Kukla's Korner Hockey

Another Knee On Knee Hit Debate

by Paul on 11/26/09 at 09:18 AM ET
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from Chris Stevenson of the Ottawa Sun,

The Senators’ injury-riddled lineup took another heavy hit with Devils tough guy Andrew Peters responsible for the latest calamity. He knocked winger Chris Neil out of the game with a knee-on-knee hit with six minutes to go in the first period. Neil had gone back to get the puck when Peters came flying in and smashed him, Peters’ knee making contact with Neil’s left knee.

Neil hobbled off the ice, went straight to the dressing room and did not return.

Senators GM Bryan Murray thought the hit was dirty. There was no penalty called.

“(Peters) led with his knee,” he said.

Neil blamed himself.

“I didn’t see anything wrong with it,” said Neil. “I put myself in a vulnerable spot and opened myself up. I got there late and he came barrelling in there. You give your lumps and you take your lumps.”

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, New Jersey Devils, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Andrew+Peters, Chris+Neil,

Game Of The Night Turns Into A Dud

by Paul on 11/26/09 at 08:59 AM ET
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from Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune,

The Marian Hossa era has officially begun. And by the looks of things, it could be something special for the Blackhawks.

The veteran winger made his debut with the Hawks on Wednesday night and helped them thoroughly dismantle the San Jose Sharks 7-2 in front of a crowd of 17,562 at HP Pavilion….

“It was a bonus to score two goals,” said Hossa, who played his first game after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery. “I was looking to try to get into game shape and try to make good plays, keep it simple. Who would say we’d beat them 7-2? We played a great game overall. It’s huge.”

more on the game…

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

Burke Knows He Paid Heavy Price For Kessel

by Paul on 11/26/09 at 08:38 AM ET
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from Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun,

Brian Burke knew the potential consequences when he shipped a generous bunch of draft picks to the Boston Bruins to get a bonafide sniper for his team.

But you can talk all you want about Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin—the consensus top two picks for next spring’s entry draft—Burke did as well before he pulled the trigger to land Phil Kessel.

“We discussed it internally,” Burke said yesterday. “We said: ‘what if the pick turns out to be Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin?’ and I was fine with that….

As for the current state of the trade market, Burke says his hands have been tied because of the salary cap. There has been some tire-kicking but little more.

“There’s no panic for a couple of reasons,” Burke said. “One, the team is working its ass off and two, with any luck at all, we could have six or seven more wins in the last 10 games.”

more

Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Oveckin Gets A Game Misconduct

by Paul on 11/25/09 at 09:48 PM ET
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from Corey Masisak of the Washington Times,

Ovechkin was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for boarding Buffalo’s Patrick Kaleta 3:38 into the third period.

According to the league rulebook, Ovechkin was hit with the major penalty at the official’s discretion, but an injury to the head or face on a major infraction is grounds for an automatic ejection. Kaleta left the ice holding his nose, and Ovechkin tossed his glove in the air in frustration as he went to the dressing room.

This is the second game misconduct in Ovechkin’s career, and both have come against the Sabres. He was ejected from a game Dec. 2, 2006 during his second NHL season for checking then-Buffalo forward Danny Briere into the boards from behind. Ovechkin was also fined earlier this season after slew-footing Atlanta’s Rich Peverley with 30 seconds left Oct. 22 at Philips Arena.

more on the Caps win…

The video is not the best quality, but here is the Ovechkin hit…

Note:  Replaced the video with a better quality one on 11/26/09 around 8:45am.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Alexander+Ovechkin, Patrick+Kaleta,

Olympic Teams Dealing With Injuries

by Paul on 11/25/09 at 05:34 PM ET
Comments (1)

from Pierre LeBrun of ESPN,

You can understand why Mats Naslund might be chewing on his finger nails these days.

Between last Saturday’s brutal knee injury to Niklas Kronwall and the long-term injury to key forward Johan Franzen, the GM of the Swedish Olympic hockey team can bare to watch what will happen next in what has become an NHL season chocked full of injuries.

“We’re maybe beginning to watch more for injuries than who is scoring goals,” Naslund told ESPN.com this week.

“It seems this is the year of the injury, more so than other years,” said Team USA coach Ron Wilson. “There are a lot of star players out with significant injuries.”

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Nashville Needs A Name

by Paul on 11/25/09 at 03:58 PM ET
Comments (10)

The Nashville Predators cut ties with the Sommet Group and therefore need a new name for the arena they play in.

Dirk Hoag of On The Forecheck is taking suggestions.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Nashville Predators | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Call Of The Week Plus A History Lesson

by Paul on 11/25/09 at 01:34 PM ET
Comments (5)

John Kelly & Darren Pang, the Blues TV broadcast team, with the call of the week plus a look at the formation of the NHL.

Filed in: NHL Teams, St. Louis Blues, NHL Talk, NHL Media, NHL Video | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Looking West

by Paul on 11/25/09 at 01:27 PM ET
Comments (2)

from John Shannon of Sportsnet,

I can’t help but think hockey fans in the eastern part of the continent are missing something. By the time the news is coming on, most people in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa (and New York for that matter) are setting their alarm clocks for tomorrow morning. They are missing the buzzer at the end of the first or second period for some of the most entertaining games in the NHL.

And they are missing some of the great stars in the league too.

In California alone, there are at least six great players who have electrified hockey fans on the West Coast. The Kings have Anze Kopitar leading the league in scoring (going into Wednesday’s games.) Kopitar has two strikes against him, as far as recognition. Not only do his games start at 10:30 pm ET, but he is from that hockey-hot-bed, Slovenia. His puck sense is sensational, and his knack to be in the right place at the right time has fans in L.A. talking about a comparison to two other Kings scorers, Marcel Dionne and Wayne Gretzky.

On the Kings’ blue line is Drew Doughty, who is actually 19 and plays like he’s 29. His leadership and on-ice composure have many saying that he will have a chance to play for Canada in the Winter Games in Vancouver.

read on and John, some of us do stay up late to watch the west coast games…

Filed in: NHL Teams | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Coach Goes Wild

by Paul on 11/25/09 at 01:17 PM ET
Comments (4)

Louisiana hockey coach has had enough.

Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Caps Cap Issues

by Paul on 11/25/09 at 12:55 PM ET
Comments (2)

Pierre LeBrun answers some fan mail…

The Washington Capitals are again poised to be one the most injury-plagued teams in the league after finishing with the fourth-most games lost last year. The problem wouldn’t be so dramatic if Michael Nylander and his ridiculous contract were over in the KHL right now. When (if ever) is something going to happen on this front and allow the Capitals to bring up the talent they really want to bring up from Hershey?...

...the Nylander situation certainly continues to drag itself out. Last week, it looked like there might be a resolution with a KHL team in Russia, but somehow that fell through. Caps GM George McPhee told me this weekend the KHL remains the target solution, but it’s a delicate and difficult process. But if you’re frustrated now, wait until this summer when Alexander Semin and Nicklas Backstrom become restricted free agents.

It’s becoming harder and harder for the Caps to keep all these terrific young players. That’s the thing about the salary cap, you can’t keep everyone….

more plus numerous aswers from Pierre…

 

Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

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