GDT - WCSF Game 3: Red Wings (1-1) host Hawks (1-1) 7:30
Blog: Abel to Yzerman By Jeff OKWingnut
05/20/13 at 07:05 AM ET | Comments (34)
Who are these guys? After getting skated into the ground and taken to the woodshed in game 1, DET pawned CHI in game 2. The Wings were so damn good, the 'Hawks Captain, having no excuses for his teams ineptitude, accused them of cheating: “I’m not going to go off and complain about some calls that I thought should have been called or whatever,” Toews said, before essentially doing just that. “If that’s the way they’re going to play, we need to play the same way." That - is - just - embarassing.
Zetterberg has been a freaking beast, and quite obviously is in Toews head (and determined to stay there). Dittys like this are priceless, Hank, discussing his physical play in game 2: “It’s part of playoffs,'' Zetterberg said. “I think he plays better when it’s more physical and I play better when it’s a little more physical. It’s a give and take.'' If I didn't know better, and I do not, I'd say the gauntlet has been thrown.
Said Babcock: “It was great we had an (extra) off day. It's unbelievable how well that worked out for us. Now we're freshened up. Series on.'' Indeed. LGRW.
Filed in: | Abel to Yzerman | Permalink
Red Wings-Blackhawks Game 3 set-up: exceeding one’s performance envelope
Blog: The Malik Report By George Malik
05/20/13 at 02:34 AM ET | Comments (8)
The Detroit Red Wings will face literal and figurative heat tonight as they attempt to carve out a 2-1 series lead over the Chicago Blackhawks (7:30 PM EDT, NBCSN/CBC/97.1 FM, post-game on FSD). The Hawks are going to make a lineup change in adding Viktor Stalberg, they're still determined to make this series a short one, and the local weatherpeople are forecasting temperatures of 85-90 degrees in Southeastern Michigan for this afternoon, so Al Sobotka's has his work cut out for him ensuring that both teams aren't skating on gravel, too.
This game is obviously a little different if you happen to believe that momentum transfers from game to game: just as there was a two-day break between Games 1 and 2, the Wings and Hawks won't play Game 4 until Thursday and Game 5 on Saturday (at 8 PM EDT), and as you already know, Jonathan Toews' complaints about a lack of hooking and holding penalties called will probably fall upon rabbit ears, not deaf ones, so it's going to be an uphill climb for the Wings...
In no small part because the Blackhawks have absolutely owned Detroit at Joe Louis Arena of late--they swept the Wings in two games this season and have absolutely dominated the Wings at home over the course of the last couple of regular seasons, with the Chicago Tribune's Chris Kuc pegging Chicago's record at JLA at 9-1-and-1 since the 2010-2011, so the Hawks told Kuc that home ice is what you make of it...
Filed in: | The Malik Report | Permalink
Red Wings prospect news: Jarnkrok wins gold with Sweden; Frk’s Mooseheads stumble at Memorial Cup
Blog: The Malik Report By George Malik
05/19/13 at 11:12 PM ET | Comments (5)
Team Sweden captured the World Championship today, defeating Switzerland 5-2, and while Niklas Kronwall's definitely proud of his brother Staffan (who captained the team) having won the first Swedish gold on home ice since 2006, and Damien Brunner's probably paying some lost bets this evening...
One Wings prospect did take part in the Worlds, and he shared a gold-filled post-game dinner with lapsed Wings prospect Dick Axelsson:
Filed in: | The Malik Report | Permalink
Babcock In A Talkative Mood
Blog: The Malik Report By Paul
05/19/13 at 07:30 PM ET | Comments (5)
from Corey Masisak of NHL.com,
"The growth of Smith and Kindl has been huge for us," Babcock said. "Ericsson has gotten much better. We seem to have people rounded into playing in spots that suit them better.
"I talked about when DeKeyser came, he helped us immensely. Whenever we got confidence or got playing better, we were able to maintain it when he left to a certain level -- we still don't move the puck the same, but I just think we're a better team. We weren't a good team at the start."
Another big move for the Red Wings was the rise of forward Justin Abdelkader. He was one of the kids when Detroit made back-to-back trips to the Cup Final in 2008 and '09, but Abdelkader had seemed to settle in as a bottom-six forward.
That changed when Babcock tried him on a line with Datsyuk, and he's now a critical element of the team's top trio.
"He's been a dominant physical guy for us and made us a better team," Babcock said. "It took us a long time to figure out where everybody fit best. There were lots of changes, new guys that we brought in that didn't fit the way we thought they were, or were better than we thought they were. We've just kind of watched it happen."
much more from Babcock...
