Hockey

Here’s my Game 5 preview from Boston. The post Video: Carp’s Game 5 Rangers-Bruins preview appeared first on Rangers Report Blog.

This is a continuing series that will explore why the various teams that fall by the wayside did exactly that. The press, bolstered by a series that was really more about Montreal’s deficiencies than Ottawa’s strengths, lionized an Ottawa Senators team that just flat out wasn’t that good, let alone good enough to beat the Penguins.  Ottawa wasn’t even superior in the trivial matters, the effort-based meaningless statistics that the old guard likes to crow on and on about, blocking fewer shots (56-96), missing more shots (67-62), and barely winning the faceoff battle (179-175).  They weren’t good on special teams either, going 2/19 on the power play while allowing Pittsburgh to go 6/25 and Tomas Vokoun replacing Fleury and Craig Anderson coming back to earth largely neutralized their goaltending advantage. It was fun to watch the emergence of Kyle Turris (6g, 3a) and to a lesser extent Jean-Gabriel Pageau (4g, 2a), Cory Conacher (3g, 0a) and Colin Greening (3g, 1a) and to see Daniel Alfredsson possibly have his last go round (4g, 6a), but in the end, Pittsburgh was simply better and that’s as far as the story extends.  It’s an exciting loss for Senators fans because the bulk of the load was carried by their young stars, and though Spezza and Alfredsson and Heatley might not have much left in the tank, reinforcements are on the way.

Throughout the next month plus, we’ll be reviewing the season that was and over-analyzing the various players that contributed to it. That’s what the offseason is for, after all. This is the first in the series.  Josh Bailey — LW/C — #12 11-8-19 in 38 games Most often seen at: Frans Nielsen’s left wing Contract status: Restricted Free Agent, $1.3 million in 2012-13 (1.05M cap hit) Obligatory YouTube video of: His shootout winner in Philadelphia on March 28th Thoughts on 2012-13: Bailey returned a bit late to the lockout shortened season after being injured while playing overseas, missing the first ten games. Once he was back in the lineup, Bailey returned to the left wing spot that he had success with at the end of 2011-12 and never went back to his traditional center position. In 38 regular season games, Bailey notched 19 points in 38 games (.50 points per game) and found success on the second line with Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen. Maybe due to recovering from the injury or maybe just off to a slow start, Bailey didn’t register a goal during this first ten games. That changed down the stretch as he finished off the year with six goals and four assists in April (13 games). He certainly had a hand in the Islanders successful stretch run to reach the post-season. Once the playoffs started Bailey was held off the scoresheet in terms of goals, but still notched three assists in the series, and was shifted to John Tavares’ left wing. Grade: B Bailey stepped up for the stretch run this year, helping the Islanders playoff run and upping his points per game average to .50 from a career mark of .41. With only 38 games this season, that’s over a very small sample and still not quite what should be expected of Bailey, especially if the Islanders want to continue to move forward. The team needs the Bailey of April and May, not the one who was still ineffective at the beginning of the season. There have been such flashes of Bailey before, so it’s tough to say if this is something he can continue over the long-term. Bailey, unlike other players on the team of similar age, does not have a long-term deal with the team and is a restricted free agent this summer. We saw a better Bailey this year, but with a short season and not a significant improvement, it’s hard to imagine him getting a long-term deal over the summer. If the Islanders take another step forward next year, Bailey is going to have to continue to improve. We’ll see exactly how much the team believes in him when his contract is renewed later this summer. Add your thoughts and post-season grades in the comments.

