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The cup stays here
06.06.06 (2:58 pm)   [edit]
When the Edmonton Oilers returned to the Stanley Cup final for a third consecutive year in 1985, the third time in their sixth season in the league, there was somebody new at the dance. The Philadelphia Flyers had emerged from the East with a rookie head coach in Mike Keenan and a rookie general manager in Bobby Clarke. "After all those years playing the Edmonton Oil Kings in junior with the Flin Flon Bombers, it's quite a coincidence it's Edmonton in my first year as GM," said Clarke, who had faced off against the Oilers as a player in their first playoff series - their first season in the NHL. "Those series were battles. This one should be, too." Game 1, however, wasn't much of a battle. The Oilers were supposed to be the high firepower squad, not the Flyers, but Philadelphia won 4-1, outshooting Edmonton 41-26 and registering 17 scoring chances to the Oilers' four. Viking's Ron Sutter checked Wayne Gretzky to a standstill. He didn't get a shot. People seemed shocked. But the Flyers had lost only twice in the Spectrum since Dec. 6 and only five times in their previous 50 home games. "They did everything our coaches told us they would do," said Paul Coffey. "There were no surprises. We were just horrible. They outworked us, outmanned us, out-hit us, outskated us, outchecked us and beat us to every puck. We were out-everythinged." Coach Glen Sather knew he had to do something. Enter 20-year-old Esa Tikkanen, direct from Finland, making his NHL debut in the Stanley Cup final. Tikkanen refused to back down in a first period incident with Rick Tocchet and was a one-man adrenalin hit for the entire team. "I must have asked him 100 times before the game if he was nervous and he kept saying no," said Gretzky. "And he wasn't." Gretzky opened the scoring and Willy Lindstrom and Dave Hunter scored the others as the Oilers won 3-1. After what happened next - as was the case the year before with the New York Islanders - the NHL abandoned the 2-3-2 World Series format and went back to 2-2-1-1-1. All the Oilers needed was the last line change to get Gretzky away from Sutter. End of series. It didn't hurt, either, to get back home on the NHL's fastest ice. In Game 3, Gretzky scored two goals in the first 75 seconds and another in the 13th minute. The Oilers held on for a 4-3 win. "Mr. Gretzky didn't waste any time showing his abilities," said Keenan. In Game 4 it was the other way around, with Philadelphia leading 3-1 after 11 1/2 minutes. It was a penalty shot save by Grant Fuhr on Sutter that turned the tide. Gretzky fed both Jari Kurri and Coffey behind-the-back passes for goals, Mark Messier scored on two breakaways and the Oilers had a 5-3 win - and a chance to carry the Stanley Cup for a second straight year on Coliseum ice. In Game 5 the crowd chanted "The Cup Stays Here, The Cup Stays Here" as the Oilers handled the Flyers with ease in an 8-3 win to put the series away. The Oilers had won all 10 home playoff games that year and - combined with the last six from the previous year - that broke the Montreal Canadiens' record for most home playoff wins in the playoffs, dating back to the 1960s. Gretzky won the Conn Smythe. "It was probably the toughest one ever picked," he said. "I wish I could have Paul Coffey and Grant Fuhr's names with me. "We all get our names on the Stanley Cup. That's all that matters. We've got to be rated as good as any team which ever won two in a row," bubbled Gretzky as he poured the bubbly. "All I know is that 15 years from now I'm going to say 'Gawd, I played on a great hockey team.' "In terms of emotion and excitement, the first one was bigger. But to do what we had to do to win the Cup twice ... "We proved a lot of things by winning it twice. And I'll say the same thing now I said last year. It's going to take a darn good team to take it away from us." That darn good team turned out to be the Calgary Flames.
 
Hold down the fort.
11.08.05 (10:23 am)   [edit]
A visit by the New York Islanders may be what the doctor ordered to help the New Jersey Devils overcome their recent slump.

New Jersey tries to end its three-game losing streak Tuesday in their first meeting of the season against the Islanders, who have dropped four of five.

Two-time Vezina Trophy winner Martin Brodeur is expected to sit out another game after spraining his right knee against Tampa Bay on October 26. That would likely mean another start for Scott Clemmensen, who is 2-1-2 since taking over in goal.

Brian Gionta scored twice Saturday for the Devils, who failed to hold a two-goal lead in Saturday's 3-2 shootout loss to the New York Rangers.

The Islanders have been outscored, 11-1, in their last two outings, including Saturday's 6-0 defeat in Ottawa, their first shutout loss of the campaign.

Captain Alexei Yashin, the team's leading scorer with 17 points, scored the lone goal in Thursday's 5-1 loss to Pittsburgh. It was his eighth tally of the season for the Islanders, who have only one power-play goal in 28 attempts.

The Devils, who have not lost a season series against the Islanders since 1992-1993, were 3-2-1 against them in 2003-2004 and are 30-15-6 in their last 51 meetings.
 
Looking for big contributions from the new guy.
11.08.05 (10:22 am)   [edit]
Don Maloney knew the questions would come eventually. So when the Rangers' assistant general manager was asked about Los Angeles Kings rookie goalie Jason LaBarbera, he had his answer ready.

