The National Hockey League has seen the first head coach receive the axe in this brand new decade.
Earlier this morning, the St. Louis Blues announced that they have fired head coach Andy Murray and replaced him with Davis Payne on an interim basis. Payne was in his first season as head coach of the Blues' primary minor league affilite, the Peoria Rivermen of the American Hockey League.
The Blues own the worst home record in the NHL with a 6-15 mark through 21 games played at Scottrade Center this season, including three non-regulation losses. They are in 12th place in the Western Conference and nine points out of the final playoff spot. St. Louis blew a 3-0 third period lead in their last game on Thursday night before falling 4-3 to the visiting Vancouver Canucks in overtime. It was their fourth consecutive loss.
Payne will make his Blues head coaching debut tonight as his team hosts the Chicago Blackhawks.
St. Louis Blues official news release (January 2):
Davis Payne named interim head coach
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Friday, January 1, 2010
USA Hockey unveils roster for 2010 men's Olympic team
Immediately after the 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic concluded, USA Hockey announced their men's roster for the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.
Seen live on NBC's broadcast of the third National Hockey League's outdoor game in league history today at Fenway Park between the Philadelphia Flyers and host Boston Bruins, kids dressed in USA Hockey jerseys were lined up on the ice surface and each turned around to the camera to show the announced roster player. The final player to be introduced by Bruins public address announcer Jim Martin was goaltender Tim Thomas.
video courtesy: NBC and NHL Productions
Here are the 22 NHL players selected to represent the United States next month. The Olympic hockey tournament will take place from February 16th to February 28th. For an in-depth look at the 2010 men's Olympic team, check out complete player biographies within the 2009 orientation camp guide.
FORWARDS
David Backes
Dustin Brown
Ryan Callahan
Chris Drury
Patrick Kane
Ryan Kesler
Phil Kessel
Jamie Langenbrunner
Zach Parise
Joe Pavelski
Bobby Ryan
Paul Stastny
DEFENSEMEN
Erik Johnson
Jack Johnson
Mike Komisarek
Paul Martin
Brooks Orpik
Brian Rafalski
Ryan Suter
GOALTENDERS
Ryan Miller
Jonathan Quick
Tim Thomas
Among the notable veteran NHL players that did not make this year's team would be Scott Gomez of the Montréal Canadiens, Bill Guerin of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Mike Modano of the Dallas Stars, Brian Rolston of the New Jersey Devils and Keith Tkachuk of the St. Louis Blues.
Does this mean that this is marking a changing of the guard to the younger generation of American players?
"We don't have the big-name recognition like we did at the 1996 World Cup, but we do have what we feel is a deeper and broader pool than ever before. We've put some exciting young players in the League the last 3-4 years - the (Phil) Kessels and (Patrick) Kanes of the world," Team USA general manager Brian Burke explained.
Burke added, "We've got some grizzled veterans who have participated and competed - the Tkachuks, Modanos and Guerins. We have to figure out what the balance is. We're not closing the door on that (older) generation, but we're not promising anything either. If it's time to turn the page, we're prepared to do that."
Team USA general manager Brian Burke talks to NHL Network's Bill Clement and Brian Duff about the decision-making process in finalizing the 2010 men's Olympic team.
(video courtesy: NHL Productions)
With this group of players in which only four have had prior Olympic experience (Drury, Gomez, Langenbrunner and Rafalski), what does Team USA head coach Ron Wilson want from them?
"We want to play a fast, aggressive, forechecking style that tries to get the puck and control the puck all the time," Wilson told NHL.com's Mike G. Morreale. "We hope, in the few days we have with the team before the Games, we're able to solidify that style of play and execute it on the ice."
As an underdog against the favored hockey powers Canada and Russia, can the United States capture their first Gold medal since the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" hockey team?
"As I've said before, no bold predictions, no bulletin board material, we're there to win," Burke said.
Seen live on NBC's broadcast of the third National Hockey League's outdoor game in league history today at Fenway Park between the Philadelphia Flyers and host Boston Bruins, kids dressed in USA Hockey jerseys were lined up on the ice surface and each turned around to the camera to show the announced roster player. The final player to be introduced by Bruins public address announcer Jim Martin was goaltender Tim Thomas.
video courtesy: NBC and NHL Productions
Here are the 22 NHL players selected to represent the United States next month. The Olympic hockey tournament will take place from February 16th to February 28th. For an in-depth look at the 2010 men's Olympic team, check out complete player biographies within the 2009 orientation camp guide.
FORWARDS
David Backes
Dustin Brown
Ryan Callahan
Chris Drury
Patrick Kane
Ryan Kesler
Phil Kessel
Jamie Langenbrunner
Zach Parise
Joe Pavelski
Bobby Ryan
Paul Stastny
DEFENSEMEN
Erik Johnson
Jack Johnson
Mike Komisarek
Paul Martin
Brooks Orpik
Brian Rafalski
Ryan Suter
GOALTENDERS
Ryan Miller
Jonathan Quick
Tim Thomas
Among the notable veteran NHL players that did not make this year's team would be Scott Gomez of the Montréal Canadiens, Bill Guerin of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Mike Modano of the Dallas Stars, Brian Rolston of the New Jersey Devils and Keith Tkachuk of the St. Louis Blues.
Does this mean that this is marking a changing of the guard to the younger generation of American players?
"We don't have the big-name recognition like we did at the 1996 World Cup, but we do have what we feel is a deeper and broader pool than ever before. We've put some exciting young players in the League the last 3-4 years - the (Phil) Kessels and (Patrick) Kanes of the world," Team USA general manager Brian Burke explained.