Scott Levy/NHLI via Getty Images After Thursday night’s dramatic comeback win, the Rangers are now in Boston with hopes of sending the series back to New York. A lot of people looked at this as winning four in a row, but the Rangers just need to win one. You can’t look ahead to more games when your season relies on winning the game at hand. One win at a time. This team has proven they can come from behind, and now they just need to execute. Torts is 6-1 in elimination games. Making it 7-1 will make Boston sweat. Series Previews: Game 4 goal breakdown Game 3 goal breakdown Game 2 goal breakdown Positives/negatives of Game 1 5 keys for success for the Rangers Rangers/Bruins second round preview Five keys for success against the Bruins Scouting Tuukka Rask and his goaltending style Previewing the Bruins and their systems/styles of play Series: Bruins lead 3-1 NYR Playoff Leading Scorer: Derick Brassard (2-10-12) BOS Playoff Leading Scorer: David Krejci (5-12-17) NYR Playoff Goaltender: Henrik Lundqvist (11 GP, 2.15 GAA, .934 SV%) BOS Playoff Goaltender: Tuukka Rask (11 GP, 2.33 GAA, .925 SV%) New York Rangers Tickets RSVP to potentially win tickets to a game Rangers Lines (unconfirmed until Torts releases the lineup): Carl Hagelin-Derek Stepan-Ryan Callahan Chris Kreider-Derick Brassard-Rick Nash Mats Zuccarello-Brian Boyle-Taylor Pyatt Derek Dorsett-Kris Newbury-Micheal Haley Ryan McDonagh-Michael Del Zotto Dan Girardi-John Moore Roman Hamrlik-Steve Eminger Henrik Lundqvist Scratches/Injuries:  Darroll Powe (concussion), Anton Stralman (undisclosed), Ryane Clowe (undisclosed), Brad Richards (healthy), Matt Gilroy (healthy), Arron Asham (healthy) Broadcast Info: NBCSN 5:30pm Tweet

I was thinking about the Devils, and the fact that they have a lot of cap space this summer to sign someone decent to fill that top 6 role that the Devils are missing right now. The UFA list really isn't super deep this year. I would say the only people maybe worth consideration are Horton and maybe Derek Roy. That's not much of a choice exactly. The most significant UFA is Jarome Iginla, who is up there in years and probably not much of an option for the Devils. All that said, the cap is going down, and there are going to be a lot of teams up against the cap. With the cap constraints, salary dumps will be less plausible than in years past. I am guessing more than a few guys will be bought out this summer using an amnesty buyout. As a result, the UFA market might be a bit better than it appears. People being bought out doesn't mean that they aren't NHL caliber players. It simply means their team will be up against the cap, and their contract is hamstringing their team. A few years ago, would the Devils fans have been happy to keep Rolston at half his cap hit? Maybe so. Ill start with the one most relevant to the Devils. Anton Volchenkov: At 4.5 million per, and his declining play, I would argue hes the most obvious choice. I think most fans would support this. I feel he could be replaced internally by one of our better D prospects. If not, someone cheaper on the UFA market could do the same thing, say, Douglas Murray. ... Next I would like to mention some guys who I think are at risk of being bought out on other teams. Admittedly, I am not an expert on these teams. I know a little more than the casual fan about other teams, but I don't exactly frequent their SBNation pages to know every little dynamic, their prospects, etc. That said, from the outside these guys might be in the cross-hairs. ... Dany Heatley: His actual salary isn't bad at 5 million, but his cap hit is 7.5 for the remaining season he has is questionable. His play has declined for the last few years. With Voldemort and his sleepover buddy hogging up a nice chunk of cap space in the land of 10,000 lakes, the Wild are up against it. They have just over 9 million of cap space next year to sign, by my count, 2 forwards, 2 D, and Backstrom. Even if Backstrom takes a pay cut (lets say 5 per, as opposed to the 6 he makes now) that leaves them 4 million for 4 players.. Adding 7.5 million in cap space, for 5 million in actual cash loss is a decent option. For the right price, this is someone I wouldn't mind having on the Devils to see if he could get it back together. He and Kovy were said to be close friends, and were often line mates in Atlanta. That was ages and some off-ice trouble ago, but at 32, I think a change of scenery could be what he needs. Hes got some left. Ilya Bryzygalov: All tiger blood and bear jokes aside, the guy hasn't earned a penny of his contract. By many accounts, hes a locker room distraction with his antics. The Flyers have maybe 2.5 million of cap space this coming year if you figure Pronger is gonna be LTIR again. While it would appear they have plenty of guys under contract, one would think that after a finish like this year they might want to make some changes. If not this year, than the following year they have some interesting RFAs in Giroux, Schenn, Couturier, and Mason. Matt Read is a UFA then too. All would be due raises I think. Admittedly they would have a lot of salary off the books in 2014 with the departure of Meszaros and Timmonen, but those guys would need replaced as well. Bryz is just plain a bad contract. Marty retiring or not, I don't know that I would want this guy on my team but someone might. Brad Richards: This guy is under fire in the media as of late. Its a lot of speculation, but some people think hes on his way out. Like Bryz, hes signed to eternity with a contract not unlike Kovalchuks. Only Kovalchuk kinda produces, Richards hasn't. When's the last time most teams sat or 4th lined someone who makes almost

