No panic from Rangers coach ahead of do-or-die Game Six
(Thu, 24 May 2012 19:19:26 PDT)
NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Rangers coach John Tortorella is drawing confidence from a loss to the New Jersey Devils that pushed his top-seeded team to the brink of elimination from the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Rangers trail the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final 3-2 after Wednesday's home loss to the Devils, setting the stage for a must-win Game Six on Friday in New Jersey to have any shot at reaching the Stanley Cup Final. "The most important thing that happened last night after a pretty screwy start is that ... ...

Rangers run out of playoff luck as Game 5 rally goes awry at the worst time
(Wed, 23 May 2012 23:06:27 PDT)
New York's resiliency and goalie Henrik Lundqvist's play have been exemplary throughout the 2012 postseason, but the breaks and bounces went against the Rangers when they could least afford it.

How the Last 13 Stanley Cup Champions Didn't Repeat, Part 4: Fan's Take (Yahoo! Contributor Network)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 12:46:00 PDT)
In the past 13 years, all 13 Stanley Cup champions fell short of raising the Cup another consecutive time. The first part of my series looked at how the champions from 1999, 2000 and 2001 failed to repeat. Part two studied how the 2002, 2003 and 2004 champions missed the chance to win again. Last week, part three explained how the 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 champions were undone the next year. Finally, this series ends by exploring the way the 2010, 2011 and 2012 champions went home early.

Rested and ready, Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist remains New York's best player and best chance
(Wed, 23 May 2012 10:38:30 PDT)
The Rangers rarely score more than a few goals, and that's not about to change. But with Lundqvist in net, they've always got a chance to win.

Stanley Cup Playoff overtimes: Historically, when are goals most likely to be scored? (Puck Daddy)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 07:06:07 PDT)
The Los Angeles Kings did some unpredictable things, statistically speaking, en route to making the Stanley Cup Final: Like going 8-0 on the road, nearly having as many shorthanded goals (5) as power-play goals (6) and beating the top three seeds in the conference. Dustin Penner's Western Conference Final-winning goal was no exception. Pancakes scored at 17:42 of the first and only overtime, and according to the history of Stanley Cup Playoff overtime, that's an exception to the expected. Chris Winchester, a Detroit Red Wings for 35 years and a PD reader, put together a spreadsheet that looked at when goals were scored in playoff overtimes going back to expansion in 1968. From Winchester: I always had the feeling that most overtimes ended in the first 5 minutes or so of overtime.  After compiling the data for every playoff overtime game it turns out that over 40 percent of overtime games ended in the first five minutes of the extra period. I did not calculate the fact that the game may have ended in the 2nd or 3rd overtime, just the time the goal was scored during the extra period. In other words, the following chart doesn't account for in which overtime the goal was scored, but rather when in that overtime it was scored. Via Winchester, the numbers; click here for the much larger, clearer image. Again, take a gander at the full chart here . A few thoughts on this chart …

Coyotes, Kings Game 5 preview; Claude Giroux has fun; PK Subban on the ladies (Puck Headlines) (Puck Daddy)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 13:06:20 PDT)
Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media. • Claude Giroux's beer pong adventures are rightfully getting attention on this lovely Tuesday, but it's the double-casted topless cornholing that we're sure a segment of our readership is more interested in. Playoffs leading scorer indeed. [ Crossing Broad ] • In case you missed it, the Los Angeles Kings' snarky infographic about being confused with the Sacramento Kings was hilarious. [ Kings ] • PK and Malcolm Subban talk race and hockey with Complex. And also, the ladies. Who "pulls the most ladies" in the Subban family? PK says: "Wow, well definitely me. I'm the oldest, I have the most experience, and I'm the best looking. I've been told that on numerous occasions, numerous. Now that doesn't take anything away from my brothers, Malcolm is good looking and Jordan's a good looking guy, too. I mean they are related to me so they get a little bit of the looks. But right now I have to say I have the most experience. I'm a veteran when it comes to that, they're still learning. They have lots of potential. They're like first-round picks right now in the game, they still have to develop." [ Complex ] • Coach Bob Hartley's Zurich Lions are ready to bid him adieu as he returns to the NHL. [ Swiss Habs ] • Speaking of the Lions, that's where Ryan Shannon of the Tampa Bay Lightning will be for the next three years. [ SB Nation ] • What kind of grade would Ville Leino receive for his effort with the Buffalo Sabres? [ Die By The Blade ] • In which Shane Doan compares the Phoenix Coyotes' plight to Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail. [ Arizona Sports ] • This is so strange: An entire column written about embellishment in the playoffs and how it needs to stop, without a single mention of Mike Smith's flopping. Oh, Arizona Republic you say? Well then. [ AZCentral ] • Look, we don't like to judge, but embezzling $144,000 from a Youth Hockey Association is a sort of [expletived] up. [ Cap Times ]

