A night removed from an emotional comeback home win over the Devils, the Rangers played on fairly even terms with the defending Cup champion Hurricanes in Raleigh. But one mistake was all it took to decide a tightly contested game which Carolina pulled out 2-1 thanks to a Rod Brind'Amour goal with just 6:05 left at RBC Center Wednesday night.
With the teams knotted at one, an icing proved costly. Forced to keep the same players out while Carolina changed, the Blueshirts paid the price. Even though ex-Cane Matt Cullen beat Brind'Amour in the faceoff circle, an Aaron Ward reverse got intercepted by Justin Williams, who quickly setup a vacated Brind'Amour in the slot for a quick shot which beat Kevin Weekes inside the crossbar for the Hurricane captain's eighth.
Though the Rangers pressed late for the equalizer, they couldn't beat Cam Ward. The second-year Conn Smythe winner turned aside 23 of 24 shots to pickup the win, including a couple of big stops on Cullen and Fedor Tyutin.
Making his first start in five to give Henrik Lundqvist a night off, Weekes was solid in making 22 saves. But the ex-Carolina netminder got out to a tough start when Ranger killer Craig Adams tipped home an Anton Babchuk feed only 2:51 in. Chad LaRose also notched an assist.
After looking a couple of steps behind, the Rangers found their game and nearly tied it a couple of minutes later when Michael Nylander found Jaromir Jagr all alone for a breakaway. But the Ranger captain's forehand deke was denied by a sprawling Ward.
Weekes made some big stops in a busy second (14 saves) to keep his team down one. With the backup providing solid netminding, Jagr wouldn't miss the next time when Brendan Shanahan set him up in the slot for a one-timer which beat Ward five-hole on a power play at 16:02 to tie it. It was Jagr's third in two games and 599th of his NHL career. With his next goal, he'll become the 16th player to reach 600. Martin Straka also picked up a helper.
After killing off a Canes' man-advantage late in the second, they had a great opportunity to surge ahead early in the third when Eric Staal was assessed a double minor for high sticking Cullen. But New York failed to capitalize and it was cut short by a Jagr tripping penalty.
The Canes' Erik Cole came close to beating Weekes when his shot rang off the right post with less than 13:00 to go. It was the third post they hit to that point. Unfortunately for Weekes and his teammates, they wouldn't be as fortunate late.
Notes: After seeing over 3:00 of ice-time the first period, Colton Orr (4:31) rarely saw the ice and was replaced by Jagr in the third, who took a doubleshift with the fourth line a night after it worked so well against the Devils. The formula nearly paid dividends again when Jagr almost banked one past Ward. ... This was Cullen and Ward's first return to Carolina since helping them win the Cup last June. ... Canes won 29 of 51 draws including 20-11 from Brind'Amour. ... Rangers (10-8-1) are idle the next two days before visiting Pittsburgh Saturday and then returning home to MSG Sunday against Tampa Bay.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
The King Of Shootouts Gets Blueshirts Victory
The King was back in net for the Rangers. And that was definitely a good thing as Henrik Lundqvist continued his shootout dominance by stopping all three shooters in a 4-3 shootout victory over the Panthers at Bank Atlantic Center Wednesday night. It was the Blueshirts' third win in four and improved them to 3-0-1 during that stretch with just a home OT loss to Buffalo.
After sitting out the last three in favor of backup Kevin Weekes, Lundqvist was sharp enough to spark his team to a much needed win in the first of a three-game four-day Southeast trip with stops in Atlanta Friday and Washington Saturday.
In a game he made 37 saves just to get his team to its third shootout of the season, the 24 year-old Swedish gold medallist was the difference once again in improving the club to a perfect 3-0 under such instances. Forcing an Olli Jokinen miss while stoning Nathan Horton and Joe Nieuwendyk, Lundqvist made Michael Nylander's backhand deke stand up. In the three shootout victories, the King hasn't allowed a goal in 19 tries, including that memorable 13 round triumph over the Flyers back on October 7.
"I always feel pretty confident going into a shootout, but at the same time I know they (Panthers) have some good shooters," Lundqvist told the AP. "So I knew it would be a challenge."
"We really don't mind going into a shootout," added Rangers coach Tom Renney. "We feel like we have an advantage with our shooters."
It was all Rangers early as they took advantage of some undisciplined penalties by Florida to connect twice on the power play thanks to Martin Straka. With Martin Gelinas off for hooking, it took Straka just 10 seconds to blast a shot from the left point past Ed Belfour to give them the lead 3:13 into the contest. Brendan Shanahan and Nylander picked up assists.
Though they failed to capitalize on three more power plays during a onesided first which saw them control play and outshoot Florida 11-6, another penalty would lead to Straka's second of the night only 2:07 into the second. Off a faceoff win from Nylander with help from Shanahan, the left wing stepped into another point shot and beat Belfour inside the post to put New York comfortably in front by two.
"I was in good position to get off decent shots (on both goals) and it just worked out tonight," Straka said. "It's nice to get that early lead, but we have to maintain it throughout the game."
Continuing to dictate play, they drew two more penalties including a double minor on Chris Gratton. But instead of seizing complete control, a Straka hooking penalty led to a four-on-four goal by Ruslan Salei at 11:13 which cut it to one. With the Panthers back in it, they drew even 6:05 later when Horton rebounded home a Gary Roberts deflection on the power play. Suddenly, the Panthers came at the Rangers in waves outshooting them 12-1 over the final few minutes. Despite being outshot 18-7 for the period, New York escaped further damage thanks to Lundqvist (16 saves).
Even on the scoreboard, the Blueshirts once again got an early goal in the third thanks to a brilliant individual effort from Blair Betts. The checking pivot took the puck from his own blueline and then went around Florida defenseman Mike Van Ryn flipping a backhand on net and putting home his own rebound for his third unassisted at 1:34. It was the second highlight reel goal he scored in the last three. Betts also pulled off a similar play at Anaheim when he went coast to coast undressing Scott Niedermayer before beating Jean-Sebastien Giguere.
But Florida responded by tying it when defenseman Jay Bouwmeester put home his third with 11:07 remaining to force OT. In it, both teams played an unconventional three-on-three before the Rangers killed off a brief Panthers man-advantage to force the shootout leading to Lundqvist's theatrics.
Notes: Straka has three goals and four points in his last three. After starting the season with three goals in his first eight, he's got six in his last seven. ... Belfour finished with 27 saves. ... In an oddity, the Rangers' 4-3 shootout win was almost a year to the date of last year's identical margin last November 9th in the same building. "Yeah, I was thinking about that during the shootout, you know, maybe it's in the stars again," Renney pointed out. "We were able to prevail and win, so, yeah, history does repeat itself."
After sitting out the last three in favor of backup Kevin Weekes, Lundqvist was sharp enough to spark his team to a much needed win in the first of a three-game four-day Southeast trip with stops in Atlanta Friday and Washington Saturday.
In a game he made 37 saves just to get his team to its third shootout of the season, the 24 year-old Swedish gold medallist was the difference once again in improving the club to a perfect 3-0 under such instances. Forcing an Olli Jokinen miss while stoning Nathan Horton and Joe Nieuwendyk, Lundqvist made Michael Nylander's backhand deke stand up. In the three shootout victories, the King hasn't allowed a goal in 19 tries, including that memorable 13 round triumph over the Flyers back on October 7.
"I always feel pretty confident going into a shootout, but at the same time I know they (Panthers) have some good shooters," Lundqvist told the AP. "So I knew it would be a challenge."
"We really don't mind going into a shootout," added Rangers coach Tom Renney. "We feel like we have an advantage with our shooters."
It was all Rangers early as they took advantage of some undisciplined penalties by Florida to connect twice on the power play thanks to Martin Straka. With Martin Gelinas off for hooking, it took Straka just 10 seconds to blast a shot from the left point past Ed Belfour to give them the lead 3:13 into the contest. Brendan Shanahan and Nylander picked up assists.
Though they failed to capitalize on three more power plays during a onesided first which saw them control play and outshoot Florida 11-6, another penalty would lead to Straka's second of the night only 2:07 into the second. Off a faceoff win from Nylander with help from Shanahan, the left wing stepped into another point shot and beat Belfour inside the post to put New York comfortably in front by two.
"I was in good position to get off decent shots (on both goals) and it just worked out tonight," Straka said. "It's nice to get that early lead, but we have to maintain it throughout the game."
Continuing to dictate play, they drew two more penalties including a double minor on Chris Gratton. But instead of seizing complete control, a Straka hooking penalty led to a four-on-four goal by Ruslan Salei at 11:13 which cut it to one. With the Panthers back in it, they drew even 6:05 later when Horton rebounded home a Gary Roberts deflection on the power play. Suddenly, the Panthers came at the Rangers in waves outshooting them 12-1 over the final few minutes. Despite being outshot 18-7 for the period, New York escaped further damage thanks to Lundqvist (16 saves).
Even on the scoreboard, the Blueshirts once again got an early goal in the third thanks to a brilliant individual effort from Blair Betts. The checking pivot took the puck from his own blueline and then went around Florida defenseman Mike Van Ryn flipping a backhand on net and putting home his own rebound for his third unassisted at 1:34. It was the second highlight reel goal he scored in the last three. Betts also pulled off a similar play at Anaheim when he went coast to coast undressing Scott Niedermayer before beating Jean-Sebastien Giguere.
But Florida responded by tying it when defenseman Jay Bouwmeester put home his third with 11:07 remaining to force OT. In it, both teams played an unconventional three-on-three before the Rangers killed off a brief Panthers man-advantage to force the shootout leading to Lundqvist's theatrics.
Notes: Straka has three goals and four points in his last three. After starting the season with three goals in his first eight, he's got six in his last seven. ... Belfour finished with 27 saves. ... In an oddity, the Rangers' 4-3 shootout win was almost a year to the date of last year's identical margin last November 9th in the same building. "Yeah, I was thinking about that during the shootout, you know, maybe it's in the stars again," Renney pointed out. "We were able to prevail and win, so, yeah, history does repeat itself."
Friday, November 03, 2006
Oduya Growing In Confidence
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ -Before training camp, Johnny Oduya was just another player who was trying to make an impression with the Devils. After a solid camp and preseason, the Swedish 25 year-old defenseman suddenly found himself not only on the roster but in the lineup for their opening night 4-0 win at Carolina October 6.
So far, he's suited up in every game and is a respectable plus-one for the season. After playing the last few years overseas back home, the former Capitals 2001 seventh round pick understands how much tougher it is now that he's finally in the NHL.
"The game is a bit different for sure," Oduya pointed out after falling to the Islanders 5-2 Thursday night. "It's faster and there's not as much time with the puck. Unlike Europe, there's skilled players on every team. But you got to be aware when you're on the ice so much more. Like if you make a mistake here, they score right away."
As the season has gone on, Devils coach Claude Julien has given the rookie more ice-time and responsibility, which has helped boost his confidence.
"It's always, especially for a defenseman to play more. It helps you get in the game faster and makes you more confident," he pointed out after logging 18:49 including 2:09 of power play time last night. "Even if you make a mistake, you got time to get it back. I'm happy for every minute I can get on the ice. Just try to play the game they want me to play. Pretty smart defensively and try to skate as much as I can."
With Brad Lukowich missing some time due to a bruised left foot, Oduya has even gotten a chance to play with Brian Rafalski. So far, it's gone well.
"Rafy is an All Star player and he's got a lot of experience and helps me out a lot," he remarked. "He knows when to make the plays and not to. It's great for me to learn from. I think it's pretty good now."
On a veteran-laiden team, it's helped Oduya feel more comfortable. He's especially eager to improve and help the club have success on the ice.
"For sure. Like the guys have been around. They know what it takes. That's the thing you want to learn as a newcomer. How to win. We had a tough one today and had a couple of tough ones before. I think this is the place to be and learn from it."
Though he never got a chance to debut with Washington, Oduya is very pleased to finally be here and hopes to continue to impress with his new club.
"Anytime you get the chance to play in the NHL, I think that's a big thing for any player when you break in."
"It didn't workout in Washington for me but I was happy I came here. I'm happy I'm playing here and I'll try to do my best and we'll see what happens."
So far, he's suited up in every game and is a respectable plus-one for the season. After playing the last few years overseas back home, the former Capitals 2001 seventh round pick understands how much tougher it is now that he's finally in the NHL.
"The game is a bit different for sure," Oduya pointed out after falling to the Islanders 5-2 Thursday night. "It's faster and there's not as much time with the puck. Unlike Europe, there's skilled players on every team. But you got to be aware when you're on the ice so much more. Like if you make a mistake here, they score right away."
As the season has gone on, Devils coach Claude Julien has given the rookie more ice-time and responsibility, which has helped boost his confidence.
"It's always, especially for a defenseman to play more. It helps you get in the game faster and makes you more confident," he pointed out after logging 18:49 including 2:09 of power play time last night. "Even if you make a mistake, you got time to get it back. I'm happy for every minute I can get on the ice. Just try to play the game they want me to play. Pretty smart defensively and try to skate as much as I can."
With Brad Lukowich missing some time due to a bruised left foot, Oduya has even gotten a chance to play with Brian Rafalski. So far, it's gone well.
"Rafy is an All Star player and he's got a lot of experience and helps me out a lot," he remarked. "He knows when to make the plays and not to. It's great for me to learn from. I think it's pretty good now."
On a veteran-laiden team, it's helped Oduya feel more comfortable. He's especially eager to improve and help the club have success on the ice.
"For sure. Like the guys have been around. They know what it takes. That's the thing you want to learn as a newcomer. How to win. We had a tough one today and had a couple of tough ones before. I think this is the place to be and learn from it."
Though he never got a chance to debut with Washington, Oduya is very pleased to finally be here and hopes to continue to impress with his new club.
"Anytime you get the chance to play in the NHL, I think that's a big thing for any player when you break in."
"It didn't workout in Washington for me but I was happy I came here. I'm happy I'm playing here and I'll try to do my best and we'll see what happens."
Isles Continue Domination Over Devils
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ -Sometimes in sports, a particular opponent has a team's number. Apparently, that's still the case with the Islanders, who continued their recent mastery over the Devils with a dominant 5-2 victory before a sparse 8,269 at the Continental Airlines Arena Thursday night.
"It's tough to say but as long as it is we'll take it," chuckled Islander captain Alexei Yashin after setting up three goals while Jason Blake added a goal and two assists in the Isles' seventh win in the last nine against New Jersey.
"What it is is that we don't play our game against these guys," explained frustrated Devils' captain Patrik Elias. "We played into their hands and they were good."
The Isles' fifth win in six improved them to 6-4-2 and into a first place tie with Pittsburgh in the Atlantic.
"It's very nice to see," said a pleased Yashin. "It was nice to see the team respond like that. I think it's important like we really recognize the situation and importance of the game. What I want to say is, 'Game over today. There's a next game on Saturday.' We have to continue. Atlanta has been playing great hockey. So we have to be ready for that."
After owning the season series last year by taking six of eight meetings, the Islanders outworked and outplayed the Devils (6-5-1) by a wide margin, even limiting them to just 16 shots (10 first two periods).
Not even Martin Brodeur aiming for his third consecutive shutout could prevent them from finding the back of the net. It took Trent Hunter 8:00 to solve the Devils' netminder with a quick wrister which snapped Brodeur's shutout streak at 136:28 and gave the Islanders an early lead. It also broke a seven-game goal drought for Hunter.
After New York pressed for a two-goal lead, the Devils would respond by tying it thanks to rookie Travis Zajac, who finished off an impressive shift by one-timing a Jamie Langenbrunner backhand off an Isles' defenseman past Rick DiPietro at 15:30. But any momentum was shortlived as the Isles got it right back just 32 seconds later when Miroslav Satan rebounded home a Hunter shot. Mike York made the play possible by stealing the puck from Scott Gomez and setting up the goal.
Alexei Zhitnik padded the lead halfway through the second when his wrister from the point through traffic beat Brodeur. Taking a Yashin feed, his one-timer looked to change direction with Blake in front.
Briefly after, the Devils had a huge opportunity to get back in the game when two Isles were sent to the box five seconds apart giving them a two-man advantage for 1:55. But instead of capitalizing, they failed to force DiPietro to make any big stops and frequently missed the net, drawing boos instead.
"That could've brought us closer to make the game more interesting obviously and getting shots. We just haven't been able to hit the net on those and we were missing chances," Elias lamented.
Feeding off the huge kill, the Isles went up three thanks to some more nifty playmaking from Yashin. Taking a Blake drop pass at the blueline on a three-on-two, the Russian center drew two Devils and then made a perfect pass across to a wide open Viktor Kozlov in the slot for an easy one-timer goal for the ex-Devil's fourth of the season.
The Devils cut it to two 3:32 later thanks to another great shift from the Zajac line. Off a steal by Zajac which setup an odd-man rush, Langenbrunner chipped a pass to Zach Parise, who deflected it home for his sixth to give New Jersey some life heading to the third.
"We had one line going and that was about it," Elias pointed out. "We got to have obviously four lines with everybody on the same page and once again, we haven't done it."
Instead of making another comeback, New Jersey repeatedly took uncharacteristic bad penalties. After killing off one, an undisciplined Colin White slash would prove costly. Once again, a great play by Yashin resulted in a goal. Victimizing the shorthanded Devils on another three-on-two, he worked a give-and-go with Mike Sillinger and then slid the puck through a sliding Alex Brooks to setup a wide open Blake at the doorstep for a PPG at 4:46 to regain a three-goal lead.
"To beat great goalies, you have to move them from side-to-side...It's the only way to beat great goalies like Marty," Yashin concluded.
The formula worked to perfection.
Notes: York finished with two assists while Hunter matched his season output with a goal and assist. ... Isles' Arron Asham and Devils' Cam Janssen squared off and battled to a draw 2:47 in. ... Yashin has five points (2-3-5) in his last three games and has only been held without a point twice this season while leading the Islanders with 16 points. ... DiPietro turned aside 14 of 16 shots for his fourth win while Brodeur finished with 22 saves. ... Back after missing the Columbus game, Gomez played the first two periods (14:05) before reaggravating a groin injury. ... Making his return in a Devils uniform for the first time in a decade after helping them win their first Stanley Cup, Brick native Jim Dowd took 12 shifts (10:12) while playing on the fourth line with Janssen and Erik Rasmussen. ... As part of their 25th Anniversary celebration, the Devils honored their 1983-84 team before the game with a brief tribute.
"It's tough to say but as long as it is we'll take it," chuckled Islander captain Alexei Yashin after setting up three goals while Jason Blake added a goal and two assists in the Isles' seventh win in the last nine against New Jersey.
"What it is is that we don't play our game against these guys," explained frustrated Devils' captain Patrik Elias. "We played into their hands and they were good."
The Isles' fifth win in six improved them to 6-4-2 and into a first place tie with Pittsburgh in the Atlantic.
"It's very nice to see," said a pleased Yashin. "It was nice to see the team respond like that. I think it's important like we really recognize the situation and importance of the game. What I want to say is, 'Game over today. There's a next game on Saturday.' We have to continue. Atlanta has been playing great hockey. So we have to be ready for that."
After owning the season series last year by taking six of eight meetings, the Islanders outworked and outplayed the Devils (6-5-1) by a wide margin, even limiting them to just 16 shots (10 first two periods).
Not even Martin Brodeur aiming for his third consecutive shutout could prevent them from finding the back of the net. It took Trent Hunter 8:00 to solve the Devils' netminder with a quick wrister which snapped Brodeur's shutout streak at 136:28 and gave the Islanders an early lead. It also broke a seven-game goal drought for Hunter.
After New York pressed for a two-goal lead, the Devils would respond by tying it thanks to rookie Travis Zajac, who finished off an impressive shift by one-timing a Jamie Langenbrunner backhand off an Isles' defenseman past Rick DiPietro at 15:30. But any momentum was shortlived as the Isles got it right back just 32 seconds later when Miroslav Satan rebounded home a Hunter shot. Mike York made the play possible by stealing the puck from Scott Gomez and setting up the goal.
Alexei Zhitnik padded the lead halfway through the second when his wrister from the point through traffic beat Brodeur. Taking a Yashin feed, his one-timer looked to change direction with Blake in front.
