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Friday, 22 April 2011 02:00

Written by Seth Rorabaugh

Playoff Stuff

Penguins - Lightning

-Sidney Crosby (above)? Still sidelined.

-The Penguins have dominated five on five play in the series.

-Game 5 will be the first game of the series to appear on national television.

-Does Tyler Kennedy deserve a suspension for kicking Lightning defenseman Eric Brewer in the leg during Game 4?

-Dan Bylsma speaks:

-Lightning forward Steven Stamkos is being wishy washy over questions regarding his health.

-Tampa Bay's penalty hill has been strong.

-"We've got the character in this room to do it." - Lightning goaltender Dwayne Roloson on the potential for a comeback from a 3-1 series deficit.

-"He's a little crazy, but it's a good crazy." - Lightning forward Ryan Malone on teammate Steve Downie.

-The Lightning demoted forwards Blair Jones and Mattias Ritola to Norfolk of the AHL.

Capitals - Rangers

-With a 3-1 series lead, the Capitals have a chance to win a playoff series in five games since 1998.

-Capitals forward Mike Knuble (right) described his hand injury as "day to day."

-“We’ll be ready to play Saturday. I’ll guarantee that. We’ll be ready to play Saturday.” - Rangers coach John Tortorella on Game 5.

Flyers - Sabres

-"I just feel that they're doing a lot of whining. They're really doing a lot of whining. I didn't hear any whining when they had 10 power plays in Philly and I don't hear any whining when the power plays in the first game were lopsided. But all of a sudden there's all this whining about we're getting away with murder? That's a bunch of crap. That's for the media, that's for the officials to read, that's for 'Here, let's get the next call.' That's a bunch of crap. Let's just play. We're just playing. There hasn't been one word about officiating out of us. If they want to cry about the officiating or whine about different calls, go ahead. Go ahead." - Sabres coach Lindy Ruff on the Flyers.

-Flyers forward Jeff Carter, the team's leading goal scorer in the regular season, is not expected to play in tonight's Game 5 due to a knee ailment.

Bruins - Canadiens

-Two goals, including one in overtime, and an assist by former Canadiens forward Michael Ryder gave the Bruins a thrilling 5-4 comeback win against the rival Canadiens in Game 4. Chris Kelly added a goal and two assists for Boston while teammate Patrice Bergeron netted a goal and an assist. Tim Thomas made 34 saves in the victory. Mike Cammalleri had a goal and two assists for Montreal. The series is tied, 2-2.

-Ryder's overtime goal:

-Bruins defenseman and former Penguin Andrew Ference might be in some hot water after he extended a middle finger towards Montreal fans following his first period goal (Video not safe for work):

-Ference claimed his glove "got caught up” when he was celebrating.

-Save of the Night: Montreal's Carey Price on Boston's Johnny Boychuk:

-A good look at the save:

-Happy times for the Bruins:

-Cool Photo of the Night: Price getting a spray down from Bergeron:

-Happy times for the Canadiens. Not so much for Thomas:

-Price had issues with this puck:

-Bruins forward Chris Kelly played despite a facial injury which required him to wear a cage on his helmet.

Canucks - Blackhawks

-Corey Crawford made 36 saves for the Blackhawks in a 5-0 shutout of the Canucks in Game 5. Duncan Keith had two goals and two assists for Chicago while former Penguin Marian Hossa added two goals and an assist for the Blackhawks. Fire Ray Shero. Vancouver leads the series, 3-2.

-Check out his hip check by Chicago's Bryan Bickell on Vancouver's Daniel Sedin:

-If there's a way to sum up the Canucks' night, here you go:

-Funny Face of the Night: Chicago captain Jonathan Toews getting taken down by Vancouver's Alexander Edler:

-Just about everyone had issues here:

-Canucks starting goaltender Roberto Luongo was pulled in the second period in favor of backup Cory Schneider. It was the second consecutive game he was replaced.

-We're assuming Chicago's John Scott offered some encouraging words here for Luongo when he was pulled:

-"I don't see in his head so I don't know. But hopefully." - Hossa's response when asked if his team was inside Luongo's head.

-"We respect them and what they do as a team, but not too much.” - Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews.

-"You know what, we are still up in the series. You have to look at the positives at this point. We don't want to get too down on ourselves. We're going back to Chicago, we are up 3-2 in the series and have a chance to close it out. We look forward to stealing a game in Chicago." - Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa.

-Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook moved his second consecutive game due to an "upper-body" injury.

Sharks - Kings

-Two goals by Ryane Clowe led the Sharks to a 6-3 defeat of the rival Kings in Game 4. Logan Couture, Kyle Wellwood and Ian White each recorded two assists for San Jose while Antti Niemi made 35 saves in the victory. The Sharks lead the series, 3-1.

-Sharks captain Joe Thornton blew kisses to a fan after scoring a third period goal:

-Los Angeles' Jonathan Quick had issues with this puck:

-Quick didn't keep his eyes on this puck:

-"They've scored 12 goals in two games. That's embarrassing." - Kings defenseman Jack Johnson on Game 3 and 4.

Red Wings - Coyotes

-Jimmy Howard's second postseason as Detroit's starting goaltender is going a lot better than his first.

-"Not many people live there, not many Russian people there. Plus it's cold. There's no excitement except the hockey. No park, no entertaining for the families, for the kids. It's going to be tough life for your family. I've been there for just once, maybe twice, when I play in minors. It was really cold. I used the tunnels between the buildings to get to the arena. Because it was minus 40-something. Real cold." - Coyotes goaltender Ilya Bzygalov on the potential for his franchise moving to Winnipeg.

