Hockey

May 23, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Rangers players surround left wing Chris Kreider (20) after he scores the game-winning goal against the Boston Bruins during overtime in game four of the second round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Rangers win 4-3 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports This has been the question on many fans minds over the past few days. Prior to game 4, many fans were skeptical of this, myself included. I’ve had some “fans” tell me I don’t have any faith in this team to come back from being down 3 games to none. It’s not that I didn’t have faith it was just that I was being more on the rational side. Everyone knows how tough it is to win 1 game in the playoffs let alone 4 straight. This leads me to my next question, can it be done? I think the answer lies all in today’s game in Boston. Obviously if they lose, this time tomorrow they’ll be cleaning out their lockers & this time Monday they’ll all be teeing off at some fancy Country Club. IF they can muster a win today in a hostile environment, then I can almost guarantee that the tides will turn and the pressure will be off the New York Rangers shoulders and on the Boston Bruins’. Boston’s lineup hasn’t had too much change since their collapse in the 2010 playoffs when the Philadelphia Flyers came back from down 0-3 to go on to the Stanley Cup. So I have no doubt that if they drop today’s game some of that will come back and start to haunt them. Get it back to Madison Square Garden and I guarantee we’ll see you in Boston early next week for game 7. 3 things to watch for in today’s game: Henrik Lundqvist. He is money in elimination games. 6-1, 1.40 GAA & a .952 Save Percentage in his last 7 games. Tuuka Rask. He is the opposite of Lundqvist. Posting a 2-8 record with a 3.20 GAA & an .890 Save Percentage (career). That’s just downright awful. Young Bruins D-Man vs. Rangers fore-check. Although they have played well (Torrey Krug especially) they’ve looked rattled at times, especially in game 4 when the Rangers inserted a little more grit and bang to their lineup. It all happens today at 5:30pm EST on NBC Sports Network. Do the New York Rangers keep climbing the mountain? Don’t forget to leave some feedback! Follow me on Twitter: @serao_11

Nashville Predators News Nashville Predators put faith in Scandinavian scouts | The Tennessean Hopefully they can work their magic again this year. Smashville 24/7 - STPM: #1 vs. #8 The 1-seed moves on, and it shouldn't be close. 2013 NHL Mock Draft: The Next Ones Memorial Cup Edition | The Hockey Writers What luck! The guy who needs shoulder surgery will likely be available at #4! Around the Wide Wide World of Hockey Senators out of their league with Penguins | Ottawa Sun It's really difficult to win when you allow 6 goals. Red Wings' unsung hero for playoff run? GM Ken Holland | Detroit Free Press And if the Wings had failed to slip in to the playoffs? The goat of the season...GM Ken Holland. Observations From Section 321 : Toews'd And Confused - Second City Hockey A point-by-point meltdown on the meltdown. You're welcome. Brassard swats Boston’s gnat - NYPOST.com "[Marchand's] been asking everybody on our team to fight all series, so I thought it was time to take him up on it, but then I guess he didn't have any interest." BURN. Stars among possible teams for former Canucks coach Vigneault-TSN There's going to be a few jobs available. I'm sure he'll get a shot at one of 'em. Updating the Bobrovsky Situation-Hockey Buzz What would be better...living in Columbus or Russia? A really tough call. NHL Draft 2013: An Interactive Visualization of Drafts of Years Past - Stanley Cup of Chowder Trivia: Who's the one player the Preds have drafted from Kazakhstan? And no, it's not this guy. Better playoffs -- NHL or NBA? | Watch the video - Yahoo! Sports The NBA sucks. Playoffs or no playoffs. And I'll never watch another game because of this. If you have 8 minutes to spare, check it out. 3rd Grade Blackhawks Fan Awesomely Fails Her Math Test - SportsPickle The parents are clearly to blame here. Why You're Still A Fan, Despite All The Crap: A Look Inside Your Brain-Deadspin You can't help it. It's a sickness.

