San Jose Prevents Late Game Effort

Rallying behind the San Jose crowd, the Sharks were able to jump out to a 3-0 lead after the first period. It was a start the Sharks desperately needed after being down 2-0 in the series going into Game Three. Head coach Todd McLellan wanted his team to treat Game 3 like it was a game 7, and that they did. The Sharks opened up the game by out shooting the opposition 16 to 8. The onslaught brought on by the Sharks resulted in goals by Patrick Marleau and Ryan Clowe. Marleau capitalized on the powerplay just 3:56 into the first, and then again on a breakaway 17:25 into the first. Separating Marleau's offensive clinic was Ryan Clowe. Clowe managed to convert on a rebound chance off of a Dan Boyle shot from the point. The second period saw relatively no offensive action with Niemi and Luongo on top of their game. Niemi made perhaps the play of the game when he stopped a backdoor chance by Alex Burrows with 4:21 left in the second. Although the third period was highlighted by 3 Vancouver goals, it would not be enough on this night. The Canucks left Game 3 with one lesson; stay out of the box. The Canucks took 11 penalties on the night, which the Sharks used to their advantage. Going into the Western Conference Finals, the Sharks were 7 for 51 on the power play. So far they are 6 for 13 against the Canucks. Henrik Sedin told the Hockey News, "When you give those guys the chances we did, they are going to score." The Canucks are going to need to eliminate the power play opportunities the have given the Sharks if they want to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.

McLellan and I Agree on Sitting Eager in Game 3

After game two, I wrote that if was Sharks coach Todd McLellan, I would sit Ben Eager for his embarrassing lack of class Wednesday night.

I was happy to see that McLellan and I are on the same page.

In other news, Ben Eager, who began the 2010-2011 season with the Atlanta Thrashers, is apparently very supportive of the decision to move the franchise to Winnipeg.  More about my thoughts on this topic later.  Let's just say that Eager and I haven't exactly been seeing eye-to-eye lately...

Deadly Mix of Alcohol and Oxycodone Responsible for Boogaard's Death

Derek Boogaard has been respected as one of the toughest players in the NHL (which is saying something) for many years.  What fans - and even teammates - didn't know, was that Boogaard was fighting another battle off of the ice.

"Hennepin County Chief Medical Examiner Andrew Baker revealed Friday that Boogaard died of an accidental overdose of alcohol and the powerful prescription painkiller, Oxycodone."

From the New York Ranger website:  Boogaard family issues statement.

News broke of Boogaard's death last week, but no specific details regarding the cause were released until today.  I had a suspicion that his death was drug or alcohol related when I learned that foul play was ruled out.

This is an extremely unfortunate situation, and my thoughts and prayers are still with his family.

Atlanta Thrashers Possibly Relocated to Winnipeg

The Atlanta Thrashers will reportedly be moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Thrashers have not been the success the staff had hoped for in their 10 year history. The Thrashers have made the playoffs only one time in their 10 years, and were swept by the New York Rangers in the first round of the playoffs. Not only have the Thrashers had no success, no one attends the games that they lose. This year they finished 28th overall in attendance with an average of 13,469. Winnipeg is an old friend to the NHL, hosting the Winnipeg Jets from 1979-1996. The Winnipeg area has a huge passion for hockey and created the "white out" effect in the 1987 playoffs. The move to Winnipeg would benefit the Atlanta Thrashers as well as the NHL as a whole. As anticipated as this deal is, it is not yet final.

Defending The Blue Line

Derek Boogaard was heavily involved in a non-profit organization called Defending The Blue Line that helps "children of armed service members stick with hockey programs."  In lieu of flowers, the family of Derek Boogaard requests that any donations from fans in Derek's memory be made to Defending The Blue Line.  This is a terrific program and all donations go to support a worthy cause.

From the New York Rangers website:

Please note that in lieu of flowers, the family of Derek Boogaard requests that any donations from fans in Derek's memory be made to Defending The Blue Line.

The Boogaard family would like to see Derek's legacy live on by supporting military kids and the game he loved.

