May 2009 Archives

Randy Carlyle talked to the Winnipeg Sun yesterday after getting a warm reception from Manitoba Moose fans who remember him as the AHL team's head coach for six years between 1996-2005:

The Manitoba Moose, an AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks and Randy Carlyle's employer previous to the Ducks, got a visit from their old coach on the eve of the Calder Cup Finals.

Former Moose coach Randy Carlyle, now the head coach of the NHL's Anaheim Ducks, walked into the team complex about 10:45 a.m. and paid Moose coach Scott Arniel a visit.
Carlyle, who's expected to attend tonight's game, coached the Moose from 1996-2001 and again in the 2004-05 season.

I don't specialize in betting advice, but if you're looking for signs that predict either a Detroit or Pittsburgh victory, here's something to consider. Only eight times in NHL history prior to this year have the same two teams played for the Stanley Cup in back-to-back years. 

The Detroit Red Wings just beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 2-1 in overtime to win the Western Conference championship. They'll play the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Finals. Your schedule:

Peter Laviolette is the frontrunner, and Ducks assistant coach Newell Brown is among the backrunners, for the Minnesota Wild's head coaching vacancy, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (be sure to read until the end of the second page, or else you'll miss it.)

NHLPA President Paul Kelly had some harsh words for Versus, the network which is broadcasting most of the NHL's playoff games. From the Sports Business Journal:

NHL Players' Association Executive Director Paul Kelly is calling for league TV partners Versus and NBC to do more to promote the NHL and NHL players, citing players' growing frustration over hockey coverage.

"We have to push our two partners to do a better job of covering our sport ... or we have to go in a different direction when that contract comes to an end," Kelly told the Sports Lawyers Association on May 16. Kelly has called in the past for the NHL to return to ESPN.

Kelly said the fact that people in the U.S. could not watch most of the Boston-Carolina playoff Game 7 earlier this month because Versus was airing Anaheim-Detroit Game 7 "is a source of great frustration" to NHL players as well as the union.

Kelly conceded that Versus has improved production and has increased the number of homes and sports bars where it is available. However, he said, "There are still problems."

"It is not ESPN," Kelly said. "It doesn't have a sports highlight show. It doesn't have a lot of properties people want to tune in to, unless you are a hunter or a fisherman or you like turtle wrestling."

From NHL.com:

The Minnesota Wild hired Chuck Fletcher on Thursday to take over as general manager, the second GM in their brief history.

A person with knowledge of the hire confirmed it to The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because an official announcement wasn't planned until Friday afternoon.

The Penguins hosted the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals. Friday is a travel day between games, allowing Fletcher to attend his introduction in Minnesota.

Fletcher replaces Doug Risebrough, who held the Wild's top front-office job from their founding in 1999 until he was dismissed in April.

Fletcher has been with the Penguins since 2006. Before that, he spent four years with the Anaheim Ducks as director of hockey operations, assistant GM and overseeing scouting and player development.

Fletcher spent nine years with the Florida Panthers before joining the Ducks, including seven as assistant GM and one as interim GM.

Fletcher is the son of Cliff Fletcher, the current senior advisor for the Toronto Maple Leafs and a former general manager for the Maple Leafs, Atlanta and Calgary Flames and Phoenix Coyotes.

Oh, if only we got the Team 1040 down here ... from TSN.ca:

With the Vancouver Canucks attention focused on the fates of brothers Henrik and Daniel Sedin, the agent for another set of hockey siblings, Scott and Rob Niedermayer, told the Team 1040 Sports Radio they would be interested in playing for Canada's West Coast club.

The Niedermayers, natives of Cranbrook, BC, are unrestricted free agents once the signing period begins on July 1 and a return home could help provide the Canucks with the first answer to a the laundry list of questions they are facing regarding their roster.

"Before they signed in Anaheim that was definitely a big discussion. But at that time, it was difficult because Rob was in a situation where he was still one year away from being an unrestricted free agent, so he still had a year left to stay in Anaheim," explained Kevin Epp, who represents both players. "In Scott's case, he was unrestricted, and considered very much playing in Canada for the Canucks or Calgary or somewhere near his off-season home and staying out West. I think everyone dreams of playing near your hometown or in Canada or in British Columbia."

According to Epp, Scott and Rob will consider all options before making a decision, but with the 2010 Winter Olympics on the horizon, Vancouver is an attractive a destination.

"It obviously depends on the Canucks and their situation and where they're at financially, so they're going to have some decisions from their end," said Epp. "It depends, too, if Scott's going to play and how that's going to play out, and the Olympics.  It's just a little bit of everything for those guys."

