sport-scan daily brief - nhl.compenguins.nhl.com/v2/ext/media/pdf/05 06 2012.pdf · 629898 devils...

SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 5/6/2012

Calgary Flames 629880 Jarome Iginla loses beloved grandmother

Detroit Red Wings 629881 Red Wings' Kyle Quincey added to Team Canada 629882 Kyle Quincey looking forward to new start with Red Wings 629883 Red Wings Jimmy Howard, Justin Abdelkader help Team

USA beat Canada 5-4 in OT 629884 Red Wings' Kyle Quincey to join Team Canada at World

Championships, according to report

Florida Panthers 629885 Florida Panthers net gain with Theodore, Clemmensen and

Markstrom but what about next season?

Los Angeles Kings 629886 Los Angeles Kings have a chance to make history 629887 St. Louis' Ken Hitchcock says Drew Doughty is best in the

series 629888 TOM HOFFARTH: Kings' royalty sits in media's penalty box,

thanks to television 629889 Kings on verge of conference-final berth for first time since

1993 629890 Kings hope to remain `road’ warriors 629891 Kings want to avoid `pajama party’

Montreal Canadiens 629892 Burrows under observation after head injury

Nashville Predators 629893 Nashville Predators' Alexander Radulov, Andrei Kostitsyn

likely to play Game 5

New Jersey Devils 629894 Elias Steadies the Devils in Postseason’s Tumult 629895 Devils-Flyers hot topic: Post your Game 4 predictions 629896 Devils' Martin Brodeur downplays 40th birthday; says he still

has years left 629897 Devils refuse to become overconfident with 2-1 lead against

Flyers 629898 Devils return to the ice for practice on Johan Hedberg's 39th

birthday 629899 Devils' Brodeur wishing for a 'W' on his 40th birthday 629900 Devils' keys for Game 4 against the Flyers 629901 NJ Devils' Martin Brodeur thinks he has more in store in

series vs. Philadelphia Flyers 629902 Devils’ Brodeur proving 40’s the new 20

New York Rangers 629903 Putting Injuries in His Past, Defenseman Moves Forward

With the Winning Goal 629904 A Late Goal Gives the Capitals a Win and a Tie 629905 Alex Ovechkin's hit on NY Rangers' Dan Girardi raises

eyebrows during Capitals' 3-2 win 629906 Caps come out harder, faster and meaner in Game 4 win 629907 Capitals take advantage of late Carl Hagelin penalty to edge

NY Rangers 3-2 and even Eastern Conference semifi 629908 Ovechkin gets physical 629909 Can’t blame Anisimov for defeat 629910 Blueshirts fail to keep the momentum going 629911 Offense, officiating cost Blueshirts in D.C. 629912 Three stars of Game 4 629913 Rangers fall to Capitals as Green scores in third to even

series at 2 629914 Rangers notes: Alex Ovechkin's high hit on Dan Girardi 629915 This frustrating series mirrors series against Sens 629916 Big names make big plays in Game 4 win for Capitals

Rangers Continued 629917 Capitals early power play had Rangers on back foot 629918 Even in loss, Lundqvist comes up big 629919 Rangers fall, Capitals even series 629920 Rangers farm team in playoff semis 629921 NHL playoffs: Rangers can't capitalize in Game 4 629922 Rangers vs. Capitals: Alex Ovechkin not a big hit

NHL 629923 Predators Try to Cope With Two Stars on the Bench

Ottawa Senators 629924 You Be The Boss results

Philadelphia Flyers 629925 Carchidi's Key 629926 Game 4: Flyers at Devils 629927 Flyers Notes: Meszaros practicing, could play Sunday 629928 Mike Missanelli: Philly fans' dream season 629929 Bill Lyon: Four Philly coaches, by their words you shall know

them 629930 Flyers need Giroux to regain star power in Game 4 629931 Inside the Flyers: Flyers seem to play better as underdogs 629932 Phil Sheridan: Can Flyers get their edge back? 629933 Mez looks ready; Couturier misses practice 629934 Flyers realize it's going to be a grind 629935 Rinaldo could supply needed spark 629936 No crisis of confidence, Flyers claim 629937 Flyers trying to spark emotion in Game 4 629938 Flyers trying to spark emotion in Game 4 629939 PARENT: Meszaros and his balky back should stay home 629940 Flyers lacking fire, emotion vs. Devils 629941 Meszaros skates, return still unknown 629942 Flyers hope to ruin Brodeur's birthday 629943 Flyers' Briere nets goal for sick youngster 629944 Flyers must increase sense of urgency 629945 Rinaldo ready to 'just play hockey' if needed 629946 Rookie Wellwood's speed a huge asset 629947 Couturier may be out Game 4 629948 Day off a mental break for Flyers

Phoenix Coyotes 629949 Time to put Phoenix-Los Angeles rivalry on ice? 629950 Phoenix Coyotes resting up for Game 5 vs. Nashville

Predators 629951 Phoenix Coyotes' Rusty Klesla faces NHL discipline hearing

St Louis Blues 629952 Blues face daunting odds against Kings 629953 Bernie: LA series doesn’t wipe out Blues' accomplishments 629954 Blues-Kings series is a tale of two teams 629955 Doughty carries Kings in series 629956 Blues to shuffle lineup for Game 4 against Kings 629957 Reaves, Cole return to Blues' lineup for Game 4

Tampa Bay Lightning 629958 So much to love about the NHL playoffs

Washington Capitals 629959 Capitals and Nationals make it tough to decide what to

watch on television 629960 Alex Ovechkin says he only hit Rangers’ Dan Girardi in

shoulder, not head, in Capitals’ win 629961 Ryan McDonagh: Rangers’ Game 3 win ‘only one step in the

right direction’

Capitals Continued

629962 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs: Capitals rebound to even series with 3-2 victory over Rangers in Game 4

629963 Alex Ovechkin says he only hit Rangers’ Dan Girardi in shoulder, not head, in Capitals’ win

629964 Mike Green’s second goal of playoffs lifts Caps past Rangers in Game 4

629965 Ovechkin says he hit Girardi in shoulder, not head, during Caps’ Game 4 win over Rangers [video]

629966 The glitz gone, these Caps are merely … admirable 629967 Alex Ovechkin’s hit on Dan Girardi sparks debate 629968 Young guns lead Caps to Game 4 win over Rangers 629969 Behind its stars, Caps even series against Rangers 629970 Capitals-Rangers Game 4 report card

Websites 629971 ESPN / Caps showing mental toughness 629972 ESPN / Will Radulov, Kostitsyn play in Game 5? 629973 NBCSports.com / Report: NCAA to recommend move to

three-quarter visors 629974 NBCSports.com / A few thoughts on making all head shots

illegal SPORT-SCAN, INC. (941) 484-5941 phone (619) 839-3811 fax 629880 Calgary Flames

Jarome Iginla loses beloved grandmother

By Vicki Hall, Calgary Herald May 6, 2012 12:08 AM

Calgary Flames captain Jarome Iginla is mourning the loss of his maternal grandmother, the woman who helped raise him.

Frances (Fran) Schuchard, of St. Albert, died Tuesday at age 89. She had battled health problems for the last few years.

Iginla missed the 2011 NHL all-star game to spend quality time with the matriarch of the family.

“My parents divorced when I was one,” Iginla said in 2010. “My dad was going to school. My mom was working.

“Both my grandparents were there. They picked me up after school. They got me to baseball and hockey practices.”

Iginla’s grandfather, Rick Schuchard, died in May 2010. Rick and Fran were married for 66 years.

“You never know how many more chances you’re going to get,” Iginla said after seeing his grandma during the 2011 all-star break. “She never likes to say she’s not feeling great, but it was good to be home.

“She can still hear us. She appreciates having the house full with kids making noise. . . . It was fun. It was good.”

Mrs. Schuchard lost her vision in recent years, but she still took in Flames games via radio and paid close attention to the description of the game provided by Hall of Fame broadcaster Peter Maher.

“She listens to Peter,” Iginla said last year. “I get the odd supportive call. Her favourite line is that she always tells me I need to follow through on my shot.

“She’s a huge fan.”

At the 1995 NHL entry draft, Rick and Fran Schuchard were among 60 friends and family gathered at the Edmonton Coliseum to hear Iginla’s name called in the first round by the Dallas Stars.

No one knew it at the time, but Iginla would never play for Dallas, as the Stars sent him to Calgary the following year for Joe Nieuwendyk.

“All the years that we got up in the mornings, all the years that we took him to practices, and fixed his meals when his mom was working,’’ Mrs. Schuchard told the Edmonton Journal at the 1995 draft.

“But he turned out to be not only a good hockey player, but a nice, nice fellow.’’

Frances Schuchard leaves to mourn seven children, 12 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren. The funeral is planned for Thursday in St. Albert.

Memorial donations in Frances Schuchard’s honour may be made to the Edmonton Humane Society.

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/Jarome+Iginla+loses+beloved+grandmother/6573759/story.html#ixzz1u5D11oHC

Calgary Herald: LOADED: 05.06.2012

629881 Detroit Red Wings

Red Wings' Kyle Quincey added to Team Canada

Detroit Free Press Staff

World hockey roundup: Jack Johnson lifts U.S.; Swedes rout Czech Republic

Red Wings defenseman Kyle Quincey was announced as the newest addition to the Canadian team for the 2012 IIHF World Hockey Championships.

He will represent the team for the first time in international play, although he did dress for two exhibition games during the 2005 World Junior Hockey Championships.

Quincey scored seven goals and tallied 19 assists in 72 games during the 2011-12 season, including 18 with the Red Wings after the Avalanche traded him.

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 05.06.2012


Kyle Quincey looking forward to new start with Red Wings

Ted Kulfan

Detroit— Many Red Wings players already are looking forward to training camp and wiping away the sting of this season's playoff loss.

But maybe no one wants to see Traverse City in September more than defenseman Kyle Quincey.

Sure, the playoff loss to Nashville left a bad taste with him. But for Quincey, the opportunity to start a season fresh with the Wings, right from the intrasquad scrimmages in Traverse City, will be important.

Joining the Wings on the fly wasn't easy. Quincey feels things will go smoother next season.

For the first time in his career, he was traded at midseason, when the Wings re-acquired him Feb. 21.

"There's a huge transition," Quincey said of being traded. "Just coming in fresh next year with the training camp and seeing where you fit in from the start will be a big difference and hopefully a lot better."

Quincey played 18 games with the Wings. He had three points (two goals) while averaging 20:22 of ice time, and had an even rating. He had two assists in the five-game playoff series against the Predators, going minus-2.

While in Colorado, Quincey played in 54 games with five goals and 18 assists, in 22:21, at minus-1.

General manager Ken Holland felt it was a rare opportunity at the trade deadline to re-acquire the 26-year-old defenseman whom the Wings had drafted (2003, fourth round), knew well, and didn't want to lose in 2008 on waivers (Quincey was out of minor league options).

But the price was steep. The Wings traded their first-round pick in June to Tampa Bay in the three-way trade.

Suddenly, Quincey had to adjust to a Wings team that was in cruise control toward the playoffs, and with aspirations of the Stanley Cup.

Finding a role

Adjusting was easier said than done.

"It's just a different role (after a trade)," Quincey said. "You get a role on any team. You come here, and you have to find your new role. Every team you go on, you're going to be in a different role.

"That's part of the game. That's why they pay you.

