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Archive for the ‘NHL Hockey’ Category
A source has told The Associated Press that Detroit Red Wings goaltender Dominik Hasek is expected to announce his retirement from the NHL. The Red Wings have scheduled a press conference for Monday for today. Over the course of 16 NHL seasons, Hasek posted a record of 389-223-82, with 81 shutouts and a career goals against average of 2.20. At 43, he is the NHL’s oldest active goalie.
Hasek has won six Vezina Trophies as the NHL’s top goaltender, two Hart Trophies as the league’s most valuable player and an Olympic gold medal with the Czech Republic at the 1998 Nagano Olympics.
Hasek leaves the game after a rough and cut short run to his second Stanley Cup this season. He lost his starting role in Game 4 of Detroit’s first-round series against the Nashville Predators to Chris Osgood, who remained the starter during the team’s run for the Stanley Cup.
Detroit Red Wings Win Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is back in Hockeytown once again. For the fourth time in eleven seasons, the Red Wings are the Stanley Cup champs. They used experience to knock out the younger, less experienced Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night with a 3-2 victory in Game 6 of the Final. Following in the iceskates of Gordie Howe and Steve Yzerman, captain Nicklas Lidstrom strongly led the Red Wings to the title. Detroit’s 11th NHL championship team is the first in league history to be captained by a European.
Just like in Game 5, things got a little too close for comfort for Detroit, who allowed Marian Hossa’s power-play goal with 1:27 remaining that got the Penguins to 3-2. Pittsburgh had already pulled Game 5 star Marc-Andre Fleury to create a 6-on-4 skating edge, but they couldn’t pull off another goal, although they came close. In the final seconds, Sidney Crosby put a backhander on goal that Hossa just missed with a tip at the right post.
The Red Wings won their fourth straight series on the road in these playoffs. Detroit is third in NHL titles, trailing fellow Original Six clubs Montreal and Toronto.
Penguins Defeat Red Wings in 3 Overtimes
The Detroit Red Wings were trying to close out the series at home with a 3-1 series lead, wanting to make an easy win of their fourth Stanley Cup in 11 years. It became clear early in this game that the Pens were not going down without a fight. Battling nerves and falling behind 2-0 in the first period, Detroit had a jerky start. The Pittsburgh Penguins are trying to become the first team since the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs to come back from a 3-1 deficit in the Stanley Cup finals. Toronto did it against Detroit. The last triple-overtime game in the finals was in 2002, when Detroit won Game 3 with a goal by Igor Larionov.
The game lasted nearly four and a half hours. The Penguins took control while the Red Wings in spurts, only to have the Red Wings rush back with a barrage of offense. In the fifth-longest game in Stanley Cup final history, Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury stole it for his team, making 55 saves in a career performance.
Vancouver Canuck Luc Bourdon Dead at 21
Luc Bourdon died today in a motorcycle accident near Shipagan, N.B.
This is sad news. Ourthoughts are with his family, friends, and the Vancouver Canucks organization.
Eve Bourdon, Luc’s sister confirmed his death, but declined further comment. His agent, Kent Hughes, was unaware he rode motorcycles. Also, according to the report Luc just purchased his motorcycle two days ago.
Conn Smythe Trophy Candidates
The Conn Smythe Trophy is awarded every year to the player judged most valuable to his team during the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs. The Conn Smythe Trophy has been awarded 42 times to 36 players since the 1964-65 NHL season. And while there’s always been an underlying myth that amazing goaltending in the playoffs make championship winners and MVP honours, Marc-Andre Fleury and Chris Osgood aren’t the clear favorites for their teams.
Fleury, who struggled early in his career, was in danger of giving up the No. 1 job earlier this season to teammate Ty Conklin. The first overall pick in the 2003 draft elevated his play down the stretch with a 12-2 postseason record, a 1.70 goals-against average, a .938 save percentage and a playoff-leading three shutouts. Osgood, who replaced a struggling Dominik Hasek in Game 5 of the first round against the Nashville Predators, has been equally impressive with a 10-2 record, a 1.60 goals-against average and .931 save percentage.
