Posts Tagged ‘hockey’
November 30th, 2011 | 
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Are the Rangers Elite? (Dbostrom/Flickr)
The New York Rangers faced arguably their biggest test of the season last night, when the Pittsburgh Penguins visited Madison Square Garden. It was the first time in a year that Sidney Crosby skated on Madison Square Garden, and like all games between these bitter rivals, sparks flew early.
Withing the first minute of the game, Sean Avery and Tyler Kennedy took coincidental minors for roughing. That wouldn’t be the end of it however, as the two immediately dropped the gloves after exiting the penalty box. It would set the tone for the entire game. In similar fashion, Brandon Prust dropped the gloves right off the face-off to start the Rangers game against the Flyers over the weekend. A game they also won.
The team came alive in the second period, with a huge offensive outburst. They scored four goals, after being down 1-0.
Rookie Carl Hagelin has been incredibly effective for the team in the short time since his call up. In the second period, once again the speed of Hagelin led to a Rangers goal.
“Obviously he has tremendous speed, so that works to the whole lines advantage,” Ranger forward John Mitchell said of line-mate Hagelin “If he chip the puck in, he’s gonna be flying in there… gonna be the first guy in the majority of the time because he’s so fast.”
After the game, the world elite was bandied about by many people following the team. The Rangers have now won three straight games against supposedly elite teams, and have won 10 out of their last 12. Elite is not a word to be taken lightly, but center Brad Richards believes that he plays for a very tough team.
“We believe in here were capable of winning any night,” Richards said.
When John Tortorella took over, there was a lot of talk about his high flying, run and gun coaching system. There was a question as to whether or not the parts in place would work for his system, but every day it seems more and more that Tortorella has evovled with the system, and the pieces he and management have put in place.
After practice today, the coach spoke to reporters about his team’s identity, and how he feels they have progressed.
“We have worked three years at trying to create this type of identity,” Tortorella said of the team’s “blue-collar,” hard working mantra. “This is the style of play we want to play here…. We feel this is the right way to play for our team. And I think the past 2 or 3 games have been as close to our identity as we’ve gotten this year.”
Marian Gaborik (Dbostrom/Flickr )
Rangers winger Marian Gaborik has also had a return to form for the team. The sniper appears to “have his legs,” as John Tortorella put it. He is creating plays with his speed, and is dangerous every time he steps on the ice.
The Rangers beat the Hurricanes 5-1 in the only match-up between the two teams back on November 11th. That game saw a four-goal offensive outburst in the 3rd period.
Are the New York Rangers an elite team? Only time will tell. Elite status comes with consistency, and it’s hard to call a team consistent only a quarter of the way through a season.
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On Monday, the Washington Capitals made a very dramatic coaching change firing Bruce Boudreau and naming former Washington Capital player, Dale Hunter, the new head coach. Much has been made about Boudreau’s firing, especially considering the ‘scuffle’ that Boudreau and Washington Capitals’ star Alex Ovechkin had on the bench a month ago during a game against Anaheim. Boudreau kept Ovechkin on the bench during the final minutes when Washington was down, something unimaginable in years prior. It turned out to be the right coaching move – the Capitals won the game – but Ovechkin was none too pleased at the time. Television cameras captured him uttering some choice words for his former coach.
Hunter in 1989 with the Capitals. (hockeymedia/Flickr)
The reasons behind the coaching change in Washington are many but failures in the playoffs despite success in the regular season is probably the most obvious. However, some see this coaching change as a direct result of Alex Ovechkin’s extremely slow start to the season; he has just 8 goals in 22 games. There is also a perception that he and Boudreau have never gotten along, most likely because Boudreau has wanted Ovechkin to play the defensive game. Whatever the reasons behind Boudreau’s firing and Ovechkin’s poor start, the results for Ovie and the Caps were no different on Tuesday night than they have been since the Capitals’ 7-0-0 start. The Blues held Ovechkin without a shot in the first two periods and while he did collect an assist on a beautiful feed to Nicklas Backstrom, in general. Ovechkin was the same player he’s been the whole year regardless of who’s calling out line combinations.
The St. Louis Blues, who are 8-1-2 since their own coaching change, controlled the play against Washington and held them to one goal on only 19 shots. Ken Hitchcock has done his job since taking over in St. Louis, propelling the Blues to 4th place in the Western conference and they are only a point behind the Central Divisionleader, Chicago. The Blues managed 30 shots against Washington and dominated a team that is always considered amongst the favorites in the East. There isn’t much new to say about the Blues since Hitchcock took over. They look like a completely different team. They are getting production from their big line of Backes, Steen, and Oshie. They are just playing stiff defense, allowing an average of 24 shots against while managing 30 shots a game. They’ve outshot all but 3 opponents since Hitchcock was named coach.
