2012 Draft Over, Summer is Officially Here

Vol III, No. 21

The draft is done. We got Stephane Matteau. That name rings a bell, doesn't it? Scouts say he skates better than his father. It will be great to see him on the ice when the Blueshirts come to town. But that is probably a couple years down the road.

Speaking of what's right up ahead, the new season schedule is out. It's available on the Devils and NHL websites. The season home opener is Saturday October 13 against Boston.

One event is not on the list. Keep June 28-29 open on next year's calendar. Why? Because the 2013 draft will be held at The Rock that weekend. Odds are, next year is when the Devs will forfeit a first round pick, to pay off the Kovalchuk contract penalty.

But the Rock will be rockin', with the entire hockey world on hand. It will be our chance to show 'em that the Devils Army cares for our hometown boys. Especially if the NHL owns the franchise by that time (which could happen).

Hockey Rules!

Devils Bow to Kings and Refs

Vol. III, No. 20

Game 6. The Kings have been crowned. 

Six goals were scored by LA, four on power plays, one on an empty net. The Kings deserve the cup, even though the score was determined by the refs (at least three of the LA goals, all in the first period).

Congrats to the Kings. They were the best team in the playoffs with a nearly flawless road record (lost one game to the Devils, took 10 other contests on the road).  Their 16 - 4 record in the second, the toughest, season has not been equalled in decades.

The Devils played one helluva season and have nothing to be ashamed of. They are Eastern Conference champions.  Their playoff performance was the best against the most dominant Western Conference team in decades.  They played the Kings tough, right up until the end.

New Jersey's playoff performances that astounded the experts. This was a team that just one year ago FAILED TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS.  As turnarounds go, this one was huge.  It was a great run.

It's time for summer. That's what hockey fans know. It ain't summer until somebody dances with the Cup.

Newark, LA and the other 28 teams can rest now, for three months. Exhibition hockey starts in only three months.  There are summer hockey camps to run, and the Cup will visit places all over the world. And then the boys get back on the ice in September.

Hockey Rules.

Referees Deciding the Game?

Vol III, No. 19

The Devils have gotten a spanking in the first two periods of Game 6.  It looks like LA is getting near to capturing Lord Stanley.

The first 10 minutes of the game were as even as the rest of the series. But then the NHL referees busted the game wide open.

Steven Gionta gets boarded - no penalty called.  Immediately afterwards, Steve Bernier gets a major and game misconduct which leads to 3 LA goals.  Had Gionta gotten the call, no Bernier infraction, no power play, no Devil player removed from the game.

Next, Ilya Kovalchuk gets mugged and punched - no call.

Next, a ref gets in Anton Volchenkov's path, takes him out of the play, and the defensive breakdown leads to LA's fourth goal.

Next, Bryce Salvador gets a double minor for a high stick. That's about the only legit call in the game so far.

I'd say the score is NHL Refs 4, NJ Devils 0.

Is this sour grapes?  Yes. But the Devils coaches, normally reserved, were livid. If it were Robbie Ftorek behind the bench, there would be debris on the ice already. But Peter Deboer is cooler than that. Even when it comes to Taylor Stevens behind the Devils bench.

There will be another post after the game is over.

Hockey Rules, subject to interpretation!

It's Back to Tinseltown We Go, We Go

Vol III, No .19

The New Jersey Devils have achieved what the top three Western Conference teams could not. On Saturday night, the Devils beat the LA Kings in Newark.  

It was the Kings first road loss in the playoffs, after a flawless 10 - 0 record. It was the Kings first back-to-back set of losses since April. And it was the second game in a row that LA failed to get that magical #4 win. The Stanley Cup remains in its NHL case, and will travel west along with the two teams, NHL officials and the press entourage.

And here's one other strange stat.  In 70 years of Cup competition, any team that has gone up 3 - 0 in the beginning has never been able to win the cup in Game 6.  Series have ended in sweeps, with wins in Game 5, or with deciding Game 7s. But never a Game 6.

History may be made in the next four days. If the Kings win on Monday, they will be the first team in history to do it in a Game 6.  If the Devils win on Monday, it opens up the possibility that New Jersey could come back from a 0 - 3 game deficit and win a Cup.  The last time that was done was 70 years ago, in 1942, when the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Detroit Red Wings.