There’s no denying that Bruins fans have a reason for concern after Thursday’s overtime loss to the New York Rangers. With a 2-0 lead in the second period, the B’s looked destined to sweep a Rangers squad that had their share of issues prior to Game 4. But a series of blunders that started with Tuukka Rask’s gaffe on Carl Hagelin’s backhander left many fans scratching their heads. It’s no secret that the Bruins have not fared well in closing out a series. Claude Julien is now 7-13 in closing situations. Rask, who backstopped the Black and Gold during the Flyers collapse in 2010, is 2-8 with a 3.20 goals against average and a .890 save percentage in series clinching scenarios. All of this is a reason for concern. But, there’s no reason for The Hub of Hockey to panic, at least for the time being. The two teams resume their series this afternoon at the TD Garden for Game 5. And while the Rangers might have a little momentum after Chris Kreider’s overtime winner, the Bruins are still in the driver’s seat. After returning home, the Bruins had a loose mentality after practice on Friday. They still know there’s work to be done, but there’s no reason to be disappointed with another chance to clinch the series. It’s a situation the B’s have been in before, including their first round series with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and they aren’t rattled by it. “There’s no panic here. Had we been outworked and not been there at all, we would be talking differently here. But we didn’t get outworked, and all it was, as a team, we didn’t execute as we have been,” Julien said after Thursday’s loss. “We have to go home and play a better game.” After Kreider scored his game-winner, some fans and talk-show radio hosts, including Michael Felger, were quick to compare Thursday’s Game 4 loss to the defeat against the Flyers in 2010. Those comparisons are completely misleading according to Rask. “I don’t even want to compare. It’s a totally different team,” said the Finnish goalie. “We beat Philly the next year, 4-0, and went on to win the Cup, so lots of things have happened and we’ve said all along that we don’t want to look at the past too much. We like to live in the moment and focus on the task at hand.” While Rask is still between the pipes three years later, the two teams are completely different. Unlike the Philly series three years ago where injuries to David Krejci and Marco Sturm hampered them, young defensemen Torey Krug, Matt Bartkowski and Dougie Hamilton (despite his blunder on Kreider’s winner) have done a solid job replacing an injured blue-line core of Andrew Ference, Dennis Seidenberg and Wade Redden. Moreover, youngsters like Hamilton and Tyler Seguin took responsibility for Thursday’s loss. And that’s an encouraging sign as Julien and company look ahead to Game 5. “I think the one thing our guys have been is they’ve done a great job being accountable,” Julien said. “Acknowledging it is certainly a great thing because it means they know what needs to be done and then, from your end of it, you make the correction and then they show confidence in them and they’re going to go back and redeem themselves.” If the Bruins play like they did in the first three games of the series – and through the first period and a half in Game 4 – then there’s a good chance they’ll be waiting to shake the Rangers’ hands to symbolize the end of the second round matchup. A loss, however, would really put the fan base on edge a little more. And that’s something the Bruins don’t need – even if they eventually wind up claiming the series in six or seven – with the Pittsburgh Penguins awaiting the winner of this series in the Eastern Conference Finals. “We want to rally

