May 20 2010
As you may have noticed over the course of the past two years, we've had a few issues with Community Server, the service which provides the platform for many of the Post-Gazette's blogs.
Basically, the dang thing crashed all the time whenever seemingly more than seven people were on it. It was the Alexei Ponikarovsky of blogging platforms.
With that in mind, Empty Netters is moving on to hopefully more functional grounds today.
From here on out, this will be the URL for Empty Netters:
http://blogs.sites.post-gazette.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=94&Itemid=101
(What a lovely, easy to memorize URL).
You'll need to do a few things with this change.
First, change your bookmark. Eventually, the Community Server site will finally sink to the bottom of the ocean. Don't worry, all our Community Server archives are on the new server.
Second, you'll need to re-register in order to comment. Your profiles and avatars will not shift over to the new server.
Note: At the moment, a few bugs are being worked out with the profiles. There will be a slight delay in that area.
Update: For those who use them, this is the new RSS feed: http://blogs.sites.post-gazette.com/index.php?option=com_ijoomla_rss&act=xml&cat=94&feedtype=RSS2.0
(Photo: Photobucket)
May 19 2010
The Penguins re-signed defenseman Deryk Engelland (right) to a one-year two-way deal. Scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent July 1, Engelland, 28, appeared in nine games this season and recorded two assists and 17 penalty minutes.
In 71 games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Engelland recorded 11 points (five goals, six assists) and 121 penalty minutes. Engelland has been a member of the Penguins organization since the 2007-08 season.
EN Says: It's nice to see Engelland back in the fold. He will be given every chance to make the NHL club next season with the Penguins bound to lose one of the five unrescitred free agents they have on defense. In his cup of coffee with the NHL club last season, Engelland played a simple, stay-at-home game and was more than willing to get physical. Frankly, his style of game is exactly what this team needs.
(Photos: Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
May 19 2010
One of our primary joys in doing this blog is the feedback it generates. And it's not just some yinzer in Blawnox who wants the Penguins to trade Marc-Andre Fleury for Alex Ovechkin.
It's sharp readers who challenge us from all around the globe. We've received e-mails from just about every continent aside from Antarctica in the three-plus years of doing EN. Folks from Brazil, England, Australia, China, Canada, Russia, Egypt, Mexico, Italy, Chile, Curaçao and even all the way out in Greensburg have sent in e-mails on all sorts of subjects from why we picked the Predators to get swept in the first round of the 2008 postseason to what style of eyeglass frames Dan Byslma wears.
One of our favorite readers is Uli Englhart. A native of Ingolstadt, Germany, Uli writes to us seemingly every other day with questions and comments about his favorite NHL team, the Penguins. He appears to be a pretty happy gentleman and always seems to have a better grasp on the Penguins than some of the our other readers from Crafton who feel the need to bench Sidney Crosby.
Well the IIHF World Championships are currently going on in Germany. Uli and a friend, Manuel Herold, jumped on the chance to take in the opening game May 7. And this wasn't just some ho-hum opener. This contest set a record as it was played in Veltins Arena, an indoor soccer stadium in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. A world record 77,803 souls took in this game, including our two readers.
They filed a report which took on the style of a mildly successful Western Pennsylvania hockey blog:
PREGAME
- Hey, guess where we are:
- No, not quite:
- After about eight hours on the bus
- And another 1 ½ on the train:
- We finally arrived in Gelsenkirchen.
- Tickets:
- These "lids" were handed out before the game:
- Bavarians seem to show up in traditional clothing everywhere:
- First things first. Here our favorite jerseys:
- A Kris Letang jersey in GERMANY?? How cool is that?
- Jersey foul parade. Some are really
flagrant:
- Brett Hull St.
Louis Blues:
- Sergej B*#$§in Toronto Maple Leafs:
(Editor's Note: We believe that's a Sergei Berezin jersey.)
- Steve Yzerman Detroit Red Wings:
- Former Penguin Jocelyn Thibault Chicago Blackhawks:
- This number 99 dude still seems to be very popular:
- German fanatics wear jerseys like this:
- And like this:
- The opposing teams:
- Merchandising price list:
- The dinner of a Penguins fan:
- Inside the Veltins Arena filled with 77,803 spectators:
- Opening faceoff:
- Anthem time:
- We don't want to talk too much about the game as the result is well
known by most of you guys. Germany
took the lead in the first period. In the third, the U.S. got the equalizer and in
overtime Germany
scored the game winning goal after 21 seconds.
- After the game we took the train back to Duesseldorf where the bus was
waiting for us.
- 12 hours after the end of the game we finally arrived back in Ingolstadt, Bavaria.
- Good bye from Germany:
May 19 2010
Penguins
-Hold off on pre-ordering that Jarome Iginla Penguins jersey.
-We're a bit late on linking to this, but Chris DeVivo, the Penguins' director, media technology, wrote a fine "eulogy" for Mellon Arena.
-Ryan Fitzgerald, the son of Penguins executive Tom Fitzgerald, was chosen in the second round of the USHL's futures draft by the Youngstown Phantoms.
-Happy 37th birthday to former Penguins forward Andreas
Johansson (right). Acquired early in the 1996-97 season along with Darius
Kasparaitis in a deal which sent Bryan
Smolinski to the Islanders, Johansson spent parts of two seasons with the Penguins. In 27 games that season, Johansson recorded nine points. In 1997-98, Johansson appeared in 50 games and recorded 15 points. The 1998 offseason saw him sign as a free agent with the Senators. He spent part of this past season with Leksand in Sweden.
-Happy 49th birthday to former Penguins forward Wayne
Van Dorp. Acquired early in the 1987-88 season along with Paul
Coffey and Dave
Hunter in exchange for for Craig
Simpson, Dave
Hannan, Moe
Mantha and Chris
Joseph, Van Dorp's Penguins career amounted to 25 games and four points with the club that campaign. In the 1988 offseason, he was traded to the Sabres for future considerations.
-Happy 34th birthday to Penguins assistant general manager Jason
Botterill.
Playoff Stuff
Flyers-Canadiens
-Michael Leighton made 30 saves and recorded his second consecutive shutout, a 3-0 win for the Flyers against the Canadiens. Ville Leino (above) had a goal and an assist for Philadelphia which has a 2-0 series lead.
-Happy times for Philadelphia's Daniel Briere:
-Briere being popular:
-Happy times for Leighton:
-Thirsty times for Leighton:
-Happy times in Philadelphia:
-Montreal's Travis Moen and Philadelphia's Ryan Parent had issues:
-Happy times for Philadelphia's Simon Gagne. Not so much for Montreal's Jaroslav Halak:
-Halak had issues with this puck:
-Halak having a moment:
-Leighton became the second goaltender in Flyers history to record back-to-back shutouts since Bernie Parent in 1975.
-"Sometimes you need your goalie to steal one for you." - Flyers forward Daniel Briere on Leighton.
-It's looking more and more like the Flyers stole Leino from the Red Wings in a February trade.
-The Canadiens were shutout in consecutive playoff games for the first time since Buffalo's Bob Sauve did it in 1983.
-"Let’s go home and play some hockey." - Canadiens forward Mike Cammalleri.
Sharks-Blackhawks
-Jonathan Toews had a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks in a 4-2 win at San Jose. Teammates Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith (above) each recorded two assists while Antti Niemi made 25 saves in the victory which gave Chicago a 2-0 series lead. Patrick Marleau scored both of the Sharks' goal.
