Posts Tagged ‘Sergei Samsonov’

Between the Pipes – NHL Recap Week 20

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010 Written by: Alex Mueller

This will be the last Between the Pipes until the Olympics are over. Russia is expected to dominate, so naturally they won’t win. That’s how it usually works in team sports, the favorite almost never wins.

Goal Controversy – The Washington Capitals franchise record streak came to an end against the Canadiens. They only lost in overtime but apparently the Capitals thought it should never have gone to overtime, as they had a goal that was disallowed. I don’t really care what the initial call was, if you’re going to plow the opposing team’s players into their own goalie, you’re going to score goals all the time. Of course you can’t do that, nor should you be allowed to. I have no idea what Ovechkin was thinking on that play or why anyone on the Capitals actually thought that goal should have counted.

Minor Trades – A few minor trades happened before the Olympic roster freeze. The best trade was the one the Blackhawks made with the Wild. The Blackhawks received Kim Johnsson and Nick Leddy and the Wild received Cam Barker. Advantage goes to the Blackhawks for sure in this deal. Barker has been a disappointment and Blackhawks want to clear space for next season. Johnsson has a higher salary but he is a free agent next year so the Blackhawks will definitely let him walk. They also get a prospect in Leddy, not to shabby. As for the Wild well they better hope Barker’s change of scenery improves his game, especially if Leddy becomes a decent talent.

Goalie Spotlight

Marc-Andre Fleury – Pittsburgh Penguins

Marc-Andre Fleury was selected first overall in the 2003 NHL entry draft. His nickname of flower is a derivative, fleuri, of his last name.  Fleuri means flower in French. He started his career playing for QMJHL for the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in 2000. In 2003 he was named to the All-Star second team and he helped lead Canada to a Silver medal in the World Junior Championship. This was enough success for the Penguins to make him the first pick. Cape Breton later retired Fleury’s number. Fluery was the youngest NHL goaltender in the league in 2003 and he was named rookie of the month. Due to financial difficulties Pittsburgh did not want to pay Fluery his bonus. Since they didn’t want him getting the chance to earn it they let him play in the 2004 World Junior Championship. He led Canada to another Silver medal and then he was sent back to Cape Breton where he tore it up. After that he was sent to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) where he only played in the playoffs. Since the 04-05 NHL season was canceled, Fluery stayed playing in the AHL.

Fleury got his chance to be the starter in the 05-06 season when Jocelyn Thibault was injured. He ended up beating out Thibault and Sebastien Caron to become the number one goalie. All was not well however, as the Penguins finished last in the conference and allowed a league worst 316 goals. Despite this the Penguins saw his talent and rewarded him with a two year extension. The 06-07 season featured a much improve Penguins team that made the playoffs. Fleury was able to post his first NHL SV% above .900 (.906) and his first GAA below 3.00 (2.83) behind a better team. He became the only other goalie besides Tom Barrasso to win 40 games for the franchise. The Penguins ended up losing to Stanley Cup Finalist Ottawa in the first round in five games.

Fleury sat out most of the 07-08 season with an ankle sprain allowing Ty Conlkin to start much of the year. When he came back from the injury he was 22-4-1 including the playoffs up until the Stanley Cup Final. Fleury’s career moment, up until this time, was probably his 55 save effort in triple overtime that forced a game 6. In game 6 he ended up sitting on the game winning goal and accidentally pushed it in, which was his lowest career point. He signed a seven year deal in the off-season. In the 08-09 season Fleury was able to stay healthy and start a majority of the games. His numbers dipped from the previous season but they were still an improvement over the 06-07 season. He picked up his game in the postseason and was instrumental in most series particularly the opening round series against the Flyers. The Penguins found themselves with a rematch against the Red Wings in the Finals. Fleury made many huge saves including a diving stop in the final seconds of game 7 to help the Penguins win the Stanley Cup.

