Pittsburgh's Petr Sykora does a pretty nice job summing up the importance of tonight's fourth game of the Stanley Cup Final:
"For us, basically, [Game 4] is a do-or-die game," Sykora told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "We know that if we can come up with a win, there is a lot of pressure on them, going into Game 5 [Monday at Joe Louis Arena].
"Basically, the whole Stanley Cup playoffs is going to [come down to] the game [tonight]. We've worked so hard to get to this position. This is a big chance for us, to tie it up, 2-2. You never know what's going to happen then."
I'd agree with that. Pittsburgh wins and it's best-of-three heading back to Detroit. The Penguins lose and they face the grim prospect of having to win three straight, including two in Detroit, two win the series. I like their chances a lot better if they win tonight.
The St. Louis officially announced that former Stars GM Doug Armstrong is joining that organization and will eventually become the GM there.
St. Louis Blues President John Davidson announced today the club has extended the contract of Sr. Vice President and General Manager, Larry Pleau through the 2009-10 season. Davidson also announced the club has named Doug Armstrong as Blues Vice President of Player Personnel. He will assume the General Manager duties beginning in 2010.
Some sad news in the hockey world today. Canucks defenseman Luc Bourdon was killed in a motorcyle accident today. Here's the latest from TSN.
Vancouver Canucks defenceman Luc Bourdon was killed in a motorcycle accident in northern New Brunswick on Thursday. He was 21.
Bourdon, a promising young defenceman who played his junior hockey with the Moncton Wildcats, Cape Breton Screaming Eagles and Val d'Or Foreurs of the QMJHL, split his first pro season in 2007-08 between Vancouver and the American Hockey League's Manitoba Moose.
He scored two goals and was a plus-7 in 27 games with the Canucks last season.
"Luc was a winner, he was a competitor," said Kent Hughes, his agent. "There was no quit in him. He persevered through a lot. He was a great guy and a great teammate."
Hughes added that he never knew about his client's new hobby. "I had no idea," he explained to CKNW in Vancouver. "Another client of ours, Kris Letang, said Luc let him know he was riding his dad's motorcycle with some friends a week or two ago. I have since been told - though I don't know - that he actually bought a motorcycle two days ago."
The Red Wings vs. the Blackhawks at Wrigley Field. That's the rumor surrounding the NHL's next winter classic. Comcast in Chicago reported it last night. Here's a blurb from this morning's Chicago Sun-Times:
The Blackhawks are expected to play the Detroit Red Wings at Wrigley Field in January in the NHL's Winter Classic, Comcast SportsNet reported Wednesday night, with an official announcement perhaps coming this week.
Hawks president John McDonough has been pushing for an outdoor game after the success of this season's Winter Classic on New Year's Day at Buffalo's Ralph Wilson Stadium. A league-record 71,217 fans saw the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Sabres 2-1 in a shootout.
Yankee Stadium, one of the other front-runners to host the outdoor game next season, was deemed an unlikely site last week by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.
Soldier Field also has been mentioned as a possible host in Chicago.
It's look like it's a series now. Good effort by the Penguins. They got that all important first goal and then the second. That allowed them to play with the lead instead of chasing the Red Wings. I think playing at home and in front of the home crowd really helped, especially after they got the first one and picked up some momentum.
Detroit looked very good the first part of the game, but that Brad Stuart turnover and Sidney Crosby cashing in on it turned things around. It's a fine line out there. Pittsburgh needed something positive to happen in this series and that got the puck bouncing their way.
I thought a lot of the guys who were missing in action in the first two games, really stood out Wednesday night. Evgeni Malkin was very noticeable. So was Marian Hossa. The Pens needed big efforts from those players and got them. That one shift by Brooks Orpik - the one where he landed four hits in about 15 seconds - was pretty impressive. That energized the building.
The Penguins still aren't out of the woods yet here. They need to win Game 4 too to pull even and make it a best-of-three series as it shifts back to Detroit next week. I don't think they can comeback from down 3-1. Get it to 2-2 and it gets mighty interesting. Nashville crawled back from down 0-2 to win the next two against Detroit and then took the Red Wings to overtime in Game 5 of that first round series. There's no reason Pittsburgh couldn't make it as interesting as Nashville did against Detroit.
One possible drawback for the Penguins is that there is now two days off between games. I am sure they would like to get right back to it. Detroit would probably like to do the same and get back in the win column. But that's the way it goes. Should be a good one Saturday night.
No wonder the rumour mill has Cliff Fletcher staying on to run the laughingstock Maple Leafs.
They can't get anybody else.
Yet another quality hockey man is off the Leaf list now, as sources say former Dallas GM Doug Armstrong is close to agreeing to join the St. Louis Blues and has cancelled a meeting with the Leafs.
The Stars signed Trevor Daley to a three-year, $6.9 million contract. Here's the release from the Stars:
The Dallas Stars announced today that the club has signed defenseman Trevor Daley to a three-year contract worth $6.9 million (average of $2.3 million per year) through the 2010-2011 season.
“At just 24 years of age, Trevor continues to grow as a hockey player and we are looking for his game to improve over the next three years,” said Co-General Manager Les Jackson. “He is a valuable member of our hockey club and is a key part to our strong nucleus of younger players.”
Daley, 24, appeared in all 82 games this past season with the Stars, registering five goals and 19 assists for 24 points with 85 penalty minutes. He was one of five players to appear in all 82 games in '07-08 and set career-highs in goals, assists and points. In 18 playoff games, he tallied one goal with 20 penalty minutes.
The 5-11, 207-pound defenseman has played in 264 career NHL games and tallied 13 goals and 43 assists for 56 points with 249 penalty minutes. Following the 2005-06 season, he represented Team Canada at the 2006 World Championships in Latvia.
