Kukla's Korner

Ducks Dealing With Criticism

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

11/16/09 at 01:13 PM ET | Comments (0)

from Eric Stephens of the OC Register,

Ducks general manager Bob Murray, his team mired in a rut that has seen it lose nine of 12 games and fall to the bottom of the Western Conference, lashed out Thursday to light a fire under his underachieving squad.

How did they react to Murray’s comments that “it’s about time some of these people prove that they’re good hockey players” and that he doesn’t think they’re serious enough about playing the game?

It depends on who you ask.

“It’s the first I heard of it,” center Ryan Getzlaf said Saturday night after a 7-4 loss to Detroit. “I don’t read anything anyways. I’ve haven’t been here that long, but I’ve been here long enough not to read stuff.”

Ducks captain Scott Niedermayer also claimed to not know of Murray’s tongue-lashing. But when he was made aware, Niedermayer did not have any problem with the team taking the brunt of the criticism for their 6-9-3 start.

“Rightly so,” Niedermayer said. “We feel the same way. The coaching staff probably feels the same way. We feel we need to be playing better. Tonight (Saturday) we didn’t do it again for as long as you’re supposed to and we paid the price for it.

“We all probably have that same opinion.”

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Anaheim Ducks, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Early Rangers Report

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

11/16/09 at 12:27 PM ET | Comments (0)

from Larry Brooks of the NY Post,

What they’ve been, for the most part, is whatever Henrik Lundqvist, Marian Gaborik, Vinny Prospal and the first power play unit have allowed them to be on any given night.

“I think we’ve shown that if we give our best we can be right up there, but that if we don’t it could be tough for us,” said Lundqvist, who was superb throughout Saturday’s 2-1 shootout victory in Ottawa. “It’s good that we’ve seen both sides already.

“We know that we have to be aggressive in order to be successful, but not to the point where we want to be going back and forth and trading two-on-ones all game or all year. That’s not the plan. We’re still learning. We’re still developing an identity. I don’t think we’ve established who we are yet. I don’t think we’ve figured it out. I know that I have to play better. I think our whole team can play better. But I think we’ve seen we can be a very good team when we’re at our best, and that gives us some confidence that we have something to build on.”

read on

Filed in: NHL Teams, New York Rangers, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Bucci? We’re Not Done With You Just Yet

Blog: Abel to Yzerman By IwoCPO

11/16/09 at 11:51 AM ET | Comments (0)

The last time I saw John Buccigross on television I think he had a perm.  That, in itself, is pathetic.  Men don’t get perms and they don’t use exclamation points.  In his defense, I don’t believe John Buccigross uses exclamation points in his columns for ESPN. 

But there are other issues.  One big one that I’m not ready to let go of. Not yet, mainly because this Buccigross thing? It’s the MSM’s view of Detroit in a nutshell so far this year.

Continue Reading »

Filed in: | Abel to Yzerman | Permalink
 

Stastny Not Earning His Money?

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

11/16/09 at 11:20 AM ET | Comments (0)

from Adrian Dater of All Things Avs,

The numbers really aren’t bad at all. 20 games for Paul Stastny this season, 18 points, and his team is in first place. Nearly a point a game in the modern NHL is good, no matter how you slice it.

But we all know it hasn’t quite been what we expected from No. 26. The heightened expectations that come with a guy getting the big dollars create these kinds of criticisms here. Yeah, 18 points in 20 games is fine and all, but for a guy making $6.6 million this year and the following four?

continued

updated 2:55pm, As a KK member noted, story not there. 

Dater has done this in the past and he should really explain why the story has been pulled, but he doesn’t.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Colorado Avalanche, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: paul+stastny

Underrated Goals By The Wings

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

11/16/09 at 10:46 AM ET | Comments (0)

from The Triple Deke,

Igor Larionov and the Statue of Liberty can sit this one out. These are the most underrated Wings goals of the 2000s—or in other words, five goals that I have somehow arrogantly determined you aren’t remembering enough. That’s what “most underrated” is, right?

continued

My choice is Dan Cleary, game 7,

WCF 2009

Semi, not WCF…

Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

NHL Dragging Their Feet Regarding Head Shots

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

11/16/09 at 10:20 AM ET | Comments (0)

from Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun,

Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller, a member of the competition committee and a proponent of taking action on head shots, wasn’t too hopeful when the league announced it would create a study group on the issue to report back in March.