The 2013 Montreal Canadiens were not favoured to do much of anything. Speculated to miss the playoffs by many pundits, or just scrape in (as I had predicted for them), they surprised with a dominant run over the Eastern Conference, finishing 2nd only to Pittsburgh. They showed a promising future and delivered the concept that perhaps the best was yet to come, rather than that they were merely overachieving such as in 2008. The playoff exit was a bitter pill to swallow, but there is much to be excited about. The Six Best of 2013 With that in mind, we will examine the team’s six best players over the course of the 2013 season. Given that I have also gained a reputation as a pessimist, I would be remiss if I did not also share my concerns about the future of six members of the team who are on next season’s roster. No. 11 Brendan Gallagher Games Played Goals Assists PIM Regular Season 44 15 13 21 Playoffs 5 2 0 5 Brendan Gallagher was doubted from the moment he was drafted by many observers, citing the size issue as an impediment to his chances to playing in the NHL. The actual result of his NHL debut silenced his critics and surprised even his supporters as his rookie campaign stole headlines in Montreal. Gallagher’s 15 goals this season tied with Pacioretty for the team lead (not including Ryder's combined total), which is a notable accomplishment for a rookie playing under 14 minutes a game. He was not only one of the team’s best sources of offense, but a player who often helped define the game when he was on the ice. A fearless attitude around the net saw him earn the ire of about every defensemen and goaltender he played against this past season and allowed him to draw a number of penalties. It was observed in the later points of the season that the best player on the line of Pacioretty-Desharnais-Gallagher was Gallagher himself, and his veteran linemates seemed to look to him to spark things. His playoff debut was just as impressive as his regular season play as well, collecting two goals in his first two playoff games. It is not hard to argue that after Pacioretty, he is the team’s best natural goal-scorer under contract. One does have to worry about Gallagher’s durability in the NHL over the long term. He missed three games recovering from a concussion and there were more than a few attempts to take his head off this season by opposing players. No doubt he will be become better at protecting himself and being aware on the ice, but the league’s tendency to ignore hits to the head that do not cause massive injuries is not going to be good for Gallagher’s long term safety on the ice. Right now, the only way for Gallagher to go is up. He is responsible at both ends of the ice, he is fearless and has a natural scoring instinct. With two years remaining on his rookie contract, the Canadiens have arguably one of the best bargains in the NHL. No. 14 Tomas Plekanec Games Played Goals Assists PIM Regular Season 47 14 19 24 Playoffs 5 0 4 2 He is the man who can never quite get his due in Montreal or in the NHL at large. Tomas Plekanec has been Montreal’s de factor number one centre since Saku Koivu was let go in 2009 and for the moment, the job is his by the merit of his skill and drive. While Plekanec began the season shooting the lights out with 15 points in his first 15 games, he predictably slowed down as that level of production is outside of his regular pace especially with his defensive responsibilities. He continues to be the team's leading centre for top matchups and that is of much more value than most appreciate. Tomas Plekanec also marked five straight 20-goal seasons in the NHL before the 2011-12 team collapse, and was paced for a 6th 20-goal season over a full season in 2013. As was demonstrated by the injury to Eller in the post-season, Canadiens are in need of at leas

Yeah, yeah, I fell down on the job and forgot to get this posted on Friday... but now you have something to do this weekend! What the heck is going through Tom Cruise's mind at this Kings game?

Just the Facts Game Time: 5:30 PM, TD Garden, Boston, MA. TV Broadcast: NBCSN, TSN, RDS. Radio Broadcast: 98.5 The Sports Hub. Record: Bruins 3, Rangers 1. The Other Side's SB Nation Site: Blueshirt Banter Get Tickets here: Boston Bruins Tickets Rangers projected lines Hagelin - Stepan - Callahan Zuccarello - Brassard - Nash Dorsett - Boyle - Pyatt Kreider - Newbury - Haley Girardi - McDonaghStralman - Del ZottoMoore - Eminger Lundqvist Bruins projected lines: Lucic - Krejci - Horton Marchand - Bergeron - JagrPeverley - Kelly - SeguinPaille - Campbell - Thornton Chara - HamiltonKrug - McQuaidBartkowski - Boychuk Rask Preview: I'm just going to assume Dennis Seidenberg is never ever coming back ever, maybe he actually will come back if I write the opposite about him. Bruins again have an opportunity to close out this series. They haven't won a series in five games in a really long time. The Rangers didn't play particularly well last game -- the Bruins just made a bunch of dumb mistakes -- if they focus and play as well as they did in games 1-3, they've got this. 5:30 start time is weird. Let's get it done.