The series returns to LA, where the Kings have a 5 - 3 playoff record (with one of those losses at the hands of their Eastern Conference opponent).  The pressure is now on the Kings to pull out a victory before a home crowd, after an unsuccessful attempt on Thursday night.

After all, their road game performance is no longer flawless. The ran into Martin Brodeur and a stingy Devils defense - and could only put one puck into the net.  Sounds like what they've been doing to their opponents, but now, the Kings have suffered the same fate.

Lord Stanley is waiting.  One or two more games is all that is left of the 2011-12 NHL season. It's a great day for hockey!

P.S. Martin Brodeur had a stellar performance, allowing one goal on 26.  In the third period alone, LA out shot the Devils 9 - 3. But Ilya Kovalchuk remains a mystery. He was not a factor in tonight's game, with only one shot and a +/- rating of -1. When the season is done, odds are that there will be news about Kovy. Something's up and it has not yet been made public.

Minor News - Robbery in Toronto

Vol III, No. 18

While most of the hockey world is tuned to Los Angeles and Newark, there are odd things going on, north of the border.

In the first professional hockey game ever played in Toronto, during the month of June, the jinx was in on Thursday night. The Calder Cup finals are being played, and it was Game 3.

The Toronto Marlies are the Maple Leafs' AHL affiliate (and feeder club).  This year, made it to the Calder Cup Finals. There's only one small problem. They wuz robbed, in one of the strangest finishes anyone has ever seen.

The Marlies entered Thursday night, after losing two road games in a row to the Norfolk Admirals.  Back on home ice, a sellout Toronto crowd (8084 strong) expected the Marlies to bounce back.  Despite being out shot 30 to 21, the Marlies stayed in the game through three scoreless periods. Then came overtime.

At 9:09 of OT, Admirals D-man Mike Kostka dumped the puck into the Marlies end, as his teammates were clearing the zone. RW Brandon Segal was still in the offensive zone as the puck entered.  It was  an automatic offside and should have been a delayed call. 

The puck hit the back boards, bounced off, hit the side of the goalpost and curled around into the other side of the goal. Marlies goaltender Ben Scrivens looked on in disbelief, as the red light came on and the referee signaled a goal.

But it couldn't be a goal, with delayed offsides. The ref blew the call. It was a sudden death game winner. And Norfolk now are one game away from an AHL championship, with a commanding 3 - 0 series lead, all because of a referee's error.

AHL President David Andrews was forced to issue a statement on the league website.  Here it is.

“We have spoken with Toronto Marlies management and confirmed that a rules interpretation error by the on-ice officials occurred on the Norfolk Admirals’ overtime goal during Game 3 of the Calder Cup Finals...As AHL By-Laws do not allow for any change to the final result of a game based on an incorrect rule interpretation, the result of the game stands.”


You have to wonder what would happen if a bad goal ever decided an OT playoff game in the NHL.  With video review in Toronto (of course), you assume that the refs would be corrected on the ice.  But in the AHL, there is no video review, and so the Admirals stole a game.

If Norfolk goes on to win the Calder Cup, a lot of Toronto fans will remember Thursday night as the   time a ref got away with murder.

Hockey Rules, but sometimes even the refs don't get them right!

Face Washing

Vol. III, No. 17

What's a face wash? This photo defines it.  Patrik Elias is delivering a visor wipe, on Kings Captain Dustin Brown.

Dustin obviously needed a dustin' - and Patty was happy to deliver the cleaning.  The face wash assist goes to Devils D-man Bryce Salvador. 

Face washing is not what happened to Ilya Kovalchuk. He got a stick in his face, UNDER his visor, and it didn't rip his helmet off. Kings D-man Willie Mitchell got his stick up and took the penalty at the end of the third period.

Poor Willie, a former Devils player. His former team didn't score on the PP, but the penalty ate up precious seconds.  LA goaltender Jonathan Quick skated off with only about 45 seconds remaining.

And then Kovy came roaring back from the infraction, scoring an empty-netter to ice the game.  

LA fans had to put away the brooms and their team is headed east again. Will the Devils repeat what happened to Vancouver and Phoenix, and lose THREE home games in a row? Can the Kings preserve their flawless road game 10 - 0 record?

Stay tuned for Hockey Night in Newark, Saturday at the Rock

Hockey Rules!

Suspense, Defense, Whoa Baby!