"After a while you kind of see where you fit in. Special teams are where I fit in here the most. You know your role. You come to the rink every day and you know what you have to focus on."

But finding that role on the fly wasn't easy, especially being bothered with some groin issues shortly after joining the Wings.

In the final week of the season, Quincey was a healthy scratch for one game and was suspended for another game for a hit on Florida's Tomas Kopecky.

Everything added up.

"It's important for (Quincey) to have a good summer, come back healthy and in great shape, and come here and be the Red Wing he's capable of being," coach Mike Babcock said.

Quincey is a restricted free agent, meaning his contract likely won't get done until later this summer.

Where Quincey exactly fits into the lineup next season depends on several variables. Does Nicklas Lidstrom retire or return? Do the Wings sign a free agent to replace free agent Brad Stuart — or does Stuart surprise everyone and re-sign with the Wings?

"Just because of all the decisions they have to make, I have no clue," Quincey said. "Your guess is as good as mine."

But Quincey will be there from the start. That should help.

Detroit News LOADED: 05.06.2012


Red Wings Jimmy Howard, Justin Abdelkader help Team USA beat Canada 5-4 in OT

Brendan Savage | [email protected] By Brendan Savage | [email protected]

Jack Johnson's goal at 1:47 of overtime Saturday gave the United States and Detroit Red Wings Jimmy Howard and Justin Abdelkader a 5-4 victory over Canada in the World Championships at Helsinki Finland.

Johnson, Team USA's captain and a former University of Michigan defenseman who now plays for the Columbus Blue Jackets, scored twice to lead the Americans, who are 2-0 in the preliminary round.

He bagged the game-winning goal after Canada's John Tavares was penalized for delay of game with one second remaining in regulation.

Howard made 30 saves in the American net to record his second victory of the tournament.

“It’s an easy game to get up for," said Howard. "You’re having fun out there, and that’s exactly what it was today, fun. It’s great to get a good start. We’re now 2-0, and we just have to build off it."

Abdelkader did not figure in the scoring but his five shots on goal shared the team lead with Kyle Palmieri of the Anaheim Ducks and Alex Goligoski of the Dallas Stars.

Abdelkader, playing on Team USA's third forward line, saw 14½ minutes of ice time.

The victory was Team USA's first over Canada in two years and just the second in 18 games dating back to 1985.

Jim Slater of the Winnipeg Jets and Michigan State, Patrick Dwyer of the Carolina Hurricanes and Nate Thompson of the Tampa Bay Lightning also scored for the Americans, who play Slovakia Monday.

Slovakia's roster includes Red Wings' farmhand Tomas Tatar of the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Red Wings' forward Pavel Datsyuk didn't figure in the scoring during Russia's 5-2 victory over Latvia.

Datsyuk was on the ice for one goal by each team, had one shot and saw 15 minutes, 58 seconds of ice time.

Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins led the Russians with two goals. He led the NHL with 109 points last season and was second with 50 goals.

"There are 29 teams in the NHL that try to stop Malkin every day," said Latvia coach Ted Nolan. "These guys are top players in the world. We did well in the first period against these guys, but a game is three periods."

Russia plays Norway Sunday.

Red Wings Niklas Kronwall, Johan Franzen and Henrik Zetterberg registered a combined four points in Sweden's 4-1 victory over the Czech Republic in Stockholm.

Kronwall and Franzen scored Sweden's first two goals while Zetterberg picked up a pair of assists. Calle Jarnkrok, a 2010 Red Wings' draft pick, had one shot on goal for the Swedes, who play Denmark Monday.

Red Wings' defenseman Jonathan Ericsson did not dress for Sweden after being injured in a 5-2 victory over Norway Friday, when he was suffered a hemorrhage of the gluteal muscle after being hit with a puck in the first period.

Ericsson did not play the rest of the game after the incident but is expected to be OK and could play Monday vs. Denmark.

Michigan Live LOADED: 05.06.2012


Red Wings' Kyle Quincey to join Team Canada at World Championships, according to report

Brendan Savage | [email protected] By Brendan Savage | [email protected]

Another Detroit Red Wings' player is apparently heading overseas to play in the World Championships.

Red Wings' defenseman Kyle Quincey will be joining Team Canada Sunday, according to a Tweet by Hockey Canada. That's the official Team Canada Twitter account.

When Quincey reports, that would bring the number of Red Wings in the tournament to nine. He has not been added to Team Canada's roster yet, however.

Quincey will join Sweden's Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen, Niklas Kronwall and Jonathan Ericsson; the United States' Jimmy Howard and Justin Abdelkader; Russia's Pavel Datsyuk; and Finland's Valterri Filppula.

Ericsson's status for the remainder of the tournament, however, is questionable as he was injured during Sweden's 3-1 victory over Norway Friday.

Red Wings' farmhand Tomas Tatar, who played for Detroit in 2010-11 and spent last season with the Grand Rapids Griffins, is playing for Slovakia.

Two potential future Red Wings are also in the World Championships. Draft picks Calle Jarnkrok and Petr Mrazek are playing for Sweden and the Czech Republic, respectively.

Michigan Live LOADED: 05.06.2012

629885 Florida Panthers

Florida Panthers net gain with Theodore, Clemmensen and Markstrom but what about next season?

A decision has to be made whether to re-sign Clemmensen or leave goaltending chores to Theodore and rookie Markstrom

By Harvey Fialkov, Sun Sentinel

CORAL SPRINGS

When the Panthers broke training camp in October most NHL analysts picked them to repeat as bottomfeeders of the Eastern Conference partly because they would be depending on veteran goalie Jose Theodore coming off a shaky season and backup Scott Clemmensen instead of a consistent Tomas Vokoun.

Well, six months later Theodore, Clemmensen and projected goalie of the future Jacob Markstrom silenced those detractors as their goaltending keyed the Panthers' stunning ride to their first division championship while snapping their NHL-record 10-season playoff drought.

And while Vokoun, 35, who chose to sign a one-year deal with the Capitals, had his customary, consistent season, he's missed Washington's playoff run to the conference semifinals ever since Panthers' Marco Sturm fell on his left leg in a regular-season April 5th loss.

"We had doubters this season, we couldn't make the playoffs or that goaltending would be an issue,'' Theodore said last week after a tough first-round playoff loss to the New Jersey Devils.

"I was aware of those comments. It was just extra motivation to prove everybody wrong. … Since the first game I was consistent and proved maybe some of the critics wrong, but it's really what we accomplished as a team that's really positive for the future.''

What exactly is the future for Theodore, who will be 36 in the final year of his $1.5 million deal, Clemmensen, an impending free agent who turns 35 in July, or an oft-injured Markstrom, 22, who has played in eight NHL games?

Panthers General Manager Dale Tallon, who's hoping to add goal-scoring pieces to the 27th-ranked offense this offseason, doesn't seeem overly concerned with his goaltending or defense, two of the team's strong suits. The Panthers allowed just 2.63 goals per game, 12th in the NHL.

"I've got nothing but admiration for [Clemmensen],'' Tallon said. "You never have enough depth in goal, so we'll continue conversations with him.

"[Markstrom's] knee has been fixed and he's really carried San Antonio into the playoffs and got them in the second round. He's been outstanding and I have no doubt he will be a tremendous goaltender in this league.''

"He's our goaltender of the future, no doubt.''

Theodore, who was 15-11-3 in Minnesota where he couldn't fully unseat Niklas Backstrom as the starter, bounced back with a 22-16-11 season. His 2.46 goals-against-average and .917 save percentage were ranked 14th and 10th among goaltenders who played 50 or more games.

Clemmensen was 14-6-6 with a 2.57 GAA and .913 save percentage. Both goalies fared well in the playoffs with Clemmensen notching his first postseason win and start (1-2-1, 2.35 GAA), while Theodore pitched the second shutout of his postseason career (2-2-1, 2.46 GAA).

The 6-foot-5 Markstrom, who has had two knee surgeries in his first two professional seasons, was 2-4-1 with a 2.66 GAA and .923 save percentage while filling in for Theodore and Clemmensen. Markstrom, who's 4-0 with a 2.79 GAA in the AHL playoffs, was 17-12-1 with a 2.32 GAA in the regular season.

Clemmensen began the first month or the season on the sideline recuperating from minor knee surgery, while Theodore was just 8-8-7 in the second half while dealing with knee and groin issues.

The Panthers could re-sign Clemmensen for one more season so Markstrom could take over as the starter in 2013-14, rather than sit behind Theodore next season.

"It's the business side of things,'' Clemmensen said. "I love being here and I love playing for this team. … My family really enjoyed our time here in

Florida and it would be great if we could extend it further. If not, then we'll go where the path leads.''

Rumors of the Panthers all-time winningest goalie Roberto Luongo wanting to waive his no-trade clause with the Canucks and return to South Florida aren't realistic, given his contract that has 10 years remainig at about $6.7 million per season.

World Championships etc…

Despite coming off a grueling season, Panthers center Marcel Goc and forward Tomas Kopecky immediately joined their respective national teams, Germany and Slovakia, in Sweden to participate in the World Championships. …

Panthers forward Kris Versteeg underwent surgery to repair his left hip Wednesday in Nashville. …

Palm Beach Post LOADED: 05.06.2012

629886 Los Angeles Kings

Los Angeles Kings have a chance to make history

The Los Angeles Kings' postseason resume is somewhat lacking, with only one trip beyond the second round. Yet there are similarities between the 1993 team that went to the finals and the current bunch.

Helene Elliott

What if the Kings had chosen a certain center from Flin Flon of the Western Hockey League with the 16th pick of the 1969 NHL draft instead of a defenseman from Estevan of the same league?

If they had passed on Dale Hoganson and taken Bobby Clarke, who was drafted 17th by the Philadelphia Flyers, would the Kings still be chasing their first Stanley Cup championship or would their run within one victory of the Western Conference finals be another link in a chain of postseason excellence?

It's impossible to know what might have happened if the Kings had drafted Clarke, who won two Cup titles and made Philadelphia a hockey stronghold during his Hall of Fame career. But it's clear that aside from a few memorable playoff moments the Kings' postseason tradition and trophy case are nearly barren.

They're best remembered for standout teams in the early 1970s under Coach Bob Pulford, their 1982 "Miracle on Manchester" first-round upset of the Edmonton Oilers, and their 1993 Cup finals loss to Montreal, their only venture beyond the second round.

They're scaling what could become their fourth peak after upsetting the No. 1-seeded Vancouver Canucks and building a 3-0 lead over No. 2 St. Louis before Sunday's game at Staples Center.

"Watching them and seeing the excitement back in L.A. for hockey and the Kings is fun. It brings back a lot of memories of the '93 team," said Tony Granato, then an energetic winger and now a Pittsburgh Penguins assistant coach.

"This team could easily win it with how they're playing. I know there's still a long ways and you've got to win the hardest nine games of your life, but with what they've shown and how they've done it, they're very impressive."

Mike Donnelly, also part of that finals team and now a Kings scout, finds similarities to 1993 in the hero-every-game pattern.

"You can see our group of guys bonding together. I can see it, the way they are competing," Donnelly said.

And they've done it without a winning pattern to follow.

When General Manager Dean Lombardi was running the relatively new San Jose Sharks he hired former Montreal Canadien John Ferguson to scout and bring a winning aura by wearing his Stanley Cup rings.

