shift. He used his speed and strength to deliver heavy hits, win battles along the way and sustain offensive zone pressure.

Goaltender Brian Elliott didn’t crumble after allowing a regrettable goal during the final minute of regulation time. When the Blues buckled, he stood tall in overtime and withstood the LA assault.

Defenseman Jay Bouwmeester excelled in his first NHL playoff game. He remained steady on the puck and he used his superior skating ability to wheel the puck out of harm’s way again and again.

Which players will step up in Game 2? Plenty of Blues have more to give. The “shutdown” defensive pairing of Barret Jackman and Roman Polak must elevate its game to match LA’s speed and skill.

T.J. Oshie is still getting his legs back after returning from ankle surgery. David Perron should review Schwartz’s shift tape and learn from it. Skilled rookie Vladimir Tarasenko would love to get in on the action and make an impact during the postseason.

The Blues played amazing hockey for much of Game 1, but they also suffered serious lapses. They were fortunate to survive in overtime after the Kings reversed the game’s momentum.

They will face a huge response from the Kings in Game 2. Can the Blues match that response? Can they top it? Will their transformation continue?

The challenge has just begun.



Tipsheet: NHL's true Tuesday night hero

Jeff Gordon

Hockey Guy: Steen haunts the Kings

Against all odds, Steen won the game with a hustle play behind the Kings net. Read more

Alex Steen was the NHL’s top star Tuesday night, scoring two goals to beat the Los Angeles Kings 2-1. His overtime steal and lay-up against Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick will rank among the more memorable Blues playoff goals.

A sense of dread fell over Scottrade Center when the Kings started a four-minute power play during sudden-death overtime. And then Steen struck like a lightning bolt and triggered an explosive celebration.

But the best story of the night occurred in Chicago, where back-up Minnesota Wild goaltender Josh Harding forced the Blackhawks into overtime before losing 2-1.

Harding had not started a game in two months. During that span he played in just two NHL games in relief.

He was pressed into duty at the last second, after starting goaltender Niklas Backstrom got hurt during warm-ups.

And, oh yeah, Harding is battling multiple sclerosis -- an incurable disease that attacks the central nervous system. He is a hockey player, so he is battling on without public complaint.

“It's hard to sit here and try to paint an accurate picture of what he's gone through, because I have no idea, we have no idea,” Wild coach Mike Yeo told reporters after the game. “He's a guy that, certainly, for many reasons you're rooting for.”

Harding declined to discuss his medical condition with reporters after the game. Nor did he choose to discuss the challenge of facing such an enormous playoff challenge after playing so little during the regular season.

He stepped up against the NHL’s top-seeded team on the road. And he gave the Wild every opportunity to win the game.

“After warm-up I was preparing just like I was going to play until somebody came and told me no, and no one came and told me, so I just went on with my business,” Harding said.

Alas, there was no happy ending. Wild forward Jason Zucker nearly won the game in overtime, but he fired a shot off the post. Blackhawks forward Bryan Bickell later scored at the other end to win the game.

Such is the slim margin between winning and losing in the playoffs. The Hockey Gods did not smile on Harding.

Now he must regroup and get ready for whatever comes next.

“I’ve played goalie long enough to know that I have to prepare as a backup goaltender,” Harding said. “It’s my job to stop the puck. That’s what I had to do. To say that it’s easy . . . I don’t think anybody’s going to say that. The team that we played is a great team. But we’ve got to come back to work tomorrow.”

PILING ON TIM TEBOW

Duck-tossing quarterback Tim Tebow cleared waivers after the New York Jets released him. He escaped a tough professional scenario and became free to sign with any team.

While no NFL franchise has reached out to him just yet, the Omaha Beef indoor team offered him a gig paying $75 a game.

But he would have to work his way into the starting lineup. Beef quarterback James McNear, a former Concordia University star, has led the team to a 5-1 start. He has a 70 percent completion rate and he has thrown just two interceptions to go with his 21 touchdowns.

“I think Tim can learn a lot from me,” McNear said, according to the Associated Press.

QUIPS ‘R US

Here is what some of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:

Gregg Easterbook, ESPN.com: “Fads comes and go. The Wildcat seemed unstoppable for a while. Once nobody could stop the run-and-shoot; now nobody even uses it. Mike Tomlin had a point when he described the zone read as the ‘flavor of the month.’ Sometimes the flavor of the month is really good, but year in and year out, vanilla, chocolate and strawberry dominate sales. By the end of the 2013 season, zone-read attacks may be stalled, while classic pocket passers shred college-flavored defenses. A few years down the road, Matt Barkley is more likely to be in the Pro Bowl than EJ Manuel.”

Steve Serby, New York Post: “The release of Tim Tebow yesterday comes too late for Mike Tannenbaum, too late for Rex Ryan, too late for Mark Sanchez, and too late for Tebow. The Yankees had their Core Four. The Jets have their Poor Four. The ill-fated decision to trade for Tebow 13 months ago set off a chain of circus events that helped cost Tannenbaum the Jets GM job, wrecked Ryan and ruined Sanchez and Tebow both. The egregious mishandling of Tebow also resulted in the dismissals of offensive coordinator Tony Sparano, now Raiders offensive line coach, and quarterbacks coach Matt Cavanaugh, now Bears quarterbacks coach. The worst thing the Jets could have done to Sanchez at a time when he was already reeling was foist the most popular backup quarterback in NFL history on him, especially here.”

Tommy Tomlinson, Sports on Earth: “NFL teams have created Wildcat packages for running backs and built entire schemes around read-option QBs such as Cam Newton and Robert Griffin III. Tebow is not nearly as good as Cam or RGIII -- either as a passer or a runner. But he looked good enough with Denver that two types of teams should consider him: 1) A deep team (New England? Green Bay?) that doesn't need a QB soon and can take the time to develop Tebow and find out what he's capable of. 2) A terrible team (Cleveland? Arizona?) that could use him right away as a change-of-pace guy. Jacksonville is the obvious choice: Tebow is a hero there from his time at Florida. The Jags haven't had a winning season since 2007, Blaine Gabbert is their quarterback, and the upper deck at their stadium is populated by tarps. And they refuse to try something different, with the one player they know will draw fans in Jacksonville? That's bad football and bad marketing. (Coincidentally, ‘Bad Football and Bad Marketing’ is the Jags' team slogan.)”

Michael Rosenberg, SI.com: “The majority opinion drowns out the minority. The same forces that worked against men like Jason Collins for years are now working for them. . . . It is now far more acceptable for an athlete to say he is gay than for an athlete to say he won't play with a gay teammate. Niners defensive back Chris Culliver discovered this during Super Bowl week, when he said he didn't want to play with 'that sweet stuff,' meaning a gay teammate. Culliver spent the next 48 hours digging himself out from under a media avalanche.”

MEGAPHONE

“Everybody's patting ourselves on the back and we've got to prove it. That's where we're at. I think that (being) satisfied with what we achieved doesn't do anything. I think we want to make sure that we're looking for bigger goals and that's playing better each and every game here and pick up the level of intensity for the playoff.”

Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville, on moving on after winning the Presidents’ Trophy.



Steen keeps puck from memorable goal

Jeremy Rutherford

Blues expect Kings to push back in Game 2

Defending champion Kings never trailed in a playoff series last year. Read more

Schwartz has emerged from Tarasenko's shadow

The 20-year-old played more than 19 minutes in Game 1 and led the team in shots. Read more

By Wednesday afternoon, Blues forward Alexander Steen had been asked several times to relive the play that set up his short-handed goal, ending Game 1 for a 2-1 overtime triumph over LA.

“It had to get in,” Steen said. “After that, it’s just an adrenaline rush. The crowd got so loud instantly. It was unfortunate to give up (the game-tying) goal at the end of the third period, but I liked our vibe going into the dressing room. It was a ‘Let’s get this done’ vibe.”

Steen’s second goal of the night was the first short-handed goal to end an NHL playoff game since Edmonton’s Fernando Pisani did it in June 2006, beating Carolina 4-3 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals.

In the hoopla of Tuesday’s finish, Steen was able to take home the souvenir. “Yeah, (Blues broadcaster Kelly Chase) got the puck,” Steen said.

Blues coach Ken Hitchcock was caught off-guard by the goal and actually didn’t see a replay until hours after the game.

“I saw it about midnight, saw it on the highlights,” Hitchcock said. “That was the first time I saw it. It was fortunate for us. (The Kings) were a little bit better than we were in the OT. Alex was our best player, and it was nice to see him get that goal. That’s what leaders do. He has really stepped up in the last month on this hockey club.”

Oshie feels good

Blues forward T.J. Oshie said Wednesday that he was “actually surprised” with how well his injured left ankle responded after making his return to the lineup.

“The ankle felt great,” Oshie said. “I think more so it was emotions and getting that first game under me. The first two periods felt a little better, slipped a little bit in the third. But that was more so erring on the side of caution as far as not letting them score a goal.”

After missing 15 games with an ankle injury, which required surgery, Oshie played 18 minutes, 1 second of ice time. He was a minus-1.

“First go, OK,” Hitchcock said. “He got caught watching a little bit, but for a first game back after a month, to walk into something like that is not fun. I thought he did fine until he got tired. Then he started playing with his eyes maybe. He’ll be better in Game 2.”

Oshie said it was perhaps better that his first time back on the ice was a playoff game “because everyone was a little bit nervous, so I fit in alright.”

Surprise in faceoff circle

The Blues won 64 percent of the faceoffs in Game 1 against LA, which Hitchcock admitted Wednesday was a surprise. In the regular season the Kings were ranked No. 4 in the NHL (52 percent) and the Blues were No. 13 (50.7 percent).

“We were looking to draw even,” Hitchcock said. “I don’t think we’ve been above 50 percent maybe once in the last little while. Just getting above 50 percent surprised me. That’s a good sign if we keep going.”

Andy McDonald led the Blues, going 8-1 in his nine draws, followed by David Backes (14-6) and Chris Porter (4-2).

“It’s really important,” McDonald said. “Starting without the puck, you get out on a shift and you end up chasing around for the first 20 seconds. … it makes it tough. We’ve got a lot of great guys in the circle, and it’s one of the

little things that becomes more important in the playoffs, late in games when it’s a tight game.”

Greene remains out

LA defenseman Matt Greene, who sat out Game 1 with an undisclosed injury, participated in the Kings’ optional practice Wednesday but he is not expected to play in Game 2.

LA coach Darryl Sutter hinted that Jake Muzzin and Keaton Ellerby would play tonight.

“He’s got to be up to speed,” Sutter said. “You don’t just put him in the lineup because he’s Matt Greene. Matt Greene has to be able to play, to perform.”




Dan O’Neill


Defending champion Kings never trailed in a playoff series last year. Read more


It was NHL's first shorthanded playoff-clincher since Edmonton's Fernando Pisani in 2006.

Almost four months have passed since the first puck dropped on this season. How much can change in that short amount of time?

The Blues carried two prominent rookies into this season. They were both No. 1 draft picks from 2010, but their press kits were dramatically different.

Vladimir Tarasenko possessed a lyrical name and an exciting aura. Generated by his history in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League, his arrival came with high-octane expectations. He had played with NHL players, in a man’s league, it was said. He had the tools to be a top-six forward, it was said.

He received a three-year, $5.25 million contract and the paperwork was filed under “Sure Thing.”

When Tarasenko scored two goals in an opening-night beatdown of Detroit, the hype escalated. The precocious kid had five goals and 10 points in the initial eight games. He played alongside two of the Blues’ best, Alexander Steen and Andy McDonald. He was all that and a bag of pucks.

Jaden Schwartz was on the other side of the dressing room, literally and figuratively. He came straight from Colorado College after his junior season. He wasn’t a “Tank,” more like a compact “Toyota,” small in stature, subdued in nature. He had played against Western Collegiate Hockey Association players. He had played with Peoria in the American Hockey League, where his numbers were not overwhelming.

He might be better served spending a full season there, it was said. The jump from collegiate ice to NHL ice was asking a lot, it was said. Schwartz got a three-year, $3.5 million deal. His paperwork went in the “To Be Determined” file.

The Blues opened their quest for a Stanley Cup they have never won on Tuesday, less than four months later. When they did, Schwartz played on a line with Steen and David Backes. He played 19 minutes 36 seconds and was terrific.

He agitated and created and led the team with six shots on goal. He was a big part of a 2-1 overtime win and celebrated as such with a No. 2 “Star of the Game” skate.

Tarasenko was in the press box, a healthy scratch for his first NHL playoff game, a healthy scratch for the first time in his career. How much has changed?

The cream will rise to the top, so it is said. But in hockey, cream sometimes sinks. That’s not to suggest skill doesn’t matter in this sport, it does big time. But at the heart of the matter, when the ice surface shrinks and the body contact spikes, the NHL man does not win on skill alone.

Moves defer to motivation. Substance pushes style to the curb. “Difficult to play against” becomes more important than difficult plays.

Tarasenko remains an exciting talent with a bright future. He will get his chance during these playoffs, no doubt. But for all the headlines, he is still a 21-year-old adapting to an entirely new culture, on and off the ice.

On Feb. 20, he took a shoulder to the head in Colorado and missed nearly a month with concussion symptoms. When he returned, he scored in just one of his remaining 21 games, getting two goals in a March 28 loss to Los Angeles.

Tarasenko played with and against world-class skill in the KHL, true enough. But the KHL is the soft taco of the hockey league menu. The larger

ice surface has a sedentary effect. There is more body contact in a high school cross-country meet. Poppa don’t preach and defensemen don’t pinch. And they don’t play 48 games in 99 days.

“I think in reality, this has been a very difficult season for (Tarasenko),” Hitchcock said. “Not from the competition side of things, but from an intensity, games played, no practice, no rest ... I think he’s found this season at times overwhelming just based on the proximity of games.

“He’s played his best hockey when he’s been rested. So we expect him to come into the series and be a rested player. But he’s a really good hockey player who’s had his eyes opened. I think if this was an 82-game season, he would be energy-wise a little bit different.

“But this has been a very difficult season for him because he has never been through anything like this in his life.”

Schwartz benefited from playing in the United States Hockey League when he was younger, His college seasons were similarly condensed and he knew his way around a hot dog when he got here. Still, the 20-year-old’s emergence in the same “difficult season” has been impressive.

In the first 15 games, he played more than 12 minutes only three times, played under 10 minutes eight times. Through 24 games, the midway point of the schedule, he had two goals and four assists.

Since March 1, Schwartz has played more than 13 minutes 20 times, more than 15 minutes seven times. He has become a member of the Blues core, a player who can be relied on. He finished with seven goals and 13 points. He has become the impact player.

“I can’t say enough about him,” said McDonald, a player of similar stature and determination. “You know, it was Vladie who got all the attention at first, and rightfully so. Schwartzie kind of flew under the radar in terms of recognition, but not in here.

“He has great awareness. He has great hockey sense and reads plays so well, and he’s very hard on the puck. He just makes a lot of little plays, does a lot of subtle things that people don’t necessarily notice or talk about. But he’s a good player, and he’s going to be a really good player for a lot of years.”

The hockey people have seen it all along. From the beginning, Hitchcock admired the 5-9, 175-pound Schwartz, his work ethic, his respect for the game and the veterans in the room. Early on, the challenge was to get Schwartz to trust and respect himself.

“He’s deferring,” Hitchcock explained earlier in the season.

Schwartz isn’t deferring anymore. Over the past six weeks, he has committed to being the player he was in college, the player he can be in the NHL. The gloves have come off.

“I think the main thing I’ve learned from the start of the season is to be consistent,” Schwartz said. “Earlier, I wasn’t having an impact. I don’t know if it was a sense of not believing I could go from where I was to playing here, or not. I’m not sure.

“I didn’t think I was playing bad or anything, but I didn’t just want to hold my own. I wanted to have an impact for my team and teammates, and I felt I could have an impact. That’s where I had to start trusting myself and finding that consistency in my game.”

Much has been packed into this condensed season, and hopefully there is much more to come. Looking back, the two rookies have traveled radically different paths than what their headlines predicted. Both promise to be outstanding players in St. Louis for years to come.

In the meantime, you might want to move that Schwartz file over to the other cabinet.




Jeremy Rutherford


It was NHL's first shorthanded playoff-clincher since Edmonton's Fernando Pisani in 2006. Read more


The 20-year-old played more than 19 minutes in Game 1 and led the team in shots. Read more

In their run to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup in 2012, the Los Angeles Kings were ahead three games to none in each of their four series. In the finals, New Jersey pulled to within 3-2 but the Kings ended the suspense by closing their championship.

As it left Scottrade Center late Tuesday night, following the Blues’ 2-1 overtime victory in Game 1, LA found itself in an unfamiliar spot, trailing in a playoff series. But while the Kings fell behind the Blues 1-0 in the Western Conference quarterfinals Tuesday, losing their seventh consecutive road game, head coach Darryl Sutter remained stoically undeterred.

“Really it has no bearing on anything,” Sutter said. “We’re down 1-0 in the series and we’re on the road. We’ll try to get a win on the road.”

While LA didn’t deal with this type of playoff predicament a year ago, the Blues spent Wednesday underscoring that their opponent is the reigning Kings of the NHL. Sutter’s club might have cruised to the Cup with a postseason record of 16-4 last season, but with four overtime wins included in that total, LA didn’t leave without learning a few lessons.

“When you’re the champion, you know how to dig a little bit deeper than everybody, so we’re going to get an even better game from them,” Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. “We’re going to have to continue to play better if we expect to push them out. They’re not going to go anywhere easily. We’re going to have to be ready for it.”

Game 2 is set for 8:30 tonight at Scottrade Center.

As LA looks to level the score, the Blues are fully expecting to see the Kings closer resemble the team that swept them in last year’s Western Conference semifinals and went on to win eight straight head-to-head matchups.

But in edging the visitors Tuesday on Alexander Steen’s short-handed goal in OT, the Blues would like to think they’ve taken some of the shine off the silver and black.

“Hopefully it builds confidence in our room that these guys are beatable,” left winger Andy McDonald said. “They’re the defending Stanley Cup champions, but if we play our game, we can play right there with them. I think we had the adrenaline going and we just want to be sure that we match that and maybe even bring it up a notch because I know that they’re going to come out a little harder.”

It would be difficult for the Blues to come out harder than they did Game 1. The first period was arguably their best 20 minutes of the season.

“We showed that we meant business,” Chris Stewart said.

The Blues registered 14 shots, distributed 14 hits, scored a power-play goal and goaltender Brian Elliott kept out six Kings shots. It was a continuation of how the club wrapped up the regular season, but even more energized, more composed.

“The way we started April and kept progressing is something that was real positive. ... Now it’s playing the same way but intensifying it,” Steen said. “We did a good job of controlling the emotion. It’s obviously nice to come out one on the winning side, but it’s one win and it’s the first of four, so we need to regroup.”

Steen netted each of the Blues’ goals Tuesday and both came on special teams — one on the power play in the opening period and one on the penalty kill in overtime.

Hitchcock said the team’s puck management was not up to par at even-strength, “especially as the game (went) on. I also think the distribution of ice time, shift lengths, things that we can do to keep our energy high ... when we started to extend our shifts, we ended up on the ice a little bit too long and that got us tired and led to some turnovers in the overtime.”

Hitchcock also indicated Wednesday that the physicality in the series could increase — yes increase. There were a combined 79 hits in Game 1.

“For two big teams, that’s around average, 80-100,” he said. “I think it has to go to another level. We played physical, they played physical, but that’s playoff hockey.”

Meanwhile on Wednesday, the Blues’ coaching staff met with the line of T.J. Oshie, David Perron and Patrik Berglund, who combined for just six of the Blues’ 42 shots on goal.

“We all agree that we’ve got to be a little bit better on the forecheck,” Oshie said. “I think that comes with trusting each other.

“We haven’t played together as a line for a while, so just trusting that the other guy is going to do his job so that we can be a little more aggressive on the forecheck ... that will open up a lot of areas on the ice to move the puck and create some offense.”

But don’t forget, the Kings are making adjustments too.

“We have to be quicker,” LA defenseman Drew Doughty said. “They’re coming hard on their forecheck. They’re banging bodies. They’re creating those little turnovers. ... That was the one area I think they really dominated us in, and we didn’t really get on our fore-check, which is one of the keys to our game and we need to do that in order to win the next one.”

It’s all part of the push back.

“They’ve been in lots of these battles,” Hitchcock said. “The challenge for us is to embrace where we’re at, the atmosphere and who we’re playing. ... not be overwhelmed by it or overconfident. We’re going to have to dig in deeper than we did Tuesday.”



Blues gain edge on Kings in opener

By NORM SANDERS

ST. LOUIS — In the span of less than a minute Tuesday, the St. Louis Blues went from trying to kill off a four-minute high sticking penalty to celebrating Alexander Steen's game-winning short-handed goal.

Kings goalie Jonathan Quick was incredible most of the night, stopping 40 of 42 shots. But Quick lost the puck to Steen behind the net in overtime and Steen quickly scored with 6: 34 remaining in overtime to give the Blues a 2-1 victory.

"I think I just was fortunate it hit my stick," said Steen, who used speed to charge Quick to force the turnover. "I just got on, so I figured once the puck went down I had fresh legs and I figured I'd try him. I just got fortunate behind the net and it hit my stick and went in."

Steen's power-play goal in the first period stood up for most of the night, but the Kings tied it 1-1 with 31.6 seconds remaining in regulation on a goal by Justin Williams.

"They were just throwing bodies at the net and it went off our D-man's stick and went top corner," said Blues goalie Brian Elliott, who has won seven straight home games and allowed one goal in seven of his last eight games. "Anything can happen. The guys just stayed positive and tried to stick to our game plan."

Williams' shot snuck its way past Elliott on the short side to force overtime.

Blues captain David Backes said the dramatic turnaround was an example of perseverance and a little bit of luck, especially since the Blues spent most of the night watching Quick rob them time and time again with saves of every possible variety.

They also were in the process of trying to kill off a four-minute high-sticking penalty on defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk.

"We're trying up our boots to kill a four-minute penalty," said Backes, who had just come off the ice from his penalty kill shift when Steen scored. "I was on the bench just trying to catch my wind and then I looked up and Steener was putting it into the net. We were ready to battle through whatever adversity came our way. It was kind of a headsy play by him and we'll take it any way we can get it."

The Blues now take a 1-0 lead into Game 2 in the best-of-seven series, which is set for 8:30 p.m. Thursday at Scottrade Center.

"It's one game," Backes said, although the Kings went 4-0 in overtime games last season on the way to winning the Stanley Cup. "It's not the series and we've got to start at 0-0 again Thursday. It feels good, there's no question about it You want to take care of business in your own ink.

"But we can't get too high on ourselves or figure we've accomplished something after 60 minutes or 70 minutes of hockey. That's a team that's resilient over there; they've showed it through four rounds and they hoisted the Stanley Cup last year."

The Blues had lost their previous three overtime playoff games and hadn't won one since April 19, 2001 (3-2 over San Jose).

Only the strong goaltending of Quick kept the Kings from behind down by more than a goal as he cam up big tie and time again.

The Blues outshot the Kings 36-19 through regulation and 42-29 overall.

Launching a relentless assault on the net and Quick, the Blues funneled everything directly at the 2012 Conn Smythe Award winner from the opening faceoff.

The Blues' fourth line helped set the early emotional tone when Ryan Reaves dished out rink-rattling hits on Jordan Nolan and Brad Richardson.

With the Blues on a power play, defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk had time to take a big windup and rocketed a puck on net. Steen was there to clean up the rebound at the 9:05 mark and the Blues led 1-0.

The Blues were 0-for-17 on the power play in their playoff loss to the Kings last season and were 2-for-11 this season while dropping all three regular-season games to them.

Last season, the Blues also scored the first goal of the playoff series against the Kings but never led again. In the entire four-game sweep, the Blues were on top for a total of 7 minutes, 42 seconds.

Quick had several big stops in the first period, robbing Steen and Roman Polak in close. Elliott also had stopped Carter following a Blues turnover in the corner,

Carter, who led the Kings with 26 goals during the regular season, hit the goalpost near the end of the first period on a shot that glanced off of Elliott before hitting metal and finally being covered.

The Blues began the night with an eight-game losing streak to the Kings, who swept them out of the second round of the playoffs last spring.

Backes rang a shot off the crossbar in the second period and Quick made sparkling stops to rob Jaden Schwartz and T.J. Oshie.

Elliott was 11-2 in April with a 1.28 goals-against average and .947 save percentage, also collecting three straight road shutouts.

"I thought Ells was exceptional for us," Steen said. "He made some big saves in OT to keep it alive."

Belleville News-Democrat LOADED: 05.02.2013


Blues fully expect Game 2 to be all-out assault by Kings

By NORM SANDERS

ST. LOUIS — While the St. Louis Blues were happy to end an eight-game losing streak to the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, the Blues know what lies ahead.

They fully expect Game 2 to be an all-out assault by a veteran team that knows what it takes to win in the playoffs.

A year ago, the Kings never trailed in any series on their way to the championship, leading each series 3-0 along the way. Meanwhile, the Blues should know the value of not placing too much emphasis on a Game 1 overtime win.

Last year, San Jose beat the Blues 3-2 in double-overtime in Game 1, only to see the Blues roar back to win four straight and advance to the second round.

"We are going to have to continue to play better if we expect to push them out," said Blues coach Ken Hitchcock, whose team owns a 1-0 series lead following Tuesday's 2-1 overtime victory. "They're not going to go anywhere easily. We like some of the things in our game, but we know we're going to get a completely different response (Thursday) -- and we're going to have to be ready for it."

The Kings won't want to be trailing the series 2-0 heading back to Los Angele.

The Blues hope to continue their aggressive forechecking that served them well in the Game 1 win. It was their first win over the Kings since a 1-0 victory on Feb. 3, 2012.

"I expect them to come out like we came out (Tuesday)," Blues winger Ryan Reaves said. "I expect them to come out real physical, flying and shooting everything on the net. We're going to have to take it in ourselves to push back even harder.

"We're going to have to out-do their physicality because you know they're going to come hard, they usually do."

Besides their physical play and aggressive assault on Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick, who had 40 saves, the Blues also won an impressive 64 percent of the faceoffs.

Particularly effective were Andy McDonald (8-1) and David Backes (14-6).

"It's one of the little things that becomes more important in the playoffs and more relevant," McDonald explained. "It shows up a lot more in the power play (and) penalty kill, late in games...if it's a one-goal game or a tight game, we need to start with the puck so hopefully we can continue that."

The Blues also kept another impressive streak going. They have won seven straight at home with Brian Elliott in net -- allowing just one goal in each of those seven games.

Tuesday also marked the first time the Blues won Game 1 of a playoff series since they knocked off Vancouver in 2003.

Elliott's last 14 games include a 12-2 record, 1.24 goals-against average, .949 save percentage and three shutouts.

Seven times in his last eight starts Elliott has held the opposition to one or no goals and he has won seven straight at home counting Game 1 of the playoffs.

Meanwhile, Kings star Anze Kopitar has now gone 17 games without a goal and Kings defenseman Robyn Regehr suffered a broken nose in Game 1 when it was hit by a skate.

McDonald is certain the Blues have poked their hockey sticks into an angry Kings' hornets' nest following the Game 1 overtime victory.

"You can feel good about it and we did a lot of things really well," he said, "but we're going to have to improve a little bit, play a little bit tighter in spots and realize it's going to be a lot harder tomorrow night.."

Hitchcock said his team is learning how to win, an exam already passed by the Kings in 2012.

"It's a step, we've taken steps," Hitchcock said. "We took another step in the right direction but geez, it's one hockey game. They've been in lots of these battles."

Hitchcock knows how important each win will be in this series.

"When you're the defending champion, you can't just knock them off," Hitchcock said. "You're going to have to stick a pretty big nail in them. We're just getting started in the series."

Blues winger Alex Steen scored two goals in Game 1, including the short-handed game-winner in overtime. Steen noticed how the Blues responded well despite allowing the tying goal with 31.6 seconds remaining that forced overtime.

"Obviously it was unfortunate for them to get that goal at the end of the third," he said. "But I liked our vibe gong into the dressing room after the third (period). It was a very positive 'Let's get this done' vibe."'



Steen in right place at right time for Blues in Game 1

By NORM SANDERS

ST. LOUIS — While Alexander Steen tried to downplay his overtime heroics Tuesday that won Game 1 for the St. Louis Blues, teammate Andy McDonald put Steen's improbable play into perspective.

With the Blues killing off a four-minute power play, Steen came at Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick with speed and forced a turnover.

Steen had the presence of mind to not only force the turnover, but corral the puck and slide it into the net for a 2-1 overtime win and one of the biggest playoff goals in recent Blues history.

Blues broadcaster Kelly Chase got the puck and made sure to give it to Steen after the game.

"Steener's such a well-rounded player," McDonald said after Steen scored the NHL's first short-handed overtime game-winner in the playoffs since Edmonton's Fernando Pisani for did it in Game 5 of the 2006 Stanley Cup finals. "His ability to play one-on-one and protect the puck, get on top of the puck and strip people...he does so many things so well and he did it again right there.

"He seems to see the game a little bit quicker than a lot of other guys in and in that situation he maybe surprised Quick a little bit with what he was going to do."

Steen continued to insist Wednesday the entire play doesn't happen without a bit of luck.

"It just hit the stick and I got lucky because it bounced," Steen said. "It couldn't have bounced better for me. I didn't have to like pick it out of my feet or his, it just kind of popped out. I just felt like I had a gas in the tank and made a read and got a little lucky behind the net."

Steen goal was his second of the night, giving him his first multi-goal this season. He also gave the Blues their first overtime playoff victory since a double OT win over Colorado on May 16. 2001.

Blues coach Ken Hitchcock also marveled at Steen's hockey IQ.

"He re-routed himself on the forecheck," Hitchcock said. "It's just such an emotional swing. You're down, you're figuring out who's going to kill a four-minute penalty and the next thing's the game over.

"That's what leaders do. He has really stepped up in the last month on this hockey club. He's really stepped up his game and he's stepped up his personality on the team."

Ryan Reaves, hit machine

An accurate Twitter post Wednesday pointed out that Blues winger Ryan Reaves had more hits Tuesday night against the Kings (nine) than the St. Louis Cardinals did in their win over Cincinnati (seven).

A physical series was expected and neither side disappointed as the Kings had 41 hits to the Blues' 38.

However, Reeves and linemates Adam Cracknell (five hits) and Chris Porter (four his) helped set the tone by continually pounding everyone in a Kings sweater.

Reaves nailed two Kings in his first shift on his way to a season-high nine hits.

"I was a little out position, kind of running around like an idiot for a couple seconds," Reaves joked. "I think I had to get the crowd into it early and send that message...I kind of took it on myself to send that message to that team that it's going to be physical. It's going to be a battle and if they want to stay in it, it's going to be tough."

The crowd and the Blues seemed to thrive on Reaves' physical play.

"I think the game kind of got amped up after that," he said. "It was a physical game, all four lines were playing real physical and I think we got them on their toes for most of the game."

It was a similar script of how the Kings swept the Blues in four games last season.

"Last year they did it to us, they came out and all four lines were physical," Reaves said. "They pushed us out and we didn't' really have a response for them. This year it's got to be the opposite.

"We've got to come out and push them out first and when they push back, I think we've got to push harder."

Hitchcock's decision to sit rookie Vladimir Tarasenko to clear the way for T.J. Oshie's return helped lead to the fourth line sticking together.

The trio has been one of the best units for nearly a month.

"We're playing well," Reaves said. "We mesh well together and you look at the game (Tuesday) we did our job. We got pucks in deep and we played physical. I think we kind of got all their defensemen guessing whether they want to go back for pucks."

Oshie returns

Blues winger T.J. Oshie returned to the lineup for Game 1 after a 15-game absence because of an ankle injury. Oshie played just over 18 minutes had one shot and a plus-minus rating of minus-1.

"He got caught watching a little bit, but for a first game back after a month to walk into something like that's not fun," was Hitchcock's assessment. "I thought he did fine until he got tired. Then he started playing with his eyes maybe. I think he recognized that."

Hitchcock had Oshie playing with Patrik Berglund and David Perron for most of the night.

"He'll be better in Game 2," Hitchcock said. "He's one of those guys for us that we need to be better, and I think he will be as he gets more accustomed. But that's a heck of a game to have to walk into after a month layoff."


674037 Tampa Bay Lightning

Yzerman: 'I'm not going to be held to timelines'

Damian Cristodero

Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman understands their is impatience with the team's lack of success. But that does not mean abandoning his long-term plan.

"I'm not going to be held to timelines," he said this week. "These things take time and we’re going to be patient and we’re going to try to draft well and we’re going to try to use free agency wisely,"

Yzerman hit on several topics in his postseason news conference. Here are excerpts of what he had to say:

On the team’s start: Obviously, the start was very misleading. But in this 48-game season, a lockout-shortened season that starts late, goofy things happen along the way, not only with our team but you look around the league and other teams doing unexpectedly well or unexpectedly poorly; individual players having good years, off years, it’s an aberration a little bit I would say. But for our organization, we got off to a 6-1 start and we’re analyzing our team, we played a lot of home games, playing teams that were playing the night before with no training camp, with players in various states of physical condition. We knew we were going on the road and things would even out. I guess it’s easy to say now, but did we truly believe we were 6-1 team? I’m not sure that we truly believed that at the time, and as time went on that was proven correct.

On this summer: It’s difficult to predict or sit here and say they’re going to be big changes. The reality is it’s difficult to make changes. We all have these ideas and sit around and talk about we should do this or do that. It’s hard to make changes. It’s hard to do things. You have to find a partner to match and do certain things. But the reality is our group will change, how dramatically I’m not prepared to say yet, but we will explore options as far as improvement in the areas we need to be addressed. We’ll have players coming up from Syracuse next year that will have an opportunity to make this team. (Coach) Jon Cooper and his staff will have an opportunity to spend a summer preparing for a training camp, getting organized and getting the team ready to go in the regular season, so there will be some changes.

On Cooper: I’m not really a big fan of making a coaching change in the middle of a season. To assess Jon with 15 games to go with the situation we’re in, no. For him it was a learning experience as far as learning the league a little bit, just things as simple as travel, the daily routine in the NHL, getting into some of these buildings, getting to know these teams a little bit and assessing our players, getting to know what he has to work with and getting comfortable with them. So, really, for Jon it’s an opportunity to prepare for next year. At the stage of the season with the amount of games we had left, it was more so about next year.

On the draft: We think we’ll get a pretty good young prospect (with the No. 3 overall pick). Whether they’re ready to play or not next year you really don’t know that until they get on the ice and in training camp. … There appears to be a couple of young players that might be ready to play in the NHL next year. The reality is you don’t know that until you get into training camp and the early part of the season and see how they look at that point.

On Marty St. Louis: I’m not surprised. He’s a good player, and at his age, we keep talking about his age. His age is irrelevant. There are players in this league who are older than Marty and they’re 40, 41, 42. You look at how good Daniel Alfredsson is playing, Ray Whitney, Jaromir Jagr, Nicklas Lidstrom, who retired. So I can’t say I’m surprised. He’s very very fit. He’s very conscientious. He’s really professional and he’s a really good player. He’s been fortunate he’s been able to stay healthy throughout his career as well and he can maintain a high level of play, but it’s an example for every player in this league, especially our guys in our room, if you’re committed to staying on top, you can play for a long time and be a really successful player. We’re very fortunate to have a guy like that in our room to not only play well for us but to be a leader on the team.

On personnel needs: You just look at the statistics of our team, we score goals, we’d like to prevent more goals. We’d like to get a better differential as far as goals-for and goals-against. We’ll look at trying to address the entire team. We know what our goaltending situation is going to be and for

the most part our defense we know what it’s going to be but we will look at ways of improving it. Radko (Gudas) came in and played very well when he was recalled and we look forward to him taking a step forward. We have a couple other young defensemen down there who are pushing and will be evaluated in training camp. I can look at trades or free agency. If you’ve had an opportunity to go over some of the free agency lists, a majority of players in this league are signed, so it’s more likely if you are going to add to your defensive corps or add to your team you’re probably doing it via trade, it’s a hard thing to do but we’ll certainly explore it.