Dallas’ second round selection (43rd overall) in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, Daley played four seasons with Sault Ste. Marie of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) from 1999-03. In 216 games with Sault Ste. Marie, he collected 59 goals and 129 assists for 188 points.
Darryl Sydor is finally getting into the lineup for the Peguins tonight. Sydor, who hasn't suited up yet in this postseason, is going to replace rookie Kris Letang. Here's a quote from Pens coach Michel Therrien about the move to put Sydor in the lineup.
Q. Coach, you make the move with Darryl today, put him in. What's he bring to the table, as a veteran, that's been there for you defensively?
COACH MICHEL THERRIEN: You're always looking for some experience. Darryl's had a great season for us. But in the meantime, we've got a lot of depth in our defensemen. We like what we've seen from our defensemen so far. So we didn't have any reason why to change our defensemen. Different story right now, and certainly could use experience on the ice and even on the bench, communicate really well with the players. So I'm excited for him to finally get a chance to play in those playoffs.
We'll find out tonight if we have a series tonight in the Stanley Cup Final tonight. It's basically a must-win game for the Penguins, who will fall behind 3-0 in the series if they don't find a way to win the game. Of course, they have to start by finding a way to get a puck in the net. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a pretty good article on the woes of the Penguins so far in this series.
No one should be surprised by what has happened to the Penguins in the first two games of the Stanley Cup final, nor should they be astonished if it happens again tonight when they meet the Detroit Red Wings in Game 3 at Mellon Arena.
The Penguins, once so full of all that seemed necessary to become a champion, have been exposed in the first two games of the final. Not exposed as a bad team, but as a team not worthy of the most cherished trophy in team sports.
No one expected this -- not the players, not the coach, not the fans. Everything had been near-perfect. All phases of their game were humming.
But this is what happens in athletic competition when one team is better than the other or, at least, when one team is playing considerably better at a particular time. The Penguins did this to the Ottawa Senators, New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers. The Senators were overmatched, but neither the Rangers nor Flyers had any reason to suspect they would be dispatched in five game or play so feebly in the process.
Now it's the Penguins' turn to feel the pain of inadequacy. They are without a goal in two games. Their superstars have been silenced by the defensively magnificent Red Wings.
They're good, and they've certainly proven it so far in the Stanley Cup final.
But the Detroit Red Wings are not perfect - heck, they've lost four playoff games - and the Penguins plan to show up tonight for Game 3 at Mellon Arena looking nothing like the club that has yet to score a goal in this series.
They don't figure to resemble the team that rolled through three playoff rounds with a 12-2 record, either.
To overcome a disappointing beginning in the Cup final, the Penguins will dump, chase and hit - a lot.
Looks like Stars assistant coach Ulf Dahlen is returning to take a coaching job in Sweden with the Frolunda Indians. Here's the link from Frolunda's offical site. My Swedish isn't great, but it looks like a three-year deal.
So far this isn't much of a series between Detroit and Pittsburgh. The Red Wings have been the far better team and it's pretty mind boggling that Pittsburgh hasn't scored a goal in this series. Then Penguins have had a few a close calls, but still they just aren't generating much against the Red Wings, who have been superb defensively. Detroit got those two quick goals in the first period and that seemed to set the tone for the rest of the game.
The Penguins had a good push in the second period and I thought they dictated play there for a while. They needed something good to happen there - as in a puck going into the net - to get going. It never happened. When that Jordan Staal shot went wide and then he failed on the rebound bid, I thought to myself that Pittsburgh just may not get back into this one.
The Penguins are obviously frustrated. They were complaining about Chris Osgood diving and obstruction after the game. I am not sure that's not the reason they lost this game or why they are down 2-0 in the series. They aren't getting much pressure on the Red Wings because they can't establish any kind of forecheck and that's because they haven't been able to counter Detroit's ability to move the puck out of its end of the ice. Pittsburgh needs to find a way to obstruct Detroit.
Game 3 is huge for the Penguins. It is on their home ice, where they haven't lost in the playoffs. They have to win that game or this thing becomes just a formality. It's starting to look that way now, but I am not counting the Penguins out until I see how they play at home. They need a shot of confidence and some things to go right for them. They need that to happen in Game 3 and they need all of it to add up to a win.
As soon as Red Wings general manager Ken Holland got off the phone with doctors Monday morning and told Johan Franzen he had been cleared to play in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals tonight, the forward pumped his fist.
"He showed a little emotion, he doesn't usually show a lot of emotion,'' Holland said. "I know he's excited to be in there tonight.''
Franzen had missed the last six games with concussion-like symptoms. Holland said the club has a "good idea'' what happened but won't divulge many details until after this series.
"We don't know anything about (what happened) in the Colorado series, we think in Game 1 of Dallas series there was a hit that maybe made it a little bit worse,'' Holland said. "We'll talk about it when the playoffs are over, but we got a pretty good idea what happened. He's had concussion-like symptoms, but I don't think he really had a concussion, which is good news long-term.''
There is no word on who he will replace in the lineup. Chances are, it will be Darren McCarty, who was scratched for Game 1 of the Dallas series in favor of Kirk Maltby.
It was a strange turn of events after the morning skate. Coach Mike Babcock, on the podium addressing the media, was handed a note said something to the effect that trainer Piet Van Zant informed him nothing had changed regarding Franzen's status and he would be out tonight. Then, as he was walking out of the building, Babcock ducked his head into the media workroom and said, "Mule's been cleared. He's in,'' and then left the building.
