PuckUpdate

Conference Finals Previews

Fri, 09 May 2008 15:47:20 -0500

My RotoRob Conference Finals preview is up.
Enjoy!

Dallas: 'I Love How the Red Really Pops Against the Ice'

Fri, 09 May 2008 06:37:48 -0500

I'm going to go ahead and turn my game one summary, a 4-1 Detroit win over Dallas, to Star captain Brenden Morrow, since he kind of captured things perfectly: "You can't stand around and watch the puck."
Dallas seemed to spend most of the game standing around, watching the Wings. When you think of Dallas, you tend to think of tight defense. Last night was more like the Stars were watching video. Spending so much time on the penalty kill didn't help things for Dallas. I'm not sure you can play a typical penaltykill box against the Wings. Since so much of their offense comes in from the point, I would seriously consider playing three up high and one in the crease, to at least try and pretend Johan Franzen can be contained (at one point last night, I actually saw Franzen making a sandwich in the crease; he's very comfortable there).
At least not too many people saw Detroit win. That's one thing Dallas can take away.

Leafs: 'We're Proactive. We're Looking Three Firings Ahead...'

Thu, 08 May 2008 06:51:10 -0500

OK. In case you were wondering why the Leafs are such a mess, here is a nice example of how things roll in Toronto:

Fire your coach (some people call him Maurice).
Float a name as a possible GM (David Nonis, fresh off of his victorious tour through Vancouver).
Float another name (Brian Burke of the Ducks), who'll replace the previous name, when the third name's contract expires.

Basically, the Leafs have not hired anyone yet and are already looking to replace them. Not only that, they're canning a coach without a GM. What if the new hire was content to let Maurice finish out the year on his contract?
Adrian Dater is already floating Colorado coach Joel Quenneville as a good coaching option for Toronto.
My main objection to that is I really don't want the NHL to become the incestuous fired-coach carousel that is the NBA. There are like 31 NBA coaches. It seems like no one new ever comes in; at best, a coach sits out a year before returning to the league. And that just adds to the parity. The NHL does not need that.

Pennsylvania: 'Let's Get Physical, Physical!'

Wed, 07 May 2008 06:41:09 -0500

Before the playoffs started, I would have laughed at the idea the Penguins could play as physically as the Flyers. But one thing about the Penguins is they've really allowed their game to evolve in the post-season. While their series against Ottawa was like an exhibition game, their round two play against the Rangers grew tighter and more physical as the series progressed. And one of Pittsburgh's best backcheckers? Evgeni Malkin. I was blown away by his two-way game.
Meanwhile, while the Flyers are probably always going to have a physical edge to their game, they used a shocking amount of speed, speed I didn't know they had, against Montreal.
The Eastern Conference finals will be interesting.
The Western Conference finals will be interesting, too. I'm interested to see if Dallas goalie Marty Turco will get his first win at Joe Louis Arena. I'm not sure if this matters, but to be fair, Turco's never played a post-season game at the Joe.
Also, Chris Botta, the Islanders' vice president of media relations, has resigned. Normally, I don't even notice these kinds of moves, but Botta had a pretty nice blog about doing PR for the Isles. His resignation isn't mentioned on the blog yet but hopefully Botta's replacement will continue it.

Don't Forget the Losers

Tue, 06 May 2008 06:35:46 -0500

I love the time between playoff rounds because it lets me catch up a little bit. Not so much on the playoff teams, but on the teams that were bounced out of the playoffs.
Or in the case of the Buffalo Sabres, the team that didn't even make the playoffs and is seeing two former players (Daniel Briere and Marty Biron) lead their team (the Flyers) into the Eastern Conference finals.
Over in Colorado, Adrian Dater pointed out Joe Sakic asked to be out on the ice for the final seconds of the Avs blowout loss to the Wings. That could be an indication Sakic won't be back next season. It could also be an indication he's a masochist. It's hard to say. Only time will tell.
Over in Washington, spurned goalie Olie Kolzing finally explained Nameplate Gate. It doesn't seem like he'll be back in DC, although I'm not sure what kind of starting opportunities he'll find with other teams.
Also, it looks like Jaromir Jagr will finally come off the Caps' cap. One of my favorite parts of having Jaromir Jagr in New York has been knowing that his time here is subsidized. It makes me feel like a farmer being paid not to grow something.
Now, onto the winners.
In Detroit, everyone is asking who the team MVP is so far. Drew Sharp says it's not Chris "Mr. Stable" Osgood. Jamie Samuelsen says it's coach Ken Holland. Defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom is also in the mix for MVP, all the more amazing when you consider he has yet to record a hit in the playoffs.
Also, Dallas' four overtime win over the Sharks actually got pretty good ratings. What is it about Dallas and really long playoff games?
Oh. And I missed this because I didn't stay up, but apparently American hockey icons Mike Modano and Jeremy Roenick had a nice moment on the handshake line.