-Check out this save Niemi made on San Jose's Devin Setoguchi in tight:
-Chicago's Adam Burish wasn't exactly welcomed in the Sharks' crease:
-We'd probably make the same face if we were in the same position as Toews:
-San Jose's Evgeni Nabokov had a few issues with some pucks:
-Nabokov having a moment:
-Steely glaring times for Sharks captain Rob Blake:
-Sad times for San Jose's Joe Thornton:
-There were a few issues here:
-A Shark taking the ice:
-Toews has points in 11 consecutive games.
-The Blackhawks have won seven consecutive games.
-Remember when Antti Niemi was supposed to be a problem for the Blackhawks?
-"We're outshooting them, we're out-chancing them. We're just not
capitalizing." - Thornton.
-"The good news is everybody
thinks we're done and nothing would make me happier than to come back
and disappoint everybody." - Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle.
-"I hear them, yeah. I want to hold onto the puck longer." - Blackhwks defenseman and former Shark Brian Campbell on being booed everytime he touches the puck in San Jose.
-The Blackhawks and Sharks apparently didn't get the memo about star players being worn out by the Olympics.
IIHF World Championships
-Capitals goaltender Semyon Varlamov made 36 saves for Russia in a 5-0 shutout of Finland. Maxim Afiniogenov of the Thrashers led Russia with a goal and an assist while Ilya Kovalchuk of the Devils added two assists. Evgeni Malkin (above, with Finland and former Whalers/Hurricanes/Flyers forward Sami Kapanen) contributed a goal while Sergei Gonchar recorded an assist.
-Malkin is even snake bit in Europe. Check out this save Finland's Petri Vehanen made on Malkin:
-Even the goal judge was fooled.
-Malkin battling with Finland and former Lightning defenseman Janne Niskala:
-Russia and Captials forward Alex Ovechkin winding up for a big shot:
-Tomas Vokoun of the Panthers made 28 saves and led the Czech Republic to a 3-2 upset of Canada. Former Penguins captain Jaromir Jagr scored a goal for the Czech Republic.
-Jagr just doing his thing:
-Jagr battling Canada and Flames defenseman Mark Giordano for the puck:
-Jagr battling Canada and Thrashers forward Rich Peverly:
-Happy times for Czech Republic forward and former Penguins prospect Ondrej Nemec:
-Czech Repulbic and former Sharks forward Lukas Kaspar was able to sneak this puck by Canada and Blues goaltender Chris Mason:
-There were some issues during this game:
-Czech Repulbic forward and Blue Jacket Jakub Voracek had issues with Canada and Wild defenseman Brent Burns:
-Happy times for this Czech fan:
-Brandon Dubinsky of the Rangers and Ryan Potulny each had a goal and an assist for the United States in a 3-2 win against Italy. Scott Clemmensen of the Panthers made 26 saves in the victory.
-Dubinsky being popular:
-Jacob Markstrom made 28 saves for Sweden in a 5-0 shutout of Switzerland. Tony Martensson led Sweden with a goal and two assists while Oilers prospect Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson contributed a goal and an assist.
-Alexander Barta and Daniel Kreutzer each had a goal and an assist for Germany in a 2-1 defeat of Slovakia. Dennis Endras made 21 saves in the win.
-Happy times for Germany:
-Happy times for Germany. Not so much for Slovakia:
-Slovakia forward and former Penguin Miroslav Satan, now of the Bruins, battled Barta for this puck:
-Bright times for Germany's Christoph Ullmann:
-Fabrice Lhenry made 35 saves for France in a 5-3 defeat of Kazakhstan.
Non-Playoff Stuff
Northeast Division
-"We will look to make some changes." - Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli.
-Bruins forward Marco Sturm underwent knee surgery.
-What recession? The Sabres' ticket prices will increase by an average of five percent next season.
Southeast Division
-New Panthers general manager and former Penguins defenseman Dale Tallon is considering keeping former general manager on the team in some capacity.
-Hurricanes general manager and former Penguins goaltender Jim Rutherford said his team wants to hang on to free-agent-to-be forward Ray Whitney (right).
Central Division
-The Red Wings have begun contract talks with unrestricted free agent-to-be forward Todd Bertuzzi.
-Red Wings assistant coach Paul MacLean has been ruled out as a candidate for the Blue Jackets' vacant head coaching position.
-Red Wings legend Gordie Howe will receive an honorary degree from the University of Saskatchewan.
Pacific Division
-Sharks forward and former Predator Scott Nichol is helping raise funds for flood relief in Nashville.
(Photos: Johansson-Penguins Hockey Cards; Canadiens/Flyers-Al Bello/Getty Images, Jim McIsaac/Getty Images and Tom Mihalek/Associated Press; Blackhawks/Sharks-Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images and Ezra Shaw/Getty Images; IIHF World Championships-Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images, Alex Grimm/Bongarts/Getty Images, Daniel Maurer/Associated Press, Martin Meissner/Associated Press, Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images and Canadian Press; Whitney-Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
May 18 2010
A lot went right for the Penguins in the 2009-10 season. And a lot went wrong. This past season for the Penguins was a roller coaster of inconsistency as the Penguins attempted to defend their Stanley Cup title.
Ultimately, the team's final season in Mellon Arena fell short of it that goal. But it was still memorable for many reasons - positive and negative.
This is a game-by-game recap of all 95 regular and postseason contests the Penguins played in 2009-10.
(Note: The first link is video provided by the NHL on YouTube. The second
link is our live blog from that game.)
REGULAR SEASON
October
2 - Penguins 3, Rangers 2 - After raising some new banners to begin their final season in Mellon Arena, Marc-Andre Fleury made 25 saves as the Penguins started their defense of the Stanley Cup the right way.
3 - Penguins 4, Islanders 3 - The Penguins travel to Long Island and introduce John Tavares to the NHL. Sidney Crosby records his 400th career point and scores in the shootout, along with Kris Letang, to lead the Penguins to a win.
7 - Coyotes 3, Penguins 0 - The Brent Johnson (and Chris Bourque!) era begins as the Penguins take way too many penalties and get caught overlooking Ilya Bryzgalov and the Coyotes.
8 - Penguins 5, Flyers 4 - The Penguins get refocused and face the new and improved Flyers for the first time. Fortunately for them, it's still the same old Flyers. Braydon Coburn scores on his own goal:
And Scott Hartnell decides to grab a late-night snack in the form of Kris Letang's hand:
10 - Penguins 5, Maple Leafs 2 - The Maple Leafs try to goon it up with the Penguins. The Penguins take advantage of that and connect on three of five power plays. Sidney Crosby's two goals lead the Penguins to a one-sided win.
12 - Penguins 4, Senators 1 - Tyler Kennedy picks up two goals against a team he usually does well against and records his third game-winner of the season.
14 - Penguins 3, Hurricanes 2 - In a rematch of the Eastern Conference final, Chris Kunitz gets a monkey off his back by recording the game-winning shootout goal. It's his first goal of any type dating back to last season's playoffs.
17 - Penguins 7, Lightning 1 - Jay McKee makes everyone forget about Rob Scuderi for one night at least as he blocks seven shots while Sergei Gonchar picks up a goal and an assist in a one-sided home win.
20 - Penguins 5, Blues 1 - Despite having Sergei Gonchar suffering a wrist injury, the Penguins get a pretty complete team effort as 13 players record a point. Matt Cooke leads the way with one-goal and one assist.
23 - Penguins 3, Panthers 2 - The great Martin Skoula era begins with the Penguins extending their winning streak to seven games. After struggling for the first two periods against Tomas Vokoun, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin kick it into gear and combine on a power play and shorthanded goal in the third period before winning it in overtime.