So far the current season has not been one of Fleury’s strongest, though he did start out the year 8-0. He has yet to record a shutout this season, which would be a first for his NHL career if he doesn’t end up posting one. However, the Penguins are at the top of the standings and fighting the Devils for the division crown. Even if he hasn’t played his best hockey, Penguin fans know Fleury always saves his best for the postseason.

Fights of the Week

Special thanks to hockeyfights.com for making this section a little easier to do.

Colton Orr vs. Cam Janssen

These two fought briefly in the 1st period before being thwarted by the refs. They came back with a vengeance in the 2nd. Some decent shots in between the filler.

Nate Thompson vs. Matt Martin

A decent fight between two guys who don’t fight all that much. Martin gets the slight edge.

Aaron Rome vs. James Sheppard

Rome is a pretty good fighter when he can’t see. I’m surprised the refs didn’t break up the fight immediately because of that.

Goat of the Week

Steve Montador – Buffalo Sabres

Montador, a former Duck, loses an edge playing the puck behind the net and coughs it up in overtime. Brandon Sutter had a pretty pass to Sergei Samsonov who puts it behind a not ready Ryan Miller. You have to be more alert Miller even if it was Montador’s fault.

Things I like

1. Earlier in the year we thought we would get two or three teammates in the top 6 scoring at the end of the year. We still might but instead of it being a couple of Sharks it looks like it will be a couple of Capitals. Ovechkin is in 1st and Backstrom is in 3rd. Fellow teammate Semin isn’t too far behind in 12th place.

2. Jonathan Quick is leading the league in wins. I don’t think anyone could see that coming. He tied the Kings franchise record for wins in a season with 35. He should easily shatter that before the season is done. He also gets a trip to Vancouver. It’s unlikely he will play much being the 3rd goalie but he will pick-up some valuable experience. In four years he will probably be the number 2 guy behind Miller.

3. The Kings and Oilers ten round shootout. I’ve written about the shootout here before and I know many fans have their arguments of why they do and don’t like it. But watching a ten rounder is always fun and suspenseful.

4. The top eight players in +/- consists of five Washington Capitals and three Vancouver Canucks. I think that says a lot about top teams and lines in the league.

Things I don’t

1. The Devils are still slumping and Ilya hasn’t been the goal scoring machine the Devils had hoped, with only one goal in six games. He does have four assists though. The Devils struggles can also be attributed to Martin Brodeur struggling as of late. In the month of February his SV% was .871 which is lower than his career and regular season averages. He even got pulled in the regular finale before the Olympics against Carolina. Both Ilya and Brodeur are heading to Vancouver, so much needed rest is not what they will be receiving.

2. Giguere’s good fortune lasted only two games in Toronto. He lost his next two games, after his two game shutout streak, giving up a combined 7 goals. No more games until after the break so he should be able to get in plenty of practice with his favorite goalie coach.

3. No NHL hockey for two weeks. Sure there is Olympic hockey but it’s not the same.

Stat Line of the Week

02/14/10 Anaheim 7 vs. Edmonton 3

Skater

TOI

G

A

+/-

SOG

PIM

R. Getzlaf

19:28

2

2

+1

6

2

Getzlaf returned from his ankle injury and was the main catalyst for the Ducks big victory of the Oilers. Scoring two powerplay goals he helped reverse the trend of the Ducks struggling with their powerplay on the road. He also sent a strong message to Steve Yzerman of Team Canada to keep him on the Olympic squad.

Did You Know?

In honor of the Canadian women’s Olympic hockey team drubbing Slovakia 18-0, I give you the most lopsided NHL game. In 1944 the Detroit Red Wings beat the NY Rangers 15-0. Syd Howe would record a hat trick in the final six minutes of the game. The Rangers only won six games that season and will go down in history as one of the worst teams ever.

Numbers, Numbers

2.08 – GAA of Tuukka Rask the current league leader and currently a back-up goalie

43 – Alex Ovechkin’s +/- the current league leader

163 – PIM for Cam Janssen, number two in the league currently

0 – Points scored by Cam Janssen so far this season

This Week in Hockey History

Special thanks to the Hockey Hall of Fame site for making this section a little easier to do.

