Kukla's Korner Hockey
Hatcher Hitting Stride
by Paul on 11/07/05 at 11:39 AM ET
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from the Daily Times,
"We were at a critical stage in the hockey game," said Hitchcock. "Derian (Hatcher) had a beat on those guys. They weren’t going around his area very quickly. We needed to get that kill. We needed to get it for sure." So, the timeout was specifically called to get Hatcher some rest after a long shift and to get right back out there to kill some more? "Yes," said the coach. It was definitely a smart move by Hitchcock because, while most of the Flyers were on cruise control against the Thrashers, Hatcher was definitely one of the few impact players that carried the team.
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Renney Delivering Message
by Paul on 11/07/05 at 11:32 AM ET
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from Larry Brooks of the NY Post,
Niemenen, who has appeared a step slow since training camp — maybe because of the groin, maybe because of suspect conditioning — is one of those players who may become extinct in the new NHL. He's an agitator and baiter in a league that seems to have no place for those kinds of dinosaurs; certainly not for those who can't keep up with the pace and who can't keep their sticks down and to themselves. In the five games immediately preceding Saturday, Niemenen had picked up six minors; just about one every 7:45 of ice time. No one can expect to be penalized at that rate and keep his spot in the lineup, whether a veteran or rookie. In other words, these aren't the days when Tomas Kloucek would be benched for committing lesser and fewer blunders than the ones that never stuck to Teflon Igor Ulanov. This, rather, is the time when Niemenen can sit because of his penchant for taking penalties and Fedor Fedorov can be scratched because of a failure to engage. It's also the time when Renney can send a public warning — er, reminder — to his team not only in referring to Niemenen but while praising Petr Prucha following Saturday's coming out party.
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Go Get ‘Em Tiger
by Paul on 11/07/05 at 11:24 AM ET
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from the Toronto Sun,
The most penalized player in National Hockey League history hates the league's squeaky-clean makeover. But in blasting the league yesterday, Tiger Williams said he was defending the skill players of yesteryear as well as his lunchbucket buddies. "They've taken everything out of the game," the former Maple Leaf complained yesterday at the Air Canada Centre, after helping a team of Canadian legends beat a team of Russian legends 7-4 in an exhibition game. "Guy Lafleur would grind out his 50 goals every year and so did (Lanny) McDonald, (Bryan) Trottier, the Rocket, Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. Now, you don't have to get a broken nail on your finger and you're going to score 40 or 50 goals.
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The Feel Of An All-Star Game
by Paul on 11/07/05 at 11:17 AM ET
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from the Boston Herald,
In this extravagant new era of the NHL, 5-on-5 play can be genuinely exciting, with teams racing up and down the ice to generate intense and nonstop offensive action – and no plodding defender slowing things down with a well-placed hook or hold. Unfortunately, in too many games 5-on-5 play is a sight as rare as either a standup goaltender or a good toe-to-toe fight. In creating its new on-ice product, the NHL rightly wanted to do a better job of showcasing the prodigious talents of its best players. At times, that certainly has happened. But too much of the time now, the talent showcase has almost the feel of an All-Star Game – hockey that is all about gaudy skills but lacking the physical intensity that always made NHL play special.
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Lower The Music
by Paul on 11/07/05 at 11:09 AM ET
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from the Phildadelphia Inquirer,
It's a tune played for celebration, the "Chicken Dance." Weddings, birthday parties, multiple-goal hockey games. So it's been playing down at the Wachovia Center this year on a regular basis. Whenever the Flyers score four or more goals, the song blares on and the fans cheer. Free chicken sandwiches for everyone in the building. I'll bet the people at Chick-fil-A are rethinking that promotion. But back at league headquarters in New York, the song should be the stuff of elevator music.
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Chicago Acquires Hilbert
by Paul on 11/06/05 at 11:06 PM ET
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via the Chicago Blackhawks,
General Manager Dale Tallon announced tonight that the Chicago Blackhawks acquired forward Andy Hilbert from the Boston Bruins in exchange for the Blackhawks’ 5th round pick in the 2006 entry draft. Hilbert, 24, is 5.11 and weighs in at 194 pounds. The Lansing, Michigan native was Boston’s 2nd round pick in the 2000 NHL entry draft out of the University of Michigan in the CCHA. Hilbert was a CCHA First Team All-Star in 2001 and was named to the NCAA West First All-American Team that same year.
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Tampa Must Get Better
by Paul on 11/06/05 at 09:19 PM ET
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from the CP via NHL.com,
The defending Stanley Cup champions got an earful from head coach John Tortorella after playing one of their worst periods of the season in front of a national television audience. From all accounts, paint was nearly stripped off the wall in the visitor's dressing room Saturday night at Air Canada Centre after the Tampa Bay Lightning went down 2-0 to Toronto after the first period. "It wasn't pretty, and deservedly so," Lightning defenceman Dan Boyle said of Tortorella's rant. "We were pretty terrible."
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Power Failure
by Paul on 11/06/05 at 08:53 PM ET
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Sunday is normally a slow day for posting and for the last 6 hours, it was a day of no posts. 130,000 homes in Metro Detroit were without power due to high winds, and I was one of them. The good thing about it, I didn't have to watch the Lions lose again and power is now back in time for the Wings game.
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Why No Brooks
by Paul on 11/06/05 at 02:38 PM ET
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from North Jersey,
The Hockey Hall of Fame will hold its annual inductions Monday in Toronto and it will again be an empty ceremony with Herb Brooks' contributions to the game still being ignored. This is to take nothing away from former Boston Bruins' star Cam Neely and the late Valeri Kharlamov, who will be entering in the players' category. And it's not that Murray Costello, the former president of Hockey Canada who helped the development of minor hockey in his home country, doesn't deserve recognition as a builder. t would be difficult to find a person who did more for hockey in the United States than Brooks, and the impact that he had on the NHL should not be overlooked either.
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Redefining The Game
by Paul on 11/06/05 at 09:49 AM ET
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from Larry Brooks of the NY Post,
The conversation takes place in the corridors and press rooms of arenas across the country, and it takes place over the phone. But it is muted, and in public those whose constructive critics who wonder whether the league's Manhattan power-brokers have gone too far, wear gags, fearful now of being fined by a commissioner who thinks dissent is as harmful to the league as a tie game. We'd be far more patient with the administration and with the evolution of the game if we trusted the motives of the Blue Suits directing the agenda. If the people in charge were attempting to recreate the environment from, say, the late '80s or early '90s, when the NHL featured a blend of skill, speed and toughness that disappeared with the first lockout, we'd gladly hang in with the inevitable bumps of change. But they're not attempting to recreate an era during which hockey's popularity rose to a zenith. Instead, they're determined to invent a new game that will somehow appeal to consumers who have never had much interest at all in the sport. It's as if they're trying to invent a car that will appeal to people who don't have a driver's license.
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About Kukla's Korner Hockey
Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.
From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.
Email Paul anytime at pk@kuklaskorner.com