Briefly after, the Devils had a huge opportunity to get back in the game when two Isles were sent to the box five seconds apart giving them a two-man advantage for 1:55. But instead of capitalizing, they failed to force DiPietro to make any big stops and frequently missed the net, drawing boos instead.
"That could've brought us closer to make the game more interesting obviously and getting shots. We just haven't been able to hit the net on those and we were missing chances," Elias lamented.
Feeding off the huge kill, the Isles went up three thanks to some more nifty playmaking from Yashin. Taking a Blake drop pass at the blueline on a three-on-two, the Russian center drew two Devils and then made a perfect pass across to a wide open Viktor Kozlov in the slot for an easy one-timer goal for the ex-Devil's fourth of the season.
The Devils cut it to two 3:32 later thanks to another great shift from the Zajac line. Off a steal by Zajac which setup an odd-man rush, Langenbrunner chipped a pass to Zach Parise, who deflected it home for his sixth to give New Jersey some life heading to the third.
"We had one line going and that was about it," Elias pointed out. "We got to have obviously four lines with everybody on the same page and once again, we haven't done it."
Instead of making another comeback, New Jersey repeatedly took uncharacteristic bad penalties. After killing off one, an undisciplined Colin White slash would prove costly. Once again, a great play by Yashin resulted in a goal. Victimizing the shorthanded Devils on another three-on-two, he worked a give-and-go with Mike Sillinger and then slid the puck through a sliding Alex Brooks to setup a wide open Blake at the doorstep for a PPG at 4:46 to regain a three-goal lead.
"To beat great goalies, you have to move them from side-to-side...It's the only way to beat great goalies like Marty," Yashin concluded.
The formula worked to perfection.
Notes: York finished with two assists while Hunter matched his season output with a goal and assist. ... Isles' Arron Asham and Devils' Cam Janssen squared off and battled to a draw 2:47 in. ... Yashin has five points (2-3-5) in his last three games and has only been held without a point twice this season while leading the Islanders with 16 points. ... DiPietro turned aside 14 of 16 shots for his fourth win while Brodeur finished with 22 saves. ... Back after missing the Columbus game, Gomez played the first two periods (14:05) before reaggravating a groin injury. ... Making his return in a Devils uniform for the first time in a decade after helping them win their first Stanley Cup, Brick native Jim Dowd took 12 shifts (10:12) while playing on the fourth line with Janssen and Erik Rasmussen. ... As part of their 25th Anniversary celebration, the Devils honored their 1983-84 team before the game with a brief tribute.
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Parise Looking To Carry On Solid Play
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ -So far, so good for Devils' forward Zach Parise in year number two. After a solid finish to his first season, the 22 year-old Minnesota native came into 2006-07 expecting bigger things from himself.
"I really thought things were kind of coming together at the end of last year and I was just trying to carry it over from when Gomez, Gionta and I were playing together," Parise expressed after notching a power play goal in the Devils' 3-2 victory over Philadelphia Saturday night. It was his third in four games to go with an assist but the second-year North Dakota product was keeping it in perspective.
"I just want to kind of carry that on and so far it's early. Three, four games. But it's been going pretty good so far," he pointed out.
The key for Parise is to be consistent and continue excelling while playing with two dynamic talented players in Gomez and Gionta on the Devils' top line. After starting slowly his rookie season, he finished well with his American linemates, concluding with 14 goals and 18 assists for 32 points in 81 games while tallying a goal and two helpers in his first postseason. The former 2003 first round pick knows that that experience should make him feel more comfortable this season.
"No question. Especially cause you just kind of see what it's all about. The more experience, the better. Especially here. I feel a lot better now at this time this year than I did last year."
Since being teamed with Gomez and Gionta, he's formed excellent chemistry with them adding even more speed and making the trio more dangerous on rushes. But he also realizes his good fortune to play with such talent.
"I'm pretty fortunate to play with those guys," he noted. "They make it pretty easy for me and they're helpful. That's the most important thing. I think we just kind of click pretty well so far together."
Parise also understands who he replaced on that line when then Coach/GM Lou Lamoriello moved him up while shifting present team captain Patrik Elias to the second line to give the Devils more balance and spark them to their sixth Atlantic title.
"It was tough because Patty was on that line. So it's kind of hard. Kind of big shoes to fill but I think it's gone pretty good so far."
While it's been a smooth transition thus far for Parise, he's also excited to have another North Dakota product alongside him in former 2004 Devils' first round pick Travis Zajac.
"North Dakota is a good place to go play and we chat a little bit about it but got to turn the page. He's doing real well for us this year. I think he's going to be a really good player in the league."
One thing Parise is happy about is that his older brother Jordan, who also starred as a goalie at North Dakota, was signed as a free agent by the Devils and is playing for AHL affiliate Lowell. With him closeby, they speak frequently.
"I talk to him all the time. He's down at Lowell right now and hopefully, he'll get a chance to play down there and who knows what will happen down the road. But he's enjoying himself so far."
Who knows? Maybe one day the two brothers could lead the Devils to victory.
"I really thought things were kind of coming together at the end of last year and I was just trying to carry it over from when Gomez, Gionta and I were playing together," Parise expressed after notching a power play goal in the Devils' 3-2 victory over Philadelphia Saturday night. It was his third in four games to go with an assist but the second-year North Dakota product was keeping it in perspective.
"I just want to kind of carry that on and so far it's early. Three, four games. But it's been going pretty good so far," he pointed out.
The key for Parise is to be consistent and continue excelling while playing with two dynamic talented players in Gomez and Gionta on the Devils' top line. After starting slowly his rookie season, he finished well with his American linemates, concluding with 14 goals and 18 assists for 32 points in 81 games while tallying a goal and two helpers in his first postseason. The former 2003 first round pick knows that that experience should make him feel more comfortable this season.
"No question. Especially cause you just kind of see what it's all about. The more experience, the better. Especially here. I feel a lot better now at this time this year than I did last year."
Since being teamed with Gomez and Gionta, he's formed excellent chemistry with them adding even more speed and making the trio more dangerous on rushes. But he also realizes his good fortune to play with such talent.
"I'm pretty fortunate to play with those guys," he noted. "They make it pretty easy for me and they're helpful. That's the most important thing. I think we just kind of click pretty well so far together."
Parise also understands who he replaced on that line when then Coach/GM Lou Lamoriello moved him up while shifting present team captain Patrik Elias to the second line to give the Devils more balance and spark them to their sixth Atlantic title.
"It was tough because Patty was on that line. So it's kind of hard. Kind of big shoes to fill but I think it's gone pretty good so far."
While it's been a smooth transition thus far for Parise, he's also excited to have another North Dakota product alongside him in former 2004 Devils' first round pick Travis Zajac.
"North Dakota is a good place to go play and we chat a little bit about it but got to turn the page. He's doing real well for us this year. I think he's going to be a really good player in the league."
One thing Parise is happy about is that his older brother Jordan, who also starred as a goalie at North Dakota, was signed as a free agent by the Devils and is playing for AHL affiliate Lowell. With him closeby, they speak frequently.
"I talk to him all the time. He's down at Lowell right now and hopefully, he'll get a chance to play down there and who knows what will happen down the road. But he's enjoying himself so far."
Who knows? Maybe one day the two brothers could lead the Devils to victory.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Gionta The Difference In Devils' Win Over Flyers
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ -Brian Gionta remained hot. Coming off his first career hat trick which rallied his team from three down to help pull out a wild 7-6 shootout victory over Toronto in their home opener, the Devils' sniper once again delivered.
Gionta's team-leading fourth goal snapped a 2-2 tie and ultimately proved the difference in New Jersey's 3-2 comeback victory over the rival Flyers before an energized 14,177 at Continental Airlines Arena Saturday night.
"It's big for us," forward Zach Parise pointed out. "Philly's in our division obviously. It's a division game obviously and we battled back- another come from behind win. We played well when we stayed out of the box."
With the game knotted early in the third period, the Devils' little big man perfectly redirected a Brian Rafalski point shot by Flyers' netminder Antero Niittymaki at 3:33 to give his team its second straight win and improve to 3-1-0 on the season.
"It's just one of those things," he said after helping the Devils to their fifth consecutive triumph at home over their Turnpike neighbors. "I just try to get to the net when it counts. We have to create traffic and try to get some tips and rebounds."
"[Gionta] has been a clutch performer for us for the last couple of years," right wing Jamie Langenbrunner noted. "The last game, he scored the last three there to put us into extra time and then tonight, the game winner. He seems to find a way and it's good to have a guy like that on your team."
Martin Brodeur made Gionta's clutch tally stand up with 25 saves to notch his 449th career victory. He trails just the Panthers' Ed Belfour (457) and Patrick Roy (551) on the NHL all-time list.
"To win the games, you need the goaltender to be sharp and give the team a chance to win and [Brodeur] did a great job tonight," team captain Patrik Elias said. "We played pretty good game tonight. Especially the third period. It was very good for us. First couple of periods, too many penalties and we didn't get a chance to get in a good rhythm. We played a smart third period and gave ourselves a chance to win."
With both teams unable to stay out of the box in the first, each spent plenty of time on the man-advantage. After they killed off back-to-back minors, the Devils cashed in on their second consecutive opportunity to go in front. Parise opened the scoring when he took a Scott Gomez pass and beat Niittymaki with a wrister from the right circle for his third at 9:08. But the lead would be shortlived when the Flyers' Mike Knuble struck right back with a PPG of his own 2:06 later to tie it. With Elias off for a high sticking double minor, Knuble took a Peter Forsberg pass and beat Brodeur in front.
It didn't take long in the second for Knuble to put the Flyers ahead. Off a three-on-two rush, he got his stick on a Geoff Sanderson centering feed and deflected it in at 1:23. A video review confirmed that he had tallied his second of the night and third of the season.
The Flyers threatened to go up by two but a strong stop by Brodeur on a Simon Gagne backhand from in close during a delayed call on Colin White kept them down one. That proved pivotal late in the period when Langenbrunner deflected a Rafalski shot past Niittymaki to tie it on another PP with 1:41 remaining.
Rafalski picked up his third assist on Gionta's deciding goal which gave them another comeback win.
"Any time you're playing against your division, you're going to see them eight times a year. You want to get off on the right foot and it's a little easier. Make it a four point swing...That's huge. It's a good start. We got a big stretch of a couple of more division games coming up," Langenbrunner added.
"Any time you fall behind a team like that early, that's no good," defenseman Paul Martin said. "But the guys showed character and patience and kept plugging away and we were able to get the win."
Notes: After the teams combined for 13 penalties the first two periods, only one minor was called in the third on Knuble as the Devils stayed out of the box while outscoring their opponents 1-0 and outshooting them 11-7. ... Devils finished 2-for-6 on the PP while Philadelphia was just 1-of-8. ... Gomez had two assists and Elias also added a helper. ... Niittymaki turned aside 29 in a losing effort. ... Devils start a two-game road trip by visiting the Garden Monday against the Rangers before concluding at Pittsburgh Wednesday.
Gionta's team-leading fourth goal snapped a 2-2 tie and ultimately proved the difference in New Jersey's 3-2 comeback victory over the rival Flyers before an energized 14,177 at Continental Airlines Arena Saturday night.
"It's big for us," forward Zach Parise pointed out. "Philly's in our division obviously. It's a division game obviously and we battled back- another come from behind win. We played well when we stayed out of the box."
With the game knotted early in the third period, the Devils' little big man perfectly redirected a Brian Rafalski point shot by Flyers' netminder Antero Niittymaki at 3:33 to give his team its second straight win and improve to 3-1-0 on the season.
"It's just one of those things," he said after helping the Devils to their fifth consecutive triumph at home over their Turnpike neighbors. "I just try to get to the net when it counts. We have to create traffic and try to get some tips and rebounds."
"[Gionta] has been a clutch performer for us for the last couple of years," right wing Jamie Langenbrunner noted. "The last game, he scored the last three there to put us into extra time and then tonight, the game winner. He seems to find a way and it's good to have a guy like that on your team."
Martin Brodeur made Gionta's clutch tally stand up with 25 saves to notch his 449th career victory. He trails just the Panthers' Ed Belfour (457) and Patrick Roy (551) on the NHL all-time list.
"To win the games, you need the goaltender to be sharp and give the team a chance to win and [Brodeur] did a great job tonight," team captain Patrik Elias said. "We played pretty good game tonight. Especially the third period. It was very good for us. First couple of periods, too many penalties and we didn't get a chance to get in a good rhythm. We played a smart third period and gave ourselves a chance to win."
With both teams unable to stay out of the box in the first, each spent plenty of time on the man-advantage. After they killed off back-to-back minors, the Devils cashed in on their second consecutive opportunity to go in front. Parise opened the scoring when he took a Scott Gomez pass and beat Niittymaki with a wrister from the right circle for his third at 9:08. But the lead would be shortlived when the Flyers' Mike Knuble struck right back with a PPG of his own 2:06 later to tie it. With Elias off for a high sticking double minor, Knuble took a Peter Forsberg pass and beat Brodeur in front.
It didn't take long in the second for Knuble to put the Flyers ahead. Off a three-on-two rush, he got his stick on a Geoff Sanderson centering feed and deflected it in at 1:23. A video review confirmed that he had tallied his second of the night and third of the season.
The Flyers threatened to go up by two but a strong stop by Brodeur on a Simon Gagne backhand from in close during a delayed call on Colin White kept them down one. That proved pivotal late in the period when Langenbrunner deflected a Rafalski shot past Niittymaki to tie it on another PP with 1:41 remaining.
Rafalski picked up his third assist on Gionta's deciding goal which gave them another comeback win.
"Any time you're playing against your division, you're going to see them eight times a year. You want to get off on the right foot and it's a little easier. Make it a four point swing...That's huge. It's a good start. We got a big stretch of a couple of more division games coming up," Langenbrunner added.
"Any time you fall behind a team like that early, that's no good," defenseman Paul Martin said. "But the guys showed character and patience and kept plugging away and we were able to get the win."
Notes: After the teams combined for 13 penalties the first two periods, only one minor was called in the third on Knuble as the Devils stayed out of the box while outscoring their opponents 1-0 and outshooting them 11-7. ... Devils finished 2-for-6 on the PP while Philadelphia was just 1-of-8. ... Gomez had two assists and Elias also added a helper. ... Niittymaki turned aside 29 in a losing effort. ... Devils start a two-game road trip by visiting the Garden Monday against the Rangers before concluding at Pittsburgh Wednesday.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Wake Up Call Comes Early For Rangers
Four games. That's all it took to see that there's something seriously lacking with this year's Rangers. The same team which came off their first postseason in nine years and was even picked by some experts to win the Stanley Cup. Hold that thought.
In their second straight home defeat- a crushing 6-5 loss to the Pens in which 19 year-old wunderkid Sidney Crosby banked in the winner off Ranger defenseman Aaron Ward's skate with 3.3 seconds left as Ranger captain Jaromir Jagr helplessly watched from the penalty box- time and time again, the 2006-07 Blueshirts paid for their lack of discipline.
Every mistake wound up in the back of the net. Paging Henrik Lundqvist. You are allowed to make a big save once in a while. Yes. The same Swedish netminder who was deemed King of Manhattan in an outstanding rookie season but has somehow allowed 10 goals in the last two losses. Oh. And if you discount the stellar 13 save effort in their shootout win at Philadelphia Saturday, he's given up 14 goals on the last 85 shots his way. For those doing the math, that's an .835 save percentage.
Not that it's all his fault. There's plenty of blame to go around of a team that's made so many glaring mistakes early on, that it's looked eerily similar to their colossal nine-game losing streak which ended last season on such a sour note.
Aside from Lundqvist's early struggles in the dreaded sophomore season which has given plenty of netminders recurring nightmares, the lack of cohesiveness has to be a sore point for Rangers coach Tom Renney. Too many instances last night and especially the previous two, his team didn't seem on the same page. Particularly alarming is the lack of backchecks which have led to odd-man rushes resulting in goals such as the one Pittsburgh's Ryan Whitney connected on just 53 seconds after Michael Nylander's power play tally tied it to give the Pens a 5-4 lead with 12:58 remaining in a seesaw contest.
"We held the majority of the play," a disappointed Brendan Shanahan expressed to the AP after tallying his team-leading fourth goal via the man-advantage to knot the game up again at 11:12 before Crosby's cruel ending resulted in the Blueshirts getting no points. "We've got some work to do as a five-man unit and we've got some work to do on the special teams."
Ah. Special teams. If ever there was an area Renney's troops need to spend time on, it's on a penalty kill which allowed chance after chance to the opportunistic Pens, who cashed in on four of nine. Imagine that the Rangers outshot their opponent 42-22 but wound up on the losing side due to an abysmal effort which allowed the star of the night Crosby to also rack up three assists along with his crushing winner which sent fans to the exits cursing under their breath.
Since going a perfect eight-for-eight against Washington in their season opener triumph, they've now given up seven PPG in the last three games. Translation. Darius Kasparaitis and Jed Ortmeyer can't get back healthy soon enough. Summing up how little confidence the current PK unit has, Adam Hall's failure to attack Mark Recchi at the right point with five seconds to go proved costly when Recchi fed Crosby, who one-timed a pass for Michel Ouellet which went off Ward and in.
"I could have picked a better position to not line up and block the pass in front of the goalie," Ward later said. "I should have stepped out to the side. As a defenseman, you don't want to be the catalyst to their goal."
While the 3-time Cup winner took responsibility for the gutwrenching loss, had Hall been more aggressive, the puck never gets to Crosby and the Rangers come out with at worst a point on an otherwise poorly executed night which saw them shoot themselves in the foot literally.
Outside of that play, Hall, who was acquired for current Pen Dominic Moore in a three-team deal with Nashville has been one of the few Rangers who's played well. It was the ex-Predator who one-timed a Martin Straka pass to help his struggling team finally break a power play drought in the second period. So it wasn't all bad for the 26 year-old Kalamazoo Michigan native who tallied 10 of his 14 goals on the PP last season.
Before that PPG, the lack of execution on the Rangers' power play was disturbing. With predictable collective groans coming from an MSG crowd at the ridiculous amount of passes made before even a shot was attempted, their worst fears were realized when 18 year-old Pens' second overall pick Jordan Staal forced Michal Rozsival into a turnover on an illtimed Jagr pass and took full advantage by beating Lundqvist for his first NHL goal shorthanded. One could only wonder if the younger brother of 2005 Rangers' first rounder Marc would've been able to make the same play and convert on a breakaway if that Staal was on the ice. We'll have to wait another year at the very least before that happens.
The good news for New York was that after Hall's PPG, they did score twice more in the nine chances they got. So maybe they can get hot in time for what promises to be a difficult road game at Buffalo Saturday night before returning home to host the rival Devils, who finished off a three-goal comeback in another wild game Thursday to pull out a 7-6 shootout win over Toronto in their home opener.
So it won't get any easier for a team that's clearly not clicking on all cylinders and has turned over the puck at an alarming rate. Not a great recipe against two of the East's quicker transition teams.
Aside from all their issues, the team's best player Jagr is clearly not close to 100 percent. Though the Rangers' leader converted his second on a patented wrister in transition, he has been hesitant to shoot the puck due to the recovering shoulder he injured against the Devils last Spring. Especially on the man-advantage where he set a franchise record last season with 24. It's not like Nylander or Straka are going to pull the trigger. Outside of Shanahan, Hall and Petr Prucha (12:18 TOI), nobody is really going to finish plays. Until Renney adjusts and puts acquisition Matt Cullen on the right point where he can get his top heavy shot through, teams will continue to overplay Jagr and not pay much attention to the point.
Everyone knows they don't have a PP quarterback. And no. A 38 year-old Brian Leetch is not the answer unless they're willing to play him as an extra defenseman. He doesn't have the mobility anymore and is far too much of an injury risk. No. 2 belongs up in the Garden rafters next to Mark Messier's 11.
The good news. Renney's staff still have plenty of time to get this and other things fixed before it gets late early. That would include playing his second leading goalscorer Prucha (30 last year) more than he saw last night. It also should include getting fourth liners Jason Ward (6:59) and Ryan Hollweg (4:48) out more even if his team takes the ridiculous amount of penalties it did. Both provided energy and finished on the plus-side of the ledger helping setup a Cullen goal and almost another tally on their next shift.
