Marty Turco and Dallas Stars Hockey

from nhl.com

Maybe it’s because all we can do with the Pittsburgh Penguins these days is split hairs, but Evgeni Malkin officially is under the microscope after another average performance Thursday night in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Malkin hasn’t scored a goal since registering two on four shots in Game 1 against the Philadelphia Flyers. He has seven shots on goal since, has been credited with eight giveaways – including four in Game 4 – and has won only 35 percent of his faceoffs.

Penguins coach Michel Therrien, though, is hardly concerned. He said on a conference call Friday that the MVP candidate simply has to be better in Game 5 on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, RDS) at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh.

“Yeah, he hasn’t been productive like he was in the past, but he’s going to have to find a way next game to make sure he’s productive like he used to be,” Therrien said. “I think they did a good job about checking him. It’s not sometimes a matter of the players not being productive. Sometimes you’ve got to give credit to the other team. They’re doing a good job right now to contain him. It’s going to be up to Evgeni Malkin to make sure he’s going to be productive offensively.”

Therrien discounted the notion that perhaps Malkin is tired because he never has played this much hockey in a season. Malkin has played in all 95 games this season after playing in 83 of 87 games a year ago.

The most games Malkin played in any one season prior to coming to the NHL was 69 with his Russian club team and international tournaments in 2004-05. That included six games in the World Junior Championships and nine games in the World Championships.

Malkin looked tired at the end of last season – he had four assists and was a minus-1 in five playoff games against Ottawa – but that had something to do with his tumultuous summer of fleeing Russia to come to the NHL.

“I think he’s got more experience this year to play through the schedule that we’re facing in the NHL, plus the playoffs,” Therrien said. “I could understand fatigue would be a factor if we would have played seven games in every round. I think we had some quality time for rest … so I don’t think fatigue is a factor.”

As Malkin goes, apparently, so do his linemates.

Outside of Ryan Malone’s insurance goal 9:58 into the third period of Game 3, he and Petr Sykora have been quiet. Sykora, in fact, has one goal in the last five games after scoring four in the first five of the postseason.

“At times, this is going to be like this,” Therrien said. “You can’t expect your top two lines to give you one or two goals a game because you’re not going to score four, five, six goals a game in the playoffs all the time.

“They did a good job to contain (Malkin’s) line in the last few games, and it’s going to be a challenge for them to make sure they’re going to be able to get some results because this is what they’re supposed to do, bring some offense to the team.

“In the meantime, I’m not losing any faith in that line. They’ve been really good so far in the big picture.”

Therrien mentioned the big picture more than once during Friday’s call. He believes it’s essential to focus on that at this point rather than the Penguins’ loss in Game 4 that only forced a Game 5.

The Penguins are 11-2 in the playoffs. They hold a 3-1 lead in this series.

They’ve been pretty darn good.

“You’ve got to look at the big pictures every single round, and after four games, we’re optimistic,” Therrien said. “It’s demanding to win games in the playoffs on the road. We all know that. We were capable to have a split in Philly. It was a good accomplishment for our team to win Game 3 there.”

Therrien then suggested, the way Maxime Talbot did Thursday night, that the Penguins are bringing momentum into Game 5 because of how they played the last 40 minutes of Game 4.

The Penguins held the Flyers to 17 shots on goal in the final 40 minutes after surrendering 17 in the first 20. They had 25 shots themselves in the final two periods and gave the Flyers only one power play as opposed to three in the first period.

Jordan Staal scored twice in the third period to cut the deficit to 3-2 with 5:49 to play. The Flyers eventually salted the game away thanks to Joffrey Lupul’s empty-netter with 33 seconds left.

“I liked the way we responded,” Therrien said. “I think we had the momentum on our side. We could have made a comeback. We were really close. So we’re going to make sure we’re going to bring that momentum to the game at home Sunday.”

On the flip side, the Flyers also believe a win in Game 4 gave them momentum for the first time in the series. And with defensemen Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn possibly returning to the lineup Sunday, the Flyers not only may get an infusion of talent, but of energy, too, by having their top two defensemen back on the blue line.

“Kimmo is one of the best puck-moving defensemen in the League,” Flyers goalie Martin Biron said. “He’s even better when you don’t notice him because he does the little things right all the time. He makes guys think twice. It’s no secret he’s an All-Star.