"He was a good goalie for us in the minor leagues, and we wanted to sign him," Maloney said. "We were very high on Henrik Lundqvist, and we were concerned about the one-way contract and the cost of keeping Jason. He hit free agency, and it shows the scarcity of good young goalies."

It's early, but the 25-year-old LaBarbera, who came into the season having played five NHL games with the Rangers, is among the league leaders in goals-against average (sixth through Thursday), save percentage (seventh) and wins (fifth). Despite being pulled from Thursday's 4-0 loss to Phoenix, his first bad outing, LaBarbera appears on the verge of establishing himself as the Kings' No. 1 goalie over the slightly more experienced Mathieu Garon (43 NHL games coming in).

"For me and Matty, it's an interesting situation," the 6-foot-3, 230-pound LaBarbera said. "We're both relatively young, we're both unproven, and we've both been given the opportunity to play. L.A. so far hasn't been afraid to give us an opportunity."

The improvement over his brief time in net for the Rangers is obvious. He could always make the first save, but now he's staying in position and controlling the rebounds as well.

LaBarbera, the Rangers' third-round pick in 1998, was 7-2-0 with a 2.21 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage through Thursday.

But who knows what would have happened this season if the Kings hadn't beaten out six other clubs who were speed-dialing LaBarbera's agent, Brad Devine, when he became an unrestricted free agent? The Kings offered a two-year deal worth $1.5 million.

"I just assumed I was going back to New York," LaBarbera said. "But we talked to L.A. and they blew me away. I said, 'This is crazy.' They said a lot of good stuff. They had Garon, so I looked at it as a real good opportunity."

Maloney said LaBarbera likely would have started the season as Kevin Weekes' backup while Lundqvist received some seasoning with Hartford, where LaBarbera was the AHL MVP two seasons ago. Yet even that opportunity was due to Dan Blackburn's unlikely career-ending injury.

"I have a lot to prove, but it's not like a vengeful thing — I have a lot to prove to myself, too, right?" LaBarbera said. "The way I look at it, coming in here, the management knew who I was, but the players didn't know."

LaBarbera, an avid Internet surfer, sheepishly said he's noticed his name among the league leaders.

"It's kind of cool to see your name with some of the guys you've seen through your life," he said. "Hopefully it can stay there."

No Garden party: Brian Leetch's first game at Madison Square Garden since the Rangers traded him to Toronto on March 3, 2004, was supposed to be Nov. 20. But the Boston defenseman is out a month after straining the medial collateral ligament in his right knee Tuesday against the Islanders. Boston's only other trip to the Garden comes March 20, but Leetch said in October, after skipping the Bruins' preseason game there, that he wasn't looking forward to returning because of all the emotions involved.

Into the Hall: Not that a Hall of Famer should have many regrets about his career, but Cam Neely never wonders what would have happened had his knees stayed healthy enough to play past the age of 31. The former Boston Bruin will be inducted tomorrow, along with Russian legend Valeri Kharlamov and Hockey Canada executive Murray Costello.

"Listen, the way that I played the game, it would be shocking if I didn't have some injuries," said Neely, who retired in 1996 after scoring 395 goals and 299 assists in 13 seasons. "That's the only way that I could play the game to help my team, and also to be a better hockey player. And I enjoyed playing that way."

Empty-netter: Sorry, but we disagree with the choice of Pittsburgh phenom Sidney Crosby — who comes to Madison Square Garden for the first time tomorrow — as the NHL rookie of the month for October, no matter how desperate the league is to market him. Yes, the 18-year-old is supposed to save the Penguins' franchise, and he did well with two goals and 12 assists in 11 games. But Pittsburgh finished the month 1-5-5, and Crosby has scoring help from others, including Mario Lemieux. Strong cases could be made for both Lundqvist and LaBarbera, either of whom had a more significant impact on his team than Crosby. But our choice is Washington left wing Alexander Ovechkin, who had eight goals and five assists in 11 games and is essentially doing it alone for the barren Capitals.
 
It\'s about keeping up that momentum
11.08.05 (10:19 am)   [edit]
The Los Angeles Kings weren't ranked very high by most hockey prognosticators this season, and while it's still early, they are proving their doubters wrong with a 10-5-0 start that has them atop the Pacific Division.

"I think most of the pre-season predictions had us certainly as an outsider in the playoffs, anywhere from 11th to the bottom in our conference," said Kings head coach Andy Murray. But Murray is also quick to point out his team has benefited from playing 10 of its first 15 games at home.

"And we've gone 7-3 at home, which has certainly been a catalyst for us," he said.

The surprising Kings now leave their friendly confines, beginning a four-game road trip Wednesday at Detroit (7:30 p.m. ET).

"Detroit came in here and beat us (5-2 on Oct. 13) and they're at the top of the conference right now," rookie Kings goalie Jason Labarbera said in a phone interview. "It's a big test for us, we want to measure ourselves against the best teams in the conference. To go into Detroit which is a tough place to play, I've never played there yet, so that'll be a good test."

