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Thursday, 21 April 2011 02:51

Written by Seth Rorabaugh

Playoff Stuff

Penguins

- Dave Molinari's recap for last night's game. "Get it off hard and get it off quick." - James Neal on his overtime goal.

-The St. Petersburg Times' recap. "We have to focus on the game we're going to play Saturday. We have to focus on that one game." - Lightning forward Simon Gagne.

-The Tampa Tribune's recap. Only 23 times in 240 occasions has a team come back when trailing 3-1 in a series.

-The Associated Press' recap. The Penguins are now 7-2 in their last nine road postseason games.

-NHL.com's recap. "As long as you keep shooting, one is going to find its way into the back of the net." - Neal.

-Mike Lange's goal calls. (His call on Neal's goal was epic.)

-Highlights:

-Happy times for the Penguins:

-Happy times for Jordan Staal:

-Zbynek Michalek and Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis battled for this puck:

-Happy times for St. Louis:

-Squinty times for Tampa Bay's Dwayne Roloson:

-Dan Bylsma speaks:

-Neal speaks:

-Marc-Andre Fleury speaks:

-"It just knuckled and goes off my glove, crossbar and in. It's just one of those things that happens, a traditional playoff (overtime) goal. It's ugly. That's what happens when you put pucks on net." - Roloson on Neal's goal.

-The Penguins' penalty kill came through after getting torched in Games 2 and 3.

-Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Eric Tangradi.

-Marc-Andre Fleury and former teammate Ryan Malone have been doing a lot of catching up:

-The Penguins have fans all over the place:

Capitals - Rangers

-Jason Chimera's goal in the second overtime gave the Capitals a wild 4-3 comeback win against the Rangers in Game 4. Marcus Johansson had two goals for Washington which came back from a 3-0 deficit to win. Michal Neuvirth made 36 saves in the victory. Brandon Dubinsky had a goal and an assist for New York. The Capitals took a 3-1 series lead.

-Chimera's goal came after Rangers forward Marian Gaborik poke checked a loose puck into his body:

-"I just saw it in front. I just tried to clear it. I didn’t see that Hank went for it. I just saw him that second when I tried to clear it. I didn’t see Chimera obviously so I guess it hit him in the stomach and he was right there. I wish I would have seen Hank quicker go for it. I just tried to clear maybe I should have seen Hank earlier, obviously if I would have seen him go for it, I would have left it, right?. It’s one of those bad bounces.” - Gaborik.

-The Rangers scored their first two goals - from Gaborik and Dubinsky - in a span of seven seconds in the second period:

-Save of the Night: New York's Henrik Lundqvist stoned Washington captain Alex Ovechkin in overtime:

-After Washington coach Bruce Boudreau said Madison Square Garden wasn't that loud, Rangers fans responded with "Can You Hear Us?" chants:

-"I might have made a mistake by saying what I said." - Boudreau.

-Sad times for New York's Henrik Lundqvist:

-Happy times for the Capitals. Not so much for New York's Dan Girardi:

-We don't want to say Lundqvist's crease was packed... but:

-Washington's Alexander Semin kept his eyes on this puck:

-Intense, mustached times for Dubinsky:

-Happy times for Rangers forward and former Penguin Ruslan Fedotenko:

-“I think this loss hurts worse than a normal one. Especially with the position we’re in.” - Dubinsky.

-The Rangers lost a game after having a lead following two periods for the first time all season.

-Capitals forward Eric Fehr made his playoff debut due to forward Mike Knuble being sidelined due to an undisclosed ailment.

Flyers - Sabres

-Ryan Miller made 32 saves for the Sabres in a 1-0 shutout of the Flyers in Game 4. The series heads back to Philadelphia tied, 2-2.

-Flyers captain Mike Richards was given a five minute major at the end of the second period for this elbow to the face of Sabres forward Mike Richards:

-"I think (Richards) was just protecting himself because you never know what Patrick Kaleta is capable of. He is a dangerous player out there when it comes down to it. You never know if he's going to run you from behind or if he's going to hit you without the puck. Richie was just protecting himself, it's unfortunate that he had to go to the box for that long." - Flyers forward Kris Versteeg on the hit.

-Buffalo's Mike Weber > Philadelphia's Daniel Carcillo:

-Officials apparently needed to explain to Flyers coach Peter Laviolette that the no holds barred "hitting zone" behinda the net didn't also apply to biting:

-We think.

-Buffalo's Patrick Kaleta took a spill into the Philadelphia net:

-"I don't need to listen to all of the BS that's out there from people who don't know how to play goalie. I really don't give an (expletive)." - Miller.

-The Sabres moved Rob Niedermayer to the top line to center wingers Tyler Ennis and Jason Pominville. That line produced the game's only goal.

-Forward Jeff Carter, the Flyers' leading scorer in the regular season, left the game late in the first period due to an apparent knee injury.

-Flyers forward Scott Hartnell was focused on the game as always:

-The Flyers have been shutout twice in the same series for the first time since 2002.

-The Flyers and Sabres are a combined 5 for 40 on the power play in this series.

Bruins - Canadiens

-Bruins forward Chris Kelly is dealing with an undisclosed "fracture."

-There's still at least one team which wears black and gold which hasn't scored on the power play in these playoffs.

Canucks - Blackhawks

-Despite a presumed head injury which forced him to miss Game 4, Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook (right) traveled to Vancouver with his team for Game 5.

-The Blackhawks are playing the "all the pressure is on them" game despite being down 3-1 in the series.

Sharks - Kings

-It sounds like the Sharks are planning on starting Antti Niemi in goal for Game 4 despite pulling him in favor of backup Antero Niittymaki during Tuesday's epic Game 3 comeback win.