Ratings down for conference finals; Ted Nugent backs David Booth; NHL 13 teaser (Puck Headlines) (Puck Daddy)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 13:07:28 PDT)
Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media. • You're probably seen Zdeno Chara's tribute to Pavel Demitra by now, but here's Slovakia's Branko Radivojevic rocking a tribute T-shirt after their semifinal win over the Czech Republic at the Hockey World Championship in Helsinki. • NBC audiences were down over the weekend for the conference finals. Lepore: "Saturday's Rangers-Devils game drew a 1.3 overnight rating, down 13% from last year's Game 4 between Boston and Tampa Bay. It may have been hurt by the early timeslot, or the fact that there was a huge dip in ratings in the lone local market, New York. Game 3 drew a 4.2 in the Big Apple, well down from the 6.2 for Game 1 on the NBC Sports Network.  Sunday's Game 4 between the Coyotes and Kings drew a 1.1 overnight, down 15% from last year's Game 4 between the Canucks and Sharks, which was a 2-1 series, as opposed to the 3-0 lead the Kings had heading in. The game drew a series high 2.7 in Los Angeles." [ Puck The Media ] • Henrik Lundqvist on the New York Rangers fans that invade the Rock: "We always have played there in Newark. It's one of the things that makes it special to play these types of games, play New York teams.  We have a lot of support, and talked about it earlier, a couple days ago, when you see the way that the fans react to things that happen during the game or even the results, it's exciting." [ Rangers Rants ] • Looks like Stu Bickel will move up to forward to replace the suspended Brandon Prust. [ Slap Shot ] • Larry Brooks believes the hate-o-meter is slowly seeing the needled move on the Rangers and New Jersey Devils. [ NY Post ] • Sports Business Journal is reporting that the Detroit Red Wings have settled on a designer for a new 18,000-seat arena to replace the Joe. [ Detroit News ] • Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League's Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has agreed to terms with defenseman Jamie McBain on a two-year contract. The deal will pay McBain $1.7 million in 2012-13, and $1.9 million in 2013-14. [ Hurricanes ] • They signed Bobby Sanguinetti and forward Nicolas Blanchard to two-way contracts, too. [ Canes Country ] • Zach Parise is a free agent … risk? "It is very likely that he will elevate whichever team signs him in the short run, but as teams weigh the idea of making him an offer, they need to keep in mind the distinct possibility that he will underperform this contract in the near future and eventually become an anchor on the team's salary cap finances." [ NHL Numbers ] • Bear killin' David Booth has a friend in Ted Nugent. [ PITB ]

