Maybe some harsh reality will finally settle in as sometimes certain games bear more weight in a long grueling season. Possibly, but before anything can be fixed, those in charge of the fixing have to realize there are problems and mistakes to be corrected.

One can’t be sure what type of roster general manager Stan Bowman was trying to put together this past summer. What is certain is Bowman completely missed on some of the veteran free agents he signed. What also appears likely is Bowman counted on much better performances from other players and may have overvalued his club.

Then there is head coach Joel Quenneville who gave the company line Thursday night when asked about his personnel. Quenneville commented after the loss there really isn’t anything wrong with the personnel rather it’s a matter of not performing in the correct way. If Quenneville truly believes this same group can win in the playoffs then he hasn’t been doing a very good job of coaching.

Maybe Quenneville has no real choice but to accept a roster with too much dead weight. If he wants to be the fall guy that probably won’t take too long to happen. If the Hawks struggle for the next few months and make an early exit in the playoffs Quenneville will be held responsible.

Maybe it is a combination of a GM who won’t admit mistakes and a head coach that can’t get his message across. Without changes, the Hawks won’t be able to successfully play the same type of fast paced style as was the case a couple of years ago. They don’t have the same team speed. Players aren’t able to pass the puck as well and the defense as a group has not been as good. All that said this team often tries to be something it can’t be.

For things to improve, Bowman has to find players which can blend in and improve the level of play. Then Quenneville has to utilize what he has been given. So far, both have more work to do. Maybe Thursday night will turn out to be a game to hinge the entire season on.

Back in early January 2010, the Blackhawks were sailing along with a four goal lead in Minnesota going into the third period. The Wild scored three times in 2:05 and came back to defeat the Hawks 6-5 in a shootout. That game still stands out as being a turning point in the Stanley Cup season.

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Next article will be posted tommorrow morning.

Life at the top is hard.

It doesn’t matter if you’re the CEO of a major corporation, a head coach in the NFL or the GM of the LA Kings.

The reason those people get paid big money is to make big decisions.

There’s a sign in Dean Lombardi’s office at the Kings training facility in El Segundo that reads ‘When bluffing, a pair of balls beats everything.’

In a press conference later today, Lombardi will officially appoint Darryl Sutter as the new head coach of the LA Kings. While that’s not a bluff of any sort, it took a brass set to make that decision. After all, Sutter has already been labled by some as a ‘retread,’ a ‘repeat of past mistakes’ and several other tired cliches.

Many have already stated other opinions about who Lombardi ‘should have’ hired. But, none of that matters now. So, let’s look at why Sutter is a good fit for the team.

First off, the familiarity. The Kings have 49 games left to play and if they’re shooting for the playoffs – which they are (and then some) – they need to start collecting points quickly. If this were the summer, perhaps the Kings could gamble on a young, unproven coach and play for the upside. However, Lombardi doesn’t have the luxury of playing with ‘house money’ right now. It’s nearly the middle of the season. Time’s a-wasting.

The new coach needs to hit the ground running and the GM doesn’t have time to get to know somebody new and understand their system and style as they move forward together. Time is of the essence. He needs to grab somebody, lock arms and jump in the foxhole. Thus, the devil you know is better than the one you don’t. Making Sutter one of the few guys to even get on the ‘short list.’

Second, winning. Ownership spent a lot of money this off-season and the time to win is now, right now – as in, this season. Younger, unproven names may be sexier to the average fan, but the resume of Darryl Sutter points out that he knows how to win in the NHL – not that he might be able to win. Sutter’s teams have won 40 or more games five times, he improved his record in San Jose four years running, he took the Flames to the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals and won his division with 103 points in his last year behind the bench (2005-06).

Finally, accountability. There is no denying that some – perhaps even the majority – of the Kings failings this year falls on the shoulders of the players. This team will live and die by the performance of 10 players – their top six forwards, plus Jarret Stoll, Drew Doughty, Jack Johnson and Jonathan Quick. Of that list, the only one you can immediately not fault is Quick. I would give Johnson a pass as well. His plus-minus rating has improved over past years, the goals are there too. The only thing he’s missing are the assists and we’ll say that’s more on the others for not scoring.

Which leaves guys like Doughty (two goals in 28 games), Anze Kopitar (two goals in his last 19 games), Dustin Penner (who seems to be heating up lately, but still), Justin Williams (two goals in his last 24 games), Simon Gagne (no goals in his last 14 games) and others with a heavy portion of the burden.

So, for all the talk about a ‘player’s coach’ or something similar, go back to what many of the players talked about before the season started – ‘This team has the talent to win the Western Conference.’ What they’ve shown is they need a coach to hold them accountable.

Lombardi went ‘all in’ this summer by making the trades and signings necessary to improve his roster. Now, he’s chosen to double-down with Sutter behind the bench.

Even if it’s not the decision you would have made, it’s a decision that’s easy to understand. And more importantly, probably gives them the best shot – or least as good as any other coach would – of saving the season.

Sutter’s first task as coach will be to lead today’s practice at 10:30am PST. Then, Bob Miller – the voice of the team for nearly 40 years – will host a press conference at 1pm PST, where Lombardi and Sutter will talk about what lies ahead for the Kings.

We’ll be on hand for all the festivities tomorrow, so be sure to follow along on twitter and/or facebook for live notes and quotes.

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

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Jack Johnson – ‘We have to do something different’

Lombardi – ‘Kopitar may be the new Blake Griffin’

In-depth interview with Bob Miller – great stories and insight about his time with the Kings

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

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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

Our new ‘What I’ve learned so far this season…’ series has already brought forth a myriad of mixed information.

Drew Doughty shared who was ‘one of the best passers I’ve seen’ (and it wasn’t Anze Kopitar), Kevin Westgarth may be man crushing on one of the new Kings forwards, Trent Hunter spoke about being mesmerized by somebody who can do amazing things with the puck, and Ethan Moreau let the world know which one of his teammates has been talking his ear off on the bus.

However, it was a comment by Westgarth – where he called captain Dustin Brown a nerd – that served as the backdrop for this article.

First though, here are some things Brown says he’s learned over the first month of the season…

About Willie Mitchell – “What have I learned new about Willie Mitchell? Not much. He talks so much it’s…(then Kopitar chipped in and reminded him of something) – he knows a lot of people. He has a lot of friends. Every city we go to, he has a friend, apparently.”

About Simon Gagne – “I learned that he and Joe Bernier are really good friends.”

About Jack Johnson – “I think he got a new car. I don’t really know. Some red car I think I’ve seen him driving around in.”

About Justin Williams – “With Stick, you get to know him pretty well. So, there’s nothing really new to learn about him.”