As both netminders have been this spring, it’s hard to ignore the other candidates that are playing on the rest of the ice . For Pittsburgh, Evgeni Malkin has a very good chance to capture the Hart Trophy and playoff MVP honours in the same season. The forward has also shown the tough side of his game.
Captain Sidney Crosby is also a major contender, sharing the league lead the postseason scoring with 21 points in 14 games. While his goal total (4) is rather low, the 20-year-old has proven his worth as a top playmaker. He leads the league in playoff helpers with 17 assists and is averaging a point and a half a game.
The Red Wings’s Henrik Zetterberg is the other player who shares the league lead in postseason scoring, and another solid pick for MVP. The 2008 Selke Trophy is second in goals (11) and game-winning goals (3), and also leads in plus-minus with a plus-15 rating. The Red Wings’ other Selke finalist is Pavel Datsyuk. He has been Detroit’s on the road charm, with 14 of his 19 playoff points (nine goals, five assists) scored while not on home ice. Johan Franzen’s contributions should also be considered. He was arguably the MVP-favourite through the first two rounds, and still leads the postseason in goals and game-winners despite missing five games.
The other dark horse for the Conn Smythe Trophy is Pittsburgh’s Marian Hossa. The Penguins paid a steep price for his at the trade deadline, and the soon-to-be-free agent has certainly not disappointed. With 11 points in his last six playoff games, he could continue his hot streak into the final and potentially take over the postseason scoring lead.
Still, there are four-to-seven games remaining in the Stanley Cup playoffs and the race for MVP should be wide open right to the last minute.
NHL Preview - Pens/Flyers Game 4
The Pittsburgh Pens will try to nail a spot in the Stanley Cup finals tonight, when they aim for another sweep, this time of the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals. The second-seeded Penguins have grabbed a 3-0 edge in the series people are calling the “Battle of Pennsylvania” by clinching a pair of 4-2 victories on home ice in Games 1 and 2 and defeating the Flyers in Philadelphia on Tuesday. Crosby and company will now try to end the series in Philly and reach the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since winning the second of back-to-back championships in 1992.
The Penguins won Tuesday’s Game 3 at the Wachovia Center by a 4-1 count as Marian Hossa scored twice to lift Pittsburgh. The Pens are now 11-1 overall in this postseason and have won 22 of the last 28 games dating back to the regular season.
Ryan Whitney and Ryan Malone have been amazing for the Penguins. Sidney Crosby added a pair of assists to share the NHL playoff scoring lead with 19 points, while Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 17-of-18 shots to record the win.
R.J. Umberger tallied for the Flyers, who are facing an 0-3 series deficit for the first time since falling to the Detroit Red Wings in a four-game Cup finals sweep in 1997.Martin Biron gave up three goals on 24 shots.
NHL Preview- Red Wings/Stars Game 3
The top-seeded Detroit Red Wings will try to take an important 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals tonight, when they visit the floundering Dallas Stars for Game 3 at American Airlines Center. Detroit has taken a two game lead in this series after posting wins in Games 1 and 2 on home ice. The Red Wings recorded a 4-1 decision in game 1 last Thursday and followed with a 2-1 win on Saturday night at Joe Louis Arena.
The Red Wings have won eight straight games since head coach Mike Babcock made the big decision to switch goaltenders and replaced Dominik Hasek with Chris Osgood. Osgood is 8-0 with a 1.40 goals against average and .939 save percentage in this postseason. The matchup one Wednesday should be an intense one, with the altercation between Ribeiro and Osgood in game 2 causing a lot of tension.
Dallas Sweep Sharks in 8th Longest Game in NHL History
The Dallas Stars made it back to the Western Conference finals and it only took the eighth longest game in NHL history to do it. The deciding game lasted 5 hours, 14 minutes — ending the third-longest in Stars history. Brenden Morrow scored a power-play goal 9:03 into the fourth overtime by deflecting a pass from Stephane Robidas as the Stars eliminated the San Jose Sharks 2-1 in a game that ended early Monday morning. It was the longest game in San Jose’s franchise history.
The Stars are going to the conference finals for the first time since 2000, when they returned to the Stanley Cup finals the year after winning the franchise’s only championship. They play Game 1 on Thursday night against the Detroit Red Wings, who finished their second-round sweep of Colorado on Thursday night.
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