“We want him in the locker room healthy and ready to go if he can.”

Pittsburgh, meanwhile, just wants Malkin to be Malkin, and all will be right again.

from NHL.com

PHILADELPHIA - The only reason the Pittsburgh Penguins aren’t perfect in these Stanley Cup Playoffs is because they failed to close out the New York Rangers in Game 4 at Madison Square Garden two weeks ago.

Ironically, that 3-0 loss now serves as motivation for the Penguins to finish off the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 4 at the Wachovia Center Thursday night (7:30 p.m. ET, VERSUS, CBC, RDS, NHL Radio), which would clinch them their first trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 16 years.

No let-up is the message they’re delivering. No reason to give the Flyers life the way they did the Rangers, albeit for only another couple of days before wiping them out with an overtime victory in Game 5 back home at Mellon Arena.

“We’ve learned here in the last couple series, especially the last one, that the last game is always the toughest one to win,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. “I don’t think we can afford to look ahead. We need to keep doing the things we’re doing and hopefully we’re rewarded for that.”

The Penguins vision is just as blinded when it comes to their remarkable 11-1 postseason record.

“I don’t know if we look at it as an accomplishment,” Crosby said. “We’re being consistent right now. We have a great attitude, but I guess that’s the reward you get for making sure that you take each game seriously and that you’re consistent.”

The Penguins’ approach was just about perfect in Game 3 when they skated to a 4-1 victory by playing perhaps their most sound defensive game in the Crosby Era, which dates back three years.
 
They held the Flyers to 18 shots, very few second-chance opportunities, and took advantage by scoring on four of their 25 shots. The performance will likely force Flyers coach John Stevens to juggle his lines and put Mike Richards together with Danny Briere for the first time in the playoffs.

The Flyers practiced that way Wednesday in Voorhees, N.J.

“Richie and Danny have had an awful lot of success together this year, mind you mostly on the power play, but they’re two of the best offensive players on our team and in the League,” Stevens said. “So, we thought we’d give it a look and there’s a good chance you’ll see it (Thursday).”

No matter what the Flyers lines look like, you don’t have to tell the Penguins if they bottle Tuesday’s performance and use it again Thursday they’ll waltz into the Stanley Cup Final. But they also played a strong Game 3 against the Rangers, winning 5-3, but couldn’t put the hammer down in Game 4 due in large part to a brilliant performance by New York goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who made 29 saves that night.

Lesson learned, the Penguins say.

“I never want to get ahead of myself,” Penguins winger Petr Sykora said. “Even if we win (Thursday) I’m not going to celebrate anything because when I look back I lost twice in the Stanley Cup Final (2001 with New Jersey, 2003 with Anaheim) and nobody cared that we went to the Final. I learned my lesson. There were a couple of series that we were up 3-2 or 3-1 and I thought it was over, but it never is. It’s always going to bite you back.”

The Penguins probably can’t play any better on the defensive end than they are right now. They’re allowing only 1.83 goals per game, which is lowest among all playoff teams. Their penalty kill has achieved a nearly 90-percent success rate.

Against Philadelphia the Penguins have been especially consistent with their aggressive forecheck, which is basically a smothering 1-2-2 trap orchestrated by a daunting group of speedy and committed forwards as well as some physical blue-liners.

The Flyers haven’t had an answer, especially in Game 3 when they were suffocated before they even reached the red line.

“From the outside looking in we have all these stars up front and we’re looked at as this entertaining team that scores a lot of goals,” Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik said. “We know in the playoffs if you commit defensively with the talent we have, we’re going to get our goals eventually. It’s been a collective defensive effort and our goalie has been huge all playoffs for us.”

Orpik, though, empathizes with the Flyers, who are trying to bust the Penguins trap without their best puck-moving defenseman, Kimmo Timonen. Braydon Coburn also sat out Game 3 with an eye injury that could keep him out for Game 4 as well.

“They’re not going to make any excuses, but a guy like Timonen would help,” Orpik said. “But, yeah, everyone is doing a good job playing our system. I know as defensemen even when their forwards do get the puck in they don’t have a lot of speed.”

The evidence is everywhere.

