Bleacher Report - NHL Atlantic

Chicago Blackhawks Edge Pittsburgh Penguins in OT, But Much Left To Be Desired

Sergey Zikov — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 23:54:02 -0500

Last February, the Pittsburgh Penguins found themselves in a predicament. With a new head coach, they faced a five game road trip that would essentially make-or-break their season. That road trip began at the United Center in Chicago.

With the help of new addition Chris Kunitz, the Penguins overcame Jonathan Toews' first career helmet trick (and quite possibly last) to defeat the Blackhawks in overtime. Evgeni Malkin's power play goal in extra time gave the Penguins a rocket boost before going 5-0-0 on the road trip.

This year, as the tussle shifted to Mellon Arena, the result was simply flipped.

Chicago earned an overtime win over the Penguins, but in very different fashion as the meeting a year ago. While the Penguins won an offensive shooting contest 5-4, the Blackhawks got superb goaltending from Antti Niemi to walk away a 2-1 victor.

But despite the backwards results, one thing was the same between the two meetings. Sidney Crosby was not on the ice for either of them.

Early in the day, it was announced that the white-hot Penguins captain tweaked his groin in the morning skate and would not be able to play. However, the minor injury is apparently nothing new. "My groin is bothering me a bit. When it's getting worse each day, it's not a good sign," Crosby Said of his injury.

"The last game it was pretty sore. I practiced (Friday) and it didn't feel very good at all. (Saturday) it was probably just as bad so it's something that I wasn't able to shake off."

While it seems like Crosby has a case of the B1H1 Blackhawk Flu, it is best that he sat out to make sure that the injury didn't get any worse.

But even with Crosby out of the lineup, there was still enough star power on both sides that the 17,132 at Mellon Arena could expect to see some fast-paced action and a lot of scoring.

The Blackhawks started the game with back-to-back power play chances, but the biggest play of the game didn't come without some controversy. Matt Cooke, who had just returned from a two-game suspension, railed Duncan Keith on the penalty kill. That didn't sit well with the new 13-year defenseman.

Keith came back up ice and immediately went after an unsuspecting Cooke, and hammered him with a headshot from behind. Although a bit shaken up for a few moments, Cooke got himself back up and back into the play, but not without giving Keith an earful.

For Penguin fans that don't see the Blackhawks a lot, Keith isn't a dirty player. But whether he has a track record or not, he must be suspended by the NHL for a retaliation head shot from behind on a player who had no clue he was coming. While Keith was assessed a two minute minor for interference, a larger penalty is necessary in this case.

Playing four-on-four hockey now, defenseman Brian Campbell brought the puck into the Penguins' zone and fired a shot off the pads of Marc-Andre Fleury. However, the puck took a ricochet right to Marian Hossa, who simply had to poke it past a sprawled out Fleury into an empty net.

While Hossa celebrated the opening goal, Fleury was left to curse his rotten luck.

Mid-way through the period, tempers began to flare, and enforcers Mike Rupp and Ben Eager exchanged pleasantries along the boards. But the Blackhawks would be going back on the power play, as Rupp was given a second minor for roughing.

Despite the fact that the two clubs nearly never see each other, apart from on the nightly highlight reel, the first 15 minutes of action felt like not only a playoff atmosphere, but a playoff atmosphere between two rivals that didn't care for each other at all.

After another successful penalty kill, the Penguins gained some momentum and started getting chances, none better than a shot that Sergei Gonchar blasted off the post over Niemi's right shoulder. But luck wasn't on the side of the black and gold. To borrow a simple quote from Agent 86 Maxwell Smart, "missed it by that much."

The second period saw more of the same. The Penguins dominated on the attack and swarmed around in the Blackhawks' end for the majority of the period. Although they outshot the visitors 17-6 in the period, Niemi had transformed the net into an impenetrable fortress that wasn't falling no matter what the Penguins threw at it.

More tensions rose late in the game, as Colin Fraser and Evgeni Malkin got tied up after a faceoff, with Fraser grabbing Malkin's stick and not letting go. The two tumbled to the ice and swapped a few jabs before each headed to the sin bin.

The crowd was getting restless and wanted to do their part to help the Penguins back into the game.