Last season, Renney tried to establish all four lines. He needs to get back to that. It also wouldn't hurt to give backup goalie Kevin Weekes the start at HSBC Arena. Maybe the likeable vet will make a save or two which provide a spark which has been missing.
Either way, we're going to find out something about Renney's club the next few days. With expectations way up, the pressure is on.
In their second straight home defeat- a crushing 6-5 loss to the Pens in which 19 year-old wunderkid Sidney Crosby banked in the winner off Ranger defenseman Aaron Ward's skate with 3.3 seconds left as Ranger captain Jaromir Jagr helplessly watched from the penalty box- time and time again, the 2006-07 Blueshirts paid for their lack of discipline.
Every mistake wound up in the back of the net. Paging Henrik Lundqvist. You are allowed to make a big save once in a while. Yes. The same Swedish netminder who was deemed King of Manhattan in an outstanding rookie season but has somehow allowed 10 goals in the last two losses. Oh. And if you discount the stellar 13 save effort in their shootout win at Philadelphia Saturday, he's given up 14 goals on the last 85 shots his way. For those doing the math, that's an .835 save percentage.
Not that it's all his fault. There's plenty of blame to go around of a team that's made so many glaring mistakes early on, that it's looked eerily similar to their colossal nine-game losing streak which ended last season on such a sour note.
Aside from Lundqvist's early struggles in the dreaded sophomore season which has given plenty of netminders recurring nightmares, the lack of cohesiveness has to be a sore point for Rangers coach Tom Renney. Too many instances last night and especially the previous two, his team didn't seem on the same page. Particularly alarming is the lack of backchecks which have led to odd-man rushes resulting in goals such as the one Pittsburgh's Ryan Whitney connected on just 53 seconds after Michael Nylander's power play tally tied it to give the Pens a 5-4 lead with 12:58 remaining in a seesaw contest.
"We held the majority of the play," a disappointed Brendan Shanahan expressed to the AP after tallying his team-leading fourth goal via the man-advantage to knot the game up again at 11:12 before Crosby's cruel ending resulted in the Blueshirts getting no points. "We've got some work to do as a five-man unit and we've got some work to do on the special teams."
Ah. Special teams. If ever there was an area Renney's troops need to spend time on, it's on a penalty kill which allowed chance after chance to the opportunistic Pens, who cashed in on four of nine. Imagine that the Rangers outshot their opponent 42-22 but wound up on the losing side due to an abysmal effort which allowed the star of the night Crosby to also rack up three assists along with his crushing winner which sent fans to the exits cursing under their breath.
Since going a perfect eight-for-eight against Washington in their season opener triumph, they've now given up seven PPG in the last three games. Translation. Darius Kasparaitis and Jed Ortmeyer can't get back healthy soon enough. Summing up how little confidence the current PK unit has, Adam Hall's failure to attack Mark Recchi at the right point with five seconds to go proved costly when Recchi fed Crosby, who one-timed a pass for Michel Ouellet which went off Ward and in.
"I could have picked a better position to not line up and block the pass in front of the goalie," Ward later said. "I should have stepped out to the side. As a defenseman, you don't want to be the catalyst to their goal."
While the 3-time Cup winner took responsibility for the gutwrenching loss, had Hall been more aggressive, the puck never gets to Crosby and the Rangers come out with at worst a point on an otherwise poorly executed night which saw them shoot themselves in the foot literally.
Outside of that play, Hall, who was acquired for current Pen Dominic Moore in a three-team deal with Nashville has been one of the few Rangers who's played well. It was the ex-Predator who one-timed a Martin Straka pass to help his struggling team finally break a power play drought in the second period. So it wasn't all bad for the 26 year-old Kalamazoo Michigan native who tallied 10 of his 14 goals on the PP last season.
Before that PPG, the lack of execution on the Rangers' power play was disturbing. With predictable collective groans coming from an MSG crowd at the ridiculous amount of passes made before even a shot was attempted, their worst fears were realized when 18 year-old Pens' second overall pick Jordan Staal forced Michal Rozsival into a turnover on an illtimed Jagr pass and took full advantage by beating Lundqvist for his first NHL goal shorthanded. One could only wonder if the younger brother of 2005 Rangers' first rounder Marc would've been able to make the same play and convert on a breakaway if that Staal was on the ice. We'll have to wait another year at the very least before that happens.
The good news for New York was that after Hall's PPG, they did score twice more in the nine chances they got. So maybe they can get hot in time for what promises to be a difficult road game at Buffalo Saturday night before returning home to host the rival Devils, who finished off a three-goal comeback in another wild game Thursday to pull out a 7-6 shootout win over Toronto in their home opener.
So it won't get any easier for a team that's clearly not clicking on all cylinders and has turned over the puck at an alarming rate. Not a great recipe against two of the East's quicker transition teams.
Aside from all their issues, the team's best player Jagr is clearly not close to 100 percent. Though the Rangers' leader converted his second on a patented wrister in transition, he has been hesitant to shoot the puck due to the recovering shoulder he injured against the Devils last Spring. Especially on the man-advantage where he set a franchise record last season with 24. It's not like Nylander or Straka are going to pull the trigger. Outside of Shanahan, Hall and Petr Prucha (12:18 TOI), nobody is really going to finish plays. Until Renney adjusts and puts acquisition Matt Cullen on the right point where he can get his top heavy shot through, teams will continue to overplay Jagr and not pay much attention to the point.
Everyone knows they don't have a PP quarterback. And no. A 38 year-old Brian Leetch is not the answer unless they're willing to play him as an extra defenseman. He doesn't have the mobility anymore and is far too much of an injury risk. No. 2 belongs up in the Garden rafters next to Mark Messier's 11.
The good news. Renney's staff still have plenty of time to get this and other things fixed before it gets late early. That would include playing his second leading goalscorer Prucha (30 last year) more than he saw last night. It also should include getting fourth liners Jason Ward (6:59) and Ryan Hollweg (4:48) out more even if his team takes the ridiculous amount of penalties it did. Both provided energy and finished on the plus-side of the ledger helping setup a Cullen goal and almost another tally on their next shift.
Last season, Renney tried to establish all four lines. He needs to get back to that. It also wouldn't hurt to give backup goalie Kevin Weekes the start at HSBC Arena. Maybe the likeable vet will make a save or two which provide a spark which has been missing.
Either way, we're going to find out something about Renney's club the next few days. With expectations way up, the pressure is on.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Cap Behind Them, Devils Set To Challenge For Cup
You just knew in your heart of hearts, the Devils would find a way out of this cap mess and get all their key players signed in time to kickoff what could be another banner season.
Now that Team President and GM Lou Lamoriello miraculously rid himself of the $7.1 million owed to Vlad Malakhov (dealt to Sharks) and Alexander Mogilny (Long Term Injury Exception) in a three day span, he was able to re-sign RFA's Brian Gionta, Paul Martin, David Hale, Erik Rasmussen and Scott Clemmensen.
The team's leading goalscorer Gionta from last season inked a three-year deal worth an average of $4 million-per-season. Meanwhile, third-year defenseman Martin will make $2 million. Rasmussen and Clemmensen each signed for $450,000 while Hale got $550,000.
All in a frantic attempt to finally meet the $44 million cap a day before the season officially begins. And with the madness of the past couple of days finally behind them, what Lamoriello has assembled is a roster which could deliver the club's fourth Stanley Cup in 12 years.
Let's take a closer look at why:
FORWARDS: With 48 goal man Gionta signed, the Devils could reunite their dynamic top unit of Patrik Elias, Scott Gomez and Gionta (EGG Line). With Elias fully healthy this time around and probably the new team captain, that should provide an immediate boost. If new coach Claude Julien opts to keep that line intact, he could roll the dice on rookie pivot Travis Zajac. The 2004 first round selection out of North Dakota impressed during preseason and made the team. A second line comprising of second-year forward Zach Parise, Zajac and right wing Jamie Langenbrunner could be possible. If that's the case, Parise will be looked upon for an increase in production. Playing primarily with Gomez and Gionta down the stretch last year, he improved significantly. Used more on the wing, the center was more effective in all facets. The checking line of Jay Pandolfo and John Madden will be getting a new linemate. Gone is vet Grant Marshall. In his place could be interchangeable forward Sergei Brylin. Only Brylin and Martin Brodeur are left from all three Cup wins. Brylin tends to fly under the radar but can be used in any facet. With Jason Wiemer out possibly for the season, Rasmussen will be back to center a grind line which includes bruising forward Cam Janssen and 2003 Game 7 hero Mike Rupp. Julien also might opt to use recently signed Dan LaCouture. Aside from dropping the gloves, LaCouture can skate better than Janssen. It could depend on the opponent how much that line is utilized.
DEFENSE: Anchored by veteran Brian Rafalski, this unit should once again be effective. Especially in Julien's familiar system which he used with Montreal. Rafalski should begin the season teamed with Brad Lukowich. Towards the end of last season, they worked well together after Lukowich replaced the injured Richard Matvichuk. Matvichuk will start the season on the injured list due to a bad back and his return is uncertain. Meanwhile, the Devils will send out a second pair of Colin White and Paul Martin to match-up against opposing top lines. The duo had solid chemistry in their first year together and will look to build on it. While White will provide physicality, the mobile Martin can jump into the play and contribute offensively. If he can improve on his 37 points (20 power play) from last season, it would be a tremdendous boost for New Jersey's blueline. Rounding out the D should be Hale and ex-Shark Jim Fahey. Fahey was part of the Malakhov deal and should be serviceable. In a bit of a surprise, Tomas Harant also made the roster over Johnny Oduya, who was optioned back to Lowell. Harant will bid for playing time.
GOALIE: The Devils might have decided to take three netminders to start the season with due to Frank Doyle's impressive preseason but only one is capable of making them an instant contender and backstopping them to another championship. That's the impact the game's best goalie Martin Brodeur has on his team. Always their most important player, the two-time Vezina and three-time Cup winner will once again be relied on heavily. In better shape than last year, look for the 34 year-old veteran to get his usual workload of 70-75 starts. Maybe Julien will even give him the odd day off and get both Doyle and Clemmensen into more than five combined games. But make no mistake about it. Any run at another Cup depends on the durable Brodeur. If he goes down, all bets are off.
COACH: A year removed from a crazy scenario which saw Lamoriello step behind the bench to rally his troops to its sixth Atlantic Division crown, the do-everything executive moved back upstairs and went back to a formula that's had success before. Bringing in a former Montreal coach. Like Jacques Lemaire, Larry Robinson and Pat Burns, Julien was the Habs' coach before being axed last season. And like his predecessors who all delivered Cups in East Rutherford, he believes in defensively responsible teams who will sacrifice to win at all costs. He's with the right organization and shouldn't have any problem getting his players to buy in. They're all about winning.
Prediction: One can look at this team two ways. They didn't really improve due to Lamoriello's hands being tied. However, a full season of Elias and a more mature Parise should pay dividends. The real key could be Zajac. If he proves ready, that could give the Devils two scoring lines and the usual reliable checking line which Madden's unit provides. Due to where they are pertaining to the cap, Lamoriello won't have much maneuverability to improve the team at the trade deadline. So, it will largely depend on the core already in place. The time is now to win another Cup. Expect another Atlantic championship and a deep postseason run.
Atlantic Division Champions
Predicted Record: 48-25-9, 105 points, 2nd overall East
Now that Team President and GM Lou Lamoriello miraculously rid himself of the $7.1 million owed to Vlad Malakhov (dealt to Sharks) and Alexander Mogilny (Long Term Injury Exception) in a three day span, he was able to re-sign RFA's Brian Gionta, Paul Martin, David Hale, Erik Rasmussen and Scott Clemmensen.
The team's leading goalscorer Gionta from last season inked a three-year deal worth an average of $4 million-per-season. Meanwhile, third-year defenseman Martin will make $2 million. Rasmussen and Clemmensen each signed for $450,000 while Hale got $550,000.
All in a frantic attempt to finally meet the $44 million cap a day before the season officially begins. And with the madness of the past couple of days finally behind them, what Lamoriello has assembled is a roster which could deliver the club's fourth Stanley Cup in 12 years.
Let's take a closer look at why:
FORWARDS: With 48 goal man Gionta signed, the Devils could reunite their dynamic top unit of Patrik Elias, Scott Gomez and Gionta (EGG Line). With Elias fully healthy this time around and probably the new team captain, that should provide an immediate boost. If new coach Claude Julien opts to keep that line intact, he could roll the dice on rookie pivot Travis Zajac. The 2004 first round selection out of North Dakota impressed during preseason and made the team. A second line comprising of second-year forward Zach Parise, Zajac and right wing Jamie Langenbrunner could be possible. If that's the case, Parise will be looked upon for an increase in production. Playing primarily with Gomez and Gionta down the stretch last year, he improved significantly. Used more on the wing, the center was more effective in all facets. The checking line of Jay Pandolfo and John Madden will be getting a new linemate. Gone is vet Grant Marshall. In his place could be interchangeable forward Sergei Brylin. Only Brylin and Martin Brodeur are left from all three Cup wins. Brylin tends to fly under the radar but can be used in any facet. With Jason Wiemer out possibly for the season, Rasmussen will be back to center a grind line which includes bruising forward Cam Janssen and 2003 Game 7 hero Mike Rupp. Julien also might opt to use recently signed Dan LaCouture. Aside from dropping the gloves, LaCouture can skate better than Janssen. It could depend on the opponent how much that line is utilized.
DEFENSE: Anchored by veteran Brian Rafalski, this unit should once again be effective. Especially in Julien's familiar system which he used with Montreal. Rafalski should begin the season teamed with Brad Lukowich. Towards the end of last season, they worked well together after Lukowich replaced the injured Richard Matvichuk. Matvichuk will start the season on the injured list due to a bad back and his return is uncertain. Meanwhile, the Devils will send out a second pair of Colin White and Paul Martin to match-up against opposing top lines. The duo had solid chemistry in their first year together and will look to build on it. While White will provide physicality, the mobile Martin can jump into the play and contribute offensively. If he can improve on his 37 points (20 power play) from last season, it would be a tremdendous boost for New Jersey's blueline. Rounding out the D should be Hale and ex-Shark Jim Fahey. Fahey was part of the Malakhov deal and should be serviceable. In a bit of a surprise, Tomas Harant also made the roster over Johnny Oduya, who was optioned back to Lowell. Harant will bid for playing time.
GOALIE: The Devils might have decided to take three netminders to start the season with due to Frank Doyle's impressive preseason but only one is capable of making them an instant contender and backstopping them to another championship. That's the impact the game's best goalie Martin Brodeur has on his team. Always their most important player, the two-time Vezina and three-time Cup winner will once again be relied on heavily. In better shape than last year, look for the 34 year-old veteran to get his usual workload of 70-75 starts. Maybe Julien will even give him the odd day off and get both Doyle and Clemmensen into more than five combined games. But make no mistake about it. Any run at another Cup depends on the durable Brodeur. If he goes down, all bets are off.
COACH: A year removed from a crazy scenario which saw Lamoriello step behind the bench to rally his troops to its sixth Atlantic Division crown, the do-everything executive moved back upstairs and went back to a formula that's had success before. Bringing in a former Montreal coach. Like Jacques Lemaire, Larry Robinson and Pat Burns, Julien was the Habs' coach before being axed last season. And like his predecessors who all delivered Cups in East Rutherford, he believes in defensively responsible teams who will sacrifice to win at all costs. He's with the right organization and shouldn't have any problem getting his players to buy in. They're all about winning.
Prediction: One can look at this team two ways. They didn't really improve due to Lamoriello's hands being tied. However, a full season of Elias and a more mature Parise should pay dividends. The real key could be Zajac. If he proves ready, that could give the Devils two scoring lines and the usual reliable checking line which Madden's unit provides. Due to where they are pertaining to the cap, Lamoriello won't have much maneuverability to improve the team at the trade deadline. So, it will largely depend on the core already in place. The time is now to win another Cup. Expect another Atlantic championship and a deep postseason run.
Atlantic Division Champions
Predicted Record: 48-25-9, 105 points, 2nd overall East
Monday, October 02, 2006
NHL '06-07 Preview: Sabres and Predators To Star In Epic Slug Battle
It's only been a year since the new cap era kicked off. However, if it's anything like last season which resulted in the surprising Hurricanes winning their first ever Cup in seven over Edmonton, expect the unexpected.
Once again this past summer, big names moved around as teams scrambled to address their rosters in hopes they too could go from playoff outcast to bonafide contender. None of the NHL's final four which also included Anaheim and Buffalo even qualified for the postseason under the previous CBA. Such are now the endless possibilities in this new era which rewards well thought out personnel strategy instead of just the old mighty buck.
If the games are anything like last season, the best teams will have enough speed to continue taking advantage of the new rules which put more of emphasis on special teams and allow for precision passing leading to quicker transition and odd-man rushes.
So, who will emerge?
Eastern Conference
1.Buffalo Sabres- Only injuries prevented them from beating the Hurricanes and probably winning their first championship. Can an ugly slug logo keep them from competing this year? Though Jay McKee, J.P. Dumont and Mike Grier are gone, they still should be extremely formidable. Daniel Briere and Chris Drury lead perhaps the deepest forward corps. The defense will still be solid with the addition of Jaroslav Spacek to a blueline which already has Teppo Numminen, Henrik Tallinder, Toni Lydman, Brian Campbell and Dmitri Kalinin. With Ryan Miller in net and Martin Biron backing up, Buffalo is primed for another deep run. If Tim Connolly returns from a concussion, watch out.
2.New Jersey Devils- After GM Lou Lamoriello performed more miracles to get under the cap and out of the league's wrath, he's provided new coach Claude Julien with a roster which should challenge for the top of the conference. A healthy Patrik Elias should team with Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta to form a deadly scoring line. Youngsters Zach Parise and Travis Zajac could provide depth. Brian Rafalski, Colin White and Paul Martin lead a steady blueline. They also boast the game's best goalie in Martin Brodeur. Not only will they be stingy but should be able to score more goals. The growing question in light of how all his unsigned players patiently awaited him to get out of that cap mess, just how much spiked Kool Aid did Lamoriello serve them? That's what opponents will be saying in hardly the same fashion.
3.Carolina Hurricanes- The defending champs took it on the chin this offseason with the losses of Matt Cullen, Aaron Ward, Doug Weight, Mark Recchi and Martin Gerber. They'll also start the season without Frantisek Kaberle, Bret Hedican and Cory Stillman. Kaberle and Stillman could miss the entire first half. With pressure to repeat, GM Jim Rutherford rolled the dice by dealing top prospect Jack Johnson and dumping Oleg Tverdovsky to Los Angeles in exchange for Eric Belanger and Tim Gleason. If they perform well, nobody will care. The Canes replaced Gerber with John Grahame, who will serve as the team's backup to Conn Smythe winner Cam Ward. With superstar Eric Staal leading the way up front along with team captain Rod Brind'Amour, Erik Cole and Justin Williams, the Canes should still be good enough to win the Southeast. If there's a weakness, it could be the blueline until they get healthy.
4.Ottawa Senators- So how did everyone's favorite perennial playoff choker respond to another bitter disappointment? By letting towering D Zdeno Chara walk to a division rival and not bringing back Dominik Hasek. They also shipped talented forward Martin Havlat to the NHL's version of Siberia in Chicago. He should have plenty of fun with Bryan Smolinski while cashing a $6 million-a-year salary with a team that loses 45-50 games. Despite losing Chara, GM John Muckler might have made his blueline even deeper with Tom Preissing coming over from San Jose along with signing Joe Corvo and re-signing Wade Redden. Gerber will replace Hasek in net and split time with Ray Emery. The growing question is did the Sens lose too much offense? They could rely more on Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson. But gritty players such as Mike Fisher, Peter Schaefer and Patrick Eaves are overlooked. Is it enough to finally deliver when it counts? Don't bet on it.
5.New York Rangers- After finally making the postseason for the first time in nine years, they were unceremoniously swept out by nemesis New Jersey. Remarkably, they collapsed by dropping their final nine to blow the Atlantic and end a promising season. With superstar Jaromir Jagr needing offensive support, GM Glen Sather went out and added proven finisher Brendan Shanahan along with Cullen and Ward from the Cup champion Hurricanes. They're hoping the 38 year-old Shanahan can continue to light the lamp regularly on a second line with the underrated Cullen and second-year sniper Petr Prucha. If they can provide more offense, the top unit of Jagr, Martin Straka and Michael Nylander shouldn't feel as much pressure. Ward should provide more physicality to a blueline which broke down. Ranger fans will soon discover that Tom Poti's replacement Karel Rachunek will resemble a traffic cone. Hopefully, Henrik Lundqvist isn't taking more pucks out of his net as a result.