On salary cap space: We’ll spend the next month figuring out our plan for next year, a specific plan for what we want to do. I’m not really concerned with where we are with the cap. It’s not going to be an issue for us as far as what we want to do.

On the assistant caches: We’ll sit down with Jon and figure out what we’re going to do with our entire staff here. We got some decisions that we need to make.

On a timeline for success: I’m not going to be held to timelines. These things take time and we’re going to be patient and we’re going to try to draft well and we’re going to try to use free agency wisely, and if we can expedite the process through free agency or through a trade that’s something we’ll do.

On teams this season who made turnarounds: Montreal, they had the third team in the draft last year and they won their division. Things like that can happen. I think there are a lot of things to feel good about on our current team and in our organization, players coming. But we sit here today with the record that we have. We are what we are today, but I’m hopeful. I’m expecting us to be a better team next year.

Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 05.02.2013

674038 Toronto Maple Leafs

Bruins’ domination means Leafs will have to review all options

DAVID SHOALTS

The Toronto Maple Leafs were done in by equal parts of fear, brain cramps and fumble-fingers.

And the sad part for them is it could have been so much different given that the same problems afflicted the Boston Bruins until the last couple of minutes in the first period. But the Leafs were unable or simply not smart or experienced enough to take advantage of their good fortune and the inevitable collapse came in the second period Wednesday night once the Bruins sorted out their game.

Now, Leafs head coach Randy Carlyle has to be frantically reviewing his options, which are few, given the thorough schooling his entire lineup received from the battle-hardened Bruins on Wednesday night in the 4-1 loss that opened their first-round NHL playoff series. The Bruins’ domination was such that there is no reason to believe the best-of-seven series is not going to be a sweep.

Yet the chances were there for the Leafs to establish an edge early in the game and give their inexperienced players the confidence they needed to pull off an upset. In the first two minutes, it looked as though that was going to happen, as the Leafs took advantage of a tripping penalty to Patrice Bergeron to grab the lead on a power-play goal.

For the first five minutes, it was the Bruins, with much the same lineup that won the Stanley Cup in 2011, who looked like the tentative, nervous team with little playoff experience. They were squandering opportunities by missing passes, shooting wide or high or turning the puck over themselves. And when they weren’t doing that, Leafs goaltender James Reimer was coolly turning them away in his first NHL playoff game. At the same time, the Leafs were starting to get Bruins defenceman Zdeno Chara off his game. As the chief tormentor of Leafs winger Phil Kessel, Chara had to be dealt with and the Leafs gave him a shot every chance they could. By the middle of the first period, the big defender showed some frustration.

However, the Bruins were getting those opportunities because the Leafs were busy coughing up the puck. The first period was one long series of turnovers. The Leafs compounded this by standing around in their own end, seemingly paralyzed by nerves, while Reimer kept them in the game.

In the second half of the first period, a sense of inevitability set in after the Bruins tied the score 1-1. The Leafs defence broke down completely, starting with John-Michael Liles, who was beaten to a puck in his own end by fourth-liner Daniel Paille to set up the tying goal. Daniel-freaking-Paille, for crying out loud.

Kessel’s line took the shift right after the goal and stood around watching the Bruins hammer away at Reimer. Then Dion Phaneuf took a stupid slashing penalty, just the sort of thing your captain simply cannot do, to set up a Bruins power-play goal with 12 seconds left in the period.

Those sort of goals are a killer but the Leafs were lucky to escape the first period down only by one goal. A more efficient team would have buried them by then.

There was more of the same when the Leafs came out for the second period. More giveaways, the most notably by centre Nazem Kadri, who looked overwhelmed in his first NHL playoff test, and defenceman Mark Fraser, followed. The Bruins soon had all the lead they needed.

The problem is, there isn’t much Carlyle can do for Game 2 on Saturday to shore up his leaky defence. Liles, Mike Kostka and probably Fraser should all be banished to the press box. But Franson took a shot off his foot and played sparingly the rest of the night.

While it is a good bet defenceman Ryan O’Byrne will dress for Game 2, chances are it will be to replace Franson rather than one of the deserving candidates. Carlyle’s only other option is youngster Jake Gardiner, who many people would love to see in the lineup.

But Leafs need steady, physical play in their own end a lot more than puck movement and Carlyle has already shown a disinclination to put Gardiner into tough situations. Right now, it looks as though the only break the Leafs

may get for Game 2 is a suspension for Bruins defenceman Andrew Ference for dropping Mikhail Grabovski with an elbow to the head that was missed by the referees.



Bruins hammer Leafs in Game 1

JAMES MIRTLE

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His face is more weathered, his hair thinner and the miles of 17 years of pro hockey there for all to see.

But that was Wade Redden all right, in the Boston Bruins dressing room before the game and discussing what appeared to be his least favourite hockey topic of them all.

The Toronto Maple Leafs being back in the playoffs.

“It’s been quite a while,” Redden said quietly before his Bruins met the Leafs in Game 1 on Wednesday night. “Lot goes on in a decade, that’s for sure.”

Yes, a lot certainly has gone on since Redden was that fresh-faced 20-something defenceman for the Ottawa Senators, a second-overall pick who was on the blueline for the wrong end of so many losses to the Leafs roughly a decade ago.

But this time – with a different team and in what seems like a different hockey life – he exacted some revenge.

Playing in just his seventh game as a Bruin, Redden proved the unlikely hero in Game 1, scoring an early tying goal and following that up with an assist on Nathan Horton’s winner a few minutes later as Boston went on to a lopsided 4-1 victory.

After a promising start for the Leafs – with James van Riemsdyk putting them up 1-0 less than two minutes in on the power play – the fact it was a former Senator who provided the spark to turn the game the other way seemed appropriate.

At least the hockey gods have a sense of humour.

“That first goal was huge,” Bruins defenceman Andrew Ference said. “Got the bench really going and the building.”

As has been the case all season, Toronto had huge difficulty managing the puck in its first playoff appearance in nine years, gifting the Bruins chance after chance after taking that early lead.

The Leafs were outshot 15-7 in the first and ultimately 40-20 overall, continuing a trend where they were out chanced roughly 2-to-1 in an ugly two week stretch to close the year despite finding ways to win as netminder James Reimer came up big.

The main culprits were on the back end, where Mark Fraser and Mike Kostka – career minor leaguers coming into this season – turned back into pumpkins for a night as they gifted Boston several key opportunities.

Fraser, in particular, was guilty of looking out of place and has been fading for much of the season’s second half. On one sequence midway through the second period with Toronto desperately hanging in at one goal back, he sent a giveaway up the middle of the ice, fell down and struggled to get back into a play that culminated with Bruins centre David Krejci whipping the puck through Reimer’s pads to make it 3-1.

Five minutes later, Bruins defenceman Johnny Boychuk blasted a bullet from far out for a three-goal lead that put the game away with 24 minutes still to play.

“I just thought we self-destructed,” Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said. “We had a decent start, scored the first goal of the game, got ourselves on the right track. I thought we had our fore-check going early in the game and then we just stopped.”

“We’ve got to do a better job of getting some offensive zone time and making it tougher on their defence,” defenceman Cody Frason added. “We made it too easy for them tonight.”

Making matters worse for Toronto, several players suffered injuries throughout what was a hit-filled game, with Tyler Bozak, Joffrey Lupul, Mikhail Grabovski and Franson all getting attention from trainers at various points.

Franson’s foot, in particular, looked worse for wear after the game, and he was walking with a pronounced limp after taking a shot off his skate early in the game.

“It’s a little sore,” Franson said. “But it’ll be all right.”

At least one of the many hits the Bruins laid will catch the eye of NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan, as Ference could very well be suspended for an ugly first-period elbow to Grabovski’s head.

That would then mean bigger minutes for someone like Redden, who the Bruins acquired at the trade deadline from St. Louis for a conditional seventh round pick that became a sixth rounder after he played a single playoff game.

That, obviously, came in Game 1 and proved a wise investment for GM Peter Chiarelli already.

“I was really happy for him,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said, who noted they were working to rebuild Redden’s confidence after the long road that took him through two seasons in the minors before a buyout allowed him to resurrect his career this season. “He’s a player who has been through some rough times.”

Redden may ultimately be only a bit player in the series, but his presence is just another example of the breadth of experience throughout Boston’s lineup.

After also adding Jaromir Jagr at the deadline, the Bruins brought an incredible 1,273 playoff games into this series, roughly six times the green Leafs (206), half of whom got into their first-ever postseason action on Wednesday night.

That contrast was evident all game, too, as while Toronto often appeared skittish and uncertain with the puck, Boston settled into the game after a tenuous start and looked like the far better team.

For all the talk of the Bruins fading down the stretch after winning just twice in their last nine games, Wednesday looked like a veteran club flicking a switch and firing up the kind of playoff attitude the franchise has been known for since winning the Stanley Cup in bruising fashion two years ago.

While no one’s mistaking them for that club after just one win over a young and overmatched Leafs team, they did serve notice they have no intention of fading away quietly.

And that’s very bad news for Toronto’s return to the playoffs after nearly a decade away.

“Obviously it’s a learning experience and we’re going to be better next time,” Leafs winger James van Riemsdyk said. “We learned a lot about our team and what we need to do to improve.”

“This series is not over,” Lupul said defiantly after the game. “There is plenty of belief in here.”



Mirtle: Do the Leafs have a chance against the Bruins?

JAMES MIRTLE

They finished just five points apart in the standings and have plenty of lopsided history, but how do the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs really stack up beyond the superficialities?

Are the Bruins a heavy favourite, or are the Maple Leafs catching them at just the right time?

Here’s a closer look at both teams ahead of Game 1 Wednesday night in Boston:

Forwards

Min 15 GP

Boston

Toronto

Average age

29.7

27.0

Average height

6’0.9”

6’0.9”

Average weight

203.3 lbs

202.6 lbs

Goals

117

126

Points

285

281

The Leafs emerged this season as one of the highest scoring teams in the league, with an abnormally high shooting percentage helping them generate slightly more than three goals per game.

Boston, however, uncharacteristically struggled to get the balanced scoring it has become known for the past five years, especially late in the year.

Overall, they posted remarkably similar goal totals at even strength (108 to 99) and the majority of the difference is a result of the Bruins inept power play.

While Toronto has better pure offensive weapons in Phil Kessel, Joffrey Lupul and Nazem Kadri, the Bruins two-way stars like Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand can consistently provide solid offence, elite defence and outscore whoever they’re put up against.

Add in trade deadline addition Jaromir Jagr – on the third line no less – and there’s still some punch there, too, especially compared to some very quiet Leafs like Clarke MacArthur, Mikhail Grabovski and Matt Frattin of late.

But many of Boston’s depth forwards have struggled, to the point that a previously useful foot soldier like Rich Peverley will likely begin the series as a healthy scratch.

(Don’t listen to any talk of a size advantage for the “big” bad Bruins either: As noted above, things are pretty even on that front these days.)

It’s also been a tough year for Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton on the second line, which is why this could be a very low scoring series all around.

Even so, they remain an experience and deep group, one that can probably flip the switch to start the playoffs and that gets the slight edge for having a more well-rounded game.

Edge: Boston

Defence

Min 15 GP

Boston

Toronto

Average age

30.5

27.9

Average height

6’3.1”

6’2.6”

Average weight

211.4 lbs

210.3 lbs

Goals

25

18

Points

82

105

Any conversation here has to begin with Zdeno Chara.

Even at the age of 36, the Bruins captain remains the engine that propels their defensive success and a huge reason why Boston was the second-best defensive team in the conference. For all the concerns over his mobility, he gets the job done remarkably well, using an amazing wingspan (including the league’s longest stick) and intimidation so well that he has limited Kessel to zero even strength goals in his 22 games against the Bruins.

(Boston outscores the opposition 2.90 to 2.02 for every 60 minutes of 5-on-5 play when Chara’s on the ice, far better than the 2.37 to 2.04 when he’s not.)

Beyond that, they lean heavily on Dennis Seidenberg (24 minutes a night), Johnny Boychuk (20.5) and Andrew Ference (19.5), but even with the addition of Wade Redden and Dougie Hamilton, the blueline isn’t as formidable as it’s been in the past.

What’s worth noting is that, aside from Chara, the size advantage also isn’t pronounced on the back end, with Toronto boasting so many big bodies with Mark Fraser and Ryan O’Byrne added to the mix.

That said, the Leafs back end will have to rely on Dion Phaneuf to play huge minutes, likely at least matching Chara in the 30-plus range throughout the series. He doesn’t have nearly the veteran backup that the Bruins do, either, as four of the Leafs top seven blueliners combine for one total game playoff experience and hasn’t fared well against the Bruins in general.

(Most of Phaneuf’s possession statistics when up against Boston’s best players, as per hockeyanalysis.com, are exceptionally poor.)

While Carl Gunnarsson serves as a capable No. 2 when healthy and Cody Franson has had a breakthrough year offensively, Toronto’s defence core has laboured of late, having difficulty breaking out of their zone and lacking the mobility to skate with the puck.

That plus the Chara factor swings the blueline in Boston’s favour.

Edge: Boston



Maple Leafs in playoffs: Bruins ready to pay the price

By: Dave Feschuk Hockey, Published on Wed May 01 2013

BOSTON—It’s not just Leaf fans who are lamenting the exorbitant price of playoff tickets.

Bruins tough guy Shawn Thornton was bracing to take a financial hit when his team’s first-round series against Toronto moves to the Air Canada Centre for Games 3 and 4.

“It feels expensive. I’m going to have to get a few tickets,” said Thornton, who grew up in Oshawa and still has family there. “I think (the family is) afraid to ask for tickets because they know how expensive they are and I’m going to yell at ’em.”

Thornton, at least, can take out his frustrations on the Maple Leafs beginning Wednesday night, when the best-of-seven set begins here at TD Garden. The 35-year-old veteran, who led the Bruins with eight fighting majors during the regular season, is expecting a grinding Game 1.

“I’m sure it will be physical. . . . The playoffs, the first games, the puck’s usually optional for the first few shifts,” said Thornton, who was drafted by the Leafs in 1997. “I’m sure it’ll be a physical affair for the first little bit, until everyone settles down and gets into the groove.

The Bruins, though they have defeated the Leafs in nine of their past 10 meetings, aren’t assuming their opponents to be a pushover.

“It’s going to be different playing an organization that hasn’t played in the playoffs recently,” said Tyler Seguin. “Obviously they don’t have that much experience, but they’re going to have even more excitement. You have to be ready for that.”

Seguin, the Bruins forward, was a childhood fan of the Leafs who attended plenty of games at the Air Canada Centre.

“I grew up hoping the Leafs would make the playoffs, and now here they are, playing against us,” Seguin said. “It’s a cool experience. It’s an exciting experience.”

Thornton, who has been a member of Stanley Cup winning teams in Anaheim in 2007 and Boston in 2011, said the post-season buzz never gets old, even as it gets pricier. The face value of Leafs tickets, already among the highest in pro sports, have been increased by about 75 per cent for their first post-season games in nearly a decade.

Thornton, who earns a salary of about $1.1 million, took pains to point out that he wasn’t actually complaining about his financial lot in life.

“We do just fine,” he said.

Besides, the opportunity to compete for the Stanley Cup is, as the TV ad says, priceless.

“There’s nothing like it,” Thornton said. “You play all year to put yourself in this position, playing this time of year. It’s exciting. Can’t wait.”



Boston Bruins ‘flip switch,’ power up for post-season: Feschuk


BOSTON—To observe the Maple Leafs and Bruins in the lead-up to Wednesday’s Game 1 was to witness a contrast in demeanours.

The Leafs, all loose and smiling and confident, came into their franchise’s first playoff series since 2004 effectively playing with house money. When Toronto’s season was preluded by Brian Burke’s firing as GM, nobody expected them to be the East’s fifth seed as the post-season opened. Now they’ve got a long-starved city rediscovering the joys of a playoff buzz and guaranteed ownership uber-lucrative playoff dates. Their season is a success even if they’re bounced from the Stanley Cup tournament in the first round.

None of this is so for the Bruins. If the home team and series favourite appeared occasionally tense and testy as puck drop approached, perhaps it’s because far more was expected of the 2011 Stanley Cup champions than last season’s first-round playoff exit at the hands of the Washington Capitals. And perhaps it didn’t help that the Bruins, after starting this truncated season in fine form, had stumbled down the stretch, losing seven of nine to cap the regular season.

“We didn’t perform the way we’re capable of performing,” Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli told reporters this week.”We’re going to really have to step up our performance if we’re going to have success in the playoffs.”

Chiarelli is also the man who had warned it’s not realistic for a team to “flip a switch” and suddenly transform itself into a more ferocious, playoff-ready entity.

So much for that theory. Or, so much for that theory, at least, when the Bruins are playing the Leafs. Regular-season slump notwithstanding, the Bruins looked like a dangerous, dastardly Stanley Cup contender in their 4-1 series-opening domination of a Leafs team that wilted under the hot lights of a long-awaited playoff return.

Maybe it helped that they were playing a team they’ve now beaten 10 times in their last 11 meetings. Still, on a night when the Leafs coughed up giveaways in quantity while fumbling the puck like nervous kids, the Bruins looked downright machine-like in their dismantling of the newbies. The hometowners possessed the puck in the Leaf zone for long stretches. They granted the visitors scarce opportunity on the counterattack. They made Phil Kessel, and more than a few other Leaf forwards, all but invisible, holding him without so much as a shot on goal until the third period was a couple of minutes old and the rout was long on.

Boston even got a goal from its long-struggling power play, specifically Nathan Horton’s tip of a Wade Redden blast that gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead with 11 seconds left in the opening period.

In short, the Bruins looked like they’d flipped the switch that Chiarelli had suggested was unflippable. It’s only Game 1, but it was an impressive transformation.

“It is a new season,” Julien said before the game. “It’s an opportunity for 16 teams to turn the page and get an opportunity. And every year, you’ve seen surprise teams win the Stanley Cup, and it hasn’t necessarily been the top teams, it’s been whoever’s been playing the best hockey at the right time of the year. I think our guys have enough experience that they understand that.”

The experience can cut both ways, of course. Bruins forward Shawn Thornton, the 35-year-old veteran of two Stanley Cup teams in Anaheim and Boston, had warned before the game that teams new to the playoffs like the Leafs can bring an exuberance that can be difficult to contain.

“We’re going to have to match that energy and emotion,” Thornton said.

But the Leafs didn’t arrive here with anything resembling uncontainable fire. Or maybe the Bruins just have them figured out to the point of making the wins look easy.

It did, indeed, look like men versus boys at times on Wednesday night. In one memorable second-period sequence, Bruins forwards Brad Marchand and Chris Kelly stole precious seconds from a Leafs power play by keeping

possession in the Toronto end. They were essentially going 2-on-5, and they still engineered a crafty game of keep-away.

Earlier in the second frame, Tyler Seguin thought he’d made it 3-1 when he wired a shot that beat James Reimer. Even if video review revealed that the puck had hit the post, it didn’t change the fact that the Bruins had somehow stormed in on Reimer 2-on-0.

“We’ve got an opportunity here to right the ship and get some momentum going our way,” Julien said before it all began.

It’s just one win, but the ship looked just fine on Wednesday night. It’s a daunting road to win a single series, let alone four. Whether or not the rest of the Bruins will be able to conjure the requisite juice is anyone’s guess. It’s possible they’ll ultimately turn out to be what their regular-season record says they are: inconsistent, for starters, and weighed down by outsized expectations to recapture the magic of a 2011 run that’s likely unrepeatable. On Wednesday night, they suggested it’s also possible that they know the secret to flipping a proverbial post-season switch.

Toronto Star LOADED: 05.01.2013


Maple Leafs schooled by Bruins in return to playoffs: Cox

By: Damien Cox Hockey, Published on Wed May 01 2013

BOSTON—After 3,284 days in exile, the Maple Leafs returned to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Apparently, they needed at least one more day of preparation.

Let’s just say the GTA’s joy at finally having the Leafs in the playoffs again was quickly replaced by something akin to dismay.

Against the powerful Boston Bruins, winners of the Stanley Cup two springs ago, the young, inexperienced Leafs were no more competitive than they were 39 years earlier when the two franchises last met in post-season competition.

The Bruins swept Darryl Sittler and the Leafs that spring. Based on Toronto’s performance and Boston’s superiority on Wednesday night in Game 1, this series may not last much longer.

The resounding 4-1 triumph by a Bruins team that still has 17 players from that Cup-winning team was hardly surprising, given that the overwhelming majority of prognosticators had suggested Boston would win this series, and possibly with ease.

They speed-bagged the Leafs, driving at the Leaf net in wave after wave, with the Leaf defensive shield crumbling.

What was surprising, or perhaps disappointing from a Leaf standpoint, was how poorly Randy Carlyle’s team performed after a strong regular season earned them fifth place in the Eastern Conference. In particular, the team’s best players — captain Dion Phaneuf, winger Phil Kessel, forward Joffrey Lupul and centre Nazem Kadri — did not distinguish themselves in any phase of the game.

Indeed, Boston’s fourth line was better than any of those sent over the boards by Carlyle. Just four days after saying his team looked “brain dead” in a season-ending loss to Montreal, the Leaf coach seemed faced with the very same problem after an early lead evaporated in a game in which the Bruins seemed to toy with the Leafs.

“Love the way Leafs are sucking Boston into thinking this series will be easy. Great strategy,” tweeted CBC anchor Peter Mansbridge at one point.

The good news for the Leafs? Well — and this hardly qualifies — Boston defenceman Andrew Ference will surely be interviewed by NHL hanging judge Brendan Shanahan for his first period elbow on Leaf centre Mikhail Grabovski, the sneaky kind of elbow for which Ference has become known.

Then again, with the NHL’s bizarre disciplinary process, one never knows. Shanahan might suspend Grabovski for driving his nose into Ference’s unsuspecting elbow pad.

A Bruins suspension — one game at the most — is hardly the same as a more tangible success from a Leaf player or players. That said, on the 20th anniversary of the Game 7 overtime goal by Nikolai Borschevsky that helped the Leafs upset the Detroit Red Wings in the first round of the playoffs, it’s worth remembering that Pat Burns’ club was whipped in the first two games of that series, allowing 12 goals, and came back to win.

So Game 1 is Game 1 at this point, nothing more.

To change the narrative, however, the Leafs will need more from their best players and a better team game if they are to even compete more favourably with the deeper, more talented and more experienced Bruins.

The Leafs certainly got the start they wanted, getting an early power play when Patrice Bergeron pulled down Tyler Bozak and then cashing in with a power-play goal with the dulcet tones of Rene Rancourt still ringing the ears of TD Garden patrons.

Kessel fired a low shot from the top of the left circle that was blocked. The puck came to Cody Franson at the right post for what appeared to be an easy goal, but Tuukka Rask slid across and made a fine left pad save.

Franson quickly retrieved the puck and put it back into the crease where James van Riemsdyk tapped it in.

The Leafs then fell back into the same rope-a-dope, give-up-a-million-shots strategy that had caught up with them in the final part of the regular season. It worked for a while with James Reimer turning away a series of shots, but not for very long, as four consecutive goals from the Bruins — they could have had 10 if not for the gutsy efforts of Reimer —turned it into a one-sided affair by the start of the third.

With eight minutes left, Boston fans were joyfully chanting “Kessel, Kessel,” taunting the former Bruin who demanded a trade out of Boston and ever since (three goals in 21 games) has been pathetic against his former club.

For the Leafs, it was good to be back in the playoffs, but their return to the dance came with a quick, painful reminder.

It’s one thing to be back in the Stanley Cup playoffs, quite another to compete in them.



Boston Bruins’ Shawn Thornton expects physical, but controlled, series against Leafs

By: Rosie DiManno Columnist, Published on Wed May 01 2013

BOSTON—They’re big. They’re bad. And they can bust a move — or a face.

Historically, that has always been the way of the Bruins. This year, it also describes the Maple Leafs, top fighting club in the NHL. Which is why the first-round playoff tilt between these two clubs had been widely anticipated as a physical tour-de-force — hockey walloping — but not necessarily a fist-flying tour-de-farce, starring their respective enforcers, a breed that typically shrivels in relevance and deployment in the post-season.

Thumping rather than thrashing, with both coaches laying down the laws of engagement before the puck dropped.

As Randy Carlyle put it Wednesday morning, a tad euphemistically: “There will be bodies projected into one another.”

Prediction from one veteran and battered corner of the Bruins dressing room: “In the playoffs, the puck’s usually optional for the first few shifts.”

That was Shawn Thornton talking, destined for the Enforcer Hall of Fame someday, but for now still very much an active intimidator, provocateur and menacing presence, part of Boston’s “smash-mouth” fourth line. What he meant is that both clubs intended to establish their physicality bona fides out of the chute, planting their flags on the ice — this space is mine and approach at your peril. And then they’d get around to playing some meaningful hockey.

“I’m sure it’ll be a physical affair for the first little bit,” Thornton has predicted, “until everyone settles down and gets into a groove.”

Thornton’s playoff groove has an impressive track record: Stanley Cup championships in 2007 with Anaheim and 2011 with Boston. It never gets old. Well, actually in one way it has. “I’m OLD.”

Once upon a time, in a land far away, Thornton was Maple Leaf property, drafted by Toronto in 1997 from his hometown Oshawa Generals, four years spent labouring on the St. John’s farm team.

“I was a big Leaf fan in high school, never expected to be drafted by them. Then a couple of years later, I’m in camp with all those guys. I was awestruck. I’d been a fan and then I ended up having to battle against them in camp.”

They were the likes of Wendel Clark, Mats Sundin and Tie Domi. “I still keep in touch with Tie.”

Thornton makes himself sound like a Methuselah. In fact, he’s only 35, which is hardly even middle age on civvy street. But he’s got a lot of hockey years on him. And still the playoffs make him feel youthful giddy.

“This is what you play for, this time of year. It’s awesome. You can’t make it up any better than this.”

Overeagerness, an impatience to seize ownership of the series in the first five minutes of Game 1, was a concern in both camps, though Thornton discounted that from his own perspective. “This is my 16th year, I think. I’ve been doing it for a long time. I’ve figured out a way to stay on the edge without stepping over the line.”

Each team has been schooled on that particular issue — the potential irresistibility of charging out too hard, too combative, and swiftly streaming to the penalty box.

“I don’t expect it to get out of hand,” Thornton mused. “It usually doesn’t.

“They’re a big, physical team; we’re a big, physical team. I don’t think there’s any more to the storyline than that.”

Often, it’s a storyline spun primarily by the media, in advance, even when the casts involved clearly don’t fit that bill. Recalls Thornton: “We played Montreal in the first round a couple of years ago and everybody was talking about how physical it was. And they didn’t have any real enforcers.’’

But a tough tilt would be signalled early, he said.

“There will be a series of hits. I don’t think any one thing in particular, in my experience, dictates what’s going to happen for the course of the series.”

Of one thing, Thornton has no doubt — because he played for Carlyle on a Stanley Cup team. “Randy will have them prepared to play. He is an extremely smart coach and gets the most out of his players, makes sure they’re prepared for any situation. I can’t speak highly enough of what he was like with us in Anaheim. I expect them to be ready to go.”

And that draws the morning nicely-nicely to a close.



Leafs vs. Bruins: All bets off, mayors agree

By: The Canadian Press, Published on Wed May 01 2013

There won’t be an NHL playoff bet between the mayors of Boston and Toronto.

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford had contacted the mayor of Boston, but in light of last month’s marathon bombing, the request was turned down.

The first game of the Eastern Conference quarter-final goes Wednesday night in Boston.

Ford is encouraging Toronto residents to wear blue in honour of the Leafs as they take on the Bruins in their first playoff game in nearly a decade, and he predicts the Maple Leafs will win the first round matchup in six games.

Ford says he accepts Boston Mayor Thomas Menino’s decision not to bet on the series.

“What happened down there is a lot more important than a hockey game,” Ford said.



Maple Leafs in playoffs: Watch Game 1 at Maple Leaf Square party

Rene Johnston / Toronto Star

The Toronto Maple Leafs are setting up Maple Leafs Square to welcome fans interested in watching game one of the Leafs-Bruins series.

Starting at 5 p.m., there will be a live performance by City and Colour. Fans will also see several Leaf alumni — and the square itself will feature fan interactive games and events.

The game itself will be played on the large screen in the square, beginning at 7 pm. Admission is free and there is limited capacity.



Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Boston Bruins: Tale of the tape: Who’s bigger?

By: Bob Mitchell Sports Reporter, Published on Wed May 01 2013

So the Maple Leafs are playing the “Big Bad Bruins” tonight in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarter-finals.

Perhaps, but the tale of the tape shows the difference isn’t as big as one might think. And remember the Bruins have Zdeno Chara, a 6-foot-9, 255-pound defenceman.

-

Maple Leafs potential starting lineup

Tyler Bozak-Phil Kessel–James van Riemsdyk

Dion Phaneuf–Carl Gunnarsson

Total weight: 1,007 pounds, average 201.4 pounds

Total height: 30 feet 9 inches, average 6-foot-2

-

Bruins potential starting lineup

Tyler Seguin–Brad Marchand–Patrice Bergeon

Zdeon Chara–Dennis Seidenberg

Total weight: 1,013 pounds, average 204.8 pounds

Total height: 30 feet 10 inches, average 6-foot-2



Maple Leafs in the playoffs: ‘Very, very winnable series,’ says Nazem Kadri

By: Kevin McGran Sports reporter, Published on Wed May 01 2013

BOSTON—Don’t tell Nazem Kadri the Leafs are underdogs against the Boston Bruins.

“The way we see it, we’ve beaten this team already this year,” said the Leaf centre after Wednesday’s morning skate. “We only finished four or five points behind them. It was a tight stretch towards the end. Obviously, they’re a good team.

“We’ve got to give them respect. We’re not approaching this as underdogs. This is a very, very winnable series for us.”

More Leafs playoff coverage on TheStar.com

The Leafs and Bruins will drop the puck on their playoff opener at 7 p.m. Both teams struggled to the finish line of the regular season. The Bruins lost six of their last eight.

“We’re keeping in touch with what they’ve been doing. But really what they’ve been doing has not concerned us in the slightest way. We’re trying to focus on ourselves and what we bring to the table and our style of hockey. As long as we go out there and execute the game plan, we should be fine.”

Tyler Bozak will return to the Leaf lineup, giving the Leafs back their No. 1 centre.

“It’s huge,” said winger James van Riemsdyk. “He plays all situations for us, penalty kill, power play, five-on-five, takes big face offs. He’s definitely a guy we like having back in.”



Maple Leafs lineup filled with questions prior to Game 1 against Boston Bruins: Cox

From Damien Cox’s Spin on Sports blog:

BOSTON—Well, at least we don’t have to ask who’s in goal.

Live chat with Damien Cox: click here to follow us on mobile

All year long, Randy Carlyle has refused to answer that particular question, which has always been his way. For Game 1 against the Bruins tonight, however, the entire hockey world knows its James Reimer between the pipes.

Still, knowing Carlyle, he may not choose to answer.

Beyond the crease is where it will get interesting for the visitors. Beyond the top line of Tyler Bozak between James van Riemsdyk and Phil Kessel — assuming Bozak plays — the alignments could be a bit different .

It appears Mikhail Grabovski will get one more shot to get his season rolling on a line between Joffrey Lupul and Nik Kulemin. That will be done partly to try and free up Nazem Kadri, or at least get him away from the best Boston defenders. Kadri will likely have Matt Frattin and Clarke MacArthur as wingmen to start the series.

The fourth line, meanwhile, will likely be Colton Orr on right wing, Jay McClement at centre and Leo Komarov on left wing. Carlyle can’t really dress Orr and Frazer McClaren in the lineup together any more, but he’ll want one of them, and the more experienced player gets the call.

Komarov will try to lead the team in hits, as usual, but Carlyle talked on Tuesday about how he may be asked to take on extra faceoff duties, particularly during penalty killing sessions if Bozak isn’t taking draws because of his mysterious upper body injury.

Carlyle said Komarov is underrated in the faceoff circle. During the regular season, Komarov took 57 draws, winning 29 of them. So he’s a 50-50 guy. But he may get used a lot more in this series.

On the back end, it’s expected Mike Kostka and John-Michael Liles will draw in as the third pair, with Ryan O’Byrne and Jake Gardiner watching from the press box.



Maple Leafs juggle lines before first game against Boston Bruins in NHL playoffs

By: Kevin McGran Sports reporter, Published on Wed May 01 2013

BOSTON—While the Maple Leafs — quite rightly — have to figure out how to get around Zdeno Chara, they do have a trick or two of their own up their sleeves as a means to flummox the Boston Bruins.

Randy Carlyle, the Leafs’ ever-thinking coach, plans to mix and match his lines through this Stanley Cup playoff series, which begins Wednesday (7 p.m., CBC). And he’s quite likely going to start off with a line that has rarely been seen: Joffrey Lupul on left wing, Nikolai Kulemin on right and Mikhail Grabovski at centre.

“You try to put lines together that you feel are going to give you a chance,” said Carlyle. “It all depends on the opposition you’re playing up against. We want to make sure we’re giving ourselves the right combination and we recognize that Lupul has had a positive impact on every line that he’s gone on and played on.”

That means Nazem Kadri and Lupul will be separated. Kadri will be reunited with Matt Frattin and Clarke MacArthur. Both enjoyed what little offensive success they’ve had this year with Kadri as their centre.

“We think Nazem Kadri can go to any line and make a contribution,” said Carlyle. “We think Grabovski has a skill set and a level of play that we haven’t been able to touch on yet. We’re going to try and see if we can spread out the offence a little more evenly.”

Lupul, indeed, has been powerful winger regardless of his linemates and could re-energize Grabovski, who’s had one of his worst seasons — offensively speaking — this year.

“We have the flexibility,” said Carlyle. “We’ve done that all year of keeping two guys together and then moving the third part around as we see fit, based on who we’re going to play against.”

The fourth line is expected to be Jay McClement between Leo Komarov and Colton Orr.

“We like the reliability,” Carlyle said of that unit. “We like the physical play. We like the ability for them them to chew safe minutes in the opposition zone and force the opposition to play a tougher brand of hockey against them. We’re a team we feel that has to go on the attack. They’ll be part of that.”

The heavy lifting will be done by the first line: Tyler Bozak between Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk. Their challenge will be to find a way to get around 6-foot-8 defenceman Zdeno Chara, who has almost single-handedly been able to shut down Toronto’s top guns through the years.

“He’s so long and so strong,” Bozak said of Chara. “He’s a hard guy to get around. He covers a lot of ground. You’ve got to get pucks by him. It’s going to be tough with him out there. He is human. He’s going to make mistakes. You’ve got to take advantage when he does.

“His reach is huge. His stick is extremely long. So are his arms, so it adds a lot of room for him. He can cover a lot of space. He can play defence from farther away from you than a lot of other guys. He’s as strong as they come. He’s a tough guy to play against. We’ve done it all year. We’ve gotten used to it.”

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EXPECTED LINES FOR LEAFS



Clarke MacArthur-Nazem Kadri-Matt Frattin

Leo Komarov-Jay McClement-Colton Orr

EXPECTED DEFENCE PAIRINGS



John Michael Liles-Ryan O’Byrne

EXPECTED STARTING GOALIE

James Reimer

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EXPECTED LINES FOR BRUINS

Milan Lucic-David Krejc-Nathan Horton




EXPECTED DEFENCE PAIRINGS

Dennis Seidenberg-Zdeno Chara

Andrew Ference-Johnny Boychuck


EXPECTED STARTING GOALIE

Tuukka Rask



Maple Leafs: Trio of deals with Bruins helped set stage for playoff clash: Cox

By: Damien Cox Hockey, Published on Wed May 01 2013

BOSTON—Bruises, blood and boxing.

