Kukla's Korner Hockey

Let’s Play Two At Yankee Stadium

by Paul on 05/15/13 at 01:58 PM ET
Comments (2)

NEW YORK (May 15, 2013) – Two outdoor regular-season NHL^® games will be played at Yankee Stadium during the 2013-14 season as part of the 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series^™ the National Hockey League announced today.

The two games scheduled for Yankee Stadium are:

New York Rangers at New Jersey Devils
Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014 12:30 p.m. ET

New York Rangers at New York Islanders
Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014 7:30 p.m. ET
 

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

How Bad Could It Hurt?

by Paul on 05/15/13 at 01:34 PM ET
Comments (2)

I admit I am a day late on this one.  I read it yesterday and decided you the reader may have had enough of Leafs talk so I did not post but did re-tweet it.

After a few emails asking me about it, I decided to post it today.

from Sean McIndoe of Grantland,

There’s a secret that Toronto fans aren’t supposed to talk about, but after what happened Monday night, I don’t care about anything anymore, so here it is: Heading into Game 7 against the Boston Bruins, Leafs fans were OK with losing.

Not "OK" as in we wouldn't care. Leafs fans wanted a win, were hoping for a win, and — in some cases — may even have talked ourselves into expecting a win. And we were ready for the three hours of agony we knew were coming. A Game 7 in the NHL playoffs is pure torture, and Leaf supporters were feeling that every bit as much as fans of the Bruins.

But there was an insurance policy, because the 2013 Leafs season was already a success. A team that hadn’t made the playoffs in seven seasons and was expected to miss them yet again had ended the drought. Young players who’d been written off as busts suddenly emerged. A franchise that floundered for a decade had finally found an identity. And though they were written off after falling behind three games to one in a series against a team that had spent the last few years kicking sand in their faces, the Leafs clawed back with a pair of gutsy wins to force a deciding game.

A loss would sting for a while, sure. But it couldn’t really hurt, not the way big losses are supposed to. It couldn’t leave a scar, whether it came in a blowout or sudden death or somewhere in between.

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Morning Line

by Paul on 05/15/13 at 10:59 AM ET
Comments (18)

When you have an owner who acts like a teddy bear, who wants to be loved by his players and who talks tough only when somebody criticizes his beloved employees, what do you expect? His years of country-club attitude create the atmosphere where Ovechkin can embarrass the NHL and the Caps by telling a Russian reporter, “The refereeing . . . how can there be no penalties at all [on one team] during the playoffs? I am not saying there was a phone call from [the league], but someone just wanted Game 7. For the ratings. The lockout . . . the league needs to make profit.” (What, no KGB?)

When you have a general manager who has been in his job 16 years but hasn’t been to the Stanley Cup finals since his first year and that GM builds teams designed to win in the regular season and fill up the rink for his boss but not to weather the demands of the playoffs, why would you think he’s going to win it all?

When you have a star who was made captain not because he deserved it but in the hopes that it would prod him to get in better shape, cut down his carousing and show some leadership, why be shocked when he scores fewer goals (one) in a first-round exit than Rangers fourth-liner Arron Asham?

-Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post where you can read more on the Capitals.

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Senators Have Some Work To Do

by Paul on 05/15/13 at 05:30 AM ET
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via Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun,

While the Senators owned the Montreal Canadiens in Round 1, they found out the Penguins are going to offer a whole different challenge and if they don't get their act together quickly the stay in the post-season won't be as long as they like.

"We all know we've got to have a better effort throughout than we did (Tuesday)," said captain Daniel Alfredsson. "There will be analysing going on from everybody and adjust for Game 2.

"I thought we did a pretty good job 5-on-5 but overall I don't think we can be happy with the game. We have a lot to be faster in our decision making for us to be a faster team and we weren't that (in this game)."

The Senators also believe they have to do a better job trying to get in front of goalie Tomas Vokoun.

"We have to be stronger in front of both nets: Keep them out of ours and get some better chances ourselves," said Alfredsson.

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Kings Continue To Impress

by Paul on 05/15/13 at 05:26 AM ET
Comments (1)

from Pierre LeBrun of ESPN,

That swagger comes from rediscovering the ways in which the Kings found success last season.

Jonathan Quick stingy in net? Check.

A blue-line corps led by Drew Doughty, Robyn Regehr, Rob Scuderi and Slava Voynov balancing swift puck-moving abilities with strong physical play? Check.

