Kukla's Korner

Red Wings kind-of-sort-of sign Riley Sheahan

Blog: The Malik Report By George Malik

03/20/12 at 01:12 PM ET | Comments (2)

MLive’s Ansar Khan reports that Red Wings prospect and University of Notre Dame forward Riley Sheahan has exhausted his college eligibility by committing the following deed:

Riley Sheahan, the Wings’ top pick (21st overall in 2010), has signed an amateur tryout contract with Grand Rapids, will join Griffins.

Filed in: | The Malik Report | Permalink
 

On the Red Wings rattling off inexcusable play and Radulov

Blog: The Malik Report By George Malik

03/20/12 at 12:42 PM ET | Comments (6)

In light of the Detroit Red Wings’ troubling performance in their 5-3 loss to the Washington Capitals on Monday, The Oakland Press’s Chuck Pleiness, via RedWingsFeed, offers an assessment of the injury-marred Red Wings’ difficulties in terms of not being able to scrounge together wins without Nicklas Lidstrom…

So now we know exactly what the Red Wings’ NHL-record 23-game home winning streak means in retrospect. The Red Wings are 3-7-1 since it ended following a 5-3 home loss. The streak was a nice middle-of-the-season accomplishment, but, in less than a month, it has become a distant memory. The Red Wings have played at a considerably less than .500 pace since in a league where the vast majority of teams are above .500 overall because of the overtime and shootout rules.

They have gone from fighting for the first seed overall throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs to a tight race with the Nashville Predators for the fourth seed in the Western Conference, which would mean the home ice edge in the first round. By the Red Wings’ high standards, this is a collapse. There are reasons for it. Injuries, in particular, have been the main factor. It’s not an excuse, either. Just the truth.

Snip and re-set:

Continue Reading »

Filed in: | The Malik Report | Permalink
 

Graham James Sentenced To Two Years In Prison

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

03/20/12 at 12:41 PM ET | Comments (11)

from the CP at TSN, 

Disgraced former junior hockey coach Graham James has been sentenced to two years in prison for sexually abusing two of his players.

The sentence was handed down in a Winnipeg courtroom Tuesday by Judge Catherine Carlson.

The judge made James stand up in the prisoner’s box to hear his fate.

He showed no emotion.

“Mr. James’s victims are multiple,” Carlson said. “His behaviour was predatory and orchestrated to make victims dependent on him.”

continued

added 12:52pm, watch a CBC video report on the sentencing below…

Continue Reading »

Filed in: Hockey Related Stories | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: Graham+James,

Red Wings lose Howard to groin injury…again

Blog: The Malik Report By George Malik

03/20/12 at 12:03 PM ET | Comments (37)

Unbelievable: Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard is out again according to MLive’s Ansar Khan:

Wings’ Jimmy Howard has groin injury again. Team is recalling Ty Conklin from Grand Rapids on emergency basis.
...
Holland said Howard is day to day, nothing serious. Conklin on re-entry waivers. If he clears he’ll join team in New York

The CBC’s Tim Wharnsby says that Conklin has been placed on re-entry waivers.

Update: From the Macomb Daily’s Chuck Pleiness, this sounds like a precautionary measure and/or insurance in case Joey MacDonald’s more hurt than the team believes he is:

Continue Reading »

Filed in: | The Malik Report | Permalink
 

The Radulov Impact

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

03/20/12 at 11:51 AM ET | Comments (5)

Pierre LeBrun and Craig Custance of ESPN discuss a few topics, including Radulov…

LEBRUN: Well, I think Datsyuk nailed it at the end of his comment there, saying “not good for us.” The way the Wings are playing right now, and with a first-round date against Nashville likely at this point, no wonder the Wings organization was privately fuming last week when the NHL announced its Radulov decision. If it is Preds-Wings in the first round, I can’t think of a more compelling Western Conference series. And I know you’ll be covering it. If the Preds knock out the Wings in the first round with Radulov playing a starring role, you have to wonder how that would play out in Detroit. On the Nashville end of things, I’ve had readers ask me about whether the players in the Predators dressing room would be reticent to welcome Radulov into the fold, given that he’s parachuting in late and given the fact he bolted on them four years ago. In fact, I’m told, led by captain Shea Weber, the Preds’ players have been very supportive of Radulov returning—focusing on the bottom line: winning now. Let’s remember the big picture context here: the futures of Weber (RFA July 1) and fellow stud blue-liner Ryan Suter (UFA July 1) are very much tied to the success of the club this season. If Radulov means a deeper run, all the better, as far as Weber and Suter are concerned.

more

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

Three Key Western Conference Games Tonight

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

03/20/12 at 09:46 AM ET | Comments (1)

What do you think, care to make a prediction for all three games tonight?