What We Learned: Embarrassing LA sports media moments while covering Kings playoff run (Puck Daddy)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 06:58:22 PDT)
Hello, this is a feature that will run through the entire season and aims to recap the weekend's events and boils those events down to one admittedly superficial fact or stupid opinion about each team. Feel free to complain about it. It's possibly the greatest bit of investigative journalism conducted since Woodward and Bernstein brought down Richard Nixon. This exemplary, collective effort of sleuth work is currently ongoing in Los Angeles, Calif., where an entire media market has unearthed the NHL's shocking secret: The city has a professional hockey team. Over the past week or so here at Puck Daddy, we've tried to document every startling discovery made by the intrepid Los Angeles media, like how to properly pronounce Anze Kopitar's name (it's hard because he's from Bosnia or something), the real name of this Drew Doughty character ( it's actually Brad !) and that hockey is in fact not played with a ball, but rather a little piece of rubber known as a "puck." That last one makes me pretty uncomfortable because of the word it rhymes with. ("Duck" — sorry, I just don't trust 'em; they have weird beaks). Just how villainous is this team, operating as a sort of sporting sleeper cell? They got all the way to the Western Conference Finals without one local noticing. That takes real criminal talent. And not only that, but, the NHL had the diabolical idea to hide it right under the Los Angelinos' noses, by having their home games played at the Staples Center. You know, where the Lakers play. Further, they named the team the Kings to intentionally confuse even the savviest media organization into thinking they are the NBA's Sacramento Kings. Astonishingly devious stuff. More twists and turns than the Da Vinci Code, which I've read three times just to make sure I understood it all. The best bit of this journalism on this pressing issue comes, of course, from the city's paper of record, the Los Angeles Times, winner of 44 Pulitzer Prizes since 1942, including three in 2012. It was for that towering beacon of journalistic excellence that columnist Chris Erskine successfully scruted several of the team and sport's most inscrutable mysteries . For instance, that thing I said earlier about the puck (again, yuck… oh and that's another gross word it rhymes with), I learned it from Erskine. Apparently they even freeze the thing. And that's a huge point of concern, because, "The hardest shots can reach 110 mph and tear flesh, crush bone, even kill you if you're not careful." Yikes, you guys! ( Coming Up: Rick Nash to Boston?; Tororella defends Prust; Ryan Suter faces his future; Evegni Malkin is having a pretty good season; why Lundqvist is King; why the Capitals can't win with Ovechkin; the Islanders know how to party; Canucks might keep Luongo; Ryan Miller on the CBA; Flames and Oilers coaching news; and are the Kings in trouble?)

Russia back on top, defeats Slovakia 6-2 in final (The Associated Press)
(Sun, 20 May 2012 15:52:23 PDT)
HELSINKI (AP) Russia won the world championship Sunday by defeating Slovakia 6-2.

Russia beat Slovakia 6-2 to win ice hockey world title
(Sun, 20 May 2012 13:42:48 PDT)
Russia battled from a goal down to win the world championship on Sunday, beating 2002 champions Slovakia 6-2 in the final.

Rangers set to counter Devils' success in Game 3 (The Associated Press)
(Sat, 19 May 2012 01:52:07 PDT)
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) For one game, at least, in the Eastern Conference finals, the New Jersey Devils found a way to beat Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers.

Last four teams battle for World ice hockey final berth
(Fri, 18 May 2012 23:47:26 PDT)
Finland, Russia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are preparing to do battle for a place in the ice hockey world championship final, guaranteeing the title for a European nation after the USA and Canada crashed out.

Rangers-Devils Preview (The Associated Press)
(Fri, 18 May 2012 14:48:58 PDT)
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) For one game, at least, in the Eastern Conference finals, the New Jersey Devils found a way to beat Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers.

Rangers rookie Chris Kreider making it look easy in impressive jump from NCAA title to NHL playoffs
(Fri, 18 May 2012 12:15:57 PDT)
Kreider went from big man at Boston College to a rushed-in rookie on a tight-knit Rangers team, but his power-forward skills and quietly confident ways have eased the transition.

