All-purpose hockey thread...

Re: New NHL vs. the old NHL

A pretty good Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Pens/NHL notebook:

Penguins Notebook: Crosby's knack of complaining gets him in trouble with referees

Some veteran teammates began suggesting months ago that Sidney Crosby's penchant for complaining to officials about their performance was counter-productive, and ultimately would hurt Crosby more than it helps him.

After picking up six penalties -- including a controversial diving minor -- during the Penguins' home-and-home series with Atlanta over the weekend, Crosby seems to have reached the same conclusion.

Asked after the Penguins' 4-3 loss Saturday at Mellon Arena what he took out of those two games, Crosby responded:

"Just keep my head down and play, that's basically it. Try to play hard and, if I get called for penalties, suck it up and go [to the penalty box]. ... I have to make sure I'm paying attention to what I'm doing out there, that I'm not [committing] any infractions. Because if I do right now, it seems like I'm getting nailed for it."

Crosby is the Penguins' second-most penalized player, with 60 minutes; only defenseman Brooks Orpik (61) has more.

That is a reflection, at least in part, of Crosby's ultra-competitive nature and willingness to battle along the boards and in high-traffic areas.

"He plays with lots of emotion and lots of passion for a talented player," Thrashers coach Bob Hartley said.

But that style often puts Crosby in situations where officials have to make judgment calls, and it might be that his carping about what they do -- and do not -- call prompts referees, consciously or otherwise, to give the benefit of the doubt to opposing players.

Certainly, the merits of the diving call Stephane Auger made when Crosby was hooked by Thrashers defenseman Niclas Havelid Saturday were open to debate.

"I was surprised about that diving call," Penguins coach Michel Therrien said.

He pointed out that Crosby was charging down the slot at full speed when Havelid hooked him, and that it's much easier to knock a player off his skates when he's moving like that.

"With the speed that he has when going hard to the net, if you get hooked, you are going to lose your balance," Therrien said.

Crosby said he went down only after Havelid's stick smacked him in the face.

"I can't control if a stick hits me in the face and I go down," he said. "I have to get tougher, I guess."

Havelid was non-committal when asked if Crosby deserved the diving penalty.

"The ref called it," Havelid said. "You have to believe the ref."

Hartley might not have, though. Asked if he felt Crosby took a dive, he said simply, "I can't say that."

Measuring Malkin

Penguins prospect Evgeni Malkin will compete for Russia in the Olympics next month -- safe to say there won't be many other teenagers playing for medal contenders in Turin -- and teammate-to-be Ilya Kovalchuk of Atlanta believes the tournament will provide a good way to assess Malkin's development.

"That's a great test for everyone who goes over because all the best players are going to play there," he said. "There's a lot of pressure, but it's a lot of fun."

Kovalchuk in spotlight

It's safe to assume Kovalchuk is disappointed he won't see the Penguins again until next season. After all, he poured in six goals -- five of them over the past weekend -- and five assists in four games against them this season.

The Penguins probably shouldn't take it personally, though: Kovalchuk leads the league with 32 goals, and probably is the best pure scorer in the NHL today.

The past two games not only reaffirmed his goal-scoring abilitybut likely triggered the start of a Crosby-Kovalchuk rivalry.

Kovalchuk generated attention -- and criticism -- across North America when he pointed at Crosby in the penalty box after scoring a power-play goal Friday, although he declined to say much about Crosby after the game.

"I don't want to say anything about us two," Kovalchuk said. "He's a good player. Good luck to him. We'll see him the next time."

Slap shots

Atlanta, which had beaten the Penguins just three times in its first five years in the NHL, won the season series, 3-1. ... The Penguins had yesterday off and will face Edmonton at 7:38 p.m. tomorrow at Mellon Arena.

 

Re: New NHL vs. the old NHL

nobody likes a complainer, but this is part of the learning process. He's probably used to being a veteran star in the Q and being able to talk to refs, and probably to some extent getting some special treatment. Sometimes players need to learn for themselves that what was in junior isn't what is in the NHL. I have no problem with Crosby, and is one of the last players I would expect to dive. I haven't been able to watch him a whole bunch out in Alberta but when I have watched him fights through just about everything and gives just about as good as he gets. I think this situation is partly the Penguins fault as discussed earlier in regards to Don Cherry's latest Coaches Corner about not having a body guard for Crosby. It is very obvious he has to put up with a lot more than Gretz ever had to and even some of today's other young stars.

 

Re: New NHL vs. the old NHL

Agreed – Gretzky always had someone watching his back from the very beginning. Even if it wasn't Semenko, there were guys like Ace Bailey, Lee Fogolin, Bill Flett, et cetera. The Penguins need to realize that if they're ever going to do anything, they need to protect this kid. If the guys in the room can't or don't want to get with that program, ship them the hell out and bring in guys who are a bit smarter about that sort of thing.

Crosby has a responsibility too. Because he has an A on his sweater now, he not only has an opportunity but an obligation to talk to the officials on the ice. He'd better figure out now how to do it appropriately and productively before he poisons the well.

 

Re: New NHL vs. the old NHL

Paging Andre Roy...paging Andre Roy...

That's why the Marios and LeClairs and Recchis need to pull him aside and explain how to talk to the refs.