Burke added, "We've got some grizzled veterans who have participated and competed - the Tkachuks, Modanos and Guerins. We have to figure out what the balance is. We're not closing the door on that (older) generation, but we're not promising anything either. If it's time to turn the page, we're prepared to do that."
Team USA general manager Brian Burke talks to NHL Network's Bill Clement and Brian Duff about the decision-making process in finalizing the 2010 men's Olympic team.
(video courtesy: NHL Productions)
With this group of players in which only four have had prior Olympic experience (Drury, Gomez, Langenbrunner and Rafalski), what does Team USA head coach Ron Wilson want from them?
"We want to play a fast, aggressive, forechecking style that tries to get the puck and control the puck all the time," Wilson told NHL.com's Mike G. Morreale. "We hope, in the few days we have with the team before the Games, we're able to solidify that style of play and execute it on the ice."
As an underdog against the favored hockey powers Canada and Russia, can the United States capture their first Gold medal since the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" hockey team?
"As I've said before, no bold predictions, no bulletin board material, we're there to win," Burke said.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Phoenix Coyotes hope to build on success of franchise record 10 straight home wins
The best possible script through the first half of the 2009-2010 National Hockey League season seems to have been written for the Phoenix Coyotes.
Earlier tonight, Phoenix bounced back from a gut-wrenching 3-2 shootout loss in San Jose with a huge 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks at Jobing.com Arena.
"The party's on, eh?" Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett chuckled with a smile. "That's the way it goes."
Most importantly, with the win, the Coyotes set a new franchise record by winning their 10th straight home game. It would surpass the previous mark of 9 in a row between December 27, 1992 to January 23, 1993 when the team was the Winnipeg Jets.
Lauri Korpikoski scored the deciding shootout goal and backup goaltender Jason LaBarbera made 28 saves to propel Phoenix to victory. LaBarbera kept the puck out of his net on all three Vancouver shootout attempts to improve his season record to 3-3 in 7 starts with a .924 save percentage and 2.25 goals-against-average. It was his first career home win in a Coyotes uniform after his previous two were both in Columbus earlier this season.
LaBarbera may not play much as was the case last season when he was with the Canucks, but he doesn't seem to mind with this group of Phoenix Coyotes.
"It's not easy, but to be honest, it's just fun to come to the rink," LaBarbera told Jim Gintonio of the Arizona Republic. "It's easy to come and be prepared and be focused. If you're losing, it's miserable coming to the rink, and it's easy to lose your focus."
He added, "We have such a great group here, such a close bunch. I like to come to the rink. We like to be around each other. It makes it much easier, doesn't matter if I'm playing or not."
Ed Jovanovski and Petr Prucha also scored for Phoenix, a team that has won 12 of their last 16 games overall since November 27th. Mikael Samuelsson and Kyle Wellwood tallied goals for visiting Vancouver.
There is no doubt under Tippett in his first season behind the bench, the team has bought into his coaching system and as a result, he appears to have a hard-working and fundamentally sound hockey club that is building more confidence from each game.
"I'm just proud of how hard the guys competed," Tippett said during the postgame press conference. "I mean you've got Vancouver on a winning streak, sitting here last night watching our game on TV. We played a hard, hard game in San Jose and we come back here and the guys muster up that kind of effort, it makes our whole coaching staff very proud."
video courtesy: Phoenix Coyotes
Note the word PROUD in that last quote. When you hear your bench boss say that, you know that not only are you getting your job done, but you're performing well at a high level where you believe you can win every single game you play.
That is something you rarely if ever heard from any head coach over the last several years during this playoff drought in the desert.
Following a tumultuous summer and autumn of uncertainty over the immediate future of the franchise, we observers can say that the Coyotes are undoubtedly off to an outstanding start to their season.
Fans across central Arizona and the hockey world are finally starting to take notice in the hockey team.
"It is so awesome. They have been through so much. And they are showing what a strong team they really are. I love our COYOTES!!!"
- Cathy Jean Turley
"They just keep shocking the doubters! And will continue to do so... playoffs baby... They're special alright, in very good way. These folks better wake up! This team's for real."
- Brian Hart
"The 'Yotes and their fans deserve this record breaking event. It's wonderful to get tangible reinforcement that all their hard work is paying off. We're so proud of them and so proud to be fans."
- Monique Reaux
"If I had to sum up how I feel about the record breaking feat last night at Jobing.com Arena, I would have to say that, as a Coyote fan since day one of this organization, there's no better feeling than to have the organization begin to write their own history and records so that the fans of the Jets who seem to have a deep-seeded loathing for the Desert Dogs can stop saying that 'we' have stolen 'their' history."
- Jim Appenauer
"After a 'perfect storm' of horrible problems over the summer, Coyotes fans finally have something wonderful to look forward to! We have an awesome home record this season, the crowds are getting better and the Coyotes organization is doing everything they can to bring the fans back to the arena.
It is great to honor the history of the Jets organization, but breaking the home winning streak is some new Coyotes history I am extremely proud to be a part of! The town is buzzing with talk of the Coyotes - in a GOOD way - for the first time in years!"
- Heather Schroeder
President of the Phoenix Coyotes Booster Club
"This is a huge accomplishment for the Coyotes and their fans. The Valley is starting to wake up and take notice of our team. I feel this is just the beginning of an era of good things to come for the Phoenix Coyotes!"
- Heather McWhorter
President of the Save The Coyotes Coalition
It may be evident in the number of fans in the seats at the Coyotes' home rink in Glendale, Arizona, just 13 miles northwest of downtown Phoenix. Since 10,030 showed up last Wednesday night to see starting goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov blank the Anaheim Ducks for a 4-0 victory, the team hosted 16,131 patrons on Saturday night to see a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings. Tonight's game drew 13,976 fans into the building despite a noticeable contingent rooting for the Canucks.