Although the Blackhawks came out stronger in the 3rd period, the Penguins were also strong. Despite being outshot, that was really no indication of how the period was played. The Penguins hit several more posts and were missing by mere millimeters on chances. But the play was free-flowing with no penalties called.

With less than two minutes left in the game, coach Dan Bylsma called a timeout to draw up a set play for his guys. What he came up with was something that the Blackhawks had never seen, or in fact the Mellon Arena crowd either.

Bylsma sent out Mark Letestu to take the faceoff, a guy who had only arrived in Pittsburgh an hour before the game started as he was an emergency call-up for Crosby. Positioned on the wall all the way across the ice and nearly next to the Blackhawks bench was Jordan Staal, who was determined to make something happen.

Letestu won the draw off expert center John Madden, and got the puck back to Malkin. The 2008 Art Ross Trophy winner fired a puck through traffic, forcing Niemi to make a kick save, but Staal was right there unmarked to smack the rebound home.

And just like that, the two clubs coasted to the finish line, both earning a point.

But all the energy in the building drained out very quickly, as young Blackhawks gunner Kris Versteeg flipped a puck in the paint over the shoulder of Fleury to earn the extra point. Versteeg was in utopia as the Blackhawks escaped from the Steel City with two points.

Although the game ended, the emotions of many in the crowd had not.

The ending left an empty feeling that left much to be desired. While many victories are very hearty and fulfilling, this game was anything but. A sequel is necessary between these two.

Maybe it's the fact that the two teams don't play very often. Maybe it's the fact that for the last several years, the games have been wildly entertaining affairs between two of the most talented teams in the entire league. Or maybe it's just the high anticipation any time Chicago and Pittsburgh meet. That only leaves one thing.

Let's do this again in June.

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The Strengths and Weaknesses of the New York Rangers

Hot Stove New York — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:49:16 -0500

The Rangers are in a freefall and it looks like the only thing that can stop them is the break in the schedule.

With no game until Saturday, now’s a good time to break things down and list all of the Rangers’ strengths this season:

Marian Gaborik can score goals.

Ok, that about wraps that up. Now for their weaknesses:

Henrik Lundqvist is having a subpar year. The defense is porous in front of him but he still lets in far too many goals that should be stopped. Hopefully, he’s just in a slump.

The defense is too soft.

The defense has too many breakdowns.

The defense is constantly out of position.

The defense lets too many opposition forwards stand alone, untouched in front of the net.

The defense chases the puck around in their own zone, leaving opposition players wide open.

The defense can’t stop anybody from scoring touchdowns in the red zone...oops, sorry, getting the Giants’ freefall mixed up with the Rangers’.

The whole team is too soft, getting pushed around like a bunch of ragdolls.

Dave Maloney should be the TV color man instead of Joe Micheletti .

Nobody can score a goal except for Gaborik.

The team doesn’t have any defensive-minded forwards.

The team doesn’t have any offensive-minded forwards.

The power play has stopped scoring goals.

The penalty kill has started giving up too many goals.

The effort comes and goes. They’re consistently outworked by the other team, slow to the puck, slow to forecheck and slow to backcheck.

John Tortorella ’s attacking, defense-is-an-afterthought style of play may not fit this team. They’re thinking offense first, yet still can’t put the puck in the net.

And it all leads to bad defensive zone coverage. If a coach is supposed to get the best out of his players and put them in a position to succeed, Tortorella’s not doing it.

Their salary-capped-out situation has forced the roster to be constructed with a mix of young, still-learning guys (especially on defense), disastrous contracts (Michal Rozsival , Wade Redden , Chris Drury , et al.), offensively challenged forwards, one scoring threat and Donald Brashear .

I’m sure I’m missing a few things here and there. Their defensemen are scoring, so I guess that’s a positive, and they’ve been sticking up for each other now and then lately.

Sure, they played decently in their last game but that was in comparison to the absolute disasters that preceded it (and they still lost by three goals).

Right now, the Rangers are a bad offensive team, a bad defensive team, with bad special teams and bad goaltending.

Is there a miracle cure? Only hard work and a prayer can help them now.

