CTC

Repeat – The Flyers have goalie problems

Crash The Crease — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:41:43 +0000

From Scott Burnside

At the best of times, being an NHL GM is like being a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

Danger is everywhere, whether it’s the crapshoot of drafting the right players or signing the right free agents or hiring the right coach.

But you have to wonder about NHL GMs who willfully increase their exposure to having their tails squashed, like Philadelphia GM Paul Holmgren, who is now left with what is, at best, suspect goaltending and, at worst, a train wreck waiting to happen heading into the postseason.

Starter Michael Leighton left Tuesday’s game in Nashville with a high-ankle sprain, and the club announced late Thursday afternoon that he is gone for eight to 10 weeks.

Now, what looked to be a significant risk — turning over the Flyers’ netminding chores to an untested journeyman like Leighton — has quickly evolved into what appears to be a monstrous blunder.

It is true Holmgren did take a run at Florida Panthers netminder Tomas Vokoun at the March 3 trade deadline but backed off when the cost was going to include sniper Jeff Carter.

Fair enough.

But when Plan A failed, what happened to Plan B or even Plan C? In Philadelphia, where goaltending isn’t a storyline but a recurring nightmare, we are talking Plan Z here.

Full story here

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Leafs fans are on a whole other level

Crash The Crease — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:23:40 +0000

From Mike Brophy at Sportsnet

Disbelief is a word that comes to mind when trying to understand fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

As I sat in the Air Canada Club watching Thursday night’s game between the home Toronto Maple Leafs and the visiting New Jersey Devils, one thought kept popping into my mind: This is unreal.

I mean, here we are in the final stretch of yet another losing season for a team that hasn’t won the Stanley Cup since 1967; the roster has been dismantled by yet another general manager who traded away the organization’s top draft pick for the next two years and the Leafs were mired in 29th place. Yet the building is not only full, it is bloody well rocking!

The team stinks and has the most expensive tickets in the league and night after night the building is full to the brim. It really defies logic. Those who don’t worship at the altar of the NHL’s richest and often worst-run team have suggested it is a sickness. Journalist Al Adams once said, “The Leafs could play a home game at 3 a.m. in a blinding snow storm and the building would be full.” I think he’s right.

I am sitting with a friend, Grant Johnston, who says his company pays in excess of $35,000 a year for Leafs’ season tickets and he admits he would never dream of giving them up… just in case. “I may not be alive with the Leafs win their next Cup, but maybe my kids will,” Grant says with a laugh.

Another guy at our table, Roy Rusaw, has the Leafs TML logo tattooed on one arm and an ode to the Maple Leafs 1963 championship (the year he was born) on the other. When the Leafs score, his thunderous hand clapping causes my ears to ring.

Full story here

There is no Nation like Leafs Nation that’s for sure.

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Ryan Kesler signs 6 year contract extension

Crash The Crease — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:09:12 +0000

Vancouver Canucks President and General Manager Mike Gillis announced that forward Ryan Kesler has agreed to terms on a six-year contract extension through the 2015-2016 season worth an average cap hit of $5,000,000.

“(It) is an exciting day for the Canucks organization,” said Mike Gillis. “Ryan Kesler has excelled as a two-way player and in his role as an alternate captain. Ryan has showcased his ability to perform under extreme pressure and we are looking forward to continuing to see Ryan develop into one of the League’s premier players.

Full story here

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Flyers Fans React pt. 9

Dustin Leed — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:48:41 +0000

Today we’re joined by Jon ‘JP’ Phillips. JP has been a Flyers’ fan since the days of Pelle Lindbergh, who was his idol playing goalie as a kid. Although he grew up in Minnesota, he has avidly followed the team since the early 90’s and now authors the FlyingP blog.

DL – What are your thoughts on the Flyers standing pat on Trade Deadline?

It’s not surprising to me at all that the Flyers did nothing at the trade deadline. The current cap situation and lack of production from the guys who would get the return the team needs (not to mention the inane NTCs that have been handed out) made is essentially impossible for Homer to make a significant move to improve the team. As Homer said, he made his big trade back at the draft.

One thing I’m happy about is that Homer didn’t succumb to the pressure of making a move and end up making a bad one. I like the fact that moving JVR and Giroux was non-negotiable. It would have been nice to see a move involving Coburn or a similar piece, but I don’t think the Flyers would have gotten a fair return. In the end, no deal was the best deal in this case.