That should take care of the first period on Wednesday night between the Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins.

One indeed suspects that the opening 20 minutes of this best-of-seven playoff series will have a lot more to with testosterone and setting a rambunctious tone than with creativity and imagination.

Start with a collision between the pests, Leo Komarov and Brad Marchand, and work from there. There should be no shortage of sidebars that develop after that.

Before the bashing begins, however, there are many interesting angles to take on this series, the first between these clubs since the dying days of the Nixon administration.

One way to view it is through the prism of three trades made between the Leafs and Bruins between 2006 and 2011, an unusually high number of significant deals between two divisional rivals.

Most of the focus, of course, has been on the September 2009 trade that moved Phil Kessel to the Leafs in exchange for two first-round picks and a second-round pick, draft selections that turned into Tyler Seguin, Dougie Hamilton and Jared Knight.

MORE:Maple Leafs vs. Bruins playoffs: Toronto has “a chance” against Boston, says former Leaf Jim McKenny

Maple Leafs vs. Bruins playoff matchup

Boston Bruins, like the Maple Leafs, not entering NHL playoffs in peak form: Feschuk

Kessel hates to talk about it, according to his personal translator Tyler Bozak, while everyone else can’t stop talking about it.

But the other two deals might end up playing a substantial role in what unfolds over the next 10 days to two weeks.

In June 2006, the Leafs were in need of a No. 1 goaltender and decided that, with prospects Justin Pogge and Tuukka Rask, they could deal one. Pogge, a Canadian national junior team hero, was, to John Ferguson Jr. and his staff, the more promising prospect.

So Rask was sent to the Bruins for netminder Andrew Raycroft, with Raycroft to be the successor to Ed Belfour.

Well, it backfired. Raycroft couldn’t establish himself as a starter, and ultimately that led to another bad deal to bring Vesa Toskala in from San Jose.

Rask, meanwhile, is finally Boston’s No. 1 netminder at age 26. He has served a valuable apprenticeship, but now he’s under the gun to emerge from the shadow of Tim Thomas and take the heavily favoured Bruins past the gritty Leafs.

His counterpart in the Toronto net, meanwhile, is 25-year-old James Reimer, who finally, eight years after Belfour’s departure, has given the Leafs a starting goalie again.

In a peculiar footnote, it was JFJ who drafted Reimer as well.

Just over three years after the Rask-Raycroft trade, Brian Burke made the Kessel deal. Seguin and Hamilton are undeniably blue-chip youngsters, and Seguin played a limited role on Boston’s Stanley Cup winner in 2011.

Pretty hard for the Leafs to claim they won that trade. Boston has never yet had cause to regret it.

That said, Phil the Phlash has become an elite NHL scorer. So it’s a deal that’s still evolving, really. After all, we’re still finding out how good Seguin, Hamilton and Knight will be, and anyway, how much would a 25-year-old, top-10 NHL scorer cost on the open market right now?

Finally, at the 2011 trade deadline, Burke and Boston GM Peter Chiarelli made another trade, this one with the Bruins taking dead aim at the Cup and the Leafs dumping salaries and veterans.

Despite a limited market, defenceman Tomas Kaberle fetched a surprisingly tidy package of prospect Joe Colborne — a former Boston first-round pick — a 2011 first-rounder and a conditional second-rounder that would go to the Leafs if Boston did, in fact, win the Cup.

Well, the Bruins did, delivering a second-rounder to Toronto that was peddled to Colorado on draft day in St. Paul, Minn., for defenceman John-Michael Liles.

The Leafs then did a deal with Anaheim that sent that first-rounder from Boston to the Ducks for the 22nd overall pick that June and a second-rounder, and selected power forward Tyler Biggs.

So it ended up, really, being Kaberle for Colborne, Biggs and Liles.

The 6-foot-5 Colborne has spent two seasons with the AHL Marlies, showing flashes at different times, and after doing well in a couple of late-season games is on the Leaf playoff roster. Liles has been in and out of the lineup, but is expected to pair with Mike Kostka for Wednesday night’s opener.

Biggs, finally, is with the Marlies, and is one of the club’s better prospects.

So the Rask-Raycroft deal was a huge win for Boston, the Kessel swap delivered quality to both teams and the Kaberle transaction may yet pay huge dividends for the Leafs.

Rask, Kessel, Seguin, Hamilton, Colborne and Liles could all play in this series. Rask and Kessel, for sure, will occupy centre stage.

They are three trades that have tied the fortunes of these teams together, something worth considering before the bruising begins.



Maple Leafs: Returning Bozak expects close-mouthed Kessel to make some noise against Bruins: DiManno

By: Rosie DiManno Columnist, Published on Wed May 01 2013

Present and accounted for: Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel.

One returned for practice Tuesday after an undisclosed injury. The other returned to the land of the scrummable after a media dodge the day before.

Guess who was happier to chat about it?

“What do you guys want now?” Kessel mock-grumped upon being pulled out of the Maple Leafs’ inner-inner dressing room sanctum for the second time following a lively on-ice workout for a team put through its up-tempo paces by a full-throated Randy Carlyle.

The reticent sniper had already tolerated a mini media session while most reporters were still collecting pearls of wisdom from his effortlessly voluble coach on the other side of the MasterCard Centre. A do-over was demanded and Kessel — scolded from various quarters for ducking out 24 hours previously — obliged, testily.

It filled, let’s see, half a notebook page. In large writing. With doodles.

When it was suggested he’d been trying to protect himself from predictable interrogation about his puny numbers against Boston since coming over in a costly trade, Kessel objected. “That had nothing to do with it. I don’t think it’s that big a deal. You guys don’t talk to me that much during the year and you needed me yesterday?”

That’s disingenuous. Kessel is rarely sought out for post-game quotes because it’s well established that the monosyllabic winger hates talking. He’s not a go-to Leaf off the ice. But these are special times — duh — as Toronto embarks on its first playoffs in nearly a decade. And No. 81, the ex-Bruin who is serenaded by “Thank You Kessel!” chants from mocking fans whenever he steps foot in their building, figures to be a crucial component in whatever unfolds — either by presence or absence on the scoresheet.

On the subject of 6-foot-9 Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, who will undoubtedly be deployed against Toronto’s No. 1 forward line of Kessel, Bozak and James van Riemsdyk: “He’s a good defenceman. He’s won the Norris I don’t know how many times now. He’s one of the best in the league, if not the best.”

On returning to the hostile Boston environment: “It’s part of the game.”

On his first post-season as a Leaf: “The playoffs are great and I’m really excited to be back in it.”

On maintaining his splendid production through the past 20 games: “Just keep going. Play hard and hopefully get some good bounces.”

On his three goals, six assists and whopping minus-22 record against Boston in 22 games against the club that whelped him: not a word. To be fair, he wasn’t even asked because, really, what is there to query and dissect? The numbers sit there as Exhibit A, self-evident.

The relief palatable from an ordeal endured and concluded, Kessel then gave way to Bozak, his centreman, playmaking collaborator and housemate. Bozak is a career Leaf and an engaging personality who’s scrabbled to earn top-line chops, his faceoff proficiency keenly missed as an injury scratch in Toronto’s last two regular-season games.

That owwie’s nature will never be disclosed, of course, but Bozak seemed fine enough in his first full practice back and Carlyle is proceeding on the assumption he’ll be good to go in Game 1 Wednesday night. Pointedly, however, Bozak did not test his draw skills. “I’ll do some in the morning skate and see how they feel. It’s just one aspect of the game. If I’m not able to do that, we’ve got guys that can step in. It shouldn’t be a problem, though.”

The challenges facing Toronto are manifold, as towering as the shadow cast by Chara, and clearly on Carlyle’s mind as he tutored the players in drills that emphasized getting pucks behind the opposition D.

“You’ve got to use your speed as much as you can,” said Bozak, of countering the Chara behemoth in particular. “He’s so long and so strong.

His reach is huge and his stick is extremely long. He can cover a lot of space.”

But Chara can be solved. “He’s human. He’s going to makes mistakes and you’ve got to take advantage when he does.”

Bozak — who started working on his playoff facial hair two weeks ago, with scant evidence of growth thus far — does not anticipate any significant rust, faceoffs notwithstanding, in the wake of his short sit-down. Missing out on any part of his first NHL post-season would have been excruciating after three years as a hockey-in-May spectator. He may very well take an extra dollop of pounding from Bruins scoping out a vulnerable target but all’s fair in love and the playoffs. “They’re a big, physical team. They’re going to finish their checks. Obviously, they’re going to key in on a few guys.”

That would include Kessel, naturally, as Toronto’s most threatening offensive weapon, if he finally gets around to unpacking his pistols against Boston.

As Kessel’s firm ally, and probably the teammate who knows this enigmatic Leaf best, Bozak defended his friend’s media-leeriness. “He likes to keep things to himself until he gets trust, maybe. But we know how he is in here,” meaning the dressing room.

The demands on Kessel to produce will be immense and intense, even as he’s subjected simultaneously to the brand of heckling that Bruins devotees have turned into an evil art.

“I don’t know if it bugs him,” said Bozak. “It’s been four years since everything. He’s been a Leaf and he’s done unbelievable things this year, in the last four years. Maybe he just thinks people are more worried about him playing against the team that he used to be on than giving him praise for what he’s done for us, what he’s done for this organization.

In Boston, the Kessel-baiting will be merciless.

“They’ll probably give it to Phil,” Bozak said of the fans. “But he’s going to be fine. He’s going to thrive under the pressure, I think, and prove them all wrong out there.”

By the way, thank you ever so much for the words, Kessel, the press corps has been assuaged.

“No problem.”



What Maple Leafs must do to beat Boston Bruins in the NHL playoffs: Feschuk


How to beat the Bruins? For the Maple Leafs, it’s been a riddle that at times seems unsolvable.

Fans of Toronto’s NHL team know too well the recent history of Boston’s dominance. Since the Leafs made a long-lamented trade for Phil Kessel in 2009, they’ve won just seven of their 22 meetings with the Bruins. Boston, meanwhile, has gone on to win five playoff rounds, not to mention a Stanley Cup in 2011 — all while the Leafs have yet to play a single postseason match.

Still, though the Bruins are a daunting opponent, this season they’ve appeared far from unbeatable. In many games the Bruins have appeared a shadow of the rough, tough juggernaut that terrorized the league en route to a championship. The absence of Tim Thomas, the goaltender who won the Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP en route to that Stanley Cup, is a factor. So is the consistent lack of urgency in the play of various Bruins, particularly the bruising forward Milan Lucic.

Certainly Toronto appears to have closed the relative gap between the franchises. A season ago the Bruins won all six games against Toronto by a combined score of 36-10. This year, the Leafs managed only a single victory in four meetings with the Bruins. Still, one of those three losses came in a shootout. The other two came by scores of 1-0 and 4-2. No blowouts, in other words, and plenty of closely contested action.

What’s changed for Toronto? Clearly their commitment to physicality under coach Randy Carlyle has allowed them to stand up to a longtime bully. And clearly the Bruins aren’t bullet-proof, which suggests the Leafs would be wise . . .

To not give up when down: If Boston has been accused of complacency in their on-ice actions, perhaps there’s no better illustration than their penchant for squandering leads. The Bruins possess the league’s second-worst winning percentage in games in which they were ahead on the scoreboard at the second intermission. None of the other teams that rank among the league’s worst six in that category made it to the playoffs.

To minimize Boston’s mastery in the faceoff circle

This could be a tall order for the Leafs, who played their last two games of the season with their best faceoff taker, Tyler Bozak, scratched with an upper body injury. Getting Bozak and his 52.6 per cent faceoff rate back into the lineup will be crucial if the Leafs are going to have any chance of competing with the Bruins on draws. Boston is the league’s best faceoff team by some margin, winning a whopping 56 per cent of draws. (Toronto, even with Bozak, is wholly average, winning 50 per cent). Bruins centre Patrice Bergeron leads the league with a 62.1 per cent faceoff average.

To take advantage of Boston’s special teams

Boston has the fifth-worst power play in the league, converting at 14.8 per cent. Given that the Leafs finished the 48-game season with the league’s second-best penalty kill, the combination bodes well for Toronto. It also helps explain how the Leafs were able to stay in all four of their regular-season meetings with the Bruins despite scoring a combined seven goals against them.

To get Zdeno Chara into the penalty box for more than two minutes

Chara’s prominence is a given. He leads the Bruins in ice time. He’s their defensive rock, and a generally disciplined one. So it’s not a huge leap of logic to suggest that drawing him into penalties, though it’s no easy task, would be beneficial to an opponent. In the seven games this season in which Chara spent more than two minutes in the penalty box, the Bruins won just twice, going 2-3-2.

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How the Bruins were beaten . . .

Jan. 23: 4-3 OT at N.Y. Rangers: Trounced in the faceoff circle 36-17, New York won in part thanks to a Marian Gaborik hat trick and 25 blocked shots, and a 28-20 advantage in hit margin.

Jan. 31: 7-4 to Buffalo: For the Sabres, standing up to the bully was an early-season high point. Sabres enforcer John Scott fought Shawn Thornton. Thornton did not return. And Thomas Vanek had a hat trick and two assists as Buffalo became the first team in 43 tries to beat the Bruins after Boston held a two-goal lead.

Feb. 12: 4-3 SO to N.Y. Rangers: New York blew a 3-0 lead but still managed to salvage the two points thanks to 37 saves from Henrik Lundqvist.

Feb. 15: 4-2 at Buffalo: Sabres scored three times in the third in a game that preceded a six-game Boston win streak.

March 3: 4-3 to Montreal: The Canadiens scored two third-period goals while Chara was serving 17 minutes in penalties for instigating a fight with Alexei Emelin.

March 5: 4-3 OT at Washington: The Capitals overcame a 3-0 deficit. “We had the game in the bag and we got complacent,” Bruins forward Brad Marchand said.

March 12: 3-2 at Pittsburgh: Up 2-0, the Penguins unleashed a three-goal outburst in the final seven minutes as Bruins blew a third-period lead for the third time this season.

March 17: 2-1 at Pittsburgh: Bruins outshot the home team 32-18 but Pittsburgh took over sole possession of first place in the East with the victory.

March 19: 3-1 at Winnipeg: The Jets erased a 1-0 third-period deficit with a late rally.

March 23: 3-2 at Toronto: The Leafs took a 3-0 lead and held on down the stretch for their first victory over Boston in nearly two calendar years.

March 27: 6-5 SO to Montreal: The Habs overcame a two-goal lead by scoring three third-period goals at TD Garden.

March 30: 3-1 at Philadelphia: Philly handed the Bruins a rare defeat in the faceoff circle, winning 28 of 50 draws.

April 6: 2-1 at Montreal: Habs outshot and outhit the Bruins while getting 26 saves from Carey Price.

April 11: 2-1 to the N.Y. Islanders: New York won 19 of 41 faceoffs to limit a key Boston strength.

April 13: 4-2 at Carolina: The Hurricanes outshot Bruins 38-30 and goes 2 for 3 on the power play.

April 17: 3-2 SO to Buffalo: The Sabres get two power-play goals and out-hits Boston 28-20.

April 20: 3-2 to Pittsburgh: Bruins outshoot Pittsburgh, but Penguins go 2 for 6 on power play and get 38 saves from Tomas Vokoun.

April 23: 5-2 at Philadelphia: The Flyers scored early and often on a night they were outshot by the Bruins 41-29.

April 27: 3-2 OT at Washington: The Capitals scored three power-play goals, outhit the Bruins 34-26 and won 57 per cent of faceoffs.

April 28: 4-2 to Ottawa: Robyn Lehner’s 34 saves went a long way toward setting up a Toronto-Boston first-round matchup.



Maple Leafs vs. Bruins: Game 1 at a glance

By: Kevin McGran Sports reporter, Published on Thu May 02 2013

Leafs-Bruins Game 1 at a glance:

1st period: Bruins 2, Leafs 1

James van Riemsdyk tapped in an early power-play goal, just what Leaf coach Randy Carlyle had hoped for. It silenced the TD Garden crowd a tad, but old habits die hard. By the end, the Leafs were outshot 15-7 and old nemesis Wade Redden, the Battle of Ontario veteran, scored to tie it, then had his hard wrist shot deflected in by Nathan Horton with 12 seconds left.

2nd period: Bruins 4, Leafs 1

From the opening shift, when it looked as if Tyler Seguin might have scored, to the last, the Bruins dominated. David Krejci was the beneficiary when Mark Fraser fell, stripping Clarke MacArthur of the puck and leaving James Reimer defenceless. Johnny Boychuk scored the fourth on a one-timer from the blue line. Tyler Bozak missed on a breakaway. The crowd was deafening at times.

3rd period: Bruins 4, Leafs 1 (final)

The fears of some within Leaf Nation were confirmed: the Bruins might be the worst possible opponent the Leafs could have drawn. Boston pounded and pummelled them into submission. Lineup changes are almost certain. Mike Kostka was on for all four Bruins goals. More skill and speed is needed up front.



Bruins won't be underestimating Maple Leafs' Reimer

By Lance Hornby ,Toronto Sun

BOSTON - When the Bruins look at the flat line beside James Reimer’s NHL playoff record, don’t expect them to be chortling.

They made the mistake of underestimating Brayden Holtby in last year’s opening series against the Washington Capitals, a first-round loss that dashed hopes of a repeat Stanley Cup win. Holtby didn’t dominate the seven-game affair, but it was the first series to go the distance with every match decided by a goal.

Holtby made 32 saves in Game 7’s overtime decision in what would be Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas’s last game as a Bruin.

“Definitely not,” Boston’s Shawn Thornton replied to a question about looking past Reimer. “I remember my first playoff series. I was pretty fired up to be out there. That’s just as dangerous as having no experience.”

Reimer’s record was 1-1-1 against the Bruins this past regular season, including losing a 1-0 duel with former Leaf draft pick Tuukka Rask. Expect the Bruins to get in Reimer’s face early and often when Game 1 starts at 7 p.m. and the Leafs to pester Rask.

“You always want to have that net presence,” the bruising Thornton said. “But it’s easier said than done some nights. They have a big, strong defence over there who will be trying to move us out.

“There will be little battles like that all over the ice. And it’s my experience that the team that wins the majority of those will wind up on top.”

Boston coach Claude Julien warned against getting too carried away, as both teams like to show off their muscle.

“Every team talks about it - discipline is important,” Julien said. “They’ll say the same thing in their room. It’s important not to take the penalties that will cost you a game or a series.”

Julien said big Nathan Horton’s upper body injury would make him a game-time decision. He missed the last five games of the regular season.

After a nine-year lull in playoffs for the Leafs and almost 40 since they last met the Bruins, the TD Gardens was packed Wednesday morning with media from both cities and across North America.

“It’s a bit of a different energy around town and around the building today,” Thornton said. “It’s an exciting time, what everyone plays for.

“Being from Oshawa and living there in the summer, I know everyone’s excited that the Leafs are back in it. I can just imagine what’s going on up there right now, judging by all the (visiting media) in the room. It’s good for hockey. The Leafs will be feeding off that, too.”

Toronto Sun LOADED: 05.01.2013


'It’s a very, very winnable series': Kadri on Leafs vs. Bruins

BOSTON - The Leafs may be heavy underdogs to the Bruins, but they certainly aren’t lacking in confidence.

When the puck finally drops to end the franchise-record playoff drought of nine years tonight at the TD Garden, the visitors expect to give the Bruins all that they can handle.

“It’s a very, very winnable series,” said centre Nazem Kadri, who like many of the young Leafs will be making his NHL playoff debut against the Bruins. “I want to be one of those go-to guys and (tonight) is certainly a way to make it happen.”

With the first two games here in Boston, the Leafs will be looking for at least a split in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarter-final. And if there are any nerves at being on the big stage, they better disappear in a hurry in what promises to be an emotionally charged atmosphere tonight.

“We have to be ready when they say go,” said Leafs coach Randy Carlyle, who won a Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Duck. “We’re asking our people to be more than ordinary.

“We’re going to respect the Bruins, but we’re not going to be in awe of them.”

As he has been preaching all season, Carlyle said the Leafs have to forget about the tough past - nine years out of the post season and no championship since 1967. And what better place to start than against an Original Six and divisional rival.

“We’re trying to forge our own identity for the Toronto Maple Leafs and not what anyone has done historically,” Carlyle said following the team’s morning skate here. “We have to live now. We have a task at hand that is a tall one and we have to meet the challenge head on.

“Our team has to play at a higher level than they’ve ever played at before.”

The challenges will come in many forms. Will the Leafs be able to match up the physical Bruins? How will James Reimer be able to withstand the pressure of his first NHL playoff experience. Will Phil Kessel finally have an impact against his former team?

As expected, the Leafs will have centre Tyler Bozak back in the lineup and Carlyle says he expects him to be able to perform at 100 per cent efficiency. Given the Bruins strength on faceoffs, it’s a crucial area for the Leafs heading into the series.

So to will the physical battles, especially against a Bruins team that has forged its reputation on banging.

“The first round historically has been the most aggressive (in the post season),” Carlyle said. “That’s what we’re expecting.”



Leafs top players on wrong side of equations

By Terry Koshan ,Toronto Sun

BOSTON — - If you’re going to win in the playoffs, your best players have to be your best players.

It doesn’t get much simpler than that.

But none of Phil Kessel, Joffrey Lupul, Nazem Kadri, Dion Phaneuf nor James Reimer were good on Wednesday night in the Maple Leafs’ first Stanley Cup playoff game in nine years.

Like the majority of their teammates, they stunk.

Overall, the Leafs played against the Boston Bruins in a 4-1 loss like they used to play against them.

The Leafs were an intimidated, nervous bunch.

They made too many mistakes.

They had little hope of scoring.

“(We have to) accept responsibility for the way we played and take these next two days and (figure out) how we can play faster and better,” coach Randy Carlyle said.

“Our focus has to be to simplify our game. There were some things we did that were totally unacceptable from a coaching standpoint. And we have to correct it. Now we have two days of practice to get better.”

When a team performs as badly as the Leafs did, it might not be fair to point the loss on one player.

But it’s about time Kessel get around this mental block that the Bruins clearly are for him. Zdeno Chara?

He’s not a superhuman.

If so, no one would score when he is on the ice.

Kessel had one shot on goal in 13 minutes, 51 seconds of ice time.

Does anyone envision the Leafs rebounding and winning four games in the next six with Kessel producing next to nothing?

Didn’t think so.

Point shots

The NHL has taken a look at the elbow Andrew Ference used to nail Mikhail Grabovski in the first period, but it’s probable that nothing will come of it. There was no penalty called on the play, and Grabovski was not hurt. Said Carlyle: “It’s a rough game. You’re allowed to hit people.” ... You can stop wondering whether lack of playoff experience would be a detriment to the Leafs. In the first period, it was a miracle they were charged with just four giveaways ... The last thing any team wants to do is give up a goal to the fourth line, but that’s what happened to the Leafs on the first Bruins goal. Boston forward Daniel Paille had no trouble out-muscling John-Michael Liles to the puck behind the Leafs net, and seconds later, Wade Redden blasted a shot through Reimer ... As much as the opening 20 minutes was not good for the Leafs, an inch or two would have made a difference in the score. James van Riemsdyk rang a shot off the cross bar and the Bruins went down the ice and took a 2-1 lead when Nathan Horton tipped Redden’s shot into the net with 12 seconds remaining ... Do both Liles and Mike Kostka make it into the lineup for Game 2? Highly unlikely. Kostka won Randy Carlyle’s heart again last week when he was solid, for the most part, in the Leafs’ final three regular-season games, but was minus-3. Ryan O’Byrne would be the probable replacement. Carlyle said after the game “there will be some changes” ... Kadri was noticeable early in the second when Brad Marchand stripped him of the puck at the Bruins blue line. The play went up the ice and Tyler Seguin hit the bar behind Reimer ... Chara had just passed the puck in the second period and had van Riemsdyk bearing down on him. Rather than finish the check, van Riemsdyk didn’t so much as tap the 6-foot-9 Chara. No matter how big Chara is, what’s wrong with letting him know you are there? ... Kessel was in pain and had his left wrist taped at the bench during the second period ...

So much for Colton Orr and Frazer McLaren providing a physical presence ... Everything went wrong for the Leafs. When management staff, including general manager David Nonis, went to leave the press box toward the end of the game, the elevator did not work quickly, so they had to walk downstairs and wound up outside of the building before finding their way back into the TD Garden.

From the hash marks

Cody Franson took a shot off an ankle but played through the pain and said afterward he was fine ... Carlyle had said that being successful on the power play might instill some confidence in his offensive-minded players. That didn’t come close to happening after van Riemsdyk scored with a Leafs man advantage at 1:54 of the first. If there was any momentum, it was dead by the time the Leafs stopped celebrating the goal ... How much of a playoff experience advantage did the Bruins have? Consider that 41-year-old Jaromir Jagr had played in 170 NHL post-season games, racking up 189 points. By comparison, the Leafs had 206 games in total, and that included 19 from O’Byrne, who did not play. Three other Bruins — Redden, Ference and Chara — had played at least 100 ... Nice start for David Krejci, who had a goal and two assists. When Boston beat Vancouver to win the Stanley Cup in 2011, Krejci led the NHL in playoff scoring with 23 points in 25 games ... Looking for a silver lining? The score was not 10-0, like it was for the Bruins over the Leafs in the opening game of the 1969 quarterfinal in Boston. The Bruins swept the Leafs in four ... If you want perseverance, Redden is a fine example. Buried in the minors, bought out, traded, and there he was making an impact in the opening game of the playoffs with a goal and an assist.



Reimer blames himself

Toronto Sun staff

BOSTON - For a guy whose NHL career was thought to be dead and buried, Wade Redden looked remarkably robust on Wednesday.

In his first NHL playoff action since 2007, the defenceman took an unlikely lead role in slaying the Maple Leafs with a goal and assist in Game 1.

“I’ve been away for awhile,” Redden said. “I’m going to try to get the most out of it.”

While fellow defenecman Mike Komisarek and his salary were with the Toronto Marlies in Rochester on Wednesday night, Redden has escaped that minor league purgatory for a May Day celebration.

Redden was two seasons into his six-year, $39 million US deal with the Rangers when his play suddenly slipped to the point where New York demoted him. The contract was termed by one writer as “the worst in the history of the NHL, if not the history of hard-cap pro sports”. This year’s compliance buyout finally allowed Redden a way out, via St. Louis, which traded him to Boston.

Every Bruin tipped his hat to Redden’s resolve to get back in the league.

“He’s a player who has gone through some rough times,” coach Claude Julien said. “What we’ve tried to do is make him feel appreciated.”

A veteran defenceman will certainly be welcome by any coach at this time of year, when games are tighter and cutting down mistakes becomes the key to winning.

“It’s been a long road and the position I was in, there were a lot of uncertainties,” Redden said. “But I kept working and kept believing, I guess.”

-- Terry Koshan

INEXPERIENCE 'AN EXCUSE' PHANEUF SAYS

BOSTON — It’s been a while, but at least Dion Phaneuf has had a taste of playoff hockey.

Nine of his teammates were making their post-season debut Wednesday night against the Bruins and the easy tendency would be to blame the 4-1 thumping on that inexperience.

Don’t expect the captain to hang that one on his mates, however.

“It’s easy to say that, if that’s the way you want to break it down, but I think that’s an excuse,” Phaneuf said. “We haven’t been saying that in here.

“The bottom line is when you get out there (in the playoffs), it’s the same game. That intensity is amped-up, obviously, but it’s the same.”

If there was a shock factor for the Leafs, it was that in the four regular-season contests they had played the Bruins tough, winning one of the four and losing another in a shootout.

But whether it was the spell of the playoffs or a notable improvement in the Bruins’ effort, the result was back to what the Leafs had been familiar with the previous two seasons.

“In the other games, we stuck to our system for the most part,” Leafs defenceman Cody Franson said. “(On Wednesday) we got away from it, turned the puck over too much. When you don’t manage the puck well, against a team like that, that’s when they bite you.”

— Rob Longley

CARLYLE: THORNTON CAME OFF BENCH

BOSTON -- The off-ice games have begun in the post-season.

Randy Carlyle would like the National Hockey League to take a look at the final seconds of Wednesday night’s game to determine whether Boston’s Shawn Thornton was illegally on the ice, which if determined, could lead to some kind of suspension from the league.

“At the end, I thought Thornton came off the bench (for an altercation),’ said Carlyle. “That’ll be something that’ll be looked at by the league. He wasn’t on the ice.”

The Leafs won’t ask the NHL to make a look. Series supervisor Kay Whitmore has been assigned to this series. The league “can look at it themselves if they want,” said general manager Dave Nonis.

“The supervisor was there,” said Nonis. “It’s going to be discussed publicly so they will look at it.”

As for his part, Thornton pleaded not guilty.

“There was a scrum and I was part of it,” he said. “I changed for (Daniel Paille) Paillsey.

“Yeah, I came off the bench but I was already on the ice when there was an altercation. Besides, there was no fight. So I can think it’s a moot point.”

The league will likely determine Thursday whether the point was moot or not.

-- Steve Simmons

REDDEN'S ROUSING RETURN

BOSTON — For a guy whose NHL career was thought to be dead and buried, Wade Redden looked remarkably robust on Wednesday.

In his first NHL playoff action since 2009, the defenceman took an unlikely lead role in slaying the Maple Leafs with a goal and assist in Game 1.

“I’ve been away for a while,” Redden said. “I’m going to try to get the most out of it.”

While fellow Mike Komisarek and his salary were with the Toronto Marlies in Rochester on Wednesday night, Redden has escaped that purgatory for a May Day celebration.

Redden was two seasons into his six-year, $39-million deal with the Rangers when his play suddenly slipped to the point where New York demoted him. The contract was termed by one writer as “the worst in the history of the NHL, if not the history of hard-cap pro sports.” This year’s compliance buyout finally allowed Redden a way out, via St. Louis, which traded him to Boston.

Every Bruin tipped his hat to Redden’s resolve to get back in the league.

“He’s a player who has gone through some rough times,” coach Claude Julien said. “What we’ve tried to do is make him feel appreciated.”

A veteran defenceman will certainly be welcome by any coach at this time of year, when games are tighter and cutting down mistakes becomes the key to winning.

“It’s been a long road and the position I was in, there were a lot of uncertainties,” Redden said. “But I kept working and kept believing, I guess.”

— Lance Hornby

LEAFS REBUILD BEGAN HERE

In Randy Carlyle’s mind, a playoff clash against the Bruins is a return to the scene of the crime.

As he took stock of what he had in his first few months on the job as Leafs coach, the light-bulb moment came on a visit here to the TD Garden last March.

That night, the Leafs finished off their season series against the Bruins in near disgrace, falling down 4-0 after just 13 minutes on their way to an 8-0 blowout loss. Since that moment, Carlyle has made it his mission to restore some respect to the franchise and a return to the post-season is a big first step.

“I was here and witnessed the 8-0 shellacking we took at the end of the year when I came in,” Carlyle said on Wednesday. “We were embarrassed for ourselves and the organization at that point. That was one of the defining moments as a coaching staff and as management. We stated that we had to change what was going on with our group.”

Though the Leafs won just one in four meetings against the Bruins this year, there were no lopsided scores and one of the defeats came in a shootout. Carlyle believes that should inspire some confidence in his team for the post-season clash.

“We’re into a new season, this is a whole different ball of wax,” Carlyle said. “Everybody starts from zero so it’s an opportunity for our hockey club to meet the challenge head on.

“We’re not going to skirt any of the issues that we’re going to be presented with and we know we’re playing a very good hockey club, a veteran hockey club that has been in the wars before. We’re going to respect them but we’re not going to be in awe of them.”

— Rob Longley



Bruins look ready to handle anything Leafs can dish out

By Lance Hornby ,Toronto Sun

BOSTON - Yankee colonists couldn’t have done a better repelling the invading British than the Bruins did dispatching the meddlesome Maple Leafs.

The Bruins let Toronto take their best shot, on net, on the body and, if you believe Brad Marchand, “in the privates,” where he claimed to be speared by James van Riemsdyk. But it was a strong push back by all the battle-tested Bruins that dumped the Leafs into Boston Harbour.

“We’ve been good handling that kind of stuff and we beat them on the (scoreboard) side,” Boston coach Claude Julien said. “This is playoff hockey, a good hard-fought game.”

Of the two teams that struggled over the regular-season finish line to four-five, most figured Boston would get its act together for Game 1. They were Stanley Cup champs two years ago, are stinging from a first-round upset last year and aren’t about to let another neophyte netminder such as James Reimer off easy. They outshot Toronto 40-20.

“I liked the desperation, the energy, the legs and the decisions with the puck,” captain Zdeno Chara said, having done his main job to spook Phil Kessel and hold him to one shot.

The Bruins were able to turn Toronto’s fourth line, particularly wingers Colton Orr and Frazer McLaren, into a liability. Leo Komarov, the Leafs hit machine and perhaps their most antagonistic regular other than chirpy Nazem Kadri, was himself a picture of frustration at the buzzer, fighting Chris Kelly.

“Every team will come out that way in the playoffs,” Boston’s Andrew Ference said. “You expect it from them and you expect it from yourselves. There’s a lot of (body) contact. That’s why people love this time of year. You deal with what you have to do and deal with whatever comes from the other side.”

The Leafs were left agonizing how their first playoff show in nine years might have been different had van Riemsdyk’s short-handed crossbar drive not rang as loud as the North Church belfry before ending up in the Leafs net on the same shift. The Bruins were naturally less inclined to dwell on the play that allowed them to get out of the first period with the lead on a last-minute goal, rather than face fan wrath down one.

“Is that what happened?” goalie Tuukka Rask kidded about the close call. “Yeah, I heard it. Then (teammate Dennis) Seidenberg crashed in and knocked the wind out of me.

“Better off for us, I guess. Sometimes the posts are there and they look bigger for your team.

“It’s good we score goals and score good goals. Guys crashed the net tonight and got tips.”

The Bruins are taking Thursday off after a difficult couple of weeks with the Boston Marathon bombings still weighing heavily on everyone’s mind, as well as their late-season sag in losing the Northeast Division to the Canadiens.

But the city’s resilience and the arrival of the Leafs for this series seemed to be the galvanizer they needed. Many players were wearing the “Boston Strong” T-shirts around the room and any reference to citizen bravery in the building drew wild cheers. Three-point man David Krejci wore a military camouflage jacket at the podium.

The Bruins look mentally and physically ready for whatever the Leafs can throw at them.



Maple Leafs' ugly loss, period by period

By Steve Buffery ,Toronto Sun

Everyone seemed pretty excited about Nazem Kadri’s “It’s a very, very winnable series” quote on Wednesday morning. It was the main headline on the Sun website and led off a couple of sports radio updates.

And I get it, it’s a great quote. But the bottom line is, if the Leafs don’t have that attitude, what would be the point of playing? I think a more telling quote would have been if Kadri said something like: “We have no hope against the Bruins. We’re doomed. Why are we even here?”

Sadly, after Wednesday’s sub-par performance, “the very winnable” quote will be thrown in Kadri’s face (wrongly). In fact, it started on Twitter before the game was even over and will be one of the storylines on Thursday ... I’ve noticed every newspaper and sports network has listed numerous “keys to victory” for the Leafs — the Phil Kessel line rising above Zdeno Chara, secondary scoring, James Reimer, etc.

At last count, there were 479 keys to victory for the Leafs. Apparently none were realized on Game 1.

PRE-GAME

Prepared for the game by listening to baseball and basketball guys on the radio break down the series ... Mayor Rob Ford declared May 6 Blue and White Day. He also declared May 5 “Stay the Hell out of My Backyard Day” ... Arash Madani (good guy) interviewed Dion Phaneuf, who was less than spectacular in Game 1. Apparently the Leafs have “taken strides in the right direction,” are “excited to get going” and “know the Bruins are going to come out hard”. So much for the rumours that the Bruins were going to roll over like frightened kittens ... Switched on Hockey Night in Canada’s pre-game coverage. Glenn Healy not angry about anything yet ... Nice piece by Elliotte Friedman about Toronto goalies Reimer and Ben Scrivens, though my blood sugar started to spike.

