Kukla's Korner Hockey

Wings Want The Puck

by Paul on 02/11/12 at 09:33 AM ET
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from Ryan Pyette of the London Free Press,

The most intimidating guy inside the toughest NHL rink to win in is surrounded by security at a table in the Joe Louis Arena concourse, where he’s selling books, autographs and memories for 35 bucks.

Ted Lindsay is 86 years old, still pumps iron every day and, with something that sounds like a cross between a snarl and a chuckle, puts his finger on the crux of how the Detroit Red Wings remain hockey’s most remarkable team.

“You play together and control the puck the way they do, you control the game,” Terrible Ted barked. “When they don’t have it, they fight like hell to recover. It goes down the line—ownership, management, coaching and the talent. You need the players. Detroit was the first team scouting in Europe, back when everyone thought a hockey player had to be from Canada.

“They keep finding the players they need to win.”

That’s why everyone hates playing them.

continued

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Marc Staal Trying To Find His ‘A’ Game

by Paul on 02/11/12 at 09:22 AM ET
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from Larry Brooks of the NY Post,

“I have high expectations of myself under any circumstance, and I want to be able to contribute to the success of a first-place team the way I know I’m capable of doing, but it’s not quite there yet,” Staal told The Post following yesterday’s practice. “Once I got through the first handful of games without any negative consequences, I turned all my focus to my game, but it’s been choppy for me.”...

Staal is averaging 18:01 per over the 16 games he has played, but 19:11 in his past 13. That’s still a considerable drop from the 25:44 that the 25-year-old logged last year in leading the club in ice time and his lowest average since he got 18:48 per as rookie in 2007-08.

“I think I can do a better job of getting into the flow of the game at a high-intensity level on every shift,” Staal said. “I’m used to playing big minutes where I’m jumping over the boards just about every other shift, whereas now I’m on the bench a bit more, which gives me more time to think, and that’s not always good.

“But I think I’m getting more used to it and have been doing a better job dealing with it. I believe the best is in front of me.”

more

Filed in: NHL Teams, New York Rangers | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Marc+Staal,

Road Trip From Hell Continues For Chicago

by Paul on 02/11/12 at 09:02 AM ET
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from Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune,

Try as they might, the Blackhawks searched for some positives following their seventh consecutive defeat.

“Right now, minutes after another loss, it’s tough to look at the bright side of things,” captain Jonathan Toews said in the morgue-like atmosphere of the Hawks’ dressing room after their 5-3 loss to the Sharks on Friday night at HP Pavilion.

“We played hard out there. We saw some fights, we saw some scratching and clawing, some battling in front of the net and a couple of ugly goals. We played the way we had to. We gave them too many opportunities on the power play and that’s how they separated themselves from us in this game. It always seems to be one thing or another but (Friday night) we’re getting closer to playing that more complete game.”

They aren’t nearly close enough as their skid is reaching epic proportions with their ninth loss in a row away from home that dropped their record on the current road trip to 0-4-1.

continue for more on the loss to San Jose…

Filed in: NHL Teams, Chicago Blackhawks | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Video- Kari Lehtonen With The Save Of The Night

by Paul on 02/10/12 at 10:47 PM ET
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Closing seconds of OT, Lehtonen robs Thomas Vanek.  The Sabres did win in the shootout.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Buffalo Sabres, Dallas Stars | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Kari+Lehtonen,

Dominic Moore Fined $2,500

by Paul on 02/10/12 at 08:48 PM ET
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NEW YORK (February 10, 2012)—Tampa Bay Lightning forward Dominic Moore has been fined $2,500, the maximum allowed under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for an interference infraction that caused an injury to New York Rangers forward Ruslan Fedotenko in NHL Game No. 803 on Thursday, Feb. 9, in New York, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

The incident occurred at 3:05 of the third period. A minor penalty for roughing was assessed on the play.

If you missed the hit, it can be viewed here.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Tampa Bay Lightning | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Dominic+Moore,

Afternoon Line

by Paul on 02/10/12 at 05:40 PM ET
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There is enough concern about the state of Chicago’s team that Quenneville’s job security could be in some danger.

Think it can’t happen? This is the NHL. Peter Laviolette won the Stanley Cup with Carolina in 2006 and was fired in 2008. John Tortorella won the Cup with Tampa Bay in 2004 and was axed three seasons later. Bob Hartley won it with Colorado in 2001, went to Game 7 of the Western finals in 2002, and was canned 31 games into the ‘02-03 season. Randy Carlyle won the Cup with Anaheim in 2007, and now he’s looking for work.