"And then when I went to Philadelphia and you just feel it. You see the Cups, you see former players walking around with rings in the practice facility and the pictures on the wall," Lombardi said.

"You can't define it, but you sense something different. When a player comes in there you can sense that history and there's an expectation, or whatever you want to call it. Detroit has that. The Yankees have that. All your great franchises. The Lakers have it down the hall.

"When you go to Montreal do you feel it? It's there. Something in the soul."

The Kings had reason to expect playoff success in 1975 after a 105-point season, still a club record. They faced the Toronto Maple Leafs, who had amassed only 78 points, and opened the best-of-three series by winning in overtime at home. They lost in overtime at Toronto and then had to play the next day at home. They didn't return until a few hours before the game and lost, 2-1.

"It was a fantastic season," TV announcer Bob Miller said. "I know Pulford left the building in tears because he knew that we had an excellent team and the two out of three allows a bad team to have a couple of good games and go on."

Pulford guided the Kings past Atlanta in 1976 and 1977 but lost to Boston both times. He left for Chicago in 1977. "Those were years as I recall when the Kings outdrew the Lakers because we really did have tremendous teams, but something always happened in the playoffs," Miller said.

They didn't win another playoff series until 1982, when Daryl Evans' heroics led them past the upstart Oilers in a best-of-five format. But they were eliminated by Vancouver in the next round and missed the playoffs the next two seasons.

Evans said Coach Don Perry's inexperience might have been behind the team's failure to sustain its success.

"We were a young team and poised to move forward and then the wheels fell off the next year, instead of taking that next step," Evans said. "If you look at that roster from '81-82, there were so many young guys that the team should have been able to keep a core together."

The Kings didn't win another playoff series until 1989, when they rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to oust the defending champion Oilers. They also reached the second round in 1990 and 1991 but lost to Edmonton each time.

Their 1993 success was shocking. Luc Robitaille had a standout season with 63 goals and 125 points and they had a promising trio of young defensemen in Rob Blake, Darryl Sydor and Alex Zhitnik, but Wayne Gretzky was hobbled by a bad back and they finished third in the Smythe division.

"I was thinking that this year is almost similar to '93, where people got hot at the right time and played well at the right time," Miller said. "Because I don't recall anything during the regular season where you thought, 'This team could do it,' especially with Gretz out for half of the season."

They won a high-scoring series against Calgary and took out Vancouver before facing the Maple Leafs. The Kings stayed alive by winning Game 6 at home in overtime and then returned to Toronto. Gretzky, who had been mocked there for "having a piano on his back," led them to a 5-4 victory and a berth in the finals against Montreal.

It was a heady time. Even the notorious illegal Marty McSorley stick that turned the tide of the finals against them didn't completely discourage them. "I clearly remember being in the locker room — I think I was talking to Rob Blake — and saying, 'We'll be right back next year. We'll win next year,'" Robitaille said.

But few knew the organization was crumbling because of owner Bruce McNall's misdeeds. McNall sold the team, which fell into bankruptcy with underfunded owners, and he went to prison for defrauding banks of more than $236 million. The Kings didn't return to the playoffs until 1998 and didn't win a series until 2001; after a seven-game loss to Colorado in 2002 they didn't qualify again until 2010.

"There's never been that sustained, year after year after year of at least being in the playoffs, whether you win a Cup or win some of those series or not," Miller said. "There was some success and then droughts. And then a little success and then more droughts."

Which leads us back to this season and that 1969 draft.

After acquiring elite center Mike Richards from Philadelphia last summer, Lombardi acknowledged he couldn't provide Richards a winning tradition. He told Richards, "But there is something about being first. So you can follow Bobby Clarke in Philadelphia, as everybody had you doing, or you can be Bobby Clarke in L.A. and be the first to establish something."

Separately, Robitaille gave Richards the same advice.

"I remember telling him, 'You're coming in to help us win the Cup, and to be part of the group that's going to be the first group to do it, there's nothing like it,'" Robitaille said.

For everyone, it would be the next step up a steep mountain.

LA Times: LOADED: 05.06.2012


St. Louis' Ken Hitchcock says Drew Doughty is best in the series

The Blues coach points out the Los Angeles Kings defenseman's ability to absorb checks and get the puck out on his own. The Kings lead the Western Conference semifinals series, 3-0.

By Lisa Dillman

Heroes for more than one day …

There are the often impenetrable Jonathan Quick of the Kings in goal and Kings captain Dustin Brown and his Blues counterpart David Backes with their ferocious physical give and take.

("Cripes," said St. Louis Coach Ken Hitchcock of their bone-rattling second-period collision in Game 3.)

But Hitchcock pointed to Kings defenseman Drew Doughty as the best player in this series. The Kings lead the Blues, 3-0, in the Western Conference semifinals and Game 4 is noon Sunday at Staples Center.

"I think the biggest thing that he does is absorb checks, gets the puck out on his own," said Hitchcock on Saturday after the Blues' practice. "That's what [Alex] Pietrangelo [of the Blues] does. It's a very unique skill. Certain defensemen, there's maybe 10 guys in the whole league that can do it. And Doughty and Pietrangelo are the two guys.

"They can absorb a check and lug out the puck out themselves. You can't find that very often. That's what he [Doughty] does. You think you've got him. He pulls away on you. You think you've got him pinned on the boards; he pulls it off the boards and makes the play. Both guys are great at it."

Wake up, L.A.

The Kings are one game from advancing past the second round of the playoffs for only the second time in franchise history. Standing in the way are St. Louis, the alarm clock and the afternoon blues.

"We need some of our stars to be morning persons," Kings Coach Darryl Sutter said.

Said Kings forward Justin Williams: "We know in this room we haven't won anything yet. We've gotta seize it."

They stayed in a hotel in Los Angeles the night before Game 3 and are doing the same before Game 4. Sutter joked about the difference in preparing for an afternoon game, saying: "I just fold my pajamas."

The Blues are modifying their lineup with two small changes. Defenseman Ian Cole will replace defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo, and there will be a swap of fourth-liners, Ryan Reaves in for B.J. Crombeen.

LA Times: LOADED: 05.06.2012


TOM HOFFARTH: Kings' royalty sits in media's penalty box, thanks to television

By Tom Hoffarth, Staff Columnist

The puck drops, and Bob Miller and Jim Fox have nothing to say about it.

Their usual Staples Center mid-ice TV booth has been overtaken by a bunch of foreigners. A Canadian broadcast team, for cryin' out loud.

So to view Game 3 of the Kings' Western Conference semifinal series against St. Louis, Miller and Fox were kicked upstairs, wedged into the press box with the rest of the germ-carrying media types, those who sniffle to fight off another cold coming on or dab their noses to keep it from bleeding because of the altitude change above the 300-level section.

Seated about 100 yards apart from each other, Miller and Fox might as well have strung up a couple of tin cans to keep in contact and perhaps call the game for the rest of the die-hard fans sitting up that high.

Is this any way to treat L.A. hockey broadcast royalty?

They fully acknowledge this is all part of the deal, even if they're getting the wrong end of it. NBC seizes control of all NHL playoff telecasts after the first round, supposedly for the good of everyone involved.

It doesn't mean everyone's doing double salchows about it.

Kings fans already knocked off their Miller-Fox mooring are challenged to find their games somewhere on a tier of channels they'd never venture into unless they sought 401k advice or were into bull riding.

Tell us again what happened again during the first period of Game 3, while the preceding Philadelphia-New Jersey

contest went on and on into overtime. Do we switch from NBC Sports Network to CNBC? Nope. To the NHL Network? Not as if we had that channel anyway ... which means today's game is on ... the NBC regular channel?

The Oprah Winfrey Network would be a better alternative at this point.

All the while Miller and Fox - the Hockey Hall of Fame play-by-play man and one of the Kings' all-time great right wingers who have been broadcast partners the last 20-plus seasons - are out of their element, present but absent at the same time. Detached until further notice.

Not as blue as 0-3 St. Louis, but not with a case of the blahs either. They're ready, willing and able to help anywhere needed.

It hardly was this way in 1993, when the Kings went all the way to the Stanley Cup finals. Miller and Fox called every game for Prime Ticket.

"The Kings are three wins away from the Stanley Cup!" Miller proclaimed after the Game 1 win at Montreal.

ESPN, the national network, didn't have exclusivity back then. A year later, when the New York Rangers went to the title, ESPN was blacked out again in their home market so the regional TV partners could stay on.

Taking the country's No. 1 and 2 TV markets out of the NHL finals two years in a row doesn't last long in the big picture, with a league that counts money for its greater cause.

It's brainlessly, business-minded backward, of course. Miller and Fox weaved the daily storyline in the regular season and got to do four games in the first round, but now with the franchise a game away from going to the Western Conference finals for the first time in nearly 20 years, they're in the media penalty box.

This happens in the MLB and NBA, too. It's just that the connection L.A. has to its local Hall of Fame broadcasters wasn't unplugged. The Dodgers make the playoffs and Vin Scully is back on radio (where he's the best anyway). When the Lakers made the playoffs in the past the late Chick Hearn, who did a simulcast anyway, just did radio.

When the Kings make the playoffs, Miller is a seat filler. Excited to watch what's happening, but a bit excommunicated.

Fox is thinking outside the box. He's hunting and pecking his way on his laptop keyboard, doing a live chat. He's been reporting for the NHL Network. He has pulled Miller in for updates on Kings Vision, carried on the team's LAKings.com site during the games.

Fox and Miller are at least given a role in the live postgame show for FSW or Prime Ticket. Small consolation. And a little condescending from our point of view.

When the pair sat together in the St. Louis press box for the first two games of the series, Fox admitted he "was borderline unprofessional." His adrenaline was flowing, but he had no outlet to voice his opinions. He got antsy and started shouting to whomever could hear him below.

"I was prepared for this (scenario), but I'm still learning how to deal with it," Fox said. "The biggest negative thing for me was: This regular season wasn't as successful as the team thought it was going to be. Bob and I were truthful and honest about the team's play and never made excuses. We appreciate the fact the team let us operate that way.

"But now they're having success and we can't explain it in a live game call. We have some outlets, and I think people trust us to stay the same with the approach. But ..."

Miller admitted Thursday it's "just ... kinda weird" as he sat three hours before the game going over sheets of notes he meticulously wrote out if, for no other reason, a force of habit.

"I'm not prepping, studying rosters, looking at stats, but there's a game coming up," he said.

We'll butt in here, if it's OK.

What if Miller and Fox did an audio streaming call of the game for fans to hear on their computers while watching the telecast? Probably because you can't syphon listeners from the radio call of Nick Nickson and Daryl Evans.

What if Miller and Nickson were paired together again on the radio, like the old simulcast? Then create an "inside the glass" reporter roles for Fox and Evans. Go four deep.

"After 31 years (as a team broadcaster), Nick deserves to be in this situation," said Miller, dismissing that thought.

More than 400 signatures have been generated on an iPetitions.com proclamation to let someone know there are people who'd like to have Miller and Fox be part of the NBC stable of hockey broadcasters and maybe do the Western Conference finals.

At least that could give people something to talk about during the game. Which is more than the Kings can do right now with Miller and Fox.

LA Daily News: LOADED: 05.06.2012


Kings on verge of conference-final berth for first time since 1993

By Andrew Knoll, Special to the Daily News

EL SEGUNDO - With a commanding 3-0 series lead in the Western Conference semifinals, the Kings have one thing on their minds: A historic sweep of the St. Louis Blues.