"Please tell your friends," Coyotes television and radio host Todd Walsh said at the conclusion of last Saturday's pregame ceremony honoring team captain Shane Doan's 1,000th NHL game. "There is something happening out here. And to quote a certain coach in these parts, sorry Dave Tippett. As you said on opening night in Los Angeles, it's something special. These men have proven that thus far this season."
But the biggest question of all as the new calendar year being almost here would be, can Phoenix learn from last season's second half collapse and remain a consistent winning hockey team for the remainder of this campaign?
After he was stopped by LaBarbera in the shootout to end the game, Samuelsson expressed his belief that the Coyotes are a much more competitive team than years past.
"If you think you're coming to Phoenix for an easy two points, that's not the case now," he said.
"You see it time and again, especially since the lockout, you have these teams that people don't expect to play well," Coyotes defenseman Adrian Aucoin said four days ago. "You don't need superstars, you just need everyone to play really well. You don't need anybody to be great, but you need everybody to be good. So I don't think it's that surprising."
Now exactly halfway through the regular season schedule, the Coyotes are 25-16 with 53 points in 41 games. That includes three losses in either overtime or after a shootout. They're one of only eight teams that have reached the 50-point plateau and sit just two points behind the Western Conference-leading San Jose Sharks and overall league lead.
Now 10 straight home wins and counting, Coyotes general manager Don Maloney likes the team's chances of duplicating the first half success in the second half of the season.
"What pleases me is that we played so many tight games in the first half, so playing in 3-2, 2-1, 1-0 games is not going to faze us in the second half," Maloney said. "I think we're built for the long haul."
In an Arizona Republic poll, 96% of nearly 3,700 votes feel the Coyotes will make the playoffs. It certainly is remarkable how a few extra wins can suddenly boost the confidence of a team and the fans. Only time will tell if that comes true.
For complete highlights from this memorable game, check out the video clip below.
video courtesy: Canucks PPV/NHL Productions
Earlier tonight, Phoenix bounced back from a gut-wrenching 3-2 shootout loss in San Jose with a huge 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks at Jobing.com Arena.
"The party's on, eh?" Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett chuckled with a smile. "That's the way it goes."
Most importantly, with the win, the Coyotes set a new franchise record by winning their 10th straight home game. It would surpass the previous mark of 9 in a row between December 27, 1992 to January 23, 1993 when the team was the Winnipeg Jets.
Lauri Korpikoski scored the deciding shootout goal and backup goaltender Jason LaBarbera made 28 saves to propel Phoenix to victory. LaBarbera kept the puck out of his net on all three Vancouver shootout attempts to improve his season record to 3-3 in 7 starts with a .924 save percentage and 2.25 goals-against-average. It was his first career home win in a Coyotes uniform after his previous two were both in Columbus earlier this season.
LaBarbera may not play much as was the case last season when he was with the Canucks, but he doesn't seem to mind with this group of Phoenix Coyotes.
"It's not easy, but to be honest, it's just fun to come to the rink," LaBarbera told Jim Gintonio of the Arizona Republic. "It's easy to come and be prepared and be focused. If you're losing, it's miserable coming to the rink, and it's easy to lose your focus."
He added, "We have such a great group here, such a close bunch. I like to come to the rink. We like to be around each other. It makes it much easier, doesn't matter if I'm playing or not."
Ed Jovanovski and Petr Prucha also scored for Phoenix, a team that has won 12 of their last 16 games overall since November 27th. Mikael Samuelsson and Kyle Wellwood tallied goals for visiting Vancouver.
There is no doubt under Tippett in his first season behind the bench, the team has bought into his coaching system and as a result, he appears to have a hard-working and fundamentally sound hockey club that is building more confidence from each game.
"I'm just proud of how hard the guys competed," Tippett said during the postgame press conference. "I mean you've got Vancouver on a winning streak, sitting here last night watching our game on TV. We played a hard, hard game in San Jose and we come back here and the guys muster up that kind of effort, it makes our whole coaching staff very proud."
video courtesy: Phoenix Coyotes
Note the word PROUD in that last quote. When you hear your bench boss say that, you know that not only are you getting your job done, but you're performing well at a high level where you believe you can win every single game you play.
That is something you rarely if ever heard from any head coach over the last several years during this playoff drought in the desert.
Following a tumultuous summer and autumn of uncertainty over the immediate future of the franchise, we observers can say that the Coyotes are undoubtedly off to an outstanding start to their season.
Fans across central Arizona and the hockey world are finally starting to take notice in the hockey team.
"It is so awesome. They have been through so much. And they are showing what a strong team they really are. I love our COYOTES!!!"
- Cathy Jean Turley
"They just keep shocking the doubters! And will continue to do so... playoffs baby... They're special alright, in very good way. These folks better wake up! This team's for real."
- Brian Hart
"The 'Yotes and their fans deserve this record breaking event. It's wonderful to get tangible reinforcement that all their hard work is paying off. We're so proud of them and so proud to be fans."
- Monique Reaux
"If I had to sum up how I feel about the record breaking feat last night at Jobing.com Arena, I would have to say that, as a Coyote fan since day one of this organization, there's no better feeling than to have the organization begin to write their own history and records so that the fans of the Jets who seem to have a deep-seeded loathing for the Desert Dogs can stop saying that 'we' have stolen 'their' history."