A Tribute to the Beat Writers

Mon, 05 May 2008 06:49:17 -0500

Today is dedicated to the beat writers, the unsung heroes of the NHL. And honestly, the guys who supply most of my content.
Tim Panaccio says the worst thing about covering Peter Forsberg in Philadelphia was all of the medical drama. Panaccio says the Denver writers weren't/aren't fans of the Forsberg beat, either.
Also, how crazy is it that the Flyers are going to Eastern Conference finals? Did anyone pick the Flyers to do anything this year?
They'll be playing the Penguins, who beat the Rangers yesterday afternoon. Everyone pretty much saw that coming after the Penguins took the first three games. And that had a lot of the writers thinking about Jaromir Jagr, and if he'll play in New York next year. Sam Weinman seems like he'll miss Jags, as does John Dellapina.
Compare those to Jagr's exit from Pittsburgh. I don't quite feel the same love.
Finally, Alltop is a news aggregator ~~based on~~ inspired by popurls. They have a hockey version. It's pretty cool.

Wings-Avs Rivalry: 'We Can't Come to the Phone Right Now. Please Leave a Message'

Fri, 02 May 2008 06:48:56 -0500

What can you say about last night's 8-2 Detroit round two clincher over the Avs?
Obviously, Johan Franzen dominated, with a hat trick and nine goals in the series.
Obviously, everyone agrees it's time for Peter Forsberg to hang up his skates (and not take them down again to return to the NHL).
Obviously, the sweep/rout pretty much killed the Detroit-Colorado rivalry.
Obviously, the Avs have a lot of decisions to make about next season's roster.
Of course the Wings weren't the only Detroit team clinching a playoff round with a blowout. The Pistons also did it.
In New York, the Rangers lived to play another game, blanking Pittsburgh 3-0. Say what you will about Jaromir Jagr, but there are very few players in the NHL who can decide they want their team to win and then pretty much go ahead and make it happen. This was the Penguins first playoff lost, but is it too little too late? History says yes but one variable is that Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andrew Fleury has been pretty awful. Pittsburgh's round two record is more a tribute to the inept play of the Rangers and a Pittsburgh defense that swarms their own goalie. Fleury loves to leave rebounds in the crease and he seems pretty easy to beat glove-hand high. He's often out of position and when he scrambles, he tends to hit the ice very early. He's also part of the growing legion of NHL goalies who love playing the puck when one of his own defensemen and one of his opponent's defensemen are about to fight for the puck behind his net. He's looked very beatable to me. Not that we've seen it happen very often in the playoffs.

Bob Barker: 'The Halak Is Not Right, Either'

Thu, 01 May 2008 06:39:19 -0500

I don't quite understand the Canadiens goalie situation. Last night, they started backup Jaroslav Halak over rookie Carey Price, presumably their future franchise goalie. Price has struggled in the playoffs, but he's also had some great moments. In other words, he's played like you would expect the average rookie goaltender to play in high-stakes games.
One would assume a rookie goalie, especially one playing in a fishbowl like Montreal and one whose last name isn't Dryden or Roy, to have some growing pains in the playoffs. But if you've decided a rookie is going to be your franchise goalie, as the Habs seems to have decided, you need to let him work his way out of trouble.
It all makes Montreal's trade deadline move of goalie Cristobal Huet to the Caps for a second-round pick all the more confusing. Why not hold onto the more experienced Huet so you have more of a safety net? Why not let Price experience the playoffs without everything on his shoulders? Why not give the team two serious goalie options?
It seems the Habs won't have to deal with the goalie situation much longer, though. The Flyers, who can't hold a lead, somehow have a 3-1 series lead.
For now.
Also, Flyers goalie Marty Biron grew up a huge, face-painting, season-ticket-holding Quebec Nordiques fan. So he's really looking forward to knocking Montreal out of the playoffs. And I guess it's a good thing Colorado won't advance to the next round. I get the feeling Biron would just let Sakic score at will.
Also, San Jose stayed alive in the playoffs one more day. I love Ron Wilson's new strategy: play flawless hockey and capitalize on every mistake you can. I'm curious if that's sustainable over the next three games.
Speaking of San Jose, PJ at Sharkspage has had some beautiful shots of the San Jose side of the series. PJ also had a really nice interview with Victor Chi, formerly the Sharks beat writer for the San Jose Mercury News and now with Sportingnews.com. Among the many things Chi touches on is just how hard it is to play in the Western Conference, given ridiculous travel requirements.