It would be the first sweep in franchise history and just the second time the Kings advanced to the conference finals since they entered the NHL in 1967.

"We don't want a three-hour flight back to St. Louis, we want to finish it here," defenseman Drew Doughty said.

The Kings went up 3-0 in their first-round series, but had to return to Vancouver for an overtime Game 5 victory to close out the Canucks.

Now they look to build upon lessons from that Game 4 and capitalize on this opportunity today at Staples Center.

"We got a lead but we weren't able to get that second goal," winger Justin Williams said. "We need to get a great start and we need to give them a reason to think it's going to be too hard."

A dominant start could be crucial for the Kings since the Blues have meandered when playing from behind, which they have throughout most of the series.

"If we're chasing the game then it allows them to do what they're doing," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We're at our best when the other team has to open things up so hopefully we get an early lead."

St. Louis has also struggled to maintain its discipline in the face of adversity and agitation. The Blues openly said some players were "getting to them" after Game 3 and stressed the need for

a more even emotional effort.

"It's easy to talk about and hard to do when the game is at this level of emotion and intensity. You can talk about it all you want, but when it hurts you, it hits home," said Hitchcock, who also said penalties killed momentum, led indirectly to goals and fatigued the Blues' top players who had to kill penalties in the series.

Mike Richards and Dustin Brown have been among the players instrumental in breaking down the Blues psychologically. Brown has been among the leaders in hits and penalties drawn perennially, playing a relatively clean yet domineering and aggressive style.

"That's part of my job, get under the other team's skin. I think I do it mostly with the way I play, being physical and going after their top guys," Brown said.

"It's a playoff series, it's mental and it's physical. There's a lot of things that go into it. You've got to try and get the edge any way you can."

As in the regular season, the Kings' veteran, stay-at-home defensemen have been the fulcrum of their success.

Hitchcock suggested that more teams would try to build similar defensive corps to the Kings and the Phoenix Coyotes, the Kings' potential opponents in the next round who have a 3-1 lead in their conference semifinal series against Nashville.

Hitchcock called Willie Mitchell, Rob Scuderi and Matt Greene, at least one of whom is on the ice at nearly all times for the Kings, "no fun to play against."

That trio has also been instrumental in keeping the Blues off the board on the power play. St. Louis has yet to score in seven total meetings with the Kings this season.

"They're so solid on the back end, especially on the PK. They're always the first to block shots and sacrifice their body for the team," Doughty said.

While St. Louis' superior regular-season record now counts for very little, the Blues were the club with the most four-game winning streaks of any NHL team, producing seven such streaks this season.

Winger Chris Stewart, who scored twice in Game 3, thinks the Blues' best hockey is still ahead in what he called a "do-or-die" game.

"It's no fluke that we've done what we've done all year. There's a reason behind our success and when we play our game - 60 minutes of Blues hockey - it's going to be hard for any team to compete with us."

Still, the Blues best illustrated the Kings' complete team excellence when they were posed the question as to who was the most outstanding player in the series.

Quick, Doughty, Brown, Richards and Anze Kopitar were among their answers - and it's possible all of their responses were correct.

"They've got a lot of good things going right now in their game. They're feeling it and the goalie's sweeping up all their mistakes," Hitchcock said.

LA Daily News: LOADED: 05.06.2012


Kings hope to remain `road’ warriors

Posted by Rich Hammond on 5 May 2012, 2:50 pm

Once again, the Kings will head downtown tonight to stay at a hotel in advance of tomorrow’s game. The move seemed a bit unconventional before Game 3, but in this case it makes total sense. Tonight, the team will be able to have a meal together and a final meeting, and then wake up tomorrow morning and be right across the street from the arena for the noon start time. Sunday-morning traffic is usually nothing to fear, but moreover, Darryl Sutter likes the idea of having his players near Staples Center before the game.

SUTTER: “Those guys can experience the experience. They don’t get to go to Staples Center. They go there at night to play the game, and then they leave. So they’re there for three or four hours, and don’t get to experience the whole atmosphere of it. That’s the only chance. When you look at it, you’d like to do it all the time, but that’s the only chance we’ve had to do it.

The building, it’s just the way it is. You’ve got three teams, and you can’t do it. So, we had six days here. If the Sunday game wasn’t an afternoon game, we could actually do it twice. But with our schedule, since I’ve come here, you couldn’t do it.’

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 05.06.2012


Kings want to avoid `pajama party’

Posted by Rich Hammond on 5 May 2012, 4:00 pm

Perhaps, tomorrow morning, Darryl Sutter will blindfold his players, feed them a steak dinner and try to convince them it’s nighttime. The Kings and St. Louis Blues have a noon start time for Game 4 tomorrow at Staples Center, and afternoon games haven’t been the kindest to the Kings. In the regular season, they played four games that started either at 12:30 p.m. or 1 p.m. local time, and they went 0-3-1. Whether that’s a coincidence or not, the Kings will try to break that trend tomorrow. Dustin Brown and Justin Williams said they don’t consider the early start to be a factor.

BROWN: “No. We’ve played noon games, and you guys have all the stats with our noon games. All I have to say is, this isn’t game 43.’’

WILLIAMS: “I’m fine with the noon game. I think everyone here is, too. We’ve had so much time between games here that we kind of want to get them going. So, having an earlier game is probably nice for us.’’

Darryl Sutter, asked about the early start time, shrugged and told the media about his sleepwear.

SUTTER: “I just fold my pajamas, and that’s it.’’

It was suggested that perhaps Sutter’s midseason arrival might break the Kings out of the presumed afternoon funk, but the stats don’t really bear that out. Under Sutter, the Kings lost an afternoon home game to Columbus and an afternoon road game (in overtime) to the New York Islanders.

SUTTER: “We played an afternoon game and lost 1-0 Columbus or somebody. It was a pajama party. I don’t think it had anything to do with me coming here. … I will tell you tell you this. How many people are standing here? Three, six, eight, 10, let’s say 20 of us. Some of you guys are morning people and some of you are not. That’s a fact. The 25 (players), are they all morning people? Or are they night people? That’s a fact. You can’t change that. I don’t think I can change that.’’

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 05.06.2012

629892 Montreal Canadiens

Burrows under observation after head injury

HELSINKI, Finland— The Canadian Press

Canadian forward Alex Burrows is expected to miss at least two games at the IIHF World Hockey Championship while recovering from a head injury.

The winger was said to be symptom-free one day after being left woozy by an accidental collision in the tournament-opener on Friday, but will be kept off the ice another four or five days for observation, according to Hockey Canada.

As a result, Burrows missed Saturday's game against the U.S. and will be kept out of Monday's game against France as well.

His recovery will be monitored by team doctor Brian Benson, who helped develop the NHL's concussion protocol. The Canadian team wanted to exercise extreme caution even though Burrows wasn't experiencing any post-concussion symptoms on Saturday.

“We've got enough players and we'd never put any player in a situation that would be compromising,” said general manager Kevin Lowe. “You could tell today that he was in a good place.”

Burrows suffered his injury just before the midway point of Friday's 3-2 victory over Slovakia. He was cruising in the offensive zone and collided with two Slovak players before hitting his head on the ice.

The Canadian team grew by one Saturday when defenceman Marc Methot was officially registered after recovering from a minor groin issue. Kyle Quincey, another blue-liner, is scheduled to arrive in Helsinki on Sunday.

His addition will give Canada eight defencemen — including junior prospect Ryan Murray — but Lowe thinks the depth is important. The 26-year-old Quincey was a late cut for Canada's 2005 world junior team and will get his first official national team experience at this event.

“(Quincey) is still young, but we needed a guy with experience,” said Lowe. “You need an insurance policy over here. The pace of play is high and the games are quicker with no TV timeouts. Players can also get injured.”

Toronto Globe And Mail LOADED: 05.06.2012

629893 Nashville Predators

Nashville Predators' Alexander Radulov, Andrei Kostitsyn likely to play Game 5

Josh Cooper

The Predators are getting chances and opportunities. If Patric Hornqvist scored on one of his three open looks in the second period, Game 4 would have had a much different complexion. Plus, it sounds like Nashville will get some scoring back into its lineup with Alexander Radulov and Andrei Kostitsyn jumping into the mix for Game 5.

The margin for error is miniscule. Nashville must defeat the Coyotes in three straight games. It’s something that has been done before, but it’s still very difficult. The Coyotes have been the more aggressive and structured team this series. It’s tough to see them deviating much from the script in Game 5.

With the Predators facing elimination and needing offense, it looks like Coach Barry Trotz will add his two snipers back into the lineup.

There is a “high probability” that forwards Alexander Radulov and Andrei Kostitsyn will play in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinal against the Coyotes, Trotz said on Saturday.

The two were suspended for Game 3 for a violation of team rules, but the Predators won 2-0. The coaching staff decided to keep both out of Game 4, but the Predators lost 1-0 and are down 3-1 in the best-of-seven series. Game 5 is Monday at Glendale, Ariz.

“I think they’re motivated,” Trotz said during a teleconference. “There’s some guys, I thought that didn’t bring their best games and therefore I think there will be a couple of changes.”

The Predators probably could have used Radulov and Kostitsyn in Game 4. With the Coyotes playing a tough and tight checking system, the Predators couldn’t finish their chances.

Despite missing the last two games, Radulov is still Nashville’s leading playoff scorer, and Kostitsyn has two goals this series. Nashville instead used Matt Halischuk and Jordin Tootoo in Game 3, but both played less than eight minutes in Game 4.

Radulov and Kostitsyn have expressed no ill will about being held out of two games, according to Trotz.

“I sat down and met with both players. I talked to both players (Saturday) morning, I talked to them yesterday, we’ve communicated,” he said. “They’re part of our family and they want to be in a position and hoping to be in a position so they can get on the ice and help.”

In Games 1 and 2, the Predators scored a total of six goals. In Games 3 and 4, they scored two goals and their power play went 0-for-7 on home ice.

“They’re not happy we’re down 3-1 in this series,” Trotz said. “When you’re a player and been a good player for a long time, you want to be on the ice. You don’t want to be in the stands, so they’re back in the right mind-set that they can make a difference here.”

Klesla hearing: The NHL announced it would have a disciplinary hearing with Coyotes defenseman Rostislav Klesla today for his boarding penalty on Halischuk in Game 4.

Midway through the first period, Klesla grabbed Halischuk’s jersey and threw him into the boards, front first. Halischuk left the game and returned.

“He could have took the edge of the boards right across the face there and it could have been a lot worse than it was,” Trotz said. “I think Matt was very fortunate and it was a dangerous hit in my eyes.

“I’m obviously partial to our players and our team. We’ll let the league decide what they’re going to do with it, but if they’re looking at it, I think it’s the right thing to do.”

No goals: Two calls this series have gone against the Predators in regards to goals being waved off.

In Game 3, referee Stephen Walkom waved off a score in the first period for an intent to blow his whistle to stop a scrum in front of Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith.

In Game 4, the Predators thought they had tied the game with 7:12 left in the third period when the puck snuck past Smith. Referee Dan O’Halloran blew the whistle before the puck crossed the line, calling the play dead.

“It’s debatable,” Trotz said. “If they allow the goal, then Phoenix is probably complaining that it should be a no goal. They didn’t allow the goal, so we’re complaining that it should be a goal.