-"It's never going to happen again." - Kings defenseman Drew Doughty in the aftermath of his team's collapse in Game 3.

Red Wings - Coyotes

-Two goals by Patrick Eaves led the Red Wings to a 6-3 series-clinching defeat of the Coyotes in Game 4. Danny Cleary added a goal and two assists for Detroit while teammate Todd Bertuzzi netted a goal and an assist. Jimmy Howard made 24 saves in the victory.

-Goal of the Night: Check out this pass by Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk to set up teammate Tomas Holmstrom for a goal:

-Hand shake line:

-Coyotes captain Shane Doan, presumably with the approval of Red Wings hand shake overseeer Kris Draper, offered his best wishes to his counterpart in Detroit, Nicklas Lidstrom:

-Red Wings forward Mike Modano caught up with his former Stars coach, Dave Tippett:

-Sad times for Doan:

-If there's a way to sum up the night and series for Phoenix goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, here you go:

-The tentacles of Gary Bettman's anti-Octopus stance apparently don't extend to the desert:

-Prospective Coyotes owner Matthew Hulsizer was on hand to provide some support and hope:

-A couple of Winnipeg Jets fans came to dance on the Coyotes' grave:

-"It's very important, considering we have players who are hurt. This is huge." - Cleary on getting approximately a week off as a result of the sweep.

-With forward Johan Franzen sidelined due to a wonky ankle, Modano made his playoff debut for the Red Wings and recorded an assist.

-“Goalies have two ways to be. To be a hero or to be a goat. I am goat.” - Bryzgalov.

-"Hopefully it can work out here. It's a great place. We all love it here. Hopefully you get someone in here that's got deep pockets to allow them to do their job." - Coyotes defenseman Ed Jovanovski on the Coyotes' future.

-"We're still focused on trying to make it work in Phoenix." - NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.

Ducks - Predators

-A goal and two assists by Corey Perry led the Ducks to a 6-3 win against the Predators in Game 4. Teammates Cam Fowler, Ryan Getzlaf and Brandon McMillan each added a goal and an assist while Ray Emery made 19 saves in the victory. The series is tied, 2-2.

-Fowler being popular:

-Bloody times for Anaheim's Jason Blake:

-Happy times for McMillan and Todd Marchant:

-Predators fans unloaded on a "Ducks" car before the game:

-Predators forward Martin Erat left the game in the second period due to an "upper-body" injury after he was hit in the head by Ducks forward and former Penguin Jarkko Ruutu.

-Click here to view the hit in question.

-"I don't think so. It's just a hockey hit. It wasn't in the head or anything. I wanted to get near him. Just at the last second, he turned into me. It's a hockey hit. I actually saw his eyes." - Ruutu on the hit.

-"Corey probably doesn't even know who Vince Gill is." - Getzlaf on country music singer Vince Gill who started an anti-Perry chant after playing a musical set during the second intermission.

-Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne, a contender for the Vezina Trophy, was pulled in favor of backup Anders Lindback early in the third period.

-”It’s hard to stomach it when you’re not out there where you usually are.” - Ducks forward Bobby Ryan who finished his two-game suspension.

-"We use one rink to practice five-on-five. We go to another rink to practice the power play. Then we go to the pool to practice diving." - Predators assistant coach Brent Peterson on accusations his dives from Ducks general manager Bob Murray.

Calder Cup Playoffs

-Corey Potter and Joe Vitale each had a goal and an assist for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 4-2 win against the Norfolk Admirals in Game 4 of their first round playoff series. Brett Serling added two assists for the Penguins while Brad Thiessen made 34 saves in the victory. The series is tied, 2-2.

-Highlights courtesy of The Wilkes-Blog:

-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton captain Ryan Craig scored his first career postseason professional goal at any level.

Kelly Cup Playoffs

-Peter Delmas made 40 saves for the Wheeling Nailers in a 3-2 defeat of the Greenville Road Warriors in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series. The Nailers lead the series, 2-1.

Non-Playoff Stuff

Atlantic Division

-The Islanders signed free agent forward Tyler McNeely to a one-year, two-way contract.

Pacific Division

-In the wake of the the unholy union of NBC and the NHL, Stars broadcaster Ralph Strangis writes a column for the team's Web wondering what's the point if the league doesn't protect its most important assset - players - from injuries?

Smythe Division

-Vancouver's Mike Gillis, Nashville's David Poille and Tampa Bay's Steve Yzerman were named finalists for the NHL's general manager of the year award.

-Former Maple Leafs/Capitals/Flames defenseman Staffan Kronwall has joined Severstal Cherepovets of the KHL.

-Former Noridiques/Avalanche/Flyers/Predators forward Peter Forsberg was hired as an assistant general manager for MoDo of the Elitserien in Sweden.

(Photos: Lightning/Penguins-Chris O'Meara/Associated Press and Eliot J. Schechter/Getty Images; Capitals/Rangers-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images and Kathy Willens/Associated Press; Flyers/Sabres-Devin Duprey/Associated Press and Rick Stewart/Getty Images; Seabrook-Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images; Red Wings/Coyotes-Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press, David Kadlubowski/Associated Press/The Arizona Republic and Christian Petersen/Getty Images; Ducks/Predators-Frederick Breedon/Getty Images and Mark Humphrey/Associated Press)

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written by Disgruntled Goat, April 21, 2011 - 02:14 PM

"I feel a little like a little kid who had their candy stolen. It feels a little sad to retire without going out in my own way, on my own terms but I will get over it. Something I have to live with."

An excerpt from a rough draft of the retirement speech Forsberg is expected to give next Tuesday. Sources say that being an assistant GM is too tough on his foot.

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