Hawks Outwork Red Wings, 2-1. posted by Richard Kagan

The Chicago Blackhawks beat Detroit 2-1 in a defensive battle at the United Center. The win was the Hawks fourth in a row, after losing 9 straight.  This win was a combination of terrific goaltending by Corey Crawford and overall hard work.  To beat the Red Wings, you have to earn it, and the Hawks did just that.  They worked hard, especially in the second half of the first period and for the rest of the game.  Their hitting was strong, and puck positioning was great.  The players were alert, and met their assignments.  They dug and dug until Jimmy Hayes tied the game with a goal in the 2nd period.  Hayes set up Marcus Kruger, early in the third period in a scrum near Detroit's net.  It was a strong effort which resulted in a well earned two points.

The Hawks played well to protect their lead.  They did this without their team leader Jonathan Toews who missed the game.

'Hawks Look Like They're Serious posted by Richard Kagan

The Chicago Blackhawks are on a west coast swing in this early part of the season.  The marathon that is 82 game has begun and won't end until sometime in the Spring.  This team looks different from last year's team.  This team is hungry.

They won in Phoenix and are leading Colorado.  It looks like a good start to the season.  The Hawks trail the Red Wings by a point in their Division.  The task right now is getting familiar with players on lines, and honing your skills.  The points will come.  First you have to play as a team, something the 'Hawks didn't do until they were 0-3 vs. Vancouver and almost pulled off a historic comeback. That was last year, now it's a new season and a new team.

Red Wings Never Done Working posted by Jeff Ponder

The first round of the 2010 NHL Playoffs speak of the Detroit Red Wings’ character better than almost any series of games.  Crushing dreams and taking control are the names of the game for the Red Wings.

After leading in the series two different times, the Phoenix Coyotes faced a game seven against Detroit after a miracle season in the desert.  Facing numerous problems off the ice yet still finishing as the fourth seed of the Western Conference, the Coyotes were actually considered the favorite by many heading into the series.  With game seven in Phoenix, the hockey world set its eyes at what promised to be a tight, high-intensity game.  Sometimes, promises cannot be kept.

The Red Wings offense made the Cinderella-story Coyotes look foolish in game seven, exploding with four goals in the second period.  Adding two more in the third, they crushed the Coyotes, 6-1.

“From early in the game, their top players came out and dictated the pace, and we had no answer for them,” Coyotes Head Coach Dave Tippett said. "They were relentless. When their top players play like that, their whole group just jumps right in. Hats off to them; they played an unbelievable game.”

Go to work night in and night out.  That seems to be a general practice for the Red Wings.

Almost exactly one year later, the Coyotes received the same fate in the playoffs.  Stacked to face the Red Wings in the first round again (this time as the sixth seed; Detroit as the third seed), the Coyotes were outmatched even more noticeably, getting swept in four games.  Detroit just could not be stopped, despite not having stars Henrik Zetterberg for the entire series and Johan Franzen for half of the series.

Weak Northwest Division Could Benefit Blackhawks posted by Jeff Ponder

Vancouver is the heavy favorite heading into the 2011 NHL playoffs to win the Stanley Cup.  Their Northwest Division foes can vouch for that.

 The Vancouver Canucks, who won the President’s Trophy by a landslide-ten points over the East’s Washington Capitals, posted an impressive 54-19-9 record for a league-leading 117 points in the regular season.  Obviously, the Canucks head into the Quarterfinal Series as the top seed in the Western Conference where they will meet the eighth-seeded Chicago Blackhawks.  But how much did Vancouver playing in the Northwest Division help bloat their point total?

The Northwest Division, which features the Canucks, Calgary Flames, Minnesota Wild, Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers, saw only one of its teams make the playoffs.  This is the only division in the NHL to do so.

The Canucks had a whopping 18-4-2 record against their Northwest Division foes.  With a record like that, it is easy to see how the Canucks can steamroll through parts of the regular season.  Still impressive?  Yes, very much so.  Anytime a team can dominate in their own division usually means that team will be a top-seed in the playoffs.  But what if Vancouver played in a better division?

Let’s say Vancouver goes .500 against the Northwest Division (12-12-0).  Their record drops down to 48-27-7 and they post 103 points.  While these are still very respectable numbers, that drops them to the third seed (keep in mind that they would still hold onto the division title), and puts them just six points ahead of their current playoff matchup, the Chicago Blackhawks.