[note: unknowingly, he just taught us something - now we know his nickname is Stick...that's new]

About Moreau – “I’ve played against him and known him off the ice for quite some time. But, one thing, and not in any specific way, it’s been fun to be around him off the ice. He’s a pretty funny guy.”

About Kyle Clifford – “Cliffy is the same ol’ Cliffy, pretty simple.”

About Jonathan Quick – “Other than he’s the new record holder, not much – that’s about it with him.”

About Rob Scuderi – “I can’t give you anything on him. I carpool with him and live right next to him. So, we know each other too well.”

In response to Westgarth calling him a nerd – “I’d say I’m more of a geek. He’s more of a nerd. He corrects you on your pronunciations all the time and proper grammar. It’s a whole Princeton thing, I guess. So, I think he’s more or a nerd. I might be a geek, but he’s a nerd, that’s for sure!”

Brown went on to confirm at least part of what Westgarth had said though when asked if he had learned anything new about Alec Martinez recently – “He’s a geek. He and I have computer talk all the time. So, he’s a geek like me.”

The hardest hitting geek you’ll ever meet, Kings captain Dustin Brown.

To read the other ‘What I’ve learned so far…’ articles, plese see the links below.

The Mayor

www.twitter.com/MayorNHL

www.facebook.com/MayorsManor

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

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

Dustin Brown adds a new name into the Penner vs. Greene feud

the photo above appears courtesy of Michael Zampelli

Granted, he didn’t take the team to the playoffs his first year behind the bench in Los Angeles.

However, in year two, Kings head coach Terry Murray guided the club to 101 points and they returned to the post-season for the first time in nearly a decade.

He backed that up with what may have been his finest coaching job in LA – as he had to calmly maintain order through two messy, extended losing streaks, where he easily could have lost the confidence of his team.  Instead, they made the playoffs for the second straight year.

Still, a small group of vocal detractors continue to point criticism his way. They don’t like his power play system (a fair complaint, considering the poor conversion last season). They question his goaltending rotation (really, it was more an issue the year before, when he all but refused to play back-up Erik Ersberg).

And the most common complaint is his apparent fascination with juggling lines. There probably wasn’t a post-game Kings Talk radio show last season when the subject wasn’t brought up at least once.

Part of the issue really hasn’t been his fault though. When you don’t have the necessary pieces to truly assemble two top lines, you’re left scrambling. It’s like a cat constantly chasing its tale. Or, better yet, like robbing Peter to pay Paul.

So, now that he has a legit top-six…and by the far the deepest Kings roster he’s ever had – on paper – will he be putting the blender away?

When talking to the coach about his new options, the obvious place to focus was on the addition of a pair of former Flyers. “Those are two really good adds to our team,” Murray started by saying. “Mike Richards is an outstanding hockey player. When you look at (Simon) Gagne being part of the team now, they’ve played together before. There was good chemistry, good results on both sides of the puck. So, I have a tendency when I’m writing down lines – which I have done already – to have those guys together on a line.”

Then came the comment that can be used for some fun debate over the next six weeks until camp opens – “I do have a tendency to go with two players on a line and kind of fit it in from there and see how it falls in place.”

Which he went on to explain, is how he’s setting up the top two lines – “With (Dustin) Penner and (Anze) Kopitar (on the first line), Gagne and Richards (on the second line) – I’m kind of playing around with that in my mind and on paper right now.”

What about the captain, Dustin Brown? He started last season on the top line with Kopitar. Where is Murray thinking of playing him next season? “I’ve gone through that process. I’ve moved it around to different looks. Justin Williams is in there too. I have Williams with Kopitar sometimes.”

Nothing is set in stone quite yet though. “Again, getting some thoughts down on paper right now is all that I’m doing,” explained Murray. “Just getting myself ready for what I want to do as training camp approaches. We’ll just play it out. I’ll have some conversations with players by phone over the rest of the summer and see how they’re feeling.”

Like with most conversations you have with Murray, he found a way to get it back to one of his favorite topics, defense. “I go back to Richards and Gagne in Philadelphia. They had some good things going. They were players who played together on the penalty kill and they were dynamic on penalty kills.”

Moving down to the third and fourth lines, Murray admitted the picture isn’t quite as clear yet – especially considering the Kings have an abundance of centers.

First up, Trevor Lewis – “I think he’s a better center iceman than he is a winger.”

Which is the same thing he said about Andrei Loktionov last season, after the failed experiment to move him to the wing. Comments he was quick to repeat again, “Yeah, Loktionov is a better center iceman than left winger. And that’s his natural position. To me, that’s where he wants to play.”

Well, with Jarret Stoll as the assumed third-line center, that gives you five centers coach.

“Yeah. It’s a good thing,” quipped Murray.

When the coach says he has you penciled in, he means it – literally.

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

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Back on April 18, concerning the future direction of the Hawks I wrote….

Blackhawk management will first have to decide what style of game they want to play going forward. In my view the NHL is moving toward fewer penalties for interference as well as other infractions. That doesn’t help a non-physical, puck possession team.

So adding experienced players who are not as fast but more physical isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Although at this point the roster isn’t close to being set and the degree of adjustment concerning style of play is still unknown.

There are a couple of things which we can be sure about.

When Brian Campbell finally said uncle and approved his trade to the land of sunshine and bloated contracts, the Blackhawks would have to adjust. Campbell’s impact on a game really can’t be measured by points alone.

His skating ability, vision and passing helped the offense to flow. Many times Campbell started a play which led to a goal but couldn’t get credited with an assist. He also turned plays which helped the Hawks transition from defense to offense quickly.

The other issue created from Campbell’s departure is how playing time will be distributed among Hawk defensemen. Campbell played a lot of minutes and they won’t be easy to replace. It’s too early to tell what is possible but my plan would be as follows.

One way or the other the ice time for Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook has to stay below 25 minutes in many games.

Maybe Niklas Hjalmarsson and Nick Leddy log about 20 minutes a night while the third pairing gets around 15 minutes of ice time. Whomever the third pairing is they need to contribute so the top four can be effective late in the season and in the playoffs. Lastly Keith and Seabrook need some help on the penalty kill, the hard minutes take a toll.

There is an unclear picture because the unsigned Chris Campoli might not be back. Filtering through the ambiguity and flip flopping of general manager speak the Hawks did address a specific need.

For those who were concerned about the Blackhawks lacking veteran leadership, Stan Bowman has dealt with your concern.

The additions of Andrew Brunette, Jamal Mayers and Sean O’Donnell will fill that void. Those players know what it takes to prepare for battle and they haven’t been known to take nights off. Brett McLean has experience too but he may start the season in Rockford.

Brunette is a smart veteran and former captain who should be able to chip in with some offense. The Hawks needed a player to provide net presence and Brunette could pick up a few goals by standing his ground in the slot area.