Having said that, I’ve been comfortable with the team and will continue to be comfortable with the team. When it’s playing as a unit and with desire, this team has the talent to beat anyone in the league. The problem has been and continues to be that they just don’t do that. This most recent stretch shows that they’re just as inconsistent now as they’ve been all season. Their pre-Olympic stretched showed how good they can play, and they need to rediscover that chemistry that had them flying high for the better part of January and February.

If we see that team again, then I like our chances for the playoffs.DL – How confident are you as Michael Leighton as the starting goaltender?

Of course, I had to rework my response after Leighton’s high ankle sprain.

Prior to his injury I would have to say that, in brief, I’m not. But, the team seems to play well for him and that means something. He has a tendency to let soft goals in and in bunches, and they tend to be momentum killers when he flakes out like that.

The reality is, there are a lot of goalies – some better, some worse – that have never won a Cup. The problem with being a Cup-caliber goalie is that you have to win one to gain that title. Look at Roberto Luongo, he’s never won a Cup so the questions still hover around him about whether he’s just a great regular season goalie that can’t get it done in the playoffs. Heck, even with how great Ryan Miller played in the Olympics, people still wonder if he’s got the stuff to win a Cup. The same would be the case if Emery was still between the pipes.

So, assuming the Flyers don’t tank before season’s end, we’ve got Leighton as our go-to guy in net for the playoffs. As we’ve seen so far this season, Leighton’s success will greatly depend on how well the team plays defense in front of him… same with Boosh, Backlund or whoever else Laviolette throws in there. Since the Flyers don’t have a lights-out tender, then the best we can hope for is that the team plays uber-responsibly in front of him and that whoever the goalie is just plays well enough for the team to win.

DL – What are your expectations of the Philadelphia Flyers this season, from here on out – what must they do to lock a playoff spot?

There is just one thing, in my opinion, the Flyers need to do to secure a playoff seed and hopefully go far into the post-season. They need to start playing for each other. Since the Olympic break, they seem to have lost what cohesion they had developed during their January-February tear. They seem to be playing more selfishly and unconsciously… and the results have been evident. You can’t lay eggs like the games against Boston and New York at this time of the season. Even if you lose, you need to be able to take positives away from it. Those loses were a result of lack of effort and teamwork, plain and simple.

The Flyers need to find that intangible element of playing for each other. Yes, we fans think we matter a whole lot in the success of the team, but ultimately we’re along for the ride. We revel in the glory and agonize at the defeats, but we play a very small role in the team’s overall success. The current Flyers need to be willing to pay the price for each other… to do whatever it takes to be there for a pass or shot, or to cover for a defense laps, or just throw a big check and defend their teammate. Whether they win the Cup or not, at least you can walk off the ice and feel proud of how you played.

That’s what we need to see.

DL – What’s the best part of being a Flyers fan?The passion. Many of you know I grew up in Minnesota and was a North Stars fan for the first part of my life. It’s an old story that I won’t go into. But when the Flyers supplanted them as ‘my’ team, it was more than just the type of hockey played in Philly that drew me in. It was the passion that surrounds the team… the complete and utter dedication to supporting them no matter what. Sure, we’ll give the players, coaches and front office a good roughing up if we don’t like the way things are going, but it’s only because we love the Orange and Black so much. Win or lose, love us or hate us… everyone knows that Philadelphia Flyers fans are as passionate as they come. Players want to play for us, other fans want to be us.

DL – Who is your favorite Flyer and why?

Honestly, I don’t have a bona fide favorite Flyers right now. I usually gauge my favorite off of who’s name I’d get on the back of a jersey and I haven’t done that yet. In the end, it’s probably a toss-up between Mike Richards and Claude Giroux, with the G-man getting a slight edge. Giroux is smooth as butter and there’s just an electricity in the air when he’s got the puck on his stick. You’re just constantly waiting to see what he will do and how the puck will end up in the back of the net. I’m certainly glad that Homer refused to trade him and I hope that doesn’t change. As for Richards, no one’s better or more fun to watch that Richie when he’s playing all-out. No one.

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Is it time to worry in LA?

Crash The Crease — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:12:04 +0000

From Helene Elliott at The LA Times

It’s time to worry.

Not to panic, but to be concerned that since the Olympic break the Kings have lacked the drive and cohesion that had fueled their turnaround season and now bear an unpleasant resemblance to the bad, old Kings who would stumble through March and be done by early April.

