Kukla's Korner

Sharks Battling For Home Ice

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

03/07/14 at 11:22 AM ET | Comments (0)

from Pierre LeBrun of ESPN,

Well, that was a fun game to watch. Talk about entertaining. The San Jose Sharks rallied from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3 (including an empty-netter) Thursday night in a battle of Cup contenders. It avenged a 5-1 loss in Pittsburgh earlier this season.

What struck me the most was how physical the Sharks were against the Penguins, Brent Burns and Raffi Torres in particular.

The win pushed the Sharks seven points above the hard-charging Kings, winners of six straight, with the California clubs seemingly destined to play each other in the first round of the playoffs.

Home ice is no small thing between those two, with the home team winning all seven games in their terrific second-round playoff series last spring. Mind you, the Sharks haven't given up trying to catch first-place Anaheim, either, with just five points separating them from the Ducks and to games remaining between the teams.

read on for notes from Burnside on the Canucks, Custance on the Avalanche and Strang on Caps/Bruins...

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NHL Short Notes

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

03/07/14 at 10:50 AM ET | Comments (0)

RED WINGS RETIRE LIDSTROM’S JERSEY
The Red Wings retired Nicklas Lidstrom’s No. 5 jersey prior to their game against the Avalanche. Lidstrom spent his entire 20-season NHL career in the Motor City, capturing the Stanley Cup four times, winning the Norris Trophy as the League’s best defenseman seven times and earning 10 selections as an NHL First Team All-Star. He never missed the playoffs during his career and in 2002 became the first European-born captain to win the Stanley Cup and first European-born player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as postseason MVP.

Click here to watch the ceremony.

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The Vancouver Canucks Are Fading Fast

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

03/07/14 at 09:40 AM ET | Comments (16)

from Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province,

They can’t score. And now they can’t defend or maintain discipline. What’s next?

Following a morning video session in which the Vancouver Canucks were shown 65 of the 150 goals they’ve managed to score this season to pump them up mentally, they couldn’t physically handle the speed and skill of the Dallas Stars in a listless 6-1 loss Thursday that bordered on a complete no-show.

No life. No emotion. And certainly no playoffs. With all those odd-man rushes, it had the smell of a coach- killer because it looked like the players had quit.

“I don’t believe that in that room,” said Canucks coach John Tortorella. “Are they fragile? Sure. I still think we have the people who can help us pull through this. Sure, it’s worrisome. We get pinned against the wall right away with two goals that are really just bad reads. We can’t get focused on the lack of scoring and not make simple reads. The only thing we push is to come to work every day to get better. That’s the only way or you can crawl into a fetal position and hope it goes away.”

continued

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Report- Alex Edler Was A Trade Target For The Boston Bruins

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

03/07/14 at 08:29 AM ET | Comments (0)

from Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe,

President Cam Neely told 98.5 The Sports Hub the Bruins had a deal in principle for a player with term remaining on his contract. That trade was shelved, Neely said, because another deal did not happen.

According to a team source, the Bruins’ trade fizzled because an expected transaction between Vancouver and Pittsburgh failed to take place.

The Penguins had been pursuing Ryan Kesler. According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the Penguins were offering Brandon Sutter, first- and third-round picks, and a defensive prospect.

Once the Canucks moved Kesler to Pittsburgh, they would have proceeded with their trade with the Bruins. The Bruins’ target could not be confirmed. But it’s likely they were targeting smooth-moving left-shot defenseman Alex Edler.

read on

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Video- Zack Kassian Has A Hearing Today For This Hit On Brenden Dillon

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

03/07/14 at 07:58 AM ET | Comments (1)

The NHL has announced Zack Kassian of the Vancouver Canucks will have a hearing today for this hit on Brenden Dillon of the Dallas Stars.  I do believe it is hearing via a phone call.

Kassian received 5 for boarding and a game, the Canucks lost 6-1.

via Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News,

On the Brendan Dillon injury (Lindy Ruff):

“I was relieved to get him back.  It was definitely a shot from behind.  Those are tough hits and the best retribution is make the other team play on the power play.  He didn’t come from a long way but Dillon was in a bad position when he got hit.”

Filed in: NHL Teams, Dallas Stars, Vancouver Canucks, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: zack+kassian

Red Wings-Avs quick take: a ‘learning experience’ is generally not a pleasant title for a game

Blog: The Malik Report By George Malik

03/06/14 at 11:16 PM ET | Comments (42)

Update: FSD: 7 AM and 6 PM EST Friday = 1-hour replays of the Lidstrom retirement ceremony. FTR.

The Detroit Red Wings raised Nicklas Lidstrom's number to the rafters, and got off to a wonderful start against the despised Colorado Avalanche...

But the Wings have never won a game in which Lidstrom was publicly announced as in attendance in his post-playing career, and as the crowd left surprisingly early (perhaps they were subscribing to a certain Avs scribe's Tweets complaining about the late start), the gas seemed to go out of the Wings' young guns and new players alike--and yes, the "Kid Line" was once again in "learning" mode, because they were both responsible for the 2-1 goal...

And the 3-2 game-winner in OT, with Jimmy Howard really playing much better than his 3-goals-on-25-shots total suggests, and now the Wings facing a surprisingly early start against the Devils having lost two straight games.

Continue Reading »

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Video- Nick Lidstrom’s #5 Goes to The Rafters

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

03/06/14 at 08:46 PM ET | Comments (3)

No words needed...

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Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: nick+lidstrom

Number 5’s up where it belongs

Blog: The Malik Report By George Malik

03/06/14 at 07:44 PM ET | Comments (4)

Updated with a ton of video at 9:08 PM: Nicklas Lidstrom was given an African safari and a Dodge Ram quad cab (a diesel for Sweden) as his number was retired to the rafters of Joe Louis Arena this evening:

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Steven Stamkos Named Captain Of The Tampa Bay Lightning

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

03/06/14 at 07:40 PM ET | Comments (0)

TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning have named Steven Stamkos the 10th captain in franchise history today, the team unveiled prior to their game versus the Buffalo Sabres.

“Steven Stamkos was destined to be the leader of our team,” head coach Jon Cooper said.  “The fact that it’s happening now just puts us one step closer to achieving our ultimate goal and that is trying to win the Stanley Cup.”

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  Tags: steven+stamkos

Lidstrom Is In Town, So Are The Avs

Blog: Abel to Yzerman By Paul

03/06/14 at 06:00 PM ET | Comments (322)

I am starting the live blog a little early so you can discuss the sweater retirement of Nick Lidstrom, which starts at 6:30pm ET on FoxSports Detroit.

"The Perfect Human's"  #5 will be alongside so many other great Detroit Red Wings sweaters hanging in the Joe Louis rafters. 

Well deserved Nick, you are one of the all-time great defensemen to ever play.

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