Mayers is a sly pro who can play rough by not stupid. He had a good season last year with San Jose and can contribute when called upon. It remains to be seen how many games Mayers will play. But when given the opportunity he will know his role and should be an effective fourth line player.

O’Donnell will give young Leddy an experienced mentor. He can still play at the age of 39, soon to be 40, and isn’t afraid to drop the gloves. O’Donnell has been involved in 12 fights the past two seasons, eight more than Brent Seabrook. O’Donnell fights the big boys when called upon and most often wins. He provides stability on the blueline and doesn’t take any crap.

The Hawks also added Dan Carcillo to the mix, but I’m not sure why. While with the Phoenix Coyotes, Carcillo was an impressive agitator who could play some hockey. Unfortunately over the years Carcillo has not grown wiser.

Maybe under Joel Quenneville’s tutelage Carcillo will understand the bigger picture. Up until now Carcillo’s focus has been shaky.

About three few years ago I had a conversation with a Hawk tough guy who knew Carcillo. The impression he shared was Carcillo is a good guy but “crazy”. He said you never could be sure what Carcillo would do on the ice.

If Carcillo can play with an edge but not be stupid he could be used as a good example for Kyle Beach. If Carcillo stays as scattered and selfish then there is a bad example for Beach to learn from. Beach should realize he will never be a consistent NHL perfomer by not playing with discipline.

When the season ended Bowman commented on some players.

A few months ago it seemed like Ben Smith and Marcus Kruger had likely roster spots come this fall. Now with the new additions, Smith and Kruger could begin the season in Rockford which wouldn’t be terrible. In any event training camp should be interesting.

Two other Hawks which were talked about as if they would be in Chicago for years were Campoli and Michael Frolik and both are still unsigned. Hockey logic tells me Frolik has little bargaining power so his chances of remaining a Blackhawk are better than Campoli.

With all the bloated contracts signed recently, Bowman may not be comfortable with Campoli going to arbitration. Campoli filed for arbitration last year while with the Senators and his intentions for this summer will be known later today.

****Reported after the blog was posted….
Campoli has filed for salary arbitration.

There was one perquisite for Bowman in regards to acquiring players on July 1.

Every new Blackhawk was signed for only one season and that was by design.

Al’s Shots

I shared the likelihood of Dany Heatley being dealt on June 24, but there aren’t any reliable whispers on the Blackhawk front except about Ice Hog head coach Bill Peters.

From what I have heard Peters and only a couple of others are on Mike Babcock’s list to become assistant coaches in Detroit. Babcock has two openings and it has been mentioned he will likely announce his decision this week.

If Peters leaves for Detroit the Hawks will have to make a good choice for his replacement.

I can’t remember a time when the Hawks have had more highly rated prospects in their system. The importance of a good teacher in Rockford can’t be discounted.

Although there aren’t any solid trade rumors I can provide some speculation.

I get a strong feeling that somewhere now John Scott is being coached up to enhance his playing skills. Maybe Scott can become something he hasn’t been or possibly the Hawks are beginning to go into a different direction.

Maybe the reports on Scott aren’t promising. That could be why Mayers and Carcillo were both signed. If Campoli is resigned, including Scott the Hawks would have eight defenders.

If Steve Montador is the replacement for Campoli and Brent Sopel isn’t brought back the Hawks would have seven defenseman including Scott.

But Jordan Hendry has been the forgotten man and maybe Bowman has a Sopel contract already in his desk drawer.

O’Donnell played in 81 NHL games last season….He isn’t going to get shuffled to the AHL.

The point is the Hawk blue line could be overcrowded….Maybe Scott will be entertaining fans in Rockford rather than Chicago??

The Rangers haven’t made a big reactionary trade as a result of acquiring Brad Richards.

Richards signed for a lower cap hit than I thought, which could mean there is little chance of acquiring a good center in Brandon Dubinsky….But I won’t give up yet.

The Sabres have a couple of centers who may have to be moved….Paul Gaustad and Derick Roy. Buffalo is bumping the salary cap ceiling.

A player who I would like more if he was bigger is Oiler center, Sam Gagne.

The Hawks have added some size so bringing Gagne to Chicago to team up with old buddy Pat Kane might be a possiblity.

Gagne centered for Kane in London and those two would be fun to watch….As long as they wouldn’t be defensive liabilities.

Frolik has been the subject of some trade rumors….But the Hawks aren’t backed into a corner with him.

Frolik isn’t arbitration eligible but he is aware of all the fat contracts being given out around the league.

The Campoli and Frolik negotiations are probably sticky and might stay that way for awhile.

Maybe Bowman gets tired of the drama and…

Packages the rights to Frolik and Campoli to acquire a center??

Let’s not forget Viktor Stalberg….He hasn’t been chatted up by the Hawk front office.

Stalberg could be another candidate to be included in a trade package.

Stalberg has potential and might worth hanging onto for the right price.

I would feel much more optimistic about the new season if the Hawks can ice three scoring lines.

Acquiring another goal scorer could be the ticket….

The Hawks offense may not be as potent without Campbell and to a lesser extent Brouwer.

Simon Gagne, Steven Stamkos and Pavel Kubina each scored a pair of goals helping Tampa Bay stave off elimination with a convincing 8-2 win over the Penguins, sending their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series back to Florida for a sixth game Monday night at 7 pm EDT.  It was the largest margin of victory in Lightning playoff history while Pittsburgh set a dubious mark in defeat.  The stunning loss was the worst home playoff loss in franchise history, eclipsing a 7-2 drubbing to Washington in 1992 and an 8-3 result against Boston in 1980, both played at Civic Arena.  This was also the first time the Pens gave up 8 goals in a playoff game since an 8-1 defeat on Long Island in the opening game of the 1982 post-season.

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This afternoon, the Lightning went back to the formula that gave them success the last time they played in Consol Energy Center eight days ago, striking quickly early and burying their power play chances to take the fight out of the Penguins and the life out of the crowd.  Pittsburgh came out flying, looking like the more desperate club, hitting everyone in sight and established their game plan of aggressive checking, maximizing offensive zone time and getting pucks to the net.  In the first 17 minutes of the game, the Penguins recorded 22 netward shots (11 on goal) versus only 7 for Tampa Bay (4 on goal).  Defenceman Brooks Orpik even hit a post with a point shot but the game remained scoreless.

Tampa Bay forward Teddy Purcell rang a shot that caromed off one post and hit the other before the veteran Gagne tapped the rebound into the open net at 16:57 for the first goal of the game.  Forty-six seconds later, Stamkos scored his first career post-season goal when he simply outsmarted Pens’ defence pair Paul Martin and Zbynek Michalek for a loose puck.  After Steve Downie put a shot on net, a rebound trickled to the right of Pittsburgh goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and Stamkos put himself between the two Pittsburgh blueliners and the puck before whipping a backhand shot into the goal for an abrupt 2-0 lead.

