best sports betting sites Canada
Guide on Choosing Canadian betting sites
Legal US sports betting

From Bad Jarry To Good Jarry

05/19/2021 at 7:00am EDT

from Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,

On this night, they sang his name.

“Jar-ry! Jar-ry! Jar-ry!”

Unlike the other afternoon, there was no expletive in front of it.

Such is life for an NHL goaltender at playoff time. When his team loses, it’s all his fault. But when it wins? He’s the biggest sports hero in town.

That is the life Tristan Jarry has chosen.

He was on the right side of the deal Tuesday night.

As bad as Jarry was Sunday afternoon in the Penguins’ 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Islanders, he was that good in their 2-1 win against the Islanders on Tuesday night. It’s fair to say he is most responsible for the first-round playoff series being tied at a game apiece.

There was no better player on the PPG Paints Arena ice in a game the Penguins desperately needed.

I have to admit, I didn’t see this bounce-back performance coming from Jarry. His teammates did, though.

continued

The Tampa Bay Lightning Can Beat You In Many Ways

05/19/2021 at 6:52am EDT

from John Romano of the Tampa Bay Times,

No offense to the Florida Panthers, but this ain’t about you.

No matter how much Tampa Bay’s neighbors to the south might think this is a rivalry and seem desperate to draw blood, this series was always going to be about the journey of a championship team returning to the postseason after a season of hardships.

The Lightning? They’re still the NHL’s star attraction.

The Panthers? Until proving otherwise, they’re just the extras.

Yes, great teams really can flip a switch in the postseason. It didn’t matter that Florida passed the Lightning in the division standings, and it didn’t matter that the Panthers blew out Tampa Bay in the final two games of the regular season. It didn’t matter that Florida stormed into the playoffs with 10 wins in its last 12 games, or that the Lightning were a .500 team for much of April.

For a lot of these Tampa Bay players, the season’s first six months are just a prelude. They’ve reached the conference finals in four of the last six seasons and know exactly what it’s going to take to still be playing in mid-summer.

You want fast-paced and furious? The Lightning can do that, and beat Florida 5-4 in Game 1. You want pushing and shoving and acting like tough guys? The Panthers tried that in Game 2 on Tuesday night and the Lightning won 3-1. If the Panthers thought it was just the misfortune of special teams that cost them in the playoff opener, the Lightning dissuaded them of that notion in Game 2.

Forty-eight hours into the postseason, Florida’s home-ice has been wasted.

continued

Keeping Jeff Blashill

05/19/2021 at 6:20am EDT

from Ansar Khan of Mlie,

NHL coaches whose clubs fail to reach the playoffs five years in a row generally are gone well before the streak gets that long.

But Jeff Blashill is returning for a seventh season as Detroit Red Wings head coach, and general manager Steve Yzerman spent a large chunk of his nearly hour-long postseason media address Tuesday explaining why.

He also summed up his decision in a few sentences.

“We need a better team,” Yzerman said. “We need our players to play better and it’s up to management to bring in players that make us a better team. You need good players to win in the league. I could change coaches year after year after year. We need good players, and if we don’t have good players, it’s not going to change.”

He added, “Was it a difficult decision? Not really. I’m comfortable with it.”

continued

from Shawn Windsor of the Detroit Free Press,

Steve Yzerman is keeping his coach. He has his reasons. They probably aren’t yours.

Mostly because it’s harder for you to see them. Which means, for some of you, your thoughts about Jeff Blashill sticking around another year … or five — Yzerman declined to say how long he was extending his contract — may pit your desire to see Blashill fired against your faith in Yzerman.

It’s a tough spot. Though it wasn’t for Yzerman, especially when you consider what the former Detroit Red Wings star values in a coach:

“We can drive ourselves crazy if we get overly emotional,” Yzerman said Tuesday afternoon. “I like (Blashill’s) methodical approach to this.”

continued ($$$)

NHL Short Notes

05/19/2021 at 2:09am EDT

THREE HARD LAPS


* With more than 9,000 fans at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, and nearly that number at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the Penguins and Golden Knights each claimed home wins to even their respective series at one game apiece.

* Nikita Kucherov moved within one of 100 career playoff points as the Lightning pulled ahead 2-0 in their series with the Panthers as the clubs get set to head cross-state for Game 3 on Thursday.

* The final game of the 2020-21 regular season is slated for this afternoon, with four playoff games to follow including Connor McDavid and the Oilers hosting Mark Scheifele and the Jets in the first postseason game in the Scotia North Division.

About Kukla's Korner

Kukla’s Korner is updated around the clock with the work of our own talented bloggers, plus links to the best hockey writing around the internet.  We strive to bring you all the breaking hockey news as it happens.

The home page allows you to see the latest postings from every blog on the site. Subscribe here.  For general inquiries and more, please contact us anytime.

Most Recent Posts

Most Recent Comments

Comment by bigfrog in Abel to Yzerman from the entry The Players On The Coach - 1 hour ago
Comment by bigfrog in Kukla's Korner Hockey from the entry Aaron Ward Thought He Had Gambling Under Control - 1 hour ago
Comment by dca in Kukla's Korner Hockey from the entry Rod Brind’Amour Staying In Carolina - 2 hours ago
Comment by Steeb in Kukla's Korner Hockey from the entry Aaron Ward Thought He Had Gambling Under Control - 3 hours ago
Comment by calquake in Kukla's Korner Hockey from the entry Aaron Ward Thought He Had Gambling Under Control - 4 hours ago
Comment by rumbear in Kukla's Korner Hockey from the entry Notes During The Stanley Cup Playoffs - 5 hours ago
Comment by TreKronor in Abel to Yzerman from the entry The Players On The Coach - 6 hours ago
Comment by Paul in Kukla's Korner Hockey from the entry Open Post- Game 6 Between The Vancouver Canucks And The Edmonton Oilers - 15 hours ago
Comment by Paul in Kukla's Korner Hockey from the entry Open Post- Game 6 Between The Vancouver Canucks And The Edmonton Oilers - 16 hours ago
Comment by SYF in Kukla's Korner Hockey from the entry Open Post- Game 6 Between The Vancouver Canucks And The Edmonton Oilers - 16 hours ago