A team spokesman confirmed today that Ducks center Petteri Nokelainen had successful surgery yesterday to repair a fracture in his left hand. The injury was suffered early in Game 7 in Detroit. The routine procedure was performed at the Kerlan-Jobe Surgery Center in Los Angeles by Dr. Steve Shin. Nokelainen is expected to be fully recovered for training camp.

From the Canadian Press:

from Sunday's Ducks notebook, which didn't make it to the web in every market...

Bobby Ryan reported to training camp last year having shed 20 pounds after an offseason training regimen.

This summer, he plans on staying in Anaheim to get even more fit.

"I think last summer was a good start," Ryan said. "I had a good foundation. Now it's going to be a different kind of training this summer for me. Put on a little more muscle, chip away at the baby fat, and continue to do the things they're telling me."

The results were evident in Ryan's game this season. He led all rookies with 31 goals and 57 points, and was named a finalist for the Calder Trophy. He's hoping the results of this summer's hard work will translate to his sophomore season.

"I'm looking forward to it," he said. "It's going to be another summer like last one. I'm not going home at all."

from Sunday's Ducks notebook, which didn't make it to the web in every market...

General manager Bob Murray downplayed reports Saturday he "cross-checked" a Red Wings fan with a chair in the Joe Louis Arena press box after Thursday's game.

from Sunday's Ducks notebook, which didn't make it to the web in every market...

Asked today if he was tired of seeing his team having a "goon" image, Bob Murray came back with a nuanced response -- and simultaneously sounded like he took it personally.

Murray admitted that he and Brian Burke injected an emphasis on physicality in part to sell tickets when they took the reins in 2005. "We were trying to get interest back in the team," he said.

But it's gone too far when referees buy in, Murray said: "I think it gets carried to a point where the referes look at you, they see something happen (and say) 'Well, that's an Anaheim player, it must be him.'

"I don't think I want to change the style of how we're going to play. I like the certain style of how we play. How can people call us -- that does irritate me when people call us goons. When you have people like Scotty Niedermayer, that is really disrespectful, and Ryan Getzlaf, Corey, Teemu Selanne. It's a label we've had. We created it ourselves. I'd like it to kinda be changed around a bit. Don't ask me to what.

"We have some damn good players here. If Teemu and Scotty come back, let's count how many of every team's players go to the Olympics. I think people will be quite surprised - "There's a whole bunch of Anaheim guys, how do those goons get that?' It's enough. Enough."

Murray said that the Ducks were actually relatively healthy during the playoffs. The most serious injury (other than Ryan Getzlaf's flu-like symptoms) he reported was to Petteri Nokelainen, who broke his hand during his second shift Thursday.

As for the rest of them?

"(Erik) Christensen has a shoulder that has to be looked at. Nokelainen had the groin thing going on ... Getzy fought the flu. He's banged up, nothing serious. He played too many minutes. That's my fault. He didn't have anybody behind him. ... (Bobby Ryan) had a hip pointer way back in the San Jose series; one little thing bounced off the hip. He's a little sore. He's fine now. He had no issues in the Detroit series."

On a conference call with reporters, Ducks general manager Bob Murray said today that whether or not Scott Niedermayer retires or re-signs is "the key to everything" he does in the offseason.

"Scotty is irreplacable," Murray said. "He's everything to this group. We're going to have to see where he goes before I see where I go.

"The biggest (priority) is definitely, let's not kid ourselves, where are Scotty and Teemu going to be? I heard the comment (by Selanne) where I chuckled to myself, we're going to see what Bob's going to do. Well, Bob's decisions are based on what they do."

We'll catch up with Niedermayer and Selanne tomorrow and see if we can shed any light on the bigger picture after they've met with the GM.

The Game 7 that this Ducks-Red Wings series was destined for from the start lived up to the hype. Three goals to each side over the game's first 57 minutes. Five minor penalties to each side. At least five non-calls to each side. Two teams that may ultimately be counted as the best in the entire NHL when all is said and done.

A period-by-period recap:

Dan Cleary jammed the puck through Jonas Hiller's legs with exactly 3 minutes left in the third period, breaking a 3-3 tie and sending the Ducks into the off-season.

A fitting ending to a closely fought game in a closely fought series. 

Game summary here; event summary here; more to follow.

1. If they win, this could go down as the best playoff performance in Ducks franchise history.

Jonas Hiller:
I think everybody knew what today's game was about. We had to win and we had to show a better effort than the last two games. That is what we did and why we won.

All the games were tight, besides the last two we lost. We showed in the first two games that if we play our game there, we always have a chance to win. That is all we can do in the next game. We're going to try and you never know. Game 7's are always special. There is a lot of experience in here.