From there, Tampa Bay seized every opportunity while the Pens descended into a quagmire of futility.  The Lightning’s next two goals came off sequences that are growing increasingly familiar as this series progresses: Pittsburgh failed to convert a power play chance and Tampa Bay came back moments later by directing the puck on net and burying rebounds.

Less than half a minute after a Pens’ power play ended, Stamkos moved the puck into the near corner in the Pittsburgh zone.  Inexplicably, three Penguins went to the corner to cover Stamkos and Martin St. Louis and Pittsburgh left wing Chris Kunitz was headed that way when Stamkos passed the puck to the front of the net where Vincent Lecavalier one-timed it into the goal.  When Pittsburgh failed to get back in the game on a third man-advantage situation a few minutes later, Tampa Bay began the rout when they made it 4-0 at 5:31 of the second period, sixteen seconds after the penalty expired.  Gagne banged in his second of the game when he went hard to the net and put home the rebound of a Mike Lundin point shot past a sprawling Fleury.

Pittsburgh backup netminder Brent Johnson entered the game but fared no better.  It did not help that the first shots he faced were on a Tampa Bay power play and Stamkos scored his second of the game eight seconds into a Mike Rupp boarding minor.  In fact, all four goals that Johnson allowed were on Tampa Bay power plays and the Lightning were 4 for 7 on the man-advantage, bumping their series total to a whopping 8 for 22 (36.4%), tops among all playoff teams.  They are overwhelmingly winning the special-teams battle, utterly laying waste to the Pittsburgh penalty-kill, best in the regular season but clearly missing one of its key members, the suspended Matt Cooke.  Pittsburgh fell to 1 for 25 on the power play, second-worst in the NHL.

“I think after they got a couple of goals, we started coming unravelled a little bit,” said Mike Rupp who scored one of the two Pittsburgh goals.  “There were a couple stretches in the second period where we weren’t focussed.”

Focus.  Composure.  Discipline.  These were items the Penguins identified as culprits in their Game 2 loss last week and they subsequently made necessary adjustments when they captured both road games in Tampa Bay.  Today, it was troubling to see Kris Letang take needless and undisciplined cross-checking and boarding penalties in the game simply out of frustration.  Unsurprisingly, the Penguins heightened their physical play in the third period and Orpik tussled with Downie at the Pens’ net near the end of the game earning both players an early exit.  Yet it was clearly a game’s worth of frustration pouring out and not physical play within the structure of the team’s system.

Playing composed, smart, responsible “road” hockey on Monday night will be imperative if the Penguins wish to avoid the spectre of the randomness that accompanies Game Sevens.  History, as meaningless as it sometimes can be in sports, is on the Pens’ side: they have clinched their last five playoff series with a win on the road.

Full credit to the Tampa Bay Lightning for making the most of their opportunities.  As advertised, when opponents head to the penalty box, the Bolts tend to capitalize by using power plays as a vehicle to success.  They did so last evening, converting 2 of 6 man advantage situations en route to a 5-1 victory in Pittsburgh to even their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series at one game apiece.  Game 3 will be played Monday night at St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa.

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In the pressure-packed crucible of the playoffs and with the prospect of a 0-2 deficit staring them in the face, it was appropriate that the three Lightning players who principally led the charge for Tampa Bay were a trio who have been victorious in previous pressure-packed battles.  Martin St. Louis, a member of the 2004 Stanley Cup-winning Lightning and Canadian Olympic gold medallists Simon Gagne and Eric Brewer were instrumental in helping Tampa Bay earn its first playoff win since a 3-2 victory over New Jersey on April 16, 2007, almost exactly four years ago.

Brewer logged a team-high 24:53 of ice time while matching Gagne with 3 points and St. Louis scored a back-breaking power play goal with 14 seconds left in the second period to deflate the Penguins heading into second intermission.  Despite another barrage of Pittsburgh shots, 36 on the night, 14 in each of the final two periods, Dwayne Roloson played solidly in the Tampa Bay net while his mates efficiently built their lead over the Pens on just 21 shots.

Gagne and Brewer teamed up for the game-opening goal at 2:02 of the first period during 4-on-4 play when Jordan Staal and Pascal Dupuis were occupied with hitting Tampa Bay defenceman Victor Hedman behind the Lightning net.  As the puck rolled along the near boards, Pens’ blueliner Kris Letang needlessly pinched in and Gagne sent a quick outlet pass to a streaking Brewer on a 2-on-1 break.  The veteran defenceman carried the puck all the way to the Pittsburgh zone before unleashing a hard, accurate wrist shot over the glove of Marc-Andre Fleury from the top of the right circle.

Less than five minutes later, Brewer worked the left point and kept the puck in to sustain pressure on the Pens during a power play.  St. Louis found Gagne along the goal line with a pass and the ex-Flyer sent the puck toward the net where Vincent Lecavalier was waiting with his stick on the ice to redirect it underneath Fleury.  That was Lecavalier’s 19th career playoff goal, moving him into sole possession of second place on the Tampa Bay lifetime playoff goal scoring list, ahead of Brad Richards.

More subtle miscues by Pittsburgh led to the Lightning’s third goal late in the first period but again, give Tampa Bay full marks for seizing opposition mistakes and converting them into goals.  From behind his own net, Brewer sent the puck around the far boards where Pittsburgh left wing Chris Kunitz was unable to use either his stick or body to keep the puck in the Tampa Bay zone.  Instead, it sailed into neutral ice where Lightning forward Steve Downie corralled it along the right wing boards and skated full speed ahead.  He faked to his left just enough to cause Pens’ defenceman Paul Martin to lose a step and Downie was able to find an opening in the offensive zone to fire a low shot off the right pad of Fleury.  The rebound went right to Nate Thompson who tapped the puck into the vacant net.

After Brooks Orpik went to the box for cross-checking Dominic Moore, the Lightning used two quick passes then put the puck on net to score their second power play goal.  Lecavalier won the draw and St. Louis swept the loose puck back to Brewer at the right point.  As St. Louis rolled toward the goal line, Brewer passed to Gagne stationed on the half-wall who quickly dished off to St. Louis.  The diminutive winger then fired a shot from a bad angle that deflected off the stick of a diving Martin past Fleury to make it 4-1 at the end of a period where the Penguins seemingly regained some momentum.

Craig Adams scored a fluky goal at 9:08 of the middle frame beginning a sequence where Pittsburgh recorded seven of the next eight shots on goal plus a Mark Letestu backhander that hit the post minutes after Adams scored.  Pittsburgh was starting to “get to its game”, in the oft-repeated words of head coach Dan Bylsma, keeping the puck in the offensive zone for sustained stretches, but came up empty in its quest to cut the lead down to one.

