Kukla's Korner

Ovechkin And Boudreau Talk About The Hit On Campbell

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

03/14/10 at 05:10 PM ET | Comments (3)

from Tarik El-Bashir of Capitals Insider,

“I didn’t hit him hard,” Ovechkin said of Campbell, who did not return to the game. “He fell bad. But you can see, every shift this happens—little pushes, little battles."…

Unsurprisingly, Coach Bruce Boudreau had similar thoughts. “I didn’t think it was a bad, bad check worth a five and a game [misconduct],” he said. “A two at the most, but I don’t make the calls.”

more including video of both Ovechkin and Boudreau…

Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: Alexander+Ovechkin, Brian+Campbell, Bruce+Boudreau,

Brian Campbell Out At Least Three Games

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

03/14/10 at 04:43 PM ET | Comments (0)

via Jesse Rogers of ESPN Chicago,

Campbell left the game and has been declared out for the Hawks’ upcoming three-game road trip that begins Wednesday in Anaheim. Coach Joel Quenneville couldn’t say for sure that the injury would not affect him the rest of the season.

“We’ll see. We’ll get a better assessment as we go along here,” Quenneville said. “Soupy [Campbell] is going to be out for a bit here…It was a tough hit. A dangerous hit.”

Filed in: NHL Teams, Chicago Blackhawks, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: Alexander+Ovechkin, Brian+Campbell,

Kovalchuk`s Effect On Atlanta

Blog: The Puck Stops Here By PuckStopsHere

03/14/10 at 02:44 PM ET | Comments (2)

When I summarized the trade deadline, I picked the Atlanta Thrashers as the team that had the biggest short-term drop as a result of their deadline deals.  Trading away Ilya Kovalchuk, the best player in team history, and not getting any player of Kovalchuk`s level in return is bound to hurt the Thrashers for the remainder of the season. 

Thrasher fans were quick to criticize my pick because the Thrashers had gone 4-3 (with two regulation ties) in their first seven games without Kovalchuk.  Despite the problems of the small sample size (making the handful of game results not statistically significant), this series of games was supposed to show that Atlanta was better (or at least no worse) for having given up Ilya Kovlachuk.  Their luck without Kovalchuk has not held up.  Atlanta is not 4-8 (with their two regulation ties) after the trade.

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Filed in: | The Puck Stops Here | Permalink
  Tags: Atlanta+Thrashers, Ilya+Kovalchuk, Marian+Hossa, New+Jersey+Devils,

Ovechkin With Five For Boarding and A Game Misconcduct

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

03/14/10 at 01:04 PM ET | Comments (41)

Pushed Brian Campbell into the boards and is gone from the game.

Campbell was slow in getting up, may be winded or a shoulder issue and did skate off and went to the locker room.

Proper call?

added 1:26pm, video of the hit…

added 1:35pm, NBC crew says Campbell will not return.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Chicago Blackhawks, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: Alexander+Ovechkin, Brian+Campbell,

Aloha Bitches

Blog: Abel to Yzerman By VooX

03/14/10 at 10:50 AM ET | Comments (63)

When I woke up this morning, I had to double-check the standings.  I didn’t dream it.  We are back in the playoffs.

The Peloton of Suck (still waiting for RWBill to update the chart) shows a small pack clustered around the seventh thru ninth spots ahead of the rest of the suckage.  The Wings are in eighth place, barely ahead of Calgary who have played one less game than us.

Things are always a bit special these days while in a playoff position.  The air is fresher, food tastes better, and neighbourhood pets no longer hide when they see me walking down the street.

I feel so good this morning, I’ve decided to turn A2Y over to a special “guest” blogger.  I hope you enjoy, bitches.

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Filed in: | Abel to Yzerman | Permalink
 

An e-mail Interview with Jay Grossman

Blog: Goal Line Report By Patrick Hoffman

03/14/10 at 10:03 AM ET | Comments (0)

I was lucky enough this weekend to do an e-mail interview with a hockey agent that is very much in the know when it comes to our sport - Jay Grossman.