February 11, 1988 Toronto’s Borje Salming became just the fifth defenseman in NHL history to get 600 career assists. The milestone came in a 4-3 Maple Leafs win over the visiting New York Islanders.

February 12, 1929 Montreal Canadiens’ goalie George Hainsworth recorded his 15th shutout of the season (and the 42nd of his career) in a 2-0 against over the Pirates at Pittsburgh.

February 13, 2002 Dominik Hasek recorded his 60th career shutout, and Scotty Bowman became just the 2nd coach to win 400 games with Detroit, in the Red Wings 2-0 win over the Wild at Minnesota.

February 14, 1994 Wayne Gretzky picked up two assists to record a 100-point season for the 14th time in his career (extending his NHL record) as the Kings lost 3-2 to the Bruins at the Forum.

February 15, 1989 Chicago’s Jeremy Roenick tied a club record for rookies, with four points (a goal and three assists) as the Blackhawks won 7-4 over the visiting Washington Capitals.

February 16, 1980 Boston’s Jean Ratelle picked an assist to give him 1,220 career points, passing Jean Beliveau and moving up to No. 7 on the NHL’s all-time scoring list. Bruins won 5-3 over the Rockies, at Colorado.

Rankings

The rankings are based on how the teams are currently playing.

Top 5

1. Los Angeles
2. Washington
3. Ottawa
4. Carolina
5. Phoenix

Bottom 5

30. Toronto
29. NY Islanders
28. Edmonton
27. Florida
26. Detroit

Anaheim Ducks Watch

The Ducks got the win at home against the Oilers in a much closer than it should have been game 3-2. This was the 11th straight win for the Ducks at home, a franchise record. Bobby Ryan had two goals and Marchant had the game winner.

If a goal is scored and no one notices does it still count? The answer is yes, as Toronto noticed that Tory Bodie tipped in Scott Niedermayer’s shot. The refs counted the goal and rewound the clock. Of course it didn’t really matter as the Flames basically dominated the rest of the game and scored three goals, led by Jerome Iginila, after that. Real nice of the Ducks to show up to a hugely important playoff type game.

The Ducks then played the Oilers again, this time at Edmonton. The Ducks erupted for seven goals in the 7-3 win. The powerplay was clicking scoring four goals. Ryan Getzlaf made his return to the lineup with authority, scoring two goals and two assists. The Ducks made a statement in this game and it’s a good thing, since they won’t be playing again for awhile. I’d like to think the Ducks have a good chance to make the playoffs. The problem is there are seven teams within seven points of each other, all vying for the last two playoff spots. Or five teams within four points. Even if the Ducks get hot, there is no guarantee two other teams won’t.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Features | 1 Comment »

Between the Pipes – NHL Recap Week 17

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 Written by: Alex Mueller

Extinguished Flames? – The Flames were my pick for Northwest division champion. While they were the leader at one point this season, they have since fallen dramatically. They have 7 of their last 8 games including an ugly 9-1 loss to San Jose. Most of their other losses were by 1 or 2 goals, including one in overtime. Captain Jerome Iginla has not played well in their most recent stretch including having a 6 game pointless streak. Dion Phaneuf has struggled offensively and defensively including a minus 4 in that game against the Sharks. Olli Jokinen has been pretty much a bust this season certainly not what the Flames had hoped when they acquired him last season near the end. While he did play well after being acquired, this season he has only 10 goals and is on pace to have his lowest goal total since the 2001-02 season. It’s not like he hasn’t been shooting, his shooting percentage is currently .068 which would also be his lowest since the 01-02 season. Speaking of busts Jay Bouwmeester was added in hopes of giving the Flames that final needed piece after Jokinen. In the whole month of January he has only one assist. He also hasn’t scored a goal since Nov. 14th. Putrid is the only word I can think of to sum that all up. On paper the Flames have a decent team of course what matters is how you actually play. But they were playing well in November going 10-2-2 at that time and not much has changed. Sometimes it’s just chemistry issues. The Flames biggest problems is lack of goal scoring, I think it’s time for the Flames to start juggling the lines. Iginla is having one of his worst stretches of the year, so take him off the first line so he won’t match up against other team’s top lines. Also how about a line of Iginla, Jokinen and maybe Rene Bourque? It can’t hurt and it’s a lot better then what they have going now. The Ducks started to get hot after they tinkered with their lines. It’s not time to panic yet but the Flames need to get creative to douse their current woes.

