Kukla's Korner Hockey

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.

Filed in: NHL Media, Hockey Bloggers, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

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
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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.

more

Filed in: NHL Teams, Los Angeles Kings, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Video- There Is Nothing Like An OT Goal In The Playoffs

by Paul on 05/14/13 at 05:08 PM ET
Comments (2)

Watch all 17 of them from the first round.

 

Filed in: NHL Teams, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Breaking Down The Matchups By Shots For, Shots Against And Save %

by Paul on 05/14/13 at 03:57 PM ET
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from Scott Cullen of TSN,

In the first round, the team with the higher expected goals, using these calculations, won seven of the eight series, with the Los Angeles Kings' win over the St. Louis Blues upsetting the bid for perfection.

Since I'm the first one to emphasize that overall statistics (or standings) are not necessarily representative of the current value for a team, especially with respect to injuries, these statistics merely provide a baseline for the series, perhaps providing an idea what a team needs to do in order to emerge victorious.

In some cases, teams will simply need to keep doing what they've been doing throughout the regular season; in others, they might need better goaltending, or fewer shots against, or more shots for -- just something -- to provide better expected results in a seven-game series.

The calculations below are simple and the expected goals for each team in the series are determined by taking each team's shots for and against over the course of the season and splitting the difference.

more including stats which help explain the above...

Filed in: NHL Teams, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Craig Anderson Ready For The Challenge

by Paul on 05/14/13 at 01:09 PM ET
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from Ken Warren of Senators Extra,

Craig Anderson says the fear of being embarrassed is a motivating factor for the Ottawa Senators in Game 1 against the Pittsburgh Penguins here Tuesday.

With so many All-Stars in the lineup, headed by Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, there’s always potential for fireworks, according to Anderson.

“They’re world class players and arguably the two best in the game right now and it’s going to be a big challenge for everyone,” Anderson said following Tuesday’s late morning skate. “Everyone wants to rise to the challenge of the occasion. It’s a good challenge for our defence, for me and for our forwards backchecking, putting pressure on them.”

At the same time, Anderson says the Senators also need to pay attention to the countless solid support players in the Penguins lineup, as well.

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Top 8 Players Of The First Round

by Paul on 05/14/13 at 12:51 PM ET
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from Adam Kimelman of NHL.com,

After eight series, 47 games and a record 17 overtime sessions, eight teams have advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs....

NHL.com gathered nine staff writers and each was asked to name his 3 Stars of the first round of the playoffs.

The voting produced an interesting trend -- the nine writers picked a total of nine players, with seven receiving multiple votes. And while some could argue the voting results skew toward Eastern Conference players, more Western Conference players received votes.

8. Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings -- 2 points

A lesser player would have been crushed by a giveaway like the one Quick had in overtime of Game 1 to gift-wrap a St. Louis Blues win. Quick shrugged it off, and after a loss in Game 2, he reminded everyone why he won the Conn Smythe Trophy last year.

Quick turned the tide in the series with a 30-save shutout in Game 3, and he allowed six goals in the final three games, but managed to improve each time. He let in three goals in Game 4, two in Game 5 -- including a smooth recovery after allowing the tying goal with 44.1 seconds left in the third period -- and just one on 22 shots in Game 6.

read on for the other seven players...

Filed in: NHL Teams, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Glen Gulutzan Relieved Of His Duties In Dallas

by Paul on 05/14/13 at 12:34 PM ET
Comments (2)

FRISCO, Texas - Dallas Stars General Manager Jim Nill announced today that head coach Glen Gulutzan and assistant coach Paul Jerrard have been relieved of their coaching duties, effective immediately.

"I would like to thank Glen Gulutzan and Paul Jerrard for the work they provided to the Dallas organization over the past four seasons," said Nill. "They are both quality coaches and men, but we have decided to go in a different direction with our coaching staff and we wish them well in their next endeavors."

Gulutzan, 41, was the 21^st head coach in franchise history and led the club to a 42-35-5 record in 2011-12, and a mark of 22-22-4 in the shortened 2013 campaign.

Assistant coach Curt Fraser and goaltending coach Mike Valley will both be retained by the club moving forward.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Dallas Stars, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: glen+gulutzan

Tweeting Toronto Fans

by Paul on 05/14/13 at 12:27 PM ET
Comments (2)

from the Toronto Star,

Though some Toronto Maple Leafs fans were consoled their team even made it into the playoffs, many others were bitter at their Game 7 loss to the Boston Bruins.

We compiled the top 10 bitterest tweets — sometimes hilariously so.

Whether you are a die hard Toronto Maple Leafs fan or you like to laugh at their woes, here is what they had to say.

 

read on for the rest...

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

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