Kukla's Korner

Stars In Fade Mode Again

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

03/02/09 at 07:37 AM ET | Comments (0)

from Tracey Myers of Five for Fighting,

...right now, it’s hard to see positives with the Stars. So let’s talk about today, shall we?

  1, Five straight losses. So much for February being their hot month. So much for home ice being so advantageous. The Stars had a great opportunity to keep pace in the Western Conference and they squandered it.

  2, Top guys are gassed. The Stars’ top players have given all they’ve got, according to coach Dave Tippett, and they may be running out of steam. Stephane Robidas? Mike Ribeiro? Jere Lehtinen? A ton of minutes, a ton of work, and that wears you out after a while, which brings me to our next topic…

read on

added 8:40am, from Jennifer Floyd Engel of the Star-Telegram,

Put a fork in the Stars. They are done, or they are going to be really soon if they keep this gutless nonsense up.

This is not an overreaction to Sunday’s 4-1 loss to Pittsburgh or about how this fifth consecutive loss has precipitated an ugly free-fall from contention but rather because what I know for sure is a team that does not stand together does not stand a chance.

And watching how this Stars team failed to rally to Steve Ott’s defense on Saturday certainly raises some troubling questions about this Stars team.

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Dallas Stars | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Where Will Guerin Land?

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

03/02/09 at 07:28 AM ET | Comments (0)

via Chris Iorfida of Blogs and Columns at CBC,

Pittsburgh, Carolina, Buffalo, Montreal, Florida, Boston and New Jersey all told Hockey Night in Canada they weren’t the teams looking to acquire Bill Guerin, who was scratched before Saturday’s game and didn’t practise with the New York Islanders on Sunday.

The contending teams in the East not on that list are Washington, the New York Rangers and Philadelphia.

Filed in: NHL Teams, New York Islanders | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: Bill+Guerin,

Keith Aucoin Running Away With AHL Scoring Lead

Blog: The Puck Stops Here By PuckStopsHere

03/02/09 at 12:29 AM ET | Comments (4)

Barring a major surprise in the remainder of the season, Keith Aucoin of the Hershey Bears (Washington Capitals affiliate) will win the AHL scoring title.  Aucoin currently has 82 points for a nine point lead over teammate Alexandre Giroux and a nearly twenty point lead over anyone else. 

Keith Aucoin is an AHL superstar.  It is interesting to see where AHL superstars come from and why they are not NHL players.  Aucoin is currently 30 years old and likely playing the best hockey of his career.  He went undrafted by the NHL after a high school hockey career in Massachusetts and chose to attend the Norwich University.  This is a division III school in the NCAA.  While there, Aucoin was a star.  He graduated as the school’s all time leader in goals, assists and points. 

Continue Reading »

Filed in: | The Puck Stops Here | Permalink
  Tags: AHL, Hershey+Bears, Keith+Aucoin,

Road Teams Get More Penalties Called Against Them

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

03/01/09 at 08:16 PM ET | Comments (3)

from Curtis Stock of the Edmonton Journal,

New research confirms what many NHL hockey fans have long suspected, that referees consistently call more penalties on visiting teams.

In a sampling of more than 2,300 power plays from Jan. 1 through mid-February, home teams had 11.5 per cent more man advantages than did visitors.

National Hockey League teams have won 55 per cent more points and games at home than on the road this year — a statistic which fits nicely into the 54- to 56-per-cent advantage home teams have enjoyed throughout this decade.

continued

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

Enough Don

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

03/01/09 at 03:36 PM ET | Comments (25)

from Shawn Lavigne of the XM204 Blog,

I have enormous respect for Don Cherry but there are weeks when I watch ‘Coaches Corner’ where I just scratch my head in bewilderment at some of the stupid comments he makes. Last night on his ‘hockey pulpit’ he talked about the theatrics of Alexander Ovechkin and the ‘boring Europeans’ on the Detroit Red Wings and after 25 years of this anti-European garbage spewing from his mouth it motivated me to share my thoughts.

As broadcasters most of the information that we comment on is our opinion but unfortunately in Canada when it comes to Cherry it is suppose to be taken as religion with his anti-european cult of followers. Trust me I’ve been in sports radio and television for 15 years and heard it all from callers and hosts who bow down to the Great Wall of Cherry.

continued & if you missed the Cherry videos, you can see the Ovechkin one here and a two-parter on the Wings can be found here...

added 5:51pm, from Nate of Welcome to the Show,

Cherry is entitled to his opinion, of course, but it raises a good question: do we have to listen to it? Specifically, for those of us in the U.S., should NHL Network subject us to this garbage on a league-owned network?

Don’t get me wrong, I fell in love with Hockey Night in Canada when I had the chance to watch for four years in Michigan. I wish Jim Hughson could follow me around and describe my every move for a day.

And there’s room for criticism on NHL properties; you’ll see it on NHL.com and hear it on NHL Live and On the Fly. But Cherry’s xenophobic, misguided and frankly wrong comments have no place on a league-owned network.

more

Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, Washington Capitals, NHL Media, Hockey Broadcasting, CBC HNIC | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: Alexander+Ovechkin,

Downie With Another Suspension

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

03/01/09 at 03:16 PM ET | Comments (3)

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League today announced that Norfolk Admirals right wing Steve Downie has been suspended indefinitely, pending league review, as a result of his actions in a game at Hershey on Feb. 28.

Downie was assessed a game misconduct under AHL Rule 41.1 for physical abuse of an official.