"While Mike was meeting with the media telling you guys he was out, I was in the back room with Franzen and Piet Van Zant, we were on the phone with the doctor and we got clearance,'' Holland said. "Mike came back to the room and I said, 'Johan's cleared to play.' He said I just told the media he's out.' All the sudden Mike went flying out and wanted to make sure he (told) you guys.''
Congratulations to Stars prospect Ondrej Roman, whose Spokane Chiefs won the Memorial Cup today. The Chiefs beat the Kitchener Rangers 4-1. Roman played well and made a key play to help turn the tide for the Chiefs. He set up a power play goal that tied the game at 1-1 late in the first that shifted momentum in the game, which was being played in Kitchener. Anyway, the story of the game was Spokane goalie Dustin Tokarski, who stopped 53 of 54 shots. The story after the game was the fact that the Memorial Cup broke during the celebration. The video is below and you might want to keep the audio down if you don't want others to hear one of the players say "Holy s--t" when discussing the faulty hardware.
That was a pretty impressive performance by the Red Wings. I thought they were superb defensively and were clearly the better team over the last two periods. At the same time, if Pittsburgh cashes in on one of those early power play chances, it might be a different game. The Penguins score there, get some confidence and momentum and the game plays out differently. They didn't though and Mikael Samuelsson comes up with the big score there in the second period and Detroit does what it does best, which is shut it down. It was vintage Red Wings. They can make a good team look pedestrian and they did that with the Penguins.
A lot of guys on Detroit stood out. Samuelsson obviously because of the two goals. I thought Pavel Datsyuk was great. Niklas Kronwall and Brad Stuart were outstanding on the blue line. Chris Osgood was excellent in goal and made some big saves. I agreed with the interference penalty on Tomas Holmstrom that led to the Nick Lidstrom goal getting waved off in the the first period.
Marc-Andre Fleury was pretty good for Pittsburgh. I thought the Red Wings did a real nice job on keep Sidney Crosy, Evgeni Malkin and company pretty quiet in the game.
It's just one game. We'll see what both teams roll out there on Monday. I know a lot of people will look at this and see gloom and doom for the Penguins, but I don't. Not yet.
For those of you who hang out at the message board portion of this site, here's an update on the conversion to the new board. So far, so good. I am hoping to be done in an hour or two. It might take less time. All the posts and user information were moved over at about 3:30 this morning. I've spent today checking stuff out and loading the search index, which is taking several hours. I have been loading a few different templates into the system so people can choose the board look they prefer. I'll get more of those later and tell people where they can find options I might consider loading into the system. I
If you're wondering what Darryl Sydor's role is these days with the Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL.com had a good article on him earlier this week. You can find it here.
Co-general managers Brett Hull and Les Jackson have been signed to three-year contracts. Stars release is below:
Dallas Stars Chairman of the Board and Owner Thomas O. Hicks announced today that he has signed Brett Hull and Les Jackson each to three-year contracts as Co-General Managers for the hockey club through the 2010-11 season. Hull and Jackson were named as Interim Co-General Managers on November 13, 2007.
“Brett and Les have earned these extensions, doing an excellent job in leading this hockey club this past season,” said Hicks. “The move to make them interim co-general managers was a different approach that proved to be strategic. The two compliment each other very well. Les has over 20 years of experience with this organization as a scout and an executive and he is the consummate hockey man. He is highly regarded and respected throughout the league. Brett had 19 years of success as a player in the NHL and is a solid link between the front office and locker room. He thinks outside the box and provides a different perspective for our management staff.
“This unique combination of talents gives us many advantages for our hockey club. Signing Les and Brett to these contracts provides stability for the future. We look forward to building on this year’s relative successes.”
The Stars accumulated a 38-23-4 regular season record with Hull and Jackson as co-GM’s. The club advanced to the Western Conference Finals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2000. Two of the more notable moves by Hull and Jackson include signing center Mike Ribeiro to a five-year contract on January 7, and acquiring center Brad Richards from Tampa Bay along with goaltender Johan Holmqvist on February 26.
The Stars held their season end meetings, had their physicals and cleaned out stuff today. Overall the mood was very upbeat. There is a lot of optimism going into next season.
Mike Modano indicated he is coming back, but left the door open to change his mind. To me it was Mike being Mike.
Asked about Modano, Bret Hull said: "I told him he couldn't quit on me yet. He's too a good player to leave. He's still one of the top five best all-around players in this game."
There are no decisions going forward as far as the unrestricted free agents or any of that. Management will discuss that in the near future. Hull said the cap, what the player wants, what the team wants and all that kind of stuff will come into play.
Some other tidbits off the top of my head. Mattias Norstrom, who is a UFA, will sit down with his family and discuss his future. He said he won't play in Sweden and the Stars are at the top of his list as far as NHL teams.
Stu Barnes, another UFA, said it is wait and see for him. He is going to get over the the head injury, get healthy and go from there. He can't see playing anyplace other than Dallas.
Philippe Boucher had a torn hip flexor. He said it was an eight-week injury when he suffered it. Was at five weeks, pushing it and was close to returning. Had the Stars made the Stanley Cup Final he said he was a definite possibility.
Brenden Morrow said rest will be the cure for his shoulder. He also had a groin issue.
As for his injury, Brad Richards said he was in good enough shape to play. He's a no excuses kind of guy.
They all said injuries are part of the playoffs and the other teams are going through them as well.
I'll have more stuff in the update on the main site later tonight.