Hawks Need To Find Their Calm Focus If They Want Wing Game 5. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports Right now I feel like I’m forced into watching a soap opera. Doctor: “Nurse, I’m calling their death at 10:59 p.m. May 23rd. Nurse: “But Dr. Bandwagon! They still have fight in them! Don’t give up yet!” Doctor: “I’m sorry but I don’t see how they’ll pull through… Plus Dr. Fairweather and I have some baseball to watch.” Nurse: “Then GO! I’ll stay here and put them on life support. I’ll get them through this!” Half of the media has lost faith, and the other half clings to hope.  Game four definitely failed to live up to expectations, but it also didn’t make me believe that all hope is lost.  Undoubtedly the Hawks have an uphill battle from this point on, and this hill is tougher than the Aggro Crag.  We saw some good things, and some bad, so let’s break it down. 1) One positive that came from the game was that we saw we can trust the Hawks to not completely lose their cool.  Toews was the only one that you could shake your head at in wonder.  To be fair, we knew Toews was going to snap eventually; he’s getting interfered with 90% of time he’s on the ice.  So ignoring Toews and a Bickell penalty that was canceled out by Abdelkader, you have a pretty level headed game from the Hawks.  More importantly, we saw none in the third.  While it didn’t help us win, it did show that we learned not to play into their game within the game. 2) This isn’t going to be a surprise to anyone, but Q is getting outcoached.  His record when in the playoffs against Babcock is atrocious, and while composed, he seems like he’s losing control.  I don’t like how he handled Kane in the third, and I don’t like how he couldn’t keep the Hawks focused at the end.  The one thing that the Hawks always did all year was stay calm and keep the pressure on the opposing team when they were down in the third.  What we ended up with was panic and overall sloppy play when we needed to tighten up.  Q needs to reel his team in and keep them focused. 3) I really enjoy watching Leddy skate the puck in when he gets fed up with everyone else losing the puck at the blue line.  He is really starting to skate with confidence and I don’t mind him blowing by the team to get it deep, especially on the power play.  While he is a -5 in plus/minus, I don’t believe that reflects on his actual play.  If Stalberg could gain some more confidence, we would have two guys that can just skate right by everyone forcing Detroit to play a bit deeper in their zone.  Too bad no one seems to take advantage of those two assets. 4) Handzus hasn’t played bad, he’s just extremely slow.  He has had a few prime opportunities that just haven’t gone his way.  With that said, I think it’s time to dress someone younger and faster.  Pirri would be a prime choice if you wanted to fill the center role.  If you wanted Kruger to maintain the 4th line center role, then bring up Morin or Smith.  I’m sure Ben Smith would love nothing more than to have the chance to light up Brendan Smith for a little payback.  Don’t let that mislead you, I don’t want him to take a run at him, I want him to blow by Brendan Smith and make him feel it on the scoreboard.  (EDIT: Ben Smith is showing up on the active roster on the Hawks site.) 5) Anyone else feeling like Bolland might not be back next year?  He took a dumb penalty in his first game back, and had a few scoring opportunities that he just couldn’t finish.  Other than that, what has he done?  Bolland just isn’t bringing that playoff jump, and he’s not lifting his line mates up like he has done in previous playoffs.  It’s unfortunate, because I really like him as a shut down defensive center.  With the cap crunch hitting everyone hard next year, I was kind of hoping Bolland would be a huge factor in this series. Game five is on tonight, and a lot rests upon the Hawks’ shoulders.  I expect to see a whole new level of desperation from the Hawks, but they need

Could MSG be on the move? With just six months left until the finishing touches are placed on the $1 billion renovation of Madison Square Garden, the arena was recently denied an indefinite operating permit by the city of New York, specifically the New York City Planning Commission. Instead MSG was given a 15 year lease on the space it currently sits. Ben Kabak over at Second Ave Sagas weighed in on the matter, and it appears that this new 15 year lease comes with a caveat: MSG will need to find a resolution with the city to “the Penn Station problem.” The “Penn Station problem” is, as Kabak puts it, capacity restraints. As a daily commuter to and from Long Island, I can see where this is coming from. I have often been unable to even enter Penn Station when there are delays, as the station itself is very small and the hallways very narrow. As people get priced out of living in the city, the number of commuters grows on a monthly basis. Another aspect is that many, including some NY Post editorial writers, believe that the city needs to recapture the architectural beauty that was the old Penn Station, and that it needs to be done right where MSG currently stands. The problem here is that there is a pretty large office building right on Seventh Ave that wasn’t there when the original Penn Station stood. Some editorial writers, it appears, have short memories. During the process of granting MSG a 15 year lease, commission Chair Amanda Burden said, “I don’t think anyone would disagree that the best outcome for New York City would be a relocated Madison Square Garden and a rebuilt Penn Station.” Like Kabak, I vehemently disagree with this sentiment. Penn Station is cramped, but there are ways to alleviate this problem without moving MSG. Burden’s comments are also a bit naive, considering James Dolan and Cablevision just spent $1 billion of their own money to renovate MSG. Dolan will not let the city simply walk all over him after he just dropped ten figures into the city’s economy on the renovation. John Q. Taxpayer did not spend a cent of their own money to fund these renovations, and it’s something that Burden should keep in mind before giving a person like James Dolan an ultimatum. Dolan and MSG have another 15 years to sort things out, but I’m pretty sure the man who just put $1 billion of his own money into a renovation is not all that pleased that they are attempting to move the Garden. You can guarantee that if the city pursues this route, Dolan will not spend another $1 billion of his own money on a new arena, of which a location has still not yet been decided. A simple solution, as Kabak put it, is to expand on the current Penn Station and make it more accessible. Tweet

