Kukla's Korner Hockey

Category: NHL-Playoff-Talk

The Experience of Game 7

by Alanah McGinley on 06/12/09 at 01:37 PM ET
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From John Buccigross at ESPN:

Game 7 equals …

• The bond of father and son, their shared-logo T-shirt and their shared stomach of nerves as the puck is about to be dropped Friday night. Stomachs in Pennsylvania and Michigan will feel as though they just ate five pounds of grapes.

• The pride and passion of two rust-belt cities mortgaging a portion of their summer moods pending the result of a 60-minute hockey game. Whoever wins Friday night, it will matter much to the proud and soulful people of Detroit and Pittsburgh. The Cup will feel warm and welcomed at either victory party.

more

Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL Talk, NHL Playoff Talk | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Penguins Need More Luck

by Alanah McGinley on 06/01/09 at 03:37 PM ET
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From Dmitry Chesnokov at Yahoo!’s Puck Daddy:

Q. Sergei, can you compare tonight’s game with last night’s?

GONCHAR: In my opinion we did not play bad. Look at the statistics in the regular season and the playoffs. What other team managed to outshoot the Red Wings in a game? We did it yesterday and today. We constantly created scoring chances. It is a different matter that we did not convert. But this is Detroit. You also need luck in addition to playing well against them.

What in your opinion is the main reason for the loss? Just no luck? Or you couldn’t cope with the system Detroit was playing?

Not really, you can play against their system and win. The most important is to finish your chances with goals. It’s not enough just to create opportunities. But I will repeat myself, today they had a little bit more luck than us.

more from Sergei Gonchar plus a couple questions for Evgeni Malkin

Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL Talk, NHL Playoff Talk | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: evgeni+malkin, sergei+gonchar,

Today with Coach Dan Bylsma

by Alanah McGinley on 06/01/09 at 01:41 PM ET
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From today’s press conference with Penguins’ coach Dan Bylsma. Transcript provided courtesy of the NHL.


Q. Can you give your impression of where Malkin and Crosby are at in terms of potential level of frustration? We saw some at the end of both games maybe from both of them. Where do you think they’re at? And do you say anything to them going into tomorrow night?

COACH BYLSMA: You worry as a coach about frustration, and frustration is when you can’t let go of previous events. 

Continue Reading »

Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL Talk, NHL Playoff Talk | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: dan+bylsma,

Ready to Go

by Alanah McGinley on 05/30/09 at 06:25 PM ET
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Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette‘s Empty Netters is at the arena right now—you can check out his photos here.  He also linked the video below, from CBC’s opening broadcast of the playoffs back in April. 

A great video, and I thought it might be a good kick-off for tonight as well.

Puck drop, 1 hour 35 minutes, and counting…

Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL Talk, NHL Playoff Talk | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: stanley+cup+finals,

Playoffs Create New Hockey Fans

by Alanah McGinley on 05/05/09 at 01:49 PM ET
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From Paul Kukla at NHL.com:

Now is the perfect time to turn your non-hockey friends into a hockey fan. Invite them over for a viewing party, organize a get together at a local watering hole or just call them at game time and tell them to watch and keep watching.

I guarantee you the vast majority of the people you contact will want to watch another game. But you have to start the ball rolling by getting them to view a playoff matchup.

It is hard to believe this, but there are people out there that do not know anything about the game we love. By informing these people about NHL playoff hockey, you are really doing them a favor by telling them to watch a game that means something, a game built on determination and grit, style and skill too.

They may ask you what lies ahead, what team is bound to end up in the Stanley Cup Final? Your response is critical and this is what makes our game different than all the other playoffs.

more

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Saturday Hockey Talk

by Alanah McGinley on 05/02/09 at 01:19 PM ET
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From James Murphy at Inside Hockey radio:

We’ve got a great show in store for you this week. Todd Carroll will be in the studio with me, and we’ve got an excellent guest list including Conor McKenna (Team 990), Patrick King (Sportsnet.ca), Matt Recchi (Kamloops Blazers), Jim Cummins (former NHLer), and some surprise guests as well!

The show is on the air from 2-4pm ET on NHL Home Ice XM 204, on TEAM 990 and on YouCastr.com.

Filed in: NHL Talk, NHL Playoff Talk, NHL Media | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Thoughts After Game One

by Alanah McGinley on 04/17/09 at 12:42 PM ET
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From Lyle Richardson (Spector) at Fox Sports:

One game does not a series make but the opening games of the 2009 Stanley Cup conference quarterfinals have brought some interesting factors to the fore which could affect the outcome of these series.

-- The San Jose Sharks entered the postseason hoping to finally shed the label of playoff chokers, but their 2-0 loss in the opening game of their first-round series against the underdog Anaheim Ducks isn’t likely to allay the fears of their supporters or the barbs of their critics.

continued... with notes on all 8 playoff series after the first game

Filed in: NHL Talk, NHL Playoff Talk | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Playoff Beard Pools

by Alanah McGinley on 04/13/09 at 04:06 PM ET
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From Seth Rorabaugh at Empty Netters:

Easily one of the best traditions of the Stanley Cup playoffs is the playoff beard. The thicker, uglier and more unruly it gets, the better. Growth means you’re still alive in the playoffs. [...]

Hopefully this preview highlighting the top candidates on each team will help you identify who to draft in your playoff beard pools.

continued with some frightening fashionable facial hair of the past

Filed in: NHL Talk, NHL Playoff Talk | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: playoff+beards, stanley+cup+playoffs,

One Month to Go

by Alanah McGinley on 03/12/09 at 02:25 PM ET
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From Pierre LeBrun at ESPN:

The NHL’s regular season wraps up exactly one month from today. The playoffs begin three days later.

“Everyone on our team will be really excited, maybe even more than last year,” Detroit Red Wings winger Daniel Cleary told ESPN.com. “Because we have something to prove. The Cup is still ours and we feel that it doesn’t belong to anybody else.”

Sixteen teams have a shot at Lord Stanley’s prize starting April 15. This week, ESPN.com spoke to the 10 teams we believe have the best shot at winning it all. In order of current standings:

Western Conference
1. San Jose Sharks: The Sharks roared out of the gates this season and only recently finally showed signs of vulnerability. It might be because they can see the playoffs around the corner and want to get there now.

read on

Filed in: NHL Talk, NHL Playoff Talk | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Top-10 Stanley Cup Contenders

by Alanah McGinley on 03/10/09 at 02:46 PM ET
Comments (1)

From Sam McCaig at The Hockey News:

San Jose, Detroit and Calgary are the class of the West, while Boston, New Jersey and Washington are the lead pack in a wide-open East. Right here, right now, the smart money is on a Boston-San Jose final.

Here’s why:

1. SAN JOSE SHARKS
They’ve been one of the best teams in the NHL for several years and they’re all too familiar with the pain of losing in the post-season. The blueline has been studded with experience and there’s more grit than ever before among the forwards (and still a lot of talent, too). And this is it for old guys like Claude Lemieux, Rob Blake and Jeremy Roenick. This team is motivated, skilled, experienced and deep. Is it now or never? No. But it’ll sure feel like it if the Sharks fall short once again.

read on

Filed in: NHL Talk, NHL Playoff Talk | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: playoffs, stanley+cup,

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