24 - Devils 4, Penguins 1 - The Penguins' winning streak comes to an end. Little did any of us know, they would be starting a streak of a different type against the Devils...
28 - Penguins 6, Canadiens 1 - A hat trick by Sidney Crosby and four points by Chris Kunitz spark the Penguins towards a romp of the Canadiens.
30 - Penguins 4, Blue Jackets 3 - With Evgeni Malkin missing his first game since the start of his rookie season due to a bum shoulder, the Penguins kick off the Chris Conner era by scoring two goals in the final three minutes to tie the game and get a shootout goal from Sidney Crosby to claim a thriller in front of a lot of their own fans in Columbus.
31- Wild 2, Penguins 1 - Despite winning the shot battle, 35-15, the Penguins can't figure out Niklas Backstrom in a tight home loss. Sidney Crosby goes off on Marek Zidlicky:
November
3 - Penguins 4, Ducks 3 - The Penguins and Ducks swap goals. A "save" by Sidney Crosby late preserves the win for the Penguins.
5 - Kings 5, Penguins 2 - The Kings and Rob Scuderi overwhelm the Penguins with four goals in the third period in a comeback win.
7 - Sharks 5, Penguins 0 - A trip up the West Coast brings more of the same. Kris Letang goes down with an injury as the Penguins get run over by the Sharks.
10 - Bruins 3, Penguins 0 - In the start of the Deryk Engelland era, another defenseman - Brooks Orpik - goes down with an injury - and the Penguins go down in a road shutout for the second consecutive game.
12 - Devils 4, Penguins 1 - The Devils come to Pittsburgh and beat the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
14 - Penguins 6, Bruins 5 - Evgeni Malkin returns to the lineup, the Mark Letestu era begins and well... 0.00.4:
16 - Penguins 5, Ducks 2 - With another defenseman - Alex Goligoski - down, the Nate Guenin era begins. Despite playing with three AHL defensemen, two goals by Matt Cooke lead the Penguins to a clean win.
19 - Senators 6, Penguins 2 - Sergei Gonchar returns to the lineup and Maxime Talbot makes his season debut but the Penguins are flat in a bad loss at Ottawa.
21 - Penguins 3, Thrashers 2 - Two goals from the great Martin Skoula help the Penguins fend off a challenge from the Thrashers in a tight game at Atlanta.
23 - Penguins 3, Panthers 2 - The Panthers unveil some new uniforms but get the same results against the Penguins. Stop us if you've heard this before. Florida gets an early lead. Tomas Vokoun makes 40+ saves. The Penguins managed to tie it late and win beyond regulation.
25 - Penguins 3, Canadiens 1 - A goal and an assist by Sidney Crosby help the Penguins defeat a beat-up Canadiens team.
27 - Islanders 3, Penguins 2 - The Penguins waste a 34-save effort by Brent Johnson and fall in a come-from-ahead loss on Long Island.
28 - Penguins 8, Rangers 2 - Alex Goligoski and Kris Letang return to the lineup. Sidney Crosby racks up three goals and two assists on hat night as the Penguins abuse the Rangers.
30 - Penguins 5, Rangers 2 - The Rangers have revenge on their mind, but can't overcome a hat trick from Mike Rupp (?) as the Penguins win back-to-back games agsint New York.
December
3 - Penguins 4, Avalanche 1 - Sidney Crosby's hot streak continues as he records his 11th point in three games as the Penguins win their fifth consecutive home game.
5 - Blackhawks 2, Penguins 1 - Despite the absence of Sidney Crosby and the low score, this game lives up to its hype as the Penguins fall in in exciting overtime game.
7 - Hurricanes 3, Penguins 2 - The Penguins aren't prepared in the words of Dan Byslma and fall to a pretty bad Hurricanes team.
10 - Penguins 3, Canadiens 2 - A slapper by Pascal Dupuis off the glove of Carey Price and a bad non-goal call against Scott Gomez lead the Penguins to a win at Montreal.
12 - Penguins 3, Panthers 2 - The Penguins' power play struggles only going 1 for 6 but that "1" is a pretty important one. It's a one-timer by Evgeni Malkin from the left circle to beat Tomas Vokoun in overtime.
15 - Penguins 6, Flyers 1 - Sidney Crosby had a goal and two assists and the Penguins pick apart a undisciplined Flyers team in shambles. The highlight of this game might be the three fights with in 16 seconds:
17 - Penguins 3, Flyers 2 - A 31-save effort by Marc-Andre Fleury and shootout goals by Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby lead the Penguins to back-to-back win against their cross-state rivals.
19 - Penguins 2, Sabres 1 - Marc-Andre Fleury wins a goaltending duel with former Penguin Patrick Lalime as the Penguins get another shootout goal from Kris Letang in a low-scoring thriller.
21 - Devils 4, Penguins 0 - The Penguins are on the wrong end of history as Martin Brodeur pass Terry Sawchuk sets the NHL's all-time career mark with his 104th career shutout.
23 - Penguins 8, Senators 2 - With two new linemates in Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz and Vladislav Tretiak in the house watching, Evgeni Malkin records his fourth career hat trick in a romp of the Senators.
27 - Maple Leafs 4, Penguins 3 - The Penguins and Maple Leafs trade goals but a score by Ian White with 1:38 left in regulation gives Toronto a late win.
29 - Sabres 4, Penguins 3 - Ryan Miller allows three goals early. Unfortunately for the Penguins, he's pulled for Patrick Lalime who blanks his former team the rest of the way as two goals by Drew Stafford key a stunning comeback win.
30 - Devils 2, Penguins 0 - The 2009 calendar year closes out with guess what? A shutout at the hands of Martin Brodeur.
January
2 - Lightning 3, Penguins 1 - With Sergei Gonchar out nursing a foot injury, the Penguins begin 2010 with a flat effort in Tampa Bay.
3 - Panthers 6, Penguins 2 - In what might be the low point of the season, the Penguins' losing streak reached five games as they collapse in a come-from-ahead rout at Florida.
5 - Penguins 5, Thrashers 2 - Despite having Chris Kunitz go down with an abdominal injury, the Penguins get off the schneid as they get two goals and an assist from Jordan Staal and end their losing streak at home.
7 - Flyers 7, Penguins 4 - The Penguins go right back on the schneid as they're dominated down low near their net and lose to their cross-state rivals.
9 - Penguins 4, Maple Leafs 1 - Sergei Gonchar returns to the lineup and sparks the team towards a road win with two goals. One of Gonchar's goals wipes out a potential penalty shot by Alexei Ponikarovsky after a review:
11 - Wild 4, Penguins 3 - The Penguins try to trade goals with the Wild but eventually, they just can't quite figure out Niklas Backstrom.
13 - Penguins 3, Flames 1 - Sidney Crosby hits the 30-goal mark while Marc-Andre Fleury made 37 saves in a tough win at Calgary. Crosby's 30th goal was a dandy:
14 - Penguins 3, Oilers 2 - Three assists from Jordan Staal key a third period comeback in Edmonton.
16 - Canucks 6, Penguins 2 - The Alexander Pechurskiy era begins as the Penguins have an absolute train wreck in Vancouver with Marc-Andre Fleury and Brent Johnson sitting out due to injuries.
19 - Penguins 6, Islanders 4 - Evgeni Malkin has a hat trick while Sidney Crosby adds two goals and an assist for the Penguins but the defense struggles in a somewhat tight win against the Islanders.
21 - Capitals 6, Penguins 3 - As the Nick Johnson era begins, the Penguins finally play their rivals for the first time of the season and the results are predictable. Mike Knuble and Alex Ovechkin do most of the damage against an overmatched Penguins team.