Filed in: NHL Teams | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Tuesday Morning Thoughts

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

03/20/12 at 09:34 AM ET | Comments (4)

from Elliotte Friedman of CBC,

• Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma to reporters after Sunday’s 3-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers: “I think, really, the extracurricular stuff was the turning point in the game. It was a situation where you know they targeted players after the whistle and didn’t get penalized. I think that allowed them to get back in the game.” That’s called planting a seed.

• Despite the loss, don’t think it went unnoticed that Pittsburgh outshot New Jersey by 30 and held the Flyers without one for 18 minutes. Scary team.

• We might again see Vancouver Canucks GM Mike Gillis’ proposal to penalize a player who makes a hand pass in his own zone. NHL hockey operations was asked to work on the language of such a rule and determine if there are any plays where it shouldn’t be two minutes.

• The NHL seems pretty confident the Blues’ sale to Tom Stillman will get done.

more plus Radulov returns, what it means for future Russian players…

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

A Great View of the Opening Face-Off Craziness at MSG

Blog: Goal Line Report By Patrick Hoffman

03/20/12 at 09:30 AM ET | Comments (0)

From Mike Ross at NHL Home Ice:

Hockey fights though, never seemed that gratuitous because of what I’d been sold for years:

-  Hockey fights breed accountability
-  Hockey fights do not result in anyone getting hurt
-  Hockey fights happen because of the passion in the game
-  Hockey fights are necessary so players have a way to vent frustration

And for years, I bought it…much the same way my parents smoked for most of my childhood without ever giving a second thought to the effects of second-hand smoke.  How were they supposed to know?  It was never drilled into them.

But when I saw 3 scraps of the opening faceoff between the Rangers and Devils on Monday (the 2nd time there have been multiple fights off the start of a game between these two teams), I tried to understand which of the above criteria were met.

Click here for more from Rossy.

Filed in: | Goal Line Report | Permalink
  Tags: Mike+Ross, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, NHL+Home+Ice,

Where’s The Love For The Blues?

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

03/20/12 at 09:16 AM ET | Comments (0)

Pierre LeBrun of ESPN answers some rant email,

Pierre, this rant is directed towards the media. Saturday the Blues beat the Lightning 3-1, and were the first team to make it to 100 points. They were also the very first team to clinch a playoff birth. Were they on the homepage? No. They at least had to be the lead on the NHL homepage? No. They were fifth on the list. Really? Is the bias really that big? News is news, and the team that is first in the NHL needs to get some respect, regardless of the size of the market. A Journalist’s job is to get the story out there, the one that means the most to the league. The Blues were the first to clinch a spot, and that is more newsworthy than any score on that day. Florida can wait. Pittsburgh can wait. The Rangers have had their time. The team that is getting stuff done day in and day out deserves the credit. Get your act together and realize that the Blues are legit this year. Get used to writing about them, they’re going to be in the playoffs for a while.

My take Well, you’ll be happy to know that yours truly is planning on beginning his two-month playoff trek in St. Louis come the first round. So there you go, ESPN.com in the house, baby!

more rant answers…

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

Young Avalanche Team In A Playoff Spot

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

03/20/12 at 09:04 AM ET | Comments (0)

from Adrian Dater of All Things Avs,

No NHL team is younger, on average, than the Avalanche. It is a team with the presumed favorite to win the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 19-year-old Gabriel Landeskog. It is a team whose prospects in the minor, junior and college ranks were recently rated the fourth-best in the NHL by a panel of scouts polled by The Hockey News. It is a team with a lot to look forward to.

And yet, the Avs have a chance to win now too. They’ve moved up to the No. 8 seed, or last playoff spot, in the Western Conference with their strong play of the past two weeks.

The baby-faced Avs say they are focused on the immediate future, and a playoff run, not on where the franchise will be in a year or two.

“We want to make the playoffs just as much as the older guys or any other team,” Landeskog said. “Even though we’re young and we’ve got bright years ahead of us, we live in the moment. We don’t want to wait.”

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Colorado Avalanche | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

« Previous Next »