- Jim Appenauer
"After a 'perfect storm' of horrible problems over the summer, Coyotes fans finally have something wonderful to look forward to! We have an awesome home record this season, the crowds are getting better and the Coyotes organization is doing everything they can to bring the fans back to the arena.
It is great to honor the history of the Jets organization, but breaking the home winning streak is some new Coyotes history I am extremely proud to be a part of! The town is buzzing with talk of the Coyotes - in a GOOD way - for the first time in years!"
- Heather Schroeder
President of the Phoenix Coyotes Booster Club
"This is a huge accomplishment for the Coyotes and their fans. The Valley is starting to wake up and take notice of our team. I feel this is just the beginning of an era of good things to come for the Phoenix Coyotes!"
- Heather McWhorter
President of the Save The Coyotes Coalition
It may be evident in the number of fans in the seats at the Coyotes' home rink in Glendale, Arizona, just 13 miles northwest of downtown Phoenix. Since 10,030 showed up last Wednesday night to see starting goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov blank the Anaheim Ducks for a 4-0 victory, the team hosted 16,131 patrons on Saturday night to see a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings. Tonight's game drew 13,976 fans into the building despite a noticeable contingent rooting for the Canucks.
"Please tell your friends," Coyotes television and radio host Todd Walsh said at the conclusion of last Saturday's pregame ceremony honoring team captain Shane Doan's 1,000th NHL game. "There is something happening out here. And to quote a certain coach in these parts, sorry Dave Tippett. As you said on opening night in Los Angeles, it's something special. These men have proven that thus far this season."
But the biggest question of all as the new calendar year being almost here would be, can Phoenix learn from last season's second half collapse and remain a consistent winning hockey team for the remainder of this campaign?
After he was stopped by LaBarbera in the shootout to end the game, Samuelsson expressed his belief that the Coyotes are a much more competitive team than years past.
"If you think you're coming to Phoenix for an easy two points, that's not the case now," he said.
"You see it time and again, especially since the lockout, you have these teams that people don't expect to play well," Coyotes defenseman Adrian Aucoin said four days ago. "You don't need superstars, you just need everyone to play really well. You don't need anybody to be great, but you need everybody to be good. So I don't think it's that surprising."
Now exactly halfway through the regular season schedule, the Coyotes are 25-16 with 53 points in 41 games. That includes three losses in either overtime or after a shootout. They're one of only eight teams that have reached the 50-point plateau and sit just two points behind the Western Conference-leading San Jose Sharks and overall league lead.
Now 10 straight home wins and counting, Coyotes general manager Don Maloney likes the team's chances of duplicating the first half success in the second half of the season.
"What pleases me is that we played so many tight games in the first half, so playing in 3-2, 2-1, 1-0 games is not going to faze us in the second half," Maloney said. "I think we're built for the long haul."
In an Arizona Republic poll, 96% of nearly 3,700 votes feel the Coyotes will make the playoffs. It certainly is remarkable how a few extra wins can suddenly boost the confidence of a team and the fans. Only time will tell if that comes true.
For complete highlights from this memorable game, check out the video clip below.
video courtesy: Canucks PPV/NHL Productions
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Welcome to opening night!
I posted this at The Program hockey blog, so I will add it to my own right here. Basically, I was asked to rate each game based on their matchups.
Were you bored stiff from watching Stanley Cup playoff game re-runs on NHL Network? Maybe relied too much on some archived games in your personal collection to keep your hockey fix going during those long summer days?
Have no fear because that long anticipated day has arrived. The start of the 2009-2010 National Hockey League season is finally here! With four games slated to begin the autumn month of October, there are some good matchups to get your hockey season off to a good start in your viewing pleasure. I will rate each game on a scale of 1 to 5 beer mugs. The more beer, the better the matchup. A pretty straight forward concept to remember, right?
WASHINGTON AT BOSTON, 7:00 PM Eastern Time
With a season filled with promise a year ago, the Southeast Division champion Washington Capitals were unable to get past the Pittsburgh Penguins last spring. Now they have a loftier goal in mind. That would be to get to the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals and if it means dethroning the defending champions, so be it. With their superstar sniper Alexander Ovechkin, he will have to once again put up MVP numbers and more importantly have a supporting cast to make that happen. For example, without Semyon Varlamov picking up where he left off after Game 6 in the Eastern Conference Finals, free agent acquisitions Mike Knuble and Brendan Morrison contributing regularly on the offensive side of the ice or Brooks Laich being an important center who netted back-to-back 20-goal seasons, it would be really tough to achieve that goal.
The Boston Bruins finished first in the Northeast Division and Eastern Conference last season with 116 points and were expected to go deep into the playoffs. But they failed to advance past the second round. Scott Walker ended any hope the Bruins could see their first Stanley Cup title since 1972. His overtime winning goal lifted the Carolina Hurricanes to an unlikely Game 7 victory in Boston. Another team in search of redemption. There will be no Phil Kessel in their lineup, but the Bruins will still have Marc Savard to make a serious contribution as one of their top forwards. And don't forget that Tim Thomas will be expected to have another solid season between the pipes.
Washington won 3 of the 4 meetings last season with Jose Theodore recording two of those Capitals victories. Savard and Alexander Semin each had 5 points in the season series for their respective teams.
Game matchup BEER RATING: 3½ mugs out of 5
MONTREAL AT TORONTO, 7:00 PM Eastern Time
For two teams that failed to make a serious impact on last season, each have something to prove the skeptics wrong about their expectations for the new campaign. The Montréal Canadiens slipped into the playoffs as the #8 seed in the East only to get crushed by the Bruins in the first round. Bob Gainey as general manager had made some major changes to the team roster over the summer by trading Christopher Higgins to the New York Rangers for Scott Gomez as well as some minor leaguers switching allegiances. The Canadiens also added Brian Gionta and Mike Cammalleri up front in free agent signings while also bringing in Hal Gill and Paul Mara to add size for their blueline. Plenty of high expectations as usual in Montréal.