 

Re: New NHL vs. the old NHL

http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=150086&hubname=


Some guy off the street jumped onto the Canadiens' practice rink today and took a shot on Jose Theodore before anyone realized he wasn't a member of the team.

Weird.

 

Re: New NHL vs. the old NHL

Love Theodore's quote:

"I poke-checked him to say `You have to keep your head up.' When he came back, I though about going out of the net and not playing into his game, but then I thought he had the (courage) to go on the ice, so I let him have a free shot at me.

"He couldn't beat me. That's the main thing."

Well, Jose, at least you can stop somebody.

 

Re: New NHL vs. the old NHL

Mr Beat,

Andre Roy is just about the dumbest guy I've crossed in the NHL, hockey dumb, life dumb. (And enforcers should have some hockey sense and many like Grimson or Baumgartner are pretty smart off the ice.) Funny thing is, he has more talent than 80 percent of the guys in that role. He has a cannon. He skates pretty well and is hard to knock off the puck. Y'know, people don't look at Roy and say, 'A waste of talent,' only because of his role. He actually had a bit of a chance to start out as a goon and become something else. Comparable: Mike Peluso.

One quick story: Roy scores frist NHL goal (a booming slapshot, Hossa couldn't have done it better). Dressing room after the game. Is you father here tonight? Oh yeah, he says, he musta had an orgasm when I scored. Orgasm? shoukd we say that, one scribe asks. No, I guess not, Roy says, make it a heart attack.

YHS, etc

 

Re: New NHL vs. the old NHL

about messier: the kypreos stuff is interesting, because it shows a side of messier he has closely guarded. he doesnt like letting people into the family compound.

hnic did a sit-down with him for the first broadcast this year that was terrific. combine that interview with this look at his family and i dont think you could get better coverage of the guy.

 

Re: New NHL vs. the old NHL

Dave Andreychuk is probably done but, in a very classy move by the Lightning, if he clears waivers they won't force him to report to their AHL team and won't pressure him to retire.

TAMPA, Fla. (CP) — The Tampa Bay Lightning placed captain Dave Andreychuk on waivers Tuesday, likely ending his 23-year NHL career unless another club decides to take a chance on him.
Should the 42-year-old centre clear waivers, he will be assigned to the AHL’s Springfield Falcons although the Lightning said they won’t require him to report. That means Andreychuk will continue to earn his $800,000 US salary but it will not count against the cap.
He’s also under contract for next season at $525,000.
Technically, according to the collective bargaining agreement, the Lightning would have the right to suspend him without pay if he didn’t report to the AHL, but the team has agreed to honour his contract instead.
“When we entered into the contract with David this summer, both sides did so in good faith, recognizing that no one would work harder in the summer preparing for the new season than David,” Lightning GM Jay Feaster said in a detailed statement.
“After giving ourselves half a season to evaluate and analyze, it became clear to us that David’s game was not suited to the new NHL,” Feaster added.
Andreychuk had six goals and 12 assists in 42 games this season and was minus-13. He has 640 career goals and 698 assists in 1,639 regular-season games. It was his fourth season in Tampa after previous stops in Buffalo, Toronto, New Jersey and Boston.
Should Andreychuk decide to retire, the Lightning won’t have to pay him anymore but Feaster insisted the club won’t pressure him to do so.
“They don’t make hockey players like Dave Andreychuk anymore,” Feaster said. “From the moment he came to Tampa he led by example and he helped our young players understand how to be professionals.”
Feaster said there were times when Andreychuk “carried the entire team on his back.”
“He will always have a special place in our hearts here in Tampa and in the Lightning organization,” said Feaster.
No one will wear the captain’s `C’ for the rest of the season, Feaster told reporters in Tampa. The Lightning will go with three `A’s’, alternate captains Vincent Lecavalier, Fredrik Modin and another player to be named.

 

Re: New NHL vs. the old NHL

And it looks like Bryan Marchment's season is over too, and maybe even his career. He tore the ACL and the MCL in his left knee trying to deliver a cheap shot to Jason Allison.
Oh well, if nothing else now he knows how all of his previous victims felt after he dirtied them with his infamous knee-on-knee hits.

 

Re: New NHL vs. the old NHL

I need the following explained to me:

Tonight's Flames-Rangers game is on something called MSG Network 2, because the shit-tastic Knicks are on MSG The Original. My office doesn't get MSG 2, so we are resigned to listening to the game thru NHL.com and NewYorkRangers.com.

So, I go the both sites and click on the links for the Rangers' radio broadcast. Instead of getting Don Maloney and Kenny Albert waxing poetic about the Tri-State's best hockey team, I get the fucking Knicks radiocast.

How the hell does this happen?

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Rant aside...tonight is Joe Thornton's first game in Boston since the trade. Here are several advances from the Boston papers:

http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey/bruins/articles/2006/01/10/thornton_feeling_at_home/

http://bruins.bostonherald.com/bruins/view.bg?articleid=120668

http://bruins.bostonherald.com/bruins/view.bg?articleid=120516

http://bruins.bostonherald.com/bruins/view.bg?articleid=120675

 

Re: New NHL vs. the old NHL

Carolina 3, Detroit 1 after one. Hurricanes are getting the crazy shots to fall. Does this mean the east is better than the west?