Donations can be mailed to:

Defending The Blue Line
c/o Boogaard Booguardians Memorial Fund
1206 N. Frontage Road, Suite B
Hastings, MN 55033

Donations can also be made online at www.DefendingTheBlueLine.org

This is Hockey Right?

The Eastern Conference finals has seen no shortage in goals thus far with 18 being scored in the first two games. The high scoring games are an oddity for both the Bruins and the Lightning. During the regular season, the Bruins averaged 2.98 goals for per game with 2.30 goals against and the Lightning averaged 2.94 g/g and 2.85 ga/g. Although the series had a lot of hype about goaltending, it seems that each team has scored at will in the first two games. The Lightning even had to relieve Dwayne Roloson of his goaltending duties after two periods in favor of Mike Smith.

Clearly, the 6 goals against were not Roloson's fault, or atleast Guy Boucher doesn't think so. Roloson has been around the block a time or two, and will be back between the pipes tonight. At the other end of the rink, Thomas has been spectacular at times, and well, not so much at times. Regardless of the "soft" goals Thomas let in, his spectacular breakaway and sprawling saves gave the Bruins momentum to win the game. Jonathan Quick told Fox News,

"He had about four breakaways in the second period that if he lets any of those go in it's a completely different game. He allowed his team to get momentum in the second period and score the goals the way they did."

Jonathan Quick, who is the goalie for the Los Angeles Kings and an Avon Old Farms product, is fascinated by Thomas' ability to change his game by his competitiveness. Quick said, "He doesn't give up on any play, on any puck." The Bruins will continue to need the outstanding play of Thomas in Tampa Bay. Another Bruin that propelled the Bruins to a Game Two victory is rookie Tyler Seguin. Seguin, who finds his record setting performance almost amusing, is only a 19 year old and has 6 points in two games. Rather than sporting a collared shirt or jacket in his post game interview, Seguin rocked a retro Bruins jacket like it was 1992.

Seguin has drastically gained confidence in the first two games of his playoff career. He bursted for 2 goals and 2 assists in Game Two that he attests to his poise. After his career night Seguin said, "As I went on, I felt more confident, more poised." As the playoffs continue, you can only assume Seguin will blossom before our eyes. I know the Bruins are counting on it.

“A beat down in British Columbia” – Liam McHugh

Vancouver’s 7-3 victory over San Jose had a lot of resemblance to the “pond hockey” style we saw in game two of the Boston vs. Tampa Bay series. There was certainly no shortage of action at the HP Pavilion Wednesday night.

Kevin Bieska of the Vancouver Canucks kept himself busy tonight earning the classic Gordie Howe hat-trick: a goal, assist, and, of course, a fight. Bieska had a beautiful breakaway goal that beat San Jose’s Antti Niemi on the ice through the five-hole. The cross-ice pass from Higgins to send Bieska on his way was almost as nice as the goal itself.

Bieska’s fight was against Patrick Marleau – not the man you would expect to find squaring off. With just a few minutes left in the second period, it was obvious that Marleau was trying his best to fire up the bench and bring some life to his team, and for that, I give him credit. When Marleau, a finesse player who hasn’t fought since 2007, decides to drop the gloves in the Western Conference finals, I would expect his team to rally behind him. Instead, the Sharks came out flat to start the third period, and obviously went on to lose the game by four goals. 

San Jose should be disgusted with Ben Eager’s performance tonight. Eager embarrassed himself, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t see the ice in game three. If I was Coach Todd McLellan, I would sit him. There’s a difference between playing hard and playing stupid. Tonight, Eager was just stupid. His only positive contribution to his team was his a goal with just over two minutes left in the game, and he even found a way to screw that up. After he scored, he continued to stand over Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo talking trash to follow-up his lame celebration. When Luongo was asked after the game what Eager had said to him, Luongo responded with “we’ll keep that between me and him, but it’s good that he’s on the ice because he takes penalties.” And penalties he took; Ben Eager’s name appears on last night’s penalty summary six times. I hope Eager is humiliated by the way he let his emotions control his every move tonight. He should consider himself fortunate if he dresses in game three, and make sure this appalling display of hockey never happens again - his team clearly cannot afford it. His team needs him to channel that emotion into something productive.  He had 20 penalty minutes in roughly 11 minutes of ice time.