Adding intrigue to this opening night matchup is defenseman Mike Komisarek trading in the blanc, bleu and rouge for the simple color scheme of the blue and white of the Toronto Maple Leafs. While the offseason free agent signings haven't knocked Leafs fans' socks off, it is still a period for the Leafs in which general manager Brian Burke is simply trying to improve the makeup of their roster. No sniff at the playoffs last season and this hockey hotbed certainly demands a lot more than what they got in the 2008-2009 season. Kessel will be a major contributor on the club, but will he have teammates that can regularly put the puck in the net? Will Toronto be a lot better on special teams than they were a year ago where they were absolutely dreadful?
These two Original Six teams split six meetings last season with each winning 2 out of 3 on the road. Jaroslav Halak won all three of Montréal's victories while Vesa Toskala had one win each home and away. Toronto won't have to worry about Alexei Kovalev being a Leaf killer as he burned them for 9 points in the 6 games. He signed with the Ottawa Senators as a free agent. Alexei Ponikarovsky finish with 7 points against Montréal in the season series.
Had these two teams had been better overall, I just might have given them another beer mug. If you live in either Montréal or Toronto, you'd likely disagree with me anyway. It's always a compelling matchup when you're in Canada and love your hockey.
Game matchup BEER RATING: 2 mugs out of 5
SAN JOSE AT COLORADO, 10:00 PM Eastern Time
For the San Jose Sharks, they have been a team during the last 4 years that achieved great regular season success only to end up with major playoff disappointment. Last season was no exception to that. After finishing with a franchise record and league-best 53 wins and 117 points during the 2008-2009 campaign, the Sharks fell flat on their collective face and lost to their Pacific Division rival Anaheim Ducks in six playoff games. Only defenseman Dan Boyle and former captain Patrick Marleau managed to score more than a single goal in that series.
Tonight, San Jose will face a Colorado Avalanche team that was on the opposite end of the regular season standings from a year ago. The Avalanche finished with an NHL-low 190 goals and earned just 69 points, undisputedly their worst season since moving from Quebec City to Denver in 1995. But they will have their newest sniper in the lineup this evening as forward Dany Heatley will make his Sharks debut. San Jose acquired Heatley during this summer from the Senators for forwards Jonathan Cheechoo and Milan Michalek plus a 2010 second round draft pick.
While this stands to possibly be a game heavily favored for the Sharks, this is a night which the Avalanche will be without their long-time captain Joe Sakic on the ice. Sakic retired over the summer after an outstanding career in which recorded 1,641 points with the franchise, good for 8th all-time in NHL history. During his 20 years as a player, Sakic won two Stanley Cup championships as well. Tonight, the team will retire his #19 jersey in a pregame ceremony. Will that be the only highlight of the night for Colorado fans? Or will the Avalanche pull out a surprising opening night victory at the Pepsi Center?
The Sharks won all four meetings against the Avalanche during the 2008-2009 season. Colorado getting a victory tonight will already improve on what they couldn't do back then.
Game matchup BEER RATING: 3 mugs out of 5
VANCOUVER AT CALGARY, 10:00 PM Eastern Time
Right off the bat, we have two highly competitive teams that have fought for Northwest Division supremacy for at least the last two seasons. The Vancouver Canucks outlasted the Calgary Flames to claim the division crown in the final week by just a two-point margin last season. But each would fall to the Chicago Blackhawks in the postseason. Not exactly what was expected for these two clubs.
Vancouver fared well during the preseason with a 7-2 record in 9 games that actually don't even matter in the grand scheme of things. But it was a good tune-up for what counts for real in the standings. They knocked off Calgary twice in shootout fashion during the preseason, but does that really matter now? Only if the Canucks can rely on those two wins for their own confidence in such close games when Roberto Luongo is between the pipes.
Luongo's matchup against his netminding counterpart Miikka Kiprusoff is plenty enough for even the casual hockey fans to watch. If you tuned in to either The Sports Network (TSN) in Canada or the NHL Network in the United States back on Saturday night, you missed a goaltending duel in which Luongo prevailed in a five-round 2-1 shootout win. If it is anything like five nights ago, this could very well be the game of the night.
The Canucks did make some changes during the offseason as they brought in goaltender Andrew Raycroft to back up Luongo, Mikael Samuelsson and Sergei Shirokov as two new forwards plus Christian Ehrhoff and Aaron Rome on defense. Can they make an immediate impact? Will Kevin Bieksa have another strong year on the blueline after posting 43 points during the 2008-2009 campaign? How will the Sedin twins do after signing identical lucrative new contracts? The pressure will certainly be on them if Vancouver is to go to the Western Conference Finals and beyond in 2010.
As for the Flames, they will need their captain Jarome Iginla to play big this season. Against a team such as the Canucks, he will have to fight his way for more room on valuable ice, create scoring chances and when possible, score a goal or two. If he does tonight, Calgary stands a solid chance in winning their season opener. Their defense undoubtedly gets a boost with the pre-draft trade acquistion defenseman Jay Bouwmeester to help out the likes of Dion Phaneuf, Robyn Regehr and Cory Sarich.
Vancouver won 4 of 6 meetings last season and it is not expected to be much different in terms of highly competitive close games through this campaign.
