Kukla's Korner Hockey

Is Patrick Sharp Really Day-to-Day?

by Paul on 04/04/09 at 08:50 AM ET
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via Tim Sassone of Between The Circles,

When coach Q met he media following Friday’s playoff-clinching win over Nashville, he said what he normally does about an injury, this one to Patrick Sharp.

Quenneville called Sharp day-to-day and said more would be known Saturday.

There’s no reason to think Quenneville wasn’t telling the truth, but there were rumblings in the halls of the United Center basement that Sharp’s injury, believed to be to his knee, was more serious than the Hawks were admitting.

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 Tags: Patrick+Sharp,

Modano Not Sure If He Will Play Next Season

by Paul on 04/04/09 at 08:45 AM ET
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from Andrew’s Dallas Stars Page,

Mike Modano was on The Ticket Friday morning and was asked by Norm Hitzges if he had decided whether he’ll play next season. Here’s what Mike had to say;

“No, not right now and I probably won’t for a while,” Modano told Hitzges. “I am going to take a step back for a long, lengthy part of the summer and see how I feel. I think time away from the game is going to help me mentally, just to kind of recharge, think things through and see where the team is heading….”

read on for more from Mike…

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 Tags: Mike+Modano,

Blues Day

by Paul on 04/04/09 at 08:35 AM ET
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Craig Custance of Sporting News today was busy with the Blues lately, with stories on Keith Tkachuk and T.J. Oshie.

Start here to read them….

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With The Playoffs Comes $$$

by Paul on 04/03/09 at 09:05 PM ET
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from Bruce Constantineau of the Vancouver Sun,

When the Vancouver Canucks clinched a coveted playoff spot this week, they assured themselves of at least two home playoff dates and a seven-figure boost to the team’s bottom line.

At a time when the global recession has forced some NHL teams to cut ticket prices and absorb millions of dollars of losses, the Canucks suddenly hear that joyful sound of money….

A 200-per-cent ticket-price increase would generate more than $3.4 million in revenues for each Stanley Cup final home game in Vancouver — a whopping $2.3-million boost over regular season games. Ka-Ching!

The profit numbers don’t even include other income sources that would kick in on a long playoff run — like corporate advertising and sponsorship deals and merchandise sales that will surely skyrocket in this NHL-championship-starved market.

more

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Why Ron Wilson For Team USA?

by Paul on 04/03/09 at 06:17 PM ET
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from Scott Burnside of ESPN,

Wilson is a good coach; he just isn’t the best coach available for this team. Not by virtually any meaningful measuring stick.

There were three clear-cut candidates for the United States, which is looking to erase the sting of a disappointing turn at the 2006 Torino Games, where an aging American squad won just one game.

John Tortorella, currently the coach of the New York Rangers; Peter Laviolette, former coach of the Carolina Hurricanes; and Wilson. It’s not like Burke ignored a Scotty Bowman type in naming Wilson, but it’s difficult not to put Wilson at the bottom of this list in assessing worthiness for this post.

Let’s take recent successes.

more

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 Tags: Team+USA,

Part Of The Problem

by Paul on 04/03/09 at 06:13 PM ET
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from Dave Waddell of the Windsor Star,

The trio designated as the potential fourth line in the playoffs, Kirk Maltby, Kris Draper and Tomas Kopecky, have struggled to the point of being a liability of late.

Draper is pointless and minus-five in 11 games while Maltby is a minus-four and pointless in 16 games and Kopecky has two points and is minus-10 in 10 games. Kopecky won’t play Sunday against Minnesota because of a shoulder injury.

However, the Wings foot soldiers aren’t the only strugglers of late.

Henrik Zetterberg’s off form over the past five games has been been more glaring playing alongside the incandescent Pavel Datsyuk.

Zetterberg has one goal and is minus-three in a five-game stretch and will be replaced by Marian Hossa on Datsyuk’s line for Sunday’s game. Instead, Zetterberg will centre Johan Franzen and Dan Cleary.

more

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Does The Best Defense Win?

by Paul on 04/03/09 at 05:04 PM ET
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from Scott Cullen of TSN,

As analyst Keith Jones has mentioned several times this season on TSN, the new NHL is driven by teams with a strong defence.  Perhaps not surprisingly, then, the best teams tend to have a strong defence corps.

1. BOSTON BRUINS
Zdeno Chara
Dennis Wideman
Andrew Ference
Aaron Ward
Cumulative TSN.ca Rating: 322.01

Matt Hunwick
Mark Stuart
Steve Montador
Cumulative TSN.ca Rating: 222.77

read on to get the whole picture…

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Watch Out For The Ducks

by Paul on 04/03/09 at 05:00 PM ET
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from Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail,

Lurking in the weeds as a possible playoff sleeper team is none other than the Anaheim Ducks, two seasons removed from a Stanley Cup championship and with a remade lineup that suddenly looks as if it’s developing chemistry at just the right time of year.

The Ducks swept a pair of games in Western Canada this past week to win five in a row on the road and nine of 11 overall. This moves them into seventh place in a Western Conference playoff race that – with 10 days to go – appears to be down to three teams competing for the final two spots.

Anaheim is by no means home and cooled, but if they get in – and if they happen to go in as a seventh seed where they are positioned right this minute – they could pose a real threat to the Detroit Red Wings, who look as if they will not catch the San Jose Sharks for top spot in the conference standings.

continued and many more NHL topics discussed…

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Changes Coming?

by Paul on 04/03/09 at 03:59 PM ET
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Scott Burnside and Pierre LeBrun of ESPN face this question today,

Counting down to the playoffs, what moves should we expect to see heading into April?

Burnside: Talk about a team that is likewise done like dinner (sorry, Oilers and Sabres fans). Buffalo lost to Atlanta on Wednesday night, the second time it failed to defeat the Thrashers in the past couple of weeks; even though the Sabres earned a point in both cases, the points left on the table will haunt them through the summer.

I don’t sense the same kind of unrest in Buffalo as there seems to be in Edmonton. The Sabres were without Thomas Vanek and Ryan Miller for key parts of the season, but I still don’t think this team has found the leaders in the room to take them over the hump. You’ve mentioned it before: Craig Rivet comes over from San Jose and becomes the team’s captain? Rivet is a terrific guy, but it doesn’t say much for the group that has been in the Sabres’ locker room the past three or four years and hasn’t seen a leader step forward. What do you think, is it time for Ruff? Not to sound like Renney’s agent or anything, but the Sabres are another team that would, I think, thrive under Renney’s tutelage.

LeBrun: Peter Laviolette would be another great fit in Buffalo. But I don’t think Ruff is going anywhere; in my mind, he’s not to blame.

read on for much more…

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Franzen On His Highlight Goal

by Paul on 04/03/09 at 03:40 PM ET
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from Bill Roose of DetroitRedWings.com,

“I just reacted to what happened,” Franzen said. “I made the move and I came in with good speed, so the D had to take a chance. I showed him that I was going in on the right side and I pulled the puck back and tried to go on the left side, but then he stuck his leg out. Before I knew it, I was airborne.”

Even while in the air, Franzen never lost sight of the puck and was able to produce enough energy to unleash a shot that found its way behind the legs of goalie Chris Mason.

“You usually keep focused on the puck even when you’re falling down,” Franzen said. “If you’re down on your knees, you’re still pretty much able to make a play. But I got a good shot away and the puck was laying perfect for me, so I could use the momentum from falling and put that into my shot.”

more and if you missed the goal, watch it here...

Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Johan+Franzen,

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