6.Philadelphia Flyers- It's the same old story on Broad Street. Solid regular season but goaltending and D let down in postseason. They were embarrassed by Buffalo. With Peter Forsberg back for the season to give the top line of Simon Gagne and Mike Knuble a boost, they should be set up front. Especially with promising sophomores Jeff Carter, Michael Richards and R.J. Umberger. GM Bobby Clarke also took a risk by swapping two-way pivot Michal Handzus for Kyle Calder. Calder is talented but will he fit in? The biggest questions as usual are in net and on the blueline. With Antero Niittymaki not 100 percent due to a torn labrum, Robert Esche should get the nod to start the season. Both netminders are capable of big saves and softies. Ah. Can't you hear a Flyer fan already? They should be more troubled by their D. Outside of Freddy Meyer and Joni Pitkanen (injured), it won't be a treat watching Derian Hatcher and Mike Rathje chase forwards. This team should score plenty and be fun to follow as usual. Any team that has the human IR machine in Forsberg and Jekyll & Hyde goalies along with a schizo GM is as entertaining as the circus. They'll be good again but just not good enough.
7.Boston Bruins- Let's see: Added impact defenseman in Chara. Check. Added bonafide playmaking center in Marc Savard to help offense. Check. Added budding offensive defenseman in Paul Mara to run the power play. Check. And signed number one draft pick Phil Kessel, who made the club and will do quite well. Check. These things all add up to what should be a return to the playoffs for the new look Bruins. To top it all off, new GM Peter Chiarelli also hired new coach Dave Lewis. Lot of new perssonel here added to the dangerous top line of Marco Sturm, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Boyes. Did we mention that we'll take Bergeron in a big spot over Joe Thornton anyday? The only question could be chemistry. If they click under Lewis' system, all systems should be go. Of course, how will second-year netminder Hannu Toivonen respond to such pressure? Or will it fall on veteran backup Tim Thomas' shoulders? Either it could fall apart here or Boston's hired guns just might be able to inject some life into a dead Original Six franchise. Just don't make me look at Lewis' Adolph Hitler-esque mustache.
8.Florida Panthers- Okay, okay. Ex-GM Mike Keenan (now he's losing his job before a season starts) dealt franchise goalie Roberto Luongo to Vancouver in a five player trade which landed troubled power forward Todd Bertuzzi, Alex Auld and Bryan Allen. And this makes them better? No question Luongo was an elite netminder. But the lingering questions surrounding whether he'd re-sign during this season would've been a huge distraction. Auld isn't a bad goalie by any stretch. We're just not sure it's a good thing that now Coach/GM Jacques Martin brought in ageless Ed Belfour as well. How long before his back gives out? That aside, the Panthers boast some talent up front in star captain Olli Jokinen and rising youngsters Nathan Horton and Rotislav Olesz. If supporting cast players such as Chris Gratton, Joe Nieuwendyk, Jozef Stumpel and Martin Gelinas perform well, there should be a nice mix. A healthy Stephen Weiss also could do wonders. Rising D Jay Bouwmeester anchors the blueline with Mike Van Ryn. They added Ruslan Salei for grit. If Branislav Mezei returns to form, along with Allen and Steve Montador, Florida should be alright. It really depends on how Martin manages the goalies. A motivated Bertuzzi would help too.
9.Montreal Canadiens- They didn't really do much this offseason. Sergei Samsonov is a nice player and might mesh well with countryman Alexei Kovalev but the Canadiens are entering this season with team leader Saku Koivu questionable. They traded Mike Ribeiro for soft defenseman Janne Niinimaa. There just isn't much here that screams excitement. Chris Higgins and Michael Ryder are nice players. Guillame Latendresse is a nice story but is he ready for primetime? Defenseman Sheldon Souray just doesn't seem to instill fear in opponents anymore with this new NHL. I still have visions of Spezza going around him for that highlight reel OT winner. Unless former first rounder Mike Komisarek suddenly develops, the Habs' D will make life very difficult on Cristobal Huet and David Aebischer. Unless they perform miracles once again, it's hard to envision this team making the cut.
10.Atlanta Thrashers- They have superstars in Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa. A potential stud in net with Kari Lehtonen. They also boast the underrated Slava Kozlov. But any team with Bobby Holik and Steve Rucchin as their top centers isn't going anywhere. GM Don Waddell must've lost his mind when he let Savard leave and decided those two along with a trade of Patrik Stefan for Niko Kapanen was enough to transform this team into a playoff one for the first time. Their D is not scaring anyone with Greg de vries and Niclas Havelid. Andy Sutton and Vitaly Vishnevski will keeps opponents honest but there's something missing. Will Waddell be making anymore idiotic guarantees?
11.Tampa Bay Lightning- So they'll be able to score goals with Brad Richards, Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Vinny Prospal, Ruslan Fedotenko and even Ryan Craig. But will they be able to score enough to see the postseason with a D which includes Luke Richardson and now has Cory Sarich playing major minutes due to Pavel Kubina's departure? While GM Jay Feaster added puckmoving D Filip Kuba, there just isn't much to keep pucks out of their zone. Dan Boyle is probably their best defenseman. Acquired for Fredrik Modin, new netminder Marc Denis will have his work cut out for him on a team which will resemble his former Blue Jackets. It says here that Tampa will play a lot of shootouts but just won't win enough.
12.Toronto Maple Leafs- GM John Ferguson finally smartened up and let go of Belfour and vets Jason Allison and Eric Lindros. Popular enforcer Tie Domi called it a career. He also hired ex-Canes boss Paul Maurice to run the bench in place of Pat Quinn. Will it work? After committing a lot of years to Bryan McCabe, he went out and overpaid Kubina and Hal Gill to solidify the blueline. Problem is those big men just might not be good enough to keep up. How many times will each wind up in the box? Ferguson also is banking on ex-Bruin Andrew Raycroft to rediscover the form that saw him win the Calder in '03-04. If not, it won't be pretty in Leafs Nation. Outside of aging star Mats Sundin and superpest Darcy Tucker, the Leafs do have some talented forwards in Alex Steen, Kyle Wellwood and Matt Stajan. It's just that they're still relying on too many vets such as Michael Peca and Jeff O'Neill. Over the grind of an 82-game season, that's not going to work. Expect mixed results.
13.Pittsburgh Penguins- How can you not love the Pens? They boast the game's next superstar in Sidney Crosby and a month from now, Evgeni Malkin will provide a solid 1-2 punch which people will be talking about for years. Even more encouraging is that second overall pick Jordan Staal made the roster and will get valuable experience before probably being sent back to juniors after nine games. There are some other talented forwards in Colby Armstrong, Michel Ouellet and Ryan Malone. They also added ex-Ranger pivot Dominic Moore in a three-team deal with Nashville. Moore will provide solid checking and energy. Vet Mark Recchi is also back along with John LeClair. Jarrko Ruutu is there for toughness. Questions remain on D and in goal. Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney comprise the top pair and Brooks Orpik is still learning. Mark Eaton was added from Nashville. There's just not enough here to help out Marc-Andre Fleury or Dany Sabourin. This team will be exciting and compete hard. Expect Crosby to put up 130 points. Wait another year or two.
14.New York Islanders- So owner Charles Wang hired and then fired GM Neil Smith in just 40 days and replaced him with backup goalie Garth Snow? And for an encore, two months later he gave netminder Rick DiPietro an NHL record 15-year contract worth $67.5 million??? The same cocky former number one overall pick who hasn't proven he can take the next step. Makes plenty of sense from an owner who once handed out a 10-year $90 million contract to classic underachiever Alexei Yashin. So what does this team have going exactly other than a future job getting Wang's coffee? Well, bringing back exiled Coach Ted Nolan is a start. He'll get them to play hard and make everyone accountable. They'll have more physicality on the blueline with Brendan Witt and Sean Hill but both are heading downhill. They'll try to get more out of ex-Ranger Tom Poti and ex-Devil Viktor Kozlov. Chris Simon will provide some beef. There just isn't much here to get excited about. Players like Mike York, Jason Blake and Shawn Bates will do well. But unless Yashin performs, it will be a long year in Long Island.
15.Washington Capitals- We love rating Calder winner Alexander Ovechkin. He's got personality, grit and immense skills. If only he had a supporting cast. Bringing back Alexander Semin is a start. If they team up, that could be a lot of fun to watch. GM George McPhee did trade for Richard Zednik but he's coming off a dismal season with Montreal. Dainius Zubrus has always had ability but is the classic tease. So what is there to get excited about outside AO? Donald Brashear will keep opponents honest. The Caps did add Bryan Pothier to the blueline but he'll soon discover he's not employed by Ottawa. Steve Eminger is a guy we like on that D who should get better. Shaone Morrisonn is still young. If there's one other guy we like up front, it's Brian Sutherby. He plays extremely tough and makes things happen. Got to feel sorry for Olaf Kolzig. The likeable netminder deserves better. If he was on a good team, we're betting he'd still be one of the better goalies in the league. Oh well.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
1.Anaheim Ducks- Teaming Chris Pronger with Scott Niedermayer on the blueline is a stroke of genius by GM Brian Burke. Two franchise defensemen who have won Norris' trophies and can dictate a game in their own unique way. Oh my. They're going to be extremely difficult to beat. Francois Beauchemin is also solid and can contribute offensively. So, what could go wrong? Outside of Teemu Selanne, they're relying on a lot of young forwards and gave up Joffrey Lupul to Edmonton as part of the deal. Still, with a crop that consists of Andy McDonald, Chris Kunitz, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Dustin Penner, they'll be formidable. Vets Rob Niedermayer, Todd Marchant and Samuel Pahlsson provide depth. Former prospect Stanislav Chistov is also back and should find the quicker game better. The biggest question seems to be who will be the number one goalie. Ilya Bryzgalov or former 2003 Conn Smythe winner Jean-Sebastien Giguere? It's a good problem to have. These Ducks are poised for another deep run and maybe even their first ever Cup.
2.Nashville Predators- This team continues to improve all the time. Had number one goalie Tomas Vokoun been healthy this past Spring, they win their first ever playoff round. Like Anaheim, they're going with a lot of young talent. Ryan Sutter and Shea Weber come to mind on the blueline as does budding third-year star Dan Hamhuis. Overlooked due to talented vets Kimmo Timonen and Marek Zidlicky, he's poised to improve on his 38 points last season. There's an awful lot to like about their D. Just as promising is the crop of forwards which features stars Paul Kariya and Steve Sullivan. With center Jason Arnott signed from Dallas, that should be a lethal top line. This will allow David Legwand to move into a secondary scoring role with the underrated Martin Erat and possibly Scott Hartnell. They also added ex-Sabre J.P. Dumont, who should provide more punch. Josef Vasicek was also acquired from Carolina for Scott Walker. This should give Nashville more depth at center. One prospect to keep an eye on is Alexander Radulov. Though he had a good preseason, he was sent down to Milwaukee but could be back soon. Of course, how far the Predators go depends on Vokoun. If healthy, he's a top five goalie. It's time for this franchise to take that next step.
3.Calgary Flames- GM Darryl Sutter might no longer be behind the bench but new coach Jim Playfair will continue Sutter's model of playing a disciplined brand of hockey. How that benefits former Av Alex Tanguay remains to be seen. The talented playmaking left wing was acquired for Jordan Leopold to bolster the Flames' offense alongside Jarome Iginla. They'll team up with Daymond Langkow to comprise a solid top unit. The question is can Jeff Friesen really be relied on for offense? His best years came under Sutter playing back in San Jose. He hasn't been the same player since even if he did score a few big goals helping New Jersey to a Cup in 2003. The Flames will need solid contributions from Chuck Kobasew and Kristian Huselius. A healthy Matt Lombardi should help. They shouldn't expect too much from Tony Amonte. If former Western Canada product Jamie Lundmark could harness his talent, that would help. If anything, the Flames should take solace knowing their stingy D led by Dion Phaneuf and Robyn Regehr should be rock solid. Rhett Warrener and Andrew Ference are no picnic either. Neither is Vezina winner Miikka Kiprusoff to get the puck by. The more things change...The only question is do they have enough offense to take them far?
4.San Jose Sharks- After acquiring Joe Thornton from Boston last year, the Sharks were one of the best teams in the league which allowed him to take home the Hart Trophy. Thornton is an immense talent and got the most out of sniper Jonathan Cheechoo, who led the league with 56 goals. This offseason, GM Doug Wilson went out and added ex-Hawk Mark Bell via a three-team deal with Ottawa. Bell should complete the league's best line. Hopefully, he'll stay out of further trouble off the ice. The dilemma for opponents is that the Sharks can comeback with Patrick Marleau, Milan Michalek and Steve Bernier. They also added grit in ex-Sabre Mike Grier to a mix that includes Ville Nieminen, Curtis Brown and Marcel Goc. Despite parting with Tom Preissing in the Bell deal, the D should still be good with Matt Carle supplying the offense while Scott Hannan and Kyle McLaren supply the beef. Christian Ehrhoff gives them a solid top four. In net, Vesa Toskala will most likely be the number one with vet Evgeni Nabokov backing up. Nolan Schaefer also is there as insurance. This is a very skilled team with lots of speed. But it's up to either Toskala or Nabokov to shine in the postseason.
5.Detroit Red Wings- For the first time since 1982-83, the Winged Wheel will be without emotional leader Steve Yzerman. But with new team captain Nicklas Lidstrom and 44 year-old vet Chris Chelios anchoring the blueline, the transition should be smooth. While they're old on D also with Mathieu Schneider, Niklas Kronwall should continue to improve. Vets Danny Markov and Andreas Lilja round it out. Up front, Henrik Zetterberg is an emerging superstar and Pavel Datsyuk isn't too far behind. Robert Lang can center the second line and Tomas Holmstrom will provide the usual grit in front. If there was a surprise last season, it was the play of Mikael Samuelsson and Jason Williams. They'll be looked to again for offense. Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby once again team up as one of the league's best checking units. If there is a question, it might be how long veteran netminder Dominik Hasek stays healthy for? If he goes down, Chris Osgood backs up. Question nobody wants to hear in Hockeytown: Is this the year some of those vets finally show their age?
6.Minnesota Wild- It took GM Doug Risebrough a few years to finally open the vault and spend. With criticism coming down even from superstar Marian Gaborik who he wisely re-signed long term, Risebrough packaged prospect Patrick O'Sullivan to the Kings for Slovak Pavol Demitra. He also inked sniper Mark Parrish and added defenseman Kim Johnsson as well. Parrish should provide grit and work well with Brian Rolson and possibly Pierre-Marc Bouchard. Johnsson will be looked to for offense and stability on the blueline after they lost Filip Kuba to Tampa and Andrei Zyuzin to Calgary. Johnsson is returning from a concussion. So it was a risk. Kurtis Foster can provide offense while Keith Carney and Brent Burns can supply some physicality. Is this the year Mikko Koivu plays a more prominent role up front? Meanwhile, Manny Fernandez comes in as the clearcut number one goalie and should be ready to backstop the Wild back to the postseason. Looks like they might have fun at the Excel Center.
7.Dallas Stars- Gone is Arnott but still around are key cogs Mike Modano, new team captain Brenden Morrow, Jere Lehtinen, Sergei Zubov, Phillipe Boucher and Marty Turco. During the offseason, GM Doug Armstrong replaced Arnott with Eric Lindros and Jeff Halpern. He also swapped Niko Kapanen for Patrik Stefan and recently added even more depth at the pivot by sending Janne Niinimaa to Montreal for Mike Ribeiro. Throw in emerging Finns Jussi Jokinen and Antti Miettinen and they look pretty balanced. Matt Barnaby and Steve Ott provide energy. On the blueline, 1999 Cup hero Darryl Sydor returns. Jaroslav Modry and Stephane Robidas provide depth. Everything looks good. So what could go wrong? Modano and Zubov show age and Lindros suffers yet another injury. It really is sad what's happened to the Big E. Then there's Turco in net. Can he really get it done when it counts? He's flopped badly so far in his playoff career. That assumes they get there which isn't a given. They should but it will be close.
8.Vancouver Canucks- If big acquisition Robert Luongo doesn't get them here, then he really is an overrated goalie. Sorry. That's just how it should be. Yes. The Canucks lost Ed Jovanovski to Phoenix but considering that he's an accident waiting to happen, that's addition by subtraction. GM Mike Nonis went out and signed Willie Mitchell, who is younger and should provide physicality and actually play more than half the schedule. Mattias Ohlund will anchor the D. Sami Salo is a sound number three. After that, it gets thin. They really need Lukas Krajicek or rookie Luc Bourdon to step up. If either does, they'll be fine. Offensively, it falls on the shoulders of captain Markus Naslund and Brendan Morrison to rebound from down seasons. They're probably better off without Todd Bertuzzi. The Sedin twins have emerged as solid NHLers. Matt Cooke is underrated and Jan Bulis supplies depth at center. After Nonis whined like a baby after matching Bobby Clarke's offersheet to Ryan Kesler, Kesler needs to prove his worth. It would help if Taylor Pyatt emerges. He never really played much in Buffalo. If Luongo answers the questions in goal, the Canucks should be able to squeak back in the playoffs.
9.Edmonton Oilers- This is tough but when you look at GM Kevin Lowe's new look D after Pronger and Jaroslav Spacek left, it's hard to see them making the cut. Captain Jason Smith is still there along with Marc-Andre Bergeron. So is Steve Staios but they never did well with him as a number three. Why will it be any different now? Daniel Tjarnqvist is nothing special and Matt Greene really needs to show a lot more than he did this past June. They'll need Ladislav Smid to be a reliable top four D. That's what the former Duck prospect was projected as before the Pronger deal. We'll see. Up front, we love Lupul and Ales Hemsky to have big seasons. Ryan Smyth, Shawn Horcoff and Jared Stoll should enjoy playing with them. Vet Petr Sykora should be able to finish enough. The pressure will be on Fernando Pisani to duplicate his postseason. Ethan Moreau is underrated. Up front, they're solid. The question marks on the blueline could make life difficult for Dwayne Roloson. If he's under siege routinely, will the vet turned miracle worker crack?
10.Colorado Avalanche- Is this the year the Avs finally miss the postseason? With the losses of Rob Blake and Tanguay, they'll be hardpressed to get in again. Of course, ageless wonder Joe Sakic will once again be there to try to silence the doubters. So too will Milan Hejduk, who needs about the same bounceback season ex-Av Teemu Selanne had with Anaheim. Second-year sniper Marek Svatos returns from shoulder surgery and must be healthy. The Avs are pinning their hopes on free agent pickup Tyler Arnason to provide scoring. He has talent but is a headcase. Rookie Wojtek Wolski has lots of promise and could become the latest Av to emerge up front. Also keep an eye on former 2005 second rounder Paul Stastny. Can gritty center Ian Laperriere repeat his career season? Meanwhile, John-Michael Liles leads the charge from the blueline along with underrated defenders Karlis Skrastins and Ossi Vaananen. Patrice Brisebois can provide offense but is offensive in every sense in his own end. And Ken Klee was awful with New Jersey. Better hope Leopold gets back soon. There are many questions and that continues in net with former Hart and Vezina winner Jose Theodore. Is he an elite netminder or severely overrated? Don't rule out second-year goalie Peter Budaj unseating him. They'll be interesting but the playoff streak has to end some time. As Al Pacino once said to Keanu Reeves at the end of Devil's Advocate, "You can't win'em all."
