Pens Take Game Two

The Penguins took a two-game lead over the Flyers last night.  Another hard-fought over, and another 2-0 series lead in the Conference Finals.

Before any of the goal scoring started, Scottie Upshall and Tyler Kennedy got the crowd going by dropping the gloves off of a faceoff.  It was an entertaining scrap which left the fans in a frenzy.

Georges Laraque started the play that broke the 2-2 tie in the third period.  After a quick shot towards the net, Gary Roberts dished it right off to Maxime Talbot, who put it home for the game-winner.

No suspensions

Mike Ribeiro was not suspended for his hack at Chris Osgood Saturday.

However, both Ribeiro and Osgood were fined, as was Steve Ott for his actions against Kris Draper.

Worlds get fiesty

Ilya Kovalchuk and Anton Stralman were roughing it up Saturday, but it was David Backes and Anssi Salmela who really went at it yesterday.  The USA-Finland game was horribly officiated (the side of the net?  really?), and it led to things getting chippy.  By the end, Backes and Salmela had gloves off and were swinging.  The two are now automatically suspended each team’s next game.

US fans can watch the Worlds over at WCSN.

Videos added

Scottie Upshall vs Tyler Kennedy May 11, 2008
Anssi Salmela vs David Backes May 11, 2008

Today’s NHL game

Detroit Red Wings vs Dallas Stars 8:00 PM ET

Some reads

Dallas Stars think return home will provide lift
Wings hit, just aren’t hitting back
Red Wings plan to keep their cool in Game 3
Flyers’ Coburn struck in face by puck, leaves game
Hossa pays off in spades
Canadians admire Latvia’s lovable fans
$ather’s Hard Line on Avery Will Cost Rangers
Basketball vs. hockey playoffs? It’s no contest
Co-owner: Waddell hasn’t been asked to step down
A Net Loss For Washington
Thomas: U.S. teeming with talent
Goalie feels a little tender

Wings Win Again, Ribeiro Slashes Osgood

The Stars are down 2-0 and before the very end of last night’s game, they decided they were going to make the Red Wings feel it before heading back to Dallas.

With about five seconds left, Steve Ott went after Kris Draper, giving him a shot before having the scrum broken up and Ott being escorted off the ice.

The Stars won the ensuing faceoff and Sergei Zubov shot the puck in the Wings zone.  Mike Ribeiro skated after the puck, and Chris Osgood gave him a bump with the butt-end of his stick.  Draper tried to grab onto Ribeiro, but before a scrum could even develop Ribeiro gave Osgood a two-hander to the chest.

Ribeiro received an attempt to injure match penalty, meaning he’s already suspended pending league review.  If I had to guess, I’d say it’s unlikely he’ll see any further playoff action. It seems harsh, but the Wings are already up by two and the highlight of Ribeiro swinging his stick with both hands will be replayed over and over. There will be media pressure on the league, no doubt.

Draper, involved in all of the action at game’s end, wasn’t concerned about Ott, just Ribeiro:

“I’m fine with that,” Draper said of the Ott assault. “He threw a punch at me.

“No harm done. You get up and you go. But something like (the slash on Osgood), that’s right out of Slap Shot. (Ribeiro) just literally . . . intent to injure on our best player. I couldn’t believe it when he did it.”

Osgood said of his butt-end:

“If it did, it was an accident,” he said. “I don’t think it justifies a two-hander over the top of the net.”

And of the slash:

“I do have a lot of padding up there but it got me in the side where I didn’t have much,” he said of the Ribeiro slash. “It did hurt a bit.

“It was kind of a full swing right to the side. But I’ll be fine, I’m sure. A little sore, but I’ll be fine.”

Dominik Hasek didn’t play last night, but his presence was felt when Osgood flopped to the ice like a fish when slashed, only to be up and fine a minute later.  No one expects a slash like that to tickle, but it did seem like overkill.

While we were all looking at the Flyers-Pens series for the war, the Stars and Wings are now sharing the battle spotlight.

Tonight’s game

Philadelphia Flyers vs Pittsburgh Penguins 7:30 PM ET

Some reads

ESPN: Don Cherry Breaks Down The NHL Playoffs
Stars’ Ott stirs the pot
Flyers playoff goalies from Bernie Parent to Marty Biron
Penguins-Flyers series a war? That’s the idea
Series puts rivalry in state of frenzy
NHL needs to be body slammed (the gist of this is something I’ve written myself quite a few times)
Flyers’ Upshall is feisty and talented
Landing an OHL job doesn’t mean you’ll make the NHL
Roberts: Physical play, fights can shift momentum
Goons on parade: Cote and Laraque
Oilers reincarnated
MLSE suits are still calling all the shots
Cote’s call to arms
What does the future hold for Dan Carcillo?

Conference Finals Preview 2008

Pittsburgh Penguins (2) vs Philadelphia Flyers (6)

Records

Pittsburgh: 47-27-8 (102 pts) Home: 26-10-5 Away: 21-16-3
Philadelphia: 42-29-11 (95 pts) Home: 20-14-6 Away: 21-15-5
Pittsburgh swept the Sens and beat New York in 5. Philadelphia eliminated Washington in 7 and Montreal in 5.

Head-to-Head

Nov 7, 2007 - PIT 1 PHI 3
Nov 10, 2007 - PIT 2 PHI 5
Dec 11, 2007 - PIT 2 PHI 8
Jan 24, 2008 - PIT 3 PHI 4
Feb 10, 2008 - PIT 4 PHI 3
Mar 16, 2008 - PIT 7 PHI 1
Apr 2, 2008 - PIT 4 PHI 2
Apr 6, 2008 - PIT 0 PHI 2
Philadelphia won season series 5-3.

