User Rating: / 0
PoorBest 

Saturday, 23 April 2011 00:55

Written by Seth Rorabaugh

Playoff Stuff

Penguins - Lightning

(Note: Our live blog begins at approximately 11 a.m. Set your alarm, have some brunch and curse NBC for making us all wake up this early for a hockey game.)

-The Penguins have not won a playoff series at home under Dan Bylsma (above).

-Welcome back Chris Kunitz. (PG+).

-It looks like Eric Tangradi will be bumped out of the lineup with Kunitz back. (PG+).

-Assuming they advance to the second round, what kind of player will the Penguins get when Matt Cooke returns?

-Dan Bylsma speaks:

-Brooks Orpik speaks:

-"We have to play like there’s no tomorrow. You have to play like it might be the last game you play. You have to put everything out there." - Lightning forward Simon Gagne. (PG+)

-"Since he's been with us, he's certainly given us confidence that any game he can pull a few rabbits out of his hat. Obviously, [today] we're hoping the rabbit's going to be big." - Lightning Guy Boucher on goaltender Dwayne Roloson.

-Having been outshot 159-111 thus far in the series, the Lightning want to shoot the puck more.

-Boucher plans on using seven defensemen today. (PG+).

Capitals - Rangers

-Capitals forward Mike Knuble will miss Game 5 due to a suspected hand injury.

-“I’ll be honest with you, it took me until yesterday afternoon to swallow the loss. It was one of the tougher ones I’ve lived through. But once you swallow it and you puke it out, I just have such a good feeling. I just feel good about our club.” - Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist (right) on his team's loss in Game 4 Wednesday.

Flyers - Sabres

-Tyler Ennis scored two goals, including one in overtime, and gave the Sabres a wild 4-3 win against the Flyers in Game 5. Ryan Miller made 36 saves in the victory. Andrej Meszaros had a goal and an assist for Philadelphia. Buffalo leads the series, 3-2.

-Ennis' overtime goal:

-"We can celebrate this for about 20 more minutes, and then we've got to focus on the next one because we've got one more." - Ennis.

-After he allowed three goals on 11 shots, Flyers starting goaltender Brian Boucher pulled him in favor of back up Michael Leighton who had not played in an NHL game in four months.

-“I’m going to sleep on that one and probably give you nothing.” - Flyers coach Peter Laviolette's reaction when ask who his starting goatlender for Game 6 would be.

-Drippy times for Miller:

-Thirsty times for Leighton:

-Members of Philadelphia's city council were apparently on hand:

-Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger missed Game 5 due to his hand injury.

-Sabres defenseman Jordan Leopold (face) and forward Jason Pominville (leg laceration) each left the game due to injuries.

Bruins - Canadiens

-Bruins defenseman and former Penguin Andrew Ference was fined $2,500 for flashing the middle finger at Canadiens fans during Thursday's Game 4.

-These "History Will Be Made" videos and the spoofs they have inspired are a little over the top, but not this one in tribute to Ference (Graphic Warning):

-“At the start of the series, if you told me it would be 2-2 after four, I think we would have taken that.” - Canadiens goaltender Carey Price.

Canucks - Blackhawks

-Did the hit to the head by Vancouver's Raffi Torres to Chicago's Brent Seabrook wake up the Blackhawks?

Sharks - Kings

-The Kings activated forward Scott Parse from injured reserve. He has been sidelined since Nov. 15 due to a hip injury.

Red Wings

-Detroit forward Henrik Zetterberg (right) is expected to be back in the lineup whenever the Red Wings start the second round. He missed all of the first round due to a left knee sprain.

-In order to keep him fresh, the Red Wings have kept 40-year-old captain Nicklas Lidstrom off the penalty kill.

Predators - Ducks

-Jerred Smithson's overtime goal gave the Predators a thrilling 4-3 comeback win against the Ducks in Game 5. Nick Spaling and Jordin Tootoo each recorded two assists for Nashville while Pekka Rinne made 23 saves in the victory. Jason Blake scored two goals for Anaheim. The Predators lead the series, 3-2.

-Smithson's goal:

-Predators captain Shea Weber tied the game with 35.3 seconds left in regulation to force overtime:

-"There's 11 guys on the ice and it went through three or four of them. I kind of knew he shot it but didn't know where it was going. You just try to make yourself big in net." - Ducks goaltender Ray Emery on Weber's goal.

-Goal of the Night Series Playoffs Season Decade Century: Ducks forward Bobby Ryan pulled off this thing of beauty last night:

-“It would have been a great goal to have in a win. But, you know, 20 minutes later, it’s a nonfactor. So I won’t even think about it again.” - Ryan.

-The Ducks have some orange fans:

Calder Cup Playoffs

-Nick Petersen scored both of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins' goals in a 2-1 defeat of the Norfolk Admirals in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. Andrew Hutchinson and Brett Sterling each recorded two assists for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton while Brad Thiessen made 23 saves in the victory. The Penguins have a 3-2 series lead.