FIRST PERIOD

Right from the start, the teams tried to establish their toughness. At one point, Shawn Thornton and Colton Orr engaged in a wrestling match. But it’s also obvious the players are reluctant to drop the gloves, being the playoffs. The best way to establish toughness in the post-season is with solid hits, something the Bruins did in spades, i.e Johnny Boychuk’s hit on Mikhail Grabovski in the third ... The entire Bruins team, and not just Zdeno Chara, seem to have an extra spring in their step when Kessel, the former Bruin, has the puck ... The Leafs scramble and turn the puck over far too often. Playoff inexperience and nervousness rearing its ugly head. Offensive turnover leads to Wade Redden’s tying goal ... Andrew Ference’s blatant elbow to Grabovski right in the head. No call ... Don Cherry thrilled writers and bloggers everywhere by revisiting the “women in the dressing room” issue on Coach’s Corner. (Most everyone else just yawned). But Grapes is right about one thing. It’s the playoffs and, when players block shots, they have to go all in, something the Leafs didn’t do in the first period.

SECOND PERIOD

Pet peeve time. Teams — in the playoffs especially — fight like crazy to gain possession of the puck. And far too often when they do get possession, they throw it into the offensive zone to make a change, and turn it over. Madness. Better the defence holds on to it and rag it until the forwards change. (Like the old Central Army teams). Could never figure that one out ... The Leafs’ third line trapped in their own zone by Boston’s fourth line leading to exhaustion, a turnover and Boston’s third goal, by David Krejci. An good example of what went wrong for the Leafs in Game 1 ... The Bruins stumbled into the playoffs but obviously haven’t forgotten how to turn on that extra gear.

THIRD PERIOD

The Bruins finished the regular season by going a lethargic 2-7. Can you say “Rope-a-dope?” Boston had energy to burn, even in the third ... Kessel had no space and was a non-factor for most of the game while Kadri was invisible playing with Leo Komarov and Clarke MacArthur. Coach Randy

Carlyle juggled the lines in the third and will likely shake them up for Game 2 ... A highlight for the Leafs. Komarov showing he can back up his hitting with his fists.



Leafs vs. Bruins: Breaking down the first round series

Sean Fitz-Gerald | 13/05/01 10:34 AM ET

Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins had the third-best save percentage (.929%) in the NHL this season.

Paul Henderson was only two years removed from beating the Soviet Union with perhaps the most famous goal in Canadian history when he lined up to face the Boston Bruins that spring. It was 1974, and the Toronto Maple Leafs were facing the Bruins for the 13th time in the NHL playoffs. Toronto lost, swept away in four games by a team on its way to play in the Stanley Cup final. (Henderson was held without a goal.) On Wednesday, almost 40 years later, the Leafs and Bruins will meet in the playoffs once again. Here are some of the key matchups to watch in their Eastern Conference quarter-final series.

These Bruins aren’t the big, bad bullies they used to be

Goaltending

In late June 2006, the Leafs made a goaltending decision. They decided that Justin Pogge, their prospect in the Western Hockey League, was the best bet to become their goaltender of the future. So one year after drafting Tuukka Rask 21st overall, the Leafs traded him to Boston for Andrew Raycroft, with the hope the 2004 NHL rookie of the year would provide a steady hand in the near term. Raycroft lasted one season as a starter in Toronto. Pogge appeared in seven games with the Leafs — winning once — and spent last winter playing in Italy.

Rask, meanwhile, has become Boston’s starting goaltender. The 26-year-old had the third-best save-percentage in the NHL this season (.929), and he has the benefit of having 13 playoff games already under his belt.

James Reimer, 25, posted the league’s seventh-best save-percentage (.924, a career best), but is heading into his first NHL playoff series. In addition to his inexperience, questions have been raised through the year about his rebound control and puck-handling ability.

EDGE: Bruins

Defence

Leafs centre Tyler Bozak was showered, dressed and ready to leave for Boston when he was asked about a towering issue facing his team. And it might not be wholly accurate to describe Zdeno Chara as a mere tower. As a 6-foot-9 defenceman who can be expected to average around 28 minutes of ice time a night during the playoffs, his looming presence more closely resembles a mountain.

“Obviously, it’s going to be tough with him out there,” Bozak said. “But, I mean, he is human. He’s going to make mistakes, and you’ve got to take advantage when he does.”

Chara is 36, but remains one of the best, most fearsome players at his position. And he is complemented with a blue line of veterans of the team’s 2011 Stanley Cup win: Dennis Seidenberg, Andrew Ference, Johnny Boychuk and Adam McQuaid.

Toronto has Dion Phaneuf, who, if possible considering the market in which he plays, has been under-appreciated this season. Carl Gunnarsson, his regular partner, is thought to be nursing an injury. And defensive systems or not, the Leafs surrendered more shots on net (32.3 a game) than all but two teams this season (and neither of those teams made the playoffs.)

EDGE: Bruins

Forwards

Boston did not have a forward finish with more than 40 points this season. Toronto had two, with Phil Kessel (52) and Nazem Kadri (44). Joffrey Lupul ended the year with 18 points in 16 games, which had him on pace for 54 points, had he not been tormented by injury (broken arm, concussion) and suspension (two games for hitting Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman in the head).

Boston might have more scoring depth — with five players finishing with more than 30 points, compared to three for Toronto — but the Leafs have

speed. Toronto coach Randy Carlyle will have to decide how, or if, he wants to use Bozak, who has been battling what is believed to be a shoulder injury. Before catching the team flight on Tuesday, Bozak suggested he might not be healthy enough to take faceoffs.

EDGE: Leafs

Coaching

Both coaches have plenty of experience working in the playoffs. Carlyle was behind the bench when the Anaheim Ducks won the Stanley Cup in 2007. Claude Julien guided the Bruins to the championship in 2011, the team’s first win in 39 years.

Both teams have a strong penalty kill, with the Leafs ending the season ranked second in the league (87.9%), and with the Bruins two spots behind in fourth (87.1%).

EDGE: Even

Intangibles

Boston has dominated Toronto over the last few years, going 25-5-5 against the Leafs — including a stretch of eight straight wins — before a loss on March 23. The Bruins are accustomed to life in the post-season, with more than 1,100 games of playoff experience on the roster. That total is more than five times higher than the Leafs’ (206).

Toronto actually finished the season with more wins in regulation and overtime (26) than Boston (24), and played the Bruins closely, despite losing the season series. That being said, the Leafs have been tempting fate with the amount of time they spend without possession of the puck this season.

EDGE: Bruins

Series Pick: Boston in six.



Maple Leafs hope Tyler Bozak brings balance to attack

Michael Traikos | 13/05/01 | Last Updated: 13/05/01 9:24 AM ET

TORONTO — There are some things that Tyler Bozak will freely admit that he does not do well. Growing a playoff beard happens to be one of them.

Senators need Anderson to establish a playoff reputation

The baby-faced 27-year-old said he stopped shaving after the Toronto Maple Leafs qualified for the playoffs on April 20, but the only evidence that he actually put the razor away are the darkish whiskers sprouting from above his upper-lip.

“I can’t grow much,” laughed Bozak, who after missing the last two games with an upper-body injury is expected to play in Game 1 against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday. “I’m trying to get something there, but the ‘stache is coming in all right. It’s been a couple of weeks now, so hopefully we’ll go a long ways now and I can see how big I can get it.”

Leafs’ Phil Kessel finally speaks … but says very little

Leafs coach Randy Carlyle embraces underdog label

Bozak’s solution to not being able to grow a proper beard — by focusing on growing a moustache instead — might illustrate how an undrafted, late-bloomer with a smallish frame and a below-average shot has not only become an NHL regular, but for the past two years has centred the Leafs’ No. 1 line.

He does things differently. In a league where 12 of the top-22 scorers this year are centres, Bozak tied for 100th with just 28 points. But he wins face-offs, kills penalties and hangs back, while linemates Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk rack up points.

For this reason, those who follow advanced statistics believe that Bozak is miscast in his role as top-line centre, that when he is on the ice the team gives up more shots than when he is not, and that the Leafs might be better off letting the pending free agent walk at the end of the season.

It is a theory that got tested last week, when Bozak missed the final two games of the season and was replaced on the top line with Nazem Kadri.

Kadri set up Kessel for two goals in a 4-0 win against the Florida Panthers, where the pair displayed the kind of offensive creativity previously unseen when Bozak was in the lineup. But while head coach Randy Carlyle appreciated Kadri’s skill, he said Bozak’s absence was felt.

His game is one where he does a lot of things that you don’t notice, but you notice them when he’s not there, that’s for sure

“Again, when you have a player that takes all the important face-offs for you, that’s the first place that you miss him, be it on the power play, penalty kill, offensive zone or any puck possession time,” Carlyle said of Bozak’s team-high 52.6% face-off success rate.

“We seemed to be at a disadvantage because we didn’t start with the puck enough.”

Against Boston, Bozak’s face-off prowess will be tested. Patrice Bergeron led the league with a 62.1% success rate and Bozak was just 36 for 77 in the four games against the Bruins this year.

The fact that he is nursing a suspected shoulder injury also does not help.

“I haven’t really tested face-offs yet, but I’ll do some in the morning skate tomorrow and see how they feel,” said Bozak, who practised for the first time on Tuesday. “It’s just one aspect of the game. If I’m not able to do those, we have guys that can step in and do that. But I don’t think it should be a problem.”

The bigger challenge, of course, will be in getting Kessel some scoring opportunities. The ex-Bruin has yet to score an even-strength goal in 22 games against his former team, which is why there was some talk about putting Kadri and Joffrey Lupul on the top line if only to force defenceman Zdeno Chara to try to cover all three players.

But Carlyle appears to be favouring a more balanced attack, with Kessel, Kadri and Lupul playing on different lines at practice on Tuesday. Whether this will remain for the entire series will depend on Bozak’s play.

Still, it is clear that Carlyle appreciates the centre’s contributions, regardless of what the advanced statistics might say.

“Bozie’s a real smart hockey player,” said Carlyle. “He knows where to be on the ice. The puck kind of follows him around and his game is one where he does a lot of things that you don’t notice, but you notice them when he’s not there, that’s for sure.”



Bruins vs. Leafs promises to be a hard-hitting affair

Neil Davidson, Canadian Press | 13/05/01 2:39 PM ET

BOSTON — The nose is all the proof you need that Shawn Thornton doesn’t work at a desk.

Leafs vs. Bruins: Breaking down the first round series

Thornton’s nose has a depression, as if, while under construction, someone left a thumbprint on it. A pair of red welts on his forehead is further proof that the hard-headed Boston winger likes to mix it up.

He should get his wish against Toronto.

“The playoffs, the first few games, the puck’s usually optional for the first few shifts,” he told reporters Wednesday. “I was watching a few periods [Tuesday] night in the West, it was no different.

“Every year we kind of bring up the same thing but it’s true. I’m sure it will be a physical affair for the first little while until everyone settles down and gets into the groove.”

Leafs coach Randy Carlyle also expected a hard-hitting affair.

“The pace of the game will be as high as it’s ever been,” he said. “There will be bodychecks thrown, there will be bodies that will be projected into one another.

“It’s going to be that type of atmosphere to start the game. It always is. The first-round series historically has been the most aggressive and that’s what we’re expecting. We’re expecting the Boston Bruins to come out and try to hit and we expect the Toronto Maple Leafs to come out and try to hit.

Every year we kind of bring up the same thing but it’s true. I’m sure it will be a physical affair for the first little while until everyone settles down and gets into the groove

“It’s a physical series, a physical game.”

Both Carlyle and Boston counterpart Claude Julien said their players needed to be physical but disciplined.

Wednesday’s game marked the first post-season meeting of the Original Six rivals since 1974.

Carlyle talked up the fourth-seeded Bruins, within reason.

National Post

“We know that we’re playing a very good hockey club, a veteran hockey club that’s been in the wars before. And we’re going to respect them but we’re not going to be in awe of them.”

Toronto centre Nazem Kadri went one better.

“Obviously we understand that we could be the underdogs, but the way we see it is that we’ve beaten this team already this year,” said Kadri. “We only finished four or five points behind them, it was a tight stretch towards the end. Obviously they’re a good team, we’ve got to give them respect, but at the same time we’re not approaching this as underdogs.

“This is a very, very winnable series for us.”

First-line Leafs centre Tyler Bozak, who missed the last two games with an upper-body injury, said he felt fine ahead of the game.

“Things are getting better every day,” he said cheerfully.

Thornton, 35, was drafted by the Leafs back in 1997 in the seventh round, 190th overall.

“Those were fun days,” he said. “I remember, being from Oshawa, getting drafted by them was a pretty big deal.”

“I was a little bit awestruck my first couple of years there,” he said.

He spent four seasons with Toronto’s AHL team in St. John’s before moving on to Chicago, Anaheim and then Boston.

In 495 games, Thornton has 33 goals, 47 assists and 832 penalty minutes. He is a 6-foot-2, 217-pound chunk of sandpaper who always enjoys playing Toronto.

For the fifth-seeded Maple Leafs, it’s their first time in the post-season since losing to the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round of the 2004 playoffs.

The Bruins, who won the Stanley Cup in 2011, were eliminated in the first round by the Washington Capitals last season.

Boston has had the better of the regular-season matchup in recent years and won three of four against the Leafs this season. But three of the games were decided by one goal with the other going to a shootout.

History favours Game 1 winners in the playoffs.

In best-of-seven series, the Game 1 winner has gone on to win the series 68.4 per cent (405 to 187) of the time in NHL history.



Long suffering finally ends for Maple Leafs fans

Bruce Arthur | 13/05/01 | Last Updated: 13/05/02 1:18 AM ET

BOSTON — Paul Maurice knew it was over before the end actually came. He was sitting in his living room in Oakville, the coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, talking to his TV. The Leafs had eliminated the Montreal Canadiens the night before, on Saturday night, in a rollicking, back-and-forth, 6-5 bonfire of a game. It was the kind of game that made the Air Canada Centre go crazy, really crazy, that made even the suits scream and cheer and holler like nobody was looking.

But then came Sunday afternoon, and the Leafs needed the Islanders to lose to New Jersey. Maurice had watched the first two periods at the largely empty ACC before heading home at the end of the second period. He was superstitious, and the Islanders were ahead. But there was a reprieve — the Devils scored to make it 2-1 with 4:13 left, and scored in the final second to tie it 2-2, and Maurice thought they had a chance until overtime didn’t settle it.

“I know, in the shootout, that we’re done,” says Maurice, now doing work for TSN. “I’m praying, but I know, because we must have played the Islanders, and [Islanders goaltender Wade] Dubielewicz is gonna poke-check. And I also know, Lou Lamiorello is coaching New Jersey, and [backup] Scott Clemmenson is in, and they probably haven’t done the video on that because it wasn’t a big game for them. They wouldn’t have taken it to the in-depth.

“Poke check, poke check, and that was it. And you’re sitting there with that sick feeling. You’re saying, ‘He’s gonna poke check.’”

That was 2007, and it was as close as Toronto came over the nine years and two days separating a 3-2 loss in Game 6 against Philadelphia on Apr. 30, 2004 — Jeremy Roenick scored the winner, in overtime, and Ron Francis was scratched in what would otherwise have been the final game of his career — and Game 1 of the first round Wednesday night in Boston. That was the one moment in those nine years that one play — a single play, a puck bouncing the right way or the wrong way — could have put the Maple Leafs in the post-season, where the games matter.

And the coach of the team was sitting on his couch, yelling hopelessly at the TV, telling a team coached by Lou Lamiorello what was going to happen next. The next season was a mess — as Maurice recounts, “the rumours of [general manager John [Ferguson Jr.] being fired in August, the Mark Bell [DUI suspension], the Jiri Tlusty [naked pictures], Jason Blake [being diagnosed with leukemia]” — and Maurice was let go, and the beat went on.

But he held onto a few pieces of Leafs gear — sweatshirts, mostly — even though he usually purged his wardrobe of team clothing. They became totems, in a way, as some things do with age. It’s like how when Leafs goaltender James Reimer came to prospects camp with Toronto in 2006 at Lakeshore Lions Arena, and saw Ed Belfour’s equipment sitting in a stall. Belfour was his goaltending hero growing up — something about how he made things look so simple, about how every puck seemed to hit him in the chest, how he would make the chaos of hockey look so clean — but he couldn’t bring himself to pick up Belfour’s goalie stick, or try on his glove. “I didn’t want to touch them,” Reimer said. “I just looked at them.”

Wednesday night, Reimer became the first Leafs goaltender to start a playoff game since Belfour lost Game 6 to Robert Esche, back in 2004. Boston’s Shawn Thornton is an Ontario boy, and he missed the Leafs in the playoffs, too. “It’s like the Red Sox here; when they’re down, it’s not the same,” Thornton said. “It’s just not the same.” When asked what he remembered from the playoff series of his childhood, he simply said, “Wendel.”

Now there will be new memories, good or bad. It looked so strange, seeing the Leafs line up in their white jerseys along the blue line for the anthems. People in this country often resent the Leaf fans who infiltrate their arenas, whose tribe is spread across the country, whose team is the darling of Saturday nights. Leafs fans aren’t any more obnoxious than any other fanbase in this country, but there are just so damned many of them.

I’m hopeful not for myself but for the city. They want it so badly. It’s in the families

Maurice, though, knows what it’s like on the inside, knows what it’s like when Toronto was close. He mostly got Montreal games on TV as a boy from Sault Ste-Marie, but he has administered that strange sort of communion with the flock, and he’s let go of any residual anger that comes along with getting fired in Toronto. And a few hours before the Leafs re-entered the realm of games that truly matter, Maurice was sitting in the TD Boston Garden, happy for the people who cheer for his former team.

“I’m hopeful not for myself but for the city,” he said. “They want it so badly. It’s in the families. Part of being a hockey fan in Toronto is how it affects your whole family.

“The spectrum of people that would come up to you and have a story that meant so much to them, and their family, as it related to the Toronto Maple Leafs. My grandfather and I have seen every game, like that. First of all, every fan that comes up to you says the same thing: I’m the biggest Leaf fan.

“But the sheer number of people, and their stores are honest and they’re true, of the day they ran into Darryl Sittler, or the day they ran into Mats Sundin, and how nice they were to them. I mean, this is a great day in Toronto, and they haven’t had it in so long.”

“They’ve suffered through it, and I’m hopeful for them.”



Just like old times: Leafs dominated by Bruins in return to playoffs

Bruce Arthur | 13/05/01 | Last Updated: 13/05/01 11:40 PM ET

BOSTON — More than anything, it looked so strange. The Toronto Maple Leafs, standing on the bench or stock-still on the blue line in their road whites, as the anthems played in May. A playoff game, the first in nine years, and there were the Leafs. Strange to see.

Bruins 4 Maple Leafs 1

Game summary

The game itself didn’t look strange, though. It looked ominously familiar, if you stripped away the playoff fever that arrived strangely late to the TD Boston Garden, along with the crowd. The Boston Bruins looked like the Boston Bruins they would like to be, and the Leafs looked every bit the team that managed to outrace its flaws during the shortened season. The 4-1 score in Game 1 of this first-round playoff series was, if anything, kind.

“I just think that we self-destructed,” said Leafs coach Randy Carlyle. “We had a decent start, we scored the first goal of the game, got ourselves on the right track … And we just stopped.”

If it was a self-destruction, the wiring was put in place throughout the regular season. Toronto got a power-play goal from James van Riemsdyk 1:54 into the game, and didn’t look out of place at the beginning.

After that, the puck battles went to the Bruins, and when the Bruins didn’t have the puck, the Leafs gave it to them. Remember when the Leafs played the Bruins well this season? This was like old times.

“Yeah, just really undisciplined, turnovers played a factor, and we’re just killing ourselves when we do those type of things,” said Nazem Kadri, who had called the series very, very winnable at the morning skate, and who largely vanished. “No one expects to win when you’re playing shinny hockey out there.”

“They kept coming, and they took over the game,” said defenceman Dion Phaneuf.

No one expects to win when you’re playing shinny hockey out there

In the final five minutes of the first period Boston got goals from Wade Redden — the old Battle of Ontario hand, whose shot off the side boards got a piece of James Reimer, rather than the other way around — and a power-play tip from Nathan Horton with 11.7 seconds left in the first period, from Redden. It was Redden’s first playoff goal since Game 1 of the 2007 Stanley Cup Final, and his first two-point game since 2006. If he was paying attention, Patrick Lalime was probably smiling. Old times.

There were coin-flip sequences, yes. Boston’s Andrew Ference got away with a nasty little elbow to the head of Mikhail Grabovski with seven minutes left in the period, behind the Bruins net, a little over two minutes before the Redden goal. Just before Horton’s goal, van Riemsdyk hit the post on a shorthanded rush. Just before Boston’s third goal from David Krejci, Boston’s Kaspars Daugavins backchecked Tyler Bozak on a breakaway.

But when it was done the shots were 40-20, Boston, and that was earned. Reimer should perhaps have had Boston’s fourth goal, a one-timer from Johnny Boychuk. But his team scored once. This was domination.

Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

Jared Wickerham/Getty ImagesLeo Komarov of the Toronto Maple Leafs attempts to continue fighting Chris Kelly of the Boston Bruins by grabbing his arm after having his jersey pulled over his head in the final seconds of the third period in Game One of the Eastern Conference Quarter-finals during the 2013 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on May 1, 2013 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.

“It felt like for the second half of the game, they had the puck pretty much exclusively,” said Leafs winger Joffrey Lupul.

In the regular season Toronto was out-shot by the widest margin of any playoff team since the 2002 Montreal Canadiens, and shot attempts are a good predictive measure of winning, over the long term. But the goaltending

was good, and the shooting percentage was great, and the Leafs secured a playoff berth for the first time since 2004.

This was the flip side of the rope-a-dope. The fourth line punching tandem of Colton Orr and Frazer McLaren was of little to no use, and combined to play a total of just under 16 minutes. Phil Kessel, the Leaf who will draw the most attention in every way, didn’t record a shot until the third, and was largely controlled by Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron. Kessel appeared to have his wrist attended to and wrapped in the second period, which may not have helped. But the crowd barely had the chance to derisively chant his name.

It got nasty late — Brad Marchand said van Riemsdyk “speared me in the privates,” which is why he swung his stick at him; upon review, it was more of a highly deliberate tap. Ference claimed not to know what people were talking about regarding the Grabovski elbow, but then, it took him two years to admit he flipped off the Bell Centre that one time. Grabovski was also crushed by Boychuk at one point, but that one was clean.

This is what Toronto waited nine long years for, but happiness was never guaranteed. Leafs fans waited for the chance for joy, and for the chance to be disappointed in a different way. The Leafs, in the old-fashioned way, obliged.


674066 Vancouver Canucks

A Roberto Luongo start vs. Sharks? Throw one more log on Canucks’ goaltending fire

By Cam Cole, Vancouver Sun columnist May 1, 2013 5:06 PM

VANCOUVER — It was a perfectly Vancouveresque end of one season and the logical beginning of another.

If it had happened on April Fools’ Day, about the time a normal regular season ends, no one would have batted an eye.

But for symbolism purposes, May Day would do just as well.

Mayday, the international distress signal — derived from the French “venez m’aider” or come help me — was heard clearly, in both languages, by Roberto Luongo on Wednesday morning, when the Vancouver Canucks made the final determination that their No. 1 goalie, Cory Schneider, would be unable to play Game 1 of the post-season against the San Jose Sharks.

So the gold medal-winning Canadian Olympic team ‘keeper had to fill in. How would the Canucks ever cope with this disaster?

If you’ve been following the season-long circus, you will not be the least bit shocked. In fact, it was practically guaranteed to happen the minute Luongo found himself still Vancouver property when the trade deadline passed.

Somehow, some way, the fact that he was not supposed to be here meant he was bound to figure in this club’s ultimate fate.

What began as a minor “body injury” suffered in Game 46 of the regular season against the Chicago Blackhawks — long assumed to be a hangnail, or a thinly-disguised attempt to rest Schneider and get the accidental Canuck some late-season mop-up work, just in case — turns out to be more serious than Alain Vigneault’s club, in full playoff “omerta” mode, was letting on.

“Schneids is just not healthy enough right now,” Vigneault said after Wednesday’s morning skate. “We had an idea Tuesday and we told Louie before he left to be ready.

“This morning, when we talked to Schneids before practice, it was a pretty easy decision. I don't think for our group that having Roberto in goal is a concern. He's a pretty good goalie.”

To the casual observer, maybe anyone outside the Lower Mainland, no doubt this ongoing shaggy dog story seems a little over the top.

“They’re coached by the same goaltending coach, they’ve been together for a number of years, they’ve both played big games — I can tell you the debate over which goaltender is going to start is a much bigger story here in Vancouver than it is in the Sharks’ locker room. We’re going to have to beat a good goaltender, either way,” said San Jose coach Todd McLellan.

“I think the media makes more of big deal of it than we do,” said Sharks defenceman Dan Boyle. “If we had to go with (backup Thomas) Greiss tonight, for example ... I don’t see it changing. I don’t think you change your game plan, with the exception of a goalie that plays the puck a bit more, but in this case, I don’t think it affects them or us in any way.

“It’s not like (Luongo’s) a slouch. I know Lou (they were Olympic teammates), and he’s been going through a tough year, and I’m sure he’ll be as ready, if not more, than anybody on the ice tonight.”

And yet, some combination of Luongo’s career post-season ups and downs, the fact that his last two playoff games were a pair of 4-2 losses last spring in Los Angeles, before Vigneault apparently cast the club’s goaltending future in stone by starting Schneider in Game 3 ... the interminable contract that made Luongo immovable last summer or at the trade deadline, the Canucks’ refusal to eat any portion of his annual stipend to facilitate a trade ... the fact that it was the Toronto Maple Leafs that ultimately rejected a deal, the converted touchdown Luongo surrendered behind a porous skeleton lineup in Edmonton in the regular-season finale — and, of course, Schneider’s quite evident readiness to carry the team — have given the story legs all across the hockey world.

And now, he’s back in the playoff crosshairs.

“Well, the way things have been going the last year, I didn’t rule it out, that’s for sure,” Luongo said Wednesday. “Things happen and you don’t always know why, and sometimes you don’t understand them.

“I think I view a lot of things differently now, I handle things differently than I have. I’m better at facing adversity. Once you been through it many times, you find it easier to pick yourself back up and overcome it. That’s where I’m at right now.

“It’s kind of funny that I’m in this situation, but at the same time, I’m not surprised. I’m excited to be playing a playoff game with this team, and hopefully get a win and move on.

“Right now, I’m looking at the first period. It’s not a big-picture type of moment.”

But a whole raft of small pictures present themselves. And now, the can of worms is wide open.

What if Luongo won Game 1? Vigneault would certainly not change horses after a victory, so his statement that when Schneider is healthy, he’ll play, would be out the window. Hardly a bad thing for the Canucks, but one more log on the goaltending fire.

What if the Canuck lost the opener at home but Schneider was still not ready?

Four days in a row, Schneider was on the ice taking shots — including two full practices and a morning skate — but he’s unable to even back up, and rookie Joe Cannata, with zero NHL game experience, is all the Canucks have in the bullpen for a playoff game?

So if Luongo went down in warmup reaching for a rebound, a la Minnesota’s Niklas Backstrom on Tuesday night which forced little-used Josh Harding to take the wheel, Cannata would be it?

Absurd.

But then, that’s what the whole season has been.

McLellan, asked how teams typically react when a coach has to make a snap decision to scratch an important player, said he wouldn’t call this a snap decision.

“Snap is what Minnesota had to do last night. That’s snap,” he said. “I’m not in Vancouver’s locker room, but I do know this has been going on for, what, 10 days now?

“And they’ve been preparing, just like we have, for two goaltenders and either one can play. So I don’t know what impact it will have on their team — but I think the snap (decision) came last night, and sometimes, if you’re going in goal, like Harding had to, that’s the best way to do it.”

Luongo had 24 hours to think about it. The 7-2 loss on Edmonton” A non-issue, he

“Oh, it’s already erased. It’s long gone, man,” he said. “This is the playoffs, and everybody starts off at zeroes.”

The Canucks would find out, within hours, whether that reset button really worked.

Winnipeg Sun LOADED: 05.01.2013


Luongo to start Game 1 as Schneider 'not healthy enough' to face Sharks (with video)

By ELLIOTT PAP, VANCOUVER SUN May 1, 2013

VANCOUVER - A routine morning skate for the Vancouver Canucks turned into another circus when Roberto Luongo came off the ice ahead of No. 1 goalie Cory Schneider and revealed he would be starting Game 1 tonight against the San Jose Sharks.

Schneider has been nursing an undisclosed “body injury” but skated on his own Sunday and then practised with the full team both Monday and Tuesday. He was also the first netminder on the ice for today's morning skate.

“Schneids is just not healthy enough right now,” said Canuck head coach Alain Vigneault. “We had an idea Tuesday and we told Louie before he left to be ready. This morning, when we talked to Schneids before practice, it was a pretty easy decision. I don't think for our group that having Roberto in goal is a concern. He's a pretty good goalie. He's been through a lot of battles and played some really solid hockey for us. ”

Joe Cannata, who has 22 pro appearances in the AHL and ECHL, will be the back up. Luongo admitted he wasn't completely surprised by this latest turn of events.

“The way things have been going the last year, I didn't rule it out,” he said. “I wasn't sure what was happening the whole week and then the decision was made that maybe it would be best to rest Cory for a couple of more days. For me, it's an opportunity and I'm excited for it. I'm just excited to be playing some playoff hockey here.”

Luongo isn't exactly entering tonight's game in vintage form. He allowed a weak second goal to Anaheim last Thursday and was then ventilated by the Edmonton Oilers for six third-period goals Saturday. Granted, the Canucks had a watered down lineup against the Oilers but it still doesn't excuse Luongo for some of the goals against.

“Like I said, in the Edmonton game, I really felt I had my 'A' game for 55 minutes and then we all saw what happened," he explained. "I've had some good practices this week and I had a really sharp morning skate.”

Ryan Kesler was the only Canuck who didn't skate this morning but Vigneault assured one and all he would be in the lineup.

“We've got him locked up in the back and we're feeding him raw meat,” joked the coach. “The beast will be ready tonight. It was an optional. That's the player's call.”

Sharks defenceman Dan Boyle doesn't figure facing Luongo, rather than Schneider, will make any difference to his side. Schneider played all three games against the Sharks this season.

“Nothing changes,” said Boyle. “Honestly, nothing changes. It's always the same stuff with goalies... you know, traffic, rebounds and all that kind of stuff. Obviously I know Lou really well and I'm sure he's going to be pumped for this.”

Boyle and Luongo were teammates on the Florida Panthers for a season and a half (2000-02) and again on the 2010 Canadian Olympic gold-medal winning team.

“Lou and I go back a long way,” Boyle noted. “I've known him for many years. Obviously he's had to endure a lot this year and I don't know how he's done it, to be honest with you. He's pretty strong-minded and I don't think he'll be fazed.”

Shark coach Todd McLellan essentially echoed Boyle's comments on what Luongo starting means to his team's preparation. Not much.

“I can tell you the fact there has been a lot of debate over which goaltender is going to start is a much bigger story in Vancouver than it is in the Sharks' locker room,” McLellan said. “We're going to have to beat a good goaltender either way. Their goaltenders are coached by the same goaltending coach and they've been together for a number of years in the organziation.”

McLellan has one lineup decision pending, whether to deploy veteran Scott Hannan or rookie Matt Tennyson as his sixth blueliner with Jason Demers out. James Sheppard will centre the Sharks' fourth line rather than Scott Gomez (undisclosed) and Antti Niemi will start between the pipes.

ICE CHIPS: Daniel Sedin needs three points to pass Pavel Bure and move into third place in all-time Canucks playoff scoring. Daniel enters tonight's game with 64 points. Henrik is No. 2 with 71 points while Trevor Linden tops the list at 95... The Sharks were 20-3-2 when scoring first during the regular season. The Canucks were 20-6-5... Referees tonight are Eric Furlatt and Francois St. Laurent. Kris King is the series supervisor.

INJURIES: The Canucks will be without G Cory Scheider (undisclosed), D Chris Tanev (ankle) and LW David Booth (ankle)... The Sharks will be missing D Jason Demers (lower body) and C Scott Gomez (undisclosed).

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SHARKS AT CANUCKS

FIRST GAME, BEST-OF-SEVEN SERIES

TONIGHT, 7:30 PM, ROGERS ARENA

TV: TSN. RADIO: TEAM 1040.

Winnipeg Sun LOADED: 05.01.2013


Ryan Kesler's disturbingly quiet night

By Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun columnist May 2, 2013 12:07 AM

VANCOUVER — Oh, how we long for those carefree spring days when the only medical intrigue surrounded goalie Cory Schneider and the Vancouver Canucks didn't trail anyone in the playoffs. Seems like only yesterday.

Technically, it's not possible to lose a seven-game National Hockey League series on opening night, but it was difficult for Canuck fans to leave Wednesday's game at Rogers Arena with much to feel optimistic about.

Yes, some of the gloom was a reflection of the accumulated baggage from playoff failures, and a here-we-go-again foreboding that yet another Stanley Cup tournament will be short and disappointing in Vancouver.

And it's more than just the San Jose Sharks pouring in the final three goals to overcome a late second-period deficit and win 3-1, lifting “home-ice advantage” from the Canucks. The Sharks are 17-2-5 this season in San Jose, and now the Canucks will have to win at least once in the Silicon Valley if they hope to make the second round.

Other than an inspired night by goalie Roberto Luongo, filling in while Schneider recovers from an undisclosed injury, there wasn't much spark to the Canucks.

And the player most capable of providing it appeared to labour through some shifts after conspicuously no-showing for the morning skate.

For Pete's sake, is Ryan Kesler hurt again?

“I was good,” Kesler insisted. “I was good to play. Game 2, we'll all be better.”

Kesler was the only Canuck who didn't take the morning skate.

Canuck coach Alain Vigneault told reporters it was optional.

“We've got him locked up in the back and we're feeding him raw meat,” Vigneault joked in the morning. “The beast will be ready tonight. It was an optional. That's the player's call.”

But why would Kesler, who played only 17 games this season due to injuries and told reporters on Tuesday how fresh he felt after the extra time off, be the only Canuck to skip a morning skate before the first game of the playoffs?

“I thought it was the best option to prepare me to have enough energy for the night,” Kesler explained post-game.

After logging just 3:05 of even-strength ice time in the first period (out of 16:21 of five-on-five play), Kesler eventually finished with a hefty 21:33 of playing time – easily the most among Canuck forwards. But it was still a quiet night for him. He registered two shots, one hit, went 12-13 on faceoffs and finished minus-one.

“It's disappointing going into the third period in your own building being tied and losing like that,” Kesler said. “We need to take care of our third period better than that.”

It was the Canucks' fifth straight loss at home in the playoffs, a streak that began with the final game of the Stanley Cup final against the Boston Bruins two years ago.

“I don't think we're worried about that,” Kesler said. “We're worried about the next game. Like I said, it's not our (style of) hockey to go into the third period tied and lose the game. It's uncharacteristic of us.”

Forgive us for being skeptical about Kesler's health, but it was Kesler's lack of health that contributed greatly to the Canucks' exit from the playoffs the last two seasons.

Kesler certainly didn't spend Wednesday's game on the bench. We don't know if he spent the intermissions in the medical room.

But he has a recent history of playing hurt in the playoffs – significant, off-season-surgery-required hurt.

This is supposed to be the playoffs when Kesler, so banged up in last year's first-round loss to the Los Angeles Kings that he needed operations on his shoulder and wrist, is finally healthy again and able to power the Canucks.

Maybe he is and maybe he will but his game appeared to lack some speed and power against the Sharks.