Stars coach Dave Tippett was on The Ticket with Norm Hitzges a little while ago and talked about various things, including what type of player the team might need to add next season. Here's what he said to that question from Norm:
"We have a couple of free agents. If you look at Niklas Hagman, he had 27 goals, he's an unrestricted free agent. Time will tell. We'll see what happens with him, whether he re-signs here or goes to another place," Tippett said. "We've got [Fabian] Brunnstrom, the young kid from Sweden we signed, but the scoring up front, we are going to have to recapture some of those goals that we are going to lose in Hagman and possibly [Antti] Miettinen, he's an unrestricted free agent also. Brunnstrom can take some of that, but upgrading a skill position up front is something we have to look at. That might be just from the necessity of some players leaving."
Tippett said he likes the defense, especially with the progress the young players made this season, and the team is set at goaltending for years to come with Marty Turco.
He added that he expects Modano, Lehtinen and Zubov (who are all under contract) to return next season because he believes all three sense there may be something special with the current team.
Give the Red Wings credit. That was an impressive performance. They took control early by getting pucks and people to the net, took the crowd out of it and Chris Osgood made some big saves in the third to keep it a 4-1 game. Detroit was the better team Monday night and over the course of the series. No shame in admitting that. Detroit is a great team with some great players. And I don't care what anyone says, I still think Osgood is a top goalie. The guy gets a bum rap.
There's not much to say about the Stars other than it was a fun ride through the playoffs. They provided some great memories and really had a great run. They took on the three toughest teams you could face in the West, probably in the league and did themselves proud. I am not going to run off a long list of names, but Brenden Morrow and Marty Turco were great in these playoffs. Stephane Robidas is up there in my eyes too. The highlight was the Game 6 win over the Sharks. No doubt about that in my mind.
The bottom line is it was tough to see them lose to the Red Wings, but it was better than those first round exits the last few seasons. Things are looking good moving forward. A lot of important pieces are in place. A lot of good young players have gotten valuable experience. This team is in pretty good shape.
There will be plenty to talk about as far as the future over the next few days. There are a bunch of unrestricted free agents: Norstrom, Barnes, Hagman, Miettinen, Petersen, Winchester and Holmqvist. There are some prospects who could be on the horizon like James Neal.
Also it will be a good chance to rewind a little too.
Wings coach Mike Babcock talks about the possibility of splitting up Datsyuk and Zetterberg and Chris Chelios being questionable for tonight.
Q. I'm not sure how willing you are to divulge military secrets, but any chance you might split up Datsyuk and Zetterberg at times in the game?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: Absolutely. There's always a chance. No, we've gone both ways. I'm kind of a big believer that good, good players like that, they haven't scored in a couple games, they're due.
I thought we had lots of opportunities last game. So I'm more into, Let's go about it, let's do it a little harder for a little bit longer and we'll take our chances.
(more)
Q. Can you update us on the status of Lehtinen and Boucher?
COACH DAVE TIPPETT: Lehtinen hasn't skated yet. Boucher has skated the last couple days. I think he is getting closer. I haven't talked to the doctor yet this morning, so we'll see where he's at. Lehtinen and Barnes are certainly not available to us. Boucher is getting closer.
We call them all day to day. He's the closest day to day there is. Fistric is back. He's battled some illness, but back and skated for a couple days. He's possibly an option, too.
Q. A chance either Boucher of Fistric getting in tonight?
COACH DAVE TIPPETT: I doubt it tonight. We have a couple issues we're dealing with. We'll see where that goes.
It should be a wild night at the AAC as far as atmosphere and energy. It doesn't get any better than this, especially because it involves the Red Wings and it's the Western Conference Final.
As for the game, who knows. The Stars are riding a wave of confidence and momentum. They've been the better team the last two games, despite the shot advantage. You just can't look at shots and say the team that had more controlled play and didn't finish. Finishing more than one of those chances is part of playing well. So is limiting the mistakes and having your goalie clean up whatever mistakes are made in front of him. So is discipline. It's timely special teams play. All that has tilted towards the Stars the last two games and that's why we are at a Game 6.
The Red Wings looked rattled and frustrated Saturday, but they seem to be keeping an even keel about things. They are a veteran team with a lot of guys who have been there and done that. I thought they lacked urgency at times the last two games. We'll see what they roll out tonight.
It will be interesting to see what Mike Babcock does with his lineup. I'd expect the same guys, but maybe some shuffling of his lines. He might try to balance things out more. Does he split up Datsyuk and Zetterberg? I might. He's got enough talent to spread between those two instead of loading up everything on one line and double shifting when they can't score.
From the Red Wings' perspective, they still control the series. They are up 3-2 and only have to win one game while the Stars have to win two. It's what the Stars were saying heading into the sixth game against San Jose. The difference is Dallas had the game at home. Detroit is playing on the road, but it has closed out the last two series on the road. Both teams have things to draw on going into this game.
It will come down to who executes, who makes their breaks, gets the bounces or gets the close call to go their way. First goal is going to be important, not only because it usually is but also because of the crowd factor. If the Stars score first the building is going to erupt. A Red Wings first strike, and that will quiet the Stars contingent a bit and give the Red Wings an advantage.
It's going to be a roller coaster night I think. Pins and needles or however you want to put it. The tension will rise with every shot, every chance, every just about. Should be fun.
As I was looking around the Detroit sites this morning, I came across a pretty good Marty Turco photo gallery put together by the Detroit Free Press. It includes some stuff from his days at the University of Michigan and there's a great picture of a Marty Turco Michigan bobblehead. The Free Press photo gallery is here.
Here is the NHL transcript of what the Red Wings were saying today: Q. Your guys said they admitted they were playing tight yesterday. When a team comes out tight like that, how do you approach that? Is that a coach thing? Is that a captain thing? A player thing? Who takes charge there?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: Well, I think everybody does. But, I mean, that's exactly what we talked about. I mean, you can be tight and tentative or you can be loose and try. Straightforward. When you're tight, I mean, you're slower.