“It doesn’t matter. We are going to have to score a hockey goal.”

Tennessean LOADED: 05.06.2012

629894 New Jersey Devils

Elias Steadies the Devils in Postseason’s Tumult

By DAVE CALDWELL

NEWARK — Still crafty, versatile and irrepressible at 36, Devils center Patrik Elias played in his 148th Stanley Cup playoff game Thursday. Elias has won it all twice, so he has developed a good sense of timing. And this, he decided, was not quite the right moment to shoot the puck.

So, with the Devils on a power play and trailing Philadelphia by a goal, Elias held the puck just long enough to size up Flyers goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov one more time. Elias shot across ice, across Bryzgalov’s big body. The puck hit Bryzgalov’s blocker and dropped in the goal.

“It found its way,” Elias said Saturday.

A minute later, he smiled when he said: “For me, too, it was nice to get that one. Hopefully, it will give me more of a light hand.”

Elias’s 43rd career playoff goal tied the score, and Ilya Kovalchuk scored 20 seconds later to give the Devils the lead. They would lose it, then would lose another lead, but Elias helped the Devils kill two penalties in overtime before Alexei Ponikarovsky’s goal won it for the Devils, 4-3.

The Devils lead the series, two games to one, with Game 4 scheduled for Sunday at Prudential Center. They have won 6 of the 16 games needed to win the Stanley Cup, the most they have won in any year since capturing their third Stanley Cup nine years ago.

Elias and Martin Brodeur, the goaltender who turns 40 on Sunday, played on the Devils’ last title team. Their experience, not to mention their skills, tends to come in handy during the playoffs, when games are tight and testy.

Zach Parise, the Devils’ first-year captain, said of Elias: “He’s been through this all before. It’s good for everyone to have that. He’s a reliable guy, a reliable player, and you always know what you’re going to get from him.”

Before the series, Peter DeBoer, the Devils’ first-year coach, made what seemed to be an audacious juggling of his lines, dropping Parise from the

first line to Elias’s line, and promoting Ponikarovsky, a punishing forward, to the top line.

Parise scored an even-strength goal Thursday on an assist from Elias, and Ponikarovsky took a pass from Kovalchuk and won the game on a rebound goal at 17 minutes 21 seconds of overtime. Philadelphia Coach Peter Laviolette shook up his forward lines Saturday.

“It doesn’t really matter what they do,” Kovalchuk said.

The Devils are playing with composure and confidence. Petr Sykora, the Devils’ 35-year-old right wing, a member of the 2000 Stanley Cup champions, said, “As soon as we get away from our game plan, they beat us.”

The Devils rely on Elias, among others, to help the team stick to its style. It is not as if Elias is above reproach; his unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in Game 3 of the first-round series against Florida led to a power-play goal that helped the Panthers erase a three-goal deficit.

Elias’s goal Thursday against the Flyers was his first since that April 17 loss to Florida. When his shots are not going in, Elias knows to rely on other skills, most notably his superb stickhandling and knack of reaching an open teammate with a pass.

“When you play the minutes I play, I need to be productive once in a while,” Elias said. “But you don’t get frustrated, whether you’re in your 1st or 2nd or 15th year. When you’re not hitting the back of the net, when you’re not on the stat sheet, you find ways to do different things.”

Elias has had a superb season. He scored 26 goals, his highest total in three years, and he had 52 assists, his most since 2001. He plays on the Devils’ first power-play unit, often serving as the distributor from the right face-off circle, and he kills penalties.

“You talk about hockey-smart — I think he’s above a lot of people with the skill he has,” said David Clarkson, the right wing on Elias’s reconfigured line. “He’s definitely a leader. When he speaks, he talks up in the room, and people listen.”

Clarkson then said: “But he talks to the guys in a good way. He’s got a way of settling things down.”

After last season, which started abysmally for the Devils and ended without a playoff berth, Elias has been invigorated. He says he and the team are comfortable with DeBoer’s systems and coaching style. The team is loose, yet focused and adaptable.

“At no point of the season did we feel tired, like this is a grind,” Elias said.

After practice Saturday, DeBoer said of Elias: “Patrik brings the same game to the rink every night. He’s consistent. He never talks about who he’s playing with, or who he wants to play with. He’s willing to do whatever it takes.”

Elias already knows what he has to do. He is enjoying the ride; the Devils have advanced to the second round for the first time in five years. The playoffs, he said, are exhilarating but not easy.

“As long as you win in the playoffs, that’s all that matters,” he said.

New York Times LOADED: 05.06.2012


Devils-Flyers hot topic: Post your Game 4 predictions

NJ.com Staff By NJ.com Staff

The Devils have a chance to take a commanding 3-1 series lead against the Flyers on Sunday night at The Rock.

Already ahead 2-1 in the best-of-seven series, the Devils have frustrated the Flyers and shut down their high-scoring offense. Will the Devils win Sunday night and head back to Philly needing just one win to move onto the Eastern Conference Finals? Or will they be deadlocked at two games apiece?

We want your Game 4 predictions. What will the score be? Who will be the star of the game? What will the headlines be come Monday morning? Drop down to the comments section below to discuss.

Star Ledger LOADED: 05.06.2012


Devils' Martin Brodeur downplays 40th birthday; says he still has years left

Rich Chere/The Star-Ledger By Rich Chere/The Star-Ledger

Martin Brodeur turns 40 on Sunday and he knows there will be signs in the crowd reminding him.

“At least hopefully they’ll be Jersey signs. Not Philly,” he said with a laugh. “I might get them anyway, at least in warmups.”

Brodeur downplayed his birthday, which comes one day after backup goalie Johan Hedberg turned 39.

“I don’t pay much attention to these things. I think people around me do more than I do,” Brodeur said. “I have my mom calling me for every single birthday so I don’t forget. And my sisters, my brothers, almost my wife and my own kids.

“Last year I was in Florida. It was nice. You get to see your family. I’m home at least for tonight to see them. But I won’t celebrate anything on my birthday until hopefully after the game.”

He is looking for a gift.

“The obvious one is I’d love to beat the Flyers,” he said.

Once again Brodeur addressed his future beyond this season. He thinks he has a few years left.

“I think so. I’m really enjoying this ride regardless of what happens in the next month or two months,” he said. “I’m enjoying coming to the rink and playing hockey. I don’t want to sit back and five years from now say, ‘Oh, I should have played one more.’ The decision on whether I’m going to go or nor will come later on, but as of now I’m enjoying myself. I’m really liking it.”

Coach Pete DeBoer agrees Brodeur isn’t done.

“From a guy that’s in his 40s, he looks a lot better than I do,” DeBoer said with a laugh. “A credit to him. It’s amazing the level he’s at, especially considering the number of games he’s played. This guy hasn’t been a 50-game-a-year guy. He’s 70 or 80, plus playoffs. That’s a lot of games on that body and he looks like he’s not done yet. He’s got some years left in him.”

Brodeur was asked if he has done anything differently as he got older.

“I probably changed about five years ago as far as taking care of myself a little better, working out and doing stuff like that," he said. "But I got hurt more since I’ve been doing that, so I don’t know if that really works,” he said. “I just hope my talent and my knowledge of the game will bring me to the level I need to be. No big secret for me.”

He never could have guessed the success he'd have.

“I didn’t know if I was going to play one game,” he recalled. “I definitely feel very fortunate with everything that has happened to be and being able to compete at the highest level at my age And, knock on wood, being pretty healthy for most of the ride.”

His style of play has chajnged a bit.

“It had to change a little but as far as how I play around my crease. I’m not as aggressive as I used to be,” he said. “I still do a lot of things I did when I was younger. I still play the puck a lot, but I stay a little more patient and I sit back a little more because hockey is so different now. A lot of scoring chances are coming right from the goal mouth. If you challenge too much sometimes you get in trouble, I get caught once in a while. Just old habits. Kind of hard to shake off sometimes.”

*

Ilya Kovalchuk said his back felt good again today. He said he wasn’t sure whether the Flyers were targeting his back in Game 3, but he was sure beforehand that he could handle the hits.

“It was a pretty physical game. But you don’t want to go out there if you’re not ready to take the hits,” Kovalchuk noted.

“I don’t think any doctor would let me go out there and play if I took one hit and I was done. I was sure I could play whatever they were going to bring.”

Kovalchuk believes his injury problem is behind him.

“I really hope so. You never know. It’s a physical sport and anybody can get an injury,” Kovalchuk said. “It’s all about how you handle it and how you take care of yourself. You have to maybe rest a little more, sleep a little more and prepare yourself the best you can.”

The day off on Friday helped.

“Obviously he’s through to the other side of the injury, but the more you have to load it up and fatigue it, the more you’re playing with maybe re-injuring it," DeBoer said. "So it’s nice to get that rest.”

Rookie Adam Henrique may be the only teammate to kid Ryan Carter about his playoff mustache.

“Surprisingly, they haven’t been on me about my mustache yet,” Carter said. “I’m waiting. I have a couple of comebacks holstered.”

Henrique said it looked like a mustache from the 1980s.

“Was he even born? He wasn’t alive, was he? That punk,” Carter said jokingly.

Henrique was born in 1990.

Zach Parise said of Carter’s mustache: “It shouldn’t be allowed. He should be thrown into jail with a mustache like that.”

*

Kovalchuk on the Flyers changing lines in practice today: “It’s normal. Things didn’t go the way they wanted them to. We’ve done the same thing. We don’t really care what they do. We know how to play against them and what to do to be successful. They have the same faces. It’s not like they’re going to bring in a lot of new guys from somewhere. It doesn’t really matter who plays with who. It’s who wants it more.”



Devils refuse to become overconfident with 2-1 lead against Flyers


The lesson was learned 13 years ago.

With a 3-2 lead in an opening-round playoff series against the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1999, Devils winger Petr Sykora started looking ahead to the next round. And it never came.

“At that time I kind of felt, ‘There is no way this team can beat us.’ And we lost in seven games,” Sykora recalled today. “When I look back now I realize that every time the team was successful, we were able to stay at the same level and keep coming and keep grinding. As soon as you get too high or too low, that’s not the way to be in the playoffs.”

The Penguins won Game 6 that year on an overtime goal from Jaromir Jagr and they finished the Devils off in Game 7.

Jagr will be hoping this Devils team feels just as overconfident with a 2-1 advantage when he leads the Philadelphia Flyers into Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series Sunday night at the Prudential Center.

“There are a lot of series like that,” goalie Martin Brodeur said. “Look at the Carolina series a few years back. We lost (Game 6) in Carolina late in the game and then we lost Game 7. It was similar to that Pittsburgh series. I remember Jagr scored in overtime and then we lost Game 7 at home.

“There is just no guarantee anymore, especially in the new hockey. Momentum is such a big thing. When you lose it, it’s hard to gain back. Referees can dictate so much in a game. We could be up, 3-0, in this series and (the Flyers) could be up, 3-0. It’s crazy.”

The lesson can be learned, but difficult to implement. The worst example of all for the Devils was when they blew the 2001 Stanley Cup finals by losing Game 6 at home to the Avalanche and then Game 7 in Denver.

For captain Zach Parise it was the first round in 2009 against the Hurricanes, when the Devils had a 3-2 lead and lost.

“I thought we had that one won a bunch of different times but they just kept coming back,” Parise recalled. “We all know how that happened.