Vol. III, No. 16

The suspense was intense. The Cup was in the house. The Kings were ready to celebrate. They almost own the Cup.

But nobody almost wins the Cup.  It takes four games. There's only one small problem. Two Devils, Patrik Elias and Adam Henrique, were able to find the back of the Kings net tonight. 

Henrique's game winner added to an impressive playoff run, following his game and series OT winner against the Rangers two weeks ago. #14 should now have a lock on NHL Rookie of the Year honors.

New Jersey added a cushion with a third empty net goal in the last minute by Ilya Kovalchuk, moments after he suffered a nasty high stick under his visor.

In other words, a resilient never-say-die Devils team answered. As always, it boils down to defense.

The Devils only allowed 22 shots on goal. Martin Brodeur stopped 21 of them. He denied all even-handed chances. The only Kings goal was a power play which happened after a questionable call on Devils forward David Clarkson. He received two minutes for boarding. It was a weak call on what was essentially a moderate check against the boards.

On the other side, the LA defense could not stop Elias, Henrique and Kovalchuk. The Kings have to start thinking, because the top Devils scorers were able to wake up tonight.  The only other NJ scores of the entire series - two goals total - were put in by Anton Volchenkov and Ryan Carter in the first two games. 

The Devils big lines had been kept off the board for three games. Not tonight. The confidence boost, the attitude change is an intangible. But it's real.  The Devs return to Newark with a sense that the series is up for grabs and that the Kings can be beaten. LA flies to New Jersey, wondering if they can win an 11th straight game on the road.

LA lost in another way tonight. They had a chance to equal the 1988 Gretzky-powered Edmonton Oilers stellar playoff record of 16 - 2. The Kings could not get it done and now posses a record of 15 - 3. It's an impressive stat, but it does not qualify for the record books.

The series starts up again, with Game 5 at the Rock on Saturday night.

One of two things will happen. Either the Devils will find a way to win one at home and end the King's phenomenal road 10 - 0 road game record, or else the Cup will appear at the end of the game amidst a scrum of white road jerseys. Either way, the crowd in NJ will have a great experience.

Hockey Rules!

Destiny

Vol III, No. 15

June 4 was the evening that Los Angeles probably sealed the deal.  They didn't win the Cup, it is still too early for that, but they made a statement with a convincing 4 - 0 shutout. 

For the fourth time this playoff season, the Kings have gone up 3 - 0 against their opponents.  Their record is now 15 - 2. They are one game away from dancing with Lord Stanley.

The first two games of the series both went to overtime, ending by identical 2 - 1 scores. Two overtimes in a row is a first in NHL history. Tonight there was no need for overtime.  The Kings took a 2 - 0 lead in the second period, and added another two goals on consecutive power plays in the third period.

The Devils are frustrated. Two OT losses. A first period in Game 3 with six power plays, and nothing to show for it. They are joining this year's elite club of the top three teams in the Western Conference, Vancouver, St. Louis and Phoenix. Over the past two months, all were steamrollered by the gang from Tinseltown.

Vancouver and Phoenix found a way to win their game fours, before bowing out in the fifth game. Can the Devils bounce back on Wednesday night and avoid the sweep?  No matter what, the Stanley Cup will be in the house.  And if the Devils do manage to win a game, the Cup will return to Newark on Saturday June 9.

Teams have come back from 0 - 3 deficits before, but it is rare. The Devils are in the hole and it sure looks like their hockey season is going to end soon.  If they lose the next game, it will just be a mirror image of their first Stanley Cup final, in which the Detroit Red Wings were eliminated in four games.

Sweeps are part of the game, and the way Los Angeles is playing, nobody would be surprised. But, as they say in Philly (where a bunch of Kings players come from), it ain't over until the fat lady sings.

Hockey Rules!

Ruminations on a Long Long Season

Vol. III, No. 14

Here we are in the merry month of June, and hockey is being played when it is 90F outside (or over 100F last week, in that hockey nirvana known as the desert of Arizona).

Hockey is not unique. When customers pay to see a game, length of season gets to be all about the moolah. I remember a World Series game when it snowed one evening. How in hell you can expect normal baseball, when the orb is freezing and hard to throw or catch?  Baseball is, or should be, a sport of the sun.