If Kesler is playing hurt, it will probably become more apparent in the coming days, betrayed by both his performance and the Canucks.' Even with the trade-deadline acquisition of Derek Roy, the Canucks aren't strong enough down the middle to go very far without Kesler.

Remember, the Canucks were in Game 18 of their playoff run in 2011 before Kesler got hurt. Had he torn his labrum, say, in the final game of the first round, the Canucks may not have made it through the Nashville Predators in a second-round series dominated by Kesler.

He logged a lot of minutes in the final two periods against the Sharks in Game 1. Like he said, the Canucks need to be better in Game 2 and so does Kesler. If he is able.

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Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Ryan+Kesler+disturbingly+quiet+night/8324794/story.html#ixzz2S8EuxLt7

Vancouver Sun: LOADED: 05.01.2013


I Watched This Playoff Game: Canucks vs San Jose Sharks, May 1, 2013

Harrison Mooney,

The playoffs didn’t exactly open the way that the Canucks hoped they would. What they wanted, and what most in Vancouver wanted, I think, was for the Canucks to kick off the 2013 postseason with 16 consecutive wins. Instead, they started with one loss, meaning it will take them 17 games at least to win the Stanley Cup. Nuts. So close.

What went wrong in this one? Nothing whatsoever, if you completely discount the 3rd period, where everything went wrong. If the game were 20 minutes (and it started after a 20 minute warm-up period) the Canucks win this game. Unfortunately, playing 60 minutes is one of the rules of NHL hockey — even in the playoffs, when a bunch of other rules are abandoned — so the Canucks lost this game. And I watched this game.

Canucks 1 – 3 San Jose

It’s not the optimal start, and Vancouver is prone to pessimism at the best of times (and the blurst of times), but there are plenty of reasons for optimism. First of all, the game we just witnessed was Game 1 of what most are projecting to be a seven-game series, so the Canucks are bound to lose a few either way. Second, while the Canucks were outscored, they did have the edge, possession-wise, at even-strength, which is a sign they can hang with San Jose. Granted, the Sharks probably have no interest in hanging signs with the Canucks. They’re not hosting a charity event together.

After 12 months of much ado, flurry, and travail (and about seventeen “this is the end” articles and a book from The Province), Roberto Luongo is still here, and thanks to Cory Schneider’s corporeal injury, Funny Bob got the start in Game 1. He was excellent, especially in the first, where he made four or five incredible saves to keep the game scoreless. There’s no reason to blame him for this loss, although that’s never stopped this city before. Luongo is to Vancouver as Canada is to South Park.

Ryan Kesler will also see his fair share of blame, for having the gall to play despite clearly not being 100%. (How dare he allow circumstances to befall him!) As for what ailed him, no one’s saying, save the amateur medical doctors on Twitter and in the press box who were suddenly skating stride and rotation experts. My best guess, however: the flu. Either way, Kesler was actually really good in Game 1. His plus-12 even-strength Corsi was the best among forwards on either team. Granted, he wasn’t the beastly Kesler that marauded about Nashville in 2011, but it’s important to note that Kesler was only that guy for six games. Most of the time, what he does well is what he did in the series immediately before and after that: lead the team on special teams, the penalty-kill, and at even-strength. He did that tonight.

The guys I would call out: Henrik and Daniel Sedin. They were outplayed tonight by Joe Pavelski’s line, and if that happens four times in this series, the Canucks will lose four times. Henrik seemed to get it. “We weren’t that far off,” he told the media after the game, “but everything has to be five times better.” Yeah, that about sums it up, although I would argue that if you have to multiply something by five in order to have enough, you’re pretty far off.

Only four Canucks failed to register a shot on goal: Andrew Alberts, Zack Kassian, Dale Weise, and Alex Burrows. That last name stands out. Burrows had a few nice shifts in this one, but he needs to show a lot more bite. Not literally, of course. Unless that’s what it takes to engage him. If it does, I am reluctantly for it.

The Canucks actually drew first blood in this game thanks to old friend Raffi Torres. During a scramble in the Sharks’ crease, Raffi tried to corral the puck, only to wind up pushing it under Antti Niemi. Poor guy. Raffi was all over the ice in Game 1, registering a game-high six hits, and reminding Canuck fans of the good old days when he was a staple on Vancouver’s third line. It was easy to picture him back there, especially when he hooked up with Vancouver’s third line for that goal.

Originally, Jannik Hansen was given credit for the goal, but once the scorekeepers recognized Raffi’s contribution to the play, it was marked as an unassisted tally for Kevin Bieksa. I didn’t like this, because I feel like Hansen deserved credit for his work on this play. His drop-pass to Bieksa

was gorgeous. I guess you could say it was drop-pass gorgeous, which is like drop dead gorgeous, but with less Kirsten Dunst.

Also integral to that play: Mason Raymond, who shoved Antti Niemi down like a big meanie, which led to TSN’s Kerry Fraser suggesting that Raymond got away with one. It was, perhaps, the first time in history that Raymond was criticized for going too hard to the net.

Dale Weise couldn’t get a call to save his life in this one, probably because he’s a fourth liner and the officials didn’t really care what anyone did to him. Alain Vigneault tried to convince them that Weise was actually a second liner by swapping him and Kassian for several shifts, but the refs weren’t buying it.

Faceoffs are going to be an issue for the Canucks in this series, because the Sharks are better in this regard, and it showed. The Canucks won just 30 of 70 draws. Derek Roy and Maxim Lapierre struggled the most, going a combined 6-for-19, but no one was particularly good, save Ryan Kesler, the only Canuck centre to win more than he lost. Kesler went 13-for-25. Now, the stat line says he only won 12, but he was credited with a loss to Joe Thornton on penalty-kill draw that he actually won. Looking for a clear, Kesler got it by knocking Thornton’s stick back as the puck fell from the linesman’s hand, then shooting the puck straight ahead and out of the zone. It happened so quickly that the scorers and the announcers thought Thornton had won it cleanly. He hadn’t.

The green men were in the house, and they got under the skin of CSN Bay Area announcers Randy Hahn and Drew Remenda, the latter of whom called them “40-year-old virgins”. That’s ridiculous. I know those guys and they’re nowhere near 40.



Canucks extend home-ice playoff losing streak in 3-1 series-opening setback to Sharks

By Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun May 2, 2013 12:07 AM

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks seem to have a case of home-ice disadvantage in the playoffs.

Wednesday night's 3-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks in their best-of-seven Western Conference quarter-final series opener was the Canucks' fifth straight playoff loss on home ice.

That streak needs to end now if Vancouver is to survive this series and make any kind of post-season run.

"That doesn't matter," defenceman Kevin Bieksa said in a quiet Vancouver dressing room after the game. "It's one straight (loss) in the playoffs. We have one more chance next game to get a split on home ice. That's what we concentrate on. We're a good team on home ice and we are going to use that to our advantage in our next game.”

Game 2 of the series goes Friday night at Rogers Arena and the Canucks will be under immense pressure to gain a split before the series shifts to San Jose for Games 3 and 4.

Defenceman Dan Boyle scored the winner at 9:17 of the third period. His goal came after Joe Pavelski had lobbed a soft backhand shot at the Vancouver net. Goalie Roberto Luongo made the save, but Tommy Wingels dug the puck out of the crease and fed it to a pinching Boyle, who had a wide open net to shoot at.

"It was a close game," said Luongo, who was something of a surprise starter when Cory Schneider was unable to go. "They got a bit of a break there on the second goal. I got sandwiched between two guys in the crease and I couldn't get loose there.

"I'm not quite sure what happened when the puck squirted out, but they were able to bury it in the net. It's going to be that type of series where it's going to be tight-checking, physical games and we're going to have to find way to get bounces."

The game was an intense one, with lots of hitting and plenty of emotion. The Sharks had the better of the play most of the night, but the Canucks did out-hit San Jose 40-26 on the night.

Patrick Marleau scored an insurance goal at 14:37 of the third period to give the Sharks a two-goal cushion. Logan Couture found him in front of the net and Marleau shot's may have bounced off the skate of Vancouver defenceman Dan Hamhuis before sliding past Luongo.

"We weren't that far off but I think everything has to be five times better: puck movement, execution, battle level and bearing down when we get the chances," said captain Henrik Sedin. "It's going to be a tight series. We didn't give up a whole lot of chances."

Bieksa got credit for the goal that gave Vancouver a 1-0 lead at 12:26 of the second period. Bieksa’s point shot was stopped, but the rebound led to a wild scramble in front of San Jose goalie Antti Niemi. It appeared San Jose winger Raffi Torres put the puck into his own net. Jannik Hansen was initially credited with the goal.

"It's playoffs and it's going to get dirty," Hansen said in an interview between periods. "You have to get in there of you want to score goals."

The Vancouver lead lasted just four minutes. Shortly after Vancouver winger Zack Kassian took a careless roughing minor on Couture, the Sharks centre took a feed from Boyle and snapped a wrist shot from the slot past Luongo.

Luongo said before the game that he hoped he'd get some early action to get himself into the game. He got his wish. The Sharks were all over the Canucks for much of what was a scoreless first period.

They outshot Vancouver 15-9 and Luongo made a number of huge saves, none bigger than when he slid across his crease and got his right pad on a Martin Havlat shot off a rebound on an early San Jose power play.

"I felt pretty good in the first, it gave me a good rhythm for the rest of the game," Luongo said. "But when you are on the losing end you always want to find a way to do more."

Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault knows his team has to find a way to generate more offence in Game 2.

"They didn't generate a lot in the third, but they capitalized on one puck that we were trying to find in front of our net and the other one just went past Dan Hamhuis's stick and sort of dribbled on there," Vigneault said.

"It's not like we got shelled in the third. That being said, the only goal we scored, they pushed in their net so we have to find a way to be better and that's what we're going to work on here in the next 24 hours.”

ICE CHIPS: The Sharks lost Havlat to an undisclosed injury in the first period … Steve Pinizzotto, Tom Sestito, Cam Barker, Keith Ballard and Derek Joslin were Vancouver’s healthy scratches … The Canucks announced their 423rd straight sellout Wednesday night.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Canucks+extend+home+playoff+losing+streak+series+opening+setback+Sharks/8324459/story.html#ixzz2S8FJJZJu



Game Within Game: Sharks show teeth to Canucks

By Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun May 1, 2013

THREE STARS

ONE – Dan Boyle, Sharks. One goal, one assist, four shots, two blocked shots, plus-1.

TWO – Logan Couture, Sharks. One goal, one assist, two shots, 10-for-18 on the draw.

THREE – Joe Pavelski, Sharks. Two assists, three shots, plus-1, 11-for-19 on the draw.

PIVOTAL POINT – With the teams locked in a 1-1 game and nearing the midpoint of the third period, Dan Boyle snuck in from the right point unchecked during a wild scramble in Roberto Luongo's crease area and easily slung home the game-winning goal.

BY THE NUMBERS – The Canucks lost their fifth straight playoff game on home ice dating back to Game 7 of the 2011 final... The Sharks won on the road for only the ninth time in 25 games. They're 2-for-2 at Rogers Arena... The Canucks fell to 7-5-2 when tied after two periods while the Sharks improved to 7-2-4... The Canucks also slipped to 20-7-5 when scoring first while the Sharks won for only the sixth time when giving up the first goal (6-13-5) .. The Canucks announce a sellout, extending their streak to 432.

IN THE CIRCLE – The Sharks, who were the league's second best faceoff team during the regular season, were easily the best team on the draw Wednesday, winning 57 per cent of the draws (40-for-70). Unheralded Adam Burish was 5-for-5 for the Sharks. Ryan Kesler was 12-for-25 and Henrik Sedin 11-for-24.

HIT PARADE – In the game's consolation prize, the Canucks outhit the Sharks by a decisiver 40-26 margin. Dale Weise and Jannik Hansen led the Canucks with five apiece as 16 of the 18 Canuck skaters recorded at least one hit. Ex-Canuck Raffi Torres led everybody with six hits.

DID YOU NOTICE? On their first power play in the first period, the Sharks had seven shots, almost all of them scoring chances. They had another power-play shot late in the period but, during 5-on-5 play, the Canucks actually outshot them 9-7 in the opening 20 minutes.

QUOTABLE: “Lou and I go back a long way. We played together in Florida (2000-02) so I've known him for many years. Obviously he's had to endure a lot this year and I don't know how he's done it, to be honest with you.” – Sharks defenceman Dan Boyle on Roberto Luongo, who was also his teammate on the 2010 Canadian Olympic gold-medal winning team.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Game+Within+Game+Sharks+show+teeth+Canucks/8324491/story.html#ixzz2S8FPgLBV



Malhotra still feels he can play

Jim Jamieson

Manny Malhotra is still mulling his future, but it sounds like the sidelined Canucks centre is leaning towards resuming his NHL career next season.

Malhotra, who suffered a serious eye injury on March 16, 2011, was shut down by Canucks GM Mike Gillis in mid-February after having played just nine games. Gillis cited concerns that the player was putting himself at risk due to the continuing effects of the injury on his vision.

Malhotra agreed to speak with The Province earlier this week for a story on Jason Collins becoming the first active player in one of four major North American professional sports leagues to declare himself as gay. Malhotra, who marched in the Vancouver Pride parade last August along with teammate Jason Garrison representing the Canucks, was also asked about his future plans.

“The playing feeling is not going away,” said Malhotra, who said two weeks after being shut down that he still wants to play.

“I still feel healthy and strong, I’m still working out. We’ll see what the opportunities are this summer.”

Malhotra, who turns 33 later this month, said he’s talked with the Canucks about taking on an off-ice role with the club but clearly that wouldn’t happen if he continues his playing career.

Malhotra, who was placed on Injured Reserve for the remainder of the season, was on the final year of a three-year contract that paid him $2.5 million a season.

The Canucks declined comment.

Vancouver Province: LOADED: 05.01.2013


Canucks fourth line ready to feed off Lapierre’s playoff energy

Jim Jamieson

This is Max Lapierre’s time of year.

And for the Canucks to have success in the post-season one of the things they’ll need is the usual high-energy contribution from their fourth-line centre.

Lapierre, who was one of the Canucks’ top performers in their run to the Stanley Cup final in 2011, always seems to ramp up his game in the playoffs.

“I’m just counting the minutes now,” said Lapierre before the Canucks took on San Jose in Game 1 of their first-round series on Wednesday.

“I just can’t wait to go out there and play. It’s so much fun to play in the playoffs. Everything counts. You block a shot or you get the puck out of your zone it’s a big play.

“When you play in the playoffs, a special energy takes you over. You give everything you’ve got. It’s just adrenalin. When I get it going, I’m a different guy. When there’s emotions on the line, this is what I’m built for.”

Linemate Andrew Ebbett said he’s seen a difference in Lapierre lately in practice.

“I think even just the last couple of days we’ve seen it in practice,” said Ebbett. “He’s a guy who loves playoffs. This is what he plays for all year. He comes out of the gates flying. You’ve got to control that emotion, but it’s fun to feed off.”

The Canucks will need a big contribution from their fourth line if they are get on a run in the post-season. Fourth lines not only afford the other three units to watch their minutes, they can also establish momentum with some strong shifts.

“For our line, it’s all about the forecheck,” said Lapierre. “We want to be smart, but we want to be physical and make the little plays that matter, like getting the puck out of our zone and getting it deep.”

The Canucks’ fourth line – which also includes right winger Dale Weise – has plenty of speed, so getting on the forecheck will be imperative.

“We’ve got to go out and be physical,” said Weise. “We’ve got to wear teams down. This (San Jose) is a team that rolls four lines. I think their fourth line averages around 10:30 to 11 minutes, so they play a lot. (Adam) Burish is a guy who’s won a Stanley Cup and he’s good in the playoffs. So we’ve got to be better than their fourth line for us to win.”

Lapierre’s line will likely see a lot of Burish and Andrew Desjardins and James Sheppard.

Burish, who established himself as a pain in the rear for the Canucks when he was with the Chicago Blackhawks, expects the bad blood to be flowing early on.

“That’s what makes it fun,” said Burish. “I’m not going into this to make any friends. From being here (San Jose) for a year and see the relationship these two teams have, there’s some nastiness. When I was in Chicago they were our biggest rival. There was some serious nastiness. If I could pick a team to play in the playoffs as far as battle level and intensity, this is as high as I’ve felt. When I was in Chicago I’ll always remember when we beat them in Game 6 to advance, that was as nasty a game as I’ve ever played in and I expect this to be the same.”



Sharks don’t care which Canucks goaltender they face

Jim Jamieson

The Sharks say there is no issue for them that Roberto Luongo will play goal tonight for the Canucks instead of Cory Schneider.

The Sharks didn’t see Luongo in any of the three games between the two clubs this season, but they are well familiar with the Canucks goaltender.

“The goaltenders are coached by the same goaltending coach, they’ve been together a number of years here in the organization, they’ve both played big games and I can tell you the fact that there’s been a lot of debate about which goaltender is going to start here, it’s a much bigger story in Vancouver than it is in the Sharks’ locker room,” said San Jose head coach Todd McLellan.

“We’re going to have to beat a good goaltender either way.”

Sharks captain Joe Thornton played with Luongo on the 2010 Olympic gold-medal winning Team Canada, so he knows Vancouver will still have very capable goaltending.

“When you have a choice of Luongo or Schneider, you’re pretty fortunate,” said Thornton. “Either one, it’s going to be a big challenge.”

Ex-Canuck Raffi Torres joined the Sharks at the trade deadline and he knows his job will be to get physical with former teammates.

“It’s just the way it is,” said Torres, who can be a fearsome hitter. “I’m sure if they get a chance to get a lick on me they will. For me, I just play my game, keep my head up and keep it simple.”



Canucks-Sharks Gameday: When we look back at the 2013 season, we won’t believe our eyes

Jonathan McDonald

Somewhere not too far down the line, people are going to read about the Vancouver Canucks’ 2013 campaign and there will be plenty of “That didn’t really happen, did it?”

Roberto Luongo, the goaltender who supposedly played his final game in Canuck colours in the playoffs last spring and was about to be traded at various points this year, is getting the start Wednesday for Game 1 of the best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinal versus the San Jose Sharks.

Cory Schneider’s mysterious ailment that kept him out of the final two regular season games will leave him sidelined for at least the opener of the playoffs, even though he practised two straight days and took the morning skate Wednesday. Call-up Joe Cannata will be Luongo’s back-up, coach Alain Vigneault said Wednesday morning.

“The way things have going the last year, I didn’t rule it out for sure,” Luongo said when asked if he ever thought he’d be getting a playoff start with the Canucks this season. “Right now, my focus is totally on this game and making sure we put our best effort out on the ice, starting with myself.”

Coach Alain Vigneault said that he hinted to Luongo Tuesday that Schneider may not have been ready to play, and Luongo said he found out for certain Wednesday morning.

Schneider was saying Tuesday after practice that “I’d love to play, no matter what.” As per standard operating practice in the NHL this time of year, what exactly is ailing Schneider hasn’t been released.

He wasn’t permitted to speak to the media Wednesday; the Canucks stopped making goalies other than their starter available on game day this season, due to all the questions about Luongo being traded through the campaign.

“He’s progressing,” said Luongo, “but obviously the decision was made that it would be best to rest him for a couple of more days.

“It’s an opportunity. I’m excited for it. I’m excited to play some playoff hockey again.”

Vigneault said: “When we talked to Schneids prior to practice, it was a pretty easy decision to make. He’s just not healthy enough right now.”

Schneider went 17-9-4 this season, with a 2.11 goals against and a .927 save percentage. Luongo was 9-6-3, with a 2.56 goals against and a .907 save percentage.

Luongo’s numbers took a hit with the regular season finale, as Vigneault let him go the distance in a 7-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers.

“The Edmonton game, I really felt like I had my ‘A’ game for 55 minutes and then we all saw what happened,” said Luongo. “To me, I build off of that. I had some good practices this week and a really sharp morning skate.

“It’s playoff hockey, man.”

The goaltending situation overshadowed the fact that Ryan Kesler didn’t take the morning skate Wednesday. The Canucks were saying that he would play against the Sharks in Game 1.

“He’s in the back. We’ve got him locked up in the back. We’re giving him raw meat. The Beast will be ready tonight,” Vigneault joked.



Surprise, surprise: goalie saga continues, as Roberto Luongo gets start against Sharks

Steve Ewen

You couldn’t make this stuff up if you tried.

The Vancouver Canucks’ goalie saga, the story that keeps on giving, took another turn Wednesday morning, as Roberto Luongo was the first goalie off the ice after the morning skate and told the assembled media masses that he would be getting the start.

Apparently whatever injury is bothering Cory Schneider is still ailing him.

“We’ve been talking the whole week and he’s obviously progressing…[but] the decision was made to rest him a couple of more days,” said Luongo, who says he found out Wednesday morning. “It’s an opportunity. I’m excited for it. I’m just excited to be playing some playoff hockey again.”

Luongo, who looked like he was going to be traded over the summer and then like he’d be gone by the trade deadline, has said all along that he doesn’t know what the future holds.

But now?

“It’s been a fun ride,” he said. “It’s only going to get better from here on out. Obviously my focus is totally on this game and we make sure we put our best effort on the ice, starting with myself.”

Luongo stayed in the net for the entire 7-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, a move that coach Alain Vigneault was widely criticized for. Luongo opted to not speak to the media after the game, and apologized for that later on.

“It’s already erased,” he said. “It’s long gone. This is the playoffs. Everybody starts at zeroes and a way we go.”

Coach Alain Vigneault said that Joe Cannata would back up Luongo tonight.



Shock announcement: Luongo’s the man tonight for Canucks!

Jonathan McDonald

Who’s the Canucks’ No. 1 goalie?

It’s never been murkier than now. Roberto Luongo told reporters after the Canucks’ gameday skate that he will be starting Game 1 tonight against the San Jose Sharks.

It was a stunning announcement. After all, Cory Schneider returned to practice Monday after being sidelined for five days with a mysterious ailment. He then practised again Tuesday, and looked good. And this morning at 10 a.m., once again, Schneider had as much work as Luongo. And then, Luongo left the ice first — the sign that he would be tonight’s starter.

After Schneider played well in last Monday’s win over the Chicago Blackhawks, Luongo started and lost Thursday’s home regular season finale against Anaheim, then got shelled late in the third period in a blowout loss to the Edmonton Oilers Saturday night.

The Province’s Jim Jamieson tweeted: “Luongo undefeated vs Sharks this season. Also hasn’t played against them …”

Brown to Bure (@BrowntoBure) added: “Cory Schneider just put his fist through a wall. Day-to-day.”

More later.



What they’re saying in San Jose: Brent Burns could be ‘X’ factor in series

Steve Ewen

A sample of what they’re saying San Jose way about the upcoming Sharks’ series with the Vancouver Canucks…

*Mark Purdy from the San Jose Mercury News suggests that defenceman turned forward Brent Burns of the Sharks could be the ‘X’ factor in the series. And, yes, Purdy admits that ‘X’ factor is a vague term, but, in his words, it “sounds dangerous and important and vaguely sinister.”

On another matter, I think it’s a rather disjointed TV show. I’m more of a The Voice guy. That’s for another time.

*David Pollak of the Mercury News has a story looking back at the last time the two teams met in the playoffs, the 2011 postseason series won by the Kevin Bieksa’s goal that started out with that weird hop off the boards.

Pollak also has an entertaining blog. The latest entry talks about the Sharks arriving at their downtown hotel — he came down just to see what kind of media circus it might be. It was rather tame.

*OK, he’s not from San Jose, but Randy Sportak of the Calgary Sun is in town to follow the series and he reports that Derek Roy understands his role as hired gun for the Canucks.



San Jose Sharks aren’t strictly the Big Joe and Marleau Show like in the past

Steve Ewen

The San Jose Sharks have become an ensemble outfit.

The days of riding the offence of Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau are over. They aren’t even linemates five-on-five most nights any more. San Jose, who had loaded up their top two forward units to kick off the year, now have spread their offensive talents over three lines.

They needed an extreme makeover. The Sharks, led by Marleau and Thornton, won their first seven games of the campaign, pitching a perfect January, but that was quickly followed by a stretch where they dropped 17 of 23.

They changed their thinking. They moved out veterans Douglas Murray and Ryane Clowe prior to the trade deadline. And they went on a tear. San Jose was 12-3-1 down the stretch to clinch a playoff spot, prior to losing their last two games.

“It’s just balance,” said San Jose defenceman Dan Boyle. “We didn’t change X-and-0 wise. It was like a puzzle. Everything feel into place.

“Last year, if our top line didn’t get it done, we weren’t finding ways to win. The last 15, 20 games, we’ve had three lines and probably four who could score.”

Thornton added: “It looked like we were selling, but we had a lot of pieces still here. Those two guys [Murray and Clowe] are huge competitors and were huge parts of our success in the past. But we knew the guys we had waiting in the wings to play some big minutes for us. It’s all worked out well.”

Among the guys waiting was Brent Burns. San Jose moved him from defence to forward, and he put up nine goals and 20 points in 24 games there, largely playing alongside Thornton and TJ Galiardi.

Joe Pavelski, who had been playing the wing with Thornton and Marleau earlier in the season, has been shifted to pivot on the third line, and he supplied nine goals and 14 points in his final 18 games.

The most telling stats, though, may be the minutes played. Thornton averaged 20:28 of ice time last season, and finished the regular season this year at 18:22. Marleau was similar, going from that identical 20:28 to 19:06.

“When you think back to 2011, we had three lines, with Pavs as our third-line centre again,” said Logan Couture, who’s centring the top line, playing between Martin Havlat and Marleau. “They were contributing then and they’re doing the same thing now. It helps us balance it out.”



Willes: And you thought goaltending soap opera was over

By Ed Willes, The Province May 1, 2013

It didn't make for the happiest of endings but when Roberto Luongo skated off the ice in Edmonton on Saturday, there was the thought, 'Well, at least that's over.'

And it was. For 24 hours, it seemed Goalie Confidential had finally run it's course, Cory Schneider would assume the Canucks' net in the playoffs and Luongo's career in Van City would be over. That's, at least, the way it seemed when Schneider took a full practice with the team on Monday and everyone seemed satisfied we'd finally experienced closure on this soap opera.

The fools. The poor, benighted fools.

“I'm just excited to be playing hockey again,” Luongo said on Wednesday morning, shortly after he was announced as the starter for Game 1 against the San Jose Sharks.

But not half as excited as those who've been covering this story.

“Those are part of the same dynamics you go through during the regular season,' said Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault. “Guys are in and out of the lineup. Our guys have known for a while there's a possibility Cory might not be ready. We've got Roberto. I'm sure the guys are confident about tonight's game.”

So it's business as usual for the Canucks. It's the same routine situation, in fact, where they've been trying to trade the former face of the franchise for almost a full calendar year but now turn to him in the first game of the playoffs after he allowed five goals in 3 ½ minutes in his last outing. I mean, what could be more normal?

As for Schneider's health, that too is fairly straight forward.

“He's just not healthy enough right now,” said Vigneault.

There, that should satisfy your curiosity.

The never-ending story, which has provided the viewing public with equal moments of low comedy and high drama this season, might have delivered its greatest moment on Wednesday when Luongo was announced as the surprise Game 1 starter just two days after Schneider pronounced he was ready to play. This development, in turn, raised about 3,456 questions, ranging from the state of Luongo's game to its effect on a Canucks' team which has Stanley Cup aspirations to the real nature of Schneider's now-famous “body injury.”

Those questions will be answered when Schneider plays or when the Canucks are eliminated or – and roll this one around in your imagination – Luongo is skating around Rogers Arena holding the Stanley Cup over his head. But, until then, there is a great unknown which can only be filled with speculation.

And that's the beauty of this story. Given what we've already seen, everything and anything is plausible.

It started in the very first game when Schneider was driven from the net by the Anaheim Ducks and Luongo had to make a relief appearance. Early in the season, Luongo strung together a six-game unbeaten streak before he was shelled 8-3 in Detroit. Then both goalies struggled for a spell. Then Schneider took over the net, winning six straight in March and climaxing his run with a 3-1 win over Chicago 10 days ago in the Canucks' third-last game of the season.

And that's, apparently, when he got hurt or contacted mono or Bell's Palsy or something. Schneider finished the game but he did make an awkward save off the Hawks' Brandon Saad early in the third when appeared to strain his left knee. Or didn't. It's hard to say but after taking three full practices with the Canucks, Schneider was out on Wednesday, Luongo was in and Joe Cannata was named the backup.

“We had an idea yesterday,” said Vigneault. “We told Louie before he left to be ready. This morning, when we talked to Schneids prior to practice, it was a pretty easy decision to make.”

That's an interesting definition of the term, 'easy.'

Luongo, who spent most of the season as the team's forgotten man, now steps back into the spotlight and the net he used to own in this town and that's a helluva story. It would be even better, of course, if he emerged as the Luongo of 2007 or 2009 or 2011 but the plain fact is he's been only average this season and average goaltending doesn't cut it in the playoffs.

“I don't think for our group having Roberto in goal is a concern,” said Vigneault. “He's a pretty good goalie. He's been through a lot of battles and he's played some real solid hockey for us. Tonight, he's playing.”

As for Game 2, stay tuned. You won't want to miss where this goes next.



Sharks impose their will, don't need to win battle of skill

By Ben Kuzma, The Province May 2, 2013 1:06 AM

There's nothing fancy or pretty about playoff hockey.

It's gritty, dirty, ugly and usually more about a battle of will than skill. It's crowded creases and scrums. It's hacks and whacks and finding just enough scoring to live another day. Third-period goals by Dan Boyle and Patrick Marleau proved the San Jose Sharks were willing to find a way to claim a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference quarterfinal series opener Wednesday at Rogers Arena.

It was too much like a year ago when the Canucks dropped their series opener 4-2 at home to the Los Angeles Kings. They managed but eight goals in that five-game exit, and have now lost five straight playoff games at home. On Wednesday, their only goal was credited to Kevin Bieksa. It came off a wild scramble in which Raffi Torres tried to sweep the puck back to Antti Niemi and pushed it under him and into the net. But the Sharks had the better push when it mattered most.

"It's not like we got shelled in the third period, but we have to find a way to be better," said Canucks coach Alain Vigneault. "There wasn't a lot of room on the ice, but they had some pretty good looks because of their possession. They're second in the league in faceoffs, they have experience and cheat and that's part of the game. I know our top guys can play better than they did tonight."

Nobody was more ready for the series opener and nobody looked more out of sorts early than Ryan Kesler.

His stride was laboured. He couldn't seem to push off his right skate and it made you wonder if his hip was bugging him again. He took short shifts and was hunched over after each one while leaving the ice. Kesler was then taking ice packs to the back of his neck on the bench and was constantly having his gloves changed to give you the impression that he was sick — perhaps hit with a flu bug that had zapped his strength and stamina. He wasn't as effective taking draws (12-for-25), had just two shots and that break-away speed through the neutral zone simply wasn't there.

"I was good — I was good to play," said Kesler, who refused to go into greater detail. "Game 2 we'll all be better. We need to get the job done and we can always get more of a net presence. We've got to get those dirty goals and we're going to do more of that on Friday."

Starting with the puck would help. The Sharks won 57 per cent of draws but many of them weren't clean wins.

"We've got to come with a better effort, but the Ds and wingers have to realize there are loose pucks there for them to get to," added Kesler. "It's two teams who want it bad. I thought our forecheck the best part of our game. We just need to continue on that."

Roberto Luongo was beaten by a short-side power-play wrister by Couture in the second period before Boyle pounced on a rebound in a crowded crease and Marleau took a pass from Couture from behind the net and had his shot got off the stick of Dan Hamhuis and trickle in. Luongo was the least of the Canucks' concerns and withstood an early barrage in which the Sharks fired seven shots on a first-period power play. The problem was generating little after the Canucks took a 1-0 lead.

"They shut us down," said Canucks captain Henrik Sedin. "We tried to go up the middle to make plays and they weren't there. That's why they came back at us. We've got to stick to our system. You can't cheat. Niemi puts his paddle down, and if we can get pucks upstairs, we're going to score a lot of goals. We have the guys who can do it."

That remains to be seen. The post-trade-deadline Sharks are quicker and move the puck better. They adapted well after losing winger Martin Havlat to injury early Wednesday and seemed to suck up being outhit 40-26. Boyle was hit three times on one shift in the second period alone.

"That was good," chuckled Boyle. "As long as you don't come out of it injured, it wakes you up a bit. All pretty clean hits, and I'm OK with that. Game 1 in every series, teams are so anxious to go and the home team feeds off the crowd. It's wasn't pretty, but every team talks about getting

somebody in front of the net and crashing the net. That's what you need. You can't get frustrated. Luongo made some huge saves early."

Maybe Sharks coach Todd McLellan put it best about what the Sharks have become and how hard they were willing to work in the third period.

"Playoff-type goals," he said. "You force a turnover and get a second or third chance. Perseverance paid off. We played a fast game and had to keep pucks moving. You don't get the dirty goal if you don't take the first shot and we've been trying to stress that. It worked."



Willes: The more things change, the more they stay the same

By Ed Willes, The Province May 2, 2013 12:07 AM

If you were a longtime Canucks’ fan who, say, had just spent the last year on a space probe to Jupiter and dropped into The Rog for Game 1 of the 2013 playoffs, you’d probably think, "Geez, I haven’t missed much."

There was Roberto Luongo, playing in the Canucks’ goal. There was Luongo playing pretty well for 30 minutes. Then there were three straight San Jose Sharks’ goals, a 3-1 Sharks’ win and a general feeling of frustration and disappointment in the land.

Yes, you’d think, this is just the way I remember it. Trade the Sharks for the Los Angeles Kings, in fact, and you pretty much had every game from the 2012 opening-round series in which the Canucks were dispatched in five inglorious games.

But then you’d learn of everything that happened in the year you were in deep space and you’d say, "Sorry, I don’t believe any of it."

And, really who in their right mind would?

"I felt pretty good in the first," Luongo said after the fact. "It gave me a good rhythm for the rest of the game, but when you’re on the losing end, you want to find a way to do more."

And that too sounded familiar to Canucks’ fans. A little too familiar.

Wednesday night, which was three nights after Goalie Confidential finally seemed to have run its course in Edmonton, the forgotten man stepped into the Canucks’ net, played alright and ended up as the losing goaltender for the fifth straight postseason home game.

It didn’t really matter that Luongo was among the least of the Canucks’ worries on this night. It didn’t really matter that he held his team in the first period when they were flatter than Saskatchewan. The more pressing issue for the Canucks — in no particular order — was a clearly hampered Ryan Kesler coasting around the ice; an ineffectual pair of Sedins and an attack that generated precious little against the efficient visitors from NorCal.

But in this, as all things with the Canucks this season, the soap opera remained the main talking point, the lead story in an otherwise forgettable evening. Maybe it’s just a one-day story and Cory Schneider returns to the Canucks’ net for Game 2. That’s, at least, what the Canucks should hope for because it seems the weight of the goaltending saga is starting wear on this team.

Luongo, who was named the surprise starter for Game 1 after it was determined Schneider wasn’t sufficiently recovered from his groin-knee-body thingy, actually looked like ‘07-Luongo over the first 32 minutes as the Canucks opened a 1-0 lead against the run of the play.

He was stiletto-sharp in the first, turning aside all 15 shots, including a five-alarmer off Marty Havlat early in the game, and, for a minute, there was the distinct possibility that Luongo was writing an even more remarkable chapter to this story.

Then Logan Couture scored on a Sharks’ power play; Dan Boyle scored on a broken play, and Patrick Marleau iced things with 5 ½ minutes left.

As mentioned, you couldn’t exactly pin this one on Luongo. But there also seemed a certain stale sameness about the Canucks’ effort that goes back to last year’s series against the Kings.

"All of us have to push that extra five per cent to get those scoring chances," said Daniel Sedin.

"I don’t think it was a lack of effort," said Luongo. "You saw the type of goals that were scored tonight. They’re around the crease banging and hacking away and pitchforking.

"It’s going to be that type of series where it’s a tight-checking physical game. We’re going to have to find a way to get bounces."