In the end, the season-long lament over power play weakness continued as the Penguins failed on seven chances, making them 0 for 13 over Games 1 and 2.  Bylsma stated the obvious after the game when he noted that his club took too many penalties, seven in total.  He went on to say that the Penguins were not disciplined and lost their composure and did not manage their focus throughout the game.  Pittsburgh had better rediscover these essential qualities quickly or risk falling behind in the series against a Lightning club that gained some confidence and showed the potential of its quick-strike offence last night.

First off, I must admit I was wrong in my opinion Simon Gagne wouldn’t accept a trade to the Tampa Bay Lightning. It’s still a surprising move but I’m guessing part of the reason he agreed to join the Lightning was former Team Canada teammate Steve Yzerman is now their general manager. Gagne has lots of respect for Yzerman and that could’ve been a factor in his decision.

So, out of 26 columns for Hockey Independent breaking down and usually dismissing wild trade rumors, I got one wong. Oh, well, nobody’s perfect, but that’s still a damn good average.

Now, on to today’s fun.

The Bleacher Report recently published a list of 25 players who could still be dealt this off-season.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/420233-26-nhlers-who-could-still-be-dealt-this-off-season#page/1

The list contained the names of some familiar trade bait, like Boston’s Marc Savard, Tim Thomas, Michael Ryder, Chicago’s Patrick Sharp and Brian Campbell, Buffalo’s Tim Connolly, Columbus’ Nikita Filatov, St. Louis’ Eric Brewer, Toronto’s Tomas Kaberle, Vancouver’s Kevin Bieksa, Edmonton’s Sheldon Souray, and of course the aforementioned Gagne.

While I could offer up some disagreements over the possibility of some of those players being dealt nevertheless their names have reportedly been brought up in rumored trade talks, so I certainly won’t dismiss them.

The article also mentioned the names of Calgary’s Jarome Iginla, Florida’s Tomas Vokoun, Anaheim’s Bobby Ryan, Washington’s Michael Nylander, correctly claiming there was no likelihood they would be dealt.

It also suggested the prospects of a trade were low for Florida’s Stephen Weiss, the NY Rangers Wade Redden, Toronto’s Jeff Finger, Carolina’s Sergei Samsonov, whilst Chicago’s Cristobal Huet and Minnesota’s Josh Harding were considered “medium-low”.

I do however disagree with the suggestion LA Kings’ winger Wayne Simmonds has a high likelihood of being dealt. If the Kings weren’t willing to include Simmonds as part of the package for Ilya Kovalchuk last season, I don’t see them using him as bait for a lesser player.

The report also suggested Minnesota’s Brent Burns’ likelihood for a trade as “medium”. While correctly acknowledging their signing of Mark Cullen alleviates some of their need for offensive depth it’s well known Wild GM Chuck Fletcher doesn’t want to part with Burns. Given the number of affordable scoring forwards available in this summer’s UFA market Fletcher could further bolster his offense without parting with Burns.

Finally, they consider Ottawa’s Jason Spezza’s trade prospects as “medium-low”.  Given GM Bryan Murray’s comments following July 1^st that he wasn’t moving Spezza, hadn’t found any interest in the trade market for the center plus Spezza’s “no-trade” clause having now kicked in, the possibility of a Spezza trade is non-existent this summer.

Lyle Richardson
SpectorsHockey.net
twitter.com/spectorshockey

The Philadelphia Flyers currently sit nearly $2.5 million over the NHL’s salary cap ceiling of $59.4 million, fuelling expectations they’ll soon ship out winger Simon Gagne in a salary dumping trade.

Amongst the teams suggested as a potential destination are the Tampa Bay Lightning, as St. Petersburg Times hockey columnist Damian Cristodero suggested in a recent column.

Would it make sense for the Lightning to pursue Gagne?

Today I’ll leave that up to fellow Hockey Independent blogger and resident Lightning expert Jon Jordan to explain why it shouldn’t, courtesy of his recent Twitter posts (used with permission):

“My beef with potential Lightning interest in Gagne: Isn’t a VERY
injury-prone guy who costs $5M more a short-term fit for a Cup contender?

As much as you/we/they might like to think otherwise, the Lightning aren’t
near that status presently.

And acquiring Gagne, who surely would be a one-year only fit here, goes
against the “methodical” approach that’s been preached since day one.

Further, love how Philly’s now described as “desperate to create cap space”.
Maybe you shouldn’t have traded for Andrej f’ing Meszaros then?

Cause $4M til 2014 for an underachieving dman (and that’s as nice a
description as I can make) is just a FINE move for a cap-troubled squad!

Not that a healthy Gagne wouldn’t be aces alongside Lecavalier. Maybe it
does make sense. But picking him up WOULD indicate changed approach.

(Re: the possibility of Gagne being for more than just a year) It would
exist yes. But then someone else – Malone again? – has to become expendable.
Trying to create long-term flexibility here

(Re: Gagne a risk worth taking) Depending on return, maybe. Who knows what
Philly’s asking? Trade a 1st for him? Could be that. $5M even for a yr is a
risk. This team shouldn’t just be throwing around $5M. Sends the wrong
message after preaching “methodical”. If trade price is right, give it a
whirl. But by no means is this a go get this guy now situation, as some have
said.

(Re: Tampa being close to a Cup contender) Sorry but if he or anyone thinks
this team can compete for a Cup NOW, they’re nuts. Let’s try not finishing
bottom-5 first”.

My two cents: I agree with everything Jon said. If this team is supposed to be rebuilding, bringing in a 30-year-old scoring winger with a notable injury history for one season with a cap hit of $5.25 million just doesn’t fit into that game plan.

Besides, Gagne after a ten-year NHL career finally played in the Stanley Cup Final this past spring, and I daresay he won’t waive his “no-trade” clause for a rebuilding team like the Lightning but rather one that has a good shot at winning the Cup next year.

Lyle Richardson
SpectorsHockey.net
twitter.com/spectorshockey

The Ilya Kovalchuk sweepstakes certainly got interesting this past weekend, with the NY Islanders jumping into the bidding and the Los Angeles Kings deciding to drop out.

It also led some busybodies in the Russian paper Life Sports suggesting the reason the Philadelphia Flyers were trying to trade winger Simon Gagne and his $5.25 million salary for next season was to clear up room for a pitch of their own to Kovalchuk.

That rumor was tied to Kovalchuk’s Russian agent Yury Nikolaev,who told Northjersey.com’s Tom Gulitti there was no truth to the story, adding he doesn’t get involved in negotiating contracts for his client with NHL teams.

