Once the finalists were announced, it was obvious that Malkin was the prohibitive favorite to win the award. The social media world exploded with opinionated outbursts claiming Stamkos didn’t deserve to be a finalist, mainly because his Lightning team failed to make the playoffs. One of the most boisterous was yours truly. I was full of snarky comments like this:

I set out to prove this point After crunching the numbers, I found myself shaking my head over my previous, uneducated rant. The numbers don’t lie. They show just the opposite.

Steven Stamkos is as deserving a Hart Trophy finalist as Evgeni Malkin.

*For the sake of this discussion, I am not including goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. Comparing a goaltender and a skater is a research project for another time.

The Malkin File

Won the Art Ross Trophy for leading the league in points with 109.

First player since 1995-96 to score five points in a game four times.

Finished second in the NHL (behind Stamkos) in goals with 50.

The Stamkos File

Won the Maurice Richard Trophy for leading the league in goals with 60.

First player since 2007-08 to score at least 60 goals.

Finished second in the NHL (behind Malkin) in points with 97.

Led the NHL and set a league record with five overtime goals.

Led the NHL with 48 even strength goals – The most since 1992-93.

Side By Side Comparison

*Goals Created-Calculated by adding goals scored to 0.5 times assists, then multiplying by team goals divided by team goals plus 0.5 times team assists.

Analysis

Stamkos played more games, had more goals, more game winning goals and a much higher shooting percentage.

Malkin had many more assists, points and shots, but a lower shooting percentage.

Stamkos was the more physical player, outhitting Malkin by 80 hits. Malkin blocked more shots.

Malkin had many more takeaways, but also gave away the puck 28 more times than Stamkos.

Both players dominated the bad teams (Maple Leafs, Islanders, Canadiens, Oilers and Blue Jackets). Malkin scored more goals and Stamkos had more points versus the playoff teams.

Stamkos scored more overtime goals (5) than anybody in the history of the NHL

Malkin dominated Stamkos in +/- rating.

The two were virtually even in faceoff percentage, penalty minutes, power play goals and average time on ice.

The competition is just as close in the area of “percentage of team” statistics. Stamkos has a slight advantage as he scored a higher percentage of his teams goals, power play goals and points, while Malkin had a higher percentage of his teams assists.

Both the Lightning and Penguins sorely needed the duo to appear on the score sheet. When Stamkos didn’t have a point, Tampa Bay’s record was 5-15-2. When Malkin didn’t have a point, the Penguins went 5-9-0.

Certainly this exercise proves beyond a shadow of doubt, that Steven Stamkos deserved a Hart nomination. Does he deserve the award?

If you look only at the numbers and base your decision solely on the individual statistics and the players worth to his team…The answer is yes, he deserves it just as much as Malkin does. If you look at the team results, Malkin wins the award easily as he led his team to a fourth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Puck Daddy’s Greg Wyshynski put it this way:

In the end, I believe Stamkos is a worthy finalist and it would be hard to argue if he won the award, based on his numbers. But the fact that the Bolts finished out of the playoffs cannot be ignored.

Given the choice between Malkin and Stamkos, Evgeni Malkin is your Hart Memorial Trophy winner.

*Statistics courtesy of Hockey-Reference.com and NHL.com.

Follow me on Twitter @Lightningshout and “Like” Hockey Independent Lightning on Facebook.

Eastern Conference

(8) Ottawa Senators vs. (1) New York Rangers

Cohen– Rangers win in 7 . X-Factor –> Brandon Dubinsky

Muscat– Rangers win in 6. X-Factor –> Ryan Callahan

Philp– Rangers win in 5 . X-Factor –> Henrik Lundqvist/Rangers’ Physicality

Woodward– Rangers win in 7. X-Factor –> Chris Phillips/Filip Kuba

(7) Washington Capitals vs. (2) Boston Bruins

Cohen– Bruins win in 6. X-Factor –> Nicklas Backstrom

Muscat– Bruins win in 4. X-Factor –> Brad Marchand

Philp– Capitals win in 7. X-Factor –> Alexander Ovechkin

Woodward– Bruins win in 6. X-Factor –> Boston’s Power-Play

(6) New Jersey Devils vs. (3) Florida Panthers

Cohen– Devils win in 6. X-Factor –> David Clarkson

Muscat– Devils win in 5. X-Factor –> David Clarkson

Philp– Devils win in 6. X-Factor –> A Healthy Martin Brodeur

Woodward– Devils win in 6. X-Factor –> Florida’s Secondary Scoring

(5) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (4) Pittsburgh Penguins

Cohen–  Penguins win in 7. X-Factor –> Ilya Bryzgalov

Muscat– Penguins win in 6. X-Factor –> Marc-Andre Fleury

Philp– Penguins win in 5. X-Factor –> Pittsburgh’s Depth/Matt Cooke

Woodward– Flyers win in 7. X-Factor –> Ilya Bryzgalov

Western Conference

(8) Los Angeles Kings vs. (1) Vancouver Canucks

Cohen–  Canucks win in 6. X-Factor –> Jonathan Quick

Muscat– Kings win in 7. X-Factor –> Jonathan Quick

Philp– Kings win in 7. X-Factor –> Jonathan Quick

Woodward– Kings win in 7. X-Factor –> Jonathan Quick

(7) San Jose Sharks vs. (2) St. Louis Blues

Cohen– Blues win in 6. X-Factor –> Andy McDonald

Muscat– Blues win in 5. X-Factor –> Alex Pietrangelo

Philp– Sharks win in 6. X-Factor –> Joe Thornton Exorcising Playoff Demons

Woodward– Blues win in 5. X-Factor –> Antti Niemi

(6) Chicago Blackhawks vs. (3) Phoenix Coyotes

Cohen– Blackhawks win in 6. X-Factor –> Keith Yandle

Muscat– Coyotes win in 6. X-Factor –> Mike Smith

Philp– Coyotes win in 6. X-Factor –> Mike Smith/Phoenix Defense

Woodward– Coyotes win in 7. X-Factor –> Corey Crawford

(5) Detroit Red Wings vs. (4) Nashville Predators

Cohen– Predators win in 6. X-Factor –> Alexander Radulov

Muscat– Red Wings win in 7. X-Factor –> Pavel Datsyuk

Philp– Red Wings win in 6. X-Factor –> Detroit’s Special Teams

Woodward– Predators win in 7. X-Factor –> Detroit’s Second Line

Stanley Cup Finals

Cohen– Penguins Over Predators

Muscat– Red Wings Over Penguins

Philp– Red Wings Over Penguins

Woodward– Rangers Over Predators

With Saturday’s conclusion of the regular season and Sunday’s revelation of this year’s postseason match-ups and schedules, now is as good a time as any to make my first round predictions. Today’s blog will feature three of the Eastern Conference’s four series. Being that the Bruins are the team I cover, I’ll have a more detailed preview of their series with the Capitals before it kicks off on Thursday at the TD Garden.

8) Ottawa Senators vs. 1) New York Rangers

Forwards– In years past, the Rangers were thought of as an offensively incapable bunch that could only reach victory through solid defense and world class goaltending. However, that image has been wiped clean this season through the addition of top-line pivot Brad Richards and the finally healthy Marian Gaborik. The Blueshirts have emerged as one of the league’s top offensive squads, posting a 2.71 goals per game average on the season, good for 11th in the NHL. However, an underrated Ottawa forward corps — led by Jason Spezzza and Milan Michalek — have brought the Sens the NHL’s fourth most potent offense this season.

Advantage– Ottawa

Defense– Outside of Norris Trophy favorite Erik Karlsson, the Ottawa d-corps leave a lot to be desired. While Sergei Gonchar is capable of an occasional offensive spark, he’s never been known to handle himself well in his own zone. While Filip Kuba and Chris Phillips do provide the Sens with a solid defensive presence night in and night out, the Ottawa defense group simply can’t compare to the well-rounded Rangers’ blueline. With offensively explosive d-men like Michael Del Zotto and Ryan McDonagh to go along with  shut-down rearguards Dan Girardi and Marc Staal, the Blueshirts back-end is one of the best in the league.

Advantage– New York

Goaltending– Despite Craig Anderson’s success in Ottawa over the past two seasons, I think it’s fairly obvious that the Rangers hold the edge here. Henrik Lundqvist can often steal a series on his own.

Advantage– New York

Intangibles– After besting the East’s number one squad on three of four occasions this season, the Sens may hold a bit of a mental edge on the Rangers heading into their series.

Advantage– Ottawa

Prediction– The Sens will make this one a lot closer than many of the experts suggest, forcing the Blueshirts into a decisive seventh game at Madison Square Garden. However, the Rangers’ depth and collective toughness will simply be too much for the Senators.

RANGERS IN 7

6) New Jersey Devils vs. 3) Florida Panthers

Forwards– Up front, the Devils posses far more offensive dynamic forwards than the Cats, with the likes of Zach Parise, Ilya Kovalchuk and long-time Devil Patrik Elias. The late-season addition of former Cup winner John Madden will undoubtedly help the Panthers in the experience department, but their lack of production from any offensive unit outside the top line will be the Cats’ eventual unraveling.

Advantage– New Jersey

Defense– Powered by two blueliners who are never shy about jumping into an offensive play in the form of Jason Garisson and Brian Campbell, the Cats’ defensive unit is solid all the way around. Both sides seem to be even in this category.

Advantage– Florida

Goaltending– With the age of veteran ‘tender Martin Brodeur, this one’s a bit more of a toss up than many people think. I’d have to give the Devils the slight edge, just based on the fact that they have a capable backup, should anything happen to the 39-year-old Brodeur.

Advantage– New Jersey

Intangibles– The most interesting stat that I’ve come across here is that the Panthers have more players on their current roster (five) with a Stanley Cup ring than do the Devils (three). I don’t think many of us would have guessed that.

Advantage-- Florida

Prediction– Many pundits have New Jersey pulling off the upset here — if you even want to call it that — and rightfully so. After backing into the post-season, I don’t believe the Cats will be able to take down the Devils in round one.

