Kukla's Korner Hockey

Rangers Are Calm Before Must Win Game

by Paul on 05/24/12 at 05:00 PM ET
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from Katie Strang of ESPN New York,

The closest thing to a guarantee from the Rangers heading into a do-or-die Game 6 against the Devils on Friday?

Coach John Tortorella’s prediction about his star goaltender Henrik Lundqvist’s impending performance:

“He’ll play his best game tomorrow night,” Tortorella proclaimed.

A later line of questioning prompted Tortorella to say he thinks alternate captain Brad Richards will have his best game as well, although there was no couching when it came to the team’s resident Vezina and Hart Trophy finalist.

Coming off a pair of losses in which he gave up a combined seven goals, Lundqvist has a calm, confident air. He’s trying not to think too much about the pressure.

“Not more than any other game. Try not to at least,” Lundqvist said. “Obviously, when you go into a game like this you want to win so bad you might put too much pressure than you need. When you’re out there you try to just focus on the things you always focus on when you play that game. The challenge, every time you play an important game, is to find a good balance, mentally.”

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Would You Make This Trade?  Jordan Staal For Dave Bolland And Others

by Paul on 05/24/12 at 03:18 PM ET
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from Jesse Rogers of ESPN Chicago,

So what could the Hawks get back for Bolland? There are rumors which seem to have some basis coming out of Pittsburgh that 6-foot-4, 220-pound center Jordan Staal will be available via the trade market. He has one year left on a deal with a salary cap hit of $4 million. He’ll be an unrestricted free-agent after next season as will teammate Sidney Crosby. Staal, 23, had 25 goals and 25 assists in 62 games last season and would be a perfect fit for the Hawks….

Bolland alone won’t get Staal. Not even close. But Bolland and hot prospect Brandon Saad might get the Penguins to the table. Saad is a Pittsburgh native and very popular in that area. A package of Bolland, Saad, another prospect and a first-round pick or two might get Staal to Chicago.

The Penguins undoubtedly would want to trade Staal to a Western Conference team and the Hawks likewise, with Bolland heading the other way. Maybe it takes another player from the Hawks roster but the Penguins might not want that kind of salary additions assuming Crosby gets big dollars. If they insist on including Nick Leddy or Niklas Hjalmarsson, the Hawks should still do it.

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Video- The Surprising New Jersey Devils

by Paul on 05/24/12 at 03:01 PM ET
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Did anyone predict the Devils would be playing for the Stanley Cup?

Doug MacLean and Jeff Marek of Sportsnet with heap praise on the New Jersey Devils.

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Lou Still Has It

by Paul on 05/24/12 at 09:16 AM ET
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from David Shoalts of the Globe and Mail,

The franchise may be set to crumble around them but the New Jersey Devils are one win away from their first Stanley Cup final since 2003 because the Lou Lamoriello Way prevailed.

Oh, there were some tough years for the Devils general manager since he guided them to three NHL championships and one Cup final in the years between 1995 and 2003. The team lost its way in the years following their last Stanley Cup, losing in the first round of the playoffs four times and not even making the playoffs last year.

There were whispers Lamoriello lost his fastball, that the legendary taskmaster was simply paying the inevitable price of spending 45 years in college and professional hockey. Lamoriello may turn 70 in October and he may have had trouble with the salary-cap system since it was introduced in 2005, a system he helped design, but those who underestimate him do so at their peril.

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KK- The Long Memorial Day Weekend

by Paul on 05/24/12 at 09:15 AM ET
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I am sure some of you have taken some extra time off of work and are about to hit the road for the long weekend.

Please be careful on the roads and remember if you happen to consume one ‘pop’ too many, pass the keys!

Most importantly, enjoy the weekend.  Here in the Michigan area, it looks like the warm days are here, mid-80’s is the forecast for the whole weekend.

I will be around for the weekend, updating on a regular basis while attempting some barbecuing magic too.

I also wanted to let you know KK will be going through a major software upgrade sometime after the NHL Awards Show and before the opening of the UFA period.

The enhancements you will see include the ability to post YouTube videos in the comments and the ability to block comments from other KK members if you so desire.