Capitals hockey star Ovechkin warms up (Icon SMI)
The Capitals should only hope to have the same success after their coaching change that the Blues have had, but from the outset it looks like that may never happen. The Blues replaced Davis Payne with a proven coach and winner in Ken Hitchcock. The Capitals in turn, placed Dale Hunter at the helm, and while Hunter has plenty of playing and coaching experience, he has never coached at the NHL level. While I’m sure there was plenty of motivation and reasoning behind Hunter’s appointment, it is anything but a safe play for the Capitals. The Blues made a coaching change that they almost certainly knew would pay dividends. Hitchcock has changed the team’s philosophy and made them winners. I’m not sure Dale Hunter can do the same for Washington. During his first few years as the coach of the Capitals, Bruce Boudreau had his team playing a very up-tempo offensive game with great results in the regular season, only to fizzle out in the playoffs. Boudreau then tried to change the team’s philosophy to make the Capitals more defensive and had similarly good results only to make an early playoff exit once again. What can Dale Hunter do to change the philosophy? Go back to nothing but offense and allow Ovechkin to do whatever he pleases? Doesn’t sound or look good for Hunter. It’s still early but things are already looking blue in Washington.
Philly native and ‘Cuse grad with a strong desire to possess T.J Oshie’s flow. I have a vocabulary composed of nothing but hockey lingo and big, often misused words.
When the New York Islanders selected John Tavares with the first pick in 2009 no one expected him to make the immediate impact that Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin did. Although the general consensus throughout the league was that Tavares was a special player, his 54-point rookie year was to be expected.
In the 2010-2011 season Tavares improved by five goals and eight assists, to give him a second year total of 67 points. At the beginning of this year Tavares looked to be on the verge of a breakout, scoring six goals and adding four assists in the first six games of the Islanders season. At one point Sports Illustrated crunched the numbers and found that Tavares was actually leading the league in goals per minutes played, with a goal every 24 minutes and 52 seconds of ice time.
(Icon SMI)
Since then Tavares has struggled, and is currently on an 11 game goal-less streak. He has also recorded only four assists in that stretch. His goals per ice time average, which at one point lead the league, has dropped all the way to a goal every 51 minutes and 49 seconds.
This isn’t to say that Tavares is not playing well, he is still doing a lot of the little things well, he is just not putting the puck in the net. The problem is that no one on the Islanders is consistency scoring, so Tavares’ goal slump is not hidden by a team putting up a lot of points.
This slump may be getting to Tavares, as last Friday he was fined by the NHL for a slash on New Jersey’s Zach Parise. In Tuesday’s game against Buffalo Tavares really seemed to be working his hardest on the ice to get back in the scoring column, and there is no doubt that at some point he will.
Other Islanders Stats and Notes:
-Mark Streit recorded a point for the first time in six games Tuesday when he took a shot from the point on an Isles powerplay that was just barely tipped in by Matt Moulson. Although Streit has not been putting up monster numbers there is no doubt he is the biggest threat on every Islanders power-play.
-David Ullstrom recorded his first NHL point Tuesday night when he assisted on Brian Rolston’s game winning goal. Ullstrom has shown an impressive combination of grit, skill and hustle and has been one of the better Islanders the past few games.
-Al Montoya has done a good job of quieting down any discussion of a goalie competition, stopping 76 of the 80 shots sent his way over the past three games. That adds up to a .950 save percentage and a goals against average of 1.33. On the season he is tied for seventh with a save percentage of .933.
Chris has written for various blogs about various teams, including the New York Jets and New York Islanders. He is currently a junior at the University of Maryland, where he is studying the dying field of print journalism. If you ever want to talk hockey, or anything else, feel free to contact him on Twitter @cleyden.
Steve Yzerman was very clear – don’t expect sweeping change despite the defensive breakdowns that are crippling the Tampa Bay Lightning.
GM Steve Yzerman has made it clear that he will not react in a knee-jerk fashion to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s defensive woes. (Michigan Hall)
As reported by the Tampa Tribune, the Bolt’s General Manager said, “I never believe you do something just to do something.”
The sophomore GM has received praise for his ability to get deals done, but he’s not letting his current players off the hook.
“We’ve had some very good games and done a lot of good things, but as a team we have to improve our team defense,” Yzerman said. “We have higher expectations and some of our players are not playing at the level they were at last year.”
Defensive Struggles
Yzerman isn’t the only one with higher expectations for the team. The Lightning are not performing as many hockey commentators expected. The Bolts are only one point out of a playoff spot, but the postseason bubble is a logjam in the Eastern Conference with five teams within three points of the eighth and final playoff berth.