11.Los Angeles Kings- With the recent acquisition of prospect Jack Johnson along with salary dump Oleg Tverdovsky in a deal which sent Eric Belanger and Tim Gleason to Carolina, it appears new GM Dean Lombardi plans to rebuild. Why else would he dump Demitra on the Wild for O'Sullivan? That's why it's hard to make sense of the Dan Cloutier signing. Maybe it was ex-Canucks' coach Marc Crawford's influence but come on. What are they doing? Rebuilding or trying to win now? Or is it both? Could that also be why they brought back Blake for their blueline to team him up with Lubomir Visnovsky? They also added vet Brent Sopel to a D which includes captain Mattias Norstrom and Aaron Miller. Plus team ornament Tverdovsky. Outside of Visnovsky, they're old. It's a different story up front where Alexander Frolov, Michael Cammalleri, Dustin Brown, superpest Sean Avery, O'Sullivan along with former first rounder Anze Kopitar comprise a youth movement. There's also vets Craig Conroy, Derek Armstrong and Scott Thornton. So what can be expected from them? Is Cloutier that much better than Mathieu Garon? That remains to be seen. This team either could surprise or finish where we're picking them.
12.Columbus Blue Jackets- You would think by now the Blue Jackets would finally be on their way up but it doesn't look that way. Now that GM Doug MacLean has re-signed Nikolai Zherdev, offensively, they should be good with the young Russian talent teaming up with power forward Rick Nash and the underappreciated David Vyborny. Adding Fredrik Modin and Anson Carter should give them two solid lines. But without veteran Sergei Fedorov to start the season, they're lacking in the middle. Unless Alexander Svitov or Dan Fritsche step up, the offense could stagnate. Manny Malhotra is a solid third liner. If someone emerges, it could be former first round pick Gilbert Brule. He is solid overall and has the skills to go with it. They'll also look to Jaroslav Balastik for offense. Even with Adam Foote and Bryan Berard, the D is weak. Ron Hainsey can contribute and David Westcott is decent. But who outside the aging Foote will keep opponents honest? If you say reject Anders Eriksson, you lose. And this is what new number one Pascal Leclaire has in front of him? Like a classic Weezer song, "Say It Ain't So."
13.Phoenix Coyotes- If you look at this roster, it's not awful. However, it seems like a classic tease for Coach Wayne Gretzky to try to bring respectability back to. Shane Doan is a solid power forward and Ladislav Nagy is a gifted finisher. After that, it gets thin quick. Can Mike Comrie really be relied on as a top pivot? Aren't Jeremy Roenick and Owen Nolan washed up? Outside of Steve Reinprecht, there's nothing to get excited about. Heck. Team enforcer Georges Laraque looks good. No wonder they gave him a no-trade clause. We wish we were kidding but it's no joke. It would help when Fredrik Sjostrom returns to the lineup. So, this is what Jovanovski chose? Now, the blueline he joins isn't putrid. Keith Ballard and Zbynek Michalek (try saying that name 10 times fast and get back to us) are solid and can contribute offensively. Nick Boynton who was acquired for Paul Mara is a steady stay-at-home defender. Derek Morris is okay but not as good as he once was hyped to be. Last season, veteran Curtis Joseph played out of his mind in the first half but predictably broke down. He's one year from 40 and well traveled backup Mike Morrison is on his third team in less than a year. What was Gretzky pal GM Mike Barnett thinking? This team was so much better in Winnipeg. Even if there wasn't much success, at least there was an identity.
14.St. Louis Blues- First former MSG boss Dave Checketts took over as team owner. Then he brought in pal and expert NHL analyst John Davidson to run the show as Team President. No question JD knows his stuff but can anyone explain why he added so many veterans? Doug Weight. Bill Guerin. Martin Rucinsky. Dan Hinote. Radek Dvorak. Jay McKee. Manny Legace. The new Blues roster should come with an NHL map. Look. No question they hit rock bottom last season after being in the postseason every year spanning almost three decades. A remarkable accomplishment. How much mileage does a Weight or Guerin have left? They'll most likely team up with Keith Tkachuk to form a vintage Team USA line from 1996. That's 10 years too late. Davidson overpaid for McKee but needed some stability on the blueline. If Barret Jackman ever stayed healthy, they'd be much tougher. Eric Brewer will look to rebound from a nightmarish first season in St. Louis. If you look past all the experience, Petr Cajanek, Lee Stempniak, Christian Backman and Doug Wideman provide hope for the future. Backing up Legace will be the tandem of Curtis Sanford and Jason Bacashihua. So, can this team be competitive? They'll be better than last year but not by much.
15.Chicago Blackhawks- Same old song and dance for Bill Wirtz' Original Six franchise. Do they even count anymore? When is the last time the Hawks were relevant? And we're not talking about that playoff cameo a few years ago where they got swept out by St. Louis. I remember a time when they had a young Eagle, JR, Steve Larmer, Christian Ruutu and even a young Chelios and Gary Suter all on NHL '94. That was Blackhawk hockey! Now, they just suck. What makes anyone think the additions of Martin Havlat and Bryan Smolinski from Ottawa are going to change that? Yes, Havlat is a dynamic talent who should still produce. And the deal of Kyle Calder for Michal Handzus might work as long as Zeus returns to form after offseason surgery. But these are the Hawks. Where overpaying free agents such as Nikolai Khabibulin and Adrian Aucoin turns them into mere mortals. Is there some talent on this roster? Sure. Defensemen Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith both have ability. Former number one Cam Barker will eventually return from injury and get his chance. Center Tuomu Ruutu is an enormous talent but once again will start the season on IR. And left wing Rene Bourque is decent. But when you look at this mix, it seems like they just flipped a coin. If you're pathetic, shouldn't you tear the whole thing up? Can the Bulin Wall rebound? If not, Brian Boucher is the backup. How did Michael Leighton not make the roster? But instead, they have Patrick Lalime as their third stringer. Hawks hockey at its finest.
2007 PLAYOFF CRYSTAL BALL
East
Conference Quarters
Sabres over Panthers in 5
Devils over Bruins in 6
Hurricanes over Flyers in 7
Senators over Rangers in 7
Semis
Sabres over Senators in 6
Devils over Hurricanes in 6
Finals
Sabres over Devils in 7
West
Conference Quarters
Ducks over Canucks in 6
Predators over Stars in 5
Wild over Flames in 6
Sharks over Wings in 6
Semis
Ducks over Wild in 5
Predators over Sharks in 6
Finals
Predators over Ducks in 6
STANLEY CUP FINAL
Sabres over Predators in 7
Once again this past summer, big names moved around as teams scrambled to address their rosters in hopes they too could go from playoff outcast to bonafide contender. None of the NHL's final four which also included Anaheim and Buffalo even qualified for the postseason under the previous CBA. Such are now the endless possibilities in this new era which rewards well thought out personnel strategy instead of just the old mighty buck.
If the games are anything like last season, the best teams will have enough speed to continue taking advantage of the new rules which put more of emphasis on special teams and allow for precision passing leading to quicker transition and odd-man rushes.
So, who will emerge?
Eastern Conference
1.Buffalo Sabres- Only injuries prevented them from beating the Hurricanes and probably winning their first championship. Can an ugly slug logo keep them from competing this year? Though Jay McKee, J.P. Dumont and Mike Grier are gone, they still should be extremely formidable. Daniel Briere and Chris Drury lead perhaps the deepest forward corps. The defense will still be solid with the addition of Jaroslav Spacek to a blueline which already has Teppo Numminen, Henrik Tallinder, Toni Lydman, Brian Campbell and Dmitri Kalinin. With Ryan Miller in net and Martin Biron backing up, Buffalo is primed for another deep run. If Tim Connolly returns from a concussion, watch out.
2.New Jersey Devils- After GM Lou Lamoriello performed more miracles to get under the cap and out of the league's wrath, he's provided new coach Claude Julien with a roster which should challenge for the top of the conference. A healthy Patrik Elias should team with Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta to form a deadly scoring line. Youngsters Zach Parise and Travis Zajac could provide depth. Brian Rafalski, Colin White and Paul Martin lead a steady blueline. They also boast the game's best goalie in Martin Brodeur. Not only will they be stingy but should be able to score more goals. The growing question in light of how all his unsigned players patiently awaited him to get out of that cap mess, just how much spiked Kool Aid did Lamoriello serve them? That's what opponents will be saying in hardly the same fashion.
3.Carolina Hurricanes- The defending champs took it on the chin this offseason with the losses of Matt Cullen, Aaron Ward, Doug Weight, Mark Recchi and Martin Gerber. They'll also start the season without Frantisek Kaberle, Bret Hedican and Cory Stillman. Kaberle and Stillman could miss the entire first half. With pressure to repeat, GM Jim Rutherford rolled the dice by dealing top prospect Jack Johnson and dumping Oleg Tverdovsky to Los Angeles in exchange for Eric Belanger and Tim Gleason. If they perform well, nobody will care. The Canes replaced Gerber with John Grahame, who will serve as the team's backup to Conn Smythe winner Cam Ward. With superstar Eric Staal leading the way up front along with team captain Rod Brind'Amour, Erik Cole and Justin Williams, the Canes should still be good enough to win the Southeast. If there's a weakness, it could be the blueline until they get healthy.
4.Ottawa Senators- So how did everyone's favorite perennial playoff choker respond to another bitter disappointment? By letting towering D Zdeno Chara walk to a division rival and not bringing back Dominik Hasek. They also shipped talented forward Martin Havlat to the NHL's version of Siberia in Chicago. He should have plenty of fun with Bryan Smolinski while cashing a $6 million-a-year salary with a team that loses 45-50 games. Despite losing Chara, GM John Muckler might have made his blueline even deeper with Tom Preissing coming over from San Jose along with signing Joe Corvo and re-signing Wade Redden. Gerber will replace Hasek in net and split time with Ray Emery. The growing question is did the Sens lose too much offense? They could rely more on Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson. But gritty players such as Mike Fisher, Peter Schaefer and Patrick Eaves are overlooked. Is it enough to finally deliver when it counts? Don't bet on it.
5.New York Rangers- After finally making the postseason for the first time in nine years, they were unceremoniously swept out by nemesis New Jersey. Remarkably, they collapsed by dropping their final nine to blow the Atlantic and end a promising season. With superstar Jaromir Jagr needing offensive support, GM Glen Sather went out and added proven finisher Brendan Shanahan along with Cullen and Ward from the Cup champion Hurricanes. They're hoping the 38 year-old Shanahan can continue to light the lamp regularly on a second line with the underrated Cullen and second-year sniper Petr Prucha. If they can provide more offense, the top unit of Jagr, Martin Straka and Michael Nylander shouldn't feel as much pressure. Ward should provide more physicality to a blueline which broke down. Ranger fans will soon discover that Tom Poti's replacement Karel Rachunek will resemble a traffic cone. Hopefully, Henrik Lundqvist isn't taking more pucks out of his net as a result.
6.Philadelphia Flyers- It's the same old story on Broad Street. Solid regular season but goaltending and D let down in postseason. They were embarrassed by Buffalo. With Peter Forsberg back for the season to give the top line of Simon Gagne and Mike Knuble a boost, they should be set up front. Especially with promising sophomores Jeff Carter, Michael Richards and R.J. Umberger. GM Bobby Clarke also took a risk by swapping two-way pivot Michal Handzus for Kyle Calder. Calder is talented but will he fit in? The biggest questions as usual are in net and on the blueline. With Antero Niittymaki not 100 percent due to a torn labrum, Robert Esche should get the nod to start the season. Both netminders are capable of big saves and softies. Ah. Can't you hear a Flyer fan already? They should be more troubled by their D. Outside of Freddy Meyer and Joni Pitkanen (injured), it won't be a treat watching Derian Hatcher and Mike Rathje chase forwards. This team should score plenty and be fun to follow as usual. Any team that has the human IR machine in Forsberg and Jekyll & Hyde goalies along with a schizo GM is as entertaining as the circus. They'll be good again but just not good enough.
7.Boston Bruins- Let's see: Added impact defenseman in Chara. Check. Added bonafide playmaking center in Marc Savard to help offense. Check. Added budding offensive defenseman in Paul Mara to run the power play. Check. And signed number one draft pick Phil Kessel, who made the club and will do quite well. Check. These things all add up to what should be a return to the playoffs for the new look Bruins. To top it all off, new GM Peter Chiarelli also hired new coach Dave Lewis. Lot of new perssonel here added to the dangerous top line of Marco Sturm, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Boyes. Did we mention that we'll take Bergeron in a big spot over Joe Thornton anyday? The only question could be chemistry. If they click under Lewis' system, all systems should be go. Of course, how will second-year netminder Hannu Toivonen respond to such pressure? Or will it fall on veteran backup Tim Thomas' shoulders? Either it could fall apart here or Boston's hired guns just might be able to inject some life into a dead Original Six franchise. Just don't make me look at Lewis' Adolph Hitler-esque mustache.
8.Florida Panthers- Okay, okay. Ex-GM Mike Keenan (now he's losing his job before a season starts) dealt franchise goalie Roberto Luongo to Vancouver in a five player trade which landed troubled power forward Todd Bertuzzi, Alex Auld and Bryan Allen. And this makes them better? No question Luongo was an elite netminder. But the lingering questions surrounding whether he'd re-sign during this season would've been a huge distraction. Auld isn't a bad goalie by any stretch. We're just not sure it's a good thing that now Coach/GM Jacques Martin brought in ageless Ed Belfour as well. How long before his back gives out? That aside, the Panthers boast some talent up front in star captain Olli Jokinen and rising youngsters Nathan Horton and Rotislav Olesz. If supporting cast players such as Chris Gratton, Joe Nieuwendyk, Jozef Stumpel and Martin Gelinas perform well, there should be a nice mix. A healthy Stephen Weiss also could do wonders. Rising D Jay Bouwmeester anchors the blueline with Mike Van Ryn. They added Ruslan Salei for grit. If Branislav Mezei returns to form, along with Allen and Steve Montador, Florida should be alright. It really depends on how Martin manages the goalies. A motivated Bertuzzi would help too.
9.Montreal Canadiens- They didn't really do much this offseason. Sergei Samsonov is a nice player and might mesh well with countryman Alexei Kovalev but the Canadiens are entering this season with team leader Saku Koivu questionable. They traded Mike Ribeiro for soft defenseman Janne Niinimaa. There just isn't much here that screams excitement. Chris Higgins and Michael Ryder are nice players. Guillame Latendresse is a nice story but is he ready for primetime? Defenseman Sheldon Souray just doesn't seem to instill fear in opponents anymore with this new NHL. I still have visions of Spezza going around him for that highlight reel OT winner. Unless former first rounder Mike Komisarek suddenly develops, the Habs' D will make life very difficult on Cristobal Huet and David Aebischer. Unless they perform miracles once again, it's hard to envision this team making the cut.
10.Atlanta Thrashers- They have superstars in Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa. A potential stud in net with Kari Lehtonen. They also boast the underrated Slava Kozlov. But any team with Bobby Holik and Steve Rucchin as their top centers isn't going anywhere. GM Don Waddell must've lost his mind when he let Savard leave and decided those two along with a trade of Patrik Stefan for Niko Kapanen was enough to transform this team into a playoff one for the first time. Their D is not scaring anyone with Greg de vries and Niclas Havelid. Andy Sutton and Vitaly Vishnevski will keeps opponents honest but there's something missing. Will Waddell be making anymore idiotic guarantees?
11.Tampa Bay Lightning- So they'll be able to score goals with Brad Richards, Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Vinny Prospal, Ruslan Fedotenko and even Ryan Craig. But will they be able to score enough to see the postseason with a D which includes Luke Richardson and now has Cory Sarich playing major minutes due to Pavel Kubina's departure? While GM Jay Feaster added puckmoving D Filip Kuba, there just isn't much to keep pucks out of their zone. Dan Boyle is probably their best defenseman. Acquired for Fredrik Modin, new netminder Marc Denis will have his work cut out for him on a team which will resemble his former Blue Jackets. It says here that Tampa will play a lot of shootouts but just won't win enough.
12.Toronto Maple Leafs- GM John Ferguson finally smartened up and let go of Belfour and vets Jason Allison and Eric Lindros. Popular enforcer Tie Domi called it a career. He also hired ex-Canes boss Paul Maurice to run the bench in place of Pat Quinn. Will it work? After committing a lot of years to Bryan McCabe, he went out and overpaid Kubina and Hal Gill to solidify the blueline. Problem is those big men just might not be good enough to keep up. How many times will each wind up in the box? Ferguson also is banking on ex-Bruin Andrew Raycroft to rediscover the form that saw him win the Calder in '03-04. If not, it won't be pretty in Leafs Nation. Outside of aging star Mats Sundin and superpest Darcy Tucker, the Leafs do have some talented forwards in Alex Steen, Kyle Wellwood and Matt Stajan. It's just that they're still relying on too many vets such as Michael Peca and Jeff O'Neill. Over the grind of an 82-game season, that's not going to work. Expect mixed results.
13.Pittsburgh Penguins- How can you not love the Pens? They boast the game's next superstar in Sidney Crosby and a month from now, Evgeni Malkin will provide a solid 1-2 punch which people will be talking about for years. Even more encouraging is that second overall pick Jordan Staal made the roster and will get valuable experience before probably being sent back to juniors after nine games. There are some other talented forwards in Colby Armstrong, Michel Ouellet and Ryan Malone. They also added ex-Ranger pivot Dominic Moore in a three-team deal with Nashville. Moore will provide solid checking and energy. Vet Mark Recchi is also back along with John LeClair. Jarrko Ruutu is there for toughness. Questions remain on D and in goal. Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney comprise the top pair and Brooks Orpik is still learning. Mark Eaton was added from Nashville. There's just not enough here to help out Marc-Andre Fleury or Dany Sabourin. This team will be exciting and compete hard. Expect Crosby to put up 130 points. Wait another year or two.
14.New York Islanders- So owner Charles Wang hired and then fired GM Neil Smith in just 40 days and replaced him with backup goalie Garth Snow? And for an encore, two months later he gave netminder Rick DiPietro an NHL record 15-year contract worth $67.5 million??? The same cocky former number one overall pick who hasn't proven he can take the next step. Makes plenty of sense from an owner who once handed out a 10-year $90 million contract to classic underachiever Alexei Yashin. So what does this team have going exactly other than a future job getting Wang's coffee? Well, bringing back exiled Coach Ted Nolan is a start. He'll get them to play hard and make everyone accountable. They'll have more physicality on the blueline with Brendan Witt and Sean Hill but both are heading downhill. They'll try to get more out of ex-Ranger Tom Poti and ex-Devil Viktor Kozlov. Chris Simon will provide some beef. There just isn't much here to get excited about. Players like Mike York, Jason Blake and Shawn Bates will do well. But unless Yashin performs, it will be a long year in Long Island.
15.Washington Capitals- We love rating Calder winner Alexander Ovechkin. He's got personality, grit and immense skills. If only he had a supporting cast. Bringing back Alexander Semin is a start. If they team up, that could be a lot of fun to watch. GM George McPhee did trade for Richard Zednik but he's coming off a dismal season with Montreal. Dainius Zubrus has always had ability but is the classic tease. So what is there to get excited about outside AO? Donald Brashear will keep opponents honest. The Caps did add Bryan Pothier to the blueline but he'll soon discover he's not employed by Ottawa. Steve Eminger is a guy we like on that D who should get better. Shaone Morrisonn is still young. If there's one other guy we like up front, it's Brian Sutherby. He plays extremely tough and makes things happen. Got to feel sorry for Olaf Kolzig. The likeable netminder deserves better. If he was on a good team, we're betting he'd still be one of the better goalies in the league. Oh well.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
1.Anaheim Ducks- Teaming Chris Pronger with Scott Niedermayer on the blueline is a stroke of genius by GM Brian Burke. Two franchise defensemen who have won Norris' trophies and can dictate a game in their own unique way. Oh my. They're going to be extremely difficult to beat. Francois Beauchemin is also solid and can contribute offensively. So, what could go wrong? Outside of Teemu Selanne, they're relying on a lot of young forwards and gave up Joffrey Lupul to Edmonton as part of the deal. Still, with a crop that consists of Andy McDonald, Chris Kunitz, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Dustin Penner, they'll be formidable. Vets Rob Niedermayer, Todd Marchant and Samuel Pahlsson provide depth. Former prospect Stanislav Chistov is also back and should find the quicker game better. The biggest question seems to be who will be the number one goalie. Ilya Bryzgalov or former 2003 Conn Smythe winner Jean-Sebastien Giguere? It's a good problem to have. These Ducks are poised for another deep run and maybe even their first ever Cup.