NEW JERSEY IN 6

5) Philadelphia Flyers vs. 4) Pittsburgh Penguins

Forwards– The Philly offense is deep, strong and fast, but the Crosby and Malkin factor — along with the emergence of James Neal –  give the Pens a decisive advantage in this category.

Advantage– Pittsburgh

Defense– If Kris Letang can return to the Norris-favorite form he enjoyed early in the season, the Pens will also hold the advantage on the back-end, but if he can’t, I’d have to give the Flyers the nod, simply because of their amazing defensive depth, in holding eight NHL-capable rearguards.

Advantage– Philadelphia

Goaltending– Without doubt this is the hardest category to predict of them all. Couple Marc-Andre Fluery’s recent struggles with the enigmatic nature of Ilya Bryzgalov and you’ve got a complete and total toss up when it comes to the netminders in this series. Assuming Bryzgalov can return to form, Philadelphia will hold the edge here.

Advantage– Philadelphia

Intangibles– With most of the roster still intact from the 2009 Stanley Cup winning season, the Pens hold a decisive intangible advantage over a rookie-filled Flyers’ lineup.

Advantage– Pittsburgh

Prediction– In what will undoubtedly become one of the greatest postseason series in recent memory, these two cross-state rivals will lay it all on the line. In the end, I believe that the Flyers will outlast the Pens, stealing game seven on the ice of the CONSOL Energy Center.

PHILADELPHIA IN 7

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Things didn’t begin well for the Black and Gold as Crosby fired one over the glove of Marty Turco after finding himself all alone in front of the Boston net during a 4-on-4 situation. On the play, Pens’ forward Pascal Dupuis picked up an assist to extend his current 15-game point streak, the longest in the NHL for any player this season. Only seven minutes later, Pittsburgh would extend their lead when a fluky bounce would wind up with the puck in the Boston goal, and Pens’ defenseman Paul Martin being credited with his second tally of the season. The B’s would get one back late in the opening frame when Benoit Pouliot made a brilliant deke through the Pittsburgh defense and beat goaltender Brent Johnson upstairs with a backhander.

A mere eighteen seconds into the middle period, David Krejci would set up Milan Lucic for his 25^th goal of the year off a beautiful no-look drop pass in the slot. “He’s definitely got that in his bag of passes. It’s great that he was able to find me” said Lucic during his post-game media scrum.

However, it would be with just under three minutes to go in the frame that things would begin to go awry for the Black and Gold. Assigned two minor penalties in a brief nine second span – both of the highly questionable variety – the B’s suddenly found themselves in a 3-on-5 situation against one of the league’s most deadly power-play units. The Penguins wouldn’t waste any time, quickly pushing two power-play tallies past Turco in a 48-second span. The first came from the stick of James Neal, his team-leading 40^th of the season, and the other came as Sidney Crosby’s second of the night and the seventh of his injury-shortened campaign.

“It’s just unfortunate that we get two men down and they are able to capitalize. It’s just one of those games where we weren’t getting many calls. We’ve just got to…you know, we’re not a bunch of complainers; we’re just going to play through it.” – Milan Lucic

“They got a dangerous power play you got to keep them off it.  Their stars took advantage and at the same time we got to kill those off, but you can’t do anything about it now – they buried their chances.” – Rich Peverley

Pittsburgh would all but end it in the early parts of the final frame after gritty forward Aaron Asham deflected a Craig Adams wrist shot into the Boston net. The B’s would make it close again after Milan Lucic connected with Rich Peverley on a 2-on-1 break to set up number 49’s eleventh tally of the season. However, it would simply be too little, too late as Boston fell 5-3 on home ice to the Penguins.

My Thoughts

– After reliable blueliner Johnny Boychuk went down with an apparent left leg/ankle injury midway through the third period of an essentially meaningless game, I’d expect that the Bruins will proceed with extreme caution in their final two regular season contests, as to avoid any further ailments to key players.

“Those kind of injuries, you’ve got to kind of let the night go by and the next day you get a better idea. We’re keeping our fingers crossed right now that it’s not bad news.” — Claude Julien

If I were to pose a guess, I’d hedge my bets on the B’s calling up a couple of “Black Aces” from Providence a little bit early, in order to give a few veterans some valuable rest. I would not be surprised if a few players — Chara, Seidenberg, Thomas, Bergeron, Krejci to name some candidates — did not even make the trip to Ottawa with the team for Thursday’s tilt with the Senators.

– I had the luxury of speaking with new Bruins’ defenseman and former Michigan State standout Torey Krug following the B’s 5-3 loss. The 5’9″ Livonia, Michigan native logged 18:18 minutes of ice time during his NHL debut, whilst being on the ice for two goals against, and two goals for. On a personal note, the former MSU Spartan certainly seemed like a stand up guy, who was truly relishing the opportunity he’s been given to perform at the NHL level.

“The biggest advice I was given was have fun and be myself. You know, when it comes down to it, it’s just another hockey game and it’s just a level higher. All the guys said, ‘Have fun, you’re going to remember this for the rest of your life,’ and I think I did that.” – Torey Krug

Ben’s Three Stars:

1) Sidney Crosby (2 Goals/1 Assist)

2) Kris Letang (3 Assists)

3) David Krejci (2 Assists)

What’s Next?

– Up next for the Black and Gold is what looks to be a first round playoff preview, when they travel to ScotiaBank Place for a Thursday evening showdown with the Ottawa Senators. The Pens will return home to the friendly confines of the CONSOL Energy Center for a contest with the New York Rangers on Thursday.

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Records: Pittsburgh 48-25-6 (102 Points) , Boston 47-28-4 (98 Points)

Location: TD Garden , Boston, Massachusetts

Time: 7:30 P.M. (EST)

TV/Radio Info: NBC Sports Network (Emrick, Olczyk, McGuire) – 98.5 The Sports Hub (Goucher, Beers)

Last Game: Philadelphia Flyers 6 , Penguins 4  ……. Bruins 2 , New York Rangers 1

Tonight’s Lineup (Subject To Change):

FORWARDS:

Lucic–Krejci–Seguin

Marchand–Bergeron–Peverley

Pouliot–Kelly–Rolston

Paille–Campbell–Thornton

DEFENSE:

Chara–Seidenberg

Ference–Boychuk

Zanon–Krug

GOALTENDER:

Turco

Khudobin

Scratches– ….. Mike Mottau, Joe Corvo, Tim Thomas, Adam McQuaid

Injuries:

Nathan Horton (Concussion) – Boston’s top right winger remains sidelined with a concussion he suffered back on January 21. Number eighteen has made regular appearances at TD Garden during home games and reports have indicated that he has begun to ride the stationary bicycle.

Tuukka Rask (Groin) — The B’s back up goaltender will remain absent from the lineup until Mid-April with a lower abdomen/groin injury.

Jordan Caron (Flu) — Caron is expected back on Thursday, in Ottawa.

Last Time We Met: Bruins 2 , Penguins 5

– The last time the B’s and Pens made acquaintiainces was back on March 11 at the CONSOL Energy Center where three point efforts from both James Neal and Evgeni Malkin powered Pittsburgh to a 5-2 home-ice victory over the Black and Gold.

Prediction: After clinching the number two seed in the Eastern Conference on Sunday, the B’s may opt to rest a healthy portion of their regulars over the course of these final three games. One would expect that Marty Turco will be given the nod in at least two of them. The Pens — still fighting for the Atlantic division crown — are the more desperate team in this situation and I’d expect them to pull out the win this evening.

Penguins  4 , Bruins 2

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Projected Standings: (Team–Projected Point Total–Point Differential From Last Season–Seed Differential From Last Season)

1) New York Rangers 115 Points –>+22 Points –> +7 Spots

2) Boston Bruins         102 Points –> -1 Point –> +1 Spot

3) Florida Panthers    93 Points –> +21 Points –> +12 Spots

4) Pittsburgh Penguins 106 Points –> EVEN –> EVEN

5) Philadelphia Flyers  102 Points –> -4 Points –> -3 Spots

6) New Jersey Devils 98 Points –> +17 Points –> +5 Spots

7) Ottawa Senators 94 Points –> +20 Points –> +6 Spots

8) Winnipeg Jets 88 Points –> +8 Points –> +4 Points

9) Washington Capitals 87 Points –> -20 Points –> -8 Spots

10) Buffalo Sabres 86 Points –> -10 Points –> -3 Spots

11) Tampa Bay Lightning 84 Points –> -19 Points –> -6 Spots

12) Toronto Maple Leafs 82 Points –> -3 Points –> -2 Spots

13) New York Islanders 81 Points –> +8 Points –> +1 Spot

14) Carolina Hurricanes 80 Points –> -11 Points –> -5 Spots

15) Montreal Canadiens 73 Points –> -23 Points –> -9 Spots

STATS:

–> Largest Points Improvement …..     New York Rangers (+22)

–> Largest Seeding Improvement …..  Florida Panthers (+12)

–> Worst Points Drop-Off           …..     Montreal Canadiens (-23)

–> Worst Seeding Drop-Off       …..      Montreal Canadiens (-9)

If Sidney Crosby (Above) makes a return to the Pittsburgh lineup, these number may change drastically.

–> Now, things can always change rapidly and a team could fall completely out of the playoff race or one could jump right into it by putting together a nice winning streak, making this system far from a perfect prediction tool.

–> Last season, it took 93 points from the New York Rangers to secure the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot. This year it looks like 90 will once again be the magic number with one or two teams perhaps finishing below that mark and still sneaking into the dance.

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When things are going your way, everything seems to be clicking, you play with confidence, you tend to get the breaks here and there. You feel as if nothing is ever going to go wrong.

However, when you’re struggling it’s a completely different ball game. All of a sudden you’re not catching the breaks, nothing is going your way. It seems like you’ll never get things back on track.

Unfortunately for Boston, after a two month stretch of dominating the competition, the Black and Gold just can’t seem to get much going as of late. That trend would continue on Saturday afternoon when they hosted Evgeni Malkin and the red-hot Pittsburgh Penguins.