“It’s only 2-1 in this one. I’m thinking about the last series. We were down, 2-1, and we felt by no means were we out of it. We felt we could still win the series. It feels good that we’ve won two in a row but we have to get that third one.”

The Flyers did some line juggling in practice today. Danny Briere skated with Scott Hartnell and Jakub Voracek while Claude Giroux was with Wayne Simmonds and James vanRiemsdyk. Jagr was with Eric Wellwood and Max Talbot. Zac Rinaldo replaced the injured Sean Couturier on the line with Matt Read and Brayden Schenn.

“I’m sure they’re going to be flying,” Sykora said. “We have to stay away from the scrums, keep coming with our forecheck. I think they love a clear neutral zone to come with speed. We have to clog up the neutral zone and make sure they have to come through at least three or four guys shift after shift.”

Most importantly, perhaps, the Devils cannot believe they have the Flyers where they want them.

“You can’t think like that. It’s only three games behind us in this series. It’s the middle of the series,” Ilya Kovalchuk warned. “Right now we just want to protect our home ice. It’s never easy to win on the road in the playoffs. We all know how big the game is. I don’t think anybody needs to be reminded.”



Devils return to the ice for practice on Johan Hedberg's 39th birthday


The Devils were back on the ice today preparing for Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Philadelphia Flyers.

It is goalie Johan Hedberg;s 39th birthday today. Martin Brodeur turns 40 Sunday, when Game 4 will be played at the Prudential Center 7:30 p.m.

Lines in practice:

Alexei Ponikarovsky-Travis Zajac-Ilya Kovalchuk

Zach Parise-Patrik Elias-Dainius Zubrus

Petr Sykora-Adam Henrique-Dainius Zubrus

Ryan Carter-Stephen Gionta-Steve Bernier

Extras: Cam Janssen, Eric Boulton, Tim Sestito

Defense:

Andy Greene-Mark Fayne

Bryce Salvador-Marek Zidlicky

Anton Volchenkov-Adam Larsson

Extra: Peter Harrold

The Flyers changed their lines today.

Danny Briere is with Scott Hartnell and Jakub Voracek. Claude Giroux skated with Wayne Simmonds and James vanRiemsdyk. Max Talbot was with Jaormir Jagr and Eric Wellwood.

Zac Rinaldo is in for injured Sean Couturier. Matt Read and Brayden Schenn remain in.



Devils' Brodeur wishing for a 'W' on his 40th birthday

By TOM GULITTI

NEWARK — For one day at least, the Devils had two 39-year-old goaltenders.

Backup Johan Hedberg celebrated his 39th birthday Saturday and received some sage advice from Martin Brodeur, who was enjoying the final day of his 30s.

"He told me it's going to be tough," Hedberg said. "It's not an easy age. Now, I know what he's been feeling like all year."

Brodeur hits the "Big 4-0" today and, though spending the day with his family would have been nice, there's no place he'd rather be than at Prudential Center for tonight's Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Flyers.

"I'm looking forward to playing hockey on my birthday, that's for sure," Brodeur said.

What he'd like as a gift, Brodeur says is, "the obvious one."

"I'd like to beat the Flyers," he said.

A win tonight would give the Devils a 3-1 series lead and firm control of the series. They have never lost a series in which they led 3-1, and only 21 teams in NHL history (in 241 tries) have recovered from such a deficit to win. Although the Flyers did come back from 3-0 down two years ago against Boston, the Devils expect them to make their strongest push of the series tonight to avoid needing a miracle comeback.

"We know we're going to see their best game," Devils coach Pete DeBoer said. "When we were in this spot against Florida a couple times [in this year's first round], we got off the mat and played our best game, so that's what we're expecting."

After two days off following their 4-3 overtime victory in Game 3 on Thursday night, the Devils are eager to get back at it tonight. Even Ilya Kovalchuk, whose lower back injury probably benefited from the extra day off between games, is amped up to play tonight.

"Especially after the last game, it's going to give us a lot of jump and we'll be ready [tonight] for sure," he said.

This will be the fourth time in Brodeur's career that he will play a game on his birthday, but first since a 6-0 loss in Carolina in Game 1 of the 2006 conference semifinals. Last year, the Devils didn't qualify for the playoffs, so he celebrated his birthday in Florida with his family.

"I won't celebrate anything [today] until, hopefully, after the game," he said.

The 40th birthday is a milestone for everyone, but, for a professional athlete, it gets even more attention. Brodeur and the Flyers' Jaromir Jagr, who turned 40 on Feb. 15, are the only players playing in the NHL from the 1990 draft class. Tampa Bay goaltender Dwayne Roloson was the oldest player in the league this season at 42.

"It's all about your attitude and how much you love doing what you do," Brodeur said. "It goes for anything you do in life. For me, I happen to play with some younger guys, and it's been a lot of fun. I've had a great season with the boys here and we'll try to continue as long as we can."

Brodeur is in the final season of his contract, but has said several times that he would like to come back and play at least one more season.

"I'm really enjoying this ride regardless of what's going to happen in the next month or two months," he said. "I'm enjoying coming to the rink and playing hockey. I don't want to sit back and five years from now say, 'Well, I should have played one more.' So, that decision will really come later on if I'm going to go or not, but, as of now, I'm enjoying myself."

BRIEFS: Kovalchuk said he felt "really good" in Saturday's practice and appears to over the worst of his injury. … Brodeur also played on his birthday in Game 5 of the 2000 conference semifinals in Toronto (4-3 win) and Game 3 of the 1997 conference semifinals against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden (3-2 loss).

Bergen Record LOADED: 05.06.2012


Devils' keys for Game 4 against the Flyers

The Record

Devils' keys to Game 4

1. Maintain discipline: The Flyers have tried a few times to lure the Devils into after-the-whistle scrums with no success. Expect them to try harder tonight.

2. Withstand the Flyers' early push: The Devils did a good job of responding to fast Flyer starts the past two games and might have to do it again.

3. Birthday boy: Martin Brodeur, who turns 40 today, didn't have his best game in Game 3 and the Devils still won, but he'll probably have to be better in Game 4.

— Tom Gulitti



NJ Devils' Martin Brodeur thinks he has more in store in series vs. Philadelphia Flyers

By Kristie Ackert / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Martin Brodeur, who sends his best to Mariano Rivera, understands the difficulty of playing at a high level as he ages.

When Mariano Rivera made his major-league debut, Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur was already well on his way to his first of three Stanley Cup titles. In the nearly two decades since, Brodeur and the Yankees’ closer have set the standard by which their positions will be measured, and more recently they have pushed the bar on how long a star athlete can compete.

Brodeur, the NHL’s all-time leader in wins, said he has met and likes Rivera, baseball’s all-time saves leader. So when he was asked about the 42-year-old Rivera’s ACL tear, Brodeur winced empathetically.

“It’s going to be difficult for him, especially if he has to have a big operation,” Brodeur said. “He’s a nice guy, I hope it goes well."

Brodeur, who turns 40 on Sunday, has become all too familiar with the dangers of aging in the game. Over the past four seasons he has had to overcome more injuries, including a major elbow issue, than he did in his first 14 years in the NHL.

Fighting through injuries, however, seems worth it right now as the sixth-seeded Devils take a 2-1 lead into Sunday night’s Game 4 of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals against the No. 5 Flyers in Newark.

While this has not been one of his best seasons personally, Brodeur could not think of a better one in recent years. “I am truly enjoying this ride,” Brodeur said. “Regardless of what’s going to happen this month or the next two months, I am enjoying coming to the rink and playing hockey.”

Though he may not be posting the results of his younger years, like Rivera had been doing before injuring his knee shagging fly balls in Kansas City, Brodeur has come up big in crucial moments.

The Devils have won three of four overtime games in their last five, including the deciding Game 7 of the first round against Florida. And Brodeur has been solid, stopping 26 of 27 shots he has faced in overtime.

“He has that (playoff) experience. He has given us a chance to win, especially in the overtimes,” Devils top winger Ilya Kovalchuk said. “He is going to turn 40, but he is playing like he is going to turn 30.”

That has Brodeur, whose contract is up at the end of the season, thinking about the future.

“I don’t want to sit back five years from now and think I should have played one more year,” Brodeur said. “That decision will really come later on if I am gonna go or not. But, for now, I really like doing what I do.”

New York Daily News LOADED: 05.06.2012


Devils’ Brodeur proving 40’s the new 20

By MARK EVERSON

Cake and candles were last night. That cleared the table so Martin Brodeur can try to celebrate his Big 4-0 today by going up 3-1 tonight.

The NHL’s all-time goaltender turns 40 today, still setting records, still the Devils’ playoff starter for the NHL record 181th straight game. He has outplayed Flyers counterpart Ilya Bryzgalov for a 2-1 lead in their second round series, and almost all 25-year-olds would love to be as good as he is now.

Brodeur stands 6-3 in these playoffs with one shutout, his record 24th of the postseason. The Flyers have tried tricks that might have worked other years — the sharp-angle shots, the crease-crowding and crashing, But he still is standing, and victory tonight would give the Devils the 3-1 series lead, an advantage they never have blown.

Brodeur admitted making concession to age, and doesn’t care for the outcome.

“I probably changed five years ago, taking care of myself a little better, working out, stuff like that,” he said. “And I got hurt more since I’ve been doing that, so I don’t know if that really works.

“I haven’t really changed much. You go out at practice time, try to be the best and work really hard at it and hope my talent and knowledge of the game will bring me to the level I need to be.”

His contract expires after these playoffs, and he is leaning strongly toward returning next season, if the Devils offer him a proper deal. A lengthy lockout might wreck those hopes, but he is unwilling to bow to age.

He was asked if 40 years old still is young.

“In regular life, it is. Hockey is just a game. I don’t know why they associate age with it all the time,” Brodeur said.

“You should all feel for me a little bit,” he said to the even older-timers.

Coach Pete DeBoer, 43, made it clear early Brodeur would remain the Devils goalie, even while Johan Hedberg, who turned 39 yesterday, went 15-12-2, while Brodeur was 23-26-3. Brodeur finished the season with five straight victories, and his record 14th 30-win season. He reached 100 playoff triumphs in Game 1 of the first round and has 105, trailing only Patrick Roy’s 151.

“From a guy in his 40s, he looks a lot better than I do,” DeBoer said. “It’s amazing the level he’s at, especially considering the number of games (191 playoffs, 1191 regular season) he’s played.

“There are a lot of games on that body but he looks like he has a lot of games left in him.”

Brodeur’s records are legion: 656 regular season victories, 1,191 games, 119 shutouts. Besides skill, those numbers require longevity.

Unlike Jack Benny, he can’t stay 39 forever.

“I don’t pay much attention to these things. People around me do a lot more than I do,” Brodeur said. “I’ve got my mom calling me every single birthday so I won’t forget.”

“I know they are milestones, like in hockey, but I don’t pay much attention to that.”

If the Devils had finished with two more points in the regular season, this birthday celebration would have been in Philadelphia. The abuse might have been boggling.

“I hope they’re going to be Jersey signs. In Philly? I might still get them anyway in warm-ups,” Brodeur said.

He can’t ignore the calendar, but he doesn’t have to. Brodeur already is one of hockey’s immortals.