2.Nashville Predators- This team continues to improve all the time. Had number one goalie Tomas Vokoun been healthy this past Spring, they win their first ever playoff round. Like Anaheim, they're going with a lot of young talent. Ryan Sutter and Shea Weber come to mind on the blueline as does budding third-year star Dan Hamhuis. Overlooked due to talented vets Kimmo Timonen and Marek Zidlicky, he's poised to improve on his 38 points last season. There's an awful lot to like about their D. Just as promising is the crop of forwards which features stars Paul Kariya and Steve Sullivan. With center Jason Arnott signed from Dallas, that should be a lethal top line. This will allow David Legwand to move into a secondary scoring role with the underrated Martin Erat and possibly Scott Hartnell. They also added ex-Sabre J.P. Dumont, who should provide more punch. Josef Vasicek was also acquired from Carolina for Scott Walker. This should give Nashville more depth at center. One prospect to keep an eye on is Alexander Radulov. Though he had a good preseason, he was sent down to Milwaukee but could be back soon. Of course, how far the Predators go depends on Vokoun. If healthy, he's a top five goalie. It's time for this franchise to take that next step.
3.Calgary Flames- GM Darryl Sutter might no longer be behind the bench but new coach Jim Playfair will continue Sutter's model of playing a disciplined brand of hockey. How that benefits former Av Alex Tanguay remains to be seen. The talented playmaking left wing was acquired for Jordan Leopold to bolster the Flames' offense alongside Jarome Iginla. They'll team up with Daymond Langkow to comprise a solid top unit. The question is can Jeff Friesen really be relied on for offense? His best years came under Sutter playing back in San Jose. He hasn't been the same player since even if he did score a few big goals helping New Jersey to a Cup in 2003. The Flames will need solid contributions from Chuck Kobasew and Kristian Huselius. A healthy Matt Lombardi should help. They shouldn't expect too much from Tony Amonte. If former Western Canada product Jamie Lundmark could harness his talent, that would help. If anything, the Flames should take solace knowing their stingy D led by Dion Phaneuf and Robyn Regehr should be rock solid. Rhett Warrener and Andrew Ference are no picnic either. Neither is Vezina winner Miikka Kiprusoff to get the puck by. The more things change...The only question is do they have enough offense to take them far?
4.San Jose Sharks- After acquiring Joe Thornton from Boston last year, the Sharks were one of the best teams in the league which allowed him to take home the Hart Trophy. Thornton is an immense talent and got the most out of sniper Jonathan Cheechoo, who led the league with 56 goals. This offseason, GM Doug Wilson went out and added ex-Hawk Mark Bell via a three-team deal with Ottawa. Bell should complete the league's best line. Hopefully, he'll stay out of further trouble off the ice. The dilemma for opponents is that the Sharks can comeback with Patrick Marleau, Milan Michalek and Steve Bernier. They also added grit in ex-Sabre Mike Grier to a mix that includes Ville Nieminen, Curtis Brown and Marcel Goc. Despite parting with Tom Preissing in the Bell deal, the D should still be good with Matt Carle supplying the offense while Scott Hannan and Kyle McLaren supply the beef. Christian Ehrhoff gives them a solid top four. In net, Vesa Toskala will most likely be the number one with vet Evgeni Nabokov backing up. Nolan Schaefer also is there as insurance. This is a very skilled team with lots of speed. But it's up to either Toskala or Nabokov to shine in the postseason.
5.Detroit Red Wings- For the first time since 1982-83, the Winged Wheel will be without emotional leader Steve Yzerman. But with new team captain Nicklas Lidstrom and 44 year-old vet Chris Chelios anchoring the blueline, the transition should be smooth. While they're old on D also with Mathieu Schneider, Niklas Kronwall should continue to improve. Vets Danny Markov and Andreas Lilja round it out. Up front, Henrik Zetterberg is an emerging superstar and Pavel Datsyuk isn't too far behind. Robert Lang can center the second line and Tomas Holmstrom will provide the usual grit in front. If there was a surprise last season, it was the play of Mikael Samuelsson and Jason Williams. They'll be looked to again for offense. Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby once again team up as one of the league's best checking units. If there is a question, it might be how long veteran netminder Dominik Hasek stays healthy for? If he goes down, Chris Osgood backs up. Question nobody wants to hear in Hockeytown: Is this the year some of those vets finally show their age?
6.Minnesota Wild- It took GM Doug Risebrough a few years to finally open the vault and spend. With criticism coming down even from superstar Marian Gaborik who he wisely re-signed long term, Risebrough packaged prospect Patrick O'Sullivan to the Kings for Slovak Pavol Demitra. He also inked sniper Mark Parrish and added defenseman Kim Johnsson as well. Parrish should provide grit and work well with Brian Rolson and possibly Pierre-Marc Bouchard. Johnsson will be looked to for offense and stability on the blueline after they lost Filip Kuba to Tampa and Andrei Zyuzin to Calgary. Johnsson is returning from a concussion. So it was a risk. Kurtis Foster can provide offense while Keith Carney and Brent Burns can supply some physicality. Is this the year Mikko Koivu plays a more prominent role up front? Meanwhile, Manny Fernandez comes in as the clearcut number one goalie and should be ready to backstop the Wild back to the postseason. Looks like they might have fun at the Excel Center.
7.Dallas Stars- Gone is Arnott but still around are key cogs Mike Modano, new team captain Brenden Morrow, Jere Lehtinen, Sergei Zubov, Phillipe Boucher and Marty Turco. During the offseason, GM Doug Armstrong replaced Arnott with Eric Lindros and Jeff Halpern. He also swapped Niko Kapanen for Patrik Stefan and recently added even more depth at the pivot by sending Janne Niinimaa to Montreal for Mike Ribeiro. Throw in emerging Finns Jussi Jokinen and Antti Miettinen and they look pretty balanced. Matt Barnaby and Steve Ott provide energy. On the blueline, 1999 Cup hero Darryl Sydor returns. Jaroslav Modry and Stephane Robidas provide depth. Everything looks good. So what could go wrong? Modano and Zubov show age and Lindros suffers yet another injury. It really is sad what's happened to the Big E. Then there's Turco in net. Can he really get it done when it counts? He's flopped badly so far in his playoff career. That assumes they get there which isn't a given. They should but it will be close.
8.Vancouver Canucks- If big acquisition Robert Luongo doesn't get them here, then he really is an overrated goalie. Sorry. That's just how it should be. Yes. The Canucks lost Ed Jovanovski to Phoenix but considering that he's an accident waiting to happen, that's addition by subtraction. GM Mike Nonis went out and signed Willie Mitchell, who is younger and should provide physicality and actually play more than half the schedule. Mattias Ohlund will anchor the D. Sami Salo is a sound number three. After that, it gets thin. They really need Lukas Krajicek or rookie Luc Bourdon to step up. If either does, they'll be fine. Offensively, it falls on the shoulders of captain Markus Naslund and Brendan Morrison to rebound from down seasons. They're probably better off without Todd Bertuzzi. The Sedin twins have emerged as solid NHLers. Matt Cooke is underrated and Jan Bulis supplies depth at center. After Nonis whined like a baby after matching Bobby Clarke's offersheet to Ryan Kesler, Kesler needs to prove his worth. It would help if Taylor Pyatt emerges. He never really played much in Buffalo. If Luongo answers the questions in goal, the Canucks should be able to squeak back in the playoffs.
9.Edmonton Oilers- This is tough but when you look at GM Kevin Lowe's new look D after Pronger and Jaroslav Spacek left, it's hard to see them making the cut. Captain Jason Smith is still there along with Marc-Andre Bergeron. So is Steve Staios but they never did well with him as a number three. Why will it be any different now? Daniel Tjarnqvist is nothing special and Matt Greene really needs to show a lot more than he did this past June. They'll need Ladislav Smid to be a reliable top four D. That's what the former Duck prospect was projected as before the Pronger deal. We'll see. Up front, we love Lupul and Ales Hemsky to have big seasons. Ryan Smyth, Shawn Horcoff and Jared Stoll should enjoy playing with them. Vet Petr Sykora should be able to finish enough. The pressure will be on Fernando Pisani to duplicate his postseason. Ethan Moreau is underrated. Up front, they're solid. The question marks on the blueline could make life difficult for Dwayne Roloson. If he's under siege routinely, will the vet turned miracle worker crack?
10.Colorado Avalanche- Is this the year the Avs finally miss the postseason? With the losses of Rob Blake and Tanguay, they'll be hardpressed to get in again. Of course, ageless wonder Joe Sakic will once again be there to try to silence the doubters. So too will Milan Hejduk, who needs about the same bounceback season ex-Av Teemu Selanne had with Anaheim. Second-year sniper Marek Svatos returns from shoulder surgery and must be healthy. The Avs are pinning their hopes on free agent pickup Tyler Arnason to provide scoring. He has talent but is a headcase. Rookie Wojtek Wolski has lots of promise and could become the latest Av to emerge up front. Also keep an eye on former 2005 second rounder Paul Stastny. Can gritty center Ian Laperriere repeat his career season? Meanwhile, John-Michael Liles leads the charge from the blueline along with underrated defenders Karlis Skrastins and Ossi Vaananen. Patrice Brisebois can provide offense but is offensive in every sense in his own end. And Ken Klee was awful with New Jersey. Better hope Leopold gets back soon. There are many questions and that continues in net with former Hart and Vezina winner Jose Theodore. Is he an elite netminder or severely overrated? Don't rule out second-year goalie Peter Budaj unseating him. They'll be interesting but the playoff streak has to end some time. As Al Pacino once said to Keanu Reeves at the end of Devil's Advocate, "You can't win'em all."
11.Los Angeles Kings- With the recent acquisition of prospect Jack Johnson along with salary dump Oleg Tverdovsky in a deal which sent Eric Belanger and Tim Gleason to Carolina, it appears new GM Dean Lombardi plans to rebuild. Why else would he dump Demitra on the Wild for O'Sullivan? That's why it's hard to make sense of the Dan Cloutier signing. Maybe it was ex-Canucks' coach Marc Crawford's influence but come on. What are they doing? Rebuilding or trying to win now? Or is it both? Could that also be why they brought back Blake for their blueline to team him up with Lubomir Visnovsky? They also added vet Brent Sopel to a D which includes captain Mattias Norstrom and Aaron Miller. Plus team ornament Tverdovsky. Outside of Visnovsky, they're old. It's a different story up front where Alexander Frolov, Michael Cammalleri, Dustin Brown, superpest Sean Avery, O'Sullivan along with former first rounder Anze Kopitar comprise a youth movement. There's also vets Craig Conroy, Derek Armstrong and Scott Thornton. So what can be expected from them? Is Cloutier that much better than Mathieu Garon? That remains to be seen. This team either could surprise or finish where we're picking them.
12.Columbus Blue Jackets- You would think by now the Blue Jackets would finally be on their way up but it doesn't look that way. Now that GM Doug MacLean has re-signed Nikolai Zherdev, offensively, they should be good with the young Russian talent teaming up with power forward Rick Nash and the underappreciated David Vyborny. Adding Fredrik Modin and Anson Carter should give them two solid lines. But without veteran Sergei Fedorov to start the season, they're lacking in the middle. Unless Alexander Svitov or Dan Fritsche step up, the offense could stagnate. Manny Malhotra is a solid third liner. If someone emerges, it could be former first round pick Gilbert Brule. He is solid overall and has the skills to go with it. They'll also look to Jaroslav Balastik for offense. Even with Adam Foote and Bryan Berard, the D is weak. Ron Hainsey can contribute and David Westcott is decent. But who outside the aging Foote will keep opponents honest? If you say reject Anders Eriksson, you lose. And this is what new number one Pascal Leclaire has in front of him? Like a classic Weezer song, "Say It Ain't So."
13.Phoenix Coyotes- If you look at this roster, it's not awful. However, it seems like a classic tease for Coach Wayne Gretzky to try to bring respectability back to. Shane Doan is a solid power forward and Ladislav Nagy is a gifted finisher. After that, it gets thin quick. Can Mike Comrie really be relied on as a top pivot? Aren't Jeremy Roenick and Owen Nolan washed up? Outside of Steve Reinprecht, there's nothing to get excited about. Heck. Team enforcer Georges Laraque looks good. No wonder they gave him a no-trade clause. We wish we were kidding but it's no joke. It would help when Fredrik Sjostrom returns to the lineup. So, this is what Jovanovski chose? Now, the blueline he joins isn't putrid. Keith Ballard and Zbynek Michalek (try saying that name 10 times fast and get back to us) are solid and can contribute offensively. Nick Boynton who was acquired for Paul Mara is a steady stay-at-home defender. Derek Morris is okay but not as good as he once was hyped to be. Last season, veteran Curtis Joseph played out of his mind in the first half but predictably broke down. He's one year from 40 and well traveled backup Mike Morrison is on his third team in less than a year. What was Gretzky pal GM Mike Barnett thinking? This team was so much better in Winnipeg. Even if there wasn't much success, at least there was an identity.
14.St. Louis Blues- First former MSG boss Dave Checketts took over as team owner. Then he brought in pal and expert NHL analyst John Davidson to run the show as Team President. No question JD knows his stuff but can anyone explain why he added so many veterans? Doug Weight. Bill Guerin. Martin Rucinsky. Dan Hinote. Radek Dvorak. Jay McKee. Manny Legace. The new Blues roster should come with an NHL map. Look. No question they hit rock bottom last season after being in the postseason every year spanning almost three decades. A remarkable accomplishment. How much mileage does a Weight or Guerin have left? They'll most likely team up with Keith Tkachuk to form a vintage Team USA line from 1996. That's 10 years too late. Davidson overpaid for McKee but needed some stability on the blueline. If Barret Jackman ever stayed healthy, they'd be much tougher. Eric Brewer will look to rebound from a nightmarish first season in St. Louis. If you look past all the experience, Petr Cajanek, Lee Stempniak, Christian Backman and Doug Wideman provide hope for the future. Backing up Legace will be the tandem of Curtis Sanford and Jason Bacashihua. So, can this team be competitive? They'll be better than last year but not by much.
15.Chicago Blackhawks- Same old song and dance for Bill Wirtz' Original Six franchise. Do they even count anymore? When is the last time the Hawks were relevant? And we're not talking about that playoff cameo a few years ago where they got swept out by St. Louis. I remember a time when they had a young Eagle, JR, Steve Larmer, Christian Ruutu and even a young Chelios and Gary Suter all on NHL '94. That was Blackhawk hockey! Now, they just suck. What makes anyone think the additions of Martin Havlat and Bryan Smolinski from Ottawa are going to change that? Yes, Havlat is a dynamic talent who should still produce. And the deal of Kyle Calder for Michal Handzus might work as long as Zeus returns to form after offseason surgery. But these are the Hawks. Where overpaying free agents such as Nikolai Khabibulin and Adrian Aucoin turns them into mere mortals. Is there some talent on this roster? Sure. Defensemen Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith both have ability. Former number one Cam Barker will eventually return from injury and get his chance. Center Tuomu Ruutu is an enormous talent but once again will start the season on IR. And left wing Rene Bourque is decent. But when you look at this mix, it seems like they just flipped a coin. If you're pathetic, shouldn't you tear the whole thing up? Can the Bulin Wall rebound? If not, Brian Boucher is the backup. How did Michael Leighton not make the roster? But instead, they have Patrick Lalime as their third stringer. Hawks hockey at its finest.
2007 PLAYOFF CRYSTAL BALL
East
Conference Quarters
Sabres over Panthers in 5
Devils over Bruins in 6
Hurricanes over Flyers in 7
Senators over Rangers in 7
Semis
Sabres over Senators in 6
Devils over Hurricanes in 6
Finals
Sabres over Devils in 7
West
Conference Quarters
Ducks over Canucks in 6
Predators over Stars in 5
Wild over Flames in 6
Sharks over Wings in 6
Semis
Ducks over Wild in 5
Predators over Sharks in 6
Finals
Predators over Ducks in 6
STANLEY CUP FINAL
Sabres over Predators in 7
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Devils Drop Home Preseason Opener To Rangers
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ -The Hudson rivalry was renewed once again. If you could call it that with only a handful of familiar faces taking part in the first of a home-and-home. The rematch was set for Wednesday night across the Lincoln Tunnel at Madison Square Garden with different lineups expected.
Five months removed from a sweep of the archrival Rangers, the Devils took to the ice at Continental Airlines Arena under much different circumstances- dropping the home preseason opener 3-1 Tuesday night before 11,241.
With the Rangers opting to dress only a few vets as opposed to mostly rookies and second-year players, it looked every bit like a meaningless exhibition.
Though the Devils played Martin Brodeur for the first half of the action, the two-time Vezina winner wasn't sharp early on, letting in the game's first three goals just 8:17 in. In fact, the Rangers' three came in a 4:16 span. Blair Betts got it started when he took an Adam Hall feed and beat Brodeur with a backhand.
After Hall tallied unassisted at 7:50, rookie Brandon Dubinsky connected with a wrister from about 50 feet out only 27 seconds later to give New York a three-goal lead.
With not much happening for the Devils down three, there was a scrap less than a minute later between the Rangers' Francis Lessard and New Jersey's Nathan Perrot. Perrot is a former 1995 second round pick who is attempting a comeback from injury this preseason in hopes of making the final roster.
His fight seemed to awaken his teammates as only a couple of minutes later, Tuomas Pihlman took rookie defenseman Matt Corrente's pass and beat Al Montoya at 11:31 to cut the deficit to two. Former New Jersey 2001 first rounder Adrian Foster also picked up a helper.
It was the only chance they beat the Rangers' former 2004 first round selection on. The second-year pro was sharp in his half of action stopping 11 of 12 shots before giving way to veteran backup Stephen Valiquette.
Though the Devils weren't able to beat Valiquette (13 saves), after being outshot 11-8 in the first, they carried more of the play the final two periods outshooting their opponents 13-11 including only six Frank Doyle's way after he replaced Brodeur.
Outside of a scrap between Rangers enforcer Ryan Hollweg and Grant Marshall midway thru the game, it didn't resemble a real game. But more a contest of who could be sent to the penalty box more and not take advantage. The two teams combined to go 0-for-14 on the power play- Rangers (0-8) Devils (0-6).
It was more a reinforcement of the hooking, interference and delay of game calls which the league emphasized last season in an attempt to improve scoring.
Zajac Impresses: Though they didn't inch closer on the scoreboard, one new Devil coach Claude Julien had to be pleased with was Travis Zajac. The former 2004 first rounder who signed out of North Dakota this past Spring distinguished himself. Used primarily in a third line center role, Zajac was strong on the puck in 15:05 and registered three shots. The only drawback was his lack of success in the faceoff circle (2-8). Outside of that, he had a solid showing and could be one Devil newcomer to watch as this abbreviated preseason unfolds.
Notes: Along with Brodeur and Marshall, Devils' lineup also featured Scott Gomez, Zach Parise, Jamie Langenbrunner, Sergei Brylin, David Hale, Brad Lukowich, Dan McGillis along with unsigned center Erik Rasmussen due to the team's cap situation. Also taking part were second-year pros Pihlman, Barry Tallackson along with rookies Corrente, John Oduya and Tomas Harrant. Foster and career minor leaguer Justin Papineau rounded out the roster. ... After a three assist effort in a win at Boston in Lowell Sunday, 2006 first round pick Corrente continued to impress with another assist. ... John Madden sat out his second straight with a sore groin. ... Among regulars Rangers dressed Betts, Hall, Hollweg, Marcel Hossa, Jason Ward, Fedor Tyutin, Darius Kasparaitis, Aaron Ward and Karel Rachunek. Rookies who took part included Nigel Dawes, who assisted on Dubinsky's goal and former first rounders Lauri Korpikoski and Hugh Jessiman saw significant action up front while 2005 first rounder Marc Staal teamed with Ward on the blueline and finished +2 in 19:39. Ivan Baranka, Dwight Helminen and Lee Falardeau also took part as did vet Martin Richter and Lessard.
Five months removed from a sweep of the archrival Rangers, the Devils took to the ice at Continental Airlines Arena under much different circumstances- dropping the home preseason opener 3-1 Tuesday night before 11,241.
With the Rangers opting to dress only a few vets as opposed to mostly rookies and second-year players, it looked every bit like a meaningless exhibition.