Will Mike Green return to the Washington Capitals? (Puck Daddy)
(Fri, 18 May 2012 09:56:35 PDT)
With Coach Dale Hunter leaving and with offensive dynamo Alex Semin apparently headed to free agency — even if he denies that's a done deal — the next significant decision for Washington Capitals GM George McPhee could be the future of defenseman Mike Green. Green is an RFA this summer, and has been part of the Capitals' core since the lockout. (Not to mention his time modeling for Club Scarlett ). He's 26 but injury prone. He's taken hits for his playoff production, but stepped up with four points in a contract postseason during 2012. Green wants to come back to the Caps, and told Chuck Gormley of CSN Washington that he believes "we're going to win a Cup here." But as far as staying with the Caps, Gormley writes: Under the terms of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, to retain his rights the Capitals are required to make Green a qualifying offer equal to his 2011-12 salary of $5 million. [...] After four seasons of playing no fewer than 68 games, Green has missed 83 games the past two seasons and that could impact the term and value of his next contract. In all likelihood Green will accept only a one-year deal that will take him into unrestricted free agency at the age of 27 next year. If the Caps cannot come to an agreement with Green, they likely would receive a first-, second- and third-round draft pick, dependent on his 2012-13 salary and the rules of a new CBA. The Capitals other RFAs include defenseman John Carlson, who is coming off his rookie deal; as well as forwards Matthieu Parreault and Jay Beagle. Along with Semin, the most significant UFA is defenseman Dennis Wideman, who stepped up into Green's role as top offensive defenseman during the regular season (23:54 TOI) but saw that time reduced during the playoffs (20:44) as Green's increased. I've run hot and cold on Green during his time with the Capitals, but like so many of his teammates there's no question he stepped up his game in that Hunter Hockey playoff run. Unless the Capitals seek to jettison him from the core, a one-year deal seems like it's in the cards, giving him and the remaining young guns a chance at some unfinished business.

Cataractes prepared for Memorial Cup run despite long layoff
(Fri, 18 May 2012 06:21:39 PDT)
Shawinigan will take the ice for the first time in a month to face the WHL-champion Edmonton Oil Kings in the Memorial Cup opener.

Finns, Russia go through, Slovaks upset Canada
(Thu, 17 May 2012 14:23:16 PDT)
Holders Finland advanced to the semi-finals of the world ice hockey championships with a last-gasp winner against the United States on Thursday, but Olympic champions Canada were shocked by Slovakia.

ESPN’s Colin Cowherd vs. NHL writers; longest game record; Roenick, Modano beards (Puck Headlines) (Puck Daddy)
(Thu, 17 May 2012 13:09:31 PDT)
Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media. • In case you haven't heard, Colin Cowherd of ESPN insulted the entirety of the hockey media on Thursday (you can watch the video at the bottom of the post) by calling coverage amateurish and saying, "You're getting a lot of young, cheap people covering hockey and it's not like newspapers send their best people to hockey." He's of course talking about summer interns like Michael Farber of SI, Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe, Eric Duhatschek of the Globe & Mail, Kevin Allen of USA Today, Jeff Klein of the NY Times and Pat Hickey of the Gazette. Not to mention the scores of writers over the age of 40 in any hockey press box Cowherd's never been in. [ Awful Announcing ] • Here are John Tortorella's 13 minutes of media time from Thursday's conference call. [ NYDN ] • Mirtle makes the case that the New Jersey Devils should be embraced by Canadians: "To many, the Devils are still this no-nonsense, Scott Stevens led defensive squad that celebrated its three Cup wins in the parking lot -- even though they're now full of personality, led by Parise (who talked at length after Game 2 about how DeBoer pushes them to be aggressive in the offensive zone) and have a beautiful new rink that has a read-and-black pavilion out front to potentially parade around in." [ Globe & Mail ] • Glendale's funding of the Phoenix Coyotes has partially led to 49 people losing their jobs. [ Globe & Mail ] • No Adrian Aucoin for Game 3 vs. the Los Angeles Kings. [ Orlesky ] • The Dino Ciccarelli Award for best postseason rookie. Has to go to Holtby, right? [ Backhand Shelf ] • GM George McPhee is going to take his time before naming the next Washington Capitals coach. [ Capitals Insider ] • Sad news: The Dayton Gems are folding. [ Dayton Daily News ] • Big congrats to the 40 men who played hockey for 246 hours and raised $1.4 million for charity in the "world's longest hockey game." [ Calgary Sun ] • Carrie Underwood totally sticks up for her man Mike Fisher during Nashville Predators games, ya'll: "When somebody trips Mike or does something dirty, I'm like: 'Are you KIDDING me?' Yeah, I get pretty heated." [ Metro ]