After what most would consider a rather lifeless first frame from both sides, the Pens would take advantage of a late-period power-play opportunity as Malkin would knock a rebound past Tim Thomas to put Pittsburgh ahead with only 0:09 seconds remaining on the clock. The 6’3” Russian forward once again re-asserted himself as the best player in the game today, picking up his 28^th goal and league-leading 60^th point of the season as he continues to run roughshod on the rest of the NHL .

“He’s been the catalyst for our group all year. It’s amazing sometimes. When you don’t think he can do it anymore, he goes out there and scores another goal. He’s been great for us and hopefully we’ll keep him going.” – Joe Vitale

The B’s where not able to muster up many real offensive chances throughout the entire second frame despite being given a four-minute power-play chance courtesy of a Pascal Dupuis double minor for high sticking.

Early in the third Pittsburgh would tack on an insurance tally when the villainous Matt Cooke out-worked two Bruin defenders in front of Thomas and knocked in his 9^th  goal of the season. The man Bruins’ fans love to hate has now scored two goals in as many games against Boston this year and has put up sixteen points in twenty-five career games against the Black and Gold.

Atoning for his earlier mistake, defenseman Joe Corvo would find the back of the Penguins’ net as his wrist shot made it through a Marchand screen and past Marc-Andre Fleury to cut the deficit to one.

“Marchand did a great job of standing in front of him until the last minute until it kind of got to the net. It was the right height to where the goalie was kind of staying low and trying to see it and it just went in.” – Joe Corvo

Unfortunately for Boston, the rest of the third period would simply be more of the same for a Bruins  squad that simply cannot find it’s groove right now. They unloaded nine more third period shots against Fleury but were still unable to tickle the twine and tie the score.

“You’ve got to give credit to the last two goalies we’ve played. They played really good games I think, and the last two teams we’ve played have played a pretty solid 60 minutes of defense.” – Tim Thomas

Boston has now only managed one goal on their last 81 shots through their last 132:51 minutes of play.

“The last two games, we’ve had almost 80 shots and only one goal showing for it. It’s frustrating right now, but thankfully we got a game tomorrow to focus on.” – Daniel Paille

Boston hasn’t managed to beat the Penguins at TD Garden since November 10….. of the year 2009. Today’s loss marks the B’s fourth defeat in their past six games and their record has dropped to 4-5-1 over their last ten games.

KEY STATS

Goals–                PIT (2)   BOS (1)

Shots–                PIT (28)   BOS (29)

Power-Play–    PIT (1-3)   BOS (0-2)

Penalty-Kill–   PIT  (2-2)   BOS (2-3)

Ben’s Three Stars….. 3.) Matt Cooke  …..2.) Evgeni Malkin …..1.) James Neal

What’s Next?

It’ll be a quick turnaround for the Black and Gold as they depart from Boston this afternoon for a 12:30 PM Super Bowl Sunday matinee contest with the Caps at the Verizon Center in Washington tomorrow. The Pens will also be on the move fairly quickly as they are scheduled for a 1 PM contest in New Jersey tomorrow afternoon.

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However, something happened on the way to making the NHL more palatable to the masses. You might have noticed that your favorite player or players have been missing in action quite a bit this season.As of Thursday, 51 NHL players have been lost to concussions this season. On that list is the player many believe is the league’s best, Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Crosby has played in just eight NHL games since suffering a concussion on Jan. 5, 2011.

That list has become a gargantuan story this season, much to the alarm of the league and teams, who have in the past attempted to minimize what independent medical experts have been citing for years: hockey has a concussion epidemic on its hands.

< READ MORE ON CBS New York >

Other pieces on CBS by BD:

HOW PLAYERS, NOT THE ISLES COACH WILL WALK PLANK THIS SEASON

PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE? TELL THAT TO NY ISLANDERS FANS! 

Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, reigning Vezina trophy winner Tim Thomas proved to be  Crosby and Malkin’s kryptonite at CONSOL on Monday.   Stopping 45 of 46 shots faced, Boston’s franchise goaltender proved himself the most valuable player on the ice. Receiving three goals of support, courtesy of two second period tallies from Gregory Campbell and Benoit Pouliot, and a third period power-play goal from Tyler Seguin, the 37-year-old Thomas was able to best his counterpart Marc-Andre Fleury and win his 10th consecutive start. If not for the 6th tally of the season from everyone’s favorite Penguin Matt Cooke at the 10:54 mark of the final frame, Thomas would have recorded his 4th shutout of this young season.

Despite Thomas clearly outshining all those who took the ice on Monday in Pittsburgh, it wasn’t just no. 30 in Black and Gold who stepped up their game against the Pens. In what was undoubtedly what was  the marquee performance of the 2011-12 campaign for the Boston Bruins, an elite performance up and down the lineup was the most dazzling feat of all.

Killing all five Pittsburgh power-plays, including over three and a half minutes of 5-on-3 time, Boston’s commitment to team defense was indelible on Monday evening. Not only did Boston kill off every second of Penguin power-play time, they managed to stymie one of the league’s most high-powered offenses all night long. They won the key face-offs, they blocked shots, and most importantly they shut down the Penguins’ top-duo of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to no points and only 14 shots on goal in over 42 minutes of ice time.  Evidenced by Brad Marchand’s second fight of the season when he dropped ‘em with Penguin defenseman Matt Niskanen after no. 63′s “life on the edge” playing style lead him to a leg sweep of the Pens’ 2nd pairing blueliner, and even more so when Gregory Campbell threw down with Joey Vitale after the Pittsburgh centerman went crashing into Tim Thomas, it was also clear that Boston brought the physicality on Monday evening.

On the offensive side of the equation, the B’s “scoring-by-comittee” continued to shine on Monday, as Boston received a contribution from three of the team’s four lines. The Bruins’ much-criticized power-play unit also got involved, when Tyler Seguin notched his 13th of the season after a beautiful dangle and pass from Patrice Bergeron early in the third period.

The Bruins’ elite performance in all aspects of the game on Monday night proved to the world what people who watch this team on a daily basis already knew; this team is indeed the beasts of the east.

KEY STATS

Goals–                        BOS (3)            PIT (1)

Shots–                       BOS (27)           PIT (46)

Power-Play–           BOS (1-5)          PIT (0-5)

Penalty-Kill–           BOS (5-5)          PIT (4-5)

• Three Stars– ….. 3.) Joe Vitale  ….. 2.) Rich Peverley     ….. 1.) Tim Thomas

What’s Next?

Boston is back in action on Tuesday night as they make their first trip to Winnipeg since New Year’s eve of 1995. In the first meeting between these two squads, the B’s rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win a 4-2 game at the TD Garden.

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Click here to view the embedded video.

As you can see on the play, Pacioretty is coming full speed to hit Letang who had just entered the zone trying the shoot the puck on goal. We can see Paxioretty lift his left elbow to hit Letang’s nose. Not even a minor penalty was assessed on the hit by referees Dan O’Rourke and Mike Hasenfratz, who were simply mediocre all night long for both teams.

“I feel terrible that he got hurt and I’m thankful that he came back,” Pacioretty said following the game. “I’m sorry for what happened and I’m glad he’s okay.” he added. Pacioretty also apologized twice to Letang during the game. Letang really appreciated the gesture.

As a result of the body-check, Letang broke his nose and the team trainers had to insert a pin in his nose so he could come back a score the game-winning goal in overtime on another controversial play. The referees should have blown dead the play since Carey Price had the puck covered, but they decided to let the game continue and Letang was able to dislodge the puck and score the game winner as seen below.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This suspension will certainly make Habs fans angry as last season, Pacioretty was the victim of a dirty hit by Zdeno Chara, who ended his season and was left unpunished by Colin Campbell who has since been replaced by Shanahan…

Pacioretty, who has ten goals and nine assists for 19 points in 24 games for the Canadiens, will miss Wednesday’s game in Anaheim as well as Thursday’s contest in San Jose.

The good news for Montreal is that all-star defenseman Andrei Markov is nearing a return to action and could well make his season debut during the three-game trip to California.

——
Fred is a freelance sports write and translator, as well as a featured Montreal Canadiens blogger on http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/ and a baseball columnist on http://www.dobberbaseball.com/. Fred also joined HabsAddict.com in time for the 2011-12 season.

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Today we learned of the imminent return of the league’s undoubtedly most talented forward, Sidney Crosby of the Pittsbugh Penguins. Suffering a concussion on January 1, 2011 after a collision with then-Washington Capital David Steckel, Crosby has not played in an NHL game since January 5 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Penguins PR staff announced early on Sunday afternoon that Crosby would be back in the Pittsburgh lineup on Monday night when the New York Islanders visit the Consol Energy Center.

Now, Crosby’s return is without doubt fantastic news for the Penguins, the NHL and the entire hockey community. In any situation a league playing without it’s number one superstar is sure to face it’s obstacles; just ask Roger Goodell about losing Tom Brady in 2008 and Peyton Manning in 2011. The league and the sport simply isn’t the same without that player.

However, the return of Sidney Crosby, and Versus’ (or NBC Sports, whichever they like to be called) imminent decision to preempt the scheduled game between the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens in order to broadcast said match-up between Crosby’s Pens and the New York Islanders is what has revealed a fundamental problem in the NHL’s marketing strategy.

The Boston-Montreal rivalry is ageless. A tale as old as time. For as long as there as been the NHL, there has been hatred-a-brewin’ between the B’s and the Habs. Countless classic encounters have taken place between these two storied franchises. From the days of Maurice Richard, To Bobby Orr and Patrick Roy, all the way up to today’s confrontations between Zdeno Chara and Max Pacioretty, these two cities have seen it all. This rivalry is undeniably the best the NHL has to offer and way very well be the best in all of sports.

Instead of treating the country’s viewers to another classic bout between these two original six rivals, and a chance to watch as the defending Stanley Cup Champions go for their 9th straight victory, we get to watch Sidney Crosby’s ten minutes of ice-time against the worst team in the Eastern Conference — the same team that was just on the receiving end of a 6-0 drubbing at the hands of the Bruins on Saturday night –.