“It’s been the slowest reaction I’ve ever seen to anything,” Miller said. “This was brought up years ago. We asked for something, and we asked for their respect in looking into it. Players have asked for it to be taken seriously every year, and there’s no appetite for it. It’s never going to go through on a vote.”

Miller is good friends with David Booth of the Florida Panthers, who was concussed as a result of a hit delivered by Mike Richards last month.

more hockey notes…

Filed in: NHL Teams, NHL Talk, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Evening Line

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

11/16/09 at 02:18 AM ET | Comments (0)

“It’s been a mess for years and years and years.  I don’t think people we’ve had in there before Paul Kelly were helping it at all. There are a lot of untrustworthy people who have done some untrustworthy things.

“I’ve seen a lot of mishandling of money, mishandling of arbitration cases, mishandling of hiring help for the PA that has been a waste of the PA’s money. They need to do something right now to get some legitimacy back into the organization and bring some strength to the players and bring some honesty and trustworthiness between the players and the people who are heading the PA. Before we get that, we’re going to struggle with our membership.”

-Jeremy Roenick on the NHLPA.  Via Chris Kruc of the Chicago Tribune.

Filed in: NHLPA, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: jeremy+roenick

Stars Look To Turco For Wins

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

11/16/09 at 01:31 AM ET | Comments (0)

from Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News,

The Stars’ start to the season has been a bit like the wave pool at Hurricane Harbor – there are times when the team is on top of the water and splashing around happily. But there are also times when it slips beneath the waves or gets battered against the walls.

“It’s tough to build momentum,” goalie Marty Turco said after a 3-2 loss to Phoenix on Saturday that followed a huge 3-2 win against San Jose a few nights earlier. “Things seem to happen a lot easier when you get on a roll. You don’t feel like you’re grinding it out. Some guys can get on a roll and carry a team, but that hasn’t been the case so far.”

The one player who can help the Stars get on a roll is Turco. The veteran goalie has produced impressive runs in his career and appears to be in the middle of a pretty good stretch. Turco is 5-1-1 in his last seven games with a 2.10 goals against-average and .928 save percentage. So how can the Stars take advantage of that?

“Play him,” coach Marc Crawford said. “I mean, that’s pretty much what we need to do.”

read on

Filed in: NHL Teams, Dallas Stars, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: marty+turco

Early Credit

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

11/15/09 at 06:21 PM ET | Comments (0)

from Kevin Allen of Mucking and Grinding,

With teams starting to sort out in the NHL standings, there are folks in the hockey world that deserve more recognition for what they are doing:

5. NHL fans: Considering the uncertainty of the economy, the league’s attendance seems strong. Seventeen teams are playing to 97% or better capacity, and only four teams (Phoenix, Florida, Atlanta and the New York Islanders)

    6. Detroit Red Wings coach Mke Babcock:  GM Ken Holland usually, and rightfully, receives plenty of credit for keeping this franchise on to. However,  Babcock’s coaching plays a big role. We can see that this season as the team has overcome defections to stay in the mix as one of the league’s best teams….

more

Filed in: NHL Teams, NHL Talk, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

The Jersey Trap

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

11/15/09 at 03:43 PM ET | Comments (0)

from Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review,

New Jersey’s trap is perfectly designed for winning on the road during the regular season — though having Martin Brodeur between the pipes is a nice part of the equation.

Watch how the Devils trap under head coach Jacques Lemaire, the godfather of its modern-day standing. His players are seemingly never out of position. They almost always know when to flip the switch from patient to aggressive. Opponents are left shaking their heads by midway through the first period — because the Devils’ trap not only denies time and space to force turnovers; it also causes frustration that leads to unforced turnovers.

In its own way, the Devils’ trap is a thing of beauty.

Full disclosure: Given the choice, I’d rather watch the Penguins play than the Devils, especially if I was a paying customer. Still, count me out of any discussion that begins with, “The NHL needs to do something about the trap ...”

more

Filed in: NHL Teams, New Jersey Devils, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

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