Update from the World Championships

It's unfortunate that the World Championships are at the same time as the Stanley Cup playoffs. It certain deserves more attention than it gets.

The big story coming out of the Worlds is the opening loss by the Russians to the Germans. Germany has never beaten Russia at the Worlds, until yesterday. The score was 2-0. The Russian lineup includes Ilya Kovalchuk - this hasn't been his year. Leaf forward Nikolai Kulemin is also in the Russian lineup. Leaf prospect Marcel Mueller plays for Germany.



Canada beat Belarus 4-1. All of Canada's goals came from players under the age of 21: Jordan Eberle scored twice, while Jeff Skinner and John Tavares had a goal and an assist each in the win. However, Mikhail Grabovski was probably the best player on the ice, but he couldn't beat his NHL teammate James Reimer. Best story of the day? Defenseman Mario Scalzo, the only Canadian player without any NHL experience or current NHL contract, got two assists in the win. Dion Phaneuf and Luke Schenn also play for Canada.

Is this the end of Simon Gagne's career?

Tampa Bay's Simon Gagne has a history of concussions. What has become obvious is that players who have suffered past concussions become more susceptible. Gagne takes a hard hit from Washington's Scott Hannan and it appears has suffered another head injury. This is a clean hit and definitely not a hit to the head. In fact I have watched the video several times and don't even see his head hit the ice. Yet Gagne clearly looks like he's in trouble.

This is why the notion of legal and illegal head hits makes no sense. By putting players in a position where they can suffer a concussion you are pretty much shortening their career. As you can see from the Gagne hit at a certain point it doesn't even take a blow to the head to bring back symptoms.

Scouting Report: Mark Owuya

Leafs sign another European goalie named Mark Owuya. He is a 20 year old butterfly goalie with a technique that is not very developed nor pretty. Hockey's Future reports that he has good attitude, self confidence and stops the pucks, which it all is about in the end.

He has a lot of advantage being of large size (6’2) and is pretty good at moving side-to-side. Has problems with high shots. Agility could still be better. Sounds like another project at best for coach François Allaire..

The Star reports he is also a rapper that goes by the name Mark In Da Park. Below is an appearance on Swedish Idol (no Simon Cowell). Back in When 2007 when Mark Owuya auditioned for the Swedish version of American Idol, judges had five words for him: “Don’t quit your day job.”

The Coach's second round playoff predictions

Well the Coach was 6 out of 8 in the first round. Though the Sabres behind Ryan Miller would upset the Flyers and they did make it close. I also did think the Predators would finally make it to the second round but here they are facing the Canucks. There weren't the usual high number of upsets in the first round. Perhaps they will happen this round.

Eastern Conference

(1) Washington Capitals vs. (5) Tampa Bay Lightning

The Capitals seem to be more resilient this year having learned from last season's disastrous playoffs. They scored less but gave up even fewer goals. Tampa Bay prevailed against the Penguins predominantly because they had all their lethal weapons healthy while Pittsburgh was at a serious disadvantage without Crosby and Malkin. Dwayne Roloson will keep the Bolts in games but Ovechkin and company should prevail.

Prediction: Caps in 6

(2) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (3) Boston Bruins

A Flyers vs. Bruins rematch from last season should be the highlight of the second round. Last season the Bruins were up 3-0 in the series before collapsing and losing 4 straight. Danny Briere was unstoppable in the first round and should continue the carry the Flyers. The Bruins were lucky to beat Montreal. How you win a series without scoring a powerplay goal is a total mystery. The Bruins' physical play will be matched by the Flyers. The only interesting factor will be goaltending. Thomas won the round one series for the Bruins. Meanwhile the Flyers net should have a revolving door installed.

Prediction: Flyers in 6

Western Conference

(1) Vancouver Canucks vs. (4) Nashville Predators

Nashville may be a tougher match for the Canucks than Chicago. Nashville had great goaltending in Pekka Rinne, the best shutdown defensemen in Shea Webber and Ryan Suter, and four balanced lines. Fortunately Luongo fought off the demons and the doubters to carry the Canucks into the second round and perhaps he can keep it up for a few more rounds as well. They will need a little more secondary scoring than what they have been getting.

Prediction: Canucks in 7

(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (3) Detroit Red Wings

Red Wings are going to have Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen back in their lineup, and are rested following their first-round sweep. However, the Sharks actually have more scoring depth than Detroit. This may finally be San Jose's year after so many disappointing playoffs - or maybe not.

Prediction: Sharks in 7

I'm sure this sums up the mood in Vancouver

I wasn't planning to watch the entire game 7 in Vancouver. But I just couldn't turn it off to go to bed. Not until 1:08 am when Alex Burrows blew the winning goal by Corey Crawford. It was an amazing game and a great outcome at least for Canuck fans. Unfortunately Hab fans did not share in the good fortunes.