Game matchup BEER RATING: 4 mugs out of 5
It may be just four games and only eight of the thirty teams playing on this October 1st, but these matchups certainly will be worth your time and interest. That said, LET'S PLAY HOCKEY!
Were you bored stiff from watching Stanley Cup playoff game re-runs on NHL Network? Maybe relied too much on some archived games in your personal collection to keep your hockey fix going during those long summer days?
Have no fear because that long anticipated day has arrived. The start of the 2009-2010 National Hockey League season is finally here! With four games slated to begin the autumn month of October, there are some good matchups to get your hockey season off to a good start in your viewing pleasure. I will rate each game on a scale of 1 to 5 beer mugs. The more beer, the better the matchup. A pretty straight forward concept to remember, right?
WASHINGTON AT BOSTON, 7:00 PM Eastern Time
With a season filled with promise a year ago, the Southeast Division champion Washington Capitals were unable to get past the Pittsburgh Penguins last spring. Now they have a loftier goal in mind. That would be to get to the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals and if it means dethroning the defending champions, so be it. With their superstar sniper Alexander Ovechkin, he will have to once again put up MVP numbers and more importantly have a supporting cast to make that happen. For example, without Semyon Varlamov picking up where he left off after Game 6 in the Eastern Conference Finals, free agent acquisitions Mike Knuble and Brendan Morrison contributing regularly on the offensive side of the ice or Brooks Laich being an important center who netted back-to-back 20-goal seasons, it would be really tough to achieve that goal.
The Boston Bruins finished first in the Northeast Division and Eastern Conference last season with 116 points and were expected to go deep into the playoffs. But they failed to advance past the second round. Scott Walker ended any hope the Bruins could see their first Stanley Cup title since 1972. His overtime winning goal lifted the Carolina Hurricanes to an unlikely Game 7 victory in Boston. Another team in search of redemption. There will be no Phil Kessel in their lineup, but the Bruins will still have Marc Savard to make a serious contribution as one of their top forwards. And don't forget that Tim Thomas will be expected to have another solid season between the pipes.
Washington won 3 of the 4 meetings last season with Jose Theodore recording two of those Capitals victories. Savard and Alexander Semin each had 5 points in the season series for their respective teams.
Game matchup BEER RATING: 3½ mugs out of 5
MONTREAL AT TORONTO, 7:00 PM Eastern Time
For two teams that failed to make a serious impact on last season, each have something to prove the skeptics wrong about their expectations for the new campaign. The Montréal Canadiens slipped into the playoffs as the #8 seed in the East only to get crushed by the Bruins in the first round. Bob Gainey as general manager had made some major changes to the team roster over the summer by trading Christopher Higgins to the New York Rangers for Scott Gomez as well as some minor leaguers switching allegiances. The Canadiens also added Brian Gionta and Mike Cammalleri up front in free agent signings while also bringing in Hal Gill and Paul Mara to add size for their blueline. Plenty of high expectations as usual in Montréal.
Adding intrigue to this opening night matchup is defenseman Mike Komisarek trading in the blanc, bleu and rouge for the simple color scheme of the blue and white of the Toronto Maple Leafs. While the offseason free agent signings haven't knocked Leafs fans' socks off, it is still a period for the Leafs in which general manager Brian Burke is simply trying to improve the makeup of their roster. No sniff at the playoffs last season and this hockey hotbed certainly demands a lot more than what they got in the 2008-2009 season. Kessel will be a major contributor on the club, but will he have teammates that can regularly put the puck in the net? Will Toronto be a lot better on special teams than they were a year ago where they were absolutely dreadful?
These two Original Six teams split six meetings last season with each winning 2 out of 3 on the road. Jaroslav Halak won all three of Montréal's victories while Vesa Toskala had one win each home and away. Toronto won't have to worry about Alexei Kovalev being a Leaf killer as he burned them for 9 points in the 6 games. He signed with the Ottawa Senators as a free agent. Alexei Ponikarovsky finish with 7 points against Montréal in the season series.
Had these two teams had been better overall, I just might have given them another beer mug. If you live in either Montréal or Toronto, you'd likely disagree with me anyway. It's always a compelling matchup when you're in Canada and love your hockey.
Game matchup BEER RATING: 2 mugs out of 5
SAN JOSE AT COLORADO, 10:00 PM Eastern Time
For the San Jose Sharks, they have been a team during the last 4 years that achieved great regular season success only to end up with major playoff disappointment. Last season was no exception to that. After finishing with a franchise record and league-best 53 wins and 117 points during the 2008-2009 campaign, the Sharks fell flat on their collective face and lost to their Pacific Division rival Anaheim Ducks in six playoff games. Only defenseman Dan Boyle and former captain Patrick Marleau managed to score more than a single goal in that series.
Tonight, San Jose will face a Colorado Avalanche team that was on the opposite end of the regular season standings from a year ago. The Avalanche finished with an NHL-low 190 goals and earned just 69 points, undisputedly their worst season since moving from Quebec City to Denver in 1995. But they will have their newest sniper in the lineup this evening as forward Dany Heatley will make his Sharks debut. San Jose acquired Heatley during this summer from the Senators for forwards Jonathan Cheechoo and Milan Michalek plus a 2010 second round draft pick.
While this stands to possibly be a game heavily favored for the Sharks, this is a night which the Avalanche will be without their long-time captain Joe Sakic on the ice. Sakic retired over the summer after an outstanding career in which recorded 1,641 points with the franchise, good for 8th all-time in NHL history. During his 20 years as a player, Sakic won two Stanley Cup championships as well. Tonight, the team will retire his #19 jersey in a pregame ceremony. Will that be the only highlight of the night for Colorado fans? Or will the Avalanche pull out a surprising opening night victory at the Pepsi Center?