So, yeah, you being slower, them working hard, that's just a little bit of difference that makes, and your execution is not as good.
It's interesting, when I walked out of the rink with my wife and my son, my son was like he got shot, you know, he said, You're flat. Well, we're so far from flat it's not even funny. But for your normal fan who comes to the game, that looks like the start of a game in November where you're half asleep. Well, that's not the case.
But you want to win so bad, sometimes you get in the way of yourself. One of the greatest skills as a professional athlete or anybody is controlling activation level. Sometimes you just got to take a deep breath.
(more)
Pretty impressive performance from the Pittsburgh Penguins this afternoon in beating Philly 6-0 to wrap up that series and move to the Stanley Cup Final. The Pens are a good team and good team. Lots of talent, Marc-Andre Fleury is playing well in goal and they play well defensively. Their defensive game would probably surprise a lot of people. Now they can wait for the winner of the Stars and Red Wings.
Here is the transcript from the Stars press conferences in Frisco today:
Q. Defensively what has been the biggest thing for you guys the last couple games?
COACH DAVE TIPPETT: Well, I don't know. We talk about we have to defend as a group. Marty is certainly a big part of that. I think the Toby Petersen line came in and gave us strong minutes in a checking role.
Like I said, from the start, we look at one of our strengths of our team is how well we check as a group and we expect everybody to do it. Doesn't matter if it's top offensive players or other players, that's their main role is to check.
Marty has been very good. But our group as a whole has worked harder at the checking part of the game.
(more)
The Stars practiced today, but not everybody was on the ice. Some of the big guys were on there and some weren't. Sergei Zubov was out there, but guys like Turco, Morrow and Modano weren't. On the injury side of things, both Philippe Boucher and Mark Fistric were out there on the ice today.
Looking around the internet and the various sites for both the Stars and Red Wings, it's funny how much things change in a few days as far as perceptions of this series. There's a lot of giddiness in these parts and the panic level seems to be ratcheting up in Hockeytown.
Maybe I am reading this wrong, but I think this is a different shift than in the last series between the Stars and Sharks. It's more of a major shift.
Dallas was up 3-0 and the Sharks came back to make a series of it. The Stars had the big series lead, but the those games were close and two of the first three went to overtime. There were a few things in the Sharks' game that seemed to be lacking, but they were still close games. Over the next three games, when the Stars would get the one win they needed, two more went the extra session or sessions. It was just close throughout the entire six games. The six games in the series, as Jeremy Roenick, pointed out were coin tosses.
In this series, Detroit had taken a 3-0 lead in pretty impressive fashion. The Stars had some good spurts in the games, but the Wings seemed to be in control for the most part. Over the last two games, despite the shot differential, the Stars have been the better team. The Wings have looked sluggish, and I think a lot of that has to do with the Stars' elevated level play. It also helps that the Stars have been able to play with the lead. When they have the lead and are at the top of their game, opponents tend to look the way the Wings look right now.
Throw in the suddenly hot play of Marty Turco, and that's another reason I think this is a bigger shift than in the San Jose series. Saturday's win at The Joe should will be a huge boost for Turco and the Stars.
Does all that mean the Stars finish the deal and complete the great comeback? Who knows. It looks possible right now, but there is still a long ways to go. I thought San Jose had a chance, and the Sharks came close to forcing that seventh game.
Series momentum is great, but once the next game starts it is out the window. Dallas and San Jose both had series momentum in the semifinals, but the games always ended up looking basically the same and four of the six went to overtime and another one was settled by one goal. Each game was a battle for momentum in itself. That's the way it works.
Monday will be a brand new battle for momentum between the Stars and Red Wings. I am sure Detroit will make some adjustments. The Stars will get some advantages in matchups. It will be interesting to see how it unfolds. All I know is that it will be a wild and raucous night at the AAC. I have a feeling this is going to top the Sharks Game 6. This is the Red Wings after all. Just hope this one doesn't end with a handshake.
Well, I just got back from a wedding. No one was talking about the Stars-Red Wings, so I really didn't have much to talk about with anyone. Nice wedding though. Anyway, a big win and a big momentum shift in this series. They're only halfway to pulling off the great comeback, but I think a lot of things have changed in this series. The biggest is that the Stars look like the confident team; the Red Wings look rattled and frustrated. That Tomas Holmstrom penalty late in the third summed up that one. That was just flat out a dumb one to take with your team down by a goal. That's the sign of a frustrated team.
That was a great game from Marty Turco. He put that Joe Louis Arena issue to rest and picked a perfect time to do it. That's another hump he's cleared.
The Toby Petersen line was excellent again. It may be the most effective trio the Stars have going right now. Overall, it was just a good all-around team effort. Petersen is becoming a big impact player here for the Stars. That bit of juggling by Dave Tippett has worked well.
I think the pressure has turned up on the Red Wings, who are starting to feel some heat from the Stars. Dallas is starting to outplay them and hasn't gotten this series back to 3-2 by luck. The Red Wings are starting to show some flaws, especially in their inability to generate much from beyond the first line. The top trio is a threat every time out there, but Detroit's other three lines aren't doing much to create chances at even strength and don't seem to be much of a threat out there. They miss Johan Franzen, but I think it goes beyond just him. This team was scoring when Franzen wasn't earlier in the season.
So, now we get ready to move onto a Game 6 in Dallas. It should be rowdy. It should be fun. It's still do or die for the Stars, but Detroit is starting to feel the heat too. The Stars have a little swagger right now and the Red Wings seem to be moving with more of a stagger. We'll see what happens.