Filed in: | The Malik Report | Permalink
Tortorella- “We Need To Go Win A Game”
05/19/13 at 06:47 PM ET | Comments (3)
John Tortorella post-game today after losing to the Boston Bruins 5-2 and going down in the series 0-2.
Tortorella felt the goal early in the 3rd period by Brad Marchand is one they cannot afford to give up. The goal put the Bruins up 4-2 and can be viewed below...
Filed in: NHL Teams, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: john+tortorella
Team Sweden Wins World Championship Gold
05/19/13 at 06:20 PM ET | Comments (3)
from Andrew Podneiks of IIHF.com,
Switzerland scored first, but hosts Sweden dominated the last 55 minutes to become the first home team to win gold since 1986. It is the nation's ninth World Championship gold medal.
For the Swiss, it was their first loss of the tournament after nine straight wins and only their second silver medal ever after finishing runner-up in 1935, their highest finish at any IIHF international hockey event.
"We were able to match their intensity at the start," said Swiss defenceman Philippe Furrer. "We had a lot of chances but couldn't score, and they did."
continued and watch post-game comments from both teams below...
added 6:29pm, Gold game highlights added below too.
Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: team+sweden
Red Wings’ Ken Holland, Henrik Zetterberg weigh in on the art of Kronwalling
Blog: The Malik Report By George Malik
05/19/13 at 04:56 PM ET | Comments (11)
TSN posted quite the feature on Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall's status as a cult hero and then some in Detroit, and perhaps as a villain in other cities, and HockeyWebCaster uploaded it to YouTube:
And yes, Kronwall insists that he's trying to keep things as clean as he can while leading the Wings' defense and trying to keep the physical edge to his game while playing anywhere between 22-27 minutes a night.
Filed in: | The Malik Report | Permalink
The wrong question to ask the wrong coach
Blog: The Malik Report By George Malik
05/19/13 at 03:17 PM ET | Comments (10)
The Vancouver Sun's Cam Cole attended Sunday's Red Wings practice, and he reports that a member of the media who may or may not go nameless, depending on what transpires over the next 12-24 hours, asked Wings coach Mike Babcock whether the frustrated and grumpy Jonathan Toews will rebound to lead the Blackhawks in Game 3.
This question was apparently not well-received by the coach of the Detroit Red Wings:
“I’m not here to evaluate whether he’s frustrated or not. I don’t know where you’re going with this, but I’m not going to help you write your story,” Babcock bristled Sunday morning at Joe Louis Arena, where the Wings and Hawks resume their historic rivalry Monday night with the best-of-seven split at a game apiece. “What do you want me to say? Jonathan Toews is a real good player, I’ve coached him, he’s mentally tough, he works hard, he’s an Olympic champion, a Stanley Cup champion, and world junior champion -- I don’t know what else he’s won, but he knows how to play. I would expect that he’s gonna play hard in this series. I didn’t think he didn’t play hard yesterday, though.”
Instead, Babcock wanted to praise his own team's captain, Henrik Zetterberg, for registering a pair of assists while shutting down Toews' line...
Filed in: | The Malik Report | Permalink
NHL releases start time for Game 5 of Red Wings-Blackhawks series
Blog: The Malik Report By George Malik
05/19/13 at 02:47 PM ET | Comments (7)
From the NHL:
STARTING TIME SET FOR GAME 5 OF BLACKHAWKS-RED WINGS SERIES
NEW YORK (May 19, 2013) – The National Hockey League today announced that the starting time for Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinal series between the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings has been set for 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on Saturday, May 25, in Chicago.
In the U.S., the game will be broadcast nationally on NBC. In Canada, the game will be televised nationally by CBC and RDS.
Filed in: | The Malik Report | Permalink
Only Ottawa Cheering For Ottawa
05/19/13 at 02:36 PM ET | Comments (8)
from Rosie DiManno of the Toronto Star,
Senators Nation? Uh-oh Canada.
The Ottawa Senators may be the only franchise of seven from north of the 49th Parallel still alive and kicking — feebly, to be sure — in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Yet they remain very much a parochial, narrowly embraced entity, a team utterly yoked to one city and one city alone. Further, it’s a city that only civil servants and governance geeks could love.
Our national capital is less loathed than smug Toronto and less parodied than slacker Vancouver but also lesser envied than either. Nor does it possess the small-market virtues of Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg. And it made no friends in at least one of our two Canadian solitudes by handily dispatching Montreal in the first round.
This is not a town that will spiritually stitch together the country’s diverse parts through the unifying force of hockey.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators, | KK Hockey | Permalink
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