-Highlights, courtesy of The Wilkes-Blog:

Kelly Cup Playoffs

-Mickael Bedard and Andrew Orpik each had a goal and an assist for the Wheeling Nailers in a 2-1 win against the Greenville Road Warriors in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series. Peter Delmas made 29 saves in the victory. The Nailers lead the series, 3-1.

Norris Division

-How important is it to have a player with a Stanley Cup ring on your roster?

Non - Playoff Stuff

Penguins

-Happy 62nd birthday to former Penguins forward Gregg Sheppard (right). Acquired prior to the 1978-79 season in a trade which sent Jean Pronovost to the Atlanta Flames, Sheppard spent four seasons with the Penguins. During 1978-79, Sheppard appeared in 60 games and contribute 37 points. He saw action in seven postseason games that spring and scored three points. He followed that up in 1979-80 by playing in 76 games and once against scored 37 points. During that season's playoffs, Sheppard played in five games and collected two points. In 1980-81, Sheppard was limited to 47 games and 28 points. During that spring's postseason, he came through with six points in five games. His final NHL season was 1981-82. He saw action in 58 games and scored 21 points. He was released in the 1982 offseason. In 241 games with the Penguins, he recorded 123 points, 64th most in franchise history. In 17 postseason games, he scored 11 points.

-Happy 50th birthday to former Penguins forward Jock Callander. A free agent signing prior in the 1987 offseason, Callandar spent parts of four seasons with the Penguins. As a rookie in 1987-88, Callandar set career highs with 41 games and 27 points. He followed that up in 1988-89 by playing in 30 games and scoring 11 points. During that spring's postseason, Callandar played in 10 games and contributed seven points. In 1989-90, Callandar appeared in 30 games and recorded 11 points again. After spending all of 1990-91 with the Penguins' IHL affiliate in Muskegon, Callandar saw action in 12 postseason games in 1992 with fellow call-ups Dave Michayluk and Mike Needham on a unit dubbed "The Muskegon Line" and contributed four points while helping the franchise earn its second consecutive Stanley Cup title. He joined the expansion Lightning in the 1992 offseason. In 101 regular season game with the Penguins, Callandar recorded 49 points. In 22 postseason games, he scored 11 points.

-Happy 50th birthday to former Penguins goaltender Alain Chevrier. Acquired at the 1990 trade deadline for future considerations, Chevrier's Penguins career amounted to three games late in the 1989-90 season. He went 1-2-0 over that stretch with a 5.06 goals against average. The following offseason, he signed with the Red Wings.

-Happy 68th birthday to former Penguins general manager and Hockey Hall of Famer Tony Esposito.

Atlantic Division

-It looks like the Devils will take restricted free agent forward Zach Parise (right) to salary arbitration later this summer.

-The Islanders plan on tolling the contract of goaltender Evgeni Nabokov. Signed midseason by the Red Wings, Nabokov was claimed off re-entry waivers from the Islanders but refused to report to the team.

Northwest Division

-The Oilers signed forward Cameron Abney, a third round pick in 2009, to a three-year entry-level contract.

Pacific Division

-The Coyotes signed forward Bryan Hextall, a sixth-round pick in 2008, to an entry-level contract. Terms were not released. Hextall is the son of former Flyers/Nordiques/Islanders goaltender Ron Hextall, the grandson of former Penguins/Rangers/Red Wings/Flames/North Stars forward Bryan Hextall, Jr. and great grandson of former Rangers hall-of-fame forward Bryan Hextall, Sr.

Adams Division

-Vancouver's Roberto Luongo (right), Nashville's Pekka Rinne and Boston's Tim Thomas were named finalists for the Vezina Trophy.

-Former Canadiens/Canucks/Flyers/Capitals/Rangers enforcer Donald Brashear will take part in a mixed martial arts event in Quebec City, June 4.

(Photos: Bylsma-Christian Petersen/Getty Images; Lundqvist and Parise-Paul Bereswill/Getty Images; Sabres/Flyers-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Zetterberg-Christian Petersen/Getty Images; Predators/Ducks-Stephen Dunn/Getty Images; Sheppard-Penguins Hockey Cards; Luongo-Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Comments (4)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

...
written by psutommy02, April 23, 2011 - 08:28 AM

if no one wants to get up this early, i'll take two free tickets

• 
• +1
• 
• 

...
written by psutommy02, April 23, 2011 - 08:28 AM

if no one wants to get up this early, i'll take two free tickets

• 
• +0
• 
• 

...
written by wakerider, April 23, 2011 - 11:41 AM

Do the Pens have any chance of winning this game, considering the start time?.

• 
• +0
• 
• 

...
written by gmuny2002, April 23, 2011 - 12:19 PM

Bryan Hextall's grandson signed by the 'Yotes?! Man am I gettin' old!!!! I remember watching Bryan play for the Pens back in the early 70's and his brother Dennis was with the North Stars!

• 
• +0
• 
•