Apparently Eager chose to defend his play in a post-game interview.  When asked about the fight between Kevin Bieska and Patrick Marleau, Eager had this to say:

We've seen that before with Kevin. It's sad that someone's gonna sign him for big money when he's a phony. He goes after our top players. He's been asked many times -- by lots of players throughout the League (to fight) -- and he's declined.

Marleau clearly wanted that fight to shift the momentum of the game.  It looks like Eager decided to add on to the embarrassment after the game.

The frustration of the entire San Jose squad was evident by the scrums at the end of the game.

I couldn’t help but feel bad for Antti Niemi. He had absolutely no help from his team in the defensive zone. Like Dwayne Roloson Tuesday night, Niemi still had some incredible saves, and I expect him to rebound for Friday’s game three in San Jose.

In other news, the Vancouver fans don’t have to worry any longer about when the Sedin twins are going to start producing again. Daniel had two goals - both off of the power play - and Henrik had three assists. The Canucks put on a passing clinic all night long, and their impressive puck movement on the man-up resulted in three power play goals in total. The Sharks are going to have to drastically cut down on the number of penalties they take in game three to limit the amount of time Vancouver spends on the power play. You can’t win hockey games when you spend the entire game killing penalties.

There was enough action to keep me up writing all night long.

San Jose @ Vancouver: Game Two Preview

Going back to 2004, the San Jose Sharks have lost a total of 7 straight Western Conference Finals games, a trend they would like to put an end to. After coming off of a tough Game One loss in Vancouver, the Sharks find themselves on their heels. “I don’t feel uncomfortable with a lead, that’s where I want to be,” defenseman Dan Boyle said after Canuck goals 79 seconds apart caused Sunday’s loss in the last 20 minutes. “We've got to find a way to finish people off. I think maybe getting that next goal. With a one-goal lead you try to get the next goal without giving anything up.”(Bleacher Report) The Sharks need to find a way to maintain a lead if they are to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals. One thing that separated the men from the boys in Game One was the physical play of the Canucks (I'm not sure how Patrick McNally will fit in). Chris Higgins absolutely demolished Pavelski on a clean open ice hit that had Pavelski spinning. Above and beyond the physical play of Game Two, special teams may very well separate who goes home happy, and who doesn't tonight. Going into tonights game, the Sharks have a miserable 15.4% power play percentage coupled with an 82.1% penalty kill. Needless to say, this is one area the Sharks need improvement in. An area that does not need correction at either end is the goaltending. Despite the criticism that each netminder has faced by the media, both show outstanding numbers. While Luongo boasts a .918% and a 2.23 GAA, Niemi shows of a .908% and a 3.01 GAA. If the goaltenders play as they have been, and the Sharks pick up the intensity, look for tonight to be a close and hard fought game.

Roloson Loses Title as Brick Wall

As "seanyd'sfat" pointed out on a previous post, I clearly jinxed Dwayne Roloson.  None-the-less, he loses my highly coveted title as a brick wall.

No disrespect, of course.  Roloson's still the man.

The Seguin Show

What do Tyler Seguin and I have in common?  Well, we're both 19 years old - and that's about where the similarities end.  While I try to enjoy the last few weeks of high school with my friends before graduation, Seguin is trying to win a Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins.  The second overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft scored the first playoff goal of his career in game one of the Eastern Conference finals, his first career playoff game, and carried that momentum right into game two.  Seguin stole the spotlight in Boston's 6-5 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning Tuesday night with two goals and two assists - all in the second period.  

After the game, Seguin was fairly humble about his performance.  He got the chance to play in this series to begin with because Patrice Bergeron is out with a concussion.  Seguin commented about what it's like to play after not seeing any ice time in the first two rounds:

It’s definitely tough watching from above.  I try to take everything in and learn as much as I can, but it's hard sitting there and not being able to help out the boys.  I wanted to take advantage of any opportunity I got.  