Manager: 'Puck! Where Are Those TPS Reports?'

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 06:59:28 -0500

Mike Babcock was the first coach I ever heard use the term puck management. I heard it when he was coaching the Ducks. The idea behind Babcock's idea of puck management was controlling the puck. That can be puck possession, or smart plays, like dump-ins.
More and more coaches talk about puck management, but they seem to mean it as a shorthand for either holding the puck or shooting the puck. But nothing else.
Two of last night's games illustrated that.
Over in New York, the Rangers controlled the puck, spending extended periods in the Pittsburgh zone, and getting off 39 shots and scoring three times. Pittsburgh put up just 17 shots but converted on five of them. Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist wasn't super sharp, but none of the five goals were horrible. Pittsburgh just made the most of their chances, without really managing the puck. The trick is, when they did manage the puck (which I guess makes the linesman middle management), they managed it well. Jaromir Jagr actually pointed this out before the game:

When you look at Pittsburgh, they don't shoot the puck...They make cross-ice passes, making four guys tired and then somebody is going to be open.
"It's not about just shoot the puck on the net, especially in the first 20 seconds. If you do that when guys are fresh, it's easy for [penalty killers] to get the rebound. [After] you make them tired by passing it around, then it makes more sense to shoot."

The Rangers didn't do much of that. They stuck to that half-court style that works against static teams like the Devils but gets killed by fast teams like the Penguins. And sure enough, the Rangers got killed.
The Rangers are down 3-0 in the series because coach Tom Renney refuses to give up on his puck management philosophy. If someone gives him some kind of primer on puck transitioning (WHO MOVED MY PUCK? WHAT COLOR IS YOUR PUCK-ACHUTE?), maybe the Rangers will avoid a sweep.
Over in Dallas, it was a shockingly similar story. The Sharks went down in overtime when Dallas got the puck moving east-to-west (and north to the point), rather than just planting their feet and shooting. It's funny that the Stars would win like that, too, given their reputation for defensive, north-south hockey.
Also, in case there's any confusion, puck management is just a ridiculous name. It sounds like an Excel formula.
Also, to the surprise of no one, the Avs lost last night. Peter Forsberg was back but Ryan Smyth wasn't. Paul Stastny is the latest injury. If Colorado does somehow get a game five, they'll probably dress eight players.
How weird will it be if there are three second-round sweeps?
Also, this is pretty funny: 5 Reasons why Non-hockey Fans should Start Watching the NHL Playoffs. Read it for no other reason than the Versus cracks. Although Versus has been improving. At least they're not just rebroadcasting the TSN feeds for their second games of back-to-backs.

Habs Pay the Price for Flyers Defense

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:44:43 -0500

The role of defense in the playoffs is such an interesting thing. The Devils, with no offense to speak of, left in the first round of the playoffs when their defense wasn't enough to keep them in games. The Ducks, with a huge offense, left in the first round when their defense failed them and their offense couldn't compensate. Last night, against Montreal, the Flyers, without a horribly impressive offense, won pretty much on defense alone. After jumping to a 3-0 lead, the Flyers held on to win 3-2. The one hole in Montreal's game this season has been their streakiness. It's easy to blame Habs goalie Carey Price, who was pulled after just three goals, but an offense like Montreal's should have been able to handle the Flyers, a team that can easily lose focus for 20-25 minutes a night.
Over in Dallas, actually quite a bit of a hockey town, hockey is getting even bigger. The Dallas Morning News even has five tips for sounding like a hockey expert. I would add "Good things happen when you put the puck on net" as another. I think I've heard it around 260 times so far this season. How come NBA announcers never say that about basketballs? How come baseball announcers don't say "Good things happen when you hit the ball over the wall"?

Don't Bet on Forsberg

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 06:41:25 -0500

I honestly thought the Penguins would go down in the second round very easily. I figured the cakewalk through Ottawa had set unrealistic expectations for the team and I thought the Rangers matched up better, both in terms of experience and grit.
Pittsburgh's game one win seemed like more of a fluke than anything else. But yesterday's win over the Rangers was actually very impressive. They did a great job of keeping the Rangers to the boards. The Rangers don't have a lot of speed, and what little speed they had was useless.
Obviously, we can talk about the special treatment Sidney Crosby gets, and that NBC devoted at least 40 minutes to refuting the very thought of it, in what has to be one of the most embarrassing media-apologizing-for-treatment-of-an-athlete spectacles I've ever seen. But honestly, it really hasn't been that big of an issue. The game one penalty against New York Ranger Marty Straka, who had the audacity not to get out of Crosby's way toward the end of the game, was awful timing, but no worse than blowing a three goal lead.
If the Rangers want to get past the Penguins, they're going to have to change things up. I'd start by dropping Brendan Shanahan down a line or two. Scott Gomez needs some speed on his wing. Larry Brooks agrees with me.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Seth Rorabaugh has a great game two wrap-up post, though.
Also, Terry Frei has a nice column explaining what everyone but the Colorado Avalanche seemed to know months ago: Peter Forsberg is more high-risk than high-reward.
Adrian Dater has a nice post on how Forsberg went down right before game one.

