Kukla's Korner

Video- Corey Crawford Leaves Tonight’s Game With Lower-Body Injury

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

12/08/13 at 07:55 PM ET | Comments (1)

Looks like a groin strain to me...

Filed in: NHL Teams, Chicago Blackhawks, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: corey+crawford

Signing Alex Steen Is Top Priority For The Blues

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

12/08/13 at 07:38 PM ET | Comments (0)

via Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal,

While this season looks like an out-of-body experience for Alex Steen (20 goals and 32 points and plus 13), St. Louis Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock says this is no one-off.

He’s the real thing, and the Blues have to resign him for, say, five years at between $5.5 million and $6 million a season. He’s UFA.

“Steen is the closest thing I’ve seen to Jere Lehtinen in the last 15 years,” said Hitchcock, who had the gifted winger Lehtinen on his 1999 Cup team in Dallas.

“He’s hard on every puck, he plays against the other team’s best players, kills penalties when we’re down two men with David Backes.”

He’s a prime Selke contender as best two-way forward.

Filed in: NHL Teams, St. Louis Blues, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: alex+steen

Worst Goaltending Team

Blog: The Puck Stops Here By PuckStopsHere

12/08/13 at 06:09 PM ET | Comments (1)

Last season the New York Islanders were a surprise playoff team.  They took the eighth seed in the East Conference and some saw them as a team on the rise.  That hasn't happened so far this year.  The main reason for this is poor goaltending.  Evgeni Nabokov was expected to be their number one goalie.  At age 38, he no longer seems capable of playing at the NHL level.  In 14 games played he has posted a 3.30 GAA and a .892 saves percentage. 

There is no proven backup on Long Island.  Kevin Poulin has done little to prove he is NHL worthy.  He had played 21 games over three seasons but accomplished nothing too noteworthy.  This year he is proving he isn't capable of a regular NHL job.  He is posting a 3.15 GAA and a .888 saves percentage through fourteen games played.

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Filed in: | The Puck Stops Here | Permalink
 

Lecavalier Out Up To One Month

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

12/08/13 at 05:34 PM ET | Comments (0)

from Frank Seravalli of Grequent Flyers,

Vinny Lecavalier underwent an x-ray in Dallas, and the Flyers didn’t like what the images showed.

So, they shipped Lecavalier back to Philadelphia yesterday to undergo an MRI and have the results read by a team physician. They were equally discouraging.

Lecavalier will miss at least the next three to four weeks with a non-displaced fracture in his lower-back, according to Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren. The injury was suffered late in the third period against Nashville on Nov. 30.

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Philadelphia Flyers, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: vinny+lecavalier

Marc Stall Injury Update

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

12/08/13 at 04:59 PM ET | Comments (0)

If you missed the play of Staal being hurt, you can watch it here...

added 5:02pm,

Filed in: NHL Teams, New York Rangers, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: marc+staal

This Stinks!

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

12/08/13 at 01:32 PM ET | Comments (25)

from Nicholas J. Cotsonika of Yahoo,

It should have been the best of the NHL – the Pittsburgh Penguins versus the Boston Bruins on Saturday night, a rematch of the Eastern Conference final, skill and speed and defense and toughness and all that good stuff.

Instead, it was the worst of the NHL – a seek-and-destroy hit, a concussion, a sneaky-dirty knee to the head, a vicious attack, another concussion and a stretcher, then finger-pointing and lies and apologies.

In the aftermath, it's like sorting garbage at the dump. This stinks. This stinks more. This stinks most. You have to draw distinctions, but the overwhelming overall stench leaves you holding your nose.

And it's going to get worse.

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL Talk, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Time For The NHL And NHLPA To Put Safety First

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

12/08/13 at 12:54 PM ET | Comments (5)

from Kerry Fraser of TSN,

There is plenty of blame to be shared as a result of the most recent NHL player (Pittsburgh's Brooks Orpik) to be evacuated from the ice on a stretcher following an ugly incident Saturday night in Boston.

It's high time for the NHL brass, their Officiating Department and the NHLPA to put their collective heads together to provide meaningful player safety measures that aren't being achieved through current attempts. Consistently applied player suspensions aren't the only tool to curb dangerous and unwanted hits to the head. We need to take a step back and have a serious discussion, recognizing that education will be the key to effectively changing this destructive culture at all levels of the game.

Players often seek out retribution for hits, even those deemed legal, that are delivered to one of their teammates. Following a "big" hit, the temperature of the game can immediately elevate to the near boiling point. At such times, the referee's primary job is to take whatever measures necessary to control the environment. To do that, he has to have a "feel" for the game and what is required. A better job could have been done by the refs in that regard after Orpik delivered a hard, legal open-ice check that knocked Loui Erisksson out of the game on the very first shift.

continued

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

Do You Consider Babcock To Be “Snarky”?

Blog: Abel to Yzerman By Paul

12/08/13 at 11:53 AM ET | Comments (2)

First the definition of Snarky...

adjectiveinformal
adjective: snarky; comparative adjective: snarkier; superlative adjective: snarkiest
1.
(of a person, words, or a mood) sharply critical; cutting; snide.
"the kid who makes snarky remarks in class"
cranky; irritable.
"Bobby's always a bit snarky before his nap"

from Frank Seravalli of the Philadelphia Daly News,

...the Flyers aren’t starring in the series (24/7) again, but their furious third period comeback in Detroit on Wednesday will be featured in the first episode.

The Red Wings face-off against Toronto on Jan. 1 in front of 100,000-plus people at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich.

It would have been fascinating to see Flyers coach Craig Berube, who shoots from the lip, instead of a snarky Mike Babcock. The cameras began rolling last week for the Wings and Maple Leafs, something both teams are still getting used to....

It probably wasn’t too fun for the Red Wings on Wednesday night. We’ll be watching to see what Babcock said after that game.

more
 

Filed in: | Abel to Yzerman | Permalink
 

Do You Hit A Possible Future Teammate?

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

12/08/13 at 11:46 AM ET | Comments (3)

from Damian Cristodero of the Tampa Bay Times,

Adam Erne was not suspended for his from-behind hit Friday that caused Jonathan Drouin's head to hit the side glass and might have caused a concussion.

But the idea of one Lightning prospect injuring another in a junior Quebec league game raised an interesting question: Is there a responsibility for players in the same organization — likely future teammates, in fact — to play each other more carefully?

Lightning players, for the most part, said the only responsibility is to play the game clean.

"When the game starts, you have no friends," LW Pierre-Cedric Labrie said Saturday. "You have to finish your hits. But if it's an illegal hit, it doesn't matter who it is, you can't do that."

continued and if you missed the hit, watch it below...

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Filed in: NHL Teams, Tampa Bay Lightning, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: jonathan+drouin

Chris Kelly Out With Broken Ankle

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

12/08/13 at 11:26 AM ET | Comments (4)

If anyone has a video of this, please pass it on.

added 11:32am, Below, watch a Vine video of the slash...

Continue Reading »

Filed in: NHL Teams, Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

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