24 - Penguins 2, Flyers 1 - Taking advantage of an overturned Mike Richards goal, the Penguins get goal from Matt Cooke with 1:47 left in regulation to squeak out a narrow road win. And what's a game in Philadelphia without a biting accusation?
25 - Penguins 4, Rangers 2 - With Bill Guerin out of the lineup, Chris Conner is inserted onto Sidney Crosby's line and responds with two goals in an impressive road win.
28 - Senators 4, Penguins 1 - The Penguins run into a hot goaltender in Brian Elliott who leads the Senators to their eighth win in a row.
31 - Penguins 2, Red Wings 1 - A rematch of the Stanley Cup final is won by the Penguins on the strength of two nifty shootout goals by Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin:
February
1 - Penguins 5, Sabres 4 - Another giveaway night, another hat trick for Sidney Crosby in a wide open thriller against the Sabres.
6 - Canadiens 5, Penguins 3 - The Penguins flee a snow storm on the Eastern Seaboard only to get beaten by the Hamilton Bulldogs in Montreal.
7 - Capitals 5, Penguins 4 - After trudging their way through a blizzard on the East Coast, the Penguins storm back from 4-1 lead to drop a 5-4 come-from-ahead thriller in overtime. Chris Kunitz returns to the lineup.
10 - Islanders 3, Penguins 1 - Two goals from Chris Kunitz and 37 saves by Marc-Andre Fleury lead the Penguins to a rebound win at home.
12 - Rangers 3, Penguins 2 - Sidney Crosby hits the 40-goal mark for the first time in his career as he gets two goals and helps the Penguins force overtime. But the Rangers, playing without injured forward Marian Gaborik and defenseman Michael Del Zotto, claim the game on an overtime goal by Olli Jokinen.
14 - Predators 4, Penguins 3 - The Penguins limp into the Olympic break by dropping a come-from-ahead shootout loss to Shea Weber and the Predators.
March
2 - Penguin 3, Sabres 2 - As the Jordan Leopold era begins, Ruslan Fedotenko has a goal and an assist and helps the Penguins start March off on the right foot.
4 - Penguins 5, Rangers 4 - A goal and two assists by Chris Kunitz and an overtime power play goal by Evgeni Malkin leads the Penguins to a comeback win in Manhattan.
6 - Penguins 6, Stars 3 - The Alexei Ponikarovsky era begins with some false hope as the Penguins' key deadline acquisition gets a goal in his first game with the club. Two goals by Sidney Crosby - one shorthanded - and a key save by Marc-Andre Fleury spark the comeback win:
7 - Bruins 2, Penguins 1 - A decent, competitive tight-checking game is marred by an ugly check by Matt Cooke on Marc Savard:
11 - Hurricanes 4, Penguins 3 - The Penguins can't figure out Justin Peters and have their four-game winning streak snapped.
12 - Devils 3, Penguins 1 - The Penguins play a solid game against their nemesis, but still fall short to the Devils.
14 - Penguins 2, Lightning 1 - Despite an attempted figure four leglock by Steve Downie on Sidney Crosby, the Penguins are able to grind out a win in Tampa Bay.
17 - Devils 5, Peguins 2 - The Devils go for a season sweep and simply run over the Penguins while wearing their red and green "Christmas" jerseys:
18 - Bruins 3, Penguins 0 - One of the most overhyped games in recent Penguins' history turns out to be a dud. As the long-awaited rematch with Matt Cooke proves to be less than overwhelming, Marc-Andre Fleury records his first shutout of the season.
20 - Hurricanes 3, Penguins 2 - The Penguins get outworked by the Albany River Rats and lose on an a goal by Jamie McBain with 0:00.9 left.
22 - Red Wings 3, Penguins 1 - With Evgeni Malkin out of the lineup, the Red Wings shutdown Sidney Crosby and beat the Penguins at home. Crosby and Jimmy Howard go at it after the game:
24 - Capitals 4, Penguins 3 - A roller coaster back-and-forth affair sees the Penguins drop a thriller in a shootout to (who else?) Mike Knuble and the Capitals.
27 - Penguins 4, Flyers 1 - Another reversed goal call against the Flyers and three assists from Sidney Crosby help the Penguins end their three-game losing streak.
28 - Penguins 5, Maple Leafs 4 - Two goals from Sidney Crosby in regulation and one in the shootout lead the Penguins to a tighter than needed win against the lowly Maple Leafs.
31 - Lightning 2, Penguins 0 - The Penguins play down to the Lightning's level and end up falling in shutout to Mike Smith.
April
3 - Penguins 4, Thrashers 3 - An unlikely overtime goal by Jordan Leopold leads to an unlikely win.
6 - Capitals 6, Penguins 3 - The Penguins defense is exposed in a run-and-gun loss to the Capitals.
8 - Penguins 7, Islanders 3 - Getting everything together for just one night, the Penguins celebrate Mellon Arena in fitting fashion. Sidney Crosby gets four points and his 50th goal (for about five minutes) in a one-sided rout of the Islanders.
10 - Thrashers 1, Penguins 0 - The Penguins run into a hot Johan Hedberg and just get outworked by a team not playing for anything but pride. And Matt Cooke runs into Evander Kane's fist:
11 - Penguins 6, Islanders 5 - The Eric Tangradi era begins with a sloppy but meaningless win on Long Island. Sidney Crosby reaches the 50-goal mark for the first time in his career (and second time this season) as he claims a share of the Rocket Richard Trophy.
POSTSEASON
April
14 - Senators 5, Penguins 4 - Marc-Andre Fleury is brutal as the Penguins get outscored by the Senators in the playoff opener.
16 - Penguins 2, Senators 1 - The Penguins shake off an early goal and come back by way of a dizzy effort (for Jason Spezza at least) by Sidney Crosby:
18 - Penguins 4, Senators 2 - Sidney Crosby and Bill Guerin each record a goal and an assist in a brutal physical win.
20 - Penguins 7, Senators 4 - Sidney Crosby continues his domination with a four-point effort and the Penguins chase Brian Elliott in a rout at Ottawa.
22 - Senators 4, Penguins 3 - The Senators and Pascal Leclaire force overtime and another overtime... and another overtime... as Matt Carkner's goal seals a must-win for the Senators:
24 - Penguins 4, Senators 3 - What is it about the Penguins going down early on the road in potential clincher in the Game 6 of a first-round playoff series? Either way, two goals from Matt Cooke and a wrister in overtime by Pascal Dupuis send the Penguins on to the Eastern Conference semifinals:
30 - Penguins 6, Canadiens 3 - The Penguins start off the second round right by getting physical with the Canadiens and getting a goal and an assist each from Alex Goligoski, Bill Guerin and Kris Letang in a series opening win.
May
2 - Canadiens 3, Penguins 1 - Mike Cammalleri picks up two goals and the Penguins fail to get traffic in front of Jaroslav Halak in a series-tying defeat.
4 - Penguins 2, Canadiens 0 - Marc-Andre Fleury silences his critics, for one night at least, with a strong third period and leads his team to a shutout win at Montreal.
6 - Canadiens 3, Penguins 2 - Marc-Andre Fleury and his defense come back to earth with a sub par effort and the Canadiens tie the series.
8 - Penguins 2, Canadiens 1 - The Penguins get Bill Guerin and Mike Rupp back in the lineup as well as a net-front presence. That allows them to get goals from Sergei Gonchar and Kris Letang and puts the team one win away from clinching the series.
10 - Canadiens 4, Penguins 3 - Failing to take advantage of a team with injuries on defense, the Penguins miss a chance to move on to the Eastern Conference final.