NBC: 'We're Big Fans of the Pittsburgh Crosbys!'

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 15:33:53 -0500

Not that I disagree with NBC's minute-by-minute assurances that Sidney Crosby doesn't dive. I just happened to notice Crosby's upcoming film project:

No Goalie Fights? Are You Sure?

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 10:58:32 -0500

I know we're all very busy people here, so I'm going to cut right to the chase. Chris Osgood says there's not going to be a goalie fight between the Avs and the Wings.
I'm glad Mitch Albom thought to ask.
The Wings beat the Avs in game one, with Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood starting over Dom Hasek. Osgood was everything I've said he is: just good enough to not lose. And really, I think that's better than being a goalie like Hasek, who will blow games just as easily as he'll save them.
Of course, Colorado went into the game with some medical issues, and left with a few more. Peter Forsberg and Wojtek Wolski both missed game one and goalie Jose Theodore left the game sick.
Last night's Flyers loss to the Habs taught Philadelphia something about what I like to call the Kharma of Officiating. Also, the fans in Montreal have to be pretty rough, if people from Philadelphia are shocked by them. At least there were no car fires last night.
Also, over with the Dallas Stars, everyone finally seems to be convinced goalie Marty Turco won't freak out in the playoffs. Let's see how he does when the Sharks set up behind his net and just keep cycling the puck within two feet of his net, though.
Also, I don't get Sean Avery.

Blur (to the tune of "Song 2"): 'Round Two!'

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 08:59:13 -0500

Here are some quick notes:

Franchise goalie turned bench decoration Olie Kolzig is still pretty pissed at the Caps. Also, coach Bruce Boudreau signed some kind of contract extension. Kolzig would be a great coach. I don't see him joining the Washington staff, though. Assuming he decides to retire.

Speaking of losing teams and goalie-related anger, the Flames players are supposedly mad at coach Mike Keenan for pulling goalie Miikka Kiprusoff late in the second period of a 4-2 game. Apparently, none of the Flames had ever heard of Keenan's signature coaching move. Seriously, though. When is Darryl Sutter coming back to the bench?

Speaking of goalies, Jacques Demers writes what we all know to be true: hot goalies save teams in the playoffs. He also says great goalies make coaches look good. Which is almost the conceptual opposite of the Keenan Formula of switching goalies every 10 periods, no matter how they're playing.

When will it not be considered news that siblings often play on different teams? The Rangers-Pittsburgh series features Staal against Staal. But given the number of Staals in the NHL, I think it's way more newsworthy when there's a game not featuring some combination of Staal.

Roenick Rises

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 09:17:06 -0500

When aging NHL superstars sign with teams in nice climates, I tend to think they're career is pretty much over. Look at Brett Hull in Phoenix. Look at Jeremy Roenick in Phoenix.
Of course, Roenick decided his career wasn't over and ended up unretiring to sign with the Sharks. After sitting out game six, Roenick put together a four-point night that led the Sharks to clinch a semifinal playoff spot.
How did Roenick end up with two goals and two assists? Coach Ron Wilson's text message told him to.
Also, it seems coach Ron Wilson was the first coach to get Roenick to focus on hockey, rather than his career, the media, his next controversial statement, etc. And a lot of people zeroed in on Roenick as a sleeper playoff factor after he scored 10 game-winning goals during the regular season.
Meanwhile, over in Calgary, the autopsy begins. Was it coaching? Was it goaltending? Was it the new uniforms? Or was it the usual Calgary issue of not enough offense beyond Jarome Iginla?
Over in DC, Joffrey Lupul showed, in overtime no less, the value of playoff experience. The Caps also got a wonderful lesson in playoff officiating, as a tripping call led to the game-winner.
Also, starter-turned-backup goalie Olie Kolzig seems done with the Caps, having removed his nameplate from his locker after the Caps final game. If the Caps can't sign unrestricted free agent goalie Cristobal Huet, this could be Washington's last visit to the playoffs for quite a while. How sad is Kolzig's exit? This is a guy who would have captained the team, had goalies been allowed to wear the C. This should have been one of the best seasons of Kolzig's career. Washington threw away a lot by pushing him out and it doesn't seem like they got very much in return.