A suffocating penalty kill? Check.

Rolling four forward lines without hesitation? Check.

And while Quick no doubt will continue to receive most of the attention for yet another gem on this night -- a 35-save shutout, boosting his playoff save percentage to .953 -- to me another important catalyst on this team once again is Mike Richards.

For a second spring in a row, the second-line center is bringing it at playoff time.

more

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Video- Raffi Torres Hit On Jarret Stoll

by Paul on 05/15/13 at 05:16 AM ET
Comments (14)

from Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider,

Darryl Sutter declined to offer specifics on the nature of Stoll’s absence, though he pointedly indicated it wasn’t because he was being rested.

“You know what? I didn’t play Jarret in the third period, and he wasn’t resting, so that pretty well tells you, doesn’t it? If you ask that question about injuries every day, you get here early, see who’s on the ice, see who’s not, and you know. That’s who’s available and who isn’t,” Sutter responded to a question on Stoll’s status.

Both Torres and San Jose coach Todd McLellan downplayed the incident.

“To be honest, I didn’t really think it was even going to be a penalty,” Torres told reporters after the game. “They called it charging, but I don’t feel launched myself. I took a step and a half and glided into him. Obviously, he was leaning over. I still feel like I got shoulder to his shoulder, and then it looked – because he was leaning over – that I came up a little high…I hope he’s all right.”

“A clean hit, not even a charging penalty in my opinion,” McLellan said.

more and watch the hit below...

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Filed in: NHL Teams, Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: jarret+stoll, raffi+torres

I’ve Never Played The Game (Except Pick-Up Games)

by Paul on 05/15/13 at 05:10 AM ET
Comments (13)

Yesterday I posted a blog titled Ranking The Starting Goalies where I listed the 8 starting goalies left in the playoffs beginning with, in my opinion, the best goalie.

KK members then followed suit by leaving their rankings in the comment section and all was good.

This morning I woke up to this email...

ha ha Paul .... were ya drinkin when you ranked the goalies ?? That was actually funny .... Guess that's why you post other peoples thoughts and don't actually write much ..... FYI ... Lundquist is a fraud. Quick is the man to have .... I have been playing the game at various levels for years, and know what is happening on the ice ....

Ah, the old I played the game ploy and what's with all the dots and the double question mark?

Criticizing an opinion is one thing as long as you back it up, but calling people out by using the 'I played the game card' as the reason tells me that person is wearing blinders and knows all.

If I considered myself as knowing everything about the game, I'd be running a site like nhlpredictions.com but I don't, so I leave it up to the experts to do so.

Now I know who this person is and would have preferred he left a comment in the post so all could see it and discuss if need be, but that was his decision, not mine.

In case you are wondering, this person did not strike a nerve with me but I wanted to bring some attention to it and who knows, maybe you will be reading his response in a blog at another site in the near future.

One more thing, it is Lundqvist, not Lundquist Mr. I play the game guy.

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The Puck Drops Tonight On The Conference Semi-Finals

by Paul on 05/14/13 at 06:40 PM ET
Comments (20)

As you know, I try to follow each NHL game live as it happens and finally the schedule allows me to do so in a much more relaxed way.

I am looking forward to every matchup and believe we are in for some very exciting hockey.

 

Filed in: NHL Teams, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Video- Greatest Game 7’s From The First Round Of The Playoffs

by Paul on 05/14/13 at 06:16 PM ET
Comments (0)

TSN style...

 

Filed in: NHL Teams, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Something New For The Kings, Home-Ice Advantage

by Paul on 05/14/13 at 05:22 PM ET
Comments (0)

from Helene Elliott of the LA Times,

Looking at the bigger picture, no Kings team has had home-ice advantage since 1992, a span of 16 straight series.

Although this will be a new wrinkle for the Kings, they shouldn’t be thrown off-stride. They will take a 10-game home winning streak into Tuesday’s game, including a three-game playoff home win streak. That equals a club record previously done eight times.

Players said Tuesday that having home-ice advantage won’t lead them to relax or in any way change how  they approach this series against the No. 6 Sharks.

“You’ve got to win everywhere to win,” center Colin Fraser said. “All season long we talked about having home ice and it came down to the last day of the season and we didn’t get it, but we get it in this round. You’ve got to take advantage of it. Starting at home is nicer and we’ve got to get off on the right foot and win our games at home.”

Team captain Dustin Brown said players’ mind-set might need to adjust a bit.

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