In the same post-game press conference, Seguin mentioned the support he received from older, more experienced teammates, and commented numerous times on his desire to simply seize any opportunities given to him.  He referred to his rookie season as a learning curve, and said that he felt "more confident and more poised" as the season progressed.

Although Seguin has been spectacular in game one and game two, I would be cautious to say that the learning curve is over just yet.  It will be interesting to see how he performs from here on out.

Michael Ryder's stellar game was somewhat shadowed by Seguin's break through night.  I was happy to see this article on NHL.com recognizing Ryder's impact on game two.

Tampa Bay coach Guy Boucher referred to the lack of structure in game two as "pond hockey," and went on to say that "even if we would have won that game, we certainly would not have been happy with the way we played."

Roloson didn't have the kind of game that fans have almost began to take for granted from him, but it's just one game out of a best of seven series.  Expect him to have a solid game three and four when the series moves down to Florida.  Roloson let in 6 goals on the 27 shots he faced, but still managed to come up with some impressive saves, especially in the first period.  He was replaced by Mike Smith at the start of the third period.

Guy Boucher on Dwayne Roloson in game two:

Notable Performances

Boston Bruins:

          Tyler Seguin - 2 goals, 2 assists; +3; first star of the game

          Michael Ryder - 2 goals, 1 assist; +2; third star of the game

          Nathan Horton - 1 goal, 2 assists

Tampa Bay Lightning:

          Steven Stamkos - 1 goal, 2 assists; -1

          Vincent Lecavalier - 1 goal, 3 assists; +1; second star of the game

          Martin St. Louis - 1 goal, 1 assists; -1

If tonight proved anything, it proved that this is going to be one crazy series.  Don't be surprised if it takes seven games to declare a winner.

Dwayne Roloson

The Bruins are going to need to learn how to get pucks past this brick wall:

Western Conference Finals Preview

The Western Conference finals started last night with game one between the Vancouver Canucks and the San Jose Sharks.

San Jose Sharks

The San Jose roster is stacked with big names.  Up to this point in the playoffs, it's been the designated leaders on the Sharks that have been contributing with points.

Forwards:

Captain Joe Thornton and Assistant Captain Ryane Clowe are tied with 13 points in the 2011 playoffs, however, Clowe has the clear +/- advantage over Thornton.  Thornton is -2 in the playoffs compared to Clowe who is +6.  Thornton had the first goal of game one of the Western Conference finals last night thanks to an embarrassing giveaway by Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo.

Assistant Captain Patrick Marleau is +1 with 7 points in the playoffs.  He was credited with San Jose's second and last goal last night when he tipped Dan Boyle's shot from the point.  Joe Thornton had the second assist on Marleau's goal.

Defenseman: 

Assistant Captain Dan Boyle is tied with Logan Couture for the second most postseason points on the Sharks with 12, but, like Joe Thornton, is also -2 in the +/- category.

Goaltending:

Annti Niemi was named the second star of the game last night in game one with a 0.921 save percentage.  Except for a puck he gave-away behind the net that eventually resulted in a goal for Vancouver, Niemi looked pretty solid throughout the night on the 38 shots that he faced.  Niemi has a cumulative 0.908 save percentage  in the 2011 playoffs.

Vancouver Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks are also a team with a roster full of superstars.

Forwards:

After a quite first two rounds, captain Henrik Sedin and his twin brother assistant captain Daniel Sedin had the kind of game last night that Vancouver has been patiently waiting for.  Henrik was named the first star of the game with the game winning goal and an assist on Bieska's goal.  The twins have combined for an impressive 27 points in  the playoffs so far.

Assistant captain Ryan Kesler owns the number one spot in the league with 16 playoff points and is tied with Datsyuk, Purcell and Giroux for the most assists with 11.  He also leads the Canucks with a +6 rating.

Ryan Kesler on last night's game:

I just think we finally found our legs said.  We were a little rusty in the first period.  I thought we played well, but I think second and third period we found that extra gear and we continued.  We forced them and we put a lot of pucks on the net.  We generated most of the offense.

Defenseman:

Assistant captain Kevin Bieska netted Vancouver's second goal last night that was assisted by Alex Burrows and Henrik Sedin.  Bieska has 5 points in the playoffs so far and is second on the team in the +/- department with a +5 rating.