And sudden career-ending illnesses to Rozsival, Redden, Brashear and we’ll throw Glen Sather in there, too, for good measure.

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Matt Cooke Hit With A Two-Game Suspension, But Where Is The Consistency?

Sergey Zikov — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:22:29 -0500

Last night, the Pittsburgh Penguins demolished the New York Rangers 8-3 at the Mellon Arena. It was the largest goal total the Penguins had put on the board since a 9-2 obliteration of the other New York-based team that dated back to nearly a year ago.

Although, through the first two periods, the game was very tight. The Rangers had even made it a 4-3 hockey game early in the third period, thanks to a goal by defenseman Michal Rozsival.

But that spun out of control quickly for John Tortorella's men.

About midway through the period, Ranger agitator Sean Avery made a run at Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, looking to take off his head. Avery however, was unsuccessful as Crosby saw him coming at the last moment and was able to duck out of the way. Crosby skates away unharmed as Avery scowls at his failure.

Shortly after the Penguins scored their sixth goal of the game, third liner Matt Cooke put a bruising hit on forward Artem Anisimov, who lost his helmet and saw the birds for a few moments. Cooke was promptly and properly given two minutes for interference.

Except that was hardly enough for the Rangers.

First, Donald Brashear attempted to knock out Cooke when he came out of the box, even though the linesman was between the two.

Next, Ryan Callahan decided to drop the gloves with Cooke, having the two removed from the ice for the remainder of the game.

But finally, but not surprising at all, Avery jumped an unexpecting Ruslan Fedotenko and started throwing punches, putting the Penguins on the power play for the final seven minutes of the contest.

After the game ended, many people figured that in the new NHL, Cooke might be assessed a suspension for the hit. They were exactly right.

Today, the NHL suspended Cooke for two games, for a "deliberate check to the head area". The suspension was also given because Cooke is a repeat offender. That means he will miss the rematch on Monday with the Rangers and then the game on Thursday night with the Colorado Avalanche.

When watching the video of the hit, there are three things that stick out.

1. Cooke does not take strides before making contact with Anisimov.

2. The initial contact is made between Cooke's left shoulder and Anisimov's right.

3. Cooke's elbow comes up after contact is made, dislodging Anisimov's helmet.

While it is also true that Cooke caught Anisimov in an awkward position, the Ranger forward is paying absolutely no attention to what is going on around him. He passes the puck over to Christopher Higgins a second before Cooke arrives, but gets distracted by watching his pass.

But regardless, you can debate for years whether he deserved the suspension. Simple fact is, that he has been suspended for what could be considered a "dirty" hit in the past and this hit caught the opposing player up high, whether he intended it that way or not.

Two games is not a big deal and it was the right decision.

But with that choice, it raises more questions about consistency than the actual hits. These type of plays have happened numerous times in the NHL this season. Whether the motive was the same or the player had a history of dirty play, one thing remains the same - they all hit a vulnerable player up high.

In the exact same game, Sean Avery had not one, but two suspendable offenses. His first was the attempted head shot at Crosby, second by attacking Fedotenko.

Does that not warrant a suspension, just because Crosby had the awareness to avoid the headhunting Avery? Does that ask the question, "If Crosby did take the hit, had his helmet dislodged and saw the birds, what would have happened to Avery, a sure repeat offender himself?".

A few days ago, Buffalo Sabres forward Patrick Kaleta drilled Jared Ross of the Flyers.

Ross was behind his own cage, taking the puck from Ray Emery. But taking an extra second to do so, Kaleta took advantage and hit him from behind into the glass. As you already guessed, he was suspended two games for the hit. Sure, it was a hit on an unsuspecting player in an awkward position.

Except only one thing. Kaleta was on the receiving end of nearly the same exact boarding foul two days earlier in Washington. He had spun around to make a pass and was leveled face-first into the boards by Alex Ovechkin, who was promptly given a game misconduct.

But no suspension for Ovechkin.

I don't feel like Mike Richards' hit even needs mentioned at this point as just about everyone in hockey is more than aware of what happened.

The fact is, they are all shots up high, whether there is an intent or not. They are illegal and could have caused an injury in any of the cases. But suspensions were not given in all of them.

Let's get some consistency.

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