Labarbera, 25, is a major contributor to his team's start. His 8-2-0 record is accompanied by a 2.17 goals-against average and .921 save percentage - both top-10 in the league in each category.

"I don't want to read into it too much, it's been only 10 games, but I'm just excited to get an opportunity," he said.

"It's been awesome so far, I couldn't have scripted a better start I don't think."

Labarbera has for now installed himself as the No. 1 goalie in Los Angeles, winning an early battle with former Montreal backup Mathieu Garon (2-3-0, 3.24 GAA, .875 SP). Labarbera is set to make his fourth consecutive start Wednesday.

"Certainly Jason has played better but the encouraging part for us is that we know Mathieu hasn't played bad, we just know he can play better," said Murray. "But right now we're playing Jason, my responsibility is to pick a guy who's playing the best and he is."

The perception around the league before the season started was that Garon was the starter for the Kings but Murray hasn't handed the job to anyone. He told them before camp that each guy would get a fair shot.

"Honestly, I didn't know what to expect coming in," said Labarbera. "All I knew was that I was getting a chance, but whether I was going to play a lot or play a little, I had no idea. They pretty much said it depended on how I played.

"So far it's worked out pretty good."

The local media call it a mini goalie controversy, but Murray says there isn't one.

"They're calling it a controversy but I tell them: 'Define controversy?' There is no controversy. Both goalies were told from the start of training camp that they were both young goaltenders, I considered both of them coming in with the same credentials even though Garon had a few more NHL games, their numbers were almost identical in the AHL. They were both all-stars there.
"We simply said we would split the pre-season games, which we did, and split the games early this season. They knew they would both get a chance to play."

While Labarbera has been stopping pucks, the Kings' big offensive line has featured Craig Conroy between Pavol Demitra and Alexander Frolov. Demitra, a free-agent signing, leads the team with 18 points (8-10) while Conroy has 16 points (5-11) and Frolov 13 points (6-7).

And Murray plans on keeping the three together.

"I'm not one for changing lines," he said. "I think when you lose a game it's a reaction by a coach to change lines. I think all you do when you do that is make excuses for the players."

Even pesky winger Sean Avery, disliked by many of his opponents, has contributed with four goals and three assists, for once doing his talking with his offence instead of his mouth.

"I think he's getting better, and he's also getting better as a player, too," Murray said of Avery. "He can skate and make plays and he's physical.

"We don't like some of the things he says and we told him that. Bob Gainey told me a long time ago that you have to respect your own teammates, you have to respect your opponents and the bottom line is that you have to respect the game. He needs to keep that in mind all the time."

Where the Kings are struggling is on the power play, ranked only 21st in the league.

"If our power play was up there we wouldn't be 10-5-0, we'd be a lot better than that," said Murray. "We need to get that going for us. It'll cost you in the long run, you can't operate in the bottom 10 in the league and have a chance to be successful.

"Fortunately, our penalty killing has been pretty solid (seventh in the NHL)."

Labarbera was a New York Rangers draft pick, 66th overall in 1998, and one of their top prospects before suddenly being cut loose this summer. With Kevin Weekes, Henrik Lundqvist and prospect Al Montoya in goal, the Rangers probably felt they didn't need Labarbera.

The Rangers let Labarbera go despite the fact the numbers he put up for their AHL affiliate in Hartford over the past two seasons - a 1.59 GAA in 2003-04 en route to winning the AHL's Outstanding Goaltender award and a 1.84 GAA last season.

"In the last few years in the AHL I improved every year. I just don't know what else I could have done at the American League level," said Labarbera.

The Kings snapped him up Aug. 2 on the second day of free agency, signing him to a $1.5-million US, two-year deal which pays him $700,000 this season.

"I really didn't know what New York's plans were," Labarbera said. "They had just signed three guys before they even started to talk to me, really. I looked at L.A.'s goaltending situation and they had Mathieu Garon and that's it. I just looked at it as an opportunity. It seemed like a good fit for me."
 
Let's pull it together guys!
11.08.05 (10:18 am)   [edit]
The New Jersey Devils will again most likely be without goaltender Martin Brodeur as they try to continue their dominance over the New York Islanders.

Brodeur sprained his right knee in a 6-3 loss to Tampa Bay on Oct. 26 and has sat out the last five games. Scott Clemmensen has started in goal for the Devils, and the 28-year-old won his first two starts before losing his last three (0-1-2).

Clemmensen made 35 saves Saturday, but allowed two goals in the shootout as the Devils lost 3-2 to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

``It's tough to win in this league,'' said Clemmensen. ``Although getting a point is good, especially on the road.''

Brodeur started skating again Friday and said he would like to practice more before returning.

``I want to take my time to come back and be healthy,'' he said.

Brodeur is a big reason why New Jersey has dominated the Islanders. He is 30-13-4 with a 2.22 goals-against average in his career against New York, and the Devils have gone 30-15-6 and haven't lost a season series to the Islanders since going 2-5 in 1992-93.

The Islanders are looking to get on track after being outscored 11-1 in consecutive losses to Pittsburgh and Ottawa. New York was shut out for the first time this season, and lost for the fourth time in five games with Saturday's 6-0 defeat to the Senators.