Despite preparing with two vigorous practice days, the Kings were lifeless Thursday during a 3-0 loss to the Blackhawks, who had played the previous night at Anaheim. The loss, the team’s third in four games and first home shutout loss since Feb. 12, 2009, dropped the Kings’ record since the Olympics to 3-4-1.

“There was not much good out there tonight,” Coach Terry Murray said.

They’re still sixth in the West, but Nashville has matched their 85 points. The Kings have two games in hand, but that won’t mean anything if they can’t find their missing spark.

“If we want to get into the playoffs we’ve got to execute right now,” winger Ryan Smyth said. “We’ve got to hit the reset button, for sure.”

Full story here

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Tight playoff races in the West

Crash The Crease — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:05:33 +0000

Talk about a wild race to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Western Conference is more than obliging hockey fans this season, and Thursday’s action was just an appetizer for things to come.

With a 3-0 win in Los Angeles, the Chicago Blackhawks now have moved into a points tie for the conference’s top spot alongside the slumping San Jose Sharks. The Hawks get the technical lead based on more victories (45-43). The Hawks and Sharks both have 96 points with 12 games remaining.

There likely will be some changes in that race this weekend. On Friday, the Sharks visit a desperate Flames team trying to get back into the West’s top eight. Saturday, the Blackhawks will face the red-hot Coyotes at a sold-out Jobing.com Arena.

“To be honest, I don’t think a lot of guys know the exact standings,” Blackhawks forward Adam Burish said. “You’ve got to play good hockey and you’ve got to win hockey games and lately we haven’t done that. We’ve been finding ways to lose games instead of finding ways to win them.

“The last seven or eight games are the most important games of the year if you’re going to make playoffs because that sets the tone of what you’re going to do. If the playoffs were tomorrow, I wouldn’t feel real good about where we’re at right now.

Full story here

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Jarome Iginla vs Bill Guerin

Staff — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:50:51 +0000

These two jaw at each other after a Guerin hit on Marc Savard, the jawing then stops and words turn to punches. It starts out fairly even at the start then Jarome Iginla lays a bit of a beating on Guerin.

Jarome Iginla vs Bill Guerin

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo5t4ot4iq8

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Coyotes set franchise record for wins

Crash The Crease — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:00:38 +0000

With a lot of grit and a little luck, the Phoenix Coyotes earned a record-setting win Thursday night.

Radim Vrbata scored with 59.7 seconds left in the third period to force overtime, then added the winner in the third round of a shootout in the Coyotes’ 4-3 comeback victory over the Florida Panthers.

Martin Hanzal and Lee Stempniak also scored in the third period to help the Coyotes stretch their winning streak to seven games. The Coyotes set a franchise record for wins in a season with 44, besting the previous mark set by the 1984-85 Winnipeg Jets – before overtime ties were broken in shootouts.

“It was just one of those games where we never quit,” Vrbata said. “We came back and it was nice to get that.”

Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 21 shots in regulation and overtime for Phoenix.

Full story here

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Official-Michael Leighton out 8-10 weeks

Crash The Crease — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:32:22 +0000

Philadelphia Flyers goalie Michael Leighton will miss the next 8-to-10 weeks with a severe high-ankle sprain suffered in Nashville on March 16, Flyers General Manager Paul Holmgren announced Thursday. Brian Boucher will be the Flyers’ top goalie in his absence. Leighton was injured while playing the puck 9:45 into the first period. “I went out to get the puck and it got away from me and I just went back on my leg and felt my (ankle) pop,” he said. “It was just the way I fell backwards. I felt something pop, and it didn’t feel good.” Leighton said it doesn’t hurt when he stands straight, but he feels the pain when he crouches forward in a goalie stance. He said he will know more after an MRI is done. Leighton, 28, left the game after allowing two goals on five shots to the Predators. Nashville was leading, 2-1, when Boucher replaced Leighton and gave up a goal within his first minute of play to Jerred Smithson.

Full story here

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Michael Rupp vs Zdeno Chara

Crash The Crease — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:29:36 +0000

First off, anyone who willingly drops the gloves with Zdeno Chara deserves some credit. Rupp does so and basically survives his fight with the Slovakian giant.

Michael Rupp vs Zdeno Chara

www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_nwclehpqc

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