Scott Niedermayer:

We knew we could be better than we were the last two games. There was no question about that. I think we were tonight.

We've been around the game a while. We know that we weren't as good as we needed to be, and we needed to be better. That was our focus going into this game and it will stay the same going into the game in two days.

You try to eliminate your mistakes. You're not going to eliminate all of them, but the fewer you make the better position you're going to be in.

(On final seconds): There was a lot going on. I don't know how it all started. The next thing you know, my gloves are off. That doesn't happen too often. I took a couple shots. I didn't even know who it was at first. I took a couple of punches to the face. I guess after a couple, I figured I'll try a couple myself.

It's exciting. What a great thrill to be playing a great hockey club like that in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

(On Ryan-Getzlaf-Perry line:) That line controlled the puck and was dangerous out there. They've been doing that all year for us.

(On being paired with Chris Pronger:) That's what the coaches get paid to figure out. You go out there and do your best. They asked Chris and I to go out there, and it worked. You just go out when your called upon, go do your job.

We had an opportunity here tonight, and we took advantage of it.

(On not having a morning skate:) It's maybe sometimes nice to change things up a bit. (Feel fresher as a result?) No, I don't think so.

Randy Carlyle

Detroit has a very skilled hockey club and if you don't stay close to your check, they are going to move the puck and move themselves. If there is a team that does it better, I'd like to know where it is. If you don't stay close to your check, they can make you look awfully foolish. I thought we played fairly neat and tidy.

We had good backside pressure and we played more of the type of game that is going to be required. I think the most important part for us was the ability to be a little bit more patient with the puck in our end. It gave us better entry into their zone.

Dan Cleary

(On what went wrong): They were better than us tonight, that's all. They realized the situation that they were in. They played hard and smart defensively. They played a good game.

(On Game 7): It's going to be fun. It's going to tight. It's going to be two teams that know what's at stake. We've played well all season for home ice. Now we have to take advantage of it.

(On having home ice advantage): I think both teams have proven that they can win on the road. We've also proven that we're a good home team. It should be a good atmosphere. It's something that where we have to come out and play well like we did in Game 5.

Nicklas Lidstrom

(On what went wrong): I think we got that goal late in the game. We needed a goal earlier, especially when they have a two-goal lead to put pressure on them. I think they were desperate tonight than we were. They came out stronger. We still had too many turnovers that created more time in our zone than we wanted to.

(On end-of-game altercations): I don't really know what happened, but it's been a battle for both sides and those things happen.

(On not being able to close out the series on the road): It's disappointing that we had a chance to close the series out, but they're a good team. They're not going to give up and we saw that tonight. So we have to regroup and come back and be ready to come in Thursday night.

Mike Babcock

(On Ducks' defense): I thought tonight they were more desperate at the start of the game. Probably even through 40 minutes. Desperation, it doesn't have to be huge, but a little bit. You win more puck battles and more puck races. You deflect more people out of the slot. You can kind of sustain pressure. I thought that was the keys tonight. I didn't think we had a real push until the third period and we were trailing 2-0.

(On third period): We were carrying the play. It's usually a pretty fair game. You start on time and you compete the whole time and you're desperate and you find a way to win on most occasions. If you start a bit late sometimes, you don't get rewarded and tonight I thought that was the key for us. I thought that they were more desperate. They got some bounces, Hiller made some saves, but here we are, we're going to get ready for a Game 7. It should be exciting. It's been a good series thus far. I expect it to continue.

• The Ducks and Red Wings will compete in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals on Thursday at 4 p.m., televised locally on FSN Prime Ticket.

• With tonight's win, the Ducks improved their record to 8-5 in elimination games. All-time, the club ranks second in the NHL in win percentage in elimination contests. Below are the top four:

Team Record Win %

Minnesota 7-3 .700

Anaheim 8-5 .615

NY Islanders 26-17 .605

Colorado 19-18 .514

• Thursday's contest will mark the Ducks' fourth Game 7 contest in franchise history. The club has an all-time record of 2-1 in Game 7 (beat Calgary in 2006 and Phoenix in 1997; lost to New Jersey in 2003).

• Anaheim now has an all-time postseason record of 7-1 in the sixth game of a series, including a perfect 6-0 at Honda Center/Arrowhead Pond. The Ducks' all-time postseason record at home climbs to 31-16.

• With a goal and an assist tonight, Ryan Getzlaf recorded his seventh multiple-point game of the postseason. He has recorded points in nine of the last 10 contests (three goals, 13 assists, 16 points). His 18 total points (four goals, 14 assists) are tied for second in the NHL (with Sidney Crosby) behind only Alexander Ovechkin. Getzlaf continues to lead the league in assists.