Legend Of The Goon Squad pt.2 posted by Goon Squad

Violence has been a part of hockey since at least the early 1900's. According to the book Hockey: A People's History, in 1904 alone, four players were killed during hockey games from the frequent brawls and violent stickwork. 

Early hockey in particular was noted for its extreme violence, to the point where two players were killed in three years during brawls.
In both cases, the accused assailants were acquitted, but these and other bloody incidents led to calls for the sport to clean up its act or be banned with the likes of cock fighting.

The worst of the violence waned, particularly with regulations for quasi-legal fisticuffs, though incidents continue to occur from time to time.

Billy Coutu was the first player banned from the NHL for life when, in 1927, he attacked referee Jerry Laflamme in a Stanley Cup game between the Bruins and Senators - in which several players complained about the officiating, supposedly at the request of Bruins coach Art Ross before starting an all-in brawl.
NHL president Frank Calder, the League's first president, expelled Coutu from the NHL for life on March 29th, 1929; the ban was lifted after five years, but Coutu never played again in the NHL.
Billy Coutu - an OG Supreme! (Original Goon)

Other incidents include the December 12th, 1933 event when Eddie Shore hit Leafs player Ace Bailey from behind.
Bailey never played hockey again.
Another OG.

Somewhat recently, controversy and criminal charges have resulted from violent attacks by Marty McSorley, Todd Bertuzzi, and Chris Simon.

Inter-League Game Could Spell Bad News for NHL posted by Jeff Ponder

Could an exhibition game really give bad publicity to a major North-American sports league?

The NHL has constantly been trying to show that their league is the best to the public all over the world.  For the past few seasons, the league has sent four of their teams overseas to play in places such as Germany, Sweden and England.  The teams usually open the NHL regular season a week early, playing two games in the country that they were designated.  This season the league has decided to send the St. Louis Blues and Detroit Red Wings to Sweden, and the Chicago Blackhawks and Florida Panthers to Finland.  Not only are these teams playing each other, but they will see time against some of the best teams of the chosen nation in pre-season play.

Why is this a possible threat to the league?  The NHL holds themselves as the greatest hockey league in the world with the most powerful teams and the best players.  There is almost no way of disputing that prestigious honor as long as the teams are playing against each other all the time and do not allow any outside teams to jeopardize that point.  Allowing other teams from other leagues could harm the reputation of the NHL. 

Here is the schedule for the games that will be played against other league teams:

Tuesday, September 29:  St. Louis Blues vs. Linkoping HC at Cloetta Center

Tuesday, September 29:  Chicago Blackhawks vs. ZSC Lions Zurich at Hallenstadion

Wednesday, September 30:  Florida Panthers vs. Jokerit Helsinki at Hartwall Arena
Continue reading "Inter-League Game Could Spell Bad News for NHL"

Its Not Going to be Easy posted by Jeff Ponder

The Detroit Red Wings, who just so happen to be the reigning Central Division Champions for the past eight seasons, might find it very tough to nine-peat this season.

The Red Wings are still considered by many to be the top team in the Central Division in 2009-10.  With Pavel Datsyuk playing some of the smartest hockey in the league, Henrik Zetterberg putting pucks in the net more often than not and Nicklas Lidstrom stonewalling forwards more than his goaltender, the Red Wings will put yet another powerful product on the ice.  But in order to retain these all-stars, the Red Wings have had to see their depth take a nosedive.

The Red Wings have had a very inactive off-season, which is not a big surprise to the rest of the league.  GM Ken Holland did everything he could to keep his offensive firepower in tact throughout last season, signing Zetterberg to a 12-year, $73 million contract and workhorse Johan Franzen to a 11-year, $43.5 million deal.  Both deals face a relatively large cap hit with Zetterberg's hit being around $6 million and Franzen being about $3.95 million.  When adding in the large contracts of Datsyuk, Lidstrom and Rafalski, the team could simply not hold on to their unrestricted free-agents.