The Sharks won all four meetings against the Avalanche during the 2008-2009 season. Colorado getting a victory tonight will already improve on what they couldn't do back then.
Game matchup BEER RATING: 3 mugs out of 5
VANCOUVER AT CALGARY, 10:00 PM Eastern Time
Right off the bat, we have two highly competitive teams that have fought for Northwest Division supremacy for at least the last two seasons. The Vancouver Canucks outlasted the Calgary Flames to claim the division crown in the final week by just a two-point margin last season. But each would fall to the Chicago Blackhawks in the postseason. Not exactly what was expected for these two clubs.
Vancouver fared well during the preseason with a 7-2 record in 9 games that actually don't even matter in the grand scheme of things. But it was a good tune-up for what counts for real in the standings. They knocked off Calgary twice in shootout fashion during the preseason, but does that really matter now? Only if the Canucks can rely on those two wins for their own confidence in such close games when Roberto Luongo is between the pipes.
Luongo's matchup against his netminding counterpart Miikka Kiprusoff is plenty enough for even the casual hockey fans to watch. If you tuned in to either The Sports Network (TSN) in Canada or the NHL Network in the United States back on Saturday night, you missed a goaltending duel in which Luongo prevailed in a five-round 2-1 shootout win. If it is anything like five nights ago, this could very well be the game of the night.
The Canucks did make some changes during the offseason as they brought in goaltender Andrew Raycroft to back up Luongo, Mikael Samuelsson and Sergei Shirokov as two new forwards plus Christian Ehrhoff and Aaron Rome on defense. Can they make an immediate impact? Will Kevin Bieksa have another strong year on the blueline after posting 43 points during the 2008-2009 campaign? How will the Sedin twins do after signing identical lucrative new contracts? The pressure will certainly be on them if Vancouver is to go to the Western Conference Finals and beyond in 2010.
As for the Flames, they will need their captain Jarome Iginla to play big this season. Against a team such as the Canucks, he will have to fight his way for more room on valuable ice, create scoring chances and when possible, score a goal or two. If he does tonight, Calgary stands a solid chance in winning their season opener. Their defense undoubtedly gets a boost with the pre-draft trade acquistion defenseman Jay Bouwmeester to help out the likes of Dion Phaneuf, Robyn Regehr and Cory Sarich.
Vancouver won 4 of 6 meetings last season and it is not expected to be much different in terms of highly competitive close games through this campaign.
Game matchup BEER RATING: 4 mugs out of 5
It may be just four games and only eight of the thirty teams playing on this October 1st, but these matchups certainly will be worth your time and interest. That said, LET'S PLAY HOCKEY!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Barclays Center officials want Islanders to consider Brooklyn as future home
Remember any talk in the recent past about the idea of the New York Islanders heading west to Brooklyn? It may not be a pipe dream for some fans.
According to Chris Botta of New York Islanders Point Blank, a National Hockey League source has told him that the team was approached by officials in charge of the Barclays Center project to consider their proposed arena as a future place to play. The state did approve the revised plans of the $800 million Atlantic Yards facility on Thursday (three days ago), but whether or not it will ultimately be built still is a question mark.
Here is something to keep in mind. As it stands right now, the Islanders are not allowed to play any home games within New York City's boundaries. The New York Rangers hold territorial rights to the five boroughs of the city.
As of now regardless of whether or not the Islanders would even be entertaining such an option to remain in the nation's largest metropolitan area, the Barclays Center's sporting events have been designed only to accommodate basketball games. It would need additional modifications to allow hockey games to be played there.
The primary focus for owner Charles Wang is to have the Lighthouse at Long Island project approved by Town of Hempstead and Nassau County officials. The most recent hearing was held at Hofstra University on August 4th (click here for WLNY-TV's report). A zoning hearing will be held on Tuesday, September 22nd. If this major project is approved, then the massive Nassau Coliseum transformation can begin. But until then, the Islanders' long-term future on Long Island remains uncertain.
According to Chris Botta of New York Islanders Point Blank, a National Hockey League source has told him that the team was approached by officials in charge of the Barclays Center project to consider their proposed arena as a future place to play. The state did approve the revised plans of the $800 million Atlantic Yards facility on Thursday (three days ago), but whether or not it will ultimately be built still is a question mark.
Here is something to keep in mind. As it stands right now, the Islanders are not allowed to play any home games within New York City's boundaries. The New York Rangers hold territorial rights to the five boroughs of the city.
As of now regardless of whether or not the Islanders would even be entertaining such an option to remain in the nation's largest metropolitan area, the Barclays Center's sporting events have been designed only to accommodate basketball games. It would need additional modifications to allow hockey games to be played there.
The primary focus for owner Charles Wang is to have the Lighthouse at Long Island project approved by Town of Hempstead and Nassau County officials. The most recent hearing was held at Hofstra University on August 4th (click here for WLNY-TV's report). A zoning hearing will be held on Tuesday, September 22nd. If this major project is approved, then the massive Nassau Coliseum transformation can begin. But until then, the Islanders' long-term future on Long Island remains uncertain.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Had the Coyotes still been playing in downtown Phoenix, would it have made a difference?
This might be an age-old debate. It might not. But with the future of the Phoenix Coyotes at stake, it has been a question that has been constantly weighing on my mind for a minimum of six years now.
Many Phoenix sports fans know the location of major league sports facilities across the region. Throw in the major college venues if you like, too. My question is... Had the Coyotes still been playing in downtown Phoenix, would it have made a difference? Would that have had an effect in possibly avoiding Chapter 11 bankruptcy?