Playoff Hockey Hugs: Ovechkin is hockey bird; Everybody loves Lundqvist; Shot-Blocking: The Musical (Puck Daddy)
(Thu, 17 May 2012 11:58:06 PDT)
Hockey Hugs is a feature that celebrates the best in hugging from around the NHL, because who doesn't love a good hug now and then? Seen a particularly good hug photo lately? Send it to puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or tweet @HarrisonMooney . Welcome once again to hockey hugs, the feature that celebrates hockey's special moment after the special moment. The image databases are full of photos like the one above right now, with members of the New York Rangers looking amorously at Henrik Lundqvist. Honestly, I could probably do a countdown exclusively featuring photos of Lundqvist's teammates giving him a romantic eye. He is beloved. I chose the one between Lundqvist and Chris Kreider because, between Kreider's thin moustache and his creepy stare, he looks like he's moments away from love-knifing his goaltender and softly singing Gerard McMann's "Cry Little Sister" while he skates away. Speaking of photos with a treacherous undertone, check out Ryan Carter and Travis Zajac at your right. Sure, they look to be making merry, but a closer inspection reveals some alarming details: Carter's face is beet red and Zajac's open-mouthed smile is a touch evil. I'm 79% certain Zajac is trying to crush Carter's head. Anyway. The top 5 hockey hugs of the last two weeks are far less sinister.

Devils rally past Rangers, 3-2, tie series, 1-1 (The Associated Press)
(Thu, 17 May 2012 01:33:20 PDT)
NEW YORK (AP) The New York Rangers don't like being all even after two games, but they sure are used to it.

Devils vs. Rangers in Game 2; top NHL free agents; top 10 playoff saves (Playoff Puck Previews) (Puck Daddy)
(Wed, 16 May 2012 15:02:43 PDT)
Back by popular demand, here are your Puck Previews: Spotlighting the key games in NHL action, news and views as well as general frivolity. Make sure to stop back here for the nightly Three Stars when the games are finished. Via Lockhart Steele on Twitter: "Guy wants to sell me these for $150 each. seeing Callahan lay out Deron Williams worth it? Thoughts?" Insert your shot-blocking and/or goaltending joke here. [ Deadspin , s/t @Tedislaw ] Eastern Conference Final Game 2 Preview: New Jersey Devils at New York Rangers, 8 p.m. ET. No lineup changes for the Rangers but the Devils could have a new look for Game 2: Coach Pete DeBoer reunited Zach Parise with Travis Zajac and Ilya Kovalchuk, and will have Patrik Elias skating with Petr Sykora and Dainius Zubrus. The Devils are going to try to find a way around the Rangers' shot blocking that doesn't involve maiming. By the way, that whole "keep Rangers fans out of the Rock" thing the Devils were doing? It's disappeared, and the team hasn't explained why. Check out previews and updated scores for all of today's games on the Y! Sports NHL scores and scheds page . For tonight's starting goalies, check out Left Wing Lock. Evening Reading • Listen to today's Marek Vs. Wyshynski here. • Adam Proteau presents the top 10 UFAs this summer. You know Nos. 1 and 2; did you know No. 3 was Dennis Wideman of the Washington Capitals? [ THN ]

In defense of shot-blocking: The price of winning takes courage, guts and sacrifice
(Wed, 16 May 2012 11:29:52 PDT)
Shot-blocking isn't a plague on the game, and teams like the New York Rangers should be praised for doing whatever it takes in the name of Stanley Cup success.