The problem that the NHL has created for itself is that it is constantly limiting it’s growth potential. Through the constant pushing of guys like Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, the league is limiting it’s audience. The way the NHL and Versus are forcing the same handful of players, while great for the teams involved, is unhealthy for the league as a whole.  Now, one can argue that the use of this tactic is to draw in the casual fan who might have more interest in an individual talent, rather than a team as a whole. However, if you are able to draw in these casual fans, you are creating an audience that may only be interested in watching a game that features one of the over-marketed players.

Prior to the change of schedule for Monday’s game, the Pittsburgh Penguins already had four of their next six games slated to be on national television (NHL Network, Versus, CBC). While fans are being force-fed dose after dose of Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals and New York Rangers, the talents of players like Colorado’s Matt Duchene, Carolina’s Jeff Skinner and Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos aren’t being properly showcased.

If the NHL ever plans to grow to a point in which it can surpass the popularity of the NBA, MLB, or even the NFL (that’s a long-shot), the league must do a much better job in properly managing and marketing their teams, as well as their superstars.

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GOON:

In our support of the lack of hockey movies, comes this info from the movie company to us.

“We have a great throwback hockey movie coming out and we would love to get your support. Its violent and insanely funny.”

Starring Seann William Scott, Jay Baruchel, Alison Pill and Liev Schreiber
Written by Jay Baruchel, Evan Goldberg (SUPERBAD and  PINEAPPLE EXPRESS)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Synopsis
Labelled an outcast by his brainy family, a bouncer overcomes long odds to lead a team of underperforming misfits to semi-pro hockey glory, beating the crap out of everything that stands in his way.

The film opens on VOD on 2/24 and In Theatres 3/30

Based from the book “Goon: The True Story of an Unlikely Journey into Minor League Hockey”

www.goonthemovie.com

Official Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/GoonFilm

Some more on the movie comes from Slash Film

ZZ Top were right. Every girl’s crazy about a sharp dressed man.

Just ask center Jarret Stoll.

Most of his Kings’ teammates have selected him as ‘best dressed’ guy in the room – although Brad Richardson disagrees. Regardless of who can lay claim to being the cat with the sharpest threads in LA though, based upon what I saw from the Penguins on Saturday morning, the title in Pittsburgh clearly belongs to Kris Letang.

And now that Scott Hannan has pulled a Metallica-like mistake and gone from long to short, Letang may also have the best hair in hockey.

Now that that’s all behind us, let’s see what Letang has learned so far this season. We chatted for a bit this weekend and here’s what he had to say…

About Evgeni Malkin – “He’s better with his English than he used to be.”

About Matt Cooke – “He loves In-N-Out burgers. He’s probably already been there twice today.”

About Steve Sullivan – “He’s old.”

About Tyler Kennedy – “He loves to tweet.’

About James Neal – “He doesn’t mind laughing about himself.”

From playing against two members of the Kings for the last few seasons in the Eastern Conference, he’s also familiar with Mike Richards and Simon Gagne.

On Richards – “He’s a really good two-way player, he plays well offensively and defensively. He can throw his body around out there. He’s always a threat for a defenseman.”

On Gagne – “Another great player and a great acquisition for the Kings. He can score goals and is a big-time player, a playoff player. So, that was a good asset for them to get.”

Finally, Letang offered up the following explanation as to why the Kings and Penguins have played each other so closely the last few years – “It’s two similar teams, they both have a young core group. They have great defensemen and great forwards. LA’s a young team, rebuilding at the same time as our rebuilding. So, it’s kind of a little rivalry to see who has the best young players.”

Penguins assistant coach Tony Granato was on MayorsManor prior to the game vs the Kings (link), as were Pittsburgh forwards James Neal and Steve Sullivan (linked here and here).

If you’d like to read more from the ‘What I’ve learned so far…’ series, please see the links below for interviews with several Kings players.

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/MayorNHL
www.facebook.com/MayorsManor

RELATED ARTICLES:

What I’ve learned so far… by Mike Richards – includes a warning for Dustin Penner

What I’ve learned so far… by Simon Gagne - what it means to be a captain

What I’ve learned so far… by Dustin Brown - responds to Westgarth’s allegations

What I’ve learned so far… by Drew Doughty - on the ice and off the ice observations

What I’ve learned so far… by Kevin Westgarth - more good comedy from Westy

MayorsManor podcast – LA Kings players talk best/worst dressed and other funny topics

Realignment Plan According To Canada's CBC

With the recent re-instatement of the Winnipeg Jets, the NHL and it’s Board of Governors will face a tough decision at December’s annual winter meetings. As it is not economical to leave the Jets in the SouthEast division any longer than one year, due to the absurd amount of traveling they must endure simply to play their divisional games, the league must create a re-alignment plan. The decision as to how to re-align the league’s divisions in order to accommodate the Jets, as well as a few other disgruntled teams will undoubtedly have a lasting impact on the league and it’s future.

Not only must the league adjust their divisions in order to make life easier on the Jets, they must re-align a few other Western Conference franchises who have complained to the league about their schedule. Such franchises like the Detroit Red Wings, Nashville Predators and Columbus Blue Jackets have notably disputed their position in the West due to the amount of Western road trips they must make each year. For Columbus & Nashville, it is fairly obvious as to why they would request a change, because playing one third of their games in the Pacific time zone –meaning that the puck doesn’t drop until 9-10 PM local time– can be a serious detriment to two teams trying to expand their fan bases.  As far as  the Red Wings are concerned, they are relying on an under-the-table type promise made by the commissioner to the Ilitch family (Owners of the Red Wings) when the current division format was established in 1998 that they would be returned to the Eastern Conference as soon as it became possible.

The picture above shows the  re-alignment plan proposed by Commissioner Bettman that is allegedly “gaining steam amongst the NHL’s Board of Governors”, according to CBC’s Elliotte Friedman. According to this plan, the league is looking to adapt a new 4-division format, with two divisions of 8 and two divisions of 7. Despite the success of the current 6-division format, it appears that the only way to successfully accommodate most of the parties involved it to create a four-division layout.

While I do agree with most of the format displayed by Friedman, there are a few slight changes I would make to his plan. Here is my idea for an NHL re-alignment plan. Keep in mind, there is no plan that can satisfy all parties involved, what is important is being able to accommodate the majority.

Atlantic Division     NorthEast Division     Central Division      Pacific Division

PHILADELPHIA          MONTREAL                     CHICAGO                    SAN JOSE

NEW JERSEY               TORONTO                        NASHVILLE               ANAHEIM

NY RANGERS              OTTAWA                          DALLAS                       LOS ANGELES

NY ISLANDERS          DETROIT                          ST. LOUIS                  COLORADO

WASHINGTON           BUFFALO                         MINNESOTA             VANCOUVER

PITTSBURGH             BOSTON                           WINNIPEG                CALGARY

TAMPA BAY               CAROLINA                       COLUMBUS               EDMONTON

FLORIDA                                                                                                      PHOENIX

The tweaks in my plan, as opposed to the plan displayed on CBC include swapping Pittsburgh with Carolina. While it may not be geographically correct to have the ‘Canes in the “NorthEast (Or whatever they call the new division), it is imperative to have the Penguins in the “Atlantic” Division. This is to preserve the new-found rivalry between Pittsburgh and the Caps, as well as the natural rivalries the Penguins have in Philadelphia and New York.

I chose to put the Wings into the “NorthEast”, to attempt to  re-energize their Original Six rivalries with Montreal, Boston and especially Toronto. The new “NorthEast” division also preserves the great feuds between the Bruins & Canadiens, as well as the classic border battles between the Sabres & Maple Leafs.

In the West, I did not edit much, only placing Columbus into the “Central” division, and keeping the “Pacific” division the same as Friedman had it. Under this plan, each team in the “Central” division will play in the Central or Mountain time zone, while seven of the eight “Pacific” division teams (With Colorado as the exception) will  play in the Pacific time zone.

As Friedman detailed, under the 4-division format, every team will play a home-and-home set with each team that is NOT in their division, and will play the remainder of their games squaring off with divisional foes. Also, the new playoff format would allow for the first two rounds of the post-season to take place within each division (No. 1 Seed vs. No. 4 , No. 2 Seed vs. No. 3) with the winners advancing to the Conference Finals.

Of course this new format is not perfect, and likely is only a temporary solution. No matter how realistic or unrealistic the idea may sound, rumors have it that the NHL and Commissioner Bettman’s ultimate plan is to expand to become a 32-team league featuring eight divisions of four, much like the NFL.

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Fast forward to the present.

Defenceman Brooks Orpik started the season as a scratch for the first eight games after off-season hernia surgery before making his 2011-12 debut last Thursday against Montreal.  Centre Evgeni Malkin played the first two games, missed the next two, came back for one, then sat out the next five before playing last night on Long Island as he continues to recover from season-ending knee ligament surgery performed in February.  Right wing Tyler Kennedy suffered a concussion during a loss against Buffalo two Saturdays ago and is out indefinitely. Defenceman Kris Letang was suspended for two games last week after a boarding penalty in Winnipeg.  His replacement, Brian Strait left the game in Minnesota early due to an upper body injury.  Last Saturday night, top shot-blocker Zbynek Michalek broke a finger, naturally, by diving to block a shot and will miss the next four to six weeks.

No matter what happens for the rest of 2011, history will record this as a year of terrible luck for the Penguins with respect to this unending parade of injuries.  From the inciting event on New Year’s Day to now, there has never been a time when Pittsburgh has played with its full roster intact.

Yet just like last season, the Penguins have persevered.  Pittsburgh has determinedly stuck to their game plan and have continued winning hockey games.  Consider also: the Penguins have played a densely-packed opening month schedule that has cut down on both rest, recovery and practice time.  The club enjoyed their first two-day break of the season this past Sunday and Monday having already played ten games – one-eighth of the schedule – while most teams had only played six or seven games.