Jay was kind enough to take time out of his extremely busy schedule and tell us about how he got into the game, what players he has represented, a little bit about his company as welel as some thoughts on how teams can succeed in this salary cap world.

PH: How did you get into hockey?
JG: I started representing NHL players when I joined Art Kaminsky’s firm, Athletes and Artists in 1985. I was referred to the firm by A and A clients Herb Brooks and 1984 US Olympic Coach Lou Vairo. I had worked for Herb for 2 years with the NY Rangers from 1983-85 while I was still an undergraduate at Union College. MSG President Sonny Werblin (a family friend, as my sister Leah was born at a Rangers’ playoff game in 1978) and GM Craig Patrick hired me and I developed the Rangers first video analysis program, which was in its infancy and something I had picked up from another great mentor in Roger Neilson, Captain Video. I worked for Roger when he coached the Canucks to the NHL finals against the NY Islanders and worked at his hockey schools for seven summers as well.

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Filed in: | Goal Line Report | Permalink
  Tags: Jay+Grossman, NHL, Puck+Agency,

Around The League On A Sunday Morning

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

03/14/10 at 09:50 AM ET | Comments (1)

from Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal,

• The Red Wings are getting older, but they have five players on their farm club they certainly feel can be NHLers — defenceman Jakub Kindl, Slovenian winger Jan Mursak, Slovak centre Tomas Tatar, goalie Thomas McCollum and Justin Abdelkader, who would be there now except for salary cap issues. They are very high on two Swedish drafts — Joakim-Andersson and little Gustav Nyquist, who leads the NCAA in scoring at U of Maine. Nyquist, a fourth-round draft in 2008, could win the Hobey Baker Award as U.S. College’s best player. He’s incredibly skilled, but weighs only 170 pounds. Another Red Wings prospect, defenceman Brendan Smith (U of Wisconsin) could make the final 10 in voting.

• Denis Grebeshkov, who had one of his testicles shattered by a shot last week in Nashville, isn’t the first ex-Oiler to go through that pain. In the first game of the 2008 Capitals-Flyers playoff series, Philadelphia forward Patrick Thoresen slid to block a shot and wore ice bags for days. He didn’t need surgery, however.

more

Filed in: NHL Teams | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Ready For 12 Hours Of Non-Stop Hockey?

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

03/14/10 at 09:45 AM ET | Comments (0)

First puck drops just after 12:30pm ET today and the final horn should sound just about 12 hours later.

20 teams in action today, check the schedule below for times and channels.

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Filed in: NHL Teams | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

High tech controls ice quality at Consol Energy Center

Blog: The Confluence By Tony

03/14/10 at 09:42 AM ET | Comments (0)

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Dave Molinari:

“A great deal of planning goes into the ice surface preparation because that’s so important to our game,” said Ken Sawyer, the team’s chief executive officer. “We’re expecting better ice than we have [at Mellon Arena], and certainly are doing everything we can to have the best ice.”

That process starts far away from the arena floor because the most significant factor in determining ice quality is the amount of humidity in the air.

“We invested in a high-quality ‘envelope’ for the building, meaning the exterior ‘container’ to make sure we have the best materials in glass, seals, etc. that would really help to keep unwanted moisture from entering the building,” Sawyer said.

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Filed in: | The Confluence | Permalink
  Tags: NHL-Hockey, Pittsburgh+Penguins,

Keep Your Head Up Boys

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

03/14/10 at 09:31 AM ET | Comments (2)

from Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,

After Cooke’s hit on Savard, Boston general manager Peter Chiarelli said he was “disappointed” that his players didn’t react to it, presumably meaning that they should have gone after Cooke right then, even though it was late in a one-goal game and the Bruins need every point they can get to make the playoffs. Who’s to say Thornton, for instance, won’t try to score big points with his boss and teammates Thursday night? So what if he gets suspended for the rest of the season, as Bertuzzi was in ‘04? He might think it’s worth it if he can take out Cooke or Crosby or Malkin.

It is worth repeating:

Only in the NHL.

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Filed in: NHL Teams, Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

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