MLHS continues its’ Player Reviews with the longest-serving member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, right winger Nikolai Kulemin.  The 26-year-old Magnitogorsk, Russia native had a bounce back season, recording seven goals and 16 assists for 23 points while playing in 48 regular season games.  He struggled through seven playoff games, recording only one assist.  But [more…]

Our player-by-player grading breakdown appropriately finishes with the goaltenders. The 2013 shortened NHL season can be viewed as the first step towards bringing ultimate NHL success to the State of Hockey after Zach Parise and Ryan Suter led the Minnesota Wild to a first postseason berth since 2008. Niklas Backstrom Needs rest. (Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports) However, ultimate success in hockey can only ever be achieved if quality goaltending is in place. There’s no need for an in-depth discussion on the importance of goaltending here. It certainly didn’t help the Wild that they had to use three goaltenders during their first round series against the Chicago Blackhawks [see also: Minnesota Wild Will Play Musical Goaltenders Ahead Of Game 5 In Chicago]. It is paramount that this organization keeps the goaltending position strong both in the present and moving towards the future. Below are our thoughts on the 2013 season for the three goaltenders used and some additional comments about their respective futures. The other two articles in this series are here: Minnesota Wild 2013 Season Player Grades: The Forwards Minnesota Wild 2013 Season Player Grades: The Blue Liners Grades are given in relation to performance expected. This means that while Dany Heatley scored the fourth most goals, he doesn’t receive a particularly good grade because of the expectations upon him and particularly considering his $7.5 million salary. A ‘C’ grade means that a player has met expectations. Please feel free to join in the discussion and to weigh in with your opinions in the comments section. The Goaltenders Niklas Backstrom: Grade C Backstrom has held the goaltending mantle in Minnesota since 2006-07 and actually enjoyed one of his better years in 2013 posting a .909 save percentage and 2.48 GAA while playing in 42 out of the Wild’s 48 games. Backstrom’s grade is based on the fact that while he carried the team through stretches, he did have a few consistency issues and he was paid a huge $6 million salary last season. Now he is a free agent and the past season presented no obvious heir apparent ready to take the goaltending position. It is perhaps surprising that GM Chuck Fletcher is so hesitant to pull the trigger on a fresh new deal. The reality is that Fletcher must be hoping the 35-year old takes a significant pay cut on his current contract. It’s difficult to justify Backstrom’s current salary based upon his performance over the past four seasons. Josh Harding: Grade A Perhaps those who know Harding better would be less generous in their grading. However, considering the fact that he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in October, and missed most of the regular season while attempting to find the right medication levels, Harding’s performance in the postseason was nothing less than astounding. He kept the Wild in the five game series after having to step up very late. Excluding a Game 5 where the entire team was exposed, especially the defense in front of him, Harding’s statistics are very good in the playoffs as a whole. (Brace Hemmelgarn-US PRESSWIRE) There are still perhaps a couple of lingering health concerns about Harding after the 2013 season. However, the 28-year old has demonstrated that he has more than enough will, desire and skill to play in the NHL and that is encouraging for the Minnesota goaltending position moving forward. [See also: Josh Harding, Jordan Sigalet and Multiple Sclerosis]. Darcy Kuemper: Grade B Kuemper entered the 2012-13 season having played in just 23 AHL games. It’s fair to say that he spent most of the year accelerating his development. The 23-year old impressed with his poise and demeanor during action in parts of six regular season and two playoff games for the Wild. It’s clear that he has a good technique and a mindset that has the organization very excited about his potential. Kuemper could do with spending more time as