Goalie Spotlight

Johan Hedberg – Atlanta Thrashers

After watching him make some awesome saves against the Ducks I figured I would spotlight Hedberg, also know as the “Moose.” The nicknamed was coined when he was quickly called up to play in a game for the Pittsburgh Penguins and he was still wearing his Manitoba Moose (AHL) helmet which also sported a huge moose on the mask.

Hedberg was drafted in the 9th round by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1994 draft, he never played for them and was traded in 1999 to the San Jose Sharks. He never played for the Sharks either; however he did play for their affiliate the Kentucky Thoroughblades. It wasn’t until he was then traded to the Penguins that he actually played in the NHL. Before his NHL debate Hedberg mainly played in Sweden for Leksands IF. He didn’t make his way back to North America until the 1997-98 season when he played for the Detroit Vipers (IHL). After bouncing around the IHL, AHL, ECHL and Sweden for awhile Hedberg debuted for the Penguins in the 2000-01 season. He only played in 6 games, most of the year he played for the Moose, but the following year he was a regular starter. He ended up leading the league in losses, a record I’m sure he didn’t want. He was then traded to Vancouver and then Dallas before finding a home in Atlanta in 2006. The 2008-09 season was one of Hedberg’s worst. He set career lows in GAA and SV%. He has rebounded nicely this season and so far has career bests in GAA and SV% and has a chance to surpass his previous season high in wins. One highlight of his career was recording two assists in a game while playing for Dallas in 2005. This hadn’t been done since Patrick Roy had two assists in a game in 2000.

Hedberg signed a multi-year extension with the Thrashers in 2008. Currently he is hoping to backstop the Thrashers into the playoffs for the first time since 2007.

Fights of the Week

Special thanks to hockeyfights.com for making this section a little easier to do.

Jay Rosehill vs. Matt Walker

Decent fight and then at the end, Walker decks Rosehill.

Nick Boynton vs. Brad Staubitz

Short and sweet fight.

Cam Janssen vs. Brian McGrattan

McGrattan has about 4 inches over Janssen and he pretty much dominated this fight, Janssen did pop off his helmet though.

Goat of the Week

Ray Emery – Philadelphia Flyers

Hey what do you know another goalie as a goat. This time Ray Emery goes behind the net and passes it to Sergei Samsonov of the Hurricanes, oops, and Samsonov makes a nice pass to Rob Brind’Amour.

Things I like

1. The Burrows with the Sedin twins line is on fire, and is right up their with the Sharks line. Burrows with an 11 game point streak and both Sedins have a 5 game point streak going. All told this line has amassed 60 points in 11 games so far this January. This has propelled the Canucks all the way up into 4th place in the Western Conference.

2. Anze Kopitar has rebounded big with a nice January after having a cold six point December. He has points in 8 of his last 10 games and he was apart of every goal, 1 goal 2 assists, in the Kings huge comeback win against Detroit 3-2. It was huge because it was on the road but also because the Kings and Red Wings are neck in neck in the standings.

3. Eric Staal being named captain of the Carolina Hurricanes. On the one hand it’s a tough role becoming the captain of a team in last past in the conference. On the other hand there isn’t anywhere else to go but up and since this is now a rebuilding year, it’s time for the youth to start leading.

Things I don’t

1. All the Ilya Kovalchuk trade talk rumors. Nothing worse than having to hear a billion scenarios or possible teams a player could be going to. I’m sure it’s even more annoying to him. Most unbelievable scenario was him going to the Blackhawks. Yes I’m sure that will happen.