Ducks - Predators

-Ducks forward and former Penguin Jarkko Ruutu was suspended one game for striking Predators foward Martin Erat in the head during Game 4 Wednesday:

-Erat is expected to miss Game 5 due to an "upper-body" injury.

-"The Ducks are whining and complaining that they're the ones being targeted or whatever. They've had guys suspended. Late hit, we lose a good player. Ruutu doesn't even dress; he's a five-minute player for them. And we lose a top player." - Predators coach Barry Trotz.

Non-Playoff Stuff

Penguins

-Happy 67th birthday to former Penguins defenseman Bob Paradise (right). A veteran of two separate stints with the Penguins, Paradise, a member of the 1968 United States Olympic hockey team, initally came to the club midway through the 1973-74 season along with Chuck Arnason in a deal which sent Al McDonough to the Atlanta Flames. He finished that season by appearing in 38 games for the Penguins and scoring nine points. In 1974-75, Paradise set career highs in games (78) and points (18). During the 1975 postseason, he saw action in six games and recorded one assists. After nine games and no points in 1975-76, Paradise was traded to the Capitals in exchange for a draft pick. Prior to 1977-78, Paradise was re-acquired by the Penguins in a deal which sent Don Awrey to Washington. That season saw him play in 64 games and score 12 points. In 1978-79, he was limited to 14 regular season games and one assist. He saw action in two postseason games that spring and failed to record a point. He was released in the 1979 offseason. In 203 regular games for the Penguins Paradise scored scored 40 points. In eight postseason games, he had one assist.

-Happy 43rd birthday to former Penguins defenseman Zarley Zalapski (right). The team's first-round pick in 1986, Zalapski spent parts of four seasons with the Penguins. After spending most of the 1987-88 season with Canada's Olympic team, Zalapski made his NHL debut late in that campaign by appearing in 15 games for the Penguins and recording 11 points. The following season in 1988-89, Zalapski appeared in 58 games, recorded 45 points (a mark which stands as a franchise record for rookie defensemen) and helped the team reach the postseason for the first time in seven seasons. In the playoffs, he recorded a solid nine point in 11 games. During 1989-90, Zalapski was limited to 51 games and 31 points. After 66 games and 48 points in 1990-91, Zalapski was traded to the Hartford Whalers along with John Cullen and Jeff Parker in exachange for Ron Francis, Grand Jennings and Ulf Samuelsson in one of the biggest trade deadline deals in NHL history. In 190 regular season games with the Penguins, Zalapski recorded 135 points, 57th-most in franchise history.

Atlantic Division

-The Devils will not allow forward David Steckel (United States) and defenseman Anton Volchenkov (Russia) to participate in the IIHF World Championships on account of both players suffering "lower-body" injuries late in the regular season.

Southeast Division

-Former Major League all-star pitcher Tom Glavine (right) is trying to round up investors to form an ownership group which could purchase the Thrashers and keep the franchise in Atlanta. Glavine, the 69th overall pick in the 1984 NHL entry draft, would become the second member of that draft class to own an NHL franchise. The first member was chosen...oh... 68 picks ahead of Glavine.

-“I have a huge interest in hockey and the Thrashers. I would hate to see them leave. My kids play hockey. It’s a big part of our lives. We want to be able to keep going to games." - Glavine.

Northwest Division

-The Wild signed forward Brett Bulmer, a second-round pick in 2010, to three-year entry-level contract.

Pacific Division

-The Stars signed defenseman Patrik Nemeth, a second-round pick in 2010, to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Patrick Division

-Stars forward Loui Eriksson (right), Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom and Lightning forward Martin St. Louis were named finalists for the Lady Byng Award.

(Photos: Crosby-Jeff Gross/Getty Images; Knuble-Paul Bereswill/Getty Images; Bruins/Canadiens-Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press and Phillip MacCallum/Getty Images; Blackhawks/Canucks-Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press and Rich Lam/Getty Images; Sharks/Kings-Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press; Paradise and Zalapski-Penguins Hockey Cards; Glavine-eBay; Eriksson-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Comments (4)

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written by Boom Shaka, April 22, 2011 - 10:46 AM

Loved the "one finger salute" intentional or not...couldn't be directed at a more deserving fan base (ok, maybe the Caps)

Since when is Dreger the guardian of what is good and right in the NHL? There is so much gray area with this "kick" that you'd never be able to prove anything. It's ridiculous; Dreger should stop trying to garner attention for himself and be a reporter

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written by JBM425, April 22, 2011 - 12:09 PM

@Boom Shaka, that was not Darren Dreger. Dreger works for TSN. The clip here was from "Hockey Night in Canada" on CBC, and the colour man who made the comment may have been Greg Millen or Garry Galley. But to the larger point, there shouldn't be any head shots in the game...or one-finger peace signs either. We should be above both of those.

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written by Boom Shaka, April 22, 2011 - 12:24 PM

I got the Dreger comment via TPB.

http://watch.tsn.ca/featured/#clip454457

Dreger did indeed call for TK to be suspended for his "kick" to the leg (you can't even be sure if it hits his stick or leg)

I'm right there with you on hits to the head

As for the "salute" #1 I don't really think it was intentional, hockey gloves are stiff and it's entirely possible that his middle finger was indeed stuck, and #2 for a fanbase that riots after regular season wins, I'm not so worried about the moral implications.

To each his own...

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written by pittbeatwv, April 22, 2011 - 01:21 PM

Bryzgalov might be the DB of the Day

A. A guy from Russia is criticizing a place for being cold & desolate???
B. A lot of fluent Russian being spoken in the Arizona desert is there???

Shut up

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