Canadiens live to see another day...and game

Milan Lucic hit was illegal

Sure it's not a call you would expect in a game 6 with the series on the line, but this is clearly a boarding penalty. No doubt the Jaroslav Spaeck's injury had an impact on the call. I'm sure some officials would have let it go or just call a minor penalty.

An embarrassing penalty shot fail by Chris Conner

Ex-Leafs playoff scoring

Some forgotten former Leaf players are still playing hockey. Yes, Steve Sullivan who Pat Quinn gave away is still contributing with the Predators. Ian White so far is scoring at over a point per game. He would have been a good fantasy draft pick.

	GP	G	A	PTS
Ian White	4	0	5	5
Jason Blake	6	3	1	4
Kris Versteeg	6	0	4	4
Steve Sullivan	6	2	1	3
Pavel Kuvina	5	1	2	3
Kyle Wellwood	5	0	3	3
Tomas Kaberle	5	0	2	2
Bryan McCabe	5	0	2	2
Francois Beachemin	6	0	2	2
Alexei Ponikarovsky	4	1	0	1
Viktor Stalberg	6	1	0	1
Lee Stempniak	4	0	0	0
Hal Gill	5	0	0	0
Jamal Mayer	5	0	0	0

Is it time to raise the choke team label?

There wasn't even supposed to have been a game 6 yet the Vancouver Canucks have found themselves in a game 7. Roberto Luongo was supposed to be watching this game from the bench but there he was in the third period back in net for the injured Cory Schneider.

Although the Chicago Blackhawks barely made the postseason, they are the reigning Stanley Cup champions. At this point I wouldn't bet against them.

Can you actually go back to Luongo in game 7 after this goal?

Both Thomas and Price were brilliant last night but one had to lose

Thomas had 44 saves and Price had 49 saves in the pivotal 2-1 Bruins win. Many of the saves were in the outstanding category.




















The game winner by Nathan Horton

Teams who score first in the playoffs are tough to beat

Although home teams are only winning 42% of the time in this year's post-season, teams that scores first are winning 83% of the time. That seems hard to believe with the well publicized comebacks by Washington (down 3-0), Boston (also down 3-0) and San Jose (down 4-0).

Prior to this season, teams that scored first were generally winning between 60-70% of games which is probably a good statistic when compared to the pre-lockout era. When obstruction reined free in the NHL it was common for teams to try to sit on a 1-0 lead for 40 or 50 minutes. Pretty boring hockey. After the lockout when offensives began to open up sitting on a lead became more difficult.

So what has happened?

I'm not sure. It doesn't appear that obstruction has returned to the pre-lockout levels. We are only talking about 35 games so perhaps this post-season is just an anomaly. Still it may be something of a concern if it continues.

Bobby Ryan scores the nicest goal of the playoffs to date

Last night Bobby Ryan returns from his suspension in fine form. Although in a losing cause Ryan scores an incredible goal early in the third period with the score tied at 1-1. David Legwand loses his stick and Ryan uses him to weave back and forth and completely freezes Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne.

Tomas Kaberle has been a bust for the Bruins

I'm surprised to see that Tomas Kaberle has not worked out well so far. These deadline deals rarely do work out because it takes time to integrate your play with that of your new teammates. Training camp is an ideal time to work these things out not the playoffs. And honestly, when do you remember Kaberle having a strong playoff? His last playoffs with the Leafs he scored just 3 assists in 13 games.

Kaberle was supposed to help Boston's power play buy yhe Bruins are only 7 for 77 on the powerplay since Kaberle arrived 27 games ago. Kaberle has nine points in 27 games with the Bruins, including only one goal, and no points so far in the playoffs. He was also the goat on the first goal of the series, 2:44 into a 2-0 loss in Game 1, and has struggled at times in his own end.

He doesn't look like the all-star from a few seasons ago and looks more like a player on the decline. I had thought that a change of scenery would elevate his game but that hasn't happened. Perhaps a full training camp in the fall will make a difference but that won't help the Bruins right now. His ice time has also been reduced.

It' starting to look like the deal that sent Joe Colborne, a first-round pick and a conditional draft pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs was a good deal. Though that conditional pick may not happen since it looks like the Bruins may let Kaberle walk this summer. Unless they panic and sign him to justify the prospects they handed Brian Burke - who must be smiling watching these playoffs.

Andrew Ference's finger is a punishable offense

When Andrew Ference scored Boston's second goal last night he skated near the glass and gave the finger to the Montreal fans. Yes there is bad blood between these teams.

According to the NHL rules, he should have been awarded a game misconduct penalty. The league could still fine him $2,500 but likely will just let it pass. For the record Ference claims it was a malfunctioning fist pump. You judge for yourself if you buy that. Fist pump movement is up and down not directed straight forward.

Home ice has not been an advantage this spring

Historically home ice has been viewed as an advantage although studies don't always support that belief. Yet so far in the Stanley Cup playoffs home ice has been no advantage at all. Only 14 home teams have won so far out of 33 games played. That a rate of 42.4%. Both Boston and Montreal have only won on the road. In both the Pittsburgh-Tampa Bay and San Jose-Los Angeles series, road teams have won 3 out 4 games so far.