Three major events tonight, including two elimination games. #6 New York Rangers at #4 Boston Bruins (3-1 BOS). 5:30 Eastern, NBC Sports, TSN, RDS The Rangers were able to stave off the sweep in Game 4 with an overtime victory thanks to hero Chris Kreider. Here's the kind of quote you want to see out of your best players when they're up against it, from NHL.com: "We gave ourselves an opportunity to play one more game," goalie Henrik Lundqvist said. "That's our approach now, win [Saturday]. Focus on the good things here, the stuff we've been doing well, feel as good as we can and just start with the first 20. Then we'll see how far it takes us." Not your captain telling the media "We're fucked!" Brad Richards looks to be a healthy scratch for the second consecutive elimination game. Man, I don't know what's going on with that guy. Maybe we'll find out. Three Bruins have a point-per-game in the playoffs: Zdeno Chara, Nathan Horton, and some hobbit named Torey Krug. Watch this game tonight just to watch him play, seriously. #7 detroit red wings at #1 Chicago Blackhawks (3-1 bad guys) 8:00 Eastern, NBC, CBC, RDS That's right. A non-Finals game in the evening on actual NBC proper. I wrote you a limerick, Hawks: I hope it inspires you to force a Game 6 tonight. Here's to hoping Chelsea Dagger sings,and that Corey Crawford leather brings.Avalanche fans unitebehind Coach Q's team's fight.Go Chicago! And fuck the red wings! I mean, for real, if you guys lose tonight the brackets of millions of hockey fans are shredded. DO IT FOR US. Arrested Development Season 4 3:00am Eastern, Netflix Are you gonna stay up tonight and marathon it, or are you... chicken? Poll Are you!? Caw ca-caw ca-caw ca-cawwwwwww Cha, cheecha, cheecha Coo coo ca CHAAA A goodloodle doo CHICKENS DON'T CLAP 5 votes | Results

Player Name/position: Sami Vatanen, D Overall Grade: B+ Did what he needed to do during his brief appearances with the Ducks. Apparently didn't do enough to earn postseason playing time. Contract Status: Signed through 2013-2014 (will become RFA), $900,000 salary, $1,325,000 cap hit (per Capgeek) 2012-2013 Stats: GP G A P +/- PIM Anaheim (NHL) 8 2 0 2 3 0 Norfolk (AHL) 62 9 36 45 0 44 Playoff Stats: Did not appear. Offense: The guy can shoot. He notched a modest two goals in eight games with the big club, but finished as the Admirals' second leading scorer after Patrick Maroon. At the very least, his output at the NHL level definitely met expectations, and the potential he showed for the future exceeded them. Defense: He met defensive expectations by being neither tremendous nor terrible. While he was never a shut-down guy by any means, he was also never the guy that could be counted on to turn the puck over or miss an assignment every other shift (and the Ducks did have a couple of those). Highlight of the Season: Snapping it past Vezina Trophy candidate (and likely winner) Sergei Bobrovsky on the power play for his first NHL goal, and doubling his career totals with a beauty of a slapshot in Edmonton. Oh, and that huge goal he would have scored against Detroit if Boudreau had played him. That one was awesome. Expectations for Next Year: The big question for Vatanen is where he will play for most of the season. Two of the Ducks' regulars on the blue line — Toni Lydman and Ben Lovejoy — will become UFAs in July, and one or more of the others may be traded. Regardless of what Bob Murray does in the offseason, Vatanen will need a strong showing in training camp if he wants to make the opening night roster for the big club (and his right handedness won't hurt him). But even if he does not make the first cut, there is a very good chance that a spot will open up at some point during the regular season, either due to injury or very poor play on the part of one of the top six. Given what we've seen in just eight games, it's not ridiculous to think Vatanen might be a full time NHL defenseman as early as next season. But in order for that to happen, the 5'10'' 180 lb. Finn will not only have to continue to produce on the offensive side, but also step up his game in his own zone against much larger NHL forwards. He could be a great asset on the Ducks' power play, but he won't stay in the lineup if the power play is all he's good for.