In a bid to avoid a third straight loss, the Flyers shuffled lines with rookie Sean Couturier likely out with a leg injury. Claude Giroux and Daniel Briere swapped lines, Briere between Scott Hartnell and Jakob Voracek, Giroux between James van Riemsdyk and Wayne Simmonds. ... The Devils went 13-12 during the regular season after having more than one day between games, while the Flyers were 13-4. The Devils are 1-2 in these playoffs, Flyers 2-0 in that situation. ... The Devils are 12-3 all-time in series they led 2-1 and 7-1 in those series that opened on the road, losing only to the 1992 Rangers.

New York Post LOADED: 05.06.2012

629903 New York Rangers

Putting Injuries in His Past, Defenseman Moves Forward With the Winning Goal

By TIM WENDEL

WASHINGTON — For Washington Capitals defenseman Mike Green, this season had been one of missed chances and time on the sideline.

A former All-Star and onetime Norris Trophy candidate, Green played only 32 games, because of injuries, contributing only 3 goals and 7 points. It was a far cry from the 31 goals he scored just three seasons ago when he was one of the Capitals’ high-scoring Young Guns, along with Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin.

But all of that was forgotten Saturday against the Rangers when Green’s power-play blast from the top of the right face-off circle eluded goalie Henrik Lundqvist. That goal, following scores by Backstrom and Ovechkin, proved to be the difference in a 3-2 Capitals victory that tied the series at two games apiece.

The winning goal was not without controversy. The Rangers’ Carl Hagelin was in the penalty box for slashing at the time. He was penalized for knocking the stick out of the hands of defenseman John Carlson, who said afterward that his stick was broken on the play. Still, it was another borderline call in a game that seemed to be full of them.

When asked about the difference between this game and the Rangers’ victory in Wednesday’s marathon Game 3, Rangers Coach John Tortorella said: “Their power play — they gained momentum from their power play.”

When asked what the deciding goal meant to him, Green replied, “I know I could still score.”

Green insisted that he had not lost confidence during the regular season, even though he was shelved three times with injuries, the most recent to his right groin. By the end of the regular season, he said he was focused on the playoffs and returning in top condition.

“My role has changed a little bit around here due to my injuries,” he added. “It’s never easy coming back after one.”

On the game’s pivotal play, which occurred at 14 minutes 12 seconds of the third period, Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner said Green might have changed things up against Lundqvist by simply stepping into a slap shot and directing it hard on net.

“He’s known for putting them in the high corner,” Alzner said. “But on that one, he just bore down and hit it low. He was probably looking for the rebound, but it somehow got through the traffic in front and went into the net.”

Lundqvist said he did not see either of the last two Washington goals and ended “pretty much just guessing where it was going.”

Rangers defenseman Marc Staal said the other Washington power play in the first period put the Rangers on their “heels a little bit.”

He added, They were able to get some forechecks in on us.”

Indeed, New York was outshot, 14-3, in the first period.

Game 5 will be played Monday night at Madison Square Garden, and Green called it “very important because it gives us a chance to come back here and finish it off.”

Washington goalie Braden Holtby said that Green had been “working hard and doing all the little things right, and to see it rewarded on the stat sheet is huge.”

Washington Coach Dale Hunter said Lundqvist played well throughout, but he liked how his offensive players kept pressing the issue in the Rangers’ end.

“‘We’re trying to get pucks to the net more than usual,” Hunter said.

When Green delivered on the power-play opportunity, the way Hunter saw it, at least for one game, things had returned to normal in the nation’s capital. “The big guns scored some big goals, and the foot soldiers blocked shots,” he said.

Afterward, in the Capitals’ locker room, Green, 26, was reminded how he, Ovechkin, Backstrom and Alexander Semin were once called the Young Guns.

“We’re not that young anymore,” he said, smiling. “But it’s good to know we can still put it in the net.”



A Late Goal Gives the Capitals a Win and a Tie

By JEFF Z. KLEIN

WASHINGTON — Through the fog of questionable calls and Alex Ovechkin’s hit to defenseman Dan Girardi, a larger truth emerged from the Rangers’ 3-2 loss to the Washington Capitals on Saturday.

For the last two months, the top-seeded Rangers have basically been a .500 team. So it should be of little surprise that they find themselves tied with the seventh-seeded Capitals as this Eastern Conference semifinal series shifts back to Madison Square Garden for Game 5 on Monday night.

“I don’t really have a good explanation,” said goalie Henrik Lundqvist, whose team needed seven games to eliminate No. 8 Ottawa in the first round. “We’re playing good teams. It’s going to be a battle until the end.”

Saturday’s result was a disappointing follow-up to the Rangers’ victory in triple overtime in Game 3 that started Wednesday night, with the difference a goal by Marian Gaborik as Wednesday bled into Thursday morning.

The slimmest of margins again separated these teams in Game 4, the difference this time being provided by Mike Green, who scored on a power play with 5 minutes 48 seconds left in regulation. Green’s drive from the top of the circle flew past a screened Lundqvist, breaking a 2-2 tie.

The Capitals got the power play when Carl Hagelin was called for slashing the stick out of John Carlson’s hands. A couple of minutes earlier, Ovechkin slashed the stick from the hands of the Rangers’ Brian Boyle, but the referees Marc Joannette and Brad Watson missed the call.

Just 90 seconds after Green’s goal, Washington’s Mike Knuble batted the puck over the glass and out of play with his hand, but there was no delay-of-game penalty.

Rangers Coach John Tortorella was asked whether he had a comment on the refereeing. “No,” he said, then ended the news conference after two questions.

The Rangers spent most of the final two minutes of the game with an extra attacker on the ice as they fought to tie the score. But their last chance was quashed with two seconds left, when Brooks Laich blocked a shot from Girardi.

It was the 26th shot blocked by the Capitals, to only 7 for the Rangers. In an area that has been the Rangers’ trademark, they are now being outdone by the Capitals, who overtook them for the lead in blocked shots in this postseason.

Lundqvist made 23 saves for the Rangers; his counterpart, the Washington rookie Braden Holtby, made 18.

Holtby has started 27 games in his N.H.L. career, and he has yet to lose back-to-back games.

On top of the third-period officiating disputes, there may be another case for Brendan Shanahan and the N.H.L.’s player safety department.

Ovechkin was assessed a charging penalty in the second period after he tried to play the puck with his skate in the Rangers zone, missed, then left his feet and collided with Girardi.

One replay angle seemed to show Ovechkin hitting Girardi first in the head, an offense punishable by suspension. Another angle seemed to show that Ovechkin first made contact with Girardi’s shoulder and then his head, which would make a suspension far less likely.

“You think I hit him in the head?” Ovechkin said. “It was his shoulder.”

Girardi said, “He hit me in the head first.”

Girardi refused to say whether he thought a suspension was warranted for Ovechkin, who has been suspended three times. “My head’s kind of there and he hits it, but I think he’s just playing the game hard,” Girardi said.

The Rangers have won 17 of their last 33 games — 11 of 22 to end the regular season, and 6 of 11 in the playoffs. Every game for them has seemingly been a hard-fought struggle.

Neither the Rangers nor the Capitals seemed tired after the six-period marathon in Game 3. Nevertheless, Washington dominated the first period Saturday, outshooting the Rangers by 14-3.

The Capitals took control at 2:25, when Rangers defenseman Anton Stralman was sent off for interference. It appeared the Capitals would score on the power play when Laich sent a slap pass to Ovechkin on the doorstep of the Rangers’ net. But a redirection from Ovechkin went right into Lundqvist’s glove.

The Capitals took a total of six shots during the advantage, and Lundqvist stopped them all.

“We felt fine,” Brad Richards said, denying that the Rangers started the game tired. “But we went on that penalty kill and had probably one of our worst periods.”

Washington took the lead at 12:43 when the Rangers rookie Chris Kreider cleared the puck right to Ovechkin inside the Rangers’ blue line. It was a glaring mistake for Kreider, who has been impressive otherwise.

Ovechkin took a slap shot from 43 feet that popped out of Lundqvist’s glove — the same one that had foiled Ovechkin earlier — and into the net, giving the Capitals a 1-0 lead.

The Rangers sandwiched goals by Artem Anisimov and Gaborik, the Game 3 overtime hero, around a Washington goal from Nicklas Backstrom to head into the third period tied at 2-2.



Alex Ovechkin's hit on NY Rangers' Dan Girardi raises eyebrows during Capitals' 3-2 win

By Pat Leonard / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin said he was only trying to protect himself. Dan Girardi took the high road and said the Capitals forward was “just playing the game hard.” But Ovechkin’s leaping head shot on the Rangers’ All-Star defenseman in Saturday’s second period is sure to be discussed a bit further, all the way up to the league offices.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was at the Verizon Center. Maybe he can text Brendan Shanahan a reminder.

With 7:43 remaining in the second period, Ovechkin kicked slightly at a puck beneath his feet, then ignored it as he left his skates to shoulder-check Girardi up high.

“I just missed the puck,” Ovechkin said. “I tried to kick the puck and I saw he was coming, so I just got to protect myself.”

Told of Ovechkin’s comment that he was only protecting himself, the Rangers defenseman concluded his interview by saying: “I’m not even gonna get in the middle of that.

“(Ovechkin) hit me in the head first,” Girardi said.

“No, I think it was the shoulder,” Ovechkin said.

“It was incidental contact,” Capitals coach Dale Hunter said, apparently with a straight face.

Ovechkin received only a two-minute minor for charging and was not ejected. But he is a repeat offender of the NHL’s rules against head shots. He was suspended three games in January for “recklessly” leaving his skates and hitting Penguins defenseman Zbynek Michalek in the head, aggravating symptoms of a concussion. It was the third time in the past three seasons Ovechkin had been suspended for a hit deemed dangerous by the league. He has also been fined twice.

The Rangers failed to convert on the ensuing power play, and when Ovechkin came out of the penalty box, Blueshirts enforcer Brandon Prust jumped over the boards for a shift. But there wasn’t any sign of retaliation even being considered.

“We weren’t thinking about it,” Prust said. “We were more focused on trying to score on the power play. I never really saw (the hit), but I’m sure the league will take a look at it.”



Caps come out harder, faster and meaner in Game 4 win

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

WASHINGTON — There were a couple of tough calls, and non-calls, and there were some bad bounces to boot. It happens sometimes in the NHL, when the arena is loud and the officials aren’t at the top of their game. The Rangers have every right to feel they drew the short hockey stick on Saturday, when they lost Game 4, 3-2, to Washington.

But the way it looked, more than anything, was that the Capitals needed this one more. The Rangers couldn’t match Washington’s frantic energy at the start and couldn’t match its more potent power play, which had them on their heels long before Mike Green scored the winner with a man advantage 14:12 into the third period.

It probably came down to motive, more than anything. Victory would have been nice for the Rangers, an extra cushion beyond their guaranteed home-ice advantage. But for the Caps, this was really a last-ditch effort to rescue the series and the season. And so, yet again this spring, the Rangers let an opponent off the mat and back into a playoff round.

They weren’t happy about it. John Tortorella rushed in and out of another press conference, beat many of the reporters before they could arrive. Several players sounded upset, though they wouldn’t comment directly on the whistles.

This was the fourth time already in the postseason that the Rangers had an opportunity to take a two-game lead in a series. They have failed to overcome the desperation of their opponents on all four occasions, narrowing their own margin for error. They now will have to return to the Verizon Center for Game 6, at the very least, pushing their luck again as they did successfully against the Senators.