Regardless, the premise for this rumor was absurd.

As has been widely reported the Flyers are believed trying to move Gagne in order to free up cap space both to re-sign restricted free agents Dan Carcillo and Darroll Powe plus to land an experienced starting goaltender via free agency.

The last thing, the very last thing, the Flyers – a team loaded with offensive punch – wants or needs is another scoring winger, especially one who’ll command over $8 million per season on a long-term contract.

Those who run “Life Sports” should stick to covering Russian hockey rather than engaging in wild, ridiculous and absurd speculations about Russian NHL free agents.

.

Lyle Richardson
SpectorsHockey.net
twitter.com/spectorshockey

Heading into the July 4^th long weekend the rumor mill came alive with reports the Philadelphia Flyers were shopping Simon Gagne and the NY Islanders had jumped into the bidding for UFA superstar Ilya Kovalchuk.

I was admittedly gobsmacked by both reports but I’ll leave the Islanders bid for Kovalchuk in the good hands of B.D. Gallof and focus today instead upon the Gagne rumor.

Thanks to the Flyers seemingly constant bumping against the league’s cap ceiling the past couple of years Gagne’s name has frequently popped up in the rumor mill, but his “no-trade” clause always squashed such speculation…until now.

This time, it’s for real. The Flyers approached Gagne about waiving his clause and he agreed to do so.

It’s not as though GM Paul Holmgren really wanted to do this. Gagne bleeds Flyer orange and is a fan favorite but Holmgren needs to free up cap space to re-sign restricted free agents Dan Carcillo and Darroll Powe plus – most importantly – land an experienced starting goalie , with Marty Turco or Evengi Nabokov considered the likely candidates.

Besides, Gagne is in the final season of his current contract, will turn 31 next January and in recent years has been hampered by injury. I think Holmgren might’ve gently raised those points with Gagne when he asked the latter to waive his clause.

In other words, they probably won’t re-sign Gagne after next season and if Holmgren can find another possible Cup contender interested in the veteran winger, Gagne might be willing to accept a trade.

The Los Angeles Kings are rumored as a possible destination for Gagne as the Kings have made no secret of their desire to land a veteran scoring forward.  With the Kings possibly out of the running for Kovalchuk they might find Gagne an affordable short-term option.

For now we’ll just have to wait and see as there probably won’t be anything going on during the current holiday weekend, but whether Gagne goes to the Kings or not it appears he has played his final game with the Flyers.

Lyle Richardson
SpectorsHockey.net
twitter.com/spectorshockey

Flyers beat writer Frank Seravalli, of the Philadelphia Daily News, reports that Brian Boucher is optimistic about being ready to serve as the back-up goalie in game one of the Stanley Cup finals on Saturday night in Chicago.

Boucher was crunched under Flyer defenseman Ryan Parent after making a save in game five of the East semifinals and reportedly suffered MCL sprains to both knees. Flyers GM Paul Holmgren said a day later that Boucher’s season was likely over.

Boucher's injury re-opened the door for Michael Leighton to make history in the ECF against the Habs

However, with all the miraculous returns from injuries the Flyers have seen this postseason, is anyone really surprised that Boucher is returning?

Recap? Sure.

Jeff Carter suffered a broken foot, similar to the injury suffered by former Flyers Rod Brind’Amour-that cost Rod the Bod half a season-and returned for the final two games of the regular season.

Game four of the opening round against the Devils, both Carter and Simon Gagne take pucks off their feet. Gagne blocked a Devils’ shot and immediately went up the tunnel. Carter took a shot from Chis Pronger off his good foot, and buried it for his second goal of that game.

Gagne was immediately expected to miss three weeks with his injury, while Carter’s was dismissed following the game-despite a noticeable limp.

Jeff Carter staged a Lazarus like comeback

The next day, Carter was announced as probably having to be on crutches for six weeks. It could have been an absolutely devastating blow, losing two forwards out of your top six 4 games into the playoffs.

The Flyers didn’t seem to bat an eye. Ian Laperriere came with in a few centimeters of losing one, though.

The veteran winger, who had already lost 7 teeth and took over 100 stitches from a puck to the face in the regular season, blocked a shot with his right eyebrow in the series clenching game five win.

Laperriere expected to be ready for the second round, but during the 9 day layoff between rounds, it was discovered that Lappy had a mild concussion and a brain contusion. Again, the term season ending was tossed around. It was even said that Laperriere wouldn’t even be able to get a definitive answer on next year until a month had passed and a new MRI could be done.

Seems like the Hockey Gods were piling on a bit, huh?

The Flyers replaced their missing offensive stars and their heart and guts with AHLers Andreas Nodl, David Laliberte and Jared Ross. The played gamely against the Boston Bruins for the first three games, but dropped all three.

Gagne returned for game four, which was a full week ahead of his timetable. Anyhow, most epic comeback in sports history, yada, yada, yada, making history, yada, yada, yada…led to the Eastern Conference Finals against the other team of destiny, the Montreal Canadiens.

The first two games were won by the Flyers in convincing fashion, as reports leaked that Carter AND Laperriere might return to action sooner than anticipated…like maybe game 3…but, neither did.

The Flyers came out, played flat and got their asses kicked. It inspired Flyers captain Mike Richards to call out his teammates for the first time I can recall. It also ended talk about rolling the dice on team chemistry. It was widely reported that Laperriere was a go for game 4, and Carter likely for game 5.

Lappy, before he vowed to wear a visor for the rest of his career

Well, the Habs not only had to face an angry Flyers team, they had to deal with the returns of BOTH Carter and Laperriere.

The Flyers played stifling defense in front of Leighton, who became the first Flyers goalie to record 3 shutouts in a playoff series, and won game four 3-0 to take a 3-1 series lead.

Of course, the Habs had come back from being down 3-1 before. In fact they scored just 59 seconds into game five. But Richards went out and carried his team to a 4-2 win and a berth in the finals. Carter scored a pair of goals, including the icing on the cake into an empty net with 30 seconds left.

After Leighton’s performance against Montreal, it’s unlikely that Boucher would unseat him at any point of the finals, unless there came a point of complete desperation or injury. But Boucher’s simple desire and hard work to return speaks volumes, not only about Boosh, but about the entire team and how they overcame injuries, a reportedly dysfunctional dressing room, off ice issues and a coaching change that saw many players lose the only coach they had had as professionals.

They have become a hard working, opportunistic team that will not back down, will not quit and have full belief in their ability to bring home the prize. For fans, it was hard to love this team at times this year…now it’s impossible not to love them.

Sign Man, Dave Leonardi, captures the spirit of the thing, as usual

In the battles of the Cinderellas, the Flyers opened with a dominating 6-0 victory. They had six different players score goals, and 5 players had a goal and an assist. Michael Leighton turned aside 28 shots and presumptive Conn Smythe favorite Jaroslav Halak was chased after a 3 goal explosion in the second period.