Three players that really left Detroit to hang out and dry were Marian Hossa, Tomas Kopecky and Ty Conklin.  All three players signed contracts with rival Central Division clubs, Hossa and Kopecky with the Chicago Blackhawks and Ty Conklin with the St. Louis Blues.  Hossa was a large part of the Red Wings' offense last season, registering 40 goals and 31 assists.  Kopecky adds grit and checking line capabilities to an already tough Blackhawks offense, and Conklin gives the Blues a much-needed backup to starter Chris Mason.  Red Wings fans saw Conklin have some strong games last season when starter Chris Osgood was faltering or was not dressed due to injury or time off.  Now he has the opportunity to be doing that against his former club six games a season.
Continue reading "Its Not Going to be Easy"

Hossa wants bad luck to come to an end posted by Andy Charles

The Chicago Blackhawks were probably the busiest team when NHL free agency opened and made the biggest splash when they signed Marian Hossa to an incredible 12-year $62.8m deal.

Hossa will be on his third team in three seasons and the Blackhawks have to hope he brings the best of his game from Detroit to the table this coming season or they could have just paid a lot of money for not a lot of product.

And they also have to pray that he does not complete an unwanted hat-trick having been on the losing sides in both of the last two Stanley Cup finals series, first after being traded to Pittsburgh in 2008 and then after signing with the Red Wings, losing to his former club a couple of months ago.

Hossa has been called a renegade in recent years, and the Penguins found it particularly sweet when they took him down in their Stanley Cup success, but this time Hossa finds himself in a different role – an old guy on a really young team.

Chicago is counting on him for leadership, something he has not been known for in the past, but his main reason for taking the money in Chi-Town was just that…the chance to take the likes of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews under his wing.

"Playing last year in Detroit against this team wasn't easy," Hossa said as he and former Red Wing teammate Tomas Kopecky were unveiled at the United Center. "But in looking for the future, this is a young team with lots of heart and power going forward. I think this is the right fit for me.

"They made an unbelievable impression on the League, especially with the young talent they have - young, electrifying players.”

AARWICH – PRIDICTIONS *REVISED July 14th, 2009 posted by Aarwich

*revised

May 1st, 2009

The Detroit Tigers will:

• win the Central Devision

• record = 92-70

• loose to the Red Sox in the ALCS

• * watch Inge finish w/ 40 hr's & a .289 avg

• * watch Thames hit 12 homers after the ASB

• * watch Granderson steal 27 bases after the ASB

• * watch Verlander finish w/ 21 wins & 281 K's

June 1st, 2009

The Detroit Pistons will:

• draft Earl Clark (Austin Daye if Clark's gone)

• release 'Sheed, Dyess & AI

• sign Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva & Brandon Bass

• trade Rip/Tay in a 3-way trade for Boozer/Lee/Bosh

• record = 53-29

• loose to Celtics in the ECF

• * sign Ben Wallace to the vet's min. after above trade is completed

• * move J-Max between now & the deadline

The Detroit Lions will:

• start Culpepper 6 games before trading him during the buy week

• watch Smith rush for 4.1 – 107 – 1,712

• watch Johnson catch 94 totaling 1,689 w/ a 17.9 average & 15 td's

• watch Pettigrew catch 34

• watch Delmas intercept 4 / 1 td

• average 24 points for

• average 27 points against

• record = 7-9

Blues Sign Ty Conklin to 2-Year, $2.6 Million Contract posted by Jeff Ponder

Blues fans have been asking about a back-up goalie for starter Chris Mason.  Ask and ye shall receive.

The Blues got a fantastic run out of starter Chris Mason last season, as he was the driving force for the Blues' run to the playoffs.  The Blues sent former starter Manny Legace to Peoria of the AHL in February, which left the back-up role a question mark.  Until now.

Ty Conklin, a 33-year old out of Alaska, was back-up to the Detroit Red Wings last season.  He witnessed his starter Chris Osgood have an up and down season, seeing many spot starts and extended starts.  His final record on the season was 25-11-2 with a .910 save percentage.  Conklin has seen time with Edmonton, Columbus, Buffalo Pittsburgh and Detroit.

While the Blues did answer their question of who will back-up Mason, this was not the best back-up available in the free-agency market.  Scott Clemmensen, a very capable NHL goaltender who stood in for Martin Brodeur last season, was available.  He is coming off of a 25-13-1 season, accompanied with a .917 save percentage. 

Clemmensen might have been a nice addition, but he might have been asking for too much or was yielding for more offers.  Conklin may pan out, considering he did have a strong season in Detroit.Continue reading "Blues Sign Ty Conklin to 2-Year, ..."

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