Joel Quenneville is putting the old band together for Game 5 of their second-round series against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday. As the Blackhawks coach always has done during desperate, tough times, it looks like he'll reunite Patrick Sharp, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane for a do-or-die night. It's a line that's work exceptionally well in the past for the Hawks, but always has been disbanded in favor of more balance in their forward lines. But down 3-1 to the Red Wings in the best-of-seven series, it may be Quenneville's best chance to ignite a stagnant offense. But the Red Wings are ready for it. Actually they say they're ready for anything from the Hawks.

At Saturday's morning skate, Patrick Kane skated with Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews. There's no guarantee that those three will be together for tonight's Game 5 against the Red Wings -- Hawks coach Joel Quenneville changed his lines between the skate and Game 4 on Thursday -- but Kane, for one, hopes to get the old band back together. "Hopefully, for sure," he said. "Because we'd like to have that opportunity too step up and do something here." Somebody has to for the Blackhawks, who've scored just two goals in the last three games. And in times of desperation, Quenneville has often resorted to putting those big three together. "For us three, we played a lot together my first couple of years in the league, and just kind of developed some chemistry where it was pretty instant and had a lot of offensive chances," Kane said. "So I think we've just got to remember how to play with each other; we haven't done it in a while. Hopefully we can get a good first couple shifts and get some chemistry back right away." Of course, there's a downside to putting the three together. "We like more of the balance and probably more lines that are a threat to score," said Quenneville, who wouldn't say for sure if the morning lines would hold. Aside from that line, Michal Handzus centered Bryan Bickell and Marian Hossa, Andrew Shaw centered Brandon Saad and Viktor Stalberg, and Dave Bolland centered Marcus Kruger and Michael Frolik. Quenneville has the home-ice advantage of making the last change, which means he can keep Toews away from Henrik Zetterberg, who has hounded him all series. But Quenneville said the top two lines for each team have neutralized each other defensively. Regardless of what Quenneville does, Detroit coach Mike Babcock didn't seem terribly concerned. "We've got [Pavel] Datsyuk on one unit, Zetterberg on another unit," Babcock said. "I assume Toews has to play against one of them, and I assume Handzus has to play against the other."

So as many of the regular readers here probably know, OilersNation has a collection of gear, including stickers, hoodies and t-shirts. We want to get something like that going here at FlamesNation, but with a twist - we want FN readers help in designing them.As you can see from the links, ON gear ranges from cool and clean (hoodies) to comedic (Squee shirts). We'll take both and everything in between if the design works. Feel free to incorporate the FN logo, inside jokes from the site (keep your feet moving) and maybe even prior photoshop contests.So the floor is wide open. The focus is t-shirts right now with an view to expanding to other stuff down the road, so keep that in mind. The owners A team of highly trained monkeys and FN contributors will determine some finalists and we'll likely put the contest to a vote here on FN to determine a winner*.Send your entries kent.wilson@gmail.com.*The winner will get 5 free FN shirts with the winning design on them as soon as they come off the assembly line**. The Nations will give credit to the designer but will own the design in perpetuity from then on. If you enter the contest, you agree to these conditions.**That's how shirts are made, right?