Fighting (did they ever!)

Nov 7, 2007 - Brooks Orpik vs R.J. Umberger
Nov 10, 2007 - Ryan Malone vs Jason Smith
Nov 10, 2007 - Darryl Sydor vs Stefan Ruzicka
Dec 11, 2007 - Ryan Malone vs Jason Smith
Dec 11, 2007 - Gary Roberts vs Ben Eager
Dec 11, 2007 - Ryan Whitney vs Jeff Carter
Dec 11, 2007 - Colby Armstrong vs Scott Hartnell
Jan 24, 2008 - Georges Laraque vs Riley Cote
Jan 24, 2008 - Ryan Stone vs Steve Downie
Feb 10, 2008 - Jarkko Ruutu vs Steve Downie
Mar 16, 2008 - Ryan Malone vs Riley Cote
Apr 2, 2008 - Georges Laraque vs Riley Cote
Apr 2, 2008 - Brooks Orpik vs Joffrey Lupul

Lineup

Goaltending: DRAW
Scoring: EDGE Pittsburgh
Defense: EDGE Philadelphia
Coaching: EDGE Pittsburgh
Grit: EDGE Philadelphia

Schedule

Friday, May 9, 2008
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008

Key for Pittsburgh

Show discipline. It's no secret who Philadelphia will be after. The Rangers went for the "diver" angle and it didn't do a whole lot. Philadelphia won't be afraid to use every trick in the book and we'll really see what the young guns are really made of.

Key for Philadelphia

Marty Biron. Philadelphia is capable of matching Pittsburgh offensively... it's up to Marty to continue to shut the door. He's been the busiest goalie after two rounds facing an average of 33 shots, but boasts a solid .914 save percentage. Also, I'd enjoy a few sound bites of Biron yelling sweet nothings to Sidney Crosby.

My Prediction

Fans and writers love to talk about match-ups that are good for the league. Does it get any better than this? Two great fanbases, a nasty rivalry and a little bit of Cinderella... this has the makings to be a classic. I can't picture a scenario where Pittsburgh doesn't win. No slight to the Flyers, as you don't get to the Conference Finals for no reason, but I think the Pens will have an answer for everything Philadelphia has... Pens in 6. Still, I think we're in for an excellent series.

John's Pick

If the way the Flyers and Penguins went it at during the regular season is any indication, this series could end up being one of the most entertaining in recent memory. The Flyers gave it a good run but the loss of Kimmo Timonen will serve as a huge blow to any plans the Flyers had to shut down Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Jordan Staal. Pens in 6.

David's Pick

It's so hard not to build this one up. I want to say best series since Islanders-Leafs of 2002, but anyone who believes in jinxes (99% of hockey fans it seems) will send in the hate mail if that doesn't happen. This just has entertaining written all over it, from the positional match-ups to the media jabs to the fans. Any hole the Flyers have, the Penguins seem to have plugged up. Like Jamie and John, I'm picking the Pens in 6.

Continue reading "Conference Finals Preview 2008"

Canada vs USA: Feel the Hate

North American hockey may be our usual drug of choice around these parts, but with the World Championships on display in North America this month, there’s been a whole lot of NHL stars taking to the ice outside of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

And no game so far has been bigger for Canadian and American fans than today’s matchup.

Says Roy MacGregor in today’s Globe & Mail, these are two teams set “to get their hate on,” and there’s certainly some history to that idea. 

“They hate us and we hate them.”
Keith Tkachuk, 1996 World Cup

Excellent. I thoroughly approve of a little hockey hate.

More information can be found at the links below, and I’ll be posting updates, photos and maybe some odd trivia at the Kukla’s Korner: Canucks & Beyond page throughout the game.  Feel free to stop by and contribute your own photos, commentary, whatever you want.

Canada vs USA - 3:30pm ET
Video: In Canada on TSN & RDS; In the USA, on WCSN (paid sub); International viewers check IIHF
Audio: Fan590 streaming live.
More Info: Complete tournament schedule [PDF], and power rankings.
Team Rosters: Canada [PDF] and USA [PDF]
hockeyfights.com: World Championships forum, World Championships page

Penn Meet-Up

If not for the Sharks refusal to die this round, the best part of the second round of the playoffs was the setup for the Conference Finals between the Flyers and Penguins.

The Sharks playoff run did come to an end though. After six games, four of which went to OT, Brenden Morrow put the series away for the Stars after 129:03 of hockey last night.  It was really the only close series of the round.

After seeing some great first round action, most of the second round simply didn’t last long enough to give it the same feel.  The Flyers and Penguins each took out their opponents in five, and Detroit demolished Colorado.

There was a great recap of The Battle of Pennsylvania a few months ago by Rob Rossi and Joe Starkey of the Tribune-Review (something pointed to back in January).  The two teams fought 13 times in 8 games this past regular season.  There was a real passion on and off the ice for all games, something that will easily continue into the Conference Finals.

Philly and Pittsburgh were nominated for the 2007-08 Best Team Feud, part of the hockeyfights.com Season Awards.

Videos added

We’ve been focusing on minors and juniors lately, here’s a sample:

Josh Beaulieu vs Nicolas Blanchard Jan 5, 2008
Jordan Bendfeld vs Garrett Klotz Feb 29, 2008
Dale Purinton vs Triston Grant Jan 11, 2008
John DiPace vs Mitch Woods Apr 13, 2008
Kevin Westgarth vs Jesse Boulerice Jan 13, 2008

Some reads

Sean Avery out of intensive care
Players in ‘hairsute’ of the coveted Cup
LIers own and manage Crunch, as in punch
Getting to know: Paul Holmgren
Clarke forever the face of the Flyers
Everybody Loves Georges | Laraque goes more than the extra mile