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Around The Rink

10/24/05 at 03:30 PM ET | Comments (0)

Around the rink, ESPN style takes us on a tour with many of the ESPN hockey experts. For example, Barry Melrose checks in with this-

This week, I am looking for an answer to one question: are the Predators for real? They're 7-0, but I am waiting for them to play one of the West's best teams, like Vancouver or Detroit. Against those teams, we'll see if Nashville is a pretender or contender.

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Lang Has The Hands To Lead The Wings

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

10/24/05 at 02:04 PM ET | Comments (0)

from Larry Wigge of NHL.com,

A sports report was playing on a TV over Detroit Red Wings General Manager Ken Holland's shoulder when I asked him what it was that he liked most about veteran center Robert Lang before he traded for him just before the March trading deadline in 2004. "The best assets Robert has are great hands and a big body -- and he's a very, very smart player," Holland said. Then he smiled and added: "With the way the rules are now, he is exactly the kind of player you want down deep -- from the faceoff circles to the goal line, where a quick shot, a quick creative decision can often result in a goal with the time and space that players now have in our game."

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Iginla Playing Like Lady Byng Candidate

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

10/24/05 at 10:06 AM ET | Comments (0)

from Eric Francis of the Calgary Sun,

A victim of the new NHL that has sacrificed intensity and physicality for scoring and speed, Iginla has done little to demonstrate the grittiness that has long fueled the game's most complete player. It wasn't until late in Thursday's win over Edmonton that the Flames captain has shown any sort of emotion, slamming his stick on the glass as he loudly protested an unwarranted penalty call handed to him thanks to Jarret Stoll's dive. Truth is, he didn't even deserve his two minutes -- something the Professional Hockey Writers Association will have to consider when voting. Other than that, Iginla has not registered the type of hits or passion that has long pumped him, his teammates and Flames fans up.

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Gimmicks Deciding Games

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

10/24/05 at 10:01 AM ET | Comments (0)

from the Toronto Sun via Slam,

"All of us are in favour of not having the grappling, the hooking, the holding," Quinn concedes. "Nobody wanted that. Where it is right now, in spite of everybody saying 'Oh, I love the new game,' I don't love the new game. I don't think it's hockey. It's special teams situations and we've got gimmicks to decide games. "It's totally different. You're not going to see the physical playoff style if everybody is afraid of penalties. So far, we've won our games on special teams and we've lost our games on special teams. Five-on-five is like the dodo bird."

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Dominating Dom

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

10/24/05 at 09:02 AM ET | Comments (0)

from Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun,

For all the naysayers and worrywarts out there waiting for a part of Hasek to go creak or watch him turn into a washed-up old guy, it simply hasn't happened. "I'm not surprised one bit and I wouldn't call what he has done a surprise," said Senators GM John Muckler. "This is exactly what I expected when I signed (Hasek) to a contract. I know what kind of talent he is and what kind of athlete he is. I know how hard he works. "He's been very good. He's come in here and shown that he wants to get the job done. We're talking about a guy here who is on a mission. He wants to show he's one of the elite-level goalies in the NHL and he wants to win a Stanley Cup. That's why he is here."

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Talking Attendance

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

10/24/05 at 08:50 AM ET | Comments (0)

from the Philadelphia Inquirer,

Commissioner Gary Bettman has made appearances in which he has declared that sweeping changes in rules, rink dimensions and goalie equipment have resulted in a faster and reinvigorated game, and that attendance across the league is the proof. Suggesting otherwise is just "looking for a negative story that isn't there," Bettman said. "All of our franchises will be fine," he said. "Everybody associated with the game is delighted we're back and things are as positive as they are." Let's examine that for a second. Attendance is down in Washington, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Dallas, Columbus and Chicago. Washington has had three crowds of less than 11,000 in the 18,277-seat MCI Center, with a low of 10,002 vs. Tampa Bay on Oct. 16. And no matter what the teams do, there will be lots of games at Buffalo, New Jersey, Florida and other cities that will be way below capacity.

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Chocolate For Breakfast

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

10/23/05 at 04:14 PM ET | Comments (0)

from Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post,

Alex Ovechkin's mornings used to begin with a cup of hot tea and a ham and egg sandwich prepared by his mother. But that changed Monday when Ovechkin's parents, Tatiana and Mikhail, returned to Russia after a month-long stay in Washington to help their 20-year-old son get accustomed to life in a foreign land. "When I wake up now, I don't have breakfast," Ovechkin joked yesterday. "I try to make something, but it's no good."I just go to Starbucks and eat chocolate." It's probably too early to begin handicapping the Calder Trophy race, which no Capital has ever won. But the rookie of the year award shouldn't be handed to Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby just yet -- especially if Ovechkin continues to score at, or even near, his current pace.

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Hartley Is An Embarrassment

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

10/23/05 at 12:21 PM ET | Comments (0)

from the Toronto Sun via Slam,

Bob Hartley is quickly becoming an embarrassment to the new National Hockey League. At a time when hockey is doing its utmost to put on a happy face, Hartley's worst instincts are dragging the game back to its Neanderthal past. Soon, the talented but ridiculously inept Atlanta Thrashers, may have to make a decision on their coach's future. Don't be the least bit surprised if there is league pressure to remove Hartley from the Atlanta bench. Atlanta players are being suspended for actions the coach could easily put an end to.

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‘Special Teams’

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

10/23/05 at 10:37 AM ET | Comments (0)

from the Philadelphia Inquirer,

It's a game of special-teams play. Yes, there is a flood of more skating and more scoring. Games are more exciting. The fans seem to like it. No lead is safe. People stay longer to watch games. Yet there is such a huge emphasis on special teams. And the long-standing tradition of crunching checks is all but gone. Is this a better game than before? That's what a lot of people are asking. Perhaps the more precise question should be: Is this what hockey is going to evolve into? And if so, will the fans, the players, the coaches, and the general managers embrace it as NHL hockey? "It is what it is," said Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock. "It's a new game." Players say they are actually fresher because there is less five-on-five action during games and more time spent on special teams. Once upon a time, Hitchcock prepared two penalty kill units and two play units. These days, he has three power plays and four penalty kill units. He needs that many people on special teams because the game has been tilted in that direction. "The special-teams game now in the NHL has the potential, on every night, to have a bigger bite in the game," he said. "This is uncommon. It's never happened before in the NHL."

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Penguins Are Cheap

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

10/23/05 at 10:11 AM ET | Comments (0)

from Larry Brooks of the NY Post,

Question: What do you get when team ownership is more interested in staying below the cap midpoint of $30.5M in order to qualify for a second round of revenue sharing than in putting the best possible team on the ice? Answer: The Penguins. There's discontent spilling all across the Pittsburgh room, multiple sources have dutifully reported to Slap Shots, and you should know that not all of it is directed toward second-year head coach Ed Olczyk, whose team was winless in seven going into last night's match in Boston. Yes, it's true, a number of big-name veterans have been put off by the way they've been deployed; there's consternation over the blatant lack of work ethic displayed by some of the Penguins' primary athletes — yes, that means you, Greg Malone, and you too, Sergei Gonchar — and there's confusion over why Eddie O seems to have identified the emotional Lyle Odelein as a scapegoat.

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