Kukla's Korner Hockey

Tavares On the Rise

by Paul on 02/03/12 at 08:15 PM ET
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from Roy MacGregor of the Globe and Mail,

John Tavares, the New York Islanders centre who was the NHL’s player of the month for January, is working the corners. He spins, he rolls off two checkers, he has his head raised like a cobra in search of opportunity. He works through traffic by keeping everything in so tight to his body they cannot stop him from slipping by. He sees an opening no one else has seen, passes quickly and, instantly, a goal is scored.

Tavares is only 21 years of age, and though ESPN recently ranked the “Top 25 NHL players under age of 25” and somehow left him off the list, he is today the talk of the league after scoring nine goals and 13 assists in only 13 games last month and rising into the top five in league scoring.

He is far, far from the fastest player in the game, and yet he is also unstoppable. He works corners as effectively as, but different from, the Sedin twins of the Vancouver Canucks. He has, as Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson noted Friday before the Senators and Islanders met in Ottawa, “incredible hands and vision.”

Where does it come from? Winter or summer? Hockey rink or lacrosse box?

read on

Filed in: NHL Teams, New York Islanders | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: John+Tavares,

Video- Best Of The Week

by Paul on 02/03/12 at 04:52 PM ET
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First up are the goals, followed by saves and hits below.  All three videos are about 2 and a half minutes long.

Continue Reading »

Filed in: NHL Teams, NHL Media, NHL Video | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Backes Leads The Hitchcock Way

by Paul on 02/03/12 at 04:30 PM ET
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from of Yahoo,

Sometime after 6:30 p.m., Hitchcock called from his car – probably somewhere on I-70 or I-71 – as he made the seven-hour drive from his last stop in Columbus, Ohio, to what would be his renaissance in St. Louis. They spoke for about an hour.

Hitchcock told (David) Backes he put a lot of trust in his captains and expected a lot of them, too. He told him to lead by example, to try to inspire others to follow, to make sure the Blues were tough to play against, to never give anyone free ice. He explained what had to change immediately and what would take time.

“It was a good conversation, time well spent,” Backes said. “As you can see, the results have proven themselves.”

The Blues beat the Blackhawks that Tuesday night, 3-0. They have gone 23-6-7 since Hitchcock’s arrival. They’re in the thick of the NHL’s toughest division – heading into Friday’s action they are six points behind the league-leading Detroit Red Wings, one point behind the Nashville Predators and tied with the Blackhawks, with three games in hand on all three of them.

And Backes has been a big key.

read on

Filed in: NHL Teams, St. Louis Blues | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: David+Backes,

Owen Nolan Press Conference Scheduled With the San Jose Sharks

by Paul on 02/03/12 at 02:40 PM ET
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via Sharks Media Relations,

WHAT:            Former Sharks Captain OWEN NOLAN will make an announcement regarding the future of his hockey career.

WHEN:            Tues., Feb. 7
                   
TIME:              2:30 p.m. (PDT)

WHERE:          The Grill at HP Pavilion

WHO:              * Owen Nolan
                    * Sharks Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Wilson
                    * Special Guests

 

Filed in: NHL Teams, San Jose Sharks | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Owen+Nolan,

Holland Discusses Howard’s Injury

by Paul on 02/03/12 at 01:59 PM ET
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via Ansar Khan of Mlive,

“The good news is it’s his stick hand and it’s the tip of the finger,’’ general manager Ken Holland said. “We won’t have to wait until it’s totally healed for him to play. He just needs a little time. He wants to stay with the team. He feels he won’t be out too long.’‘

Howard will miss at least the next two games, Saturday at Edmonton and Monday at Phoenix, while Joey MacDonald, recalled from the Grand Rapids Griffins, serves as Ty Conklin’s back-up.

“Jimmy will stay with us (on the trip),’’ Holland said. “When we get back to Detroit on Tuesday he’ll see a doctor and we’ll get a little better read on when he can play.

“Does he need a week? I don’t know. We want to give him a little bit of time.’‘

The injury happened in the third period of Thursday’s 4-3 shootout victory in Vancouver, when Howard was hit by a shot from Max Lapierre. Howard skated over to the bench to see trainer Piet Van Zant but stayed in the game.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Jimmy+Howard,

Different Trade Approaches

by Paul on 02/03/12 at 12:47 PM ET
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from Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail,

Put yourself in the shoes of an NHL general manager, 24 days from the trade deadline - and not his fantasy shoes by the way, where Sidney Crosby can be traded for Alex Ovechkin and six-for-six blockbusters are common. Try it in the real world, where the decision for so many teams comes down to this: When so few players are made available, how high do you bid for the handful of big names (Jeff Carter, James Van Riemsdyk) that might be pried loose? Or do you do the safe thing and add a couple of useful supplementary pieces who might come cheaply because their value is depressed, such as the deal the Minnesota Wild pulled off Friday morning, getting shootout specialist Erik Christensen from the New York Rangers in exchange for minor-leaguer Casey Wellman.