---

The AOL Fanhouse has more on the incident…

Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, Minor League | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: Steve+Downie,

Moreau Home After Suffering Eye Injury

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

03/01/09 at 02:30 PM ET | Comments (0)

from TSN/ The Sports Network,

Edmonton Oilers forward Ethan Moreau is back at home the day after suffering a scary eye injury against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night.

Moreau was hit in his right eye by the stick of the Wild’s Antti Miettinen late in the third period. After leaving the ice, Moreau was immediately taken to Royal Alexandria Hospital in Edmonton.

While the real extent of the injury is not yet known, surgery was not required on Saturday night. Doctors will continue to monitor the eye through the week to see if that changes.

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Edmonton Oilers | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: Ethan+Moreau,

Briere Activation Changes Flyers Locker Room

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

03/01/09 at 02:01 PM ET | Comments (0)

from Chuck Gormley of the Courier-Post,

But to make room for Briere’s exorbitant salary, the Flyers were forced to demote promising right wing Claude Giroux ($473,000 cap hit) and depth defenseman Lasse Kukkonen ($875,000) to the Phantoms.

This just 24 hours after seeing center Glen Metropolit (two years, $2 million) and defenseman Ossi Vaananen (one year, $1 million) claimed off waivers by the Montreal Canadiens and Vancouver Canucks, respectively.

“It’s very disappointing,” Flyers left wing Scottie Upshall said. “We had two key guys lost due to the business side of hockey.

“You try to act like it has no effect on the dressing room, but it definitely does. You’re losing two of your buddies, your teammates, and you’re not getting anything in return. We’re excited about getting Danny back, there’s no question about that. But the new CBA was put in place for that reason, and we’re on the side where we had to make moves.”

more

During today’s Flyers/Devils game, Simon Gagne took a shot off his open right hand.  He went off the ice in obvious pain and has not returned.

added 2:05pm, Gagne back on the bench.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Philadelphia Flyers | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Latest On Guerin

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

03/01/09 at 12:30 PM ET | Comments (1)

from RDS (translated),

Bill Guerin is expected to be traded to the Capitals Sunday, but a problem remains. La formation de Washington a de la difficulté à libérer de l’espace sur sa masse salariale. The formation of Washington is struggling to free up space on its payroll.

Ce dossier est en attente jusqu’à ce que les Capitals trouvent une solution. This file is pending until the Capitals found a solution.

continued...

added 12:32pm, from On the Islanders Beat,

The Washington Capitals or Montreal Canadiens may be the top candidates for where Islanders captain Bill Guerin winds up.

Montreal has the salary cap space for the remaining $1 million on Guerin’s contract. Three weeks ago, Washington was capped out.

But since then, the Capitals have placed forward Chris Clark on the long-term injured list, and and sent defenseman Karl Aldner to AHL Hershey, thus clearing about $3 million in cap space.

continued

added 12:51pm, Tarik El-Bashir of Capitals Insider says Guerin not headed to D.C.

added 3:22pm, from Greg Logan of On the Islanders Beat,

So, we’re all free to speculate a little longer as this situation drags on today. As I previously reported, Buffalo and Carolina have ample room under the salary cap, and Montreal and the Rangers are a close fit. Washington cleared cap space to pursue a defenseman (Brendan Witt, anyone?), so, it’s possible other capped-out teams, such as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh could do the same. Let’s hope for everyone’s sake the answer comes today.

more on the Islanders…

added 3:24pm, via Darren Dreger of TSN,

...sources say the Islanders forward now knows who the team is and Guerin and Islanders’ general manager Garth Snow are both waiting for that team to make its final decision to close the deal.

The identity of this mystery team is being concealed in fear the trade will fall apart.

added 7:49pm, via Greg Logan of On the Islanders Beat,

An Islanders official just informed me the team plans no announcements tonight. Nor is there a timeline in which to expect a future announcement. In other words, everything is “status limbo.”

If I get more later, I’ll post it here first.

added 8:35pm, via Darren Dreger of TSN,

Sources close to Guerin say he is frustrated by the ongoing uncertainty and has done nothing to complicate, or stall the trade from going through.

Guerin and Islanders’ general manager Garth Snow are continuing to wait for New York’s trading partner to sign off on the deal.

The identity of this mystery team is being concealed for fear the trade will fall apart, although speculation continues to point at the Washington Capitals.

Filed in: NHL Teams, New York Islanders | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: Bill+Guerin,

Canes lose critical game

Blog: Red and Black Hockey By David Lee

03/01/09 at 11:28 AM ET | Comments (1)

On Saturday night, the Hurricanes squandered a two-goal third period lead and ended up losing 5-3 to the Thrashers.  Carolina had already gotten some outside help when Florida and Buffalo both lost, but they missed the golden chance to climb into the playoff bubble by giving up four third period goals.

Now, the Canes are faced with a tough task.  Starting Tuesday, they will play seven games in twelve days.  Five of the games will be on the road.  Five is also the number of playoff teams included in that stretch.  It will be imperative that the Canes get no less than nine of the 14 points.  One of the main obstacles to that endeavor is that two of those games are against the division leading red-hot Capitals, and both of those games are on the road.  They’ve only lost seven home games.  Another one of those road games is against the Blackhawks, who are currently fourth in the West and have only lost five regulation games at home.  The flip side of that is that they’ve also lost six home games in overtime.

After this important stretch, the canes will have eight of their final eleven at home.  Seven of the final eleven are presently in the playoffs.  It’s not going to be easy. 

Continue Reading »

Filed in: | Red and Black Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: Atlanta+Thrashers, Carolina+Hurricanes, playoff+picture,

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