“The Lightning of 2010-2011 earned what they got, so I wouldn’t say they ‘overachieved’.” Dave Mishkin, radio play-by-play announcer for the Tampa Bay Lightning
The apparent difference between last spring’s playoff juggernaut and this season’s inconsistent and defensively-challenged squad has led some commentators, most recently NBC’s Mike Halford, to claim that the Bolts simply overachieved last year.
Dave Mishkin, who does the Lightning’s radio play-by-play (and is a longtime hockey man), takes exception to such assessments. “I think the Lightning of 2010-2011 earned what they got, so I wouldn’t say they ‘overachieved’, ” Mishkin told THW.
“While the Lightning only lost a few players from last year’s club (Simon Gagne, Sean Bergenheim, Mike Lundin, Randy Jones), taking out a piece here and a piece there is significant, both in terms of depth and chemistry. The task for this year’s team is to have the new players, such as Ryan Shannon, Matt Gilroy, Bruno Gervais and rookie Brett Connolly, fill in those gaps.”
Most agree with Yzerman that it is the Bolts’ collective inability to consistently play solid defense that is at the root of the team’s struggles.
The Lightning are 22nd in the league with a 3.04 goals-against per game average, and are 17th with 30.2 shots-against per game.
But the Lightning finished last year with 2.85 goals against, good enough for – wait for it – 22nd in the league. It was during the playoffs when the Lightning buckled down defensively.
The Return of Mattias Ohlund
Those who’ve paid attention also know that injuries have torn gaping holes in the Tampa blue line this year.
“He plays against the first lines, he brings physicality, he’s smart, and top lines don’t like to play against him.” Guy Boucher on Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Mattias Ohlund
Most importantly, Mattias Ohlund has yet to play a game for the Bolts. The Swedish defenseman had arthroscopic surgery performed on both knees on October 11, but has now returned to the ice to practice with the team and is expected to suit up for games shortly.
The 35-year-old will add a veteran presence to the dressing room that may help the Lightning achieve some consistency. More importantly, his on-ice contributions will be welcomed by the organization. “We know that on defense it’s been very tough for us since the beginning of the year, and on the road we have been exposed and one of the big reasons is that we have played without Ohlund,” said Guy Boucher, head coach of the Lightning. “He plays against the first lines, he brings physicality, he’s smart, and top lines don’t like to play against him.”
Of course it is also possible that Ohlund might best help his team by forming part of a trade. According to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, the Lightning would “deal veteran D Mattias Ohlund in a second, but nobody is willing to eat his $3.607-million cap hit for three more seasons.”
Yeah, But What About the Goaltending?
Even before the season started, many fans were concerned about the goaltending situation. And despite the ‘lightning-in-a-bottle’ playoff performance by Dwayne Roloson last spring, the 42-year-old netminder has often looked his age this season.
Newcomer Mathieu Garon has similarly been inconsistent, but few expected the journeyman goalie to carry the franchise.
Neither has a top-30 save percentage.
There has been building rumors about the Lightning looking into a goaltending solution, and as reported by Eric Erlendsson at the Tampa Tribune, both Cory Schneider of the Vancouver Canucks, and Jonathan Bernier of the Los Angeles Kings are desirable options.
“It is reasonable to believe both of those players will be moved and Tampa Bay will be in on the discussions,” said Erlendsson. “The Lightning heavily scouted the Kings late in the season a year ago, while a Vancouver scout was reported to be in Norfolk to watch the Lightning’s AHL affiliate Friday night.”
Looking Ahead
Yzerman has insisted that he won’t do something for the sake of doing something. Instead, he’s hoping for internal improvement – and he might be getting it.
As Mishkin told THW, “over the past three or four games, we’ve started to see the Lightning, in terms of flow of play, look more like the Lightning from a year ago.”
While they are currently on the outside looking in when it comes to the post-season, it’s very possible that the Lightning are regaining last year’s form.
Just don’t expect defensive miracles quite yet.
Brent’s hockey writing has appeared in a variety of online and print media, including the Yahoo! Sports NHL blog, Puck Daddy, and USA Today magazines. His coverage of the Tampa Bay Lightning appears on THW each week.
Flames forward Mikael Backlund played at two World Junior Championships for Sweden. (Icon SMI)
THE STATS LINE
10-12-1 record [25th overall (in points percentage)]
2.22 goals-for per game [28th overall]
2.61 goals-against per game [17th overall]
12.7% power-play success rate [27th overall]
80.2% penalty-kill success rate [24th overall]
THE WEEK THAT WAS
- November 25: The Flames continued their four-game road odyssey with a 2-0 setback in St. Louis. The team played well, peppering Blues netminder Brian Elliott with 24 shots. But, alas, Elliott was sharp and the Flames were shut-out for the third time this season.