In the 2009-10 NHL playoffs home teams won 52.8% of the games. In 2008-09 the winning percentage of home teams was 59.8%. Not sure what is happening here but in three season we have gone from almost 60% advantage for the home team to almost 60% advantage to the visitors.

Ryan Miller steals another one

Miller and the Sabres completed their second 1-0 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in what has turned into a tense Eastern Conference first-round series in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Perhaps no save had more players in both locker rooms talking than the point-blank one Miller made on Danny Briere -- his former Sabres teammate -- with 8:50 left in the third period and the Sabres nursing a 1-0 lead. Briere had the puck in front of Miller and shot it directly into his pads. But his goaltending was simply amazing.

Year of the Concussion continues

It seems every night there are more incidents followed by Colin Campbell spinning the Wheel of Justice.

Here is Steve Downie actually leaving his feet to make a hit. This is clearly charging as Downie launched himself into his opponent. Downie got a one game suspension.



Next is Chris Kunitz who can be seen aiming his elbow at the back of Simon Gagne's head. Gagne was not injured on the play and that definitely played a part in why Kunitz will miss only one game.



This is the puzzling call and why the problem with hits to the head will not disappear. Raffi Torres levels Brent Seabrook behind the net and walks away with just a minor for interference but no suspension. The explanation from the NHL is that Rule 48 was not intended to outlaw shoulder to head hits or hits behind the net. And that is the problem with the NHL policy. Hits to the head are still considered part of the game as long as the player didn't leave his feat or use an elbow.

I have to agree with the Goldwater Institute's position on the Coyotes

Wednesday’s game between Detroit and Phoenix will likely be the Coyotes’ last game in Glendale. It certainly won’t be announced as such but the efforts to keep the team in Arizona are coming to a futile end. The only viable ownership groups that exist out there are only interested in relocation which the NHL has opposed. Instead the NHL brings forward very reluctant ownership candidates that want to see the City of Glendale incur all the risks in operating a team in Arizona. Such is the case of Chicago businessman Matthew Hulsizer who worked out a deal where Glendale would hand over $100-million of taxpayers’ money so Hulsizer could buy the Coyotes from the NHL, and to commit a further $97-million for him to manage the taxpayers’ arena.

This sweetheart deal is opposed by the Goldwater Institute. As a result, the Goldwater Institute and their CEO Darcy Olsen have been vilified by some hockey fans for continuing roadblocks in the sale of the Coyotes to Hulsizer. The Goldwater Institute is a conservative public-policy advocacy group focused on educational reform and tax-revenue spending. Goldwater vowed to sue if the suburban city of Glendale went through with a municipal bond sale that would have provided $100-million to Hulsizer. The mere threat of litigation chilled the bond deal, left Glendale and NHL officials fuming.

However all the blame goes to reckless municipal politicians who sunk $180 million of taxpayers’ money into an arena that should never have been built. Never mind they that may have been hoodwinked. That is nonsense. Too often the allure of sporting franchises causes politicians to lose their sense of fiscal responsibility. To make matters worse, they now want to give Hulsizer money so he will buy the team and keep it locally. The made up rationale for giving him the money is that Glendale will get all the parking revenue and Hulsizer will manage the facility for the city. The Glendale taxpayers should be thankful that the Goldwater Institute exists.

The NHL has been culpable in all this. Either to protect the Phoenix market or Glendale’s investment in the arena, the NHL has been actively trying to coerce Glendale to cough up more money. The reason for this is that the NHL owners have no intention of losing even one dime on the Phoenix franchise. They paid previous owner Jerry Moyes $140 million to keep the team away from Jim Ballsillie even though the value of the franchise is about half that amount. Since then the team has lost about $30 million which they expect to be covered by the new owner (or Glendale if they are foolish enough to hand over the money).

So along comes the Goldwater Institute to stop that nonsense. At the end relocation is the only option if the other NHL owners who obviously want to hang onto their money. So sometime between now and the June draft the citizens of Winnipeg will be out on the streets celebrating the return of their beloved Winnipeg Jets. So you might be wondering why the NHL didn’t save themselves all this trouble by selling the team to Basillie? Well Balsillie had no interest in moving the team to Winnipeg. He was clear that he only wanted to move the team to Hamilton which is within the Maple Leaf territory. All this time Gary Bettman was taking hits from hockey fans here who believed he was anti-Canadian when all he was doing was protecting the richest franchise in the NHL. I might add at the expense of taxpayers in Glendale.

UPDATE: I heard Gary Bettman on TSN Radio today say that the league continues to work at keeping a team in Phoenix and there is no plan to move it to Phoenix. He also indicated when pressed that a decision would have to be made before the schedule is drawn up. Which means that he doesn't want relocation to be the focus of the media during the Stanley Cup playoffs. Look for a June announcement.

You just know Hab fans are getting under the skin of the Bruins