12 - Canadiens 5, Penguins 2 - The team which opened the Civic Arena's NHL life ends it 43 years later. The Penguins simply get outhustled by a hungrier team and close their season and their building with a one-sided loss.
(Photos: Dave Sandford/Getty Images; Peter Diana/Post-Gazette; Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Bill Kostroun/Associated Press; Keith Srakocic/Associated Press)
May 18 2010
Penguins
-Former Penguins coach Michel Therrien (above) is looking for work.
-How many changes will the Penguins make this offseason?
-Mariette Shero, the mother of Penguins general manager Ray Shero and the widow of former Flyers coach Fred Shero, passed away. She was 86.
-Happy 48th birthday to former Penguins forward John
Chabot (right). Acquired early in the 1984-85 season in deal which sent Ron Flockhart to the Canadiens, Chabot spent parts of three seasons with the Penguins. In 67 games with the Penguins that season, Chabot recorded 53 points. His first full season with the Penguins in 1985-86 saw him appear in 77 games and record 45 points. In 1986-87, Chabot played in 72 games and netted 36 points. The following offseason, he signed with the Red Wings. In 216 games with the Penguins, he recorded 134 points, 58th most in franchise history. He is currently the head coach of the Gatineau Olympiques of the QMJHL.
-Happy 47th birthday to former Penguins defenseman Marty
McSorley. Originally signed as a free agent in the 1982 offseason, McSorley had two stints with the Penguins. He made the roster as a rookie in team's dreadful 1983-84 season appearing in 72 games. He recorded nine points and 224 penalty minutes. The following season, McSorley was limited to 15 games with the Penguins and 15 penalty minutes. In the 1985 offseason, McSorley was traded to the Oilers along with Tim
Hrynewich and Craig
Muni in exchange for Gilles
Meloche. McSorley would win two Stanley Cup titles in Edmonton and would be involved in arguably the biggest trade in sports history as he and some decent center were sent to the Kings in 1988. After establishing himself as one of the best enforcers in NHL history, McSorley returned to the Penguin in the 1993 offseason by way of a trade which sent Shawn McEachern to the Kings. McSorley spent just over half the season with the Penguins appearing in 47 games. He recorded 21 points and 139 penalty minutes before being traded back to the Kings along with Jim
Paek in exchange for Tomas
Sandstrom and McEachern. In 134 games with the Penguins, McSorley recorded 30 points and 378 penalty minutes, 37th most in franchise history. Overall, McSorley recorded 3,381 penalty minutes in the NHL, fourth most all-time.
-McSorley's most notable moment as a Penguin was probably an epic toe-to-toe bout with Red Wings heavyweight Bob Probert in 1993-94:
-Happy 48th birthday to former Penguins forward Dave
Michayluk. A free agent signing in the 1989 offseason, Michayluk spent the vast majority of his professional career in the minor leagues. His Penguins career amounted to seven postseason games and two points for the Penguins during their 1992 Stanley Cup run. Injuries to stars such as Mario Lemieux and Joe Mullen forced the Penguins to recall Michayluk, Jock Callander and Mike Needham from their IHL affiliate in Muskegon. That trio formed the "Muskegon Line." Michayluk would never play in the NHL again but ended up becoming one of the greatest minor league hockey players of all-time.
-Happy 64 birthday to former Penguins forward Rod
Zaine. Acquired in the 1970 offseason from the AHL Baltimore Clipper in exchange for cash, Zaine's Penguins career amounted to 37 games and 13 points withe 1970-71 Penguins. In the 1971 offseason, he was claimed by the Sabres in the intra-league draft.
Playoff Stuff
Flyers-Canadiens
-"I
expect [Halak] to come back very strong." - Flyers forward
Simon Gagne on Canadiens forward Jaroslav Halak (right) who was chased in Game
1.
-For some reason, Canadiens coach Jacques Martin seems to think it's important to address the Flyers' crease crashing.
-Game 1's 6-0 defeat was the Canadiens' second worst playoff lost in team history.
-The Flyers have 13 Canadians on the roster. The Canadiens have 12.
-Remember when the Flyers were a bust in March?
-"The
attitude of some Philly fans — I have a lot of friends in the city
and made some new ones on this trip — was in stark contrast to the fans
in Washington and Pittsburgh who were gracious throughout the first two
rounds of the series and far more civil than the Montreal fans who booed
the U.S. anthem." - Montreal Gazette sports writer Pat Hickey
who had his car vandalized in the parking lot of the Wachovia Center
during Game 1.
Sharks-Blackhawks
-"We have video game tournaments every night in the hotel. That's the secret to our success." - Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp.
-The Sharks want to start shooting high on Blackhawks goaltender Antti Niemi.
-If anyone has seen Sharks forward Dany Heatley, please let him know the Western Conference final has begun.
IIHF World Championships
-Hurricanes forward Jussi Jokinen (above, fending off Slovakia and former Penguins defenseman Richard Lintner) had two goals and led Finland to a 5-2 defeat of Slovakia. Former Wild/Blue Jackets defenseman Petteri Nummelin added a goal and two assists for Finland while Nashville Pekke Rinned made 27 saves in the victory.
-Tomas Rolinek scored two goals for the Czech Republic in a 3-1 win against Latvia. Teammate Petr Koukal added two assists while Panthers goaltender Tomas Vokoun made 25 saves in the victory.
-Happy times for the Czech Republic:
-Painful times for Czech Republic forward and former Shark Lukas Kaspar:
-Blurry times for Czech Republic forward and former Blue Jacket Jiri Novoty:
-Anders Bastiansen and Lars Erik Spets each had a goal and an assist for Norway in a 3-2 win against Switzerland. Mathis Olimb added two assists for Denmark while Pal Grotnes made 43 saves in the victory.
-Grotnes kept his eyes on this puck:
-Happy times for Norway:
-Switerland goaltender and former Mighty Duck/Senators/Hurricanes/Maple Leafs goaltender Martin Gerber had issues with this puck:
-Vitali Koval made 27 saves for Belarus in a 2-1 win against Denmark.
-Lightning forward Steven Stamkos is expected to return to the lineup for Canada after missing a handful of games due to a head injury.
Non-Playoff Stuff
Atlantic Division
-The Islanders signed goaltender Kevin Poulin, a fifth-round pick in 2008, to a three-year entry-level contract.
Northeast Division
-The Senators tried to sign Canadiens forward Mike Cammalleri (right) in the offseason when he was an unrestricted free agent.
Southeast Division
-Even with former Penguins defenseman Dale Tallon now in the Panthers' general manager position, there's no word on what the Panthers will do with former general manager Randy Sexton.
-Tallon's move to Florida ends a 33-year association with the Blackhawks.
-It sounds like Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom gave up some money for a longer contract extension with the Capitals.
-Did the Hurricanes give up too soon on current Flyers goaltender Michael Leighton?
Central Division
-Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom (right) plans on making a decision on his future before July 1.
-The Blue Jackets signed forward Tomas Kubalik, a fifth-round pick in 2008, to a three-year, entry-level contract.
-The Predators signed forward Kelsey Wilson to a one-year two-way contract.
-When the Predators drafted defenseman Jonathan Blum (right) in the first round in 2007, he weighed 155 points. He's now up to 177.
Northwest Division
-The Wild signed forward Chad Rau to a two-year contract.
-The Avalanche will have serious salary cap space to deal with come July 1.
-What kind of future does defenseman Shane O'Brien have with the Canucks?
-Canucks coach Alain Vigneault has the fifth longest tenure in the NHL.