That, at least, is the simplistic analysis of Wednesday night. But, as much as the Canucks have tried to present their goaltending drama as one of

those things that occurs during a season, it seems its talking a toll on this team.

In Game 1, they turned to a goalie they’ve been trying to trade for a year who was coming off a game when he surrendered five goals in 3 ½ minutes.

The guy who’s supposed to be playing, meanwhile, was one of the NHL’s top three goalies over the last six weeks, pronounced himself ready to play on Monday, then was passed over for Game 1.

Sorry, that isn’t business as usual even if Wednesday’s result was.



Gallagher: Same old players and the same old coach playing the same old game with the same old results

By Tony Gallagher, The Province May 2, 2013 12:07 AM

At the end of the second period San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson walked through the press area alone with a big smile on his face.

Either someone had told him a very good joke or he was simply unconsciously reacting to what he had seen on the ice, which was his team dominating the Vancouver Canucks to a level that very few people in this town felt possible until witnessing the first period.

Had it not been for Roberto Luongo putting forward his best period of goaltending of the season, Vancouver would have been so far in arrears there would have been calls for a playoff mercy rule. They were better in the second period and the final score turned out to be close as playoff games in this league seem mandated to be, but there was no question which team looked far superior.

Let’s put it this way, when your best skater after Dan Hamhuis is Mason Raymond, you’re most assuredly in for a long night and most likely a short series.

The Vancouver explanations were many but none staved off the feeling that this is going to end exactly the same way as it did last season, out early to a team who finished below them in the standings. In fact they were far more plucky in the first game against LA last year than they were in this one.

The reasons for the comatose performances were many, not the least of which was the claim that Ryan Kesler was sick and not injured. That would be consistent with not showing up for the game day skate which everyone else turned up to, but it hardly explains his inability to push off to generate the least bit of power in his stride. In fact, he looked just like he did last season in the first round.

"I thought it was the best way for me to have the most energy for the game," said Kesler when asked why he opted out of the morning skate and after he had earlier claimed he was perfectly fine despite the fact he kept putting ice on the back of his neck. "I felt well enough to play. I just have to rest up and get ready for Friday."

If this game was an indication of all the Sedins have to give at this point, the Canucks’ window to win a Cup has closed faster than a big door in -40 degree weather at an old folks home.

Invisibility hardly begins to describe their performance but they were hardly alone. Let’s put it this way, when Raymond is you’re best skater up front, your concerns are significant.

Derek Roy and Chris Higgins actually appeared to have some jump through the first two periods but they didn’t play together in an attempt to rekindle the chemistry they showed earlier in the season until it didn’t matter. Vancouver’s only goal came on such a bizarre scramble in front of Antti Niemi in the San Jose goal that any number of players on either team could have actually put in the goal credited to Kevin Bieksa, who himself looks nowhere near healthy.

"We didn’t do anything particularly badly but all of us have to give that extra 5% to get some offence," said Daniel Sedin. "Lui was great, he saved us in the first period."

Bascially folks, we’re talking the same old act with the same old players and the same old coach playing the same old game with the same old results with the same old explanations. Hands up if you’re feeling it’s getting just a little tiresome.

This team has now rung up five straight home playoff losses and dropped nine of their last 11 playoff games overall over three seasons and judging by the demand for tickets beforehand, the fans were getting a sense this was on it’s way far before us dupes in the media. Whereas two years ago this group was able to raise it’s game to meet the playoff threshold, now it seems oblivious to what is required.

"We have to be better on our penalty killing and faceoffs," said Alain Vigneault after noting that their only goal was put in by San Jose. "They got some real good looks from starting with the puck.

"I know our top guys can play better than they were tonight. We have to find another level."

That has been an ongoing search.



The Provies Nightly Awards

By Jason Botchford, The Province May 2, 2013 12:07 AM

BEST CHIRP

"Where are the Sedins? Oh ya I forgot its playoff time. #get

goin!"

— Josh Kesler, at twitter.com/@joshkesler179m, who is apparently Ryan’s cousin.

BEST WTF

On three occasions Daniel Sedin got the puck and waited with it instead of driving a quick one-timer on net. He has one of the most accurate wrist shots on the team. Why isn’t he using it?

BEST STAT

The Canucks were credited with 40 hits. Were they counting every time Mason Raymond fell down and hit the ice?

BEST QUOTE

"Despite the assertion of some that I enjoy candlelight dinners and long walks on the beach with the head coach."

— John Shorthouse on his perceived relationship with head coach Alain Vigneault.

BEST OBSERVATION

"Has the raw meat made Kesler sick. Cause he’s skating in quicksand."

— twitter.com/@gman_604

BEST STAT

Canucks had 21 hits in the first period.

BEST QUESTION

How is Manny Malhotra around the Canucks, but not David Booth?

— Jason Botchford



Sharks 3 Canucks 1: Sluggish start as Vancouver can't get it in playoff gear


It seems clear why ticket sales were slow.

The playoffs apparently haven’t started yet. At least, the Canucks better hope so.

This year’s opener against the San Jose Sharks Wednesday started just like last year’s, and that doesn’t reflect well on the Vancouver Canucks.

By the end, it was a 3-1 loss and Canucks were talking about how Game 2 is now a must-win on Friday.

You remember, just like last year.

"We have to come out harder," Henrik Sedin said. "We have to do everything five per cent better. Everything. Face-offs, battle level, execution and puck movement.

"It was not good enough. None of it was."

Leading up to Game 1, the Canucks were offering playoff tickets for regular-season prices.

Turns out, you get what you pay for.

Their sluggish start was underscored by another labouring Ryan Kesler performance.

He looked either sick or injured. It’s more troubling if he’s neither.

Everyone in the building noticed. In the morning, he was the only Canuck not on the ice for a skate the team claimed was optional. Odd, considering he’s played so few games this year. He said he made the call to ensure he had energy for the game.

For the game, he was hunched over. He had ice packs on his neck. He seemed disengaged and disinterested at times.

He said afterward: "I felt good enough to play."

Of course, this will fuel the "What’s wrong with Kesler?" discussion that dominates this market every year. But it’s getting old.

Even if Kesler is sick, what’s the excuse for the rest of the team?

The Sedins were better last year in the first two games against the L.A. Kings and Daniel didn’t even play.

"We spent a lot of time chasing the puck," Henrik said.

He blamed much of that on losing 40-of-70 faceoffs.

"If you can start with the puck, you can get pucks deep and you can get in on the forecheck," he said. "That’s one thing we have to look at."

There were a lot of similarities to last year. Roberto Luongo was starting. Head coach Alain Vigneault juggled his lines on the eve of the playoffs. Once again, none of them worked.

How bad was it? The Canucks never actually scored a goal. A Raffi Torres own-goal slipped under Antti Niemi, who looked like he was shoved to the ice by Mason Raymond before the puck went in.

The Sharks got payback on the game-winner. Both Frank Corradoa and Andrew Desjardins had him pinned down in the crease as Dan Boyle flicked the loose puck into the net. Luongo got stuck reaching for a rebound, instead of playing the puck. Probably not his best decision of the night.

But Luongo may be right in his assessment that goalie interference is not going to be called. It seems this is the year the referees are letting them play. Or they’re not. Actually, the refs didn’t seem like they have any clue what they were doing.

Dale Weise gets mugged, no call. Andrew Desjardins flattens Jannik Hansen and steals the puck from him, he gets a boarding penalty.

It looked like a makeup call on Zack Kassian, for the Desjardins call, 16 minutes into the second. On the power play, Logan Couture tied the game 1-1.

The power plays were actually huge in this one, as neither team generated much at even strength.

The Sharks got their first power play early, when Weise took a reckless high-stick penalty. San Jose went to town, testing Luongo to see if there was any lasting remnants from the public whipping he took in Edmonton on Saturday.

The first sequence was Luongo at his best. He made a cat-quick save on a Patrick Marleau one-timer from 20 feet out.

Then he got a right pad on a 60-foot Brent Burns clapper. The rebound jetted out to Martin Havlat, who slung the puck into a gaping net, but Luongo sprawled from his knees to his right and in mid-air caught puck with his right pad.

It could have easily qualified as his save of the year, and it seemed like it was exactly what he needed. The flurry continued and before Weise was out of the box, the Sharks were outshooting Vancouver 7-1.

Good early, he couldn’t make the big save late. At the 14:37 mark of the third, Marleau slipped one under him for his soft goal of the night.

twitter.com/@bothford



Under The Microscope: Keeping Bieksa's minutes down works well


In Wednesday’s Province, Jason Botchford took a closer look at an issue facing the Canucks: Kevin Bieksa’s ice time and its effect on his game. So how did it go in Game 1?

The Canucks' plan going in to keep Kevin Bieksa’s minutes in check was about one of the only things in the game that panned out.

Bieksa played just 20:53 landed three big hits and scored the Canucks only goal. His health was a real question mark and will be as the playoffs roll on.

But in Game 1 he was phyiscal, skated well and had a little passion when he roughed up Marc-Edouard Vlasic after the Canucks scored their only goal.



Malhotra not ready to call it a career yet

By Jim Jamieson, The Province May 1, 2013

Manny Malhotra is still mulling his future, but it sounds like the sidelined Canucks centre is leaning toward resuming his NHL career next season.

Malhotra, who suffered a serious eye injury on March 16, 2011, was shut down by Canucks general manager Mike Gillis in mid-February after having played just nine games. Gillis cited concerns that Malhotra was putting himself at risk due to the continuing effects of the injury on his vision.

Malhotra agreed to speak with The Province earlier this week for a story on Jason Collins becoming the first active player in one of the four major North American professional sports leagues to declare himself as gay.

Malhotra, who represented the Canucks when he and teammate Jason Garrison marched in the Vancouver Pride parade last August, was also asked about his future plans.

“The playing feeling is not going away,” said Malhotra, who said two weeks after being shut down that he still wants to play.

“I still feel healthy and strong, I’m still working out. We’ll see what the opportunities are this summer.”

Malhotra, who turns 33 later this month, said he’s talked with the Canucks about taking on an off-ice role with the club but clearly that wouldn’t happen if he continues his playing career.

Malhotra, who was placed on Injured Reserve for the remainder of the season, was on the final year of a three-year contract that paid him $2.5 million a season.

The Canucks declined to comment.



Luongo gets Game 1 start for Canucks

DAVID EBNER

A year ago, the Vancouver Canucks benched Roberto Luongo in the middle of the playoffs. Last summer, they signed backup-turned-starter Cory Schneider to a big-money multi-year contract. A month ago, Vancouver almost traded Luongo for basically nothing to Toronto. Last weekend, Luongo gave up seven goals against the lowly Edmonton Oilers.

Welcome to Planet Canucks. Yet another normal day, sunny and spring outside Rogers Arena, roiling and confused inside. And, oh yeah, something seems amiss with Ryan Kesler.

Schneider, who practised again on Wednesday morning, will sit the game out, nursing an undefined and presumably minor injury. Schneider did most of the work at the game-day skate, and left the ice first: all indications he would get the start. And then…. Luongo.

“For me, it’s an opportunity,” said Luongo after the game-day skate. “I’m just excited to be playing some playoff hockey again.”

Schneider did not speak with reporters. Coach Alain Vigneault provided the diagnosis: “just not healthy enough right now.” On Tuesday, Schneider said he felt ready, adding, “It’s the playoffs. I want to find a way to play.”

While Luongo has a long resume of success, the absence of Schneider is without-doubt a blow to the Canucks, given his especially hot play in the past month, topped by a 3-1 win last week against the Chicago Blackhawks. The man who is supposed to start is not starting.

And beyond Schneider not starting, the backup Wednesday night will be Joe Cannata, a 23-year-old who has never played a National Hockey League game. Zero. Which would make for an exciting debut, if Luongo somehow was hurt, as fans saw on Tuesday night with Minnesota’s Niklas Backstrom, waylaid by warm-ups.

Cannata feels just so appropriate on Planet Canucks. The team is indeed heavy with veterans but Cannata joins as another rookie, 20-year-old defenceman Frank Corrado, who plays his first playoff game, after his first three NHL games this past week. Corrado is in the third-defensive pairing, with journeyman Andrew Alberts who couldn’t get a crack at the lineup for the first third of the season. Keith Ballard, making $4.2-million a year, will watch in a suit. Don’t worry, he’s used to it.

And what of Kesler? The surprise Luongo news overshadowed intrigue of earlier in the morning: where is Kesler? The often-injured second-line centre did not skate with his team but he is expected to play on Wednesday night. Kesler also did not speak with reporters on Wednesday morning. Vigneault joked, “We have Kesler locked up in the back. We’re feeding him raw meat. The Beast will be ready tonight.”

The statement elicited laughs but Kesler’s absence is peculiar. The allusion to Kesler’s reputation in the playoffs two years ago, particularly in the second-round against Nashville, also highlights that he is not the hockey player he once was. Not even close.

The hard numbers, from behindthenet.ca. Measured on a 60-minute basis, this season Kesler has been on the ice for three goals scored for every four against. In his 2010-11 Selke year, it was three for, and two against. This is measured on even-strength play – and obviously this year is a small sample of games for Kesler. Still, look at driving play, shots. In 2010-11, it was 32 shots per 60 minutes of even-strength play with Kesler on the ice, and about 25 against. This year: 26 for, 29 against.

And that, more so than Luongo, is bad newss.

The puck drops at about 7:30 p.m. PT.


674089 Washington Capitals

Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin shows he’s a captain worth following

By Mike Wise,

Alex Ovechkin has heard constant rumbling that maybe naming him the Washington Capitals’ captain in January of 2010, the year he became the third-youngest player in the NHL at the time to have the “C” stitched onto his jersey, was not the brightest idea.

Usually, it sounded like this: Too young, immature and selfish — not ready to lead.

He heard every knock, every stereotype, including the most disturbing: that a flamboyant, Russian player who speaks broken English did not have the qualities to galvanize all those gritty North Americans into becoming a special team, even though the Swedish-born Nicklas Lidstrom became the first European NHL captain to hoist the Stanley Cup in 2008.

“I know some people thought this,” he says. “People look at my countryside. Because of this and because I was young, it was pretty hard for me to accept captaincy.”

The NHL’s leading goal scorer recently thought for a second, scratched his head and tugged on his tight-fitting black designer T-shirt, the one that read, “Kobe Bryant — The Black Mamba.” The Russian Machine emoted a half-smile.

“But I know 100 percent now team is on my side,” Ovechkin says. “You know, if I want to say something I’m going to say something. They’re going to understand me, which is most important thing.”

Coincidence, no, how the Great Eight gradually learning to become a great captain coincides with the on-ice renaissance of Ovechkin and his team?

The Caps host those rascally Rangers yet again as their Stanley Cup playoff series opens Thursday night, and it’s clear either we ascribe and embellish too many good qualities for athletes who win for our teams — much the same way we distort shortcomings when they play poorly and lose — or, just maybe, Ovi now gets it.

For the first time since former captain Chris Clark was traded three years ago and Ovechkin was given the captaincy at 25, his numbers and production have spiked almost exponentially. First in NHL goals, tied for third in points, he plays with a fire and a flare of old. But Ovechkin becoming more of a respected leader in his own locker room has been just as critical in some ways.

“I don’t think there’s any barrier or a problem whatsoever,” said winger Troy Brouwer, when asked if there were any language or cultural obstacles Ovechkin still has to overcome with teammates. “He makes his presence known in the dressing room. He’s vocal. He’s always talking. He demands the best out of himself and that’s all you can ask of a captain.”

In hockey, the “C” has always meant more than it does in other North American major team sports, which often have multiple captains over the course of a season or a game. While there can be as many as two alternate captains with an “A” on their jersey in the NHL, there is only one permanent captain who gets the “C” on each team. Over the course of NHL history, often that player was neither the MVP of the team nor the best skater. Sometimes he was just, well, a manly man, like Ray Bourque or Mark Messier.

But times have changed since Adam Oates, the Caps’ coach, got his first captaincy at “40 or 39, I forget.” Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog was still 21 days shy of getting out of his teens when the Avalanche made him the youngest permanent captain in league history last September. He was 11 days younger than Sidney Crosby’s appointment at 19 by the Penguins in 2007. Ryan Getzlaf in Anaheim was 25 when he got the “C” on his jersey and Chicago’s Jonathan Toews was just 20 when he became a captain.

Washington Post LOADED: 05.02.2013


The autographed Caps car

By Dan Steinberg, Updated: May 1, 2013

Darryl Childress’s 2012 Dodge Challenger SRT8 was already an homage to the Caps, well before the calendar turned to April. The car is bright red — in honor of the hockey team — and the Virginia Caps-themed license plate reads CAP8LS.

That might have been that, except Childress recently had the car with him at the team’s Ballston practice facility when Tom Poti and Michal Neuvirth were leaving the building.

“Hey, y’all want to sign my car?” the 52-year old from Manassas asked on a whim. “So I got the Sharpie out, and they signed the car.”

And THAT might have been that, except that shortly after this first car-signing episode, Childress’s wife was at the team’s season-ticket holder event at Six Flags, and went to a table featuring Poti and Matt Hendricks.

“Oh, I don’t need your signature, you signed my husband’s car the other day,” she told Poti.

“You signed a car?” Hendricks asked. “I want to sign a car.”

And so one thing led to another, and Childress bought some blue and white paint pens and decided to have the entire Caps roster autograph the trunk lid of his car, which he will then remove and put in his home’s Caps shrine along with Tomas Vokoun’s pads and a host of other items, meanwhile replacing the car’s original lid with an autograph-free replacement.

Alex Ovechkin has signed the car. So has Coach Adam Oates. So have Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Green and Braden Holtby. So too have lesser-known players like Steve Oleksy, Wojtek Wolski and John Erskine.

Karl Alzner encountered the car when he was driving away from the practice facility with his mom; the blue-liner then stopped near the crowd of fans, signed just one item (a car), and departed. Hendricks fulfilled his wish, too, when Childress stopped him after practice.

“Hey Matt, my wife….” he began, ” and before I could say anything else he said, ‘Is that the car??? Cool! I’m gonna sign it!’”

“That’s a [first] for me!” Hendricks later wrote on Twitter.

The strangest part of this whole tale might be Childress’s history — or rather, lack of history — with the team and the sport. He had never been much of a hockey fan until two years ago, when his oldest son Matthew Reynolds, long a NASCAR fan, fell in love with the Caps and insisted that his father had to see a game in person.

“Wow, this is cool,” Childress remembered thinking during his first game.

By last year he was going to games as often as he could get tickets, and by this year he had seven season tickets and went to virtually every home game. In addition to, you know, getting the entire team to autograph his car. He needs less than 10 more signatures to polish off the entire roster, and said he’s never felt embarrassed asking pro hockey players to write on his trunk.

“Not at all,” he said. “It’s just funny to see their reaction. Like I said, it’s something to do.”

Friends have expressed surprise that he would allow people to write on the car, which is named Vivian, after Julia Roberts’s character in Pretty Woman. But Childress’s family members are supportive of his quest.

“I love it,” said daughter Katie. “Like he said, nobody’s ever thought to do anything like this, having an entire team sign the trunk of a car. If anybody else tries to do it after this, they’re copying him. And it will never be on anything nicer than this car right here. Anything nicer, and people would think you were crazy.”

While Katie told me this, she was wearing a Caps sweatshirt. The sweatshirt, perhaps not surprisingly, was covered with Caps autographs.



The Rangers are wary of Washington’s potent power play

By Mark Giannotto, Updated: May 1, 2013

For center Mike Ribeiro, the potency of Washington’s league-leading power play is all about options. He and fellow center Nicklas Backstrom can pass to captain Alex Ovechkin for a devastating one timer near one of the faceoff circles. They can feed the puck to wing Troy Brouwer in front of the net. Or they swing it to defenseman Mike Green for a powerful slap shot from the point.

“It makes teams vulnerable,” Ribeiro explained. “They don’t know which way to go.”

He doesn’t need to tell Washington’s first-round opponent that. On the eve of the fourth playoff series in five years between the Capitals and Rangers, New York has made keeping Washington’s power-play unit off the ice its biggest point of emphasis entering Game 1, which should create a dueling subplot throughout.

The Capitals converted at a 26.8 percent rate on the power play this year, and the league’s second-best unit (Pittsburgh) was two percentage points behind. The Rangers, meanwhile, committed the fewest penalties in the NHL, and the hope is their disciplined approach can neuter Washington’s attack.

The power play has been Washington’s one true constant during a season in which it started so poorly (2-8-1) and ended on such a hot streak (15-2-2). Along the way, the Capitals racked up 44 goals with the man advantage and generated just 63.7 percent of their goals via even-strength play. Amongst playoff teams, only Detroit generated less of its offense playing five on five this year.

“I think going into the playoffs special teams always play a big part, but playing a team that’s red hot on the power play, we know we can’t take too many penalties and we also know special teams will play a huge part,” Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist said Monday. “It’s a lot of times also when you play five on five it’s so tight, a lot of times games are decided on the PK and power play.”

Added Rangers forward Rick Nash: “You win the special teams game, you have a good chance to win the actual games. That’s why we’ve kind of keyed on it.”

How that manifests itself beginning Thursday remains to be seen. The Rangers were 23rd in the NHL on the power play and ranked 15th on the penalty kill this season, although they did score nine of their 24 power-play goals during the month of April.

New York Coach John Tortorella spent a considerable amount of time working on the power play during Monday’s practice session, but he rarely divulges tidbits about his game plan, especially once the Stanley Cup playoffs role around. He doesn’t discuss injuries and there’s no telling how he’ll defend Alex Ovechkin this time around (some in New York believe the Rangers might break up its top defensive pairing Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh to create more balance throughout the lineup).

But Washington Coach Adam Oates credits Ovechkin’s resurgence, and the renewed confidence of players like Backstrom and Green, to the success they’ve all had on the power play this year. As Ribeiro pointed out, though, penalties often decrease in the playoffs and it adds pressure to convert the power play opportunities that are available.

It certainly has New York’s attention at this point.

“They’ve got Green back healthy and he’s a huge weapon out there,” Rangers defenseman Marc Staal said. “Their power play, the last six years the same guys seem to be on it and they know what they’re doing.”



Joel Ward’s status uncertain for Game 1 vs. Rangers

By Katie Carrera, Updated: May 1, 2013

Joel Ward participated in a third consecutive practice with his teammates Wednesday in Arlington, but it’s still unclear whether the veteran winger will be in the Capitals’ lineup for Game 1 against the New York Rangers.

Ward only rotated through drills with the fourth line, though, and wasn’t a consistent part of its makeup during the hour-long practice. Despite making significant improvement over the past several days, Ward said he’s still experiencing a little lingering pain in his bruised left knee while on the ice.

“It’s a little discomfort but it’s not too bad, actually, it’s actually come down a long way,” Ward said. “I’m hoping to get in if I can. I feel confident to get out there and do work.

“From a couple days ago to now it’s been a huge drastic change, it’s been a lot easier,” added Ward, who suffered a contusion when he blocked a shot by Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Sami Salo on April 7. “I’m almost pretty close to pain free, which is good. I’m just a little bit – I got a small little percentage I’ve got to hunker down to get out, but other than that I’ve had a big drastic change.”

Coach Adam Oates, who said earlier this week he expected Ward to be ready for the series opener, downplayed any concern about the winger’s status.

“It would depend on how much the discomfort is,” Oates said. “Can he fight through it or not?”

If Ward, 32, does play Thursday against the Rangers he’s expected to slot on to the fourth line. He has recorded eight goals and 12 assists in 39 games this season and was a consistent presence on the Capitals’ second power-play unit.



Capitals insist it’s not the 'good old days' as they open playoffs vs. Rangers

By Katie Carrera,

As the Washington Capitals embarked on a run of success in the final 19 games of the season that led to their sixth consecutive playoff berth, there were sights familiar to anyone who’s watched this team in recent years.

From Alex Ovechkin leaping full force into the glass after scoring a how-did-he-do-that goal, to Nicklas Backstrom creating scoring chances with perfect passes, to Mike Green walking the blue line for a booming slap shot destined for the back of the net — all the signs of Capitals swagger had returned.

But the suggestion that this season, which saw the Capitals go from the worst team in the league to the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, was anything like the so-called “good old days” under former coach Bruce Boudreau — when they dominated the regular season standings and statistics charts but never advanced past the second round of the playoffs — made players bristle.

“‘Good old days,’ ” an uncharacteristically stern Backstrom said last month, dismissing the notion. “We didn’t do anything. They weren’t that good. Obviously we did something we loved, but I think we gotta realize we haven’t accomplished anything.”

That’s why the Capitals, with first-year Coach Adam Oates at the helm, are determined to embrace a fresh perspective as they kick off this spring journey Thursday night at Verizon Center for their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the New York Rangers.

Expectations have increased annually for the Capitals ever since 2007-08, when they made an improbable run to capture the Southeast Division title and reach the postseason for the first time in four years. But each season only brought a new form of disappointment and a larger thud when Washington failed to deliver on the promise of a dominant regular season.

“We weren’t as structured as a team or all on the same page,” Green said. “We were young guys that were skilled and we had a lot of success, but it wasn’t the right way to play the game. We’ve learned from our experiences and our lessons how to play the game, and I feel like we’re a better team than we were.”

They finished second in the East in 2008-09 but were undone by the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games in the conference semifinals.

In 2009-10 came the elimination that rattled the organization, when eighth-seeded Montreal dispatched the Presidents’ Trophy winning Capitals in the first round. The Canadiens made the NHL’s most prolific offense that season — Washington had scored 318 goals, 46 more than any other team — look inept in the final three games as they erased a 3-1 series deficit.

Washington tried to move on from the run-and-gun mind-set in 2010-11 but the results remained the same. The upstart Tampa Bay Lightning swept the injury-riddled and supposedly more well-rounded Capitals out of the second round.

Last season under Dale Hunter — who prioritized defense and minimized risk with a style of play that provided the NHL’s cure for insomnia — brought the first genuinely new look in the postseason for the Capitals. After triumphing in a dramatic, seven-game quarterfinal matchup against the Boston Bruins, Washington was knocked out in a seven-game semifinal series by the Rangers.

While Hunter’s strict, defensive system wasn’t suited for Washington’s talent-laden roster, players acknowledged that his tenure taught them the value of self-sacrificial play and unwavering commitment in the postseason.

“I think last year was a step in the right direction,” Backstrom said. “I think the way we battled and we worked together as a team, that’s where I feel we’ve been really good. . . . I think you need to get together as a group in the playoffs and that’s why you’re gonna be successful.”

This year under Oates, the Capitals have a balanced style of play they believe is suited to the postseason. They’re confident in their ability to

execute the demanding, pressure- and support-based system that requires them to function as a five-man unit in all three zones.

The fact that Oates utilized the same type of play while serving as an assistant coach for the New Jersey Devils on their Stanley Cup finals run last season certainly doesn’t hurt, either.

“It’s an exciting way to play. It’s a fun way to play for the players,” General Manager George McPhee said last week, acknowledging that he prefers an up-tempo team. “It protects our defensemen more than other systems have from physical play. It worked really well for New Jersey last year and I’m hoping we'll get the same results.”

The framework of the system, which allows for the involvement of every player on the roster, is one reason for the self-assurance that suddenly permeates the organization, from the fourth line to management.

“We’re trying to make our own identity,” defenseman John Carlson said. “Our identity is more than scoring goals; we do a lot more to frustrate teams and in turn it makes us a better team offensively. The harder we work, the more it’s going to benefit us, and we know that this time.”



Wilbon picks Caps to go to Stanley Cup finals

By Dan Steinberg, Updated: May 1, 2013

Michael Wilbon’s long-term skepticism about the Capitals is well-documented, from writing that “right now, Ovechkin would need a telescope to see Crosby,” to wondering if LeBron James was “the NBA version of Alex Ovechkin, which is to say a transcendent talent who collects all kinds of individual hardware but cannot win a championship,” to writing that “even as Crosby waits to see when he might be cleared for play, Ovechkin is in his rearview mirror,” to telling Ovechkin “you know what, win. Win something. Win something. Because right now, you haven’t done jack.”

But, in a surprise move, Wilbon actually picked the Caps to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals this season. This came during a Tuesday PTI segment with Tony Kornheiser and Barry Melrose, who both picked Pittsburgh to win the East. Looks like Caps fans will finally be happy with Wilbon.

“You know what, I know that Pittsburgh and Crosby have owned Ovechkin and the Capitals in every important situation,” Wilbon said. “In the Olympics, [in] any corner of the globe they have ice, Pittsburgh and Crosby have owned Ovechkin and the Capitals. I’m going the other way, and I’m taking Ovechkin and the Capitals to win the East.”

“Really?” Kornheiser asked. “You home dog. Wow.”

“Not even home,” Wilbon corrected. “We’re about to get to my home.”

And then they talked about the Blackhawks, who Wilbon picked to beat the Caps in the Finals.

So like I said, looks like Caps fans will finally be happy with Wilbon.



Capitals-Rangers: Top five story lines to watch unfold

By Katie Carrera, Updated: May 1, 2013

While an endless number of factors could help to swing the balance in this Eastern Conference quarterfinal series between the Capitals and New York Rangers, here are five of the top story lines to watch over the course of this first-round matchup:

Alex Ovechkin

It was a season of transition for Washington’s captain, who switched to right wing back in January at Coach Adam Oates’s request. He recorded just two goals in his first 10 games but after gaining confidence in his new position, Ovechkin returned to being the unpredictable and nearly unstoppable offensive force that he was in the early stages of his career. With 23 goals and 13 assists in the final 23 games, he propelled himself into consideration for the Hart Trophy and captured the Rocket Richard Trophy as the league’s leading goal scorer (32). Can he continue this impressive run in the postseason when going up against the defensively dedicated Rangers? Can he finally lead the Capitals on a lengthy postseason run?

The opposing coaching philosophies of Oates and Tortorella

Oates’s success in his first season as an NHL bench boss has come from his ability to build a trusting and respectful relationship with each player on the Capitals roster. No matter the outcome he’s never yelled, because he doesn’t believe it’s a good motivation tool, and maintains a positive outlook. Meanwhile, Rangers Coach John Tortorella is well known for his fiery personality and willingness to chastise players. It will be interesting to see which coach can extract the best performances from their team in the grueling test that is a Stanley Cup playoff series.

Holtby vs. Lundqvist, Round 2

In the seven-game 2012 Eastern Conference semifinal, Braden Holtby finished with a .929 save percentage and 1.90 GAA against the Rangers, allowing just 15 goals on 211 shots, while Henrik Lundqvist boasted slightly better numbers with a .927 save percentage and 1.66 GAA, giving up 13 goals on 179 shots. They’re equally capable at making stunning, game-changing stops and should either netminder get on a roll it could swing the balance in the series. While he’s no longer a playoff rookie, Holtby is quick to dismiss any notion that he will approach this series differently. “You just have to perform, you have to believe that we’re the better team and you go from there,” he said. “You throw experience out the window and you just play.”

Maintain power-play prowess

Washington owned the most potent power play in the regular season with a 26.8 percent success rate, but the Rangers were the least penalized team, with an average of 9.2 minutes in the box per game. That discrepancy will make every Capitals power play that much more critical in the postseason, where penalties are called with far less frequency. The Capitals went 1-for-10 on the power play in three games against New York this year but in order for the man advantage to be a true asset, it will need to produce more frequently than that in this series.

Rangers’ defensive depth

New York will likely start the series without Marc Staal, who still has blurred vision in his right eye after being struck by a puck in March. His absence will put significant pressure on the top defensive pairing of Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh, who both average more than 24 minutes of ice time per game and will likely match up against Washington’s first line of Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Marcus Johansson. The Capitals have thrived off a strong forecheck and cycle this season and if they can wear on that pairing – or take advantage of the other combinations of Michael Del Zotto and Anton Stralman or John Moore and Steve Eminger – they’ll help their long-term cause.



Washington Capitals’ playoff letdowns, year by year

By Stephen Whyno

The Capitals’ reputation as a team that can’t get it done in the playoffs is well-established. Considering Alex Ovechkin‘s, Nicklas Backstrom’s and Mike Green’s impressive postseason numbers, it’s somewhat of a mystery. Here’s a look at how each playoff exit happened, with some help from ex-coach Bruce Boudreau:

2007-08

Regular-season record: 43-31-8, 94 points

Playoff seed: 3rd

When Boudreau took over for Glen Hanlon on Thanksgiving Day, the Caps were floundering. They turned things around quickly and finished the season with an 11-1 spurt to win the Southeast Division.

Facing the Philadelphia Flyers, who had one more point and were favored in the series, the Caps fell behind 3-1 before forcing Game 7 at home. Defenseman Tom Poti took a tripping penalty in overtime, and Joffrey Lupul scored the series winner on Philadelphia’s power play.

2008-09


Playoff seed: 2nd

It took only one game for Boudreau to yank goaltender Jose Theodore in favor of Semyon Varlamov, and the Caps came back from a two-game deficit to beat the New York Rangers in seven.

Varlamov wasn’t himself late in the Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“It was Varly’s rookie year and he played a lot of games in succession. I thought maybe after Game 4 he was looking week, but I didn’t pull him,” Boudreau said. “If I’d have pulled him after Game 4 and put Theo in, I think we would have at least had a rested Varly for 6 and 7 because Game 7 he was horrible, Game 6 was a [5-4 overtime win]. Again, he looked weak.”

He allowed four goals on 18 shots in 23 minutes as the Caps got blown out 6-2 in Game 7.

2009-10


Playoff seed: 1st

Capturing the Presidents' Trophy, the Caps rolled over the rest of the NHL and were the clear favorites to win the Stanley Cup. They took a 3-1 lead on the Montreal Canadiens before a delay in getting back to Washington changed the course of the series and the franchise.

“We were on the tarmac in Montreal for a long time, we didn’t get in until 6:30 and then we were at the other terminal, so we didn’t get our cars until 7:30 after going through immigration and I was so tired I just said, ‘Let’s take the day off,’” Boudreau said. “Then everybody gets home by 8:30, they sleep till 2, they get up and eat, they’re still tired and they go back to bed. Because the next game, Game 5, we had two goals scored on us in the first six or seven minutes.”

The Caps lost Games 5, 6 and 7 as an offense that scored 46 more goals than any other team during the regular season was held to just three by Montreal goaltender Jaroslav Halak.

2010-11


Playoff seed: 1st

Without defensemen Tom Poti (groin) and Dennis Wideman (right leg hematoma/compartment syndrome), the Caps made quick work of the

Rangers with a 4-1 series win and had five days off before Game 1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Already down in the series, the Caps went to overtime in Game 2 at home, when defenseman Scott Hannan’s poorly timed change allowed Vincent Lecavalier to give Tampa Bay a comfortable series lead.

“Bad change, in overtime,” Boudreau said. “We lose the game. It was a dumb play. Scott Hannan’s too smart to do that. And we’re not calling him off the ice from the other side of the ice. He does that.”

Defensemen John Carlson and Mike Green suffered hip injuries along the way, forcing journeyman minor leaguer Sean Collins into the lineup for Game 4. Even if his team had managed to stave off elimination, Boudreau knew it would have been over in five or six.

“We had a week off between beating the Rangers and they had come back on a high after winning three in a row. That’s what [Lightning general manager] Stevie Yzerman told George [McPhee, the Caps’ GM] at the end of the year. He said, ‘We were on such a high and we only had a day off.’”

2011-12


Playoff seed: 7th

Once Boudreau was fired in November, the Caps pulled things together under coach Dale Hunter late in the season to make the playoffs and set up a showdown with the defending Cup champion Bruins. Buoyed by Braden Holtby’s stellar performance and lots of blocked shots, the Caps got to the second round thanks to Joel Ward’s Game 7 overtime goal.

They were well on their way to taking a 3-1 series lead on the Rangers when Ward took a four-minute high-sticking penalty with 22 seconds left in Game 5. As Ward sat in the box, Brad Richards beat Jay Beagle on the ensuing faceoff, and it was later revealed that the Caps center was playing with a broken left foot.