Both of these guys scored in the game one romp

The first period saw an early goal scored by the Flyers Braydon Cobrun, who steamed in from the point to bang a rebound past Halak. The play was created by Ville Leino, who basically deked the Montreal defense out of it’s collective jock before sending the puck to the net.

The Canadiens showed some spunk after the goal, however. They had several good chances and actually outshot the Flyers for the period. But Leighton was very sharp-twice he casually batted aside redirections with his blocker as if they were flies looking to alight into his banana split. Leighton downplayed his excellent work

“They had a couple good chances in the first period,” Leighton said. “I was seeing a lot of the pucks. They don’t have a big presence like Boston did in front of the net, so I was looking over some of their guys and getting to see the pucks, and we were blocking shots.

“I just had to make the saves I should make in the first, and we kind of took over from there.”

Danny Briere disagreed “I didn’t think we were very happy with our first period,” Briere said. “Michael Leighton played really well. We were able to come back from the first period with the lead mostly because of him.”

Leighton has been dominant for the Flyers. Tossing out the first period of game seven vs Boston, he's stopped 83 of 84 shots

“There was a letdown,” said coach Peter Laviolette, ever the perfectionist. “The scoreboard didn’t show it, but the first period was not good …. We’re certainly glad to get the win, but there’s a lot of room for improvement.” The coach was hardly the only one critical of the first period effort.

“I don’t think we played very well in the first period and the message was there from the coach when we came back in the room,”  Giroux said. “In the second period, I think we just kept it simple and started working the way we did against Boston. Any time we keep it simple and work hard, things happen for us.”

“I don’t think they were even close to being at their best,” Philadelphia’s Blair Betts said. “That being said, I don’t think we were at our best, either. We were pretty opportunistic with our chances.” So it’s telling that the Flyers realize that the first game is not indicative of what this series is likely to become. Halak has followed being pulled with strong performances twice, so to expect another rout could be an easy path to losing home ice in game two on Tuesday.

Mike Richards agreed with Betts’ statement on the Flyers being opportunistic. “I thought we had confidence,”  Richards said. “We just came out slow. As the game went on, I thought we got better. We were very opportunistic.”

No matter what happens, one thing is sure. The Flyers won’t have to repeat history to make it to the finals.

The Flyers are old hats now when facing the end of their season. This goes back all the way to April 11th, when the Flyers and Rangers locked horns in the regular season finale for both clubs. The winner of that game made the playoffs. The loser hit the golf course. The resulting shootout was filled with tension, fear anger and ultimately for the Flyers, celebration.

Boucher did dance better than Kate Gosselin...of course so did Stephen Hawking

Sure, Brian Boucher’s reaction to stoning Olli Jokinen in the shootout looked as awkward as McLovin at a strip club-but it was a joyous time.

The Flyers managed a miraculous 5 game series win over the Devils…miraculous, because it seemed to be the first time this season that the Flyers didn’t need the heat of elimination to come out and play their game for sixty minutes and dominate an opponent.

Of course, the Devils spent most of the year being smacked around by the Flyers. It felt weird seeing the Flyers dominate the Devils, sort of like seeing people call Keanu Reeves a good actor.

But, I digress.

The Flyers, the last team to clinch a playoff berth in the entire NHL were the very first team to clinch a berth in the second round. Still didn’t reek of a team about to make history, or a team of destiny or really anything, except a team that exposed a thin New Jersey defense and inspired a parody commercial that showed Martin Brodeur letting a beach ball get past him…and then called the NHL’s all time win leader “Fatso”.

For awhile, it seemed as if the Flyers win against the Devils would simply set up a series against the President’s Trophy winning, high scoring, Russian loaded,  loud bandwagoning, Fat head owner blogging, overexposed coach having Washington Capitals. But the tenacious Montreal Canadiens ending that notion, coming back from a 3-1 defecit to knock out the Caps in 7.

The Caveman was wrong...Green isn't a great defenseman..we know that

Maybe had Alexander “Jizz” Semin scored a goal, or fraudulent Norris finalist Mike Green done, well, anything, it’d be a different story.

Something happened then…the Giant slaying, shot blocking, riot causing Canadiens became the big NHL story. Jaroslav Halak was mentioned in the same sentence as Ken Dryden and Patrick Roy…except now it was not the following sentence: “Jaroslav Halak is nowhere near as good as Dryden or Roy.”

The Habs war with the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins was all the hockey world seemed to care about. Nobody really noticed that the banged up Flyers, who lost forwards Jeff Carter, Simon Gagne and Ian Laperriere in the first round, were getting edged by a tough and opportunistic Bruins squad. In fact, the only time it seemed the Boston-Philly series was mentioned at all was in drooling anticipation of an original six showdown for the right to battle the Western Conference champions in an epic Stanley Cup Finals.

Gagne returned for game 4. The Wachovia Center partisans were nervous, hoping for just one win, to avoid the sweep. The knew that their banged up, short handed squad would need to give their supreme effort to avoid the ignomy of being the first team bumped from the second round. It seemed even a good aggressive play like captain Mike Richards nailing shifty Bruins pivot David Krejci with a clean but vicious check burned the Flyers-as Miro Satan scored seconds after Richards nailed Krejci.

Passion and grammar are long time enemies

Gagne, often criticized by idiots like me for playing soft after returning from injury, redirected a puck past Tuukka Rask 4 minutes and change into overtime and set off an explosion. The Flyers seemed to steal the 2008 Phillies mantra of “Why Can’t Us?”

The Flyers used the momentum to beat the Bruins 4-0 in Boston. The game was remarkable for a few reasons. For one, it was the Flyers first playoff win in Boston since 1632. For another, it marked the first shared playoff shut out in 55 years.

That was because Ryan Parent, who has been the Bruins most valuable player through six games, decided to jump on top of Boucher. Unfortunately, Boosh was in an awkward spot and Parent’s weight caused the Flyers ‘keeper to suffer injuries to both knees.

Enter Michael Leighton, whose own ankle injury had reopened the door for Boucher. Leighton was activated just before game 5, which obviously sent a message to the Hockey Gods that it was time to punish Boucher for acting like a spaz after stopping Jokinen in the shootout…Hockey Gods don’t take kindly to shit like that.

Whoa Momma

Anyhow, Leighton turned in almost 4 and a half periods of shutout hockey, and we now stare history in the face. It sort of looks like Scarlett Johanssen. Man, if I weren’t married, I’d get a bunch of chloroform and…anyhow, back to Leighton and the Flyers.

