Kukla's Korner Hockey

Video- Kari Lehtonen With The Save Of The Night

by Paul on 02/10/12 at 10:47 PM ET
Comments (1)

Closing seconds of OT, Lehtonen robs Thomas Vanek.  The Sabres did win in the shootout.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Buffalo Sabres, Dallas Stars | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Kari+Lehtonen,

Dominic Moore Fined $2,500

by Paul on 02/10/12 at 08:48 PM ET
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NEW YORK (February 10, 2012)—Tampa Bay Lightning forward Dominic Moore has been fined $2,500, the maximum allowed under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for an interference infraction that caused an injury to New York Rangers forward Ruslan Fedotenko in NHL Game No. 803 on Thursday, Feb. 9, in New York, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

The incident occurred at 3:05 of the third period. A minor penalty for roughing was assessed on the play.

If you missed the hit, it can be viewed here.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Tampa Bay Lightning | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Dominic+Moore,

Afternoon Line

by Paul on 02/10/12 at 05:40 PM ET
Comments (5)

There is enough concern about the state of Chicago’s team that Quenneville’s job security could be in some danger.

Think it can’t happen? This is the NHL. Peter Laviolette won the Stanley Cup with Carolina in 2006 and was fired in 2008. John Tortorella won the Cup with Tampa Bay in 2004 and was axed three seasons later. Bob Hartley won it with Colorado in 2001, went to Game 7 of the Western finals in 2002, and was canned 31 games into the ‘02-03 season. Randy Carlyle won the Cup with Anaheim in 2007, and now he’s looking for work.

Quenneville has a contract that runs through the 2013-14 season, but money is about the only thing it guarantees. The pressure is always high on coaches in a league where financial profit usually only comes with a playoff berth. Quenneville is not immune to such reality. If his team’s current six-game losing streak (0-5-1) continues, and the postseason starts to look at all like the dicey proposition it was last year, sources close to the situation tell SI.com that a change behind the bench is possible.

-Adrian Dater of Sports Illustrated where you can read more on the Blackhawks.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Chicago Blackhawks | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Joel+Quenneville,

Homer’s Night

by Paul on 02/10/12 at 05:38 PM ET
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Tonight Tomas Holmstrom will play in his 1000th NHL game, all with the Detroit Red Wings.

But did you know his first NHL was typical Holmstrom style?

from Nicholas J. Cotsonika of Yahoo,

His English has improved, but it’s all relative. His accent used to be so thick that people couldn’t even guess where he was from. Now at least they try. “They go, ‘Are you French Canadian?’ ” Holmstrom said. ” ‘Yeah. Oui.’ “

His skating has improved, too. But again, it’s all relative. Holmstrom will become only the 48th man in NHL history to play 1,000 regular-season games with one team, and according to the man who discovered him, Hakan Andersson, the Wings’ director of European scouting, “he’s the worst skater of them all.”

more

Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Tomas+Holmstrom,

Accused Coach Found Dead

by Paul on 02/10/12 at 03:56 PM ET
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from Teresa Masterson of NBC 10 Philadelphia,

Ukrainian hockey coach Ivan Pravilov, who trained teens and professionals in the Philadelphia area, was found dead in his jail cell Friday, an officials told the Associated Press.

Authorities suspect suicide.

Pravilov, a mentor to several NHL and college players including former Flyer (an current New Jersey Devil) Dainius Zubrus, was arrested in mid-January for having sexual contact with a teenage boy in who attended his hockey clinics, authorities say.

The alleged fondling happened in Pravilov’s Philadelphia apartment, officials say.

continued

Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Ivan+Pravilov,

The Jack Johnson Rumors

by Paul on 02/10/12 at 02:48 PM ET
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Darren Dreger of TSN answers some emails,

I keep reading Jack Johnson’s name in trade rumours from various sites (probably guys who don’t really have any insight posting for conversation). Is there actually a chance L.A. would be shopping Johnson?  Also, I’ve read St. Louis is seeking a Top 6 playmaker, any chance of them acquiring one?

What are your thoughts?