Here are the Stars' postgame press conferences from the NHL:
Q. Talk about Marty. Obviously we've talked incessantly about him up here. Talk about how critical he was.
COACH DAVE TIPPETT: Well, there's been a lot documented about his struggles up here. I don't look at it as his struggles. I look at it as our team struggles up here. For us to be successful, he has to be very good. That's what you saw from him tonight.
I thought there was so much battle in him. Our team, one of our themes all year is find a way to win and have the will to win. I think Marty exemplified that tonight. He wasn't going to be denied in this game. He made enough saves in this game for us to get us the win.
(more)
Huge win and the Stars live for another day. Great game by Marty Turco both stopping the puck and moving the puck. The Stars have the confident tide moving their way, the series momentum is moving their way, and the pressure is now squarely on the Red Wings. I thought the Wings looked like they were feeling it down the stretch there in the third period. Long ways to go, but the series has gotten interesting.
Another good period for the Stars in my opinion. Turco was sharp. His puckhandling has been huge in this game. He's played a role in both goals being scored for the Stars. In the second he set up the two-on-one that led to the Lundqvist goal. It would have been nice if they could have extended the lead on one of those two power play chances. I expect Detroit to push hard in the third, perhaps giving the Stars some good chances to counterpunch and maybe extend the lead that way. Overall, the Stars look like the better team through two even though Detroit has the edge in shots on goal.
That was an excellent first period of hockey. Lots of great chances and some great saves at both ends. Stars were the better team in the first half of it and got the lead on that Trevor Daley goal. Detroit was better in the second and tied it with that power play goal. Some excellent goaltending by both Marty Turco and Chris Osgood. Overall, a good period for the Stars. I liked the way they took it to the Wings early, but Detroit got some momentum with that power play goal.
Game 5 is just a few hours away here. I am not one to make any single game predictions, but I like where the Stars are heading into this one. They seem to have some confidence, are loose and are due for a win in Detroit.
The Red Wings have some issues. They are struggling to get secondary scoring and their power play is 1-15 over the last three games. Those are some areas trending against the Red Wings.
Detroit's dominance at home in the playoffs and the Stars' and Marty Turco's woes at The Joe are factors working against the Stars.
The first goal is important and has been to date in this series, but it doesn't mean today's game has been decided when the first goal is scored.
All of that history goes out the window when the puck drops this afternoon. It's a new game and new chapter for both teams. The team that has played better has won in each game this series, and I am guessing that's what happens today. It will all come down to the usual stuff: execution, bounces and close calls.
A Detroit win and it's over for the Stars and on to the Stanley Cup Final for the Red Wings. A Stars win and it is a brand spanking new series. The pressure shifts to the Red Wings as they have to come back to Dallas for a Game 6.
Here is the NBC plan for Saturday's game if there is a second overtime. If you are watching in the Dallas/Fort Worth market then it is no big deal. Channel 5 will just carry the game until it is over. If you are outside the D/FW market then you will need Versus if the game goes beyond one OT. Here is the release from the league:
The contingency plan for Saturday's 1:30 p.m. ET DAL@DET NBC broadcast is as follows:
If the game goes into overtime, the local Dallas and Detroit NBC affiliates will stay with the game until it's conclusion
In markets outside Dallas and Detroit, the game will shift from NBC to VERSUS after completion of the 1st OT
There are some markets that may pre-empt the game but at this time we don't know the alternative channel plans.
After landing in Detroit earlier today, the Stars met with the media there. Here's the NHL transcript from Dave Tippett, Mike Modano and Brenden Morrow:
Q. I know you've already answered this before, but can you get a little more into the line situation with Modano moving to the wing. You banter that around during the playoff series trying to make adjustments. When did you come to that conclusion, Let's try this?
COACH DAVE TIPPETT: When we came to the conclusion that Lehtinen wasn't going to be a player in the series, Barnes wasn't coming back, our injuries are dictating that. Our right side is pretty banged up right now. So we tried Chris Conner for a game. Decided we just were going to load up a couple lines, see if we could find a line that could play with some pace, then a banging line.
It's a little bit of trying to find things that are creative, that will help us win, and a little bit of filling injury holes.
Q. Last game in Dallas, the Petersen line ended up playing against Zetterberg the whole night.
COACH DAVE TIPPETT: A lot of the night.
Q. Can you comment on their performance.
COACH DAVE TIPPETT: What we were trying to do there, Petersen is a smart player that plays the game with a great deal of pace. He's really quick. Zetterberg and Datsyuk, Zetterberg in particular, he's so tenacious, plays the game so fast, you need somebody that can keep up with that. We felt Petersen could give us a heck of a game in that regard.
(more)
The Stars practiced today. Everything looked the same as Wednesday as far as lines and stuff. They seem pretty relaxed and loose. I don't think that is a bad thing. There's some confidence there. Steve Ott pointed out that forcing a Game 6 would be slightly difference than what the Sharks did in the last series, because the Sharks didn't have that one at home and the Stars would.
This crease/interference issue is still a hot topic and that continued when Tomas Holmstrom met the media up in Detroit today. Here's the transcipt of what he had to say:
Q. Do you change your approach to the Game 5?
TOMAS HOLMSTROM: No. I have to go to the net, do my job around the net.
Q. Do you think there's such things as makeup calls?
TOMAS HOLMSTROM: I don't know. I have no idea.
Q. Do you think anybody singles you out?
TOMAS HOLMSTROM: Yeah, sometimes it feels like that, for sure. But I hope not, yeah.