The Flyers have only scored five goals in the three games so far. They have yet to score a third-period goal. The Penguins have four.

Of the Flyers most talented players, only Richards and Jeff Carter have made noticeable differences. Richards has three goals on 10 shots. Carter has a goal and 17 shots. If it weren’t for an unbelievable defensive play by Sergei Gonchar on Tuesday, Richards may have scored a shorthanded breakaway goal that would have tied the game in the second period.

Meanwhile, Briere and Vaclav Prospal each have only one assist apiece. Briere is a minus-3. Prospal is a minus-2. Neither registered a shot in Game 3.

R.J. Umberger, who had eight goals in five games against Montreal, scored his first against the Penguins on Tuesday. He has only two shots on goal in the series.

And, goalie Marty Biron has allowed 10 goals against 82 shots after surrendering 14 on 177 shots against Montreal.

“This is a young team playing a mature game,” Penguins coach Michel Therrien said. “They’re all committed defensively. When you’re committed defensively you give yourself a chance to win. Our focus is there, and I like our chance right now.”

Source: MSNBC

Free-agent defenseman Jon Klemm, a member of two Stanley Cup champion teams in Colorado, has signed a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Kings.

Klemm had one goal and two assists in 38 regular-season games for the Dallas Stars last season. He has 42 goals and 100 assists in 751 regular-season games in a 14-year NHL career.

Klemm made his NHL debut during the 1991-92 season for the Quebec Nordiques, who later became the Colorado Avalanche, and also played for the Chicago Blackhawks before joining Dallas during the 2003-04 season.

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source: Kansas City Business Journal

William “Boots” Del Biaggio III has ended his efforts to bring a National Hockey League team to Kansas City.

Del Biaggio joined a group of Nashville-area investors who on Wednesday signed a letter of intent to buy the Nashville Predators from Craig Leipold.
Once the sale is approved, Del Biaggio will be a minority owner of the Predators. He also is a minority owner of the San Jose Sharks.

Del Biaggio said this ends an agreement he had with Anschutz Entertainment Group to move an NHL team to the Sprint Center.

“I will now be part of the Nashville ownership group, and I’m 100 percent committed to Nashville,” he said. “Now the people of Nashville have a chance to make it work here. If it doesn’t work and the team is no longer financially viable, the Nashville Predators will have to look at all their options.”

Del Biaggio said the situation is actually good news for Kansas City because it will make the NHL healthier and allow the NHL Board of Governors to consider expansion.

“My hope is Kansas City will get expansion if and when the NHL Board of Governors looks at the issue,” Del Biaggio said.

Asked whether his name might come up again if it becomes apparent Kansas City could get an expansion team, Del Biaggio said, “My answer to that would be, I’m very interested in being a majority owner of an NHL hockey team.”

AEG representatives could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday.

The Nashville investment group is led by David Freeman, a Nashville venture capitalist and former CEO of Commodore Medical Services. Leipold said in a news conference Wednesday that the Nashville investment group is expected to make a $10 million down payment before September to enable a binding purchase agreement. The NHL owners then could formally evaluate the bid before the start of the regular season.

The Nashville group is said to be offering around $180 million for the team.

The group began pursuing a Predators deal when Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie struck an agreement to buy the team for $220 million. The Balsillie deal went sour shortly after the co-CEO of Research In Motion began taking steps to move the team to Hamilton, Ontario — including the sale of prospective tickets through the Canadian arm of Ticketmaster.

The prospect of the team leaving Nashville spurred a push by local business leaders to boost season ticket sales.

As long as the Predators average more than 14,000 seats sold per game, the team is locked into its lease in Nashville through 2028.

source: NHL.com

2006-2007 - Playoffs - Goalie - GAA Leaders - GOALS AGAINST AVERAGE

I don’t think this new logo will make them any better of a team.

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The new look of the San Jose Sharks was unveiled at a 10 a.m. news conference Tuesday.

The new San Jose Sharks Primary Crest, joined by eight supporting marks, is both a re-imagination and a tribute to the original triangle logo used since the team’s inception in 1991, according to the team’s Web site.

The updated crest incorporates more Pacific Teal, the primary color of the Sharks, and emphasizes speed, strength and determination, said logo designer Terry Smith