After yesterday night’s 3-0 shutout win over the Islanders, Pittsburgh sits 5th overall in the NHL with a .727 points percentage in eleven games (7-2-2) despite missing their top two scorers for seven games and one or both halves of their top defence pair for the season’s first nine games.  The keys to winning have been solid special teams play, diversified scoring and continued strength in goaltending.

Pittsburgh’s 97.1% penalty kill percentage leads the NHL but due to Michalek’s injury, the Pens will once again have to adapt.  On the first Isles’ power play last night, Orpik was used in Michalek’s usual first unit spot alongside Paul Martin.  The Pittsburgh power play has shown a marked improvement relative to last season.  They have converted 20% of 45 man-advantage opportunities so far, bolstered by the play of James Neal, Chris Kunitz, Kris Letang and Jordan Staal.

On the strength of his explosive wrist shot, Neal has scored a team-high eight goals to lead a club that has fourteen different players with at least one goal, a distinction shared by only three other NHL teams.  Grinders such as Joe Vitale, Arron Asham and veteran Richard Park have all chipped in on the scoresheet.  Matt Cooke has been typically dependable on the penalty kill with one shorthanded goal already on his ledger.  Additionally, Vitale, Park, Mark Letestu and an improved Staal have guided the Penguins to sixth in the league in faceoff win percentage, a vital skill in Pittsburgh’s puck-possession system.

Finally, the glue that has held the Penguins together early in the season has been goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.  In eight games, he remains perfect in shorthanded situations and has allowed no more than two goals in his last four starts, recording a .966 SV% on 119 shots.  Fleury and Brent Johnson have limited opponents to 1.91 goals per game, fifth-best in the NHL.

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The play in question against the Jets occurred moments after Letang’s shot from centre point inside the Winnipeg zone was blocked by the stick of Blake Wheeler.  The puck caromed to the near boards just inside the blue line leading Letang and Winnipeg forward Alexander Burmistrov to chase it.  Letang was approximately two strides behind Burmistrov and just as the Jet collected the puck facing away from the Penguin, Letang finished his check by hitting Burmistrov into the boards.

Click here to view the embedded video.

In his explanation, Brendan Shanahan from the NHL Department of Safety said, in part:

Letang recognizes that Burmistrov will get to the puck first and Letang gets into an athletic defensive position. At this point, this is no longer a puck that is up for grabs and Letang is going to play the man.

In our opinion, Burmistrov’s path to the puck is predictable.  There are no sudden movements just prior to, or simultaneous with the hit.   In spite of the fact that Letang is looking at Burmistrov in the numbers, he finishes his check hard and with authority and fails to minimize the check.

Letang was assessed a minor penalty for boarding.  We’ve also taken into consideration that Letang was fined in April 2011 for a similar hit.

Shanahan’s explanation is fair and reasonable in consideration of the NHL’s paramount priority this season to increase player safety and to crack down on reckless and intentional hits that lead to potential or actual serious injuries especially those that cause concussions or head and back trauma.

At the final GM meetings of 2010-11 in March, a recommendation was made to referees to strictly enforce boarding and charging penalties as some studies showed that 70% of concussions occur near the boards and not due to sensational open-ice hits as may be commonly believed.  It could be argued that Letang was not at fault as he appears to commit to his check a split second before Burmistrov leaned down to scoop up the puck making himself vulnerable to a dangerous hit.  While that may be true, one important aspect of the play that Shanahan stressed in his “Key Points” at the end of his explanatory video was that “the onus is on Letang to avoid the hit entirely or at the very least, to minimize the contact”.

Click here to view the embedded video.

In real time, there is little doubt that Letang could not avoid the hit, but a six-year NHL defenceman should be well aware of his speed and cognizant of his opponent’s position in close proximity to the boards.  Thus the onus rested on Letang delivering the check and he should have reduced his speed before making contact.  This was textbook boarding according to Rule 41.  Letang pushed his opponent in a manner that caused Burmistrov to impact the boards violently or dangerously.  Fortunately, Burmistrov was not injured on the play (a factor that Shanahan weighed in his decision) but the act – not the end result – must be primarily considered and a two-game suspension was fitting.

Ironically, Letang was cited as a positive example by Shanahan two times in a video (below) demonstrating sane, safe, clean hits culled from tape of pre-season games.  In the first case during an exhibition game in Chicago, (0:25 of the video) Letang slows down and avoids boarding a Blackhawk player, who had just passed the puck.  In a second example (3:16), Letang delivers a clean, open ice shoulder to shoulder check on Valtteri Filppula of Detroit.

Click here to view the embedded video.

“I had my hearing today and we were talking about it,” an irritated Letang said after the Pens won in Minnesota last Tuesday.  ”The league is trying to avoid those hits.  I think I need to be a bit more careful along the boards and learn from that.”  He went on to say that Shanahan gave him a chance to explain the play, whether he could have let up, slowed down or approached the situation differently.

For a franchise that called for improved safety but came under fire last winter due to the actions of Matt Cooke, it is a positive step that at least publicly, the Penguins are accepting punishment, taking responsibility and adapting their game to current trends in safety promotion and rule enforcement.

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Ironically, in addition to being the first club to fall victim to the Jets, the Penguins were also the last team to defeat the Thrashers when the franchise was based in Atlanta.

On this night, the twin stars of the proceedings were Winnipeg goaltender Ondrej Pavelec who stopped 28 of 29 Pittsburgh shots and Jets’ centre Alexander Burmistrov who assisted on both Winnipeg goals.  Pavelec was perfect except for a goal scored by Pittsburgh defenceman Zbynek Michalek in the second period that cut the deficit in half.  Michalek had fallen down moments after the opening faceoff leading to the Jets’ first goal.  Meanwhile, Burmistrov picked up two points and has already shown significant improvement from his rookie season last year when he posted an unspectacular 6 goals and 20 points in 74 games.

Burmistrov was the last ever Atlanta first round draft pick when he was selected eighth overall in 2010.  He made the jump directly from major junior to the NHL when he debuted at 18 last autumn after putting up 22 goals and 65 points in 62 games in his lone season with the Barrie Colts in 2009-10.  Against the Penguins in a game shortly after Christmas last season, Burmistrov fanned on an outlet pass in the defensive zone then was manhandled by Pittsburgh centre Mark Letestu who stole the puck and scored.  On Monday night, the improved Russian forward skated hard into Penguins’ territory on the forecheck and stripped the puck from Pittsburgh defenceman Kris Letang along the near boards.  Burmistrov then skated to the bottom of the circle before hitting Tanner Glass with a great pass that was fired in for a goal.

Hearing the explosion of crowd noise and the unrestrained enthusiasm of fans inside the MTS Centre as time ticked down finally made it seem like hockey had returned to Winnipeg.  The Jets’ first game was their much ballyhooed Opener to End All Previous Openers in History which brought with it a spectacle atmosphere rather than a hockey game.  Thus their second home game on Monday with cheering and enthusiasm for on-ice related matters – goals, hits and saves – actually made it feel like a normal hockey night and seeing PIT @ WPG 8:30pm on the schedule visually confirmed that Winnipeg was officially back in the NHL family.

For some perspective, when the Penguins defeated the old Jets 1-0 at Winnipeg Arena on February 16, 1996 behind a 32 save shutout by Tom Barrasso and Jaromir Jagr’s 46th goal of the season, this is the way the world appeared:

• The NHL was a 26-team league that within the last five years had embarked on a bold expansion plan, adding clubs in San Jose, Ottawa, Tampa Bay, Miami and Anaheim
• Within the next five years, the NHL would land in Nashville, Atlanta and Columbus and return to Minneapolis, a city that had lost the North Stars
• Quebec City was stinging from losing the Nordiques to Denver the previous summer and in bittersweet fashion, the franchise would capture the Stanley Cup that very season
• Hartford would lose the Whalers just over one year later to Raleigh, North Carolina

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It is important to note that both Asham and Beagle agreed to engage in combat at this point.  After the Washington centre tried a few right hooks to Asham’s back, the Pens’ winger straightened up and swiftly connected twice in quick succession with Beagle’s left jaw, bringing Beagle to his knees before he fell to the ice unconscious.  As Asham skated to the penalty box, he made an “It’s over!” motion and then a “sleep” gesture with his hands to accentuate his decisive knockout.

Were Asham’s gestures “classless” as he himself confessed after the game?  Yes.

If a fight ends with both men still conscious and able to skate to the box, then there would be nothing wrong if either fighter swings his arms skyward to fire up the crowd and their respective bench.  However, when one combatant has fallen to the ice with an injury, the “code” must prevail and the victor should simply skate away, satisfied with the win without rubbing it in the face of the loser.  Asham may not have immediately known when he turned his back that Beagle was seriously hurt, but the fact that Asham saw his opponent’s knees buckle and then made the mock-sleeping gesture indicates he knew that Beagle was not getting back up anytime soon.

Should Asham have received more than a standard five-minute fighting major penalty?  Yes.

Under Rule 75.2 (i) of the NHL Rule Book, an unsportsmanlike conduct minor penalty “shall be assessed … [if] any identifiable player uses obscene, profane or abusive language or gestures directed at any person.”  Taunting and gestures were an issue the NHL explicitly reviewed and condemned in a video on Rule Enforcement prior to 2010-11.  (Note the throat-slashing gesture by a Calgary player seated in the penalty box at 5:23 of the video).  Asham stepped into unsportsmanlike territory with his post-fight conduct and by the book, should have received a penalty.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Asham was not suspended.  Should he have received supplementary discipline?  No.

In a month-long time-frame that has seen Brendan Shanahan turn on a fire hose of suspensions, one may wonder why Asham was not issued supplemental discipline.  If the guiding principle of most of Shanahan’s decisions so far has been to use lengthy suspensions as a deterrent to dissuade players from recklessly or intentionally causing injuries to others, especially when the head is the principal point of contact, then it is more clear why Asham was able to suit up for the Penguins’ next game.