(more)
Not much going on in Frisco today. It was an optional and not many players were around. Steve Ott was there and was the one player to talk to the media gathering. Matt Niskanen was said to be there and I saw Brad Winchester too. That's about it. They practice early tomorrow and then head to Detroit. I didn't get any updates on injuries. Reports out of Detroit say no Johan Franzen for the Wings on Saturday.
They live another day. Actually a couple days here. It's going to be a long couple days between now and Saturday's Game 5. Anyway, onto Game 4. The Stars got what they needed to win a game against the Wings. Marty Turco was excellent. They got a timely power play goal. They got a lead. Their best players were very good in the game. They got some big efforts from down the lineup. The trio of Loui Eriksson, Toby Petersen and Joel Lundqvist were excellent in the game. They needed all of that and they got it.
Now they go to Detroit, and see if they can steal one there. Win at The Joe and the confidence and momentum builds. It will make things fun. We'll see what happens.
Onto the Holmstrom interference call and resulting no goal in the second period. I thought it was a bad call. I thought the one they didn't call on him in the first game was a bad call too. That's the way it goes. Some go your way, some don't. I am not going to spin it just because I want this team to win or don't want that team to win. I just call them as I see them.
I saw a few recaps written where questions were raised about Loui Eriksson's goal and the crease issue. Chris Osgood had questions. Grapes and grapefruits on that one. It's not a reviewable play, so I am not going to go back and look at the replay and try to analyze it. If I recall correctly, Eriksson was in the crease, but he wasn't interfering with Osgood, who was on the other side of the crease, and after the Robidas shot it was a battle for a loose puck. That's perfectly legitimate. There is nothing that says you can't be in the crease. You can be there. You just can't hinder the goalie's ability to move or defend his crease. Eriksson was innocent of that. There can be incidental contact if you are battling for a loose puck too. I didn't see anything as the play unfolded that made me think there would be any question about that one as far as interference. Still not sure why that was even an issue.
Not much to say about tonight. We'll just see how it goes. I've seen stuff talking about the season and playoffs as a whole, but I will wait until it's over to talk about that.
Here is the NHL transcript of Dave Tippett and Brenden Morrow from this morning.
Q. What is the update on Brenden?
COACH DAVE TIPPETT: Brenden is fine, ready to go.
Q. Do you think you’ll be looking at different changes for lines?
COACH DAVE TIPPETT: We’ll tinker around a little bit. We’re certainly looking for answers, looking for ways to win games. So that’s where we’re at. We’ll continue to find the answers and see if we can get the win we need.
(more)
Neither Mike Modano nor Brenden Morrow skated today, but both are expected to play tomorrow.
Jere Lehtinen is doubtful for Wednesday. Stu Barnes is out.
A lot of talk about keeping their heads up, staying positive and trying to get a win on Wednesday.
There was even a mention of how the Sharks made a series of it after falling behind 3-0 to the Stars.
"It changed a lot," Brad Richards said of that series, which ended up going six games. "It took four overtime periods to finish them off. They got momentum and confidence."
I wouldn't call the mood chipper, but they weren't hanging their heads either.
I will say this: The Stars being down 3-0 to the Red Wings looks a lot different than the Sharks being down 3-0 to the Stars. And I am not just talking about the teams involved and who is ahead and who is behind. The Stars had a 3-0 lead on San Jose, but those two teams were close despite what the series tally said. Two of those first three games went to overtime. All the games in that series were tight, even the 5-2 Dallas win. That's why I wasn't totally comfortable even with the 3-0 lead. It went six and it could have very easily gone seven.
This series? It's all Detroit in all areas. The Stars aren't in this series in any respect. Not through the first three games. I thought they were in the game for about half of the contest Monday night. After that Hudler goal to make it 3-2, the Red Wings seemed to just kick it up a notch and took over the game. That Zetterberg shorty early in the third was a killer.
Datsyuk and Zetterberg were superb. They are top players. Osgood continues to be rock solid since taking over in net. Their D is outstanding. They roll four lines. Their penalty killing has been superb. I can't think of one guy who takes the ice for them and I say to myself, this guy is a mistake waiting to happen. They are just hitting on all cylinders right now.
Can the Stars turn it around? I guess anything is possible. Roll out the clichés.
I meant to get to this earlier, but didn't. Anyway, after the Stars beat out Detroit and others for Fabian Brunnstrom, the Red Wings went out and signed a Finnish player named Ville Leino. I don't know much about him, other than he was the Finnish League MVP this season. James Mirtle, who has what I think is the best hockey blog on the plant, has some good stuff on Leino today and how some people compare him with Brunnstrom. Mark all this down. It will be interesting to see which team got the better deal over the long run.
It's pretty obvious this series turns on tonight's game. The Stars win and it's a series at 2-1 with Game 4 in Dallas on Wednesday. The Red Wings win and the writing is on the wall. It's 3-0 and beating any team four straight is virtually impossible. You are in hoping for a miracle, divine intervention territory.
As much the Stars showed improvement in Game 2 and as much as they called the game a step forward, they still have a ways to go. They had some good chances, which had they cashed in could have changed momentum in the game, but they really haven't put much pressure on the Red Wings. Detroit's controlled play for the most part. Chris Osgood hasn't faced a lot of pressure in the first two games. He's made some nice saves through traffic, but there are also have been a lot of times where he has just come out of the net, cut down the angle and absorbed a shot.
Give the Red Wings credit. They are a good defensive team. Best in the league. One reason is they always have the puck. When the other team has it, they defend well. When it is loose, they do a good job of getting it. The Stars have to find a way to create more chances around the net and cash in on a few of them. They need more than one goal a night to get anywhere in this series.
COACH DAVE TIPPETT: Haven’t heard anything from the league yet, no.