Pacific Division
-The Flyers' defeat of the Bruins in the second round cost the Ducks a top 15 pick in the draft.
Adams Division
-"The only thing that compares to the dental injuries we see in the NHL
would be maybe car crashes." - Dr. Glenn Edwards, the Blues team dentist.
-Happy 79th birthday to former Pittsburgh Hornets forward Ron
Hurst.
(Photos: Therrien-Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press; Chabot-Penguins Hockey Cards; Halak-Tom Mihalek/Associated Press; IIHF World Championships-Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images and Alex Grimm/Bongarts/Getty Images; Cammalleri-Christian Petersen/Getty Images; Blum-Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
May 17 2010
Note: Apologies for this being ridiculously late today. Community Server is pretty much on its last legs and we've been having issues with it for about a week. We promise you Community Server will not be a problem by the end of the week. It will be put out of its misery.
And we have a substantial post waiting for you in the morning.
Penguins
-What's up with all the hate for Marc-Andre Fleury?
-Do you have $50 laying around? If so, you can buy a hot dog from the final game at Mellon Arena. Shockingly, there aren't any bid for this lovely item as of yet. (Kudos to The Pensblog for the find.)
-Happy 47th birthday to former Penguins forward Doug
Smith. Acquired midway through the 1989-90 season in exchange for cash, Smith's NHL career ended with 10 games and two points with the Penguins that campaign. In the 1990 offseason, he joined ATSE Graz in Austria.
Playoff Stuff
Flyers-Canadiens
-Michael Leighton (above) made 28 saves and led the Flyers to a series-opening 6-0 rout of the Canadiens. Daniel Briere, Braydon Coburn, Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell and James van Riemsdyk each had a goal and an assist for Philadelphia which leads the series, 1-0.
-CBC's pregame montage was pretty epic:
-Flyers fans began their own "Ole, Ole, Ole" chant:
-Happy times for Briere:
-Happy times for Philadelphia's Simon Gagne:
-Flyers captain Mike Richards staring down a Hab:
-Happy times for Hartnell:
-Philadelphia's Chris Pronger got a little too much torque on this stick:
-Philadelphia had some fans copy the Green Men in Vancouver:
-Canadiens goaltender Jaroslav Halak being replaced by back up Carey Price:
-Canadiens forward Travis Moen didn't help out Halak much here:
-Orange times in Philadelphia:
-"We wanted to make [Halak's] job as difficult as possible. He's a guy,
when he sees the puck, he's going to make most of the saves." - van Riesdyk on Halak.
-The Flyers have won five consecutive postseason games for the first time since 1995.
-"No concern about that whatsoever." - Canadiens forward Mike Cammalleri on Halak who was pulled after giving up four goals on 13 shots.
-"It's only one game, but we have to do something about it. We just
didn't have it tonight. We didn't have that edge." - Canadiens defenseman Hal Gill.
-Is it surprising to see Chris Pronger fitting in in Philadelphia?
-Flyers forward Ian Laperriere (head) has resumed practicing.
-You stay classy Philadelphia. Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette had his car vandalized in the Wachovia Center parking lot. His tires and his Quebec license plate were stolen.
Sharks-Blackhawks
-Antti Niemi (above) made 45 saves for the Blackhawks in a 2-1 win at San Jose. The Blackhawks took a 1-0 series lead.
-Check ou this save Niemi made down low on San Jose's Ryane Clowe:
-Niemi had issues with this puck:
-San Jose's Evgeni Nabokov had issues with a few pucks:
-We don't want to accuse Sharks forward Joe Thornton of interfering with Niemi, but...:
-But he kept his eyes on this puck:
-Happy times for San Jose's Jason Demers:
-Happy times for the Sharks. Not so much for Chicago's Dustin Byfuglien:
-Byfuglien had issues with this net:
-Chicago's Troy Brouwer getting some torque on his stick:
-The Sharks taking the ice:
-Bright times at HP Pavlion, AKA The Shark Tank:
-Anthem time in San Jose:
-"If you haven't figured out he's a great goaltender by now you're not
watching the games. He's been rock-solid." - Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp on Niemi.
-"We couldn't capitalize. We've
got to do better in Game 2." - Sharks forward Joe Thornton.
IIHF World Championships
-Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk had a hat trick and an assist for Russia in a 6-1 rout of Denmark. Evgeni Malkin added a goal and two assists while Devils forward Ilya Kovalchuk recorded three assists. Sergei Gonchar was a plus-1 in 16:17 of ice time. Vasili Koshechkin made 30 saves in the victory.
-Malkin barging in on Denmark's net:
-Happy times for Russia. Not so much for Denmark's Frederik Andersen:
-Panthers goaltender Scott Clemmensen made all of 10 saves in a 4-0 shutout of France. Brandon Dubinsky of the Rangers had a goal and two assists while Senators forward Nick Foligno recorded two goals.
-Clemmensen kept his eyes on this puck:
-Jonas Andersson had two goals for Sweden in a 3-1 defeat of Canada. Maple Leafs goaltender Jonas Gustavsson made 32 saves in the victory.
-Sweden's Niklas Persson fighting off a stick check from Canada and Avalanche defenseman Kyle Cumiskey:
-Andrei Mezin made 33 saves for Belarus in a 2-1 defeat of Germany.
-Germany and Predators forward Marcel Goc ripping a shot:
-Janis Sprukts had two goals for Latvia in a 5-0 win against Norway. Edgard Masalskis made 30 saves in the shutout.
-Michael Souza had a goal and an assist for Italy in a 2-1 defeat of Kazakhstan. Daniel Bellissimo made 32 saves in the victory.
Non-Playoff Stuff
Northeast Division
-The Sabres re-signed forward Mike Grier to a one-year deal. Terms of the deal were not revealed.
Southeast Division
-The Capitals signed restricted-free-agent-to-be forward Nicklas Backstrom (right, with captain Alex Ovechkin) to a to a 10-year deal worth $67 million.
-Washington also signed Marcus Johansson, a first-round pick in 2009, to a three-year entry-level deal.
-The Panthers hired former Blackhawks general manager and former Penguins defenseman Dale Tallon as general manager. Tallon has served as an executive with the Blackhawks the past season.
Norris Division
-Today would've been the 95th birthday of former Pittsburgh Hornets forward Carl
Liscombe.
(Photos: Fleury-Justin K. Aller/Getty Images; Canadiens/Flyers-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images, Michael Heiman/Getty Images and Jim McIsaac/Getty Images; Blackhawks/Sharks-Mark Humphrey/Associated Press, Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images; Paul Sakuma/Associated Press and Ezra Shaw/Getty Images; IIHF World Championships-Daniel Maurer/Associated Press and Martin Meissner/Associated Press; Backstrom-Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
May 16 2010
Note: We hoped to have this preview up this morning but technical issues prevented us from even having it posted until well after Game 1 of this series. We apologize for the delay.
(7) Flyers vs. (8) Canadiens
Flyers Leading Postseason Scorer: Mike Richards, 17 points (five goals, 12 points).
Canadiens Leading Postseason Scorer: Mike Cammalleri, 18 points (12 goals, six assists).
Penguins Postseason Statistics
Canadiens Postseason Statistics
Flyers with Stanley Cup bling: Chris Pronger.
Canadiens with Stanley Cup bling:
Hal Gill, Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez (2), Travis Moen.
Something
worthwhile about the Flyers: Flyers coach Peter Laviolette is the only coach remaining in the playoffs with a Stanley Cup ring earned as a head coach. He led the Hurricanes to the 2006 title.
Something
worthwhile about the Canadiens: Mike Cammalleri's 12 goals are the third-best total in the Canadiens' postseason history.
