Hockey

Can't sleep? Too much coffee? Just got in from your Friday night and need some time to wind down? Here are some reading suggestions since personally -- I got nothing. Shall we go from the rediculous to the sublime? Yes. Here is an example of the rediculous: Eyes on Isles by Michael Willhoft and his idea of what John Tavares' personal journal would look like. Um. No. But it's a distraction. Here is Tony Stabile's End of Season review for Hockey This Week and the respect the team walked away with -- for a change. And here's the reason for that respect, all the work that Jack Capuano did these past few seasons. This is a great article by Travis Betts on Jack and developing a belief in his system. Then if you want to spend money, there is the Islanders jersey auction. Got $6,000 for a John Tavares jersey? I was out of it as soon as I noticed I couldn't find a Matt Martin jersey. What's that all about??

ShareThis Hear what the captain had to say after what could be the last game of his career. ShareThis

ShareThis While marathoners in Ottawa are limbering up for their long Sunday ramble, the Senators' run has come to an end. ShareThis

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports In the wake of last night’s shutout loss, the fury from Chicago Blackhawks fans was immense. They called for Ray Emery to take Corey Crawford’s place. They even demanded that everyone in the front office should be fired, from general manager Stan Bowman down to the assistant coaches. But in their rage, they’re failing to realize a painfully obvious point: firing people won’t fix what’s wrong on the ice. I’m seeing so much go wrong with the Blackhawks, things that they made look so effortless in the regular season. They had their way with the Minnesota Wild and their goalie troubles, but now they’re up against a Detroit Red Wings team that has nothing to lose and a goaltender that has frustrated them. The most frustrated of them all seems to be Jonathan Toews. It’s Toews who has the C on his chest, the one who is supposed to lead this team every night. But lately the guys are playing like they have no leader. Toews has no goals to his credit in nine games and has been losing faceoffs. You can see the frustration he feels in the scrums between whistles. On Thursday, it bubbled over and cost the team six minutes of shorthanded ice time, two of which resulted in a power play and broke their streak of 30 consecutive penalty kills. Brent Seabrook even had to go over to the penalty box and tell Toews to calm down for fear the frustration would spread over the rest of the team. If Toews really wants to help the team, he needs to put his words into action. It’s not enough to give fans and the media lip service by saying that they’re optimistic and need to focus on one game at a time. Toews needs to show the team itself how to handle being down three games. The biggest way he can do that is through discipline. If Toews steps up his game and handles himself like the captain he is, the others will follow suit. That’s especially important to his younger teammates like Andrew Shaw, who’s been rather hotheaded in this series. We can call Toews one of the best captains in the league, but that means nothing if he can’t lead his team through this series. His failures reflect on them and affect their play and attitude, and that in turn comes through on the ice. If he truly wants to win the next game, he’ll have to fix what’s wrong with himself first.

ShareThis The long, bumpy road of the shortened season, full of countless potholes and unforeseen lifelines, finally came to an end for the Ottawa Senators Friday. ShareThis

[Game Summary] [Event Summary] [Faceoff Report] [Time on Ice] [Corsi] [Zone Starts] [Shift Charts] You can complain about the refereeing at times in this series, but the fact of the matter is that Ottawa was outscored 22-11 in the series and 13-5 over the last two games. The better team won the series in convincing fashion. Ottawa will have better days ahead, with a healthy Erik Karlsson and Jason Spezza next season they have a lot to look forward to. But for now, the season is over and it doesn't feel good. But let's keep things in perspective, when Karlsson went down in mid-February, most fans including yours truly thought the season was over. Instead the club won 5 playoff games and played into late May. We will have more analysis on this game and the season in the coming hours and days.

LeBlanc and Gosbee have agreed with the NHL! Maloney deal DONE! Tippett back and ready for talks. Is this Christmas at Summer time? That’s the story a blaze on twitter. Craig Morgan on his page confirmed that the Renaissance Sports & Entertainment group along with Bill Daly and Gary Bettman  and the NHL have come to agreeable terms. This could be the blessing that Coyote’s fans have been long waiting for. Both sides will meet in Glendale, AZ next week. April 27, 2013; Anaheim, CA, USA; Phoenix Coyotes right wing Radim Vrbata (17) reacts after scoring his third goal of the game against the Anaheim Ducks during the third period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports Glendale City Councilmen Gary Sherwood has held secret meetings with management of Jobing.com arena. Arizona Sports also confirmed on their site the happenings from both sides. This is GREAT news for Coyotes fans that have been thirsty for a drink of positive happenings. So much has transpired and the season is still going on for the NHL. This is when you strike when the iron is hot. I haven’t used this many CAPITAL letters and !!!!! for well ever. I am more excited than anyone reading this article. I am finally thankful for twitter for doing something useful. Just looking at the players in this photo, looking around, searching for something. This is what Coyotes fans feel like. The passionate white out fans, the ones who attend mid week games versus the Blue Jackets. The rabid Desert Dawg fans that showed up to the Council for meetings and votes. They DESERVE this! One thing is for sure, news will be flowing fast and furious in the next few weeks.  Scream and shout Coyotes fans, today is a good day in the desert. Everybody HOWL! Also go on some Canadian boards and let them know exactly how you feel about this GOOD NEWS!

The Bruins have added a little insurance between the pipes, recalling Swedish goaltender Niklas Svedberg from the team’s American Hockey League affiliate in Providence. Svedberg compiled a 37-8-2 record in his first season with the P-Bruins, ranking fifth in the AHL in goals against average (2.17) and third in save percentage (.925). The 23-year-old started in net for the Eastern Conference in the AHL All-Star Game and was the No. 1 goalie throughout Providence’s playoff run, which ended with a 5-0 loss to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday. Prior to signing with the Bruins last May, Svedberg spent four seasons in the Swedish Elite League, backstopping his team to the league championship in 2011-12. Though he impressed in his first year in the minors — winning the Baz Bastien Award as the AHL’s most outstanding goalie — it is highly unlikely Svedberg will see any time during the Stanley Cup playoffs. He will act as an emergency third goalie, a role current backup Anton Khudobin filled during the Cup run of 2011.

ShareThis The Ottawa Senators play Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals in their NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs series on Friday, May 24, 2013, in Pittsburgh. ShareThis