Quenneville has a contract that runs through the 2013-14 season, but money is about the only thing it guarantees. The pressure is always high on coaches in a league where financial profit usually only comes with a playoff berth. Quenneville is not immune to such reality. If his team’s current six-game losing streak (0-5-1) continues, and the postseason starts to look at all like the dicey proposition it was last year, sources close to the situation tell SI.com that a change behind the bench is possible.

-Adrian Dater of Sports Illustrated where you can read more on the Blackhawks.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Chicago Blackhawks | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Joel+Quenneville,

Homer’s Night

by Paul on 02/10/12 at 05:38 PM ET
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Tonight Tomas Holmstrom will play in his 1000th NHL game, all with the Detroit Red Wings.

But did you know his first NHL was typical Holmstrom style?

from Nicholas J. Cotsonika of Yahoo,

His English has improved, but it’s all relative. His accent used to be so thick that people couldn’t even guess where he was from. Now at least they try. “They go, ‘Are you French Canadian?’ ” Holmstrom said. ” ‘Yeah. Oui.’ “

His skating has improved, too. But again, it’s all relative. Holmstrom will become only the 48th man in NHL history to play 1,000 regular-season games with one team, and according to the man who discovered him, Hakan Andersson, the Wings’ director of European scouting, “he’s the worst skater of them all.”

more

Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Tomas+Holmstrom,

Accused Coach Found Dead

by Paul on 02/10/12 at 03:56 PM ET
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from Teresa Masterson of NBC 10 Philadelphia,

Ukrainian hockey coach Ivan Pravilov, who trained teens and professionals in the Philadelphia area, was found dead in his jail cell Friday, an officials told the Associated Press.

Authorities suspect suicide.

Pravilov, a mentor to several NHL and college players including former Flyer (an current New Jersey Devil) Dainius Zubrus, was arrested in mid-January for having sexual contact with a teenage boy in who attended his hockey clinics, authorities say.

The alleged fondling happened in Pravilov’s Philadelphia apartment, officials say.

continued

Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Ivan+Pravilov,

The Jack Johnson Rumors

by Paul on 02/10/12 at 02:48 PM ET
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Darren Dreger of TSN answers some emails,

I keep reading Jack Johnson’s name in trade rumours from various sites (probably guys who don’t really have any insight posting for conversation). Is there actually a chance L.A. would be shopping Johnson?  Also, I’ve read St. Louis is seeking a Top 6 playmaker, any chance of them acquiring one?

What are your thoughts?

A:  Warren, there’s no reason to believe Los Angeles is shopping Jack Johnson and based on recent dealings I’ve had with Kings general manager Dean Lombardi, he’s tired of all speculation. It’s believed Lombardi would like to add a forward and the names of Carter, Hemsky, Huselius, MacArthur and Kulemin are considered potential candidates, but Lombardi is one of the more unpredictable GMs, so zeroing in on a specific target is a tricky business. As for St. Louis, Blues GM Doug Armstrong goes about the hunt in a somewhat sleuth-like fashion. We know St. Louis would like to add a defenceman and if there is an affordable upgrade to his top six available, I’m sure it will be considered. But as I said, Armstrong is masterful at staying under the radar and is always a prime suspect when we start hearing the rumblings a blockbuster may be in the works.

more Q & A…

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The New Trade Deadline Strategy

by Paul on 02/10/12 at 02:00 PM ET
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from Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail,

The new hard currency at the deadline isn’t draft choices - unless they’re No. 1s, preferably in the top 15 - but prospects already in the pipeline, the Jake Gardiners of the world, the player who came to the Maple Leafs last year as a relative unknown semi-throw-in, in the Joffrey Lupul-for-Francois Beauchemin deal, but was closer to being NHL-ready than many casual observers imagined.

Nobody, among the Blue Jackets , Hurricanes, Ducks and their ilk has the patience any more to wait for that medium-to-long-term prospect who might spend three-to-five years in the pipeline before he’s NHL ready.

Drafting and developing is always the surest ticket to success - you need only examine the performance of teams as disparate as the New York Rangers or the Nashville Predators for proof of that - but it has finally sunk in for many GMs, picking through the ashes of previous deadline fiascos, that the returns they received for all their hot properties weren’t necessarily so hot after all.

more plus other topics…

Filed in: NHL Teams | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

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