2. The Oilers now have fewer points than Toronto and Carolina. After how the season started for those two teams you never would have saw this day coming.

3. I wrote about this a month ago but I’m concerned with the success of the Sharks. The more they win and run away with the top seed in the west, the more pressure they will have come playoff time. The Western Conference is especially stacked this year and it’s very possible they will have another 1st round bounce. I can only imagine how another early round exit will go.

Stat Line of the Week

01/23/10  Montreal 6 vs. New York 0

Skater

TOI

G

A

+/-

SOG

PIM

M. Cammalleri

18:15

2

2

+2

4

0

Cammalleri’s name is not one you hear often but he is having himself a nice little season. Coming off a career year last season, in Calgary, that saw him post career highs in goals and points, Cammalleri leads the Canadiens in goals currently. His four point night help key the 6-0 victory over the Rangers.

Did You Know?

Rob Ray led the NHL in PIM with 261 in the 1998-99 season, while playing for the Sabres. He also had the dubious distinction of not scoring a goal that year.

Numbers, Numbers

127 – Goals for Boston the lowest in the NHL currently.

274 – Goals for Boston last year, when they led the Eastern Conference.

26 – Wins this year so far for Craig Anderson in 43 games for a .604 W%

36 – Wins prior to this year for Anderson in 88 games for a .409 W%

This Week in Hockey History

Special thanks to the Hockey Hall of Fame site for making this section a little easier to do.

January 21, 2000 Valeri Bure scored at 3:06 of overtime to give the Flames a 5-4 win against the visiting Nashville Predators. It was the Flames’ 9th OT win of the season, a new NHL record. The Winnipeg Jets held the old mark with 8 OT wins in 1987-88.

January 22, 1987 A snowstorm in New Jersey delayed the game between the Devils and Flames for two hours. When it finally started, only 334 fans were on hand to see the Devils beat the Flames 7-5. The game ended at 11:44 PM.

January 23, 1972 Chicago’s Bobby Hull extended his team-record point scoring streak to 21 games in the Black Hawks’ 4-0 win over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs. Hull scored 23 goals, 12 assists for a total of 35 points during the 21 game streak.

January 24, 1998 Anaheim’s Teemu Selanne scored his 250th career NHL goal in the Mighty Ducks’ 3-3 tie against the visiting Los Angeles Kings.

January 25, 1996 The Ottawa Senators set an NHL record with their 16th consecutive home game without a win (0-15-1) in a 4-2 loss to Detroit at the Palladium. They broke the old record of 15 shared by the 1928 Black Hawks & 1939 Canadiens.

January 26, 2002 Eric Lindros scored once to give him 20 goals in each of his nine NHL seasons, and Theoren Fleury added his 20th goal of the year for the 12th time in his career as the Rangers won 6-3 against the visiting Washington Capitals.

Rankings

The rankings are based on how the teams are currently playing.

Top 5

1. Washington
2. San Jose
3. Anaheim
4. Vancouver
5. Philadelphia

Bottom 5

30. Edmonton
29. Calgary
28. Toronto
27. Boston
26. NY Rangers

Yikes the last 3 teams are all Canadian, not happy times in Canada for hockey fans these days.

Anaheim Ducks Watch

The Ducks started their long six game road trip in the Shark Tank. Anaheim has lost all four meeting against the Sharks this year coming into the game. You can make it five after the loss on Thursday. Both teams had chances and the Ducks actually out shot the Sharks. Beleskey had the only goal for the Ducks and it was a pretty one at that. In the end the Sharks were the better team, full avenging their playoff exit from last season.

Next up were the Blues an important game standing wise and the Ducks sure made it interesting. Down 3-0 in the 3rd all seemed lost. But then Niedermayer scored to put the Ducks on the board. Then the Bobby Ryan show took over as Ryan scored his 23rd and 24th goal of the year. The 34th came with just 30 seconds left in the game. Ryan did however miss the 3rd shootout shot, the first duck to miss, which would have given them the win. Instead it took 7 rounds for the Ducks to get the win.