Mike Richards’ devastating hit on Krejci, combined with the stirring return of Gagne-who notched a pair of goal in game 5 to go along with his OT winner in game 4-seem to have turned what looked like a Bruins rout into a suddenly compelling series.  The eyes of the hockey world now land in Boston, to view the spectacle of a game seven.

One one had, the Flyers, a beat up team starting their 15th string goalie, trying to become just the third team to rebound from a 3-0 hole to win a seven game series. On the other hand, the Bruins trying to bring us a rare Original Six conference finals match-up.

Simon Gagne got his wallet from the same store as Jules Winfield

Either way it goes, hockey fans have obviously pleased those picky Hockey Gods and have been rewarded with a third game seven in these 2010 playoffs, and one that might actually render those “History Will Be Made” Commercials truly relevant.

Yet another blown lead. This one was kind of a letdown as the Flyers really never stopped working.

They made enough errors and had enough bounces go the other way to kill them, though, after jumping to a 2-0 lead.

Stuff I noticed:

The pairing of Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn continued to have issues. A day after head coach John Stevens defended the duo, saying they had one of their better games against the Sharks, Timonen put up a -3 night. Coburn scored a goal, but also got caught trying for a hit on the second Washington goal.

The Flyers continue to get killed by Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. AO has 17 goals in 18 career games against the Flyers. Backstrom has 14 points in 10 games.

Scott Hartnell managed his second goal of the year, and Jeff Carter played a strong game. These two guys, with the absence of Simon Gagne, really need to get out of their ruts-both are doing good things, but both just seem snakebitten.

Speaking of Gagne, we should know tomorrow if he opts to have surgery on his injured right groin.

It’s just one of those bad losses that seems to happen when you’re not going well

You couldn’t ask for a better start to the new season then how the Caps have started.  With the exception of three third period goals by the Maple Leafs on Saturday, the Cap’s first two games have been nearly flawless efforts.  The Caps have scored 10 goals in their first two games, are perfect on the penalty kill, and have had solid goaltending from both Jose Theodore and Semyon Varlamov.  The Cap also boast the leagues top four overall scorers.  Yes, I know we are only two games into the season, but it is still something to point out.  Alex Ovechkin is expected to be at the top.  Backstrom and Semin too.  Brooks Laich?  Not so much.  Brooksy is once again showing why he is one of the most underrated two-way players in the NHL having already collected three goals and doing the dirty work on the PK as well.  The Caps PK is 8 for 8.  The Capitals coaching staff are really taking notice as well.  Despite 3 points by Ovechkin and Semin on Saturday night, Laich was awarded the hard hat given to the team’s most valuable player in the eyes of the coaching staff.  The hard hat is a replica construction hard hat awarded after each game to the player deemed the team’s most valuable in that particular game.  Brooks Laich’s hard work is paying off for him and catapulting him to the top of the team’s future captain list.

Now to the task facing the Caps tonight at Wachovia Center.  The Caps are entering one of their toughest stretch they will face all year.  Their next six games are against opponents who were in the playoffs last year including games against Western Conference powerhouses Detroit and San Jose.  Tonight they face the Flyers who have flown out out of the gate as well starting the season 2-0.  Most surprising is the resurgence of Ray Emery, who two years fell off the NHL map landing in Europe.  He’s back in the NHL and playing like he played when he took the Senators to the Cup finals.  Emery has allowed just one goal in his first two games and has a save percentage of .963 including a shutout.

Also added to the mix is arguably the best defenseman in the game, Chris Pronger.  Pronger was added to an already solid defensive core.  Pronger will bring the broadstreet bully mentality back to Philadelphia.  A big reason why Pronger was brought in was to stymie the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Alex Ovechkin as the Flyers will almost suredly have to cross those player’s paths if they wish to make a run at the Cup.  This will solidify them as a serious threat to win the east.  Add a healthy Simon Gagne and Daniel Briere, the best young captain in the league in Mike Richards, 40 goal man Jeff Carter, and rookie sensation James Van Riemsdyk, you have yourself a perennial contender.

Tonight also marks the return of Mike Knuble to Philadelphia.  It will be Knuble’s first game against his former mates since signing with the Caps over the offseason.  Knuble lead the team in preseason goals (yes, i know preseason means nothing), and chipped in a vintage Knuble goal in the Caps home opener Saturday night against the Leafs.  Facing your former team always adds little extra motivation to perform well so I expect Knuble to see power play time and maybe even a shift or two with Ovechkin and Backstrom.  However, Knuble seems to be clicking well with Brooks Laich and Brendan Morrison on the second line.

Everybody knows how relentless the Flyers faithful can be toward opposing players not to mention their own players.  Will Knuble get booed tonight?  Not at all out of the realm of possibility.

The key to a Caps victory tonight is to remained disciplined and solid play in the defensive zone.  The Flyers are absolutely loaded this year offensively and are a threat to score whether even strength, on the power play, and even short handed.  Flyers lead the league last year with 16 short handed goals.  So although, the Caps hope to shine on the power play, they can’t get cute and too creative.  Keep it simple and they should have success.

The Caps must  stay out of the box.  Even though they are batting a thousand on the PK, slipping behind due to power play goals will make a tough situation even tougher.  Facing the tough defensive corps of the Flyers will make scoring goals even more of premium.

If the Caps remained disciplined and play a physical defensive game they should win.

Communication Breakdown...It's always the same.

Communication Breakdown, it’s always the same…Having a nervous breakdown, could drive you insane
-Led Zeppelin(or some old obscure blues player that they stole it off of)

Listening to some of the comments following the Flyers 4-0 loss to the Leafs in London, Ontario, one could get the feeling that Flyers GM Paul Holmgren and head coach John Stevens may be having a communication breakdown of their own.

Stevens said after the game that he felt the team had put forth a better effort than they had against the Red Wings in their opener. He singled out a few guys for praise, including defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen, who looked pretty atrocious to me.

Holmgren took something different from the game. “I think (Toronto) outworked us to be quite honest with you and that’s somewhat disturbing from a Flyers’ standpoint,” Flyers’ General Manager Paul Holmgren told the Fan 590 in Toronto. ”Obviously (Toronto) has a lot of guys fighting for a spot and they had a lot of fight and spirit last night.”

This is hardly the first time we have seen dissimilar statements from coach and GM, especially in terms of effort and how the team looked. If the Flyers get off to a slow start, I wouldn’t be amazed to see Stevens be dismissed and see the Flyers turn to John Paddock or somebody outside the organization to provide a kick in the tail.

Gagne? Not Until Tuesday
Flyers winger Simon Gagne will likely not play in Saturday’s preseason game against the Toronto Maple Leafs as he rehabs a groin injury suffered during training camp for the Canadian Olympic team.

According to reports, Gagne has been feeling more comfortable with each passing day