Though the Devils played Martin Brodeur for the first half of the action, the two-time Vezina winner wasn't sharp early on, letting in the game's first three goals just 8:17 in. In fact, the Rangers' three came in a 4:16 span. Blair Betts got it started when he took an Adam Hall feed and beat Brodeur with a backhand.
After Hall tallied unassisted at 7:50, rookie Brandon Dubinsky connected with a wrister from about 50 feet out only 27 seconds later to give New York a three-goal lead.
With not much happening for the Devils down three, there was a scrap less than a minute later between the Rangers' Francis Lessard and New Jersey's Nathan Perrot. Perrot is a former 1995 second round pick who is attempting a comeback from injury this preseason in hopes of making the final roster.
His fight seemed to awaken his teammates as only a couple of minutes later, Tuomas Pihlman took rookie defenseman Matt Corrente's pass and beat Al Montoya at 11:31 to cut the deficit to two. Former New Jersey 2001 first rounder Adrian Foster also picked up a helper.
It was the only chance they beat the Rangers' former 2004 first round selection on. The second-year pro was sharp in his half of action stopping 11 of 12 shots before giving way to veteran backup Stephen Valiquette.
Though the Devils weren't able to beat Valiquette (13 saves), after being outshot 11-8 in the first, they carried more of the play the final two periods outshooting their opponents 13-11 including only six Frank Doyle's way after he replaced Brodeur.
Outside of a scrap between Rangers enforcer Ryan Hollweg and Grant Marshall midway thru the game, it didn't resemble a real game. But more a contest of who could be sent to the penalty box more and not take advantage. The two teams combined to go 0-for-14 on the power play- Rangers (0-8) Devils (0-6).
It was more a reinforcement of the hooking, interference and delay of game calls which the league emphasized last season in an attempt to improve scoring.
Zajac Impresses: Though they didn't inch closer on the scoreboard, one new Devil coach Claude Julien had to be pleased with was Travis Zajac. The former 2004 first rounder who signed out of North Dakota this past Spring distinguished himself. Used primarily in a third line center role, Zajac was strong on the puck in 15:05 and registered three shots. The only drawback was his lack of success in the faceoff circle (2-8). Outside of that, he had a solid showing and could be one Devil newcomer to watch as this abbreviated preseason unfolds.
Notes: Along with Brodeur and Marshall, Devils' lineup also featured Scott Gomez, Zach Parise, Jamie Langenbrunner, Sergei Brylin, David Hale, Brad Lukowich, Dan McGillis along with unsigned center Erik Rasmussen due to the team's cap situation. Also taking part were second-year pros Pihlman, Barry Tallackson along with rookies Corrente, John Oduya and Tomas Harrant. Foster and career minor leaguer Justin Papineau rounded out the roster. ... After a three assist effort in a win at Boston in Lowell Sunday, 2006 first round pick Corrente continued to impress with another assist. ... John Madden sat out his second straight with a sore groin. ... Among regulars Rangers dressed Betts, Hall, Hollweg, Marcel Hossa, Jason Ward, Fedor Tyutin, Darius Kasparaitis, Aaron Ward and Karel Rachunek. Rookies who took part included Nigel Dawes, who assisted on Dubinsky's goal and former first rounders Lauri Korpikoski and Hugh Jessiman saw significant action up front while 2005 first rounder Marc Staal teamed with Ward on the blueline and finished +2 in 19:39. Ivan Baranka, Dwight Helminen and Lee Falardeau also took part as did vet Martin Richter and Lessard.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Baby Bombers Champions Again, Repeat As New York Penn League's Best
STATEN ISLAND, NY -Just call them champions again. Even with an extra day off along with a one hour 24-minute rain delay couldn't stop the inevitable when the Staten Island Yankees repeated as NY-Penn League champs by shutting out the Tri-City Valley Cats 2-0 in a winner take-all Game 3 before an enthusiastic 878 at Richmond County Bank Ball Park Friday night. It's the first time in 25 years a team has went on to win back-to-back NY-Penn League titles.
As has been their identity all season en route to the league's best record, the Baby Bombers won a lowscoring game with pitching, defense and timely hitting to claim their fourth title in the past seven years.
"They don't get any better than this," emotional skipper Gaylen Pitts told his club after being doused with champagne during a wild celebration inside the locker room. "I'll ride with you guys anywhere."
Led by starter George Kontos' brilliant six scoreless innings which included a season high 11 strikeouts, the Baby Bombers used the common formula along with two big RBI's from veteran DH Kyle Larsen to take home the hardware and celebrate in style before a raucous crowd.
"It feels great. It's the best feeling in the world," a jubilant Kontos said outside the dugout while fans chanted his name. "We came in here from Day 1 and we said we were going to do this, got it done and we feel great about it."
"It's been a fun ride with all these guys," leadoff hitter Seth Fortenberry added inside an emotionally charged room. "What more can you say? The guy went out and threw his heart out and pitched a great game. Shut it down for us."
Coming off a tough 9-2 Game 2 loss the other night, Staten Island jumped out of the gate much quicker and did something they couldn't Wednesday. Get an early lead and let solid pitching and D take over.
After Kontos worked around a first inning walk, the Bombers got to Tri-City starter Chris Salamida. The southpaw entered as the league's best pitcher during the regular season finishing 10-1 with a miniscule 1.06 ERA. He also picked up a postseason win against Auburn in the first round by tossing six scoreless. None of that mattered last night when Staten Island used a two out rally to give Kontos an early lead.
With the first two retired, third baseman Mitch Hilligoss' opposite field double kept the inning alive for Larsen. Behind in the count 0-2, he delivered a clutch RBI single into right to put the Bombers on top. After Colin Curtis followed with the third consecutive hit to put two on, Salamida limited the damage by getting second baseman Wilmer Pino to pop out to short.
"It's an amazing feeling," a pleased Larsen said after knocking in both runs on the night. "I can't even describe it. It's something I will never forget. Coming to this place especially with the front office and all the people here and the fans, it's been amazing. They deserve it...To get that run in the first was huge."
"The day off might have helped us more than people thought," Hilligoss noted. "That maybe we'd dwell on the loss but I think it was good for us to use it and relax. The guys did a great job."
Given a lead, Kontos got stronger and began a stretch of fanning at least two Valley Cats from the second through the fifth. After whiffing two in the second, he K'd two more in the third to keep his team ahead before they got a key insurance run. Shortstop Chris Kunda ledoff the home third with a double to left. His teammates used some little ball to get him in. A Hilligoss ground out to second got Kunda over to third and then Larsen followed with a sac fly to left which scored Kunda to make it 2-0.
"Winning the College World Series is a similar feeling," Kunda expressed after the shortstop got the team off to a good start in the field with a sparkling defensive gem for the game's first out. "Being able to make a play like that to begin things kind of give momentum on our side right away...The hit- I was trying to get something started when we had the guys coming up behind me. Kyle already had an RBI the first inning. I was just trying to create another opportunity."
Ahead two, Kontos served notice by striking out the side in the fourth in impressive fashion- getting Jordan Parraz and Max Sapp to chase fastballs before painting the outside corner to freeze James Van Ostrand. He would retire the next six Tri-City batters via K and seven of eight at one point.
"I felt good...Everything was working. I wasn't overthrowing. My fastball was good. It was moving. My slider was real tight and my curveball was breaking well. That's all I can ask for," Kontos pointed out. "Today was obviously a big game. [Salamida] has done great for them all year...It was kind of projection that everyone saw coming. My teammates picked me up big time and I just helped them stay ahead."
"Amazing. We knew. There was no one else in my mind that I want the ball in his hands," praised Larsen. "He's a warrior. He's a guy who fought for us all year and to come out and pitch the way he did is awesome. I'm so happy for him."
Though he also fanned the side in the fifth, Kontos worked around two hits by getting Tim Torres on a nasty breaking ball that caught the outside corner to strand both runners.
His final frame proved the most challenging. With one down in the sixth, Parraz singled to center and advanced to second on a wild pitch. When Kontos cameback to freeze Sapp for the second out and his final strike out of the night, it looked like he would get out of it without a problem. But he lost Van Ostrand and then allowed an infield hit to Justin Tellam which suddenly loaded the bases. When he fell behind Chris Johnson 3-0, danger loomed.
After getting a fastball across the plate for 3-1, Kontos almost balked in a run. However, plate umpire Tripp Gibson mistakenly awarded Parraz home. Before Kontos stopped his delivery, Johnson asked for time. When the four umpires convened, they properly reversed the call reloading the bases. Still behind in the count, Kontos dug deep by throwing consecutive strikes and got Johnson to harmlessly pop out to Pino.
"I fell behind 3-0," the championship winning starter noted. "I was opening up and dragging my arm. That's why everything was up. I sat back, took a deep breath and got on top of the ball. So I took a little bit off of it. [Johnson] got a little on top of it and no runs scored."
With Kontos finally done, Pitts turned it over to the bullpen. Reliever Nick Peterson worked a 1-2-3 seventh and got the first two in the eighth to pull the Bombers within four outs of another title. But Tri-City wouldn't go down easily. After Sapp beat out an infield single to second, Van Ostrand walked to put the tying runs on forcing Pitts to call on closer Mark Melanchon to get a four out save. He got Tellam to ground out to Pino to end the threat.
After S.I. went quietly in the eighth, Melanchon got Johnson swinging and Aaron Bulkey to line out to Pino to pull within an out of their ultimate destiny. After a tough battle with Greg Buchanan, he finally got him to chase a high fastball, touching off a wild celebration on the field which invoked memories of last year's championship team.
Keeping with the theme in which they doused 2005 manager Andy Stankiwiecz, repeat winner Larsen helped Gatorade Pitts before everyone celebrated with the trophy on the field.
"There's nothing better than winning a championship. Especially with the Yankees," Peterson excitedly remarked. "I've never been a part of something like this."
"The enjoyment that we're having. Just the whole year what you look forward to. And then at the end of the year, just the kind of fulfillment that you have. It's unbelievable," center fielder Colin Curtis added. "After a little bit, I knew that we had it in us. I knew that we were going to make a good run at it."
Hilligoss summed up the special season perfectly:
"We're a close knit group all year. That's what it's all about. The chemistry of this team."
As has been their identity all season en route to the league's best record, the Baby Bombers won a lowscoring game with pitching, defense and timely hitting to claim their fourth title in the past seven years.
"They don't get any better than this," emotional skipper Gaylen Pitts told his club after being doused with champagne during a wild celebration inside the locker room. "I'll ride with you guys anywhere."
Led by starter George Kontos' brilliant six scoreless innings which included a season high 11 strikeouts, the Baby Bombers used the common formula along with two big RBI's from veteran DH Kyle Larsen to take home the hardware and celebrate in style before a raucous crowd.
"It feels great. It's the best feeling in the world," a jubilant Kontos said outside the dugout while fans chanted his name. "We came in here from Day 1 and we said we were going to do this, got it done and we feel great about it."
"It's been a fun ride with all these guys," leadoff hitter Seth Fortenberry added inside an emotionally charged room. "What more can you say? The guy went out and threw his heart out and pitched a great game. Shut it down for us."
Coming off a tough 9-2 Game 2 loss the other night, Staten Island jumped out of the gate much quicker and did something they couldn't Wednesday. Get an early lead and let solid pitching and D take over.
After Kontos worked around a first inning walk, the Bombers got to Tri-City starter Chris Salamida. The southpaw entered as the league's best pitcher during the regular season finishing 10-1 with a miniscule 1.06 ERA. He also picked up a postseason win against Auburn in the first round by tossing six scoreless. None of that mattered last night when Staten Island used a two out rally to give Kontos an early lead.
With the first two retired, third baseman Mitch Hilligoss' opposite field double kept the inning alive for Larsen. Behind in the count 0-2, he delivered a clutch RBI single into right to put the Bombers on top. After Colin Curtis followed with the third consecutive hit to put two on, Salamida limited the damage by getting second baseman Wilmer Pino to pop out to short.
"It's an amazing feeling," a pleased Larsen said after knocking in both runs on the night. "I can't even describe it. It's something I will never forget. Coming to this place especially with the front office and all the people here and the fans, it's been amazing. They deserve it...To get that run in the first was huge."
"The day off might have helped us more than people thought," Hilligoss noted. "That maybe we'd dwell on the loss but I think it was good for us to use it and relax. The guys did a great job."
Given a lead, Kontos got stronger and began a stretch of fanning at least two Valley Cats from the second through the fifth. After whiffing two in the second, he K'd two more in the third to keep his team ahead before they got a key insurance run. Shortstop Chris Kunda ledoff the home third with a double to left. His teammates used some little ball to get him in. A Hilligoss ground out to second got Kunda over to third and then Larsen followed with a sac fly to left which scored Kunda to make it 2-0.
"Winning the College World Series is a similar feeling," Kunda expressed after the shortstop got the team off to a good start in the field with a sparkling defensive gem for the game's first out. "Being able to make a play like that to begin things kind of give momentum on our side right away...The hit- I was trying to get something started when we had the guys coming up behind me. Kyle already had an RBI the first inning. I was just trying to create another opportunity."
Ahead two, Kontos served notice by striking out the side in the fourth in impressive fashion- getting Jordan Parraz and Max Sapp to chase fastballs before painting the outside corner to freeze James Van Ostrand. He would retire the next six Tri-City batters via K and seven of eight at one point.
"I felt good...Everything was working. I wasn't overthrowing. My fastball was good. It was moving. My slider was real tight and my curveball was breaking well. That's all I can ask for," Kontos pointed out. "Today was obviously a big game. [Salamida] has done great for them all year...It was kind of projection that everyone saw coming. My teammates picked me up big time and I just helped them stay ahead."
"Amazing. We knew. There was no one else in my mind that I want the ball in his hands," praised Larsen. "He's a warrior. He's a guy who fought for us all year and to come out and pitch the way he did is awesome. I'm so happy for him."
Though he also fanned the side in the fifth, Kontos worked around two hits by getting Tim Torres on a nasty breaking ball that caught the outside corner to strand both runners.
His final frame proved the most challenging. With one down in the sixth, Parraz singled to center and advanced to second on a wild pitch. When Kontos cameback to freeze Sapp for the second out and his final strike out of the night, it looked like he would get out of it without a problem. But he lost Van Ostrand and then allowed an infield hit to Justin Tellam which suddenly loaded the bases. When he fell behind Chris Johnson 3-0, danger loomed.
After getting a fastball across the plate for 3-1, Kontos almost balked in a run. However, plate umpire Tripp Gibson mistakenly awarded Parraz home. Before Kontos stopped his delivery, Johnson asked for time. When the four umpires convened, they properly reversed the call reloading the bases. Still behind in the count, Kontos dug deep by throwing consecutive strikes and got Johnson to harmlessly pop out to Pino.
"I fell behind 3-0," the championship winning starter noted. "I was opening up and dragging my arm. That's why everything was up. I sat back, took a deep breath and got on top of the ball. So I took a little bit off of it. [Johnson] got a little on top of it and no runs scored."
With Kontos finally done, Pitts turned it over to the bullpen. Reliever Nick Peterson worked a 1-2-3 seventh and got the first two in the eighth to pull the Bombers within four outs of another title. But Tri-City wouldn't go down easily. After Sapp beat out an infield single to second, Van Ostrand walked to put the tying runs on forcing Pitts to call on closer Mark Melanchon to get a four out save. He got Tellam to ground out to Pino to end the threat.
After S.I. went quietly in the eighth, Melanchon got Johnson swinging and Aaron Bulkey to line out to Pino to pull within an out of their ultimate destiny. After a tough battle with Greg Buchanan, he finally got him to chase a high fastball, touching off a wild celebration on the field which invoked memories of last year's championship team.
Keeping with the theme in which they doused 2005 manager Andy Stankiwiecz, repeat winner Larsen helped Gatorade Pitts before everyone celebrated with the trophy on the field.
"There's nothing better than winning a championship. Especially with the Yankees," Peterson excitedly remarked. "I've never been a part of something like this."
"The enjoyment that we're having. Just the whole year what you look forward to. And then at the end of the year, just the kind of fulfillment that you have. It's unbelievable," center fielder Colin Curtis added. "After a little bit, I knew that we had it in us. I knew that we were going to make a good run at it."
Hilligoss summed up the special season perfectly:
"We're a close knit group all year. That's what it's all about. The chemistry of this team."
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Valley Cats Spoil Baby Bomber Party, Force Deciding Game For Championship
STATEN ISLAND, NY -They were ready to throw a party but the Valley Cats crashed it with a 9-2 rout of the Baby Bombers in Game 2 before 1,266 at Richmond County Ball Park Wednesday night to force a winner take all third game for all the marbles.
It's scheduled to take place Thursday night at St. George if it doesn't rain. As has been a recent trend, inclement weather could push the deciding game for the NY-Penn League Championship back to Friday or Saturday. Either way, they'll get it in eventually.
Aiming for a repeat after coming back to take Game 1 4-2 in Tri-City, not much went right for the Staten Island Yankees on this night. Right away, the Valley Cats got to losing starter Angel Reyes (0-1) by pushing across three to knock him out. When the southpaw missed badly on four straight pitches to walk leadoff hitter Greg Buchanan, trouble immediately arose. A couple batters later with two men on, Reyes lost the strike zone and consecutively walked Jordan Parraz and Jhon Florentino to give the Cats the lead.
It only got worse as Reyes' next delivery resulted in a wild pitch which allowed another run to score. When James Van Ostrand followed with an RBI single to right which scored Parraz to make it 3-0, Reyes' night was done. Edgar Soto limited the damage by retiring the final two batters on a strike out and a ground out.
With Soto keeping Tri-City scoreless the next three innings, it gave Staten Island a chance to get back into the game. They sliced the lead in half in the fourth to make things a little interesting.
With one man out, the Bombers strung together three consecutive hits which cut it to 4-1. After Colin Curtis and Francisco Cervelli singled, first baseman Kevin Smith drove in the first run with a single to center. With runners on the corners Tri-City starter Casey Hudspeth uncorked a wild pitch which allowed Cervelli to score and make it 4-2, moving Smith to second.
But a crucial play would be the turning point. Shortstop Chris Kunda lined out to Buchanan at second, who quickly doubled off Smith to turn it into an inning ending 4-6 twin killing.
Still trailing by two, right fielder Wilkins De La Rosa began the fifth with a single to end Hudspeth's night. Unfortunately for the Baby Bombers, it would pretty much end their chances of coming back. Tri-City reliever Douglas Arguello tossed the final five innings allowing just one hit, a walk while fanning four to pickup the win (1-0).
In fact, he retired the first six including K-ing those four before his teammates broke the close game open with a five-run seventh. Aaron Bulkley ledoff with a solo home run to left off Soto which increased Tri-City's lead to three. After Soto put three of the next four batters on including an intentional pass to Parraz, S.I. skipper Gaylen Pitts went to reliever Luke Trubee to get out of the jam. But after he got Florentino swinging, Van Ostrand delivered the big blow with a grand slam to erase any doubt.
Notes: The game lasted two hours and 33 minutes. ... In relief, Soto went six inning allowing five earned on four hits while walking four and striking out two. ... Staten Island's top four hitters Seth Fortenberry, Wilmer Pino, Mitch Hilligoss and Kyle Larsen were held to just one hit in 12 at bats while K-ing seven times. In sharp contrast, the final five batters Colin Curtis, Cervelli, Smith, Kunda and De La Rosa finished with six of the team's seven hits. ... The do-or-die game is set to take place Thursday night at 7 PM. George Kontos could get the start for the Baby Bombers.
It's scheduled to take place Thursday night at St. George if it doesn't rain. As has been a recent trend, inclement weather could push the deciding game for the NY-Penn League Championship back to Friday or Saturday. Either way, they'll get it in eventually.
Aiming for a repeat after coming back to take Game 1 4-2 in Tri-City, not much went right for the Staten Island Yankees on this night. Right away, the Valley Cats got to losing starter Angel Reyes (0-1) by pushing across three to knock him out. When the southpaw missed badly on four straight pitches to walk leadoff hitter Greg Buchanan, trouble immediately arose. A couple batters later with two men on, Reyes lost the strike zone and consecutively walked Jordan Parraz and Jhon Florentino to give the Cats the lead.
It only got worse as Reyes' next delivery resulted in a wild pitch which allowed another run to score. When James Van Ostrand followed with an RBI single to right which scored Parraz to make it 3-0, Reyes' night was done. Edgar Soto limited the damage by retiring the final two batters on a strike out and a ground out.