Richards scored to tie it soon after.

“Obviously Hunter put me out there to win that draw and I lost it. It wasn’t because of a broken foot,” Beagle said. “If a coach puts you out there, he’s confident in you and he puts you out there for a reason, to get a job done. I definitely will pull off that experience … going into the playoffs.”

After winning Game 6 back home, the Caps lost 2-1 in Game 7, and Hunter two days later announced he wouldn’t be back. Meanwhile, assistant coach Adam Oates and the New Jersey Devils went on to the Stanley Cup Final.

Washington Times LOADED: 05.02.2013


Nowhere to go but Cup: Capitals look to shake past playoff failures

By Stephen Whyno

The word “vintage” is thrown around a lot in describing the Washington Capitals. When Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green lit up opponents in the final two months of the regular season, it began to look an awful lot like the glory days of the Rock the Red-era Caps.

After a victory over Tampa Bay late in the regular season that included two goals by Ovechkin, Backstrom was asked if it felt like the “good old days” when the franchise cornerstones powered a high-scoring team.

“It doesn’t matter if it feels that way,” Backstrom said. “It depends how it is in the playoffs. And we weren’t that successful in the playoffs in the past.”

In other words, don’t party like it’s 2009 or 2010. Those years brought records for offensive production and sellout crowds at Verizon Center.

But they never included a championship or even a trip to the Eastern Conference finals.

“Good old days? We didn’t do anything,” Backstrom said. “They weren’t that good. … Obviously we showed that we can be good in the regular season, but we haven’t shown anything else.”

That’s the task for the 2013 Caps: to forge an identity as a playoff team where so many previous incarnations failed. It’s as much forgetting the recent past as it is learning from it, because time is running out before these players get branded as regular-season performers who can’t get it done in the postseason.

“When you’re in the playoffs you’ve got to play your best hockey,” Backstrom said. “That’s something we haven’t done.”

Making it look easy

Once Bruce Boudreau’s Caps got past their brief Cinderella period in 2007-08 that required an 11-1 run to make the playoffs and win the Southeast Division, expectations began to mount. Ovechkin was running away with NHL trophies, as Backstrom, Green, Brooks Laich and Alexander Semin quickly moved into their primes.

Times were good in 2008-09 and 2009-10, the latter season including the Presidents' Trophy and a franchise-record 121 points. The 2009-10 Caps led the league with 318 goals but allowed 233. They peaked as part of a 14-game winning streak and never seemed to be out of a game.

“We were obviously a great regular-season team and it was great the way were scoring,” right wing Eric Fehr said. “We felt like the game was easy for us back then.”

It was easy until the playoffs. The Caps went seven games before losing in the second round to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009 and then were upset by the eighth-seeded Montreal Canadiens in 2010.

“This league’s not easy; you have to have the right bounces, the right timing,” Green said. “Things have to go your way a little bit.”

Boudreau can recall specific moments that didn’t go his team’s way. When injured defenseman Shaone Morrisonn couldn’t complete a shift in overtime of Game 5 vs. Pittsburgh, the Caps threw forward Sergei Fedorov back on defense and the Penguins scored. Washington went 1 for 33 on the power play against Montreal, and Boudreau blames himself for letting a travel delay affect his practice schedule that series, too.

But the Caps changed after the first-round exit and a losing streak early in the 2010-11 season. Elements of what made them great in the regular season weren’t considered pieces of playoff success.

“When people speak of those good old days, that wasn’t good playoff hockey,” goaltender Braden Holtby said. “It was more selfish to get points.”

The Greatest Show on Ice got some roster alterations along the way, like the additions of grit in the form of Matt Hendricks, Troy Brouwer and Joel Ward, but the biggest change came when Boudreau was fired and replaced by Dale Hunter.

‘We never want to lose that’

Hunter’s no-nonsense persona came with the polar opposite playing style from what the Caps were used to under Boudreau. Block shots, battle, compete.

It wasn’t the most exciting brand of hockey, but when Game 1 of last year’s Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the Boston Bruins began, everything clicked and a team that struggled most of the season looked like it was built for the playoffs.

“Guys that worked the hardest were getting those big minutes,” Holtby said. “That does a lot for team morale in order to win games. That’s what playoff hockey is about; you look at the teams that have won it the past, it’s not always the skilled guys that are winning the games. It’s those guys that have been working hard all year and not getting recognition for it.”

Ovechkin played a career-low 13:36 during Game 2 of the East semifinals at the New York Rangers, while checking-line center Jay Beagle skated 19:58. The Caps won, as Ovechkin scored the game-winning goal.

For 14 games, the Caps played hockey’s mind-numbing equivalent of Valium, slowing things down and blocking shots but always giving themselves a chance. That’s Hunter hockey.

“I know Dale had a different way of playing, but there was some value in that, too, in the way it taught this team to sacrifice and to block shots and to play hard,” general manager George McPhee said. “I’m glad he got that out of our team, and we don’t ever want to lose that.”

That’s part of why, even though Hunter went back to his junior team in London, Ontario, after last season, McPhee doesn’t regret hiring the former captain to be the coach. Defenseman Karl Alzner said it taught the Caps the value of “perseverance” and how hard playoff hockey can be.

“I think our big thing was commitment last year and during the playoffs,” defenseman John Carlson said. “From the puck drop against Boston to the end, I think that we really committed our game all over the ice. And now our game is just a little bit different, but we need to have that same commitment level to do the little things that help us win.”

Capital chameleons

Coach Adam Oates‘ system encourages aggressive, entertaining play and he doesn’t want his players laying out to block shots. It’s not up and down the ice like Boudreau’s style, but it’s certainly more entertaining than what Hunter wanted from the Caps.

“I prefer this one,” McPhee said. “I like playing the up-tempo game and trying to pressure the other club into making mistakes, and make the mistakes in their end instead of our end. But I think our system really generates offense. It’s an exciting way to play. It’s a fun way to play for the players.”

It took awhile to translate into victories. Once it did, a 2-8-1 start became just a stumbling block in retrospect to a team that went on an 11-1-1 run to clinch a sixth straight playoff appearance.

This was unlike any recent Caps season.

“I think it’s just mentally different,” Ovechkin said. “System was different. We have a slow start because maybe somebody was not ready physically, mentally, and right now we’re all-in. Everybody feels pretty good and has confidence.”

Part of that confidence comes from Oates, the rookie coach whose mix of playing experience, teaching acumen and positivity played a major role in the regular-season turnaround. It has a lot to do with the way he has the Caps playing, which can dictate how opponents play.

But Oates also knows his team can be a chameleon and adjust on the fly.

“I think we’ve shown that we can play a lot of different ways,” Oates said. “And that has been something that I think the structure’s allowed the guys to do. At the end of the day, we still want to come out from our goalie first, protect our goalie first, protect our D, and you’ve got to be willing to win a 2-1 game.”

Boudreau’s Caps were certainly capable of winning 2-1, but more often they scored a plethora of goals and allowed plenty. Oates‘ philosophy begins in the defensive zone.

“That’s hockey. That’s playoff hockey,” he said. “I think I’ve shown the guys that we’re still going to score goals; we have no problem scoring goals. We have to prevent them.”

It’s a similar system to the one the Devils rode to the Stanley Cup Final last season with Oates as an assistant.

“It worked really well for New Jersey last year, and I’m hoping we’ll get the same results,” McPhee said.

‘A whole different team’

Why the Caps think it’s different this time around has to do with more than just Oates. Backstrom pointed to Holtby’s play in the 2012 playoffs, which might have been just as important as how the skaters worked together and bought into Hunter’s style.

It never hurts to have a hot goalie, and Holtby is one year older with plenty more experience. That’s true of the whole team after getting within one game of the conference finals.

“Every year, you grow a little bit and you just take experiences that you’ve had in the playoffs,” Beagle said. “You see what it takes to win those games. Those experiences are only going to help you going forward, and they’re going to help us this year.”

Fehr said he didn’t want to dwell on the past and what didn’t work out in the playoffs. Center Mike Ribeiro, left wing Martin Erat and several key contributors weren’t around for the good old days, and they’re a part of this being a different group.

“We haven’t had this atmosphere in the dressing room and on the ice in a long time,” Green said. “It’s not about comparing it to the past because it’s a whole different team and morale and maturity level. We can’t compare it to the past.”

The stars are a little older now and the pieces around them have more defined roles. Everybody’s got a job, and the chemistry doesn’t seem to be an issue.

“The team that you’re on, you feel, is the best team that you’ve been on,” Holtby said. “That’s what you believe and I believe that we have the best chance to win the Stanley Cup, a better chance than we had last year, and you go from there.”

Athletes are programmed to believe they can do the impossible. It’s why, even when the Caps were floundering, McPhee didn’t look at the standings or what it would take to make the playoffs “because it’s too daunting at some point.”

Changing an identity made by five straight early playoff exits is daunting, too. But it’s a challenge these players willingly accept.

“It’s time for us to really show what we’re made of,” Backstrom said.

Washington Times LOADED: 05.02.2013


Understated approach pays off for Capitals coach Adam Oates

Brian McNally

Adam Oates could have yelled and screamed and berated his team.

The Capitals were 2-8-1 in early February and struggling to adapt to new systems from a first-year head coach. Oates was worried his players would become frustrated and tune out his message and that his decisions would become fodder for media criticism.

None of that actually affected Oates' belief in himself, of course. And he never actually considered exploding at his team. That's not how he was as a player. That is not how he is as a coach. He doesn't see the point.

"It really is what I wanted and what I responded to as a player," Oates said. "I showed up for work so I didn't need to be yelled at. Whether a coach liked me or not is irrelevant. You didn't have to yell at me to get your point across."

Game 1

Rangers at Capitals

When » Thursday, 7:30 p.m.

Where » Verizon Center

TV » CSN

In a way, this week's Stanley Cup playoff series with the New York Rangers is a clash of coaching styles, too. Oates emphasizes open lines of communications and actively asks his own coaching staff if players will be responsive on a given day or "are they sick of us?"

Rangers coach John Tortorella is notoriously hard on his players, a demanding tactician who insists on discipline and sacrifice. He won a Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004 with that philosophy, and New York reached the Eastern Conference finals last season after ousting the Caps in the second round. There is no one right way to win -- even if Tortorella's style is becoming extinct in the modern NHL.

"Back in the day, yelling was the thing," Washington center Mike Ribeiro said. "You yell and guys will step up with what they're doing. Nowadays, it's changed. It's just generations. There's more communication and respect from the coaches to players."

Oates wanted no part this week of critiquing colleagues like Tortorella or Philadelphia's Peter Laviolette, another fiery customer who is unafraid to get in a players' face. It's clear he wouldn't have wanted to play for those coaches during his Hall of Fame career. But he respects their results. Still, Oates does think his way allows for frank criticism while also maintaining a players' trust.

"There's no perfect animal," Oates said. "I just really feel that if I'm not happy with a guy, I don't have to yell at him to let him know. I can talk to him. He's still a pro. You've got to be a pro."

He mentioned defenseman Mike Green skating up to him during a practice in Montreal this month and making a suggestion based off a game the night before in Ottawa. Oates wouldn't say what they discussed but admitted Green's idea made sense. He wants that feedback from his players -- even if the final say remains with the coaching staff.

"I could easily just point to a guy and go, 'Be there.' But I'd rather show it to him," Oates said. "Maybe he learns and it makes sense to him why he should be there. And that way the learning curve grows, and you don't have to keep going over the same thing. I also don't want to wear them out. I don't want them to get sick of me too soon."

Washington Examiner LOADED: 05.02.2013


Jim Williams: Capitals-Rangers playoff series offers plenty of TV options

Jim Williams

The Washington Capitals and the New York Rangers start off the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs as two of the hottest teams in the NHL. Things will get started Thursday night at a very crowded Verizon Center.

Of course the building will be a sellout as usual, but I am talking about the television coverage. The first round of the playoffs allow the local broadcasters to televise the games along with national networks, so things will be quite crazy.

Comcast SportsNet will handle the Capitals broadcasts, while the Rangers will have the Madison Square Garden network on hand. Meanwhile, the game will be carried nationally on NBC Sports Network and north of the border, it will be TSN.

That is four sets of announcers, four production crews, four production trucks and over 25 cameras covering the series both in Washington and in New York.

Saturday's Game 2 will be seen on NBC nationally in the United States with TSN again handling the broadcast chores for viewers in Canada, so only a mere two networks will be on hand.

So how do four networks cover the same game and not get into other's way?

Typically there is a production meeting a day or two before the first game, either by phone or in person at the arena. Since there are only so many places that cameras can be placed to get the right coverage angles, they will share feeds. It simply means there will be designated cameras used by all four networks, allowing all of the broadcasters to get the maximum use out of all the cameras in the arena.

The games will be broadcast on the radio on 106.7 The Fan and 1500AM WFED.

Make no mistake about it, the NHL is one of NBC Universal's prime properties, and so when the Stanley Cup playoffs enter the second round, they take control. That means should the Capitals advance to the second round and beyond, the games would air exclusively on NBC, NBC Sports Network, CNBC and the NHL Network.

Examiner columnist Jim Williams



Thom Loverro: Rangers' angry coach John Tortorella comes to town to face Capitals

Thom Loverro

The Rangers come to town Thursday for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Eastern Conference first round series against the Washington Capitals at the Verizon Center, and that means the return of Mr. Warmth, the hockey coach who looks at a bottle of Aquafina and sees a weapon -- the Angry Man, John Tortorella.

The Angry Man has been back to Verizon numerous times since he went after Capitals fans in the 2009 playoffs at Verizon, squirting fans with water and throwing a bottle into the crowd after being harassed by Capitals fans.

There haven't been any water attacks since -- he was suspended for the next game -- but the Angry Man still puts on a show, usually in his postgame press conferences, and you can count on it heightening on the playoff stage.

There is nothing quite as entertaining as the contempt Tortorella shows for the media.

This isn't Bill Belichick monotone kind of contempt. This is attack mode, such as after a loss to Buffalo earlier this season, when he mocked the media, started asking his own questions and then answered questions by saying he wasn't going to answer them.

Sometimes the Angry Man spreads the love to opposing teams, like last year after a loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, when he called Sidney Crosby a "whiny star" who played for "the most arrogant organization in sports." (Of course, that will endear him to Capitals fans).

And sometimes the opposing coach is the target of his wrath, such as last year after a brawl between the Rangers and the New Jersey Devils led to a screaming and cursing war between Tortorella and New Jersey coach Peter DeBoer at Madison Square Garden.

"I guess in John's world, you can come into our building and start your tough guys, but we can't do the same here," DeBoer told reporters after the game. "He's either got short-term memory loss or he's a hypocrite."

I wonder what kind of bouquets the Angry Man will have for Adam Oates, who was on that Devils coaching staff.

When the Angry Man was coaching the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004, he went off on Philadelphia Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock after a post-practice media season during their Eastern Conference finals series.

"He should shut his yap," The Angry Man said about Hitchcock. "It's not about him. ... Park your ego and shove it in your pocket. It's wrong and it's chicken [expletive]."

Hitchcock responded, "It's smart. It's change the record, change the subject and get people pointed in a different direction."

Yes, there is a method to the madness.

Comcast SportsNet analyst Alan May, who once played for Tortorella, said on my show on ESPN980, "The Sports Fix," that it's all an act to put the pressure on him and take it off his players. May said the Angry Man is closer to a pussycat privately and a good communicator with his players.

A phony jerk? That makes me angry.

Examiner

columnist Thom Loverro


674101 Winnipeg Jets

Jets prospect Lowry named WHL player of the year

By: Ed Tait

Adam Lowry’s career progression arrow has gone from a steady climb to a sharp vertical line racing straight up.

The Winnipeg Jets prospect was named Wednesday as the Western Hockey League Player of the Year for the 2012-13 season. A third-round draft pick of the Jets in 2011, Lowry is coming off a season in which he potted 45 goals and added 43 assists in 72 games with the Swift Current Broncos, first on his club and 12th in the WHL. The 20-year-old centre/winger finished the season with the Jets’ AHL affiliate, the St. John’s IceCaps, and officially signed a pro contract with the organization on April 16th.

A big dude at 6-5, 201, Lowry is the son of long-time NHLer Dave Lowry, currently the coach of the WHL’s Victoria Royals.

Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 05.02.2013


Young prospects will get every opportunity to stick with the big club: Cheveldayoff

By: Ed Tait

Every NHL offseason brings change. Hockey fans don’t need Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff to say that to understand the roster will look different come next October than it does right now.

But as the Jets boss spoke to the media in his end-of-the-season address today, he did make one thing perfectly clear: the organization’s young prospects – players like Mark Scheifele and Jacob Trouba – will get every opportunity to stick with the big club come training camp next fall.

"As an organization, I want every player to have the opportunity and feel that they have the opportunity to play at the level that they deserve to play," said Cheveldayoff. "With respect to those two individuals (Scheifele and Trouba) the opportunity is there in front of them. There is some projection on our part as to what extent do you create opportunities for them. We’re going to have to spend some time making those kind of judgments.

"If we feel that creating spacing is what will help them get in and they deserve that, then that’s what we’re going to do. But that creating space could happen now, it could happen at training camp, it could happen a month into the season.

"As far as giving them ample opportunity to be a part of the Winnipeg Jets, they are on the same equal playing field as every player and are going to have that same scrutiny as well."

Cheveldayoff is leaving on Thursday for Europe and the IIHF World Championships in Finland and Sweden where he will closely monitor Trouba, who is with the American team, as well as Andrew Ladd and Ondrej Pavelec. He also recently watched Scheifele help lead the Barrie Colts into the Ontario Hockey League final, where they’ll meet the London Knights.

Cheveldayoff spent most of today’s session analyzing what went wrong in 2013, a condensed season in which the Jets finished out of the playoffs for the second straight year.

"We got off to a reasonably good start and then the inconsistency crept in and we started to go in a different direction," Cheveldayoff said. "We needed to put the stop-gaps in there to stop going in that direction. Eventually we did.

"At one point in time we were going to win the division, at one point in time we were going to draft first overall. At another point in time we were going to win the division again and then we were only a couple of losses away from being in last place.

"We needed to find a way to be more consistent."

Other items of note from Cheveldayoff’s 31-minute address to the media:

- Evander Kane finished the season with a bad wrist and foot. He will see a specialist about the wrist before a determination is made on whether he would need surgery.

- Mark Stuart played most of the year with an abdominal injury that will also be evaluated.

- On Dustin Byfuglien’s play: "When it comes to Buff, I don’t think we can be totally satisfied with anybody’s play this year because we didn’t make the playoffs, we didn’t get to the next step. Everyone’s got to be pushed, him included."

- On Claude Noel’s status, as the head coach has one more year remaining on his contract: "Claude Noel is the head coach of the Winnipeg Jets. He’s under contract. I know you’re going to ask me about an extension. There’s processes that have to go through, there’s different things you discuss, you talk about, you meet as a group, as a staff."

- The Jets’ nine restricted free agents – Zach Bogosian, Bryan Little, Blake Wheeler, Alex Burmistrov, Eric Tangradi, Anthony Peluso, Zach Redmond, Paul Postma and Arturs Kulda – remain "very much priorities" although no formal contract discussions have startet as of yet.



It's all about team for Scheifele

By: Tim Campbell

He knows the Winnipeg Jets are watching him.

Mark Scheifele, though, really isn't interested in the eyes that are on him every game now that his Barrie Colts are through to the Ontario Hockey League championship series.

The Colts meet the London Knights, starting Friday, for a chance to earn a berth in the Memorial Cup.

"I think right now it's just about the team, not what you can do," Scheifele said Tuesday via phone from Barrie. "It's in the back of your mind that this might help you in the future but for the most part it's out of our minds, that this is about team goals and this isn't about how your personal success is going, or how good you've played or if you had a rough game.

"Nobody's being selfish; we're in it for the team."

Scheifele has done quite well for his team. He's the OHL's playoff scoring leader with eight goals and 27 points in 15 games and the Colts, after early round sweeps of Kingston and Oshawa, took down the Belleville Bulls 3-1 in Monday's Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final.

Scheifele set up two goals on Monday after Belleville had scored first.

The 20-year-old centre, Winnipeg's first-round pick, seventh overall in 2011, has seen plenty of attention in this spring's playoffs.

"In the first two series, there was a lot more shadowing, kind of had a guy on me, attached to my hip in the offensive zone for most of those games," he said. "Against Belleville, it was a little bit different. They sat back a little more, tried to play a little more defensive against our line. But all in all, I think it went really well."

The series against the Bulls and Jets draft pick Austen Brassard saw increasing pressure as it went and Scheifele compared it to some of his world junior or NHL games.

"It's right up there," he said. "There is so much pressure. But I think me going through, playing in the NHL and in the world junior, I think that helps but still I get the butterflies every game. It's tough because you think about it so much.

"Especially with the playoffs, like Monday. If you lose Game 7, your season's done. It was really stressful but I think I was able to handle it pretty well."

Those pressures will cause all kinds of things to happen in a given playoff game, so controlling emotions, Scheifele said, has been key for the Colts.

"I think at times you can get frustrated," he said. "When we were up 3-1 (in the series) on Belleville, I think everyone was hitting the panic button a bit but I thought we all came together in Game 7, kept our composure. That's a huge thing that Dale (Hawerchuk, Barrie head coach) put in our minds, that we have to keep our composure, not get ahead of ourselves. We can't get angry or frustrated with each other, that we must stay together as a team.

"And that helped us get through it."



Jets prospect Lowry named WHL's player of the year

By: Ed Tait

It's been a dandy ride, Adam Lowry will readily admit. And when it's going this good, no one would ever want the thing to end.

Lowry, one of the biggest and brightest stars in the Winnipeg Jets system, was named Wednesday as the Western Hockey League's 2012-13 WHL Player of the Year and the recipient of the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy.

Perfect

Essentially, it was the perfect capper to a year in which the third-round draft pick of the Jets led the Swift Current Broncos in scoring, made his pro debut with the St. John's IceCaps and signed his first professional contract.

That's an impressive body of work over an eight-month span.

"It was definitely a busy year for me," Lowry said Wednesday from Calgary. "I think I got into almost 90 games if you count exhibition games, my time in St. John's and then the regular season and playoffs with Swift Current. I really enjoyed it.

"I think I developed as a player and I think I continued to get better, I got to see a lot of things. I got back into the playoffs for the first time since my first year in Swift Current, I got to experience my first few games as a pro in St. John's and then I was able to sign a contract with the Winnipeg Jets.

"It's definitely been an exciting year for me and my family. I've really enjoyed the ride."

Lowry -- the son of former NHLer Dave Lowry -- already walks, talks and acts like an NHL player. Just 20, he's got a maturity that makes him one of the most-intriguing prospects in the Jets' organization. Doesn't hurt that he's a 6-5, 201-pound forward with touch, too -- he led the Broncos with 45 goals, scoring 43 of them after making the move from wing to centre.

"Making that switch to centre really opened up the ice for me," said Lowry. "As I've gotten stronger I've been able to hang onto the puck longer and win more battles. I'm going to continue to work on getting stronger -- I know the guys in the AHL and NHL are a lot bigger and stronger.

"As I get stronger I think that will help with my skating and overall versatility."

Lowry will attend the Jets' development camp this summer and the team's training camp next September. After that, he makes no assumptions and expects nothing other than a shot.

"There's a lot of opportunity in Winnipeg," said Lowry. "I'll have to put in a lot of hard work in the summer, continue to fill out my frame and whether it takes me a couple of years to reach the big club, it's all about what's best for my development.

"I just look forward to the process and the journey of one day of playing in the NHL."



Playing poker

By: Ed Tait

They call it a 'tell' in poker. It's a tip -- usually coming via a physical reaction, a habit or behaviour -- that can help a player judge what kind of hand an opponent might have, good or bad.

We bring this up after spending a half hour listening to Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff in his annual post-season state-of-the-franchise media address on Wednesday that touched on a lot of subjects, but was thin on detail.

And, of course, that's exactly as the Jets boss wants it. You see, if dealing with the media is akin to game of poker, then we can freely admit that Cheveldayoff is killing it with a ginormous stack of chips piled up in front of him.

A couple of examples:

-- When asked about the status of coach Claude Noel, who is entering the final year of his contract: "Claude Noel is the head coach of the Winnipeg Jets. He's under contract."

And then, without taking a breath, he added:

"I know you're going to ask me about an extension. There's processes that have to go through, there's different things you discuss, you talk about, you meet as a group, as a staff. We met with the coaches the other day and we talked about a lot of the things I'm talking about here: 'How do you get better? What are you going to do? What's your plan?' "

-- When discussing the team's nine restricted free agents, a list that includes Bryan Little, Blake Wheeler, Zach Bogosian, Alex Burmistrov, Paul Postma, Zach Redmond, Anthony Peluso, Eric Tangradi and Arturs Kulda, Cheveldayoff said they are "very much priorities.

"There's lots of work that needs to be done there. There's lots of work that has started behind the scenes. Are we negotiating with anyone yet? No. We haven't started, but those are things that sitting here May 1, there's a lot of work ahead."

And so it went, the whole session left most with a strange sensation, kind of like leaving an all-you-can-eat buffet still sporting hunger pains.

But through it all there were a couple of tells that did hint at what this summer might be like for the Jets GM.

You could sense his frustration after another season of inconsistent hockey that has left the franchise with a modest on-paper improvement but still without a playoff berth.

"The hard part for me is knowing how close we were," said Cheveldayoff. "You see teams in the playoffs right now with 25-26 wins and in the middle of the pack in the playoffs. Just to sit back and think maybe there was a game or two where you could have got a point or swayed a point the other way and you're sitting there with 26 wins."

And then there was this answer to a question about fans who want change and how hard it is to ask for patience in a win-right-stinking-now environment:

"There's not a moment that goes by that I don't think about that," said Cheveldayoff. "There's not a day for, whatever reason it is, that we don't think about how we're going to get this team better and what can we do different. Rest assured that whenever we feel there's an opportunity in front of us that can help us, we're going to do it. But to try and manufacture something, this sport doesn't happen that way."

All of this, in a roundabout way, brings us to this conclusion: For the first time since he was named GM, Cheveldayoff has a real opportunity to put his stamp on the franchise. Let's face it, of the list of nine unrestricted free agents -- Nik Antropov, Kyle Wellwood, Mike Santorelli, Antti Miettinen, Aaron Gagnon, Ron Hainsey, Grant Clitsome, Derek Meech and Al Montoya -- none would be labelled franchise cornerstones.

He won't be handcuffed by cumbersome contracts from a previous regime or a declining salary cap that may have teams dumping talent. He's got his

own draft picks like Mark Scheifele, Jacob Trouba, Adam Lowry and Zach Yuen ready to turn pro, either here or in St. John's.

More than anything, Cheveldayoff understands his team needs more talent and more depth developing in Newfoundland. And you get the sense -- because he's certainly not dropping many hints -- that he likes the core he has, but now has the chance to surround it with their own players, not castoffs from other clubs or remnants of the past bosses.

A big summer? Yeah, you could say that.

"We've got to get better," Cheveldayoff said. "We've got to find ways, whether it's finding other free agents that fit the mould or continuing the slow process of drafting and developing our young players.

"We're two years into my tenure as general manager. Hopefully now we'll start seeing some of the fruits of our labour with respect to drafting. Even still, the process of drafting a player two years ago doesn't mean they step right into the National Hockey League."

That's a tell and a cover-up all in one answer. The real proof will come soon enough in the next few months and the moment Cheveldayoff starts laying some cards on the table.

[email protected] Twitter: @WFPEdTait

lowry earns WHL player-of-the-year honours d6

TALKING POINTS

Some of the notable tidbits from Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff's address to the media:

On the play of Dustin Byfuglien, who finished fifth on the team in scoring (eight goals, 20 assists):

"He had a pretty inconsistent year as well. At time he was very, very impactful with us in a lot of different ways. He's got the ability to make the 'Wow!' plays and pull people out of their seats for some of the things. He's a very unique player with his size and skating ability and puck-handling ability. He's a very tough player to handle when he has the puck and the plays he can make.

"On the defensive side of it, you'd like Buff to be better. I could say that about a lot of our defence. When it comes to Buff, I don't think we can be totally satisfied with anybody's play this year because we didn't make the playoffs, we didn't get to the next step. Everyone's got to be pushed, him included."

On the work of Olli Jokinen, the big signing in last year's free-agent market for the Jets, after his seven goals, seven assists, team-worst minus-19 rating this season:

"We were anticipating he would give us another option on the top two lines. I think Olli had a very inconsistent year and he's the first one to tell you he was disappointed with how it went."

On the injury front, LW Evander Kane will be seeing a specialist about his wrist before a decision is made on surgery (he also finished the season playing with a foot injury); Mark Stuart played with a "significant lower-body injury" that will be checked out by doctors.

On finding more top-six punch:

"We talked about it at the trade deadline. I would have loved to have found a speedy right- winger that could fit with Evander both in the short term and the long term and I wasn't able to find that. Will that be something that gets drafted over the course of time, gets traded for, gets signed in free agency? Those are all the things we're going to evaluate, the opportunities that are out in front of us."

On what he said to the team in its exit meetings:

"I talked to them about the fact that Game 1 matters, Game 2 matters, Game 7 matters, Game 15, 25... whatever on down the line, it matters. And that could have been the one game or the two games or three games that could have given us the points we needed to get in, to get where we wanted to be.

"We needed to find a way to be more consistent."

On whether first-round picks Mark Scheifele and Jacob Trouba will get a shot at cracking the big club next fall:

"... the opportunity is there in front of them. There is some projection on our part as to what extent do you create opportunities for them. But that

creating space could happen now, it could happen at training camp, it could happen a month into the season."



Winnipeg Jets prospect Adam Lowry named the Western Hockey League Player of the Year

Adam Lowry needs to clear a little room in the trophy case.

The Winnipeg Jets’ prospect capped a successful junior hockey career by capturing the Western Hockey League’s Most Valuable Player.

Lowry, a 20-year-old forward who was chosen in the third round (67th overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, had 45 goals and 88 points in 72 games as the captain of the Swift Current Broncos.

“I’m pretty excited. It’s definitely a tremendous honour,” Lowry told reporters after the WHL Awards luncheon in Calgary. “I’m just thrilled. I didn’t think I’d come in and be the best player in the league and mean the most to my team by any means. I just wanted to be a consistent performer. I tried to get better every day.”

Lowry finished the season with the St. John’s IceCaps of the American Hockey League, chipping in one assist in nine games.

“I think I’ve continued to develop. At 16, I was a little scrawny kid breaking into the league just trying to make a name for myself,” said Lowry. “I think I’ve grown a little and as I’ve grown I’ve gotten stronger. That’s kind of allowed me to become the player that I am today.

“Obviously your dream growing up is to play in the NHL and finishing up your junior career you’re looking to make that next step to the pro. Whether that’s with St. John’s or Winnipeg next year, it’s something that I’m going to work hard to do and try to

Winnipeg Sun LOADED 05.02.2013


No word on extension for Noel: Jets GM non-committal

By Paul Friesen ,Winnipeg Sun

Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff would not commit to extending the contract of head coach Claude Noel in his first public comments since the Jets season ended.

Noel is entering the third and final year of his deal, and Cheveldayoff would only confirm the status quo as it stands today.

“Claude Noel is the head coach of the Winnipeg Jets,” the GM said. “He’s under contract. I know you’re going to ask what about an extension... there’s processes that have to go through.

“We met with the coaches the other day. How do you get better? What are you going to do? What’s your plan? There’s always evaluations. This is a brutal sport when it comes to the end results.”

Cheveldayoff said Season 2 was “eerily similar” in some ways to the Jets first season back in the NHL.

He noted the Jets fought and clawed for a playoff spot until the end, but were done in by inconsistency throughout the year.

The second-year GM didn’t express regret over his inactivity at the trade deadline, but acknowledged his team could look significantly different next season, due to its high number of pending free agents.

Cheveldayoff says he hasn’t started negotiations with restricted free agents such as Blake Wheeler, Bryan Little or Zach Bogosian, yet. As for the equally long list of unrestricted free agents, the GM says the Jets will try to re-sign some and tell others they aren’t wanted back.

To fans who want to see progress, Cheveldayoff vowed to continue the patient approach.

“We’re two years into my tenure as general manager,” he said. “Hopefully now we’ll start seeing some of the fruits of our labour, with respect to drafting. But even still, the process of drafting a player two years ago doesn’t necessarily mean they step right into the NHL.

“Patience in this day and age is lost in a lot of places. We want right now. But now doesn’t always occur. There’s no magic cure. You’ve seen teams that have gone out and signed top-end free agents... and you see it’s not as easy as that.”

Cheveldayoff says prospects like Mark Scheifele and Jacob Trouba will be on the Jets roster only if they’re ready out of training camp next season.

SICK BAY UPDATE: Cheveldayoff says Evander Kane will see a specialist for a wrist injury that plagued him down the stretch. It’s too early to know if Kane will need surgery.

A “significant” abdominal injury to defenceman Mark Stuart was among the other ailments players fought through.

BIG BUFF: Cheveldayoff cited Dustin Byfuglien’s inconsistent play, suggesting the big defenceman needs to be better in his own zone.

He also pointed out several players, in exit meetings, mentioned Byfuglien’s positive effect on the offence and the ability to break out of their own zone.



Surgery possible for Evander Kane's wrist injury

By Paul Friesen ,Winnipeg Sun

Winnipeg Jets winger Evander Kane will see another specialist before determining if he needs surgery on his wrist this off-season.

“He’s played through some discomfort with his wrist,” GM Kevin Cheveldayoff said, Wednesday. “As far as surgery, until he’s seen the specialist, I’m not sure what the course of action will be.”

It’s the second straight off-season the Jets are dealing with a potentially serious wrist injury to a star player.

Last year, defenceman Zach Bogosian underwent surgery late in the summer, which would have wiped out a good portion of his season if it hadn’t been shortened by the lockout.

“With Zach’s injury last year, it finished the season well but manifested itself in the summer through training,” Cheveldayoff said.

Kane fought through a foot injury as well this season.

“The one game where he missed pre-game warmup, he was getting his foot worked on well into the warmup to ensure that he could play,” the GM said. “He’s not the only one. Mark Stuart played with a significant abdomen injury the whole time. He’s going to have to get checked as well.”

Cheveldayoff says the Jets must get a deeper lineup in order to better sustain injuries down the road, citing the loss of Toby Enstrom, who played just 22 of 48 games.

“The shortness of the season certainly magnified the effects of missing a game,” he said. “In a season like this, four to six weeks became significant to us.”



Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff can tap dance with the best of them

The man who generally manages the Winnipeg Jets is harder to pin down than a politician, his Wednesday season-ending review producing almost as many questions from the podium as it did from the assembled media.

Cheveldayoff wouldn’t say if he regretted not making a move at the trade deadline.

He wouldn’t say which unrestricted free agents he wants back, or if he expects a top-six forward to shake out of the pruned NHL salary cap tree this summer.

He wouldn’t even clear up the status of his head coach, who has just one year left on his contract.

“Claude Noel is the head coach of the Winnipeg Jets,” the GM said, addressing the present but two-stepping around the future. “He’s under contract. I know you’re going to ask about an extension... there’s processes that have to go through.

“We met with the coaches the other day. How do you get better? What are you going to do? What’s your plan? There’s always evaluations. This is a brutal sport when it comes to the end results.”

What exactly that means for Noel is anybody’s guess.

After keeping the Jets in the hunt right to the bitter end, I don’t expect he’ll get the pink slip.

Cheveldayoff could have cleared that up, but chose not to. Perhaps that’ll come later. Going into a season with a lame-duck head coach is asking for trouble. That just gives players an out.

So what about the GM?

After two years of getting his feet wet, this is the year we should find out if Cheveldayoff can swim — not to mention fight with the rest of the sharks.

The Jets have more players without contracts (18) for next season than with (11), and plenty of salary cap space.

The opportunity for an extreme makeover is there.