• Jonas Hiller stopped 38-of-39 shots for his seventh career postseason win. In 12 career postseason games (all in 2009), he has stopped 458-of-484 shots for a .946 save percentage and 2.09 goals-against average (26 GA/747 minutes).

• Corey Perry recorded his fourth multiple-point game of the postseason with a goal and an assist this evening. He has collected five points (three goals, two assists) in the last three games and 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in the last nine.

• With tonight's assist, Scott Niedermayer has collected four points (two goals, two assists) in the last five games and seven points (two goals, five assists) in the last eight. He now ranks tied for second in scoring among defensemen for the postseason (three goals, six assists, nine points).

...and the series heads back to Detroit for a critical Game 7.

Evidently at last night's Blackhawks-Canucks game in Chicago, the 22,000-plus fans in attendance shouted "De-troit sucks!" This, presumably, because the Blackhawks fans were already looking forward to playing the Red Wings in the second round.

Brian Rafalski practiced with his Red Wings teammates for the first time since being sidelined with a "lower-body injury" today. The defenseman said he skated for 25 minutes Sunday, and will be a game-time decision today. "Anything is possible. We'll see what happens." Rafalski would not disclose the precise nature of the injury. Kris Draper and Tomas Kopecky are out.

From SI.com: 

Detroit Red Wings general manager Ken Holland says forward Tomas Kopecky might need surgery after fighting in the Western Conference semifinals.

Holland said on Saturday that initial indications on Kopecky's condition were "not good" and "it appears he'll need surgery" but the team is waiting for a final report.

Kopecky sustained facial injuries during a fight with Anaheim defenseman Francois Beauchemin in the third period of Detroit's 6-3, series-evening victory in Game 4.

Game summary here; event summary here; Game 6 is Tuesday night in Anaheim.

James Wisniewski will be a game-time decision for Ducks coach Randy Carlyle, who predictably ducked the question (pun intended) of who will start Game 5 in goal tomorrow. Brian Rafalski, Kris Draper and Tomas Kopecky are all out for the Red Wings (from the Detroit Free Press Web site)

The Detroit Free Press is reporting that Tomas Kopecky will miss Game 5 for the Red Wings on Sunday as a result of injuries sustained in his third-period fight with Francois Beauchemin on Thursday.

Tuesday's Game 6 will be played at 7:00 p.m. PDT and can be seen locally on FSN Prime Ticket (available in HD). The contest can also be heard on KTLK AM 1150. A potential Game 7 start time remains TBD (Thursday, May 14).

The remaining schedule:

Though we haven't heard anything official, it looks as if the Ducks are searching for a new AHL affiliate.

• The Ducks and Red Wings will compete in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals on Sunday (May 10) at 2 p.m. PDT/5 p.m. EDT.

• With two assists tonight, Ryan Getzlaf extended his League-leading point streak to eight games (2 goals, 12 assists, 14 points). He leads the NHL in both postseason scoring and assists (3+13=16).

• Corey Perry established a new career high for points in a postseason game with 2-1=3 tonight. It was also his first career postseason multi-goal game. He has earned 2-3=5 points in the last three games and 6-4=10 in the last seven.

• In addition, Perry's goal at 0:42 of the first period tonight tied a franchise postseason record for fastest goal scored to start a game. Petr Sykora scored 42 seconds into Game 5 of the 2003 Stanley Cup Final at New Jersey Devils (June 5, 2003).

• Chris Pronger extended his point streak to five games (1-6=7) with an assist in tonight's contest. His five-game point streak is tied for the longest by a defenseman in the postseason (also CHI's Seabrook) Pronger continues to co-lead all NHL defensemen in scoring (2-7=9, also DET's Lidstrom).

• Scott Niedermayer has a three-game point streak (2-1=3), which includes goals in each of the past two games. He has also earned points in five of the last six games (2-4=6).

• Tonight's attendance was 17,601 (including standing-room-only tickets), a new club record (regular season or playoff). The previous record was 17,597 set on Jan. 2, 2009 against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Game summary here; event summary here; more to follow.

Rookie defenseman Brett Festerling was chosen to take James Wisniewski's place on defense for the Ducks, as the game lineup was just announced here at Honda Center. It will be the first career playoff game for Festerling.

James Wisniewski was in the Ducks' dressing room this morning, but didn't take part in the morning skate. As expected, he won't suit up for Game 4 against the Red Wings tonight, two nights after a lung contusion knocked him out of Game 3.