40 years ago, when hockey "permanently" infected me, college tournament play occurred in the winter. Tournament play is particularly rooted in hockey as a complement to regular season and league play. Tournament play is essentially what the Stanley Cup playoffs are. 

Canadians preserved this tradition as remnants of the English system of community sporting contests from the time of the middle ages.  In other words, we are witnessing the modern equivalent of jousting, with the nobles looking on at the poor idiots who commit their bodies for some sort of honor and a ladies' handkerchief.  Well, maybe the latter really did lead to some real benefits, but who is to say.  

The "Beanpot" hockey tourney in Boston preserves this tradition, as it is played in February when water naturally occurs outdoors in its solid form.  The ECAC and NCAA tournaments are finished in April...which to me is the natural limit of when hockey should be played (at least at our latitudes). It is consistent with when the last snows of winter can occur - usually done by the end of March, but with an infrequent storm even in mid April.

Alas, the "pro" (as in PROfit) leagues don't see it this way. Exhibition hockey starts in September, with the real season opening in early October.  That is a full month before snow happens (witness, the freak Halloween storm that happened in the Northeast last year). 

So, from September to June, professional athletes earn their keep - those that reach the finals. The others get to retire to the golf courses in April or May.  That is a season of 9 months on average. And at the tail end, as happened this past Wednesday in muggy Newark, you wind up with summer-like conditions which create a horrible playing surface.

Hockey played on mushy, choppy ice...baseball played in the snow...seasons that go on without end...and the league teams continue to gleefully rake in gate receipts, merchandise sales and what not.  I am not immune. Playoff tickets cost an additional 30% of a regular season, give or take. I buy some merchandise too. It feels great to wear a hat or T with the word "Champion" emblazoned upon it.

Merchandise cost is another way that moolah flows. The official Eastern Conference Devils hat cost $45 at the Prudential Center. At Modells, it was $32 on Thursday. By Saturday, the hats were marked down to $15.  A little patience can save a bit of money.

Pretty soon hockey will be done, then I go cold turkey for a couple of weeks, and before long, the new season schedule comes out - the awards weekend happens - the drafts and trades get finished. And the eternal question will be answered. Who will replace Martin Brodeur (because, mark my words, he is hanging up the skates this year). 

It is possible that last night was the last time he will have played before a home crowd - if LA manages to sweep the series. But as they say in Philadelphia - it ain't over until the fat lady sings.

Hockey Rules!

The Rock in June

Vol. III, No. 13

It's the 2nd day in June and ice hockey is being played in Newark NJ.

One day after a Radiohead concert gig, the ice is getting a workout as the Kings and Devils duke it out in the Stanley Cup finals. 

When the Pru Center booked Radiohead, could anyone have predicted that the ice would still be in? But the hockey gods and a surprising Devils team confounded Prudential planners.

The Devs refused to take out the golf clubs. They refused to take off the sweaty pads. They insisted in trashing their eastern conference opponents and wound up in the Stanley Cup finals for the fifth time on team history (1995, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2012). What a run. 

And now they are confronting the LA Kings buzz saw, the same machine which has taken apart the best of the west, with a 9-0 road record including their SC final win in Newark two nights ago.

At the moment LA has the lead in game 2, a precious 1-0 score. Jonathan Quick has faced 12 shots and is a stone wall. The Kings are looking tough. It's no surprise. LA, the lowest seed in the Western Conference, has won the first two road games in every playoff round leading up to the final.

Two hours later, the results are in. For a second time in a row, the game went into overtime. For a second time in a row, the Kings found a way to end the contest with a sudden-death goal.

At 13:42 of OT, Jeff Carter found the back of the net. LA's acquisition of Carter in February is looking like a great trade. And, it was the second goal of the night scored by a player named Carter. The Devils tied the game in the third period on a goal by Ryan Carter, no relation.

The Devils are trailing the Kings by a deficit of 0-2. The odds are against them. Only two teams in history have come back from 0-2 home game losses against a visiting opponent. 

If the Devils can figure out a way to solve Quick and to deal with the Kings forecheck, they can put more shots on goal. Two OT losses reflect an even matchup. New Jersey can make this a series.  

But if LA continues to dominate in goaltending and on the forecheck, it looks like the Kings juggernaut will roll its way right to their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. I can't remember the last time a team had a 14 - 2 record in the playoffs.  It might be a record in the making.

Hockey Rules!