Something
useless about the Penguins that is vaguely connected to the Flyers : Former Penguins forward Rick
Tocchet holds the Flyers' franchise record for penalty minutes with 1817.
Something
useless about the Canadiens that is vaguely connected to the Penguins: The last three Canadiens to win the All-Star Game MVP were one-time Penguins. Pete Mahovlich (1976), Mark Recchi (1997) and Alex Kovalev (2009).
Former
Penguins on the Flyers: Daniel Carcillo, LW (He was a prospect with the Penguins but never
actually played with the NHL club); Sebastien Caron, G; Kevin McCarthy,
assistant coach; Joe Mullen, assistant coach; Simon Nolet, scout..
Former
Penguins on the Canadiens: Hal Gill, D; Dominic Moore, C; Gordie
Roberts, pro scout.
Who
needs to be the difference for the Flyers: Scott Hartnell, Daniel Carcillo, James van Riemsdyk. If nothing else, the Flyers will crash the crease consistently. The Canadiens and goaltender Jaroslav Halak have had trouble this postseason when they've had to deal with bodies in front of the net.
Who
needs to be the difference for the Canadiens: Who else but Jaroslav Halak (right)? He's been the difference for the Canadiens all playoffs long. If he's not on top of his game, the Canadiens won't advance.
Best Flyers Video We Could Find: Flyers goaltender Ron Hextall jumping Canadiens defenseman Chris Chelios in the 1989 playoffs:
Best Canadiens YouTube Video We
Could Find: Canadiens defenseman Larry Robinson taking care of Flyers goon Dave Schultz back in the 1970s:
EN
Prediction: They Flyers are consistent in many areas. Unfortunately for them, undisciplined play is one of them. The Flyers are going to make mistakes. And as we've seen the past two weeks, the Canadiens thrive off mistakes by the opposition. Expect them to do the same and advance to the Stanley Cup final. Canadiens 4-2.
(Photos: Halak-Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
May 16 2010
Penguins
-Dave Molinari breaks
down the Penguins' roster.
-Penguins owner Ron Burkle (above, with the other owner) has a lot
of money.
-Happy 60th birthday to former Penguins forward John
Stewart. A second-round pick in 1970, Stewart spent parts of two
seasons with the Penguins. In 1970-71, he appeared in 15 games and
recorded three points. The following seasons saw him play in 25 games
and score 10 points. In the 1972 offseason, he was claimed by the
Atlanta Flames in the expansion draft.
-Happy 35th birthday to former Penguins defenseman John
Jakopin. Claimed off waivers from the Panthers prior to the
2001-02 season, Jakopin's Penguins career amounted to 19 games and four
assist that campaign. In the 2002 offseason, Jakopin signed with the
Sharks.
-Happy 58th birthday to former Penguins forward Steve
Lyon. Signed early in the 1976-77 season, Lyon's NHL career
amounted to three games for the Penguins that campaign. After spending
most of 1976-77 with the Columbus Owls of the IHL, Lyon moved on to the
Whitby Warriors of the OHA.
Flyers-Canadiens
-"If
you make it to the end and you reach to grab that thing, you know
you've sacrificed. You play hurt. You play injured. You do anything to
move on. . . . The Stanley Cup is about sacrifice. You have to be
willing to do that." - Flyers coach Peter Laviolette (right).
-It might be a bit premature to begin comparing
Canadiens forward Mike Cammalleri to Guy Lafleur.
-To say the least, there probably weren't too many people who picked
the Flyers and Canadiens to
meet in the Eastern Conference final.
-"It's
easy to hate the Flyers." - Canadiens defenseman and former
Penguin Hal Gill.
-The Canadiens got into the postseason by
recording a point in an overtime loss to the Maple Leafs in
the final game of the season.
Sharks-Blackhawks
-"Getting
back to where we got to last year is where we wanted to be, but
getting to the next round is what we're all about." - Blackhawks
coach Joel Quenneville on his team's return to the Western Conference
final.
-If you can imagine such a thing, Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa (right)
is struggling to produce postseason point without
Sidney Crosby at center.
-The Sharks took a gamble when they acquired forward Dany Heatley
from Ottawa. But it has paid
off.
-"Who
cares?" - Sharks forward Joe Thornton on the Bruins' collapse
from a 3-0 series lead in their loss to the Flyers. Thornton was traded
by the Bruins to the Sharks in 2005.
IIHF World Championships
-Scott Clemmensen of the Panthers and Ben Bishop of the Blues
combined to make 28 saves for the United States in a 10-0
shutout of Kazakhstan. Matt Gilroy of the Rangers recorded a hat
trick while his New York teammate Brandon Dubinsky (above, with
Kazakhstan's Vladimir Antipin) added a goal and three assists.
-Semyon Varlamov of the Capitals made 32 saves for Russia in a 3-2
defeat of Germany.
-Former Penguins defenseman Sven Butenschon battled for the puck with
Devils forward Ilya Kovalchuk of Russia:
-Canucks defenseman Christian Ehrhoff of Germany stuck an elbow into
the mush of Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk of Russia:
-Andreas Ambuhl had two goals for Switzerland in a 3-2
win against the Czech Republic. Former Mighty
Ducks/Hurricanes/Senators/Maple Leafs goaltender Martin Gerber made 30
saves in the win.
-Ambuhl, Tomas Rolinek of the Czech Republic and Panthers goaltender
Tomas Vokoun kept their eyes on this puck:
-Former Penguins captain Jaromir Jagr of the Czech Republic got the
drop on Switzerland's Julien Vauclair:
-Pierre-Edouard Bellemare recorded two assists for France in a 2-1
defeat of Italy. Fabrice Lhenry made 27 saves in the victory.
-France's Laurent Gras had a Bobby Orr moment:
Non-Playoff Stuff
Northeast Division
-The Bruins won't ever escape history after
blowing a 3-0 series lead to the Flyers.
-Sabres forward Patrick Kaleta is being sued in New York over
a 2008 car crash.
Southeast Division
-According to the Washington Post, the Capitals have re-signed
restricted-free-agent-to-be forward Nicklas Backstrom.
Smythe Division
-Happy 75th birthday to former Pittsburgh Hornets forward Floyd
Smith.
(Photos: Burkle-Associated Press; Laviolette-Elsa/Getty
Images; Hossa-Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images; IIHF World
Championships-Daniel Maurer/Associated Press, Thorsten
Wagner/Bongarts/Getty Images)
May 15 2010
Note: We will preview the Eastern Conference final tomorrow.
(1)
Sharks vs. (2) Blackhawks
Sharks Leading Postseason Scorer: Joe Pavelski (right), 15 points (nine goals, six assists).
Blackhawks Leading Postseason Scorer: Jonathan Toews, 20 points (six goals, 14 assists).
Sharks Postseason Statistics
Blackhawks Postseason Statistics
Sharks
with Stanley Cup bling: Dan Boyle, Rob Blake,
Kent Huskins, Niclas Wallin.
Blackhawks with Stanley Cup bling: Tomas Kopecky, Andrew Ladd, John Madden
(2).
Something
worthwhile about the Sharks: The Sharks are 6-0 in these playoffs when Joe Pavelski scores a goal.
Something
worthwhile about the Blackhawks: Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews has a career postseason points-per-game average of 1.14. That is the best mark in franchise history.
Something
useless about the Sharks that is vaguely connected to the Penguins: Sharks forwards Joe Thornton (No. 1 by Boston) and Patrick Marleau (No. 2 by San Jose) were the first two draft picks of the 1997 NHL draft which was hosted by the Penguins at the 1997 NHL draft.