Asham most certainly delivered a shot to the head of Beagle – two hard ones, actually – but it was not a “head shot” in the current vernacular of the NHL as prohibited by Rule 48 – “Illegal Checking to the Head“.  These were shots to the head occurring in a fair, one-on-one fight, not a head shot delivered with a shoulder or elbow to an unsuspecting player.  Asham was responding to Beagle roughing up Letang and invited the Washington player to fight.  Beagle clearly agreed, or in legalese, gave his verbal consent understanding the benefits and risks of the imminent fisticuffs, and the two squared off.

This was a case of Asham, caught up in the moment of emphatically conquering his opponent, demonstrating poor sportsmanship through a taunting gesture as he turned and skated away.  As distasteful as Asham’s actions were, there really is no solid ground for supplemental discipline here.  Moreover, this fight (or any fight) clearly does not fall into the domain of the debate on checking to the head and resulting concussions.  If it is blood and injuries resulting from fighting that critics find reprehensible, then that is a separate but valid issue. However, despite perennial reports of its demise, fighting is here to stay not because it sells tickets and brings spectators to their feet, but simply because it is the single most tangible act players can use to show solidarity with, and to energize their teammates.

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Perennial Eastern Conference minnow Florida holds the dubious distinction of being the team with the longest active playoff drought and in the summer, the Panthers went on a free agent spending spree to both acquire new talent and to reach the mandatory salary floor.  When the Cats took the ice on Saturday on Long Island, 14 of the 20 players dressed were not in the lineup from Opening Day of 2010-11.  Forwards Tomas Fleischmann, Scottie Upshall and Sean Bergenheim were signed to a combined $43-million over the next 4 years while the last five years of defenceman Brian Campbell’s bloated contract worth over $35.7-million was acquired in a trade with Chicago.

Over four nights, the Penguins played a trio of contests in Western Canada to open the season and were 4:55 away from a three-game sweep when 2011 first overall draft pick Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored his first NHL goal to lift Edmonton into a 1-1 tie.  While the Penguins would subsequently fall 2-1 in a shootout, the road trip must be considered an unqualified success.  Pittsburgh opened the season playing Vancouver, the class of the Northwest Division, and earned a gritty 4-3 shootout win.  Two nights later, they played in Calgary’s opening game and the Flames mounted a late comeback before Pittsburgh held on for a 5-3 win.  Then 24 hours later, against an Edmonton club that was well-rested having played no games yet this season, the fatigued Pens, playing without Malkin, earned one point against the Oilers.

Some early observations: The Penguins’ first goal of the season was symbolic in that it came on the power play, an area of special teams that looks vastly improved – small sample size noted – relative to 2010-11.  The power play was a joke at the end of the regular season and throughout the first round loss to Tampa Bay.  In the victories over Vancouver and Calgary, Pittsburgh scored two power play goals in each game and went 1 for 8 at Edmonton for a total success rate of 5/16 (31.3%) good for fifth in the NHL.  Steve Sullivan and Neal have been major contributors at creating scoring chances while defenceman Kris Letang, first unit point man on the power play and the early league scoring leader among blueliners, played nearly 30 minutes in Edmonton, clearly the best Penguin on the ice Sunday night.

The league’s best penalty kill in 2010-11 has picked up where they left off, successfully turning away all eleven opposition power plays so far this season, placing them in a group of six teams atop the shorthanded list.  Defencemen Zbynek Michalek and Paul Martin plus fowards Craig Adams, Jordan Staal, Matt Cooke and Pascal Dupuis have all returned as key penalty-killers.  Cooke scored shorthanded in the victory over Vancouver on Thursday night.

A revelation through the first three games has been rookie centre Joe Vitale.  The 26-year old from St. Louis leads the team in faceoff win percentage 25/42 (59.5%).

Finally, it is worth noting that the Penguins have been outscored 4-1 in the third period over their first three games.  This can be taken as a glass half-full or glass half-empty phenomenon.  Yes, the Pens fell into a tie in the third period in both Vancouver and Edmonton and saw their lead cut to one in Calgary.  At the same time, Pittsburgh should be given credit for bending but not breaking and regrouping in the face of fresh opponents and their own fatigue to earn 5 of 6 points on the road.

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The Penguins play Calgary tonight in the Flames’ home opener.  Defenceman Brooks Orpik will be out of the lineup tonight and tomorrow as he continues to recover from off-season abdominal surgery.  Centre Jordan Staal left the bench in the third period at Vancouver Thursday night due to dehydration leading to cramps but will be ready for tonight’s game.

Three forwards stood out the most for the Penguins during Thursday’s win.

When left wing Matt Cooke hopped over the boards for the first time since March 20, his appearance surely caused hissing and gnashing of teeth in many quarters of the hockey world.  Last season, as the Pittsburgh organization proposed more severe discipline and team fines to curtail accidental and deliberate head hitting, partly in response to the concussion suffered by captain Sidney Crosby, Cooke embarrassed the organization on national television when he elbowed the head of New York Ranger Ryan McDonagh.  Cooke was immediately suspended for the last 17 games of the year.

So there was a touch of irony and redemption when the Reviled One tapped in a no-look pass from Pascal Dupuis on the power play to give Pittsburgh a 2-0 lead 12:30 into the game.  Matt Cooke?  Power play goal?!?  The irony-meter surged higher early in the second period when the Canucks pressed for the tying-goal, trailing 2-1, on their first power play.  Late in the man-advantage, Staal sent an outlet pass along the far boards to Cooke, skating through the neutral zone.  Cooke used Vancouver defenceman Kevin Bieksa as a screen and sent a hard wrist shot through the blueliner’s legs and past the far side of a startled Luongo for a shorthanded goal.

It has been stated many times before: if Cooke stays within the rules, he can be a valuable, effective NHL player. Often lost in all the rage against him is the undeniable fact that he consistently scores 10 to 15 goals per season from a lower line position and is an integral penalty killer.  Cooke played a sound defensive game on Thursday and delivered two hits while blocking two shots. Judging by the much lengthier suspensions handed out by new league disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan, Cooke must be vigilant at all times to avoid hamstringing the Penguins to an even greater extent this season.

The first goal of the season was scored by James Neal just 16 seconds into the first power play chance of the year.  All pre-season long, the Penguins worked hard to improve their power play fundamentals – zone entry, offensive zone setup and positioning after the 1-for-33 debacle versus Tampa Bay last spring.  Ironically, it was a centering attempt, really, a pseudo-shot by Neal that banked off the right skate of Luongo into the Vancouver net that got the Penguins rolling.  For Neal, the goal was a relief.  The perennial 20 goal scorer, christened with a first line spot this season, struggled to find the back of the net when he came over to Pittsburgh in a mid-season trade in February.

As for his linemate centre Evgeni Malkin, the night was a re-introduction.  Malkin worked harder than he ever has over the summer to improve his overall conditioning but especially to strengthen a knee that was surgically repaired due to torn ligaments suffered on February 4.  Malkin missed the final 29 regular season games plus all 7 playoff contests. Malkin, Neal and Sullivan showed speed and creativity during the early part of Thursday’s game.  Ten minutes in, Malkin stole the puck in the far corner, skated back along the left half-wall and passed it to Neal in the slot for a scoring chance.  Five minutes later, Malkin found himself in roughly the same spot and feathered a pass underneath a diving Dan Hamhuis to Kris Letang whose shot was right on goal.

Defensively, Zbynek Michalek probably played his worst game as a Penguin but his teammates will take it on a winning night.  The Big Z, often assigned the tough task of defending against Vancouver’s top line of Burrows and the Sedin twins, seemed to be snake-bitten.  He was on the ice for all three Canuck goals.  On the game-tying goal by Daniel Sedin, Michalek went down to the ice anticipating a block attempt a fraction of a second too early.  Three minutes later, the puck bounced over Michalek’s stick at the blue line as he attempted to clear it out of the Pittsburgh zone.  Chris Higgins pounced on it and Michalek held him up, drawing a penalty.

Both teams struggled at times to stay on their skates as the ice quality appeared to be poor in a hot, humid Rogers Arena – a factor that often contributes to bouncier pucks.

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Sidney Crosby drifts to centre for the opening faceoff as the crowd cheers with anticipation.  We know the disappointing end to last year’s Opening Night story, so let’s skip ahead to something happier, a 6-3 home win over the Atlanta Thrashers (an entity that presently can only be seen with the aid of a time machine) highlighted by two more goals from Crosby: 2010.12.28.  That’s right, find the fast lane on Centre Avenue … No police cars in sight … Achieving 88 miles per hour should be a breeze …  Much like Crosby scoring points seemed to be a breeze by Christmas.

GM Ray Shero’s plan at that point last season was unfolding perfectly.  With a rejuvenated Marc-Andre Fleury a rock-solid wall in net, a revamped defence stonewalling opponents and Crosby tearing a strip through the NHL highlighted by a 25-game points streak, it was unsurprising that Pittsburgh reeled off 12 straight wins and looked like the Stanley Cup contenders everyone expected them to be on Opening Night.

Then, a hit in the Winter Classic happened.

Then, torn knee ligaments happened.

Then, broken bones happened.

Then, torn knee ligaments happened again.

Then, Matt Cooke decided to use his elbows to flip over the already-derailing Pittsburgh train.

Out of this incredibly galling second half of injuries and suspensions, GM Ray Shero was already laying the groundwork for the future.  When Crosby, Malkin and later Dustin Jeffrey were lost for the season, the Penguins adapted and played a more defensive style that not only allowed them to survive, but thrive, finishing with the third-highest point total and third-fewest goals allowed in the Eastern Conference. Yet the second half and playoffs exposed the Penguins as a club with few secondary scoring threats and a horrendously poor power play.

Thus Shero began his summer in winter, when he acquired young winger James Neal and defenceman Matt Niskanen from Dallas in exchange for defenceman Alex Goligoski ahead of the trade deadline.  It would have been a bonus if Crosby recovered in time to play on a line with Neal, but the trade was really about 2011-12 and beyond.  Neal has scored 20+ goals in each of the last three seasons so there is no reason to believe that the “Real Neal” was the man who struggled to score down the stretch with Pittsburgh last spring.