Q How do you prepare if you don’t hear anything until tomorrow?
COACH DAVE TIPPETT: We’ll hear something today. I don’t suspect anything. I suspect he’ll be a player. Looking at the situation, I can’t see how it would be a suspension, myself, but that’s for them to figure out. And from our side, I’m going to prepare like Ribeiro’s a player and move forward.
Q What about Lehtinen?
COACH DAVE TIPPETT: Lehtinen is day-to-day, so we’ll see where he is tomorrow.
(more)
There was a team meeting today and some guys skated.
Injury update: Barnes is out for Monday. Lehtinen is questionable. Had some soreness today. Tippett said the injury was not a result of the collision with Morrow, but it happened later in the game.
Nothing on the Ribeiro situation. Tippett said he expected a decision on any possible suspension today. Said he didn't think Ribeiro would get suspended.
"I can't see how that would be a suspension myself, but that's for them to figure out," Tippett said.
Ribiero talked to the media, and told his side of the story. He said he hadn't talked to the league as of early Sunday afternoon. Here are a few quotes.
"I think if you guys see the replay he actually tries to do it," Ribeiro said about Osgood catching him with the butt-end of his goalie stick. "It's not like he accidentally hit me. He was kind of bent down, raised up and then clipped me in the face. If he doesn't do that I don't think I would have reacted to do what I did. A little bit of frustration and emotion in the game. I think it was more dangerous what he tried to than what I did."
Ribeiro didn't think he would get suspended and he said he if got one game he thought Osgood said get two. Ribeiro was also asked if he thought he hurt Osgood with the slash.
"No, he gets shots harder than my slash," Ribeiro responded. "On the moment it looks worse than it really is. If you look at the replay, I don't think even a player can get hurt with that."
Other the hockey side there was a feeling that the team took a step forward with its play Saturday night and they hope to build on that moving forward. The faceoff issue was a hot topic and the Stars are addressing that issue. Obviously there was talk of finishing chances as well.
There is a lot to sort through tonight because of all the late game stuff, so let me start with that. Bob McKenzie of TSN didn't think the Ribeiro slash was worthy of a suspension, and I think he's usually got a pretty good read on these things. ESPN's Barry Melrose didn't think it was worthy of a suspension either. My gut thought is Ribeiro and Osgood both might get fines. My worry with Ribeiro is that it was still a pretty good slash after the game was over. That could be a key factor in all this. That could hurt him. We'll see.
There was some talk on CBC and by Razor after the game that the league could look at the Ott incident with Draper with five seconds to go. I went back and looked at the replay, and I don't see anything coming out of that one.
As for the game, I thought they played better despite the 34-18 shot advantage for the Red Wings. Shot totals don't always tell the whole story. They had good chances, a lot of which didn't materialize into shots on goal. That's what hurt on this night. They hung around the game and were in a position to steal one, but they finish their chances and didn't get the win. So, now they are in a position where Monday is basically a must win game. As I said in a previous post, being down 0-2 doesn't doom them but they have to hold home ice over the next two games I think, and it all starts with Monday's game.
Tough loss. That's a game of missed chances. That's the bottom line. There could be other issues. Mike Ribeiro got a match penalty at the end for the slash on Chris Osgood. That one will get reviewed by the league, but I doubt anything will come of it. Osgood plaed a role in instigating it and that may be a mitigating factor. We'll have to see if anything comes out of that Ott incident involving Draper too, but I am not sure anything will come out of that either. Of course, who knows how bad the Lehtinen injury is. More later.
Entertaining period, but again it was another bunch of missed opportunities. This time on the power play. There were some other chances too. Still, despite missing on the opportunities, they are in a position to win this game. They are just a bounce or a big break away from pulling even.
No Jere Lehtinen for almost all of the second after that first period collision with Brenden Morrow. The word is it's a leg injury.
That was a much better period than anything they threw out there Thursday, but talk about your missed opportunities. I counted four: Eriksson, Petersen, Ott on the four-on-one and then Hagman busting on in on Osgood late in the period. Big goal by Robidas to counter the Helm tally earlier in the period. The Red Wings power play is still a concern. It's now 4-8 in the series.
Johan Franzen, who is experience concussion-like symptoms, is out for the Red Wings tonight and it looks like he won't travel with the team to Dallas for Game 3. Here's the news from the Red Wings.
The Red Wings will be without the services of Johan Franzen for tonight's Game 2 of their best-of-seven Western Conference finals series with Dallas at Joe Louis Arena.
Franzen, who leads all playoff scorers with 12 goals and three assist, was experiencing concussion-like symptoms prior to the Wings taking the ice for pre-game warm-ups. He has been experiencing recurring headaches since early in the Western Conference semifinal against Colorado.
The Red Wings' medical staff recommended that as a precaution, Franzen -- who has scored an NHL-high 27 times since March 2, a 27-game roll that includes a league-high and franchise-record 12 goals in the postseason -- not play until further testing and evaluation is complete.
On Sunday, the team is scheduled to leave for Dallas, the site of Games 3 and 4 on Monday and Wednesday. Franzen will remain in Detroit to undergo testing on Monday.
No Stu Barnes tonight for the Stars. Barnes, who will miss his fifth straight game, remains in the day-to-day mode. The possible change at defense with Matt Niskanen going in is a game-time decision. I'd expect him to be in there. The Red Wings look as if they will be going with the same lineup as Thursday, which means Kirk Maltby will be in over Darren McCarty.
Don Cherry was on ESPN last night and will be so throughout the playoffs. No introduction needed. Here's the video. He talks about the Pens-Flyers and the attendance woes in Detroit.