- November 27: Bouncing back from losses in their previous three games (and a prior 2-0 shutout by the Wild), the Flames went into Minnesota and beat the hometown team 5-2. In many ways, the bounces that didn’t go their way in previous games came back in bunches: several odd bounces turned into Flames goals, including T.J. Brodie’s first NHL marker.
- November 29: Building upon their previous game, the Flames played 60 solid minutes of calm, collected hockey and bested the Nashville Predators 1-0 in Calgary. Rookie Derek Smith scored his first NHL goal (on a beauty of a set-up by T.J. Brodie) to give the Flames their tenth win of the campaign. But the game wasn’t without a loss, as alternate captain Mark Giordano went down with a reported hamstring injury mid-way through the first period and did not return.
ROAD TRIP ROUND-UP
The Flames returned home on Monday following a four-game road trip. The team went 1-3-0 over the stretch. But while the team didn’t produce a lot in the standings, arguably only their game against the Blue Jackets was a stinker of an effort. The club got bit by a bad third period in Detroit and a hot goalie in St. Louis, and were only able to convert their visit to Minnesota into points in the standings.
Despite the poor results in the standings, the team got a bit of a chance to bond when they visited the St. Louis area home of defenseman Chris Butler. Butler’s parents hosted the entire team for Thanksgiving dinner.
“It was awesome,” reflected Butler on the meal. “I think everyone had a good time. For me, it was nice to be home for the holiday, to be around family. We had some cousins in town, so that was always nice. Like I said, everyone was well-fed and things kind of went off perfectly for my family.”
The Flames Thanksgiving meal just happened to take place at one of the more arduous points of the schedule, a month of November that saw the club play 14 games in 30 days (including a 5 game in 9 day stretch). Butler shared that the group seemed to enjoy the short break.
“It was a nice mental break for everybody,” shared Butler. “A lot of us just sat in the basement, ate a lot of food and watched some football games. It was nice to unwind, but at the same time to kind of do it together in a real relaxed environment.”
COMEAU HEADS WEST
Blake Comeau joined the Flames last week via the waiver wire. (hockeyjack/Flickr)
The Flames changed up their roster a bit during the road trip. The New York Islanders placed forward Blake Comeau on waivers and the Flames picked him up, bringing the Saskatchewan native a lot closer to home than he was previously. Comeau noted the entire transaction happened in a hurry.
“I was sitting by the phone for three hours that morning waiting to hear where I was going, if I was going anywhere,” said Comeau. “I got the phone call, found out I had a flight in three hours, so basically it’s just pack up, grab your hockey bag, go to the airport and next thing you know I’m in St. Louis playing.”
Comeau noted that going to place where he knows some guys and has family definitely helps. His parents and sister live in Calgary and were in attendance when he made his Flames home debut against the Predators.
“Obviously I know [Tim] Jackman from the Islanders. Scott Hannan lives in Kelowna, where I live in the summer-time, so I’ve known him for quite a long time,” said Comeau.
WORLD JUNIORS APPROACH
As the Flames chug along with their season, they do so knowing that they will be on the road a lot in the month of December. The culprit? The fact that Calgary and Edmonton are hosting the IIHF World Junior Championship around Christmas, leaving the Flames and the Oilers to hit the road for most of December.
Despite the fact that his club will be on the road a lot, Flames centre Mikael Backlund is excited for this year’s edition of the World Juniors. Backlund played for Sweden at the 2008 and 2009 championships, winning a pair of silver medals, and is excited to see how the tournament plays out this year.
“It’s one of the biggest moments of the year when you’re that age and get to play in that tournament,” said Backlund. “I had a lot of fun both years. A lot of excitement going on, a lot of passion. A lot of young guys want to show how good they are and take the next step forward in their development.”
Flames prospects Max Reinhart (Canada), Michael Ferland (Canada), Markus Granlund (Finland), Bill Arnold (United States) and Sven Baertschi (Switzerland) are expected to push for roster spots on their respective national teams. If all make it, it would be the most Flame representation at the tournament in several years.
MOVES, MOVES, MOVES
There were a few moves for the Flames during the past week.
In order to make room to claim Blake Comeau off waivers, the team assigned rookie forward Paul Byron to Abbotsford of the AHL. General manager Jay Feaster said in the club’s press release that he hoped to bring Byron back to the NHL soon.
Next, the Flames placed Mark Giordano on injury reserve and assigned Brett Carson to the AHL on a conditioning stint. The club also waived forward Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond, presumably with the intention of assigning him to the AHL. Unless Calgary recalls a defenseman from Abbotsford, Cory Sarich will take Giordano’s spot in the line-up. The roster moves would leave the Flames with 21 healthy bodies in town.