Can veteran newcomer Steve Sullivan (26) inject some life into the moribund Pittsburgh power play this season?

When summer actually began, Shero made much more understated signings than the splash of 2010 when he invested $45-million in the space of a few hours to bring in defencemen Paul Martin and Zbynek Michalek.  Instead, Shero’s first announcement was to disclose the name of someone the Penguins did not sign when he put an official end to talks with Jaromir Jagr and the mini-circus of speculation that had sprung up.

Pittsburgh retained right wing Tyler Kennedy, seemingly the only forward who stayed healthy from start to finish last season, who scored a career-high 21 goals.  Kennedy received a 2-year deal worth $2-million per season.  Versatile Pascal Dupuis who possesses a cannon shot and fellow penalty-killer Craig Adams also both decided to stay in the Pens’ pen for another two years while gritty winger Arron Asham, who had his first season in black and gold interrupted by a concussion, signed another one-year contract.

Mike Rupp, enforcer Eric Godard, forward Chris Conner and 2009 Stanley Cup hero Maxime Talbot all moved on with Talbot cashing in to the tune of $8.75-million over five years, two more years and “a lot more” money than what Pittsburgh offered him, according to Shero.  The Pens’ GM continued to be prudent with forwards in free agency, resisting the temptation to bid for high-priced scorers, mindful that in two summers, the contracts of centres Crosby and Jordan Staal expire.  It would be foolish to tie up too much future salary cap space now when the salary ceilings of 2013, 2014 and the next CBA parameters are essentially unknown.

When he returns from rehabilitating his right knee, the Penguins are looking forward to more handshakes and high-fives with Dustin Jeffrey.

This is why the club’s only major signing on July 1 was 37-year old left wing Steve Sullivan.  Before a back injury sidelined him for 1 1/2 seasons at the end of 2006-07, Sullivan was a reliable source of 20+ goals.  In the twilight of his career, Pittsburgh was able to make a classic low-risk deal for one season at a reasonable $1.5-million.  He has already been praised by head coach Dan Bylsma for his intelligence and hockey sense.  From a strategic angle, the Pens plan to use him on the top line as left wing to Malkin with Neal on the other side.  Sullivan will also appear on the first power play unit manning a point opposite Kris Letang with Malkin, Neal and Chris Kunitz.  If he stays healthy, and it is a big “if”, Sullivan’s value could easily exceed $1.5-million.

Joe Vitale and Richard Park will fill spots on the fourth line vacated by Talbot and Rupp.  Both newcomers will be counted on to uphold the success of the Pittsburgh penalty kill, top-ranked in the NHL last season.

With Godard leaving Pittsburgh, the new sheriff in town is Steve MacIntyre, the 6’6″ 265 lb. heavyweight who spent the past three seasons in Edmonton.

Finally, a player this space is tabbing to become a major contributor to the Penguins once his rehabilitation from torn knee ligaments is complete is Dustin Jeffrey.  The 23-year old centre/wing scored 7 goals in 25 games last season and demonstrated good on-ice intuition and anticipation.  In addition, as the saying goes in baseball, “Speed never slumps.”  The same could be true in hockey and Jeffrey’s skating ability was a memorable facet of the skill set he showed before his season ended in Philadelphia.  His interception/breakaway goal in overtime in Boston immediately jumps to mind.

EXPECTED OPENING NIGHT LINE COMBINATIONS AND DEFENCE PAIRS

Steve Sullivan – Evgeni Malkin – James Neal
Chris Kunitz – Jordan Staal – Tyler Kennedy
Matt Cooke – Mark Letestu – Pascal Dupuis
Joe Vitale – Craig Adams – Arron Asham

Kris Letang – Deryk Engelland
Paul Martin – Zbynek Michalek
Matt Niskanen – Ben Lovejoy

(This assumes D Brooks Orpik, LW Steve MacIntyre and RW Richard Park are scratched).

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On Tuesday, the club held its final practice in Pittsburgh before a planned afternoon flight to Vancouver where the Penguins will play on Opening Night Thursday at 10 pm EDT against the defending Western Conference champions.  Ironically, one of yesterday’s final “cuts” was not a fringe journeyman nor a not-yet-ready-for-primetime prospect but team captain Sidney Crosby whose placement on injured reserve continues from last season.  Crosby, recovering from a concussion suffered in January, participated as a full member of the Penguins in training camp practices and drills but with no contact nor did he appear in any of the six exhibition games.

As reported in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Crosby and fellow forward Dustin Jeffrey who is working his way back from torn right knee ligaments, can return to active duty at any time.  Normally, players returning from injured reserve must wait seven days but this does not apply if a player has remained on the injured list since the previous season.  Obviously however, there is a negligible chance that Crosby will play this week.  As stated many times before in many different places, there is no target date for Crosby to return to active duty nor is there a target date for clearing him to participate in full contact practices.

The name many will be filing away for future reference is Joe Morrow, the Pens’ first round draft choice at this past summer’s Entry Draft in Minnesota.  The 6’0″ 199 lb. Edmonton native made an immediate impression on the Pittsburgh braintrust and he lasted until Monday’s final cut amid speculation that the Penguins might give him a nine-game NHL “tryout” before returning him to his junior club to roll over the start of his entry-level contract to next year.  While Morrow will head to junior immediately, he quickly demonstrated in camp that he understood the Penguins’ “pucks northward” style of play from day one, capitalizing on his hard shot and skill as an offensive-minded defenceman.

As head coach Dan Bylsma put it, “He earned at least two exhibition games extra from what we had originally scheduled him with his play … he was really effective and really showed his skating ability and his shot.  He had a lot of poise on the ice, was able to make good, quick plays and was able to defend.  He showed a little physical side to it as well. He earned a lot more than we had planned.”

Morrow played four of the six exhibition games, scoring a goal and four points logging an average ice time of 15:03 including 2:19 on the power play, directing 11 pucks at the net (5 on goal/4 attempts blocked/2 missed shots) while laying down to block 5 opposition shots.  He can return to Portland confident that he can build on his strong camp and strong season last year when he led all Portland defencemen in points and power play goals.

One player who has avoided a trip to injured reserve to start 2011-12 is veteran blueliner Brooks Orpik who had surgery in mid-July to repair a right-sided hernia.  In 2010, Orpik had the same procedure performed on the left side of his abdomen.  Like Crosby, Orpik did not appear in any exhibition games and worked carefully to rehabilitate himself into proper condition.  Orpik skated with the team over the weekend in Detroit and practiced Tuesday in Pittsburgh.  His status for Thursday’s opener is unclear.

Bylsma revealed two plans for three defence pairs – with and without Orpik – he has ready to go for Thursday:

Orpik – Kris Letang
Paul Martin – Zbynek Michalek
Matt Niskanen – Deryk Engelland/Ben Lovejoy

 

Letang – Engelland
Martin – Michalek
Niskanen – Lovejoy

Other players who had medical procedures performed in the summer or suffered training camp injuries – Craig Adams who had an appendectomy in late August and newcomer Steve Sullivan who had a mild groin strain early in camp – are essentially 100%.

Two role players with similar skill sets, young centre Joe Vitale and veteran centre/right wing Richard Park, both ended up making the final roster.  With the departure of Max Talbot and Mike Rupp, fourth line and penalty-killing spots needed to be filled.  Vitale will be counted on to be dependable in the faceoff circle and to be a classic checking line forward – a solid hitter and a fearless shot blocker.  Park, originally drafted by Pittsburgh in 1994, returns to the NHL after a year in Switzerland.  He will likely join the penalty-killing unit, a top-ranked group that was integral to the Pens’ regular season success last season.

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Last season, Kuhnhackl made his North American major junior debut with the Windsor Spitfires in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and he made a smooth transition, finishing fourth on his team with 68 points while leading the club in goals (39).  During the OHL playoffs, Kuhnhackl was even better, leading the team in goals (11), points (23), power play goals (4) and +/- (+11) and he finished as the third-best point scorer in the post-season among all OHL players.

In Game 7 of the first round, he scored a tiebreaking goal, his second of the contest, with under three minutes left in the third period to give Windsor the series over Erie.  While Windsor, shooting for its third straight Memorial Cup, eventually fell to the eventual OHL champions, Owen Sound in the Western Conference Final, Kuhnhackl scored 4 goals and 7 points in the five-game series loss.

For the second straight year, he earned an invitation to the Rookie Tournament held earlier in September in Oshawa, Ontario where prospects from the Penguins played one game each against teams of prospects from the Maple Leafs, Senators and Blackhawks.  A pre-draft scouting report described Kuhnhackl as “a surprisingly mobile, good skater for a player of his size.  He has a very good understanding of the game and has good offensive instincts.”

At the Rookie Tournament, Kuhnhackl also noted that he tries to “be an offensive player, a two-way player, trying to create scoring chances, bringing pucks to the net, using my legs and speed.”

He admitted that he had some jitters last September.  ”I played in the [Rookie] Tournament last year and I was really nervous.  I had no idea what everyone expected from me.  This year, I’m just trying to play my game to help the Penguins,” and pointed out that he gained valuable insight by skating on a line with two prospects who had already played in the NHL.

“Last year, with [Dustin] Jeffrey and [Eric] Tangradi – those are excellent players.   Both played a couple games for the Penguins so they know what they’re talking about.  They tell me what to do so I just listen to them because they know what they’re doing.”

Kuhnhackl also credited a prospect with major junior and AHL experience with helping him along.  ”Nick Petersen, he’s my roommate.   He was playing in the ‘A’ last year so he’s been giving me advice, what the coaches expect from me and what I can do to help the team.”

When the Pens played Toronto in the Tournament, Kuhnhackl occasionally was assigned point duties on the power play, a role he tried last season.  ”When I was playing in Windsor, I was playing on the point with [defenceman] Ryan Ellis for half the season, so I’m used to it now. [Penguins' coach John] Hynes asked me if I wanted to try it, so I said ‘Sure, why not?’”.  But Kuhnhackl, playing just his fifth game in a Penguins’ sweater, quickly added, “Of course I was nervous!  The level here is way higher than in the OHL.   I’ll need a couple of games to get used to it but I liked playing on the point.”