A:  Warren, there’s no reason to believe Los Angeles is shopping Jack Johnson and based on recent dealings I’ve had with Kings general manager Dean Lombardi, he’s tired of all speculation. It’s believed Lombardi would like to add a forward and the names of Carter, Hemsky, Huselius, MacArthur and Kulemin are considered potential candidates, but Lombardi is one of the more unpredictable GMs, so zeroing in on a specific target is a tricky business. As for St. Louis, Blues GM Doug Armstrong goes about the hunt in a somewhat sleuth-like fashion. We know St. Louis would like to add a defenceman and if there is an affordable upgrade to his top six available, I’m sure it will be considered. But as I said, Armstrong is masterful at staying under the radar and is always a prime suspect when we start hearing the rumblings a blockbuster may be in the works.

more Q & A…

Filed in: NHL Teams, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

The New Trade Deadline Strategy

by Paul on 02/10/12 at 02:00 PM ET
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from Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail,

The new hard currency at the deadline isn’t draft choices - unless they’re No. 1s, preferably in the top 15 - but prospects already in the pipeline, the Jake Gardiners of the world, the player who came to the Maple Leafs last year as a relative unknown semi-throw-in, in the Joffrey Lupul-for-Francois Beauchemin deal, but was closer to being NHL-ready than many casual observers imagined.

Nobody, among the Blue Jackets , Hurricanes, Ducks and their ilk has the patience any more to wait for that medium-to-long-term prospect who might spend three-to-five years in the pipeline before he’s NHL ready.

Drafting and developing is always the surest ticket to success - you need only examine the performance of teams as disparate as the New York Rangers or the Nashville Predators for proof of that - but it has finally sunk in for many GMs, picking through the ashes of previous deadline fiascos, that the returns they received for all their hot properties weren’t necessarily so hot after all.

more plus other topics…

Filed in: NHL Teams | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

The NHL Gets The 2013 Winter Classic Location Wrong

by Paul on 02/10/12 at 12:15 PM ET
Comments (33)

from Rob Parker at WDIV, It’s official.

The NHL should really be called the NGL, as in National Gimmick League.

It seems like that’s all the National Hockey League is about these days, so much so that it messed up an event that was actually pretty cool.

Somehow, the NHL powers-that-be didn’t believe that Hockeytown was good enough to host the 2013 Winter Classic.

Terrible.

Instead, they scheduled the Jan. 1 game against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings to play at Michigan Stadium. The league simply dissed the fact these two Original Six teams having been playing in Detroit for more than 50 years. Instead, they want to set some silly attendance record by using the Big House to sell more than 100,000 tickets.

It’s cheap, it’s tasteless. Especially since a few years ago Michigan and Michigan State did it already in a college

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Winter+Classic+2013,

Horton Experiencing Concussion Symptoms Again

by Paul on 02/10/12 at 12:11 PM ET
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via Fluto Shinzawa of Bruins Blog at the Boston Globe,

Nathan Horton has stopped skating because of post-concussion syndrome. According to Claude Julien, Horton’s symptoms, which have included headaches, returned once he resumed solo skates.

“He’s been pulled back,” Julien said. “He’s got some symptoms. So we’ve pulled him back. It’s hard for me to come out every day with a step forward, step backward. He’s back to square one. We’re giving him some time here. Those symptoms, once he got on the ice, came back.”

Horton hasn’t played since Jan. 22, when he suffered a concussion after being hit by Philadelphia’s Tom Sestito. Horton first skated on his own on Sunday.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Boston Bruins | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Nathan+Horton,

How To Improve Bad Officiating

by Paul on 02/10/12 at 11:46 AM ET
Comments (3)

from Sean Gordon of the Globe and Mail,

The NHL is a reputation league, and refs also sometimes make flash judgments influenced by a player’s rep.

Best example: Dan O’Rourke calling Erik Karlsson a diver in a conversation with Ottawa coach Paul MacLean - nice work Rourkie.

At least MacLean has big brass ones and smashed the usual omerta by going public and ratting him out.

So in addition to having competence issues with certain refs - ie. Tim Peel, Stephane Auger and, most egregiously, Chris Lee - the NHL is dealing with complicated psychology.

There are no easy fixes to this, but there are a couple of things the NHL could do.

more

Filed in: NHL Teams, NHL Talk, NHL Officiating | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

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