With Soto keeping Tri-City scoreless the next three innings, it gave Staten Island a chance to get back into the game. They sliced the lead in half in the fourth to make things a little interesting.
With one man out, the Bombers strung together three consecutive hits which cut it to 4-1. After Colin Curtis and Francisco Cervelli singled, first baseman Kevin Smith drove in the first run with a single to center. With runners on the corners Tri-City starter Casey Hudspeth uncorked a wild pitch which allowed Cervelli to score and make it 4-2, moving Smith to second.
But a crucial play would be the turning point. Shortstop Chris Kunda lined out to Buchanan at second, who quickly doubled off Smith to turn it into an inning ending 4-6 twin killing.
Still trailing by two, right fielder Wilkins De La Rosa began the fifth with a single to end Hudspeth's night. Unfortunately for the Baby Bombers, it would pretty much end their chances of coming back. Tri-City reliever Douglas Arguello tossed the final five innings allowing just one hit, a walk while fanning four to pickup the win (1-0).
In fact, he retired the first six including K-ing those four before his teammates broke the close game open with a five-run seventh. Aaron Bulkley ledoff with a solo home run to left off Soto which increased Tri-City's lead to three. After Soto put three of the next four batters on including an intentional pass to Parraz, S.I. skipper Gaylen Pitts went to reliever Luke Trubee to get out of the jam. But after he got Florentino swinging, Van Ostrand delivered the big blow with a grand slam to erase any doubt.
Notes: The game lasted two hours and 33 minutes. ... In relief, Soto went six inning allowing five earned on four hits while walking four and striking out two. ... Staten Island's top four hitters Seth Fortenberry, Wilmer Pino, Mitch Hilligoss and Kyle Larsen were held to just one hit in 12 at bats while K-ing seven times. In sharp contrast, the final five batters Colin Curtis, Cervelli, Smith, Kunda and De La Rosa finished with six of the team's seven hits. ... The do-or-die game is set to take place Thursday night at 7 PM. George Kontos could get the start for the Baby Bombers.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Baby Bombers Sweep Rival Cyclones, Go For Repeat
STATEN ISLAND, NY - The brooms were out in full force as the Staten Island Yankees used a six-run third and a brilliant pitching performance from Tim Norton to convincingly take Game Two 9-0- sweeping the rival Brooklyn Cyclones in the first round of the NY-Penn League playoffs before 1,614 energized fans at Richmond County Ball Park Sunday evening.
"We've played a lot of close games. It's nice to have a game like that," skipper Gaylen Pitts pointed out. "I thought it would be a good series. That game last night- the first game in a short series is one you want to win...We were able to do that and I think that set the tone."
"Rivalries are good in baseball. I don't think we have enough of them. And since I've been here, I've seen what this means to the fans, the players. It's a good clean rivalry."
"It is exciting," added reliever Nick Peterson. "We came out and played great ball tonight. Whatever it takes...The guys have been hitting the ball, fielding the ball, pitching well. When you put it all together, you're going to win ballgames. We've been able to do it all successfully and that's why we're winning."
Their reward is a place in the league championship series against either Tri-City or Auburn starting either Tuesday or Wednesday night on the road depending on who advances. Tri-City led the series 1-0 entering Sunday night. By clinching a berth, the Baby Bombers will have a chance to repeat as league champs and go for their fourth NY-Penn League title in seven years.
"It feels great," third baseman Mitch Hilligoss said after finishing with two hits including a clutch two-run single in the third which helped break the game open and key a big inning. "Especially against our rivals like the Cyclones. The crowd was great. A lot of energy on both sides. To jump on them early was nice."
Despite taking both games and outscoring Brooklyn 14-2 to move on, Hilligoss kept things in perspective.
"It wasn't easy. You look at last night's game 5-2 but we were scratching for runs. They helped us out and we probably helped them out a little. Today, we kind of put it together and got a couple of key hits and bunched them together instead of just getting one here there. We kind of played a little bigger ball today."
Retired in order the first two innings, they got to losing Brooklyn starter Todd Privett (0-1) by doing exactly what Hilligoss said to put together a huge third which decided the outcome.
After Francisco Cervelli and Chris Kunda singled to start it, Wilkins De La Rosa sacrificed them into scoring position. Left fielder Seth Fortenberry's sharp single to center plated Cervelli for the game's first run. Privett then plunked Wilmer Pino to load the bases for Hilligoss, who singled to left which scored two more. Brooklyn left fielder Dustin Martin's throwing error also allowed Pino to score clearing the bases. That's when Staten Island DH Kyle Larsen delivered the big blow. Already up four runs, he drove the first pitch he saw over the right field fence for a two-run home run to finally conclude the offensive outburst.
"I'm just starting to finally feel good again," Larsen mentioned after hitting a homer for the second consecutive game to derail the Cyclones. "My swing is relaxed. Definitely feeling good. So hopefully keep it going here for the second series."
"[Larsen] was telling me last night how he likes to play in the playoffs. Well, he's turned it up a notch," Pitts observed.
Making that six-run cushion stand up was Norton (1-0), who had Brooklyn batters off balance all night. The rating NY-Penn League pitcher of the week was so dominant that he took a no-hitter into the seventh. After getting the first two batters, he finally allowed a Dan Murphy single to right which broke it up and then got a deserved loud ovation from the crowd before coming back to strike out Elvis Cruz- ending his day with seven scoreless allowing just the one hit to go with three walks and four K's.
"It went well. I had a couple too many walks- three or four but my defense played well and I made pitches when I needed to," the winning starter remarked.
"I knew my pitches were getting up," he said in reference to the no-hit bid. "So I knew I'd be coming out soon and there's two out, no one on, 2-2 count and I kept coming with a fastball and [Murphy] hit it. So I tip my cap. It was good."
Staten Island tacked on insurance runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth to easily cruise to the 9-0 victory. Reliever Luke Trubee tossed the final two frames and concluded it fittingly by getting Martin looking on a belt high fastball which painted the outside corner to touch off a brief celebration on the field. However, they know the job isn't done.
"It feels real good," Norton added of getting the chance to play for the championship. "Now we get a day off and we're playing well. So we're excited about the next round and whoever we play."
Notes: The Baby Bombers outscored the Cyclones 9-0 and outhit them 12-2. They also were better in the field committing no errors while their opponents booted two. ... Hilligoss, Larsen and Kunda each finished with multihit games combining to go 7-for-12 with a dinger, four RBI's and six runs scored. ... The top five S.I. hitters each knocked in a run finishing with seven RBI's. ... Eight of nine batters finished with a hit. ... The game took only two hours and 20 minutes to complete.
"We've played a lot of close games. It's nice to have a game like that," skipper Gaylen Pitts pointed out. "I thought it would be a good series. That game last night- the first game in a short series is one you want to win...We were able to do that and I think that set the tone."
"Rivalries are good in baseball. I don't think we have enough of them. And since I've been here, I've seen what this means to the fans, the players. It's a good clean rivalry."
"It is exciting," added reliever Nick Peterson. "We came out and played great ball tonight. Whatever it takes...The guys have been hitting the ball, fielding the ball, pitching well. When you put it all together, you're going to win ballgames. We've been able to do it all successfully and that's why we're winning."
Their reward is a place in the league championship series against either Tri-City or Auburn starting either Tuesday or Wednesday night on the road depending on who advances. Tri-City led the series 1-0 entering Sunday night. By clinching a berth, the Baby Bombers will have a chance to repeat as league champs and go for their fourth NY-Penn League title in seven years.
"It feels great," third baseman Mitch Hilligoss said after finishing with two hits including a clutch two-run single in the third which helped break the game open and key a big inning. "Especially against our rivals like the Cyclones. The crowd was great. A lot of energy on both sides. To jump on them early was nice."
Despite taking both games and outscoring Brooklyn 14-2 to move on, Hilligoss kept things in perspective.
"It wasn't easy. You look at last night's game 5-2 but we were scratching for runs. They helped us out and we probably helped them out a little. Today, we kind of put it together and got a couple of key hits and bunched them together instead of just getting one here there. We kind of played a little bigger ball today."
Retired in order the first two innings, they got to losing Brooklyn starter Todd Privett (0-1) by doing exactly what Hilligoss said to put together a huge third which decided the outcome.
After Francisco Cervelli and Chris Kunda singled to start it, Wilkins De La Rosa sacrificed them into scoring position. Left fielder Seth Fortenberry's sharp single to center plated Cervelli for the game's first run. Privett then plunked Wilmer Pino to load the bases for Hilligoss, who singled to left which scored two more. Brooklyn left fielder Dustin Martin's throwing error also allowed Pino to score clearing the bases. That's when Staten Island DH Kyle Larsen delivered the big blow. Already up four runs, he drove the first pitch he saw over the right field fence for a two-run home run to finally conclude the offensive outburst.
"I'm just starting to finally feel good again," Larsen mentioned after hitting a homer for the second consecutive game to derail the Cyclones. "My swing is relaxed. Definitely feeling good. So hopefully keep it going here for the second series."
"[Larsen] was telling me last night how he likes to play in the playoffs. Well, he's turned it up a notch," Pitts observed.
Making that six-run cushion stand up was Norton (1-0), who had Brooklyn batters off balance all night. The rating NY-Penn League pitcher of the week was so dominant that he took a no-hitter into the seventh. After getting the first two batters, he finally allowed a Dan Murphy single to right which broke it up and then got a deserved loud ovation from the crowd before coming back to strike out Elvis Cruz- ending his day with seven scoreless allowing just the one hit to go with three walks and four K's.
"It went well. I had a couple too many walks- three or four but my defense played well and I made pitches when I needed to," the winning starter remarked.
"I knew my pitches were getting up," he said in reference to the no-hit bid. "So I knew I'd be coming out soon and there's two out, no one on, 2-2 count and I kept coming with a fastball and [Murphy] hit it. So I tip my cap. It was good."
Staten Island tacked on insurance runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth to easily cruise to the 9-0 victory. Reliever Luke Trubee tossed the final two frames and concluded it fittingly by getting Martin looking on a belt high fastball which painted the outside corner to touch off a brief celebration on the field. However, they know the job isn't done.
"It feels real good," Norton added of getting the chance to play for the championship. "Now we get a day off and we're playing well. So we're excited about the next round and whoever we play."
Notes: The Baby Bombers outscored the Cyclones 9-0 and outhit them 12-2. They also were better in the field committing no errors while their opponents booted two. ... Hilligoss, Larsen and Kunda each finished with multihit games combining to go 7-for-12 with a dinger, four RBI's and six runs scored. ... The top five S.I. hitters each knocked in a run finishing with seven RBI's. ... Eight of nine batters finished with a hit. ... The game took only two hours and 20 minutes to complete.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Repeat Division Champion Bombers Look Forward To Playoffs
STATEN ISLAND, NY -It's been another very successful season for the Baby Bombers. A year after winning their third New York-Penn League Championship, the Staten Island Yankees repeated as McNamara Division winners and took a 44-29 record into their final regular season game against Tri-City Thursday night with home field advantage throughout the playoffs on the line.
Regardless whether they won that final game, they're happy with what they've accomplished thus far and looking forward to the challenge that lies ahead in attempting to defend last year's championship.
"It feels good," first baseman Kevin Smith said regarding winning the division. "We've put a lot of effort in all year day in and day out. The team pulled together. Winning the division I think is great."
"Very excited about the playoffs and to see what that's like. And if we play like we have all year, we should have a good opportunity."
Setup man Jonathan Hovis was very excited regardless who they play in the first round starting Saturday.
"It feels great. It will be a lot of fun," he pointed out. "We get to travel that first game. Either Auburn, Aberdeen or Brooklyn. So it's going to be fun but we treat it just like any other game."
Second-year first baseman/DH Kyle Larsen who was an integral part of last year's championship knows what to expect.
"A lot of us have kind of been in postseason action in college and stuff," Larsen explained. "There's nothing really that you can say. You kind of got to experience it. And I think we have a lot of experience. So we should be good."
He'll also have a shot along with outfielder Jon Poterson at repeating. Something he'd love to be a part of.
"It would be sweet and definitely an honor to win this league twice. So hopefully we can do it."
For scheduled Sunday starter Tim Norton, it's a special time.
"I'm excited to give my team a chance to win. So I'm pretty pumped about it come Sunday," he said. "We've been playing pretty good ball and we're in a good spot and we got a good chance to take a run at this thing."
Third baseman Mitch Hilligoss was pleased with the position his team is in but also knew that not playing Friday could definitely help after a recent busy schedule which has seen the Bombers play two doubleheaders in a four-day span.
"We're real excited. We get a day off tomorrow which helps everybody kind of get caught up on rest and stuff," he said. "And then hopefully two games that first series and then a day off and two more games. That would be nice."
Regardless how they accomplish it, Hilligoss has his eye on the ultimate goal.
"Just got to go out and play and see what happens. Whatever it takes to get to the championship."
Three-run Eighth Gives Bombers Home Field: For the second straight year, Staten Island will have homefield throughout the entire postseason.
The Baby Bombers rallied from two runs down with a three-run eighth to get past Tri-City (43-31) and finish with a New York-Penn League best 45-29 record.
After stranding the tying runs on second and third with nobody out the previous inning, the Staten Island Yanks greeted Tri-City reliever Cory Lapinski (2-1) with three consecutive hits to tie the score. With Colin Curtis and Smith in scoring position, catcher Francisco Cervelli delivered a two-run single to left which suddenly made it 2-2.
After Jon Poterson sacrificed Cervelli into scoring position, Chris Kunda lined out to center for the second out setting the stage for leadoff man Seth Fortenberry to get the winning run in. With Cervelli replaced by pinch runner Wilkins De La Rosa, Fortenberry beat out an infield hit to short. Tim Torres' errant throw allowed De La Rosa to come around and score the go-ahead run- making a winner of reliever Nick Peterson (5-3).
Mark Melanchon notched his second save in two nights by retiring the Valley Cats in order, finishing it off fittingly with a strikeout of Nicholas Moresi to give the Bombers homefield.
Regardless whether they won that final game, they're happy with what they've accomplished thus far and looking forward to the challenge that lies ahead in attempting to defend last year's championship.
"It feels good," first baseman Kevin Smith said regarding winning the division. "We've put a lot of effort in all year day in and day out. The team pulled together. Winning the division I think is great."
"Very excited about the playoffs and to see what that's like. And if we play like we have all year, we should have a good opportunity."
Setup man Jonathan Hovis was very excited regardless who they play in the first round starting Saturday.
"It feels great. It will be a lot of fun," he pointed out. "We get to travel that first game. Either Auburn, Aberdeen or Brooklyn. So it's going to be fun but we treat it just like any other game."
Second-year first baseman/DH Kyle Larsen who was an integral part of last year's championship knows what to expect.
"A lot of us have kind of been in postseason action in college and stuff," Larsen explained. "There's nothing really that you can say. You kind of got to experience it. And I think we have a lot of experience. So we should be good."
He'll also have a shot along with outfielder Jon Poterson at repeating. Something he'd love to be a part of.
"It would be sweet and definitely an honor to win this league twice. So hopefully we can do it."
For scheduled Sunday starter Tim Norton, it's a special time.
"I'm excited to give my team a chance to win. So I'm pretty pumped about it come Sunday," he said. "We've been playing pretty good ball and we're in a good spot and we got a good chance to take a run at this thing."
Third baseman Mitch Hilligoss was pleased with the position his team is in but also knew that not playing Friday could definitely help after a recent busy schedule which has seen the Bombers play two doubleheaders in a four-day span.
"We're real excited. We get a day off tomorrow which helps everybody kind of get caught up on rest and stuff," he said. "And then hopefully two games that first series and then a day off and two more games. That would be nice."
Regardless how they accomplish it, Hilligoss has his eye on the ultimate goal.
"Just got to go out and play and see what happens. Whatever it takes to get to the championship."
Three-run Eighth Gives Bombers Home Field: For the second straight year, Staten Island will have homefield throughout the entire postseason.
The Baby Bombers rallied from two runs down with a three-run eighth to get past Tri-City (43-31) and finish with a New York-Penn League best 45-29 record.
After stranding the tying runs on second and third with nobody out the previous inning, the Staten Island Yanks greeted Tri-City reliever Cory Lapinski (2-1) with three consecutive hits to tie the score. With Colin Curtis and Smith in scoring position, catcher Francisco Cervelli delivered a two-run single to left which suddenly made it 2-2.
After Jon Poterson sacrificed Cervelli into scoring position, Chris Kunda lined out to center for the second out setting the stage for leadoff man Seth Fortenberry to get the winning run in. With Cervelli replaced by pinch runner Wilkins De La Rosa, Fortenberry beat out an infield hit to short. Tim Torres' errant throw allowed De La Rosa to come around and score the go-ahead run- making a winner of reliever Nick Peterson (5-3).
Mark Melanchon notched his second save in two nights by retiring the Valley Cats in order, finishing it off fittingly with a strikeout of Nicholas Moresi to give the Bombers homefield.
Monday, September 04, 2006
Baby Bombers Hold On To Edge Tigers
STATEN ISLAND, NY -The Staten Island Yankees took a step closer to wrapping up the McNamara Division by holding on for a 3-2 win over Oneonta (37-34) on Labor Day before 2,044 at Richmond County Ball Park.
With three games remaining, they improved to 43-28 and lead red hot Aberdeen (40-31) by three. They need either one win against Tri-City or one Aberdeen loss to officially clinch the division.
The Baby Bombers used a three-run second to overshadow 10 strikeouts in five innings by losing Tiger starter Brendan Wise (3-6).
Trailing by a run due to a Santo De Leon second inning RBI single, Staten Island immediately responded with three of their own. After the first two batters reached base, second baseman Wilmer Pino tied the game with an RBI single which scored Kyle Larsen and moved Colin Curtis to third.
After Wise fanned Kevin Smith, he opted to intentionally walk Jose Gil to load the bases and get to shortstop Chris Kunda. But the strategy backfired when Kunda delivered a two-run bloop single to right which ended up being the difference in the game.
Angel Reyes tossed six solid frames allowing just a run on four hits while striking out five to pickup his first win of the season.
After setup man Jonathan Hovis went two scoreless while K-ing two, manager Gaylen Pitts allowed lefty Mark Melanchon to close out it out. Giving closer Nick Peterson a night off, Melanchon gave up one run but retired the final three, notching his first save by striking out James Skelton swinging to end it.
Notes: In a game in which the Baby Bombers struck out 13 times, Wise fanned 10. By contrast, Staten Island pitchers combined to K eight Tigers- totaling 21 strikeouts between the two teams. Seven of the nine S.I. batters K'd with the exception of Larsen and Gil. ... Baby Bombers host Tri-City for the final three games of the regular season starting Tuesday night.
With three games remaining, they improved to 43-28 and lead red hot Aberdeen (40-31) by three. They need either one win against Tri-City or one Aberdeen loss to officially clinch the division.
The Baby Bombers used a three-run second to overshadow 10 strikeouts in five innings by losing Tiger starter Brendan Wise (3-6).
Trailing by a run due to a Santo De Leon second inning RBI single, Staten Island immediately responded with three of their own. After the first two batters reached base, second baseman Wilmer Pino tied the game with an RBI single which scored Kyle Larsen and moved Colin Curtis to third.
After Wise fanned Kevin Smith, he opted to intentionally walk Jose Gil to load the bases and get to shortstop Chris Kunda. But the strategy backfired when Kunda delivered a two-run bloop single to right which ended up being the difference in the game.
Angel Reyes tossed six solid frames allowing just a run on four hits while striking out five to pickup his first win of the season.
After setup man Jonathan Hovis went two scoreless while K-ing two, manager Gaylen Pitts allowed lefty Mark Melanchon to close out it out. Giving closer Nick Peterson a night off, Melanchon gave up one run but retired the final three, notching his first save by striking out James Skelton swinging to end it.
Notes: In a game in which the Baby Bombers struck out 13 times, Wise fanned 10. By contrast, Staten Island pitchers combined to K eight Tigers- totaling 21 strikeouts between the two teams. Seven of the nine S.I. batters K'd with the exception of Larsen and Gil. ... Baby Bombers host Tri-City for the final three games of the regular season starting Tuesday night.
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