He complimented his power play blue line partner Simon Despres, Pittsburgh’s first-round choice in 2009.  ”Simon is a really skilled defenceman so it was really nice to play with him.  Before the game, we had a meeting with the coaches.   They told us which play we should run, what we should try.”

Pittsburgh Penguin Tom Kuhnhackl (#14, second from right) warms up prior to a Rookie Tournament game against Toronto on September 11, 2011 in Oshawa, Ontario.

As for his former teammate Ellis, who was analyzed last week by Hockey Independent, Kuhnhackl effusively praised the 2011 CHL Player of the Year.  ”Ryan Ellis is the best defenceman in the OHL at his age.  I don’t know how to explain it.  He’s just the best.  If you play with him on the point, you have way more confidence.

“He gives you the puck, I give him the puck,” Kuhnhackl excitedly explained, using his hands to diagram a typical game situation.  ”He can run plays; he can play passes he never expected from someone.  He always helps you; he is a leader and he helped me a lot.”

When the subject of Germany’s continuing struggle to become a respectable global hockey nation was broached, Kuhnhackl turned more serious, nodding his head at the immense mountain his homeland still must climb.

“When you look at the hockey in Germany, when you look at the first-league especially, every team has eleven imports … so what about the German hockey?” he asked rhetorically.  ”Eleven imports – that’s like the first two and a half lines.  Then the third and fourth lines might be a couple of young German players that don’t see a lot of ice time and they sit in the stands.   Maybe we should reduce [the quota] to seven imports or six so that German hockey can improve and maybe we can beat Canada for once.”

On Kuhnhackl’s 2009-10 Augsburg club, the top eleven scorers were all either Canadian or American.

“I played a couple games [for Augsburg] but when you look at the level there … eleven imports,” he said, shaking his head, ”it’s just … I don’t know.  If you want to improve German hockey, the German players need to get ice time.”

In 2010, Hockey Independent talked to German national team coach Uwe Krupp who played over 800 games in the NHL, about the state of hockey in his country.  Krupp was optimistic about the future after looking at the past and present.  ”German hockey has a number of good players.  We haven’t created a Dirk Nowitzki like we have in basketball but we have Marco Sturm and Christian Ehrhoff – two guys who are representing German hockey at a very high level.  Jochan Hecht, Dennis Seidenberg, Olaf Kolzig … we’ve had some players who’ve had good careers in the NHL.”

“Tom Kuhnhackl is a good young player that is as good as any player you’ll find in the Czech Republic or in Slovakia within those age groups.”

Kuhnhackl was returned to Windsor last Thursday from the Penguins’ pre-season training camp without appearing in any exhibition games. Unfortunately, he suffered a severe injury to the MCL of his right knee during Windsor’s 4-3 loss to the Kitchener Rangers on Friday night that may require surgery meaning he will be out indefinitely.  The collision and the sight of a player falling on his knee was eerily reminiscent of the injury suffered by Pittsburgh centre Evgeni Malkin in February that ended the star centre’s season.

In time, Kuhnhackl will heal and the journey from Augsburg to Pittsburgh will continue.

HOCKEY LEGENDS PAT LAFONTAINE AND STEVE WEBB TO RIDE 550 MILES FOR W20
FOUNDATION AND COMPANIONS IN COURAGE FOUNDATION

NEW YORK (September 19, 2011) –NHL alumnus Steve Webb and Hockey Hall
of Fame inductee Pat LaFontaine began a 550-mile bike ride this morning
from the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto in route to the NHL Powered by
Reebok Store in New York City in support of their respective charitable
efforts, the W20 Foundation and the Companions in Courage Foundation. Both
are expected to complete their historic ride on Wednesday, September 21 at
12:00 p.m. ET with a special celebration at the NHL Powered by Reebok Store
in midtown Manhattan.

“The NHL is proud to support these two hockey legends as they embark
on this epic charitable ride. On behalf of the NHL family we proudly salute
Pat and Steve, and wish them the best of luck” said Ken Martin, Jr., NHL
Vice President of Community Affairs.

LaFontaine’s Companions in Courage Foundation is an official
philanthropic partner of the National Hockey League (NHL) and helps to
create “Lion’s Den/NHL Legacy Classrooms” featuring Cisco System’s online
conferencing system, WebEx, which allows young patients to connect to
family, friends, schools and teachers anywhere in the world during a
hospital stay.

The Foundation has now opened 12 Lion’s Den rooms throughout North
America, including two with the NHL in Boston, Calgary and Montreal. The
NHL unveiled the first fully functional “NHL Legacy Classroom” at North
Carolina Children’s Hospital to commemorate the 2011 NHL All-Star Weekend.
Plans for an “NHL Legacy Classroom” in Pittsburgh were unveiled during the
2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic to commemorate the outdoor game.

Webb’s W20 Foundation provides young student ice hockey players with
partial academic scholarships to continue the pursuit of their hockey
dreams. Now the organization also highlights athletes as influential agents
of change and creates opportunities for athletes to give back in their
communities. Webb will also commit a portion of the ride’s proceeds to fund
Alzheimer and dementia research in Ontario.

The riders will be joined by a support team that includes Graham
Fraser, founder of Centurion Cycling, host of North America’s premier
series of distance bicycling events.

For more information on how you can support this please visit
www.CiC16.org
or www.w20Foundation.org.  To follow the progress of the ride, fans are
encouraged to visit www.W20Foundation.blogspot.com. ]]> http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/bdgallof/38698/feed/ 0 http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/penguinsmarch/38506/ http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/penguinsmarch/38506/#comments Tue, 13 Sep 2011 21:03:14 +0000 Adrian Fung http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/?p=38506 The Pittsburgh Penguins lost all three games of the 2011 NHL Rookie Tournament in Oshawa, Ontario, falling by a lopsided composite score of 13-2 in three games over four days.  Today, the Penguins’ prospects fell 4-1 to Chicago’s prospect squad in a game that turned near the end of the second period when after Pittsburgh failed to capitalize on 5-on-3 and 4-on-3 power plays, Chicago scored two quick goals to go up 3-0 at second intermission.  Of course, cogent followers of these types of fast-paced mini tournaments will know that the wins and losses mean as little as wins and losses in pro camp exhibition games.  Only evaluation of individual performances, skill development or skill regression matters.

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Staging rookie tournaments is simply a method for teams to analyze, in game action, its top minor league, collegiate or major junior talent, many of whom are years away from seriously contending for an NHL roster spot.  If a team rests some top prospects or starts a lower-on-the-depth-chart goaltender, the chances of winning the game decrease if the opposition ices its best players.  In Saturday’s opener, the Penguins dressed top prospect Eric Tangradi and one of their best goaltending prospects, Patrick Killeen but rested prized young blueliner Simon Despres.  On Sunday night and this afternoon, Despres and amateur tryout netminder Maxime Lagace played but Tangradi and Killeen rested.

Despite the 0-fer, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton assistant coach Alain Nasreddine, who specializes in mentoring the defencemen, was positive about what he saw from some of the young Penguins’ blueliners immediately after Sunday’s loss against the Maple Leafs.

“I just actually talked to all the ‘D’.  I’m pretty proud of what they did.  It’s not an easy task.  They want to make an impression in camp, to work hard and compete and that’s what they did in the full sixty [minutes] with 5 ‘D’,” referring to the quintet of defencemen who had to soldier on after Robert Bortuzzo left the game in the first period with an injury.  “There were some penalties that we had to kill.  They battled all the way through.  They were tired but they battled and competed and that’s all we ask.  Starting the game with six [defencemen] and ending the game with five, especially going down early with Bortz [Bortuzzo], they really did a good job.”

The five blueliners Nasreddine commended were QMJHL defenceman of the year Simon Despres, 2011 first round pick Joe Morrow, 2011 second round pick Scott Harrington, Alex Grant and Philip Samuelsson.

Nasreddine gave a wry smile when recalling a severe injury suffered by Grant in the first game of the 2010 Rookie Tournament.  “Last year we got used to it as it happened with [Alex] Grant … Sure, we didn’t like it but like I said, they want to make an impression, they want to play good, they want to play well and I think they all did a pretty good job tonight.”

Nasreddine said he tries to keep set defence pairings but knows he must quickly adapt to in-game changes.

“There’s a pattern you try to establish, so we try to stick with it so that everyone gets equal time but you’re going to get penalties, you’re going to get power plays, penalty kills so it often changes but in general they all get a lot of ice time so they had a good opportunity to show what they can do and I thought they did a good job.”

“I thought Morrow had a really strong game, he showed a lot of skill.  I think you could tell it was his second game and he was a lot more comfortable out there.  Harrington was solid and Grant and Samuelsson too.”

For his part, Samuelsson, a 2009 second round choice of Pittsburgh who played the last two seasons at Boston College, was unfazed by the losses.

“I think the games are moving pretty fast.  The ice has been pretty good.  I think we’re coming together as a team.  A couple of bounces here and there and we’re right back in it.  I think we had a good game today.  We just weren’t able to capitalize on our chances and unfortunately, we had some lapses on defence that they were able to capitalize on so if we tighten up in the D zone, and bury our chances, I think we should give Chicago a run for their money on Tuesday.”

He reflected on the difference between college hockey and the competitive nature of this quick tournament, playing with and against top prospects.

“It’s huge.  It’s good to see what the pace is at now and kind of know you have to ramp it up a level to keep up and to play at your game.  It’s been a great experience for me to be a part of this.  You always want to win games – it doesn’t matter if it’s a pick-up game in the summer or rookie camp here.  You’re always going to go your hardest and that’s what I have to do to be successful as a player.”

No matter where he ends up this season, Samuelsson is working as hard as he can to make a positive statement with Pittsburgh scouts and front office.

“Definitely, I want to make a good impression on the Penguins and hopefully, one day be able to crack that roster.  I don’t know if that’s going to be this year or a few years down the road but I’ll try my hardest at this camp and see where it goes from there.”