A lot of last year’s trade deadline deals fell into the latter category, small moves that yielded small rewards. Dennis Wideman was moved in the Florida Panthers’ fire sale, as were Radek Dvorak and Chris Higgins. Jason Arnott, Rusty Klesla, Scottie Upshall, Max Lapierre and Dustin Penner all found new homes. None made much of an impact, except for maybe Higgins, who produced a modest eight points in 25 playoff games for the Vancouver Canucks.

Many also came with the sort of wear-and-tear that obliges potential buyers to be very wary. For example, the Calgary Flames acquired a broken-down Freddie Modin from the Atlanta Thrashers and he simply wasn’t able to contribute (zero points in his only four appearances).

continued plus topics such as the three point game and Sam Gagner…

Filed in: NHL Teams | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Video- Elias Fined For Boarding

by Paul on 02/03/12 at 11:54 AM ET
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NEW YORK (Feb. 3, 2012) – New Jersey Devils forward Patrik Elias has been fined $2,500, the maximum allowed under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for boarding Montreal Canadiens forward Mike Blunden in NHL Game No. 755 in New Jersey on Thursday, Feb. 2, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

The incident occurred at 18:54 of the first period. A minor penalty for boarding was assessed on the play.

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 Tags: Patrik+Elias,

Rangers/Wild Trade

by Paul on 02/03/12 at 11:09 AM ET
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via New York Rangers tweet,

the #NYR have traded Erik Christensen and a 7th round pick to the Minnesota Wild for forward Casey Wellman who is being assigned to @CTWhale

The pick heading to Minnesota in Wellman deal is a conditional 7th round draft choice in 2013

Filed in: NHL Teams, Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Casey+Wellman, Erik+Christensen,

Issues Of The Day

by Paul on 02/03/12 at 10:50 AM ET
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Scott Burnside and Pierre LeBrun discuss Chicago and Detroit goaltending, Sam Gagner’s night and what will Calgary do?...

BURNSIDE: Here’s the dilemma for Stan Bowman as I see it. The Blackhawks can light it up with anyone in the league—they are 4th in goals per game—and they do have a blue line that boasts top-end talent in former Norris Trophy winner Duncan Keith, Canadian Olympian Brent Seabrook and up-and-coming blue liner Nick Leddy. But right now, where would you rank their goaltending in the conference? Hard to argue that Jimmy Howard (more on him in a moment), Roberto Luongo/Cory Schneider, Brian Elliott/Jaroslav Halak, Pekka Rinne and Antti Niemi wouldn’t rank ahead of Crawford (and Chicago backup Ray Emery). Throw in Jonathan Quick, who is having a Vezina-worthy season in Los Angeles, and Niklas Backstrom of the 8th-place Wild and you could argue quite persuasively the Blackhawks have the worst goaltending of the eight teams currently in the playoff bracket in the West. Can they overcome that and win a round or two or more?

Well, that’s the great debate, no? The Blackhawks, in the middle of a nine-game road trip, travel to Calgary Friday night. Calgary is another one of those teams trying to decide if it’s a buyer or a seller. If the Flames fall off the pace—they are five points out of 8th in 11th place as we speak—you have to wonder if GM Jay Feaster might entertain offers for Miikka Kiprusoff. The veteran netminder has a no-move clause through the end of this season but the Flames’ rebuilding has to start somewhere, no? And given Feaster’s repeated insistence he’s not moving captain Jarome Iginla, maybe Kiprusoff is where it starts. And if you’re Chicago, well, food for thought, no?

more

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Report- Rangers, Ryan Smyth Have Mutual Interest

by Paul on 02/03/12 at 10:23 AM ET
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from Larry Brooks of the NY Post,

If Rangers general manager Glen Sather is interested in reuniting with Ryan Smyth by acquiring Edmonton’s veteran left wing to bolster the attack, the feeling may well be a reciprocal one, The Post has learned.

A well-placed source told The Post that Smyth, who was drafted sixth overall in 1994 by Sather and then played the first five years under his direction while he was general manager of the Oilers, would give serious consideration to waiving his no-move clause in order to pursue a Cup on Broadway.

The Eastern Conference-leading Rangers, who have scored 17 goals in their last nine games and have been limited to two goals or fewer in 20 of their 49 matches, are seeking to add both scoring punch and a defenseman in advance of the Feb. 27 trade deadline.

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Ryan+Smyth,

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