New Edmonton GM Craig MacTavish said the other day he could see making as many as eight changes to his lineup.

Cheveldayoff, of course, was less specific, saying only a similar number here “could be a possibility.”

“We’ve got to get better. Whether it’s finding other free agents that fit the mold, or continuing the slow process of drafting and developing our young players,” he said. “We’re two years into my tenure as general manager. Hopefully now we’ll start seeing some of the fruits of our labour, with respect to drafting. But even still, the process of drafting a player two years ago doesn’t necessarily mean they step right into the NHL.”

And if that’s a little too slow-paced for some, well, deal with it.

Cheveldayoff may take another significant swing at free agency, hoping he doesn’t whiff again like he did with Alexei Ponikarovsky and Olli Jokinen.

Or he may not.

“Patience in this day and age is lost in a lot of places,” Cheveldayoff said. “We want right now. But now doesn’t always occur. There’s no magic cure.

“Hopefully for (fans) they’re rest assured that whenever there’s an opportunity in front of us that we feel can help us, we’re going to do it. But to try and manufacture something, this sport doesn’t work that way.”

He cited the Jets’ lack of depth, their inconsistency. Their injuries. The “eerily similar” goals for and against totals from Year 1 to Year 2.

Should the Jets have made bigger strides by now?

“You’re always preparing yourself for that,” he said. “The problem is 29 other teams are preparing for the same things.”

Asked about the enigmatic Dustin Byfuglien, Cheveldayoff said the defenceman was “pretty inconsistent,” defensively, but a player teammates rave about when it comes to creating offence.

“We can’t be totally satisfied with anyone’s play this year,” Cheveldayoff said. “Everyone’s got to be pushed, him included.”

That goes for the GM, too.

Even if he does tap-dance with the best of them.


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ESPN / Penguins' determination fits to a 'T'

By Scott Burnside

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins showed up for work Wednesday morning wearing T-shirts with the No. 4 on the back, a nod to the immediate task of winning four games to get out of the first round of the playoffs.

No word on whether those same shirts will be worn Thursday with the "4" crossed out and replaced by a "3" after the Penguins whipped the New York Islanders 5-0 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

They’re just T-shirts, of course: some fabric and a little lettering, including the phrase, "Here We Go."

But the shirts speak to a mindset, a narrowing of the focus to the task at hand.

When you are a team as deep and talented as the Penguins -- and when there is as much discussion about a long playoff run, a possible trip to the Stanley Cup finals, another championship -- it might be easy to forget about first things first.

If you look at the big picture, if you look at what is needed to win a Cup, "It’s a bit overwhelming," Pittsburgh forward Craig Adams said after Wednesday’s game.

And if you start thinking about that, "you’ll never get there," he said.

"Everyone wanted to hand us the Cup last year, and we saw how that turned out," Adams added.

And there’s the rub.

In an interview before Wednesday’s game, Pittsburgh GM Ray Shero went to great pains to reinforce that his team was very mindful of the Islanders, even though the Pens were the top seed in the Eastern Conference and the Isles the eighth seed.

"I know this team has a great deal of respect for the Islanders," Shero said. "There’s no way we’ll be underestimating them."

Those are the kinds of sentiments that are on display when you’re coming off a 2012 playoff season that really ended before it began with the Penguins blowing a 3-0 lead against Philadelphia in Game 1 and quickly falling behind 3-0 in the series en route to a six-game loss. It was the second consecutive one-and-done playoff spring for the Penguins, and they have won just one playoff round since winning the Stanley Cup in 2009.

So you can understand if there is an emphasis on the details this time around.

"We’ve been preaching that all year," Adams said. "I think we’ve been humbled."

After one game, it would appear the message has sunk in, as the Penguins methodically took apart an inexperienced Islanders team that is playing in the postseason for the first time since 2007.

The Pens took advantage of an early power play to go up 1-0 after a terrific play by Beau Bennett, who cut in from the right side and roofed a shot over veteran netminder Evgeni Nabokov. Bennett wouldn’t be in the lineup if it weren’t for the fact that doctors declined to let captain Sidney Crosby suit up for Game 1.

Talk about taking advantage of your opportunities: Bennett scored in his first-ever playoff game.

The Penguins would add another power-play goal early in the second period by Kris Letang before Pascal Dupuis, the king of even-strength goals, added two while the teams were playing five aside. Tanner Glass rounded out the scoring with his first-ever postseason goal.

Defensively, the Pens killed off four Islander power plays and limited the Isles to 26 shots, providing netminder Marc-Andre Fleury with ample protection. Fleury, who endured a nightmare series last postseason against the Flyers, earned his sixth postseason shutout.

"Everything went great tonight," Dupuis said. "Yes, we did play the right way, but you have to keep saying to yourself it’s only 1-0."

If there was cause for concern for the Penguins, it was the loss of James Neal, who got tangled up with Travis Hamonic early in the second period and did not return. There was no information on his status for Game 2 Friday.

Also, Jussi Jokinen, who added two assists and continues to be a point machine since coming over from Carolina at the trade deadline, went off the ice gingerly after a collision with Islanders forward Marty Reasoner, who was assessed a kneeing major with 2:10 left in the game.

The Islanders, meanwhile, looked like a team whose most important players (outside Nabokov) were playing in their first playoff game. Reasoner, playing in his 24th career postseason game, was the player with the most playoff experience among Islander skaters, and he’d been a healthy scratch for the final 10 regular-season games.

John Tavares, who figures to be among the finalists for the Hart Trophy as the league’s MVP, was a nonfactor, finishing the night without a shot. Likewise, Brad Boyes and Matt Moulson weren’t the players who combined for 25 regular-season goals.

Head coach Jack Capuano said the team’s work ethic and determination weren’t what they had been during the final month of the regular season, when the Isles secured an unexpected playoff berth, and the execution was lacking.

Nabokov, a player Capuano referred to as an extension of the coaching staff given his experience, was given the hook just 1:51 into the second period after the Pens made it 4-0 with two goals in 32 seconds.

Although he was beaten twice by hard, high shots courtesy of Bennett and Letang on the power play, this loss wasn’t a function of poor goaltending. Instead, this was a loss that was, pure and simple, about one team being light years ahead of another in terms of getting the job done.

"Obviously, I think it was a little bit too easy for them, for the Penguins. All-around game has to be better. Better saves, more saves. I guess it’s got to start with me," Nabokov said.

"I’ve got to make key saves at the key times and give the guys a chance to battle. But the game was over basically at the beginning of the second period, it’s four-zip, and it’s really tough to come out of it against that type of team. So [I] have to find a way to tighten up and be better," he said.

Of course, as the Pens’ T-shirts remind us, this series is not the best of one.

The Islanders have a chance to regroup, and one imagines whatever nerves and butterflies might have invaded their bodies Wednesday will have dissipated by the time Game 2 rolls around Friday night.

"I don’t think anything is easy. You have to come out, and you have to work hard. It’s got to hurt to play; I heard somebody in the locker room actually say that: It’s got to hurt to play," Nabokov said.

"I think we have to come out next game, and we have to be ready, be more physical and just make it hard on them everywhere, every inch of the ice. We have to battle for every inch of the ice, everywhere. I think that’s the only way we can play with that team because, otherwise, they’re too skilled. They’re too good."

ESPN LOADED: 05.02.2013

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ESPN / Bad penalty, bad bounce costs Isles

By Scott Burnside

PITTSBURGH -- Islanders coach Jack Capuano talked before the game about the need for his team to stay disciplined. Yet early in the first period, former Penguin Brian Strait took exception to a Matt Cooke hit on one of his teammates and gave Cooke a shot as Strait was coming onto the ice, drawing an interference penalty. The Pens’ Beau Bennett scored late in the power play to put the Isles behind the eight ball early on. The power-play goal was aided by the fact a clearing attempt by the Isles struck one of the on-ice officials in the neutral zone and allowed the Penguins to quickly return to the Islander zone.

Veteran netminder Evgeni Nabokov was yanked early in the second period after allowing four goals on 15 shots. Three of those goals came after he took a Jarome Iginla rocket off the top of his mask, a shot that left him momentarily dazed in the first period.

"I never had that. The chunk was out, and I think the mask is done," Nabokov said.

"It’s the first time I’ve actually felt it," Nabokov said, adding that he was lucky the puck hit the top of the mask as opposed to a more direct impact on the forehead or cage.

"Yeah. Good mask," he said ruefully.

Pittsburgh defenseman Mark Eaton, who was part of the Pens’ Cup-winning team in 2009 before departing for Long Island, where he played for two seasons, signed with the Penguins in February as a free agent when the Penguins were beset by injuries. He drew an assist on Pascal Dupuis’ second goal Wednesday night, his first point of the season. He led all players with eight blocked shots. When the Penguins are healthy along the blue line (Brooks Orpik missed Game 1 with an injury sustained late in the regular season), Eaton usually plays with Kris Letang his defense partner during the ’09 Cup run.

Marc-Andre Fleury’s sixth postseason shutout leaves him tied with Tom Barrasso for the most playoff shutouts in franchise history.


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ESPN / Sidney Crosby won't play in Game 1

By Scott Burnside

PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has not recovered sufficiently from a broken jaw and will miss at least the opening game of Pittsburgh's Stanley Cup playoff quarterfinal series against the New York Islanders on Wednesday.

Crosby told reporters after the team's morning skate Wednesday that doctors had not cleared him to play after his last checkup Tuesday afternoon, and he does not have a timetable for his return to action.

Crosby suffered a broken jaw after being struck by a deflected puck in a game against the Islanders on March 30. He has been practicing with the team while wearing a protective shield around his jaw and said earlier this week that he feels like he's ready to play but needed a doctor's approval.

"He said everything looks good," Crosby told reports. "He just wasn't prepared to clear me to play. Obviously I would have loved the chance to play tonight, but that's not the way it is."

Crosby, who was leading the NHL in scoring when he was injured, said he doesn't know when he'll next visit with medical staff. Game 2 of this series is set for Friday night in Pittsburgh.

"I'll just wait and see," Crosby said. "He didn't give me a date. He's waiting until he feels comfortable."

Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said that the team has been preparing for both possibilities and that Crosby's absence doesn't dramatically change the team's preparation for the Islanders.

"We've played a lot of hockey without Sid in our lineup," Bylsma said. "We've been playing and preparing for with or without Sidney Crosby in our lineup. If you're talking about the impact of not having one of the best players in the game in your lineup, certainly you'd like to have him in there.

"But we've played the last segment of our season without him, and we've been practicing that way for this week, and we're ready to go for Game 1."


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ESPN / Six outdoor games not such a bad thing

By Scott Burnside

We're not privy to the NHL's marketing slogan for the 2013-14 season, but it might be something like "Go Big or Go Home, but Definitely Go Outdoors."

Of course, if you read much of the negative commentary surrounding the NHL's decision to multiply its successful outdoor game model like so many bunnies next season -- with six in-the-elements events on the docket -- you'd think the league was determined to bring back the glowing puck and make all its players wear uniforms with blinking lights.

The NHL announced Wednesday the first plank in its ambitious stadium series of outdoor games for the 2013-14 season, a March 1 date at Soldier Field in Chicago between the Blackhawks and the Pittsburgh Penguins, set for 8 p.m. ET.

Over the next week or so, the league will unveil its plans for two outdoor games during Super Bowl at Yankee Stadium involving all three New York-area teams; one at Dodger Stadium between the Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 25; and another installment of the Heritage Classic in Vancouver between the Canucks and the Ottawa Senators to be held the same weekend as the Soldier Field event.

Winter Classic

Chicago's 2009 Winter Classic is credited with helping turn around the Blackhawks' franchise.

These games are in addition to the previously announced Winter Classic to be held Jan. 1, 2014, in Ann Arbor, Mich., between Original Six rivals, the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

When news first broke last month that the NHL was going to take its product outdoors for a total of six games next season, it was interesting to note the instant boo-hooing that arose, mostly from the media.

Oh, too many outdoor games.

Oh, it'll turn the Winter Classic into a cheap dime-store version of its former self.

Oh, it'll rain.

Oh, it'll be too hot.

Oh, the league just wants to make money.

Funny how it works, but the NHL has long been criticized -- and rightly so -- for being too timid, too parochial, too unwilling to seize the moment and work at becoming more than just a niche sport in the United States.

Outdoor games aren't a panacea for all that ails the NHL, but when the league does think outside the box, it is flayed in some quarters.

Yes, these outdoor games are financially successful. Is that a reason not to do more of them?

Funny how much of the criticism of the league has come from the media, and yet we haven't heard much carping from the fans themselves.

Are people in California upset with the opportunity to take in an evening of hockey at Dodger Stadium? Don't think so. And unless we are completely off base (get it, a baseball reference for this game?) the tickets to the first regular-season outdoor game on the West Coast will go in a heartbeat.

Assuming the event is well-received, it will also open the door to more outdoor opportunities in nontraditional markets.

Are the fans in the New York area -- where the NHL estimates there will be 1,000 accredited media members for the Super Bowl festivities leading up to the game in New Jersey on Feb. 2 -- barking at the fact that the New York Rangers will play the New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils in twin games at Yankee Stadium?

Uh, no.

Think fans in Chicago will turn away from a chance to see their beloved Blackhawks and the Penguins at Soldier Field because they already hosted a Winter Classic in 2009?

That game between the Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings, the second Winter Classic ever, is considered by Chicago officials to be a seminal event in that team's renaissance after years of being the butt of jokes throughout the sporting world.

The 2013-14 season provides an interesting opportunity for the NHL to try to write itself back into the good news department after another potentially catastrophic labor stoppage scuttled almost half the 2012-13 season.

In a matter of weeks, the NHL will formalize its relationship with the Olympics and agree to take part in the Sochi Games in February.

Two of the outdoor games, including the Soldier Field game, will take place the first weekend after the end of the Olympics and should provide a terrific lead-in to the stretch run of the regular season and be a nice reminder that the NHL is back in business after being shut down for the Olympic break (something that not all owners agree is a good thing).

As for the notion that introducing other outdoor events to the NHL landscape somehow cheapens the Winter Classic, which has evolved into the NHL's most important regular-season date, the schedule of events surrounding the Winter Classic in Michigan promises to make it the most successful iteration yet.

Each year the Winter Classic has grown in scope, and the net it has cast around the hockey community has grown. The event next year involving the Red Wings, postponed this season because of the lockout, calls for multiple alumni games to be played at Comerica Park in downtown Detroit, along with games at various levels, including the major junior and college ranks.

NHL COO John Collins suggested in an interview that the Detroit Winter Classic will be the “granddaddy” of Winter Classics given the surrounding events, including those at Comerica Park, and the game itself at the Big House in Ann Arbor.

Whether it's been Boston or Philadelphia or Chicago, the Winter Classic games have captured the imagination of the local markets and become a touchstone for the casual fan, an elusive group the NHL has been courting for decades.

The fact that more fans than ever will be able to take part in these kinds of events next season can hardly diminish that dynamic.

"It's not just one lens you're looking at this through,” Collins told ESPN.com on the eve of the Soldier Field announcement. "You have to be at these events to understand how the game becomes a gathering point for a community, the way a community lights up around hockey."

"That local impact is incredibly powerful," Collins said.

Would the fans in California likely have a chance to take in a Winter Classic if the league stayed within some self-imposed limit of having one or two outdoor games a season? Not likely.

Is it important to return to big markets like Chicago, where the game continues to grow in importance? Absolutely.

But next season allows the NHL to broaden its appeal while still promoting its biggest markets, and its biggest stars, on the outdoor stage.

Are there risks with taking the NHL into the elements six times next season? Of course.

The league will purchase a new portable ice-making unit that will be used for the Dodger Stadium game, then transported up the coast to Vancouver for the Heritage Classic. But even as technology has evolved and given the league more opportunity to create pristine ice surfaces outdoors in different locales, there will always be concerns about the integrity of the game when you expose it to the natural elements.

Any time the league puts on one of these events, it courts disaster as it relates to how Mother Nature will react. It rained in Pittsburgh in 2011 and the Winter Classic had to be postponed a day.

There have been issues with sun and snow, and the potential for precipitation in Vancouver or in New York next season will always be there. But the league has contingency plans, and what might happen with the weather has become part of the fabric of the events themselves.

What happens moving forward will depend largely on how next season’s outdoor experiment works out.

"I think it’s fluid but we are working on a three-year plan," Collins said.

Added deputy commissioner Bill Daly, "Next year represents opportunities that aren't going to be there every year."

There is nothing to suggest the NHL will go outside five or six times every year, but if these events unfold as planned, you can bet the number of teams clamoring to host an outdoor game will only increase.

In the end, is that such a bad thing?


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ESPN / Pens have all that ... and Crosby, too

By Scott Burnside

Even when they're without a star or two, the Pittsburgh Penguins have been tough to beat. With the team at full strength … you get the idea. Here are five reasons the Pens should be considered favorites to win the Stanley Cup:

1. The Pens play in the Eastern Conference

Boston Bruins

It's that simple. With all due respect to the red-hot Washington Capitals and New York Islanders as well as the plucky Ottawa Senators and the perplexing New York Rangers, the depth of talent in the Western Conference -- where the Chicago Blackhawks will start the playoffs as the favorites -- makes the path to the Stanley Cup finals, at least on paper, much more arduous. The reality is that you can make a case for almost every team in the West, especially the Anaheim Ducks, St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks, to be the conference's representative in the finals. In the Eastern Conference, there are simply more teams with more flaws that, again in theory, can be exploited by a deep, talented team such as the Penguins. Doesn't mean it will turn out that way, but it doesn't mean the logic is wrong to start with either.

2. Pittsburgh doesn't need Fleury to 'steal' a series

Marc-Andre Fluery

People will point to last year's performance by Marc-Andre Fleury and suggest that he is the Achilles' heel of the Penguins. Maybe. There's no getting around the fact Fleury was awful in the Pens' six-game opening-round loss to the Philadelphia Flyers last spring, sporting a 4.63 GAA. But Fleury has been very good this season, getting wins in 21 of his past 27 decisions and finishing tied for fourth with 23 victories. It may be oversimplifying things, but Fleury doesn't need to steal a series given the explosiveness that the Pens' lineup represents -- or, at least, he shouldn't have to. But he can't throw one away. We doubt that's going to happen two years in a row, and folks need to recall that Fleury won 30 postseason games in 2008 and 2009. The Pens also have a more than adequate Plan B in Tomas Vokoun, who played well down the stretch and finished with a 13-4 record with a .919 save percentage. If Vokoun sees much action in the playoffs, it won't be good news for the Pens. But given his level of play, it shouldn't be cataclysmic.

3. Several of them have been there before

Jarome Iginla

If playoff success is related in some fashion to leadership, to guys who can play on the big stage, guys who don't recoil from big stakes, then surely guys such as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jarome Iginla, Chris Kunitz, Brenden Morrow, Kris Letang and Brooks Orpik, to name a few, should keep the Pens' ship pointed in the right direction. Given the individual and team awards connected to these players, the Pens are fairly awash in leadership and skill. It's no secret that the Flyers were able to get Pittsburgh off its game last spring, and that, coupled with the poor goaltending the Pens received from Fleury, allowed Philadelphia to upset the favored Pens. It's simply hard to see that happening two years in a row, especially given not just the depth but also the maturity on the roster.

4. Healthy Penguins are dangerous Penguins

Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby

If, as expected, the Pens hit the playoffs with a full and healthy lineup, there isn't a team that can match their depth -- and I'm not just talking about offensive depth, although the Pens led the league in scoring. At one point heading into the final week of the regular season, they had won 21 of 23 games, and the bulk of that impressive stretch was traveled without some combination of Crosby, Malkin, James Neal, Letang and defenseman Paul Martin, who has been an important part of a solid blue-line corps playing mostly with Orpik. By the end of the regular season, all but Crosby had returned to action, and Crosby was practicing with the team. (He suffered a

broken jaw that cost him the final month of the regular season and the NHL scoring title.) Having a full complement of players at his disposal will make for some challenging times for coach Dan Bylsma, but he deftly handled such a lineup en route to the team's Stanley Cup win in 2009. The question that has no answer at this stage: How durable is this team, especially with so many top-end players returning late from various injuries? What does seem clear is that if the Pens were a force without a full lineup, they are something significantly more with every piece in place.

5. Trade deadline additions adapt to Penguin way

Brenden Morrow

One thing follows another, and so it is that the players acquired by GM Ray Shero at the trade deadline have seemingly been able to easily and quickly acclimate themselves to the Penguin way. It helped that, thanks to injuries to so many regulars, they were able to be instantly inserted into the lineup. So it was that former captains Morrow (Dallas Stars) and Iginla (Calgary Flames) were put into important roles upon their arrivals. Iginla has helped a power play that ranked second in the league, and he had 11 points in 13 games with the Pens, including four power-play markers. Jussi Jokinen, added from the Carolina Hurricanes at the deadline, has proved to be a useful player, can play center or wing and can be moved up and down the lineup, while hard-hitting Douglas Murray has fit in nicely on the blue line of a team that was looking to become harder to play against. There is always a danger when introducing a number of new components, especially in a shortened season, but the Pens were able to give the new players instant responsibility. The results have been impressive, something that should bode well for the team in the playoffs, when contributions from every area of the lineup are key to a long run.


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ESPN /Kings' Greene still waiting for return;

By Pierre LeBrun

ST. LOUIS -- Matt Greene’s absence was certainly felt in the Los Angeles Kings' opening loss to the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night.

The big, physical defender, such an important part of last season’s Stanley Cup champion team, practiced again Wednesday, but at this point, his availability to play isn’t quite clear.

“I’m doing whatever they tell me here, that’s it,” Greene said after practice, not wanting to reveal much.

Greene is the type of warrior who would play on one leg if the team let him, so clearly whether or not he plays, or when, is not his call.

“No, it’s just the way it’s going right now,” Greene said. “That’s the way our lineup is. And that’s fine. … They’re going to put me in when I’m healthy to go and ready to go.”

Head coach Darryl Sutter shed a bit more light on the situation Wednesday, saying it’s not simply about Greene’s condition.

“It’s not just [being] healthy, but he’s got to be up to speed,” Sutter said. “He needed about 10 games, to be quite honest. You just don’t put him in the lineup because he’s Matt Greene. Matt Greene has to be able to play and perform. We were hoping to get more games from him before, [to be] quite honest, and he got banged up. So we’ll see. I’m quite happy playing those two kids because they’re quite capable, too.”

Greene missed two months recovering from back surgery before returning recently to play four games. Then, he got hurt again.

So for now, it’s Keaton Ellerby in for Greene on the third pairing along with Jake Muzzin, the two kids Sutter was referring to.

Those two kids looked a little overwhelmed at times in Game 1, as they were hammered by the Blues’ forecheck.

“As the game went on they both played better, but at the same time, it put pressure on the other four guys early, and it was a big reason why we spent so much time in our own zone, was those kids having trouble early in the game,” Sutter said.

Blues know what's coming

The Blues aren’t resting on their laurels. They know the Kings will come hard Thursday night.

But at the same time, they’d be lying if they didn’t say finally beating L.A. after eight straight losses dating back to last season didn’t feel good.

"There's a lot of areas we need to improve on,” veteran Blues forward Andy McDonald said after practice Wednesday. “Certainly, they've taken it to us in the regular season and in the playoffs last year. Hopefully, it builds confidence in our room that these guys are beatable -- and they're the defending Stanley Cup champions -- but if we play our game, we can play right there with them.

"But my point is it's Game 1, and I think we had the adrenaline going, being excited, home opener in the playoffs, a lot to prove, and we just [need] to be sure that we match that tomorrow night and maybe even bring it up a notch, because I know that they're going to come out a little harder."


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ESPN / Kings in unusual position: trailing a series

By Pierre LeBrun

ST. LOUIS -- The architect of last year’s Stanley Cup championship squad watched attentively as his troops went through their drills during an optional practice Wednesday.

The military analogy is appropriate in this case, because Los Angeles Kings GM Dean Lombardi is an avid history buff who adores the comparisons between war and sport and the kind of self-sacrifice, leadership and guts it takes to achieve goals in both.

And so as The General watched practice Wednesday, you could just see the wheels spinning in his mind, his thoughts no doubt knee-deep in the test his team now suddenly faces just one game into the playoffs.

You want a history lesson? His Kings were never once behind in a series last spring, going up 3-0 in all four rounds en route to a well-earned championship.

The script has already changed just one game into the playoffs a year later. And that’s OK, Lombardi said. Standing back and looking at the big picture, it’s not such a bad thing, he figures, for his team to learn how to win in a different fashion.

“We’re going to have to deal with that eventually -- you’re going to have to learn how to win a long series,” Lombardi told ESPN.com outside his team’s dressing room. “Not that you want one, but it’s part of the growth process to learn how to deal with another level of pressure. We really only experienced that once in Game 6 last year [of the Stanley Cup finals]. So here you go. Here it is.”

Not that he’s surprised at what the St. Louis Blues pulled off in Game 1 on Tuesday night, a dominant performance if not on the scoreboard certainly in terms of physical play and puck possession.

Now, normally you’d say that’s a typical reaction from the losing team after dropping Game 1, saying they knew they were in for a tough series. But in this case I can vouch that even before Game 1 was ever played, a conversation with Lombardi during practice Monday revealed his utmost respect for the Blues and the huge test that he believed awaited his team.

And so on Wednesday, in the wake of the Game 1 loss, it is with absolute honesty that the Kings GM talked about the respect his team had for his first-round foe.

“This series last year was probably our toughest,” Lombardi said. “That was not a 4-0 series. Even in the regular season this year, these games are always hard. From top down, both teams are similar, both coaches believe in the same things. I don’t think there’s any question that our players respected this team.

“And so, I don’t know that it’s a wake-up call, per se, but I think it’s a clear reminder what it takes to win in the playoffs. Nobody, to a man, thought this would be easy.”

If there’s a wake-up call here for the players, coach Darryl Sutter said Wednesday, it’s not as much in losing a game but rather in the manner in which they lost.

“What grabs their attention is that they know several of our players can play better,” he said. “We got to overtime with really two lines and four defensemen. You’re not going to win very many games doing that.”

But if you’re looking for any signs of a frantic group after just one loss, even despite never being down in a series last spring, you came to the wrong dressing room.

This was a relaxed looking bunch, Mike Richards informing yours truly on the way out that a group of players was headed to the afternoon Cardinals baseball game to relax.

“The mood’s good,” said star defenseman Drew Doughty. “We’re down 1-0, but it’s all right. If we can get this win and go 1-1 back to L.A., that would be huge for us.”

And of course, that’s very true. A win Thursday night here at Scottrade Center, and the Kings go home confident and in good shape.

But for that to happen, they need to spend a lot less time in their own zone.

There wasn’t a single game last spring when L.A. was bottled up in their own end like it was Tuesday night by a ferocious Blues forecheck.

“We have to be quicker,” Doughty said. “They’re coming hard on their forecheck, they’re banging bodies, they’re creating those little turnovers. I think a lot of times when they created those turnovers we kind of went into panic mode and tried to make up for that mistake quickly.

"I think that’s the wrong thing to do; you have to sit back and find where your guy is and try to create your own turnover. That was the one area they really dominated us in. We didn’t get on our forecheck, which is one of the keys to our game. We need to do that in order to win the next one.”

Wave after wave, all four Blues’ lines hammered the Kings in their own zone. In particular, the fourth line of Chris Porter, Adam Cracknell and Ryan Reaves created pure chaos in the Kings’ zone with a relentless forecheck that left the Kings’ defense dizzy.

“They were coming in hard, and they can make plays, too. I don’t think many of us expected that from them,” Doughty said. “That could have been another downfall of ours. But now we know what they can do. We know they’re going to bend bodies.”

Justin Williams of the Los Angeles Kings

The Kings had a lot more success in last season's series vs. the Blues than in Game 1 of 2013.

If you’re looking at that comment and thinking you’ve heard that before, it’s because you did -- a year ago. That’s when opposing teams were commenting on how the Kings’ fourth line was creating havoc with their physical play and forecheck, led by unheralded players such as Dwight King and Jordan Nolan.

“It’s the strength of our team, too, being able to play four lines,” Sutter said. “Our fourth line has been interchangeable quite honestly because some of the kids haven’t played very well. Those kids we brought up last year have not played very well this year. So we were hoping for them to play better now and better in a hurry.”

That’s about as blunt as it gets from the Kings' coach.

The Blues beat the Kings playing the same brand of game that won L.A. a championship last year. Now the Kings have to turn the tables Thursday night and find a way to get their forecheck going, impose their physicality on the Blues in the offensive zone.

“We need our guys doing the same thing to their defensemen,” Doughty said rather honestly. “Guys like [Jay] Bouwmeester and [Alex] Pietrangelo aren’t very physical guys. We need to bang their bodies and kind of take them out of the game so they can’t make their plays and rush up the ice.”

And that’s what will make Game 2 so compelling. The defending champs are determined to impose their game. They’ve been awoken. We will find out more about this Blues squad on Thursday night and how they handle that pushback from the Kings.

Buckle up, this series is just starting to get good.


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USA TODAY / Penguins rout Islanders in opener

Kevin Allen, USA TODAY Sports12:37 a.m. EDT May 2, 2013

PITTSBURGH – The New York Islanders upgraded their work ethic, tightened up their defensive game and improved their consistency down the stretch and were rewarded with their first playoff appearance since 2007.

On Wednesday they realized that the right to play the Pittsburgh Penguins isn't much of a reward. It's not a trip to Disneyland, although it was a wild ride.

The top-seeded Penguins used two goals by Pascal Dupuis and stingy defensive play to steamroll the Islanders 5-0 and take a 1-0 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal. Game 2 is scheduled for Friday night in Pittsburgh.

"When you don't have the puck and you are chasing it all night, you aren't going to accomplish a lot," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said.

Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury made 26 saves in earning his sixth career playoff shutout, tying Tom Barrasso for the team record in that category.

"The shutout was huge," Dupuis said. "Flower did an unbelievable job, and a lot of guys put their bodies on the line to block shots."

It was a strong start for a goalie who had a 4.63 goals-against average and .834 save percentage in the Penguins' first-round elimination by the Philadelphia Flyers last season.

"I don't think the score was any indication of how easy the game was," Pittsburgh left wing Brenden Morrow said. "They competed hard. But we did a good job of forechecking hard and creating some chances."

SITTING OUT: Crosby's jaw not healed enough

Pittsburgh's offensive dominance came with captain Sidney Crosby and Brooks Orpik, the team's top shutdown defenseman, still out with injuries. Orpik had played 75 consecutive playoff games before sitting out Wednesday.

"They worked harder than us," Capuano said. "And this time of year the team that works harder wins hockey games."

The Penguins chased Islanders goalie Evgeni Nabokov out of Game 1 at 1:51 of the second period by scoring four goals on their 15 shots. He had taken a wicked shot from Jarome Iginla early in the game but remained in after talking to the trainer.

MORE: Full NHL playoff schedule

Rookie Beau Bennett scored a power-play goal on the first playoff shot of his career - from a poor angle shortly afterward. He is the first Penguins rookie to score Pittsburgh's opening goal of the playoffs since Jordan Staal did it in 2007.

"There wasn't a whole lot of room, and he found a little hole there up top," Morrow said. "It was a huge goal for us, a fresh, young guy giving us some momentum."

At 12:23 of the first period, Dupuis scored from the slot on a rebound after Nabokov had made a stop against Iginla. Nabokov had come out above the blue paint in an ill-fated effort to give Iginla and Dupuis less room to shoot.

In the second period, defenseman Kris Letang picked the corner against Nabokov on the power play and then Dupuis scored again. The goals came 32 seconds apart.

That's when Islanders coach Jack Capuano chose to switch to Kevin Poulin in net.

Poulin couldn't keep the Penguins off the board either. He gave up a goal to Tanner Glass with a little less than seven minutes left in the second period .

Counting the regular season, the Penguins have defeated the Islanders five consecutive times by a combined score of 21-5.

"I thought our execution was very poor," Capuano said.

USA TODAY LOADED: 05.02.2013

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USA TODAY / Sidney Crosby ruled out of Game 1

Kevin Allen, USA TODAY Sports1:18 p.m. EDT May 1, 2013

PITTSBURGH – Sidney Crosby said he was not medically cleared to play in Wednesday night's Game 1 of the Pittsburgh Penguins' quarterfinal playoff matchup against the New York Islanders (NBC Sports Network, 7:30 p.m.)

Crosby said his doctor told him Tuesday afternoon his broken jaw still needs more time to heal. According to Crosby, the doctor offered him no target date.

"(The doctor) said everything is good," Crosby said. "But he just wasn't prepared to declare me (fit) to play. Obviously, I would have loved to have had a chance to play tonight, but that is not the way it is."

Crosby went on the ice and worked hard Wednesday, and then came back out and practiced with the team during the morning skate. He was on the ice for a long period.

"We have been playing and preparing for with or without having Sidney Crosby in our lineup," Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said. "If you are talking about the impact of not having one of the best players in the game in your lineup, we would certainly like to have him in there. But we played the last segment of the season without him and we've been practicing that way this week and we are ready for Game 1."

Crosby hasn't played since March 30 when he suffered a broken jaw, lost teeth and a facial laceration after being struck by teammate Brooks Orpik's shot. Crosby needed surgery to repair the injury, and he missed the final 12 games.

Although he does not have another appointment set up with his doctor, Crosby said he expects his injury status to be monitored "pretty closely" this week.

The Islanders, who haven't made the playoffs since 2004, are treated to a tough matchup with the Penguins, who are loaded and looking to avenge last season's playoff debacle.

The Penguins have been able to play through significant injuries all season; they were 8-2 in their last 10 games without Crosby. They finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference.

Bylsma wouldn't comment on his lineup for Wednesday night's game, but Orpik skated extra hard in the morning skate, which would indicate he'll likely remain out with an undisclosed injury.

SCHEDULE: Dates, times, results

"Obviously they have a lot of depth," said New York Islanders coach Jack Capuano. "Our gameplan has to be the same. "

As the media focus on the Crosby drama, the teams are focusing on the team vs. team battle. They have met five times this season, with Pittsburgh winning four.

"They have been spirited and fast hockey games," Capuano said. "I expect these (playoff) games to be the same."


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USA TODAY / Penguins, Blackhawks to play at Chicago's Soldier Field

Kevin Allen, USA TODAY Sports11:01 a.m. EDT May 1, 2013

The NHL officially launched the expansion of its outdoor game series Wednesday by announcing that it is returning to Chicago for a game between the Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins on March 1.

The games will come two months after the Jan. 1 Winter Classic between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings on New Year's Day at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich.

"When you see how these games light up a market, big markets like Chicago, you are left with the question of why wouldn't you do more of these?" said NHL Chief Operating Officer John Collins.

Although the NHL only announced one game, league officials have been in talks for games at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles and Yankee Stadium in New York as part of a new stadium series concept. The league will view these games as being different from the Winter Classic and the Heritage Classic. There's also discussion of a game in Vancouver.

"The stadium series takes what everyone loves about those games, being outdoors, giving fans the opportunity to tailgate and celebrate the sport in fun venues," said Collins. "And this allows us to get into markets that we haven't been able to get into, or get back to markets that we should get back to every 10 or 15 years."

"Soldier is one of those iconic venues – a phenomenal stadium, and Chicago is a great market," Collins said. "We loved the experience at Wrigley, but we need as big a venue as we can have to get in as many fans into this game as possible."

Soldier Field has a seating capacity of about 61,500.

"The Winter Classic is a special event from a sponsorship and broadcasting standpoint, just like the Heritage is," Collins said. "But what you really take away when you attend one of these games is the power of these games in the local market."

BLACKHAWKS: Beat Wild in Game 1

The Winter Classic has been the most-watched national game of the season for the NHL and merchandise sales of Winter Classic apparel is similar to what the league expects during a Stanley Cup Final.

"If you look at the local television ratings in the local markets that have hosted…and you (see) NFL, AFC-NFC championship-like numbers in those markets," Collins said. "This event can light up a market."


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