Something
useless about the Blackhawks that is vaguely connected to the Penguins: Blackhawks and former Penguins forward Marian Hossa is appearing in a conference final for the third consecutive year with a third different team. He did so with the Penguins in 2008, the Red Wings in 2009 and now the Blackhawks. The last player to do this was Brian Propp. He appeared in conference finals for the Flyers (1989), Bruins (1990) and North Stars (1991).
Former
Penguins on the Sharks: None.
Former
Penguins on the Blackhawks: Marc Bergevin, director, player
personnel; Denis Bonvie, professional scout; Scotty Bowman, senior
advisor, hockey operations; Marian Hossa, RW; Norm MacIver, director,
player development; Ed Olczyk, broadcaster; Dale Tallon, senior advisor,
hockey operations.
Who
needs to be the difference for the Sharks: Evgeni Nabokov. He's proven his critics (including us) wrong thus far in these playoffs. But he gets his biggest test to date as he faces a high-flying Blackhawks team which torched Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo, a Vezina Trophy finalist, for an average of 4.6 goals per game in the semifinal round. Nabokov needs to steal a few goals and games for the Sharks.
Who
needs to be the difference for the Blackhawks: Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane (right). These two are the Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin of the Blackhawks. They are the foundation of this franchise. They need to carry the load for Chicago offensively as they have through the first two rounds.
Best
Sharks YouTube Video We Could Find: Current Penguins assistant coach Tony Granato scoring a really pretty goal against Coyotes goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin in the 1996-97 season:
Best Blackhawks YouTube Video We
Could Find: Former Blackhawks defenseman Chris Chelios dropping the lid off the replica Norris Trophy he won at the 1993 NHL awards show:
EN
Prediction: We just don't see Nabokov having enough against the Blackhawks' potent offense. We doubted him against the Red Wings in the semifinal round, and he proved us wrong. But the Blackhawks have a lot going right for them on offense right now. And we just don't see the Sharks' "Big Three" of Marleau, Thornton and Dany Heatley being able to figure out the Blackhawks' stellar blue line. Blackhawks 4-2.
(Photo: Pavelski-Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press; Kane-Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press)
May 15 2010
Penguins
-"I like this city. I like the fans. I love the teammates. Walking out of
here not knowing if you're going to come back, it's not a great feeling." - Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar (above) on his impending free agency.
-"Marc-Andre Fleury didn't have a strong season, and he didn't have a
strong playoffs. He's well aware of that situation and the criticism
that comes with those things like being the guy who stopped the pucks
for us when we won the Stanley Cup and being the No. 1 goalie for a
great team." - Dan Bylsma.
-Jordan Staal turned down a chance to play for Canada in the IIHF World Championships.
-Gonchar explained his play on Canadiens forward Travis Moen's goal in Game 7 (PG+).
-Penguins defenseman Ben Lovejoy is a restricted free agent, sort of (PG+).
Playoff Stuff
Bruins-Flyers
-Daniel Briere and Scott Hartnell each had a goal and an assist for the Flyers in a stunning 4-3 series-clinching comeback win at Boston. Teammate Ville Leino added two assists while Michael Leighton made 22 saves in the victory. The Flyers became the third team in NHL history to come back from a 3-0 deficit to claim the series, 4-3. Milan Lucic led Boston with two goals.
-Gagne's game-winner:
-End of game and handshakes:
-Handshakes:
-Bruins/former Penguins forward Mark Recchi and Flyers coach Peter Laviolette, both members of the Hurricanes' Stanley Cup championship squad in 2006, having a moment:
-Happy times for the Flyers:
-Stunned times for the Bruins:
-And fans:
-Laviolette seemed to turn to a higher power when motivating his team:
-Leighton had issues with this puck:
-A too many men on the ice penalty led to the power play Briere scored the game-winning goal on.
-"He doesn't have a quit button." - Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger on Leighton.
-A goal by Flyers rookie forward James van Riemsdyk keyed Philadelphia's comeback.
-"The bottom line is that we had a 3-0 lead in the series. We had a 3-0
lead tonight. And we blew both." - Bruins coach Claude Julien.
-"We played not to win, but we played not to lose." - Lucic.
-"This is a pretty awful feeling right now." - Recchi.
-The Flyers have been to four Eastern Conference finals since 2000.
-Today's obligatory "the last team to come back from a 3-0 series deficit was the Islanders in 1975 against the Penguins" is brought to you by the 1975 Islanders.
Canadiens
-The Canadiens lead the playoffs with 320 blocked shots.
-Mike Cammalleri's (right) seven goals in the semifinal round against the Penguins tied a single-round record for the Canadiens. How impressive is this record? Let's just say only one of the other six gentleman who share the record are in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Sharks-Blackhawks
-If not for the rejection of Blackhawks defenseman, the Sharks might not have acquired all-star defenseman Dan Boyle.
-Can the Sharks handle Chicago's crease crashers?
-The Blackhawks held the Cancucks' top line in check. Can they do the same to San Jose's trio of Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton?
-Sharks forward Joe Pavelski and Chicago forward Adam Burish, both former teammates at Wisconsin, are going to get re-acquainted with one another.
-The mayors of Chicago and San Jose did the lame food bet thing.
-On their first day in San Jose, the Blackhawks took a tour of Alcatraz.
IIHF World Championships
-Oilers prospect Jordan Eberle had a goal and three assists for Canada in a 12-1 "comeback" win against Norway. Islanders John Tavares (above, begins Norway's Ruben Smith) recorded a hat trick for Canada while Thrashers forward Evander Kane added a goal and two assist. Blues goaltender Chris Mason made 11 saves in the victory.
-Awkward Photo of the Day: Norway's Ole-Kristian Tollefsen getting the drop on Canada and Avalanche forward Matt Duchene:
-Predators goaltender Pekke Rinne made 18 saves for Finland in a 2-0 shutout of Belarus.
-Oilers prospect Magnus Pääjärvi-Svensson and former Whalers/Flames/Lightning/Blackhawks/Capitals/Bruins/Rangers forward Michael Nylander each had a goal and an assist for Sweden in a 4-2 defeat of Latvia. Jacob Markstrom made 19 saves in the victory.
-Senators forward Peter Regin had a goal and two assists for Denmark in a 6-0 upset of Slovakia. Patrick Galbraith made 26 saves in the shutout victory.
Non-Playoff Stuff
Atlantic DIvision
-The Devils signed forwards Mattias Tedenby and Jacob Josefson (right) to three-year entry-level contracts. Tedenby (2008) and Josefson (2009) are each former first-roudn picks.
Southeast Division
-A day after acquiring his rights from the Coyotes, the Hurricanes signed forward Jared Staal to a three-year entry-level contract.
-The Lightning and forward Stephane Veilleux reached a financial agreement on surgery required for his shoulder.
Central Division
-The Red Wings signed forward Mitchell Callahan, a sixth-round pick in 2009, to a three-year entry-level contract.
-The Blues signed forward Anthony Nigro, a sixth-round pick in 2008.
Northeast Division
-The Oilers signed forward Teemu Hartikainen, a sixth-round pick in 2008, to a three-year entry-level contract.
Adams Division
-Today would've been the 96th birthday to former Pittsburgh Hornets forward Tony
Hemmerling.
(Photos: Gonchar-Harry How/Getty Images; Cammalleri-Canadiena Press; Flyers/Bruins-Michael Dwyer/Associated Press, Charles Krupa/Associated Press and Elsa/Getty Images; IIHF World Championships-Canadian Press; Josefson-Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
More Posts
Next page »