Despite being a defenseman, Christian Ehrhoff is tied for third on the team with Daniel Sedin with 10 points (two goals, eight assists).  Ehrhoff had an assist on Henrik Sedin's game-winner last night.  While it is certainly nice to see your defenseman putting points up on the board, their primary job is to stop the puck from going into their own net.  At -7, it is going to be critical for Ehrhoff to emphasize his defensive play for Vancouver to be successful moving forward.

Goaltending:

Is Roberto Luongo series with this?  He's going to need to work hard to gain his team's trust and confidence.

*  *  *

Game one highlights:

Somebody tell Pavelski to keep his head up next time he skates through the neutral zone:

Sharks Surrender Lead

All the San Jose Sharks needed to do was keep a one goal lead in third period and they would go home happy. No such happiness would be found following the game. The Sharks dominated play throughout the first and second out skating and hitting the Canucks. The Sharks jumped out to a 1 goal lead with just over a minute to play in the first on a Roberto Luongo misplay. Luongo attempted to start the breakout on his own and sent the puck right to Joe Thornton who buried it into the open net. Not the start the Canucks were looking for. Vancouver wouldn't stay down for long, just 2 minutes into the 2nd Maxim Lapierre connected on a tic-tac-toe play assisted by Hansen and Torres. Mid way through the second, Chris Higgins got the Canucks crowd going with a huge open ice hit. This was exactly what the doctor ordered. Although the Sharks would score within a minute of the hit on a Patrick Marleau goal, the energy was on the Canucks' side. Vancouver heavily outplayed San Jose in the latter part of the second and third outshooting them 27-19 in that span. 7:02 into the 3rd the Vancouver faithful's prayers were answered by a Kevin Bieksa one-timer goal. Under a minute and half later, the capacity crowd would have more to cheer for when who else, but captain Henrik Sedin buried an in close chance to take the lead. From then on, Vancouver completely outplayed San Jose and would not look back. Daniel Sedin believed this game was their best of the playoffs. Daniel told Vancouvercanucks.com, “We had the puck more in the offensive zone and we created a lot from those kind of shifts.” Vancouver had a huge advantage in the shot total with a 38-29 swing. Look for the offensive dominance to resume in Game Two.

Where Did They Go?

In an absolute disgusting display of fanmanship, the Boston Bruins spectators filed out of TD Garden well before the final buzzer rang. In no way is leaving Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals early understandable. I've always held the Bruins fans and players to a higher standard than other Boston teams, but after this game they are a new team in my eyes. With poor and sloppy play being played in front of a vacant TD Garden, I felt like I was watching a game at Fenway when the Sox are down one run in the 6th. If the Bruins are to have a fighting chance in this series they need to clean their act up, and fast. Sean Bergenheim struck first for the Lightning when he netted a goal after Thomas failed to cover the puck 11:15 into the first period. Just twenty seconds later, Brett Clark entered the Bruins zone and let a backhander go from the bottom of the circle that found its way past Thomas. Just under a minute later, the Bruins would suffer another goal at the hands of Thomas and Kaberle. Kaberle leisurely played with the puck behind the Bruins net as Teddy Purcell forchecked. Kaberle proceeded to lose the puck to the front of the net while Thomas was daydreaming. Purcell easily tapped the puck past Thomas for a 3-0 lead. The stunned Bruins had something to cheer for 16:00 into the first when rookie Tyler Seguin danced through the lightning defense and fired a shot past Dwayne Roloson. After a scoreless second period, it seemed like the Bruins had a chance to make their way back into the game. All hope was lost when Marc-Andre Bergeron's slap shot from the point made its way through a screen and past Thomas. The unloyal fans began to file their way out of TD Garden to the disappointed streets of Boston. To add insult to injury Simon Gagne scored an empty net goal to make it 5-1. With minutes remaining Boychuk scored on a tip in assisted by Seguin for his second point of the night. Lets all hope the Bruins come out with a better effort in Game Two.

3 Stars:

1. Brett Clark
2. Dwayne Roloson
3. Tyler Seguin