I don't hear this discussed much if at all by the media and the fans these days. So I bring up some background to this.
I know, I live in the New York City metropolitan area and some might wonder how I know about this stuff. It does help I have family connections to Phoenix and it is the out-of-town place I have been to the most in my life. Therefore, I began rooting for the Phoenix Suns and later of course the Phoenix Coyotes as out-of-town teams of mine.
Anyway, so before the Coyotes ever arrived in Arizona, US Airways Center (originally America West Arena) was built in downtown Phoenix to be the Suns' new home. It replaced the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum (which still stands, by the way) in 1992. Here was the biggest mistake of all when the plans were drawn up. Hockey was never figured into the design plans. It was just built for the Suns as a basketball venue. Four years later, that's when the Winnipeg Jets were relocated to Phoenix and the only major league facility that could financially host them was US Airways Center.
But the problem was as many Coyotes fans know, about 2,000 to 3,000 obstructed seats in the upper levels of the north end of the arena. The highest level seating sections only could see the opposite end of the ice.
At the same time, another problem for the Coyotes was a reason for why they wanted to build their own home. They were a tenant for then-Suns owner Jerry Colangelo and didn't make money on the luxury suites and I believe the parking fees surrounding the arena. In other words, the Coyotes were treated like a second class citizen.
So the team looked for a new place in the Greater Phoenix Area to play. First it was the Los Arcos Mall site in Scottsdale, about 10 miles east of downtown Phoenix. Nearly all the major hurdles to get approval for the arena project where cleared, but in the end, Scottsdale residents did not pass the final referendum to give it the green light. So then it turned to Glendale and the rest is history leading to today.
Another question I have is...
Had the city of Phoenix, the Suns and the Coyotes come together to either do extensive renovations to US Airways Center to retrofit it properly for NHL hockey or rebuild a new arena altogether on the site, would this have made a serious impact on the viability of the present-day Coyotes?
The problem is, it's all a moot point about arena location because the Coyotes play at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale and that won't change anytime soon should the team get to stay put.
Many Phoenix sports fans know the location of major league sports facilities across the region. Throw in the major college venues if you like, too. My question is... Had the Coyotes still been playing in downtown Phoenix, would it have made a difference? Would that have had an effect in possibly avoiding Chapter 11 bankruptcy?
I don't hear this discussed much if at all by the media and the fans these days. So I bring up some background to this.
I know, I live in the New York City metropolitan area and some might wonder how I know about this stuff. It does help I have family connections to Phoenix and it is the out-of-town place I have been to the most in my life. Therefore, I began rooting for the Phoenix Suns and later of course the Phoenix Coyotes as out-of-town teams of mine.
Anyway, so before the Coyotes ever arrived in Arizona, US Airways Center (originally America West Arena) was built in downtown Phoenix to be the Suns' new home. It replaced the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum (which still stands, by the way) in 1992. Here was the biggest mistake of all when the plans were drawn up. Hockey was never figured into the design plans. It was just built for the Suns as a basketball venue. Four years later, that's when the Winnipeg Jets were relocated to Phoenix and the only major league facility that could financially host them was US Airways Center.
But the problem was as many Coyotes fans know, about 2,000 to 3,000 obstructed seats in the upper levels of the north end of the arena. The highest level seating sections only could see the opposite end of the ice.
At the same time, another problem for the Coyotes was a reason for why they wanted to build their own home. They were a tenant for then-Suns owner Jerry Colangelo and didn't make money on the luxury suites and I believe the parking fees surrounding the arena. In other words, the Coyotes were treated like a second class citizen.
So the team looked for a new place in the Greater Phoenix Area to play. First it was the Los Arcos Mall site in Scottsdale, about 10 miles east of downtown Phoenix. Nearly all the major hurdles to get approval for the arena project where cleared, but in the end, Scottsdale residents did not pass the final referendum to give it the green light. So then it turned to Glendale and the rest is history leading to today.
Another question I have is...
Had the city of Phoenix, the Suns and the Coyotes come together to either do extensive renovations to US Airways Center to retrofit it properly for NHL hockey or rebuild a new arena altogether on the site, would this have made a serious impact on the viability of the present-day Coyotes?
The problem is, it's all a moot point about arena location because the Coyotes play at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale and that won't change anytime soon should the team get to stay put.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Penguins' 1991 Stanley Cup clincher re-created with NHL '91 video game
If you haven't checked out today's entry in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Empty Netters blog, this is worth taking a look.
Remember when the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Minnesota North Stars in 1991 to win their first Stanley Cup championship?
Seth Rorabaugh hooked up Penguins fans to a cool web page. It features a video clip where someone re-created that Game 6 clincher at Metropolitan Sports Center in Bloomington, Minnesota by ways of NHL Hockey (also known as NHL '91), the original Electronic Arts game.
The video game cover to NHL Hockey by Electronic Arts.
First, here is the blog entry...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Empty Netters blog (August 15):
Empty Netter Assists - 8/15/09
And then the link to the video game page... NHL 91.com's Game 6
Remember when the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Minnesota North Stars in 1991 to win their first Stanley Cup championship?
Seth Rorabaugh hooked up Penguins fans to a cool web page. It features a video clip where someone re-created that Game 6 clincher at Metropolitan Sports Center in Bloomington, Minnesota by ways of NHL Hockey (also known as NHL '91), the original Electronic Arts game.
The video game cover to NHL Hockey by Electronic Arts.First, here is the blog entry...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Empty Netters blog (August 15):
Empty Netter Assists - 8/15/09
And then the link to the video game page... NHL 91.com's Game 6
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