Also, we will be going to a member only comment section at that time.  I’ve just been dealing with too much spam on the back-end and it takes me about 45 minutes a day to deal with it.

One more thing, remember if you don’t want the vast majority of ads to appear while you are browsing through KK, you can block those ads for a yearly donation of $25.  The PayPal donation button is below for your convenience.

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The Good And Bad Of The NHL Playoffs

by Paul on 05/24/12 at 08:50 AM ET
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from Tim Campbell of the Winnipeg Free Press,

This year’s edition has been compelling, whether you love or hate the results. There are heroes and villains, rising stars and major flops… and floppers, too.

With the big event, the Cup final—it’s only the “finals” if you are among the unwashed south of a certain border—about to begin, it’s a good time to purge the system of some issues that have been eating away at the general playoff experience.

Things I’m sick of

1. A lack of respect. I fully expect the NHLPA and its members to just tuck tale and retreat to the corner when the subject of respect among players comes up in the months ahead. There are sportsmanlike players still in the game, but their numbers are dwindling at an alarming rate. Or maybe the players, when asked about respect, will just pull a “Tortorella” and ask for the next question.

2. Mixed messages. Hand passes are allowed by the defensive team in its own end. Falling on the puck continues to be given the green light, too. Not shooting the puck over the glass, though. So which is it, NHL GMs? Do you want more offence or less? The 30 men who are “guardians” of the game worry me deeply when they can’t make up their minds on these items, and even more when they have the power to make head contact illegal but simply won’t.

read on

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The Direction Of Social Media

by Paul on 05/24/12 at 07:42 AM ET
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from Sean Gordon of the Globe and Mail,

Looked at on a continental scale, the major sports organizations and the companies that outfit them, sponsor them and pay dearly for their broadcast rights are in a pickle; ratings for televised sports in North America have never been higher, but the $36-billion financial “ecosystem” from which rights are paid will be imperilled if no one can figure out how to harness the five-billion mobile devices now in use on a planet where three-billion people are under the age of 25.

“The mobile phone is the new computer … texting is the new talking,” said Denson.

One of the organizations at the forefront of the digital sphere is the NHL, whose chief operating officer, John Collins, sat on one of the panels.

“What we’re trying to do is to get hockey content out there and make it as ubiquitous as possible,” Collins said.

And therein lies a paradox.

Ubiquity means doing things like allowing YouTube to show highlights, and the league, in a sense, is competing with the traditional media that cover the sport and, on some fronts, with its rights-holders.

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Rangers Need A Messier-Like Performance

by Paul on 05/24/12 at 06:52 AM ET
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from Mike Vaccaro of the NY Post,

So now they cross the river, same as they did 18 years ago. Today is the anniversary of Mark Messier’s guarantee, tomorrow of his hat trick that delivered it into history. We are more likely to see John Tortorella take an open-mike shift at the Laugh Lounge tonight than any Ranger try to channel Messier, and that’s fine. The guarantee has always been less impressive than the game that followed it. That’s what the Rangers need now. They need a win far more than any faux machismo.

“We lost a game, we move on, we get ready for the next one,” Tortorella said, and if ever a team seemed prepared to do just that, it should be a team that’s already dodged three bullets, knows the dance down pat. Why shouldn’t they believe in themselves? They’ve come too far to start voting any other way.

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Video-The Brad Richards Almost Own-Goal

by Paul on 05/23/12 at 11:01 PM ET
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Filed in: NHL Teams, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Brad+Richards,

New Jersey Devils Defeat The New York Rangers 5-3 And Lead Series 3-2

by Paul on 05/23/12 at 10:42 PM ET
Comments (1)

A late goal by Ryan Carter put the Devils ahead 4-3 and Zach Parise added an empty-netter to seal the game.

The Devils jumped out to a 3-0 only to find the Rangers come back to tie the game up early in the 3rd period.

Game 6 is Friday night in New Jersey. Will the Rangers force a game 7?

Here is Carter’s game winning goal…

added 11:04pm, HNIC video/audio montage of tonight’s game can be watched below…

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Filed in: NHL Teams, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Ryan+Carter,

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