Next for the Ducks were the Thrashers in a game they really needed to have because they play back to back games and their next opponent is the Capitals. Unfortunately the Ducks didn’t play all that well and lost 2-1, though at times they did have their chances. A couple of really dumb penalties at the end really sealed Anaheim’s fate. Sexton’s hooking call was a bad call by the refs but Whitney’s boarding call was just a bad move on Whitney’s part. Atlanta also had a questionable non call penalty towards the end, can’t remember who was involved.

Not sure what the future of this section holds, seeing as how I’m leaving Southern California, I won’t be able to watch the local broadcasts anymore and watching online isn’t always reliable. But maybe I’ll still do it. Either way I hope the Ducks make the playoffs this year.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Features | 1 Comment »

THE HAT TRICK: WEEK 7

Sunday, November 15th, 2009 Written by: Eric Sutter

Nearing the quarter mark of the hockey season is a good time to pass out some early awards, while still keeping an eye on the biggest storylines in the sport.

So far, my MVP is Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar who, whose high marks in goals and points scored is leading his team to surprising, but early on season playoff talk.

Buffalo Sabres Ryan Miller is a big reason his team is leading the division. The best in the league in Goals Against Average (GAA) (1.77), save percentage (0.939) and tied for lead with 12 wins, Miller is a safe shot for best goalie.  

Best defenseman goes to the Philadelphia Flyers as-good-as-advertised Chris Pronger, who is fourth among defensemen scoring with 17 points and an amazing +13 while playing a league high 27:01 minutes a game. 

Awards aside, let’s get to the Hat Trick —or the three storylines I am following this week in the hockey world.


1) Win, Lose or Draw

From the highs of the New Jersey Devils, who have won eight games in a row, to the lows of the Carolina Hurricanes dropping 12 in a row, the rest of the season might not be much different for these two. Between the Zachs (Parise and Zajac) and rookie Niclas Bergfors, each player on the line has eight points in the last seven games, making the Devils as hot as their mascot suggests.

But a healthy Martin Brodeur and an improving Patrik Elias could makes things even scarier for their opponents. Brodeur has a 1.48 GAA and .942 save percentage in the last seven games, and it’s just a matter of time for Elias to get going, though he has yet to gain a point in the four games since returning from injury.

The woeful Hurricanes are a team devastated by injuries. With the losses of top flight goalie Cam Ward and top line center Eric Staal, Carolina is relying on the likes of Manny Legace in net. How has this team gone from Eastern Conference Finals appearance last season to the bottom of the NHL? 

Though the revolving door to the infirmary has not helped, every team is dealing with injuries. But their depth has to be called into question. Banking on Eric Cole (one goal), Chad Larose (0 goals) and Sergei Samsonov (two goals) to be top line scorers was a mistake. Having a defense based around offensive defensemen Joni Pitkanen (-12) and Joe Corvo (-9) was another one. Although the Hurricanes finally won on Sunday, I will be watching these two teams going in opposite directions


2) AHL Report:  

Here at Pucking Awesome, we also keep you up to date with what is happening on the farm teams. The two hottest teams in the AHL are the Rochester Americans (13-2-1) and the Texas Stars (11-2-2). The Florida Panthers-affiliate Americans are led by 22-year-old goalie Alexander Salak. The Czech rookie is 10-1-0, while being near the top in all goalie categories. 

The Dallas Stars-affiliates have given up only 31 goals in 17 games this season. The goalie tandems of Matt Climie and Brett Krahn have shut opponents down with a 1.85 and 1.38 GAA respectively.


3) Game of the Week: Bruins at Sabres, Friday

Northeast division rivals Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres will face off this week for the second time this season. The first matchup went to the defending division winners as the Bruins defeated Jhonas Enroth in his NHL debut, 4-2. This time around the goal-starved Bruins will most likely be facing Ryan Miller, and that is not a good combination for Boston who has been shut out three times this season.

Milan Lucic could return to the Bruins this week, but he has been told he can’t fight, making this division rivalry game a good measuring stick for him.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Analysis | No Comments »