“These are two good teams we’ve been playing,” Henrik Lundqvist said. “They’re not going to lay down and give it to us. They came out too aggressive for us. It was definitely a challenging first period.”

Lundqvist had a difficult day, for sure. He stopped six tough shots during the Caps’ first power play, awarded just 2:25 into the game, including an incredible reaction save off Alex Ovechkin’s redirect in front of the net. Ovechkin shook his head and couldn’t believe that one, but then the Rangers gave him a second chance when the rookie Chris Kreider

backhanded a clearance straight to him near the blue line, with open ice in front of him.

In this tight series, every goal is precious, every mistake amplified. Ovechkin took quick advantage of the turnover, as his wrist shot bounced out of Lundqvist’s glove into the net.

“I was surprised he had that opportunity, we had the puck,” Lundqvist said. “But I need to catch that. I had the opportunity to get ready. My glove got pushed back.”

There were more key calls, more key plays. Mike Knuble clearly knocked the puck with his hand over the glass, for what should have been a penalty in the third period. It wasn’t called. Ryan Callahan might have been tripped on the play by Brooks Laich leading to Green’s winning goal. It wasn’t called.

“No need to comment now,” Callahan said. “It’s not gonna change anything.”

Ovechkin charged Dan Girardi, left his feet and knocked him high to the shoulder and head. The Caps’ star was whistled for a penalty, which seemed to satisfy the Ranger defenseman. Girardi did not demand a suspension. Like Callahan, he said a postgame critique would serve no purpose.

“He hits hard,” Girardi said. “But I’m feeling good.”

Depending on your viewpoint, it was a demoralizing, lost opportunity — or it was a handy split at the Verizon Center, restoring home-ice advantage.

“It’s tough to be positive,” said Lundqvist, who faced 26 shots. “I’m probably going to think about this game a little bit for a couple hours, then move on and look forward to playing at home.”

Everybody goes back to the Garden on Monday, a best-of-three series between two similar teams that can’t seem to separate themselves from one another under any circumstance. The slightest psychological edge, the tiniest break, will sway the result.

On Saturday, the Caps came out harder, faster and meaner. They got the calls. The Rangers lost their sense of urgency, dropped Game 4. Here we go again. It’s Ottawa, all over again.

Filip Bondy



Capitals take advantage of late Carl Hagelin penalty to edge NY Rangers 3-2 and even Eastern Conference semifinal series at 2

By Pat Leonard / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

WASHINGTON — From Jim Dolan’s frown to John Tortorella’s rushed press conference to shouting heard inside the trainer’s room and slamming doors in the Verizon Center visitors’ locker room, Saturday afternoon’s 3-2 loss in Game 4 to the Capitals appeared to hit the Rangers harder than most.

A handful of players dutifully answered questions after Caps defenseman Mike Green’s power-play goal with 5:48 remaining knotted the Eastern Conference semifinal at 2-2, with Game 5 back at the Garden Monday night.

But a large portion of the media contingent did not even arrive for Tortorella’s postgame session before the coach talked briefly to the few present reporters and ducked out.

The yelling in the trainer’s room could just as easily have been a player pricked too sharply as he received stitches, but along with the other signs it sounded a lot like boiled-over frustration after the Rangers took a step back from Wednesday night’s triple-overtime win.

“We’re very disappointed right now, but that’s going to have to leave our mind,” said Brad Richards, who then cut off a question about Carl Hagelin’s slashing penalty on John Carlson that led to Green’s game-winning slap shot through a screen. “I don’t want to talk about penalties.”

Richards was willing to discuss his own culpability after Game 2, when his holding penalty led to an Alex Ovechkin game-winning power play goal at the Garden. But Saturday in the tense locker room he refrained from comment on the team’s lack of discipline after it committed no penalties in the three overtimes on Wednesday.

The root of the team’s frustration may have been the officiating, as it was in Game 6 of the first round against Ottawa when Henrik Lundqvist accused the referees of having a pro-Senators bias. Tortorella appeared frustrated in the call on Hagelin and with a no-call on a similar slash of Brian Boyle minutes prior.

Green’s goal sent the red-clad fans into a state of delirium, chanting “Lund-qvist! Lund-qvist!”

The Rangers goaltender (23 saves) made the save of the playoffs when he snagged an Ovechkin first-period deflection with his glove, and he denied Nicklas Backstrom on a third-period breakaway. But Ovechkin got a wrister past the leather later in the first, and Backstrom scored through a screen in the second, giving Washington 1-0 and 2-1 leads that the Rangers erased but could not overcome.

Tortorella was on the warpath early to shake his team out of a lifeless first period, when Anton Stralman’s interference penalty gave the Caps their first power play that was not successful due to six Lundqvist saves. But the Rangers coach said Washington “gained momentum.”

Tortorella singled out Artem Anisimov in the first period, appearing to threaten his forward with a benching by pointing downwards as he barked. Then in the third period, when Marian Gaborik killed a Rangers rush by throwing a fluff pass from the wing into traffic, Tortorella made a beeline for No. 10 as he came off the ice and laced into his veteran goal-scorer.

Anisimov responded to the tongue-lashing, bringing the Rangers back from 1-0 when he scored off assists from Dan Girardi and Brian Boyle just 1:10 into the second period. Then, though Backstrom buried Anisimov to the ice before stealing the lead right back 10 minutes later, the Rangers winger took advantage of Capitals confusion on a canceled Marc Staal icing and fed Gaborik for the finish and a 2-2 tie going into the third period.

But the Capitals beat the Rangers at their own game, blocking 26 shots to seven by New York. So the Blueshirts are now 0-4 this postseason when they’ve had an opportunity to take a two-game series lead, and like their first-round series with Ottawa, they return to the Garden for Game 5 with the series tied.

They came back from a 3-2 series deficit against the Senators, but that doesn’t make Monday’s game any less urgent.

“We just did it,” Richards said of winning a series despite a disappointing Game 4. “We’re in good position. We’ve got best-out-of-three with home ice, and we’ve been in good positions every game to win it.”



Ovechkin gets physical

By TIM BONTEMPS

WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin may have scored a goal to help the Capitals to a 3-2 victory over the Rangers yesterday to even the Eastern Conference semifinals at two games apiece, but it was his hit on Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi that generated the most discussion about his performance.

Ovechkin, who has been suspended three times by the NHL, left his feet to deliver a shot to Girardi’s head and shoulder midway through the second period, earning a charging minor.

“He hit me in the head a bit there,” said Girardi, who stayed in the game. “It was the right call.”

Not surprisingly, the view from the opposing locker room was decidedly different.

“I just missed the puck,” Ovechkin said. “I tried to get the puck and I saw he was coming so I tried to protect myself.”

Ovechkin also denied catching Girardi in the head with the hit.

“The head?” he asked. “No, I think it was the shoulder.”

Girardi had a different view.

“He hit me in the head first,” he said.

Girardi also wasn’t interested in discussing whether the hit should have merited a 5-minute major, as opposed to the 2-minute minor Ovechkin received.

“I’m not going to judge that,” Girardi said. “There are a lot of hits throughout the game. He’s a big guy, he hits hard. I saw him coming, then he hit me.”

The Capitals seemed unconcerned about Ovechkin being subjected to any additional disciplinary measures by the league.

“I didn’t see the replay on it yet, but I think both of them were surprised they hit each other,” Washington coach Dale Hunter said. “It was incidental contact. ... They were looking down and they hit each other.”

“I was surprised that it was even a penalty,” Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner said. “Honestly, I’m not too worried about it. I’d be surprised if something happened.”

Despite the fact Ovechkin left his feet and hit Girardi — who didn’t have the puck — up high, it seemed unlikely the NHL would administer any additional fines or suspensions for the hit.

If the league does impose discipline on Ovechkin, though, it wouldn’t be the first time. He is a repeat offender in the league’s disciplinary system. The Capitals captain was forced to sit out twice for two games in 2009-10 — first for a knee-on-knee hit on the Hurricanes’ Tim Gleason and later for a hit on Blackhawks defenseman Brian Campbell.

Then, earlier this season, Ovechkin earned a three-game suspension for a hit on the Penguins’ Zbynek Michalek. When the suspension was handed down shortly before the All-Star Game, Ovechkin announced he wouldn’t be attending.

The Rangers have seen multiple incidents with hits to the head in the first two rounds. Against Ottawa, Carl Hagelin received a three-game suspension for elbowing Senators forward Daniel Alfredsson in the head, while Ottawa’s Matt Carkner was assessed a one-game suspension for repeatedly punching a defenseless Brian Boyle.



Can’t blame Anisimov for defeat

By TIM BONTEMPS

WASHINGTON — After the Rangers were dominated throughout the first 20 minutes of their eventual 3-2 loss to the Capitals in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals yesterday, they needed something to change the momentum of the game when the puck dropped for the second period.

They got the shift they needed 1:10 into the period, thanks to a heads-up play from Artem Anisimov.

After Dan Girardi’s shot from the point was stopped by Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby, Anisimov scooped up the rebound and slipped it in to tie the game at one and, suddenly, give the Rangers new life.

Later in the same period, after Nicklas Backstrom rifled a shot past Henrik Lundqvist and into the top left corner of the net to make the score 2-1, Anisimov again made a play to get the Rangers even.

When it looked as if the Rangers would be called for icing, Anisimov hustled past Washington defensemen Dennis Wideman and Jeff Schultz to scoop up the puck and negate the call. Then he quickly turned and put the puck back out in front of the net to Marian Gaborik, who promptly slipped it past Holtby to tie the game again at two.

In the early going, it looked as if only the Rangers had played a triple-overtime game Wednesday night. That’s because the Capitals ran circles

around the Blueshirts throughout the first period, outshooting them 14-3 and coming out of the period with a 1-0 lead that easily could have been two or three goals larger.

“I think it shows how good we are,” Washington’s Alex Ovechkin said of his team’s ability to bounce back from Wednesday’s loss. “We had an unbelievable start to the game.”

Stu Bickel saw ice time past the end of the second period yesterday for the first time since Game 4 of the Rangers’ first round series against the Senators. Bickel played 7:02 yesterday, including 1:16 in the third on two shifts, after playing only 3:24 on three shifts in the Rangers’ 2-1 triple-overtime triumph in Game 3. ... Brandon Dubinsky missed his fourth straight game yesterday. He was again in the press box wearing crutches and a walking boot on his right foot. There is no timetable for his return.



Blueshirts fail to keep the momentum going

By MIKE VACCARO

WASHINGTON — You want to know what momentum looks like? It looks like a black rubber blur traveling at about 476 miles an hour, a missile with bad intentions launched about 40 feet away from you and whizzing by so quickly you can sense it more than you can see it.

“A good shot,” Henrik Lundquvist said of Mike Green’s power-play slap shot with 5 minutes and 48 seconds left in regulation time yesterday, the game winner in a 3-2 Capitals victory that sends these best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals back to New York tied at two games apiece. “He beat me.”

So, yes, that’s what momentum looks like, or what it looked like just before 3 o’clock yesterday afternoon. A little earlier than that, it looked like Marian Gaborik’s equalizing goal just before the end of the second period, his second in two games after a two-week scoring slump.

And much earlier than that, it certainly looked like the chariot carrying the Rangers directly from Game 3 in the wee hours of Wednesday night and the early minutes of Thursday morning. That 2-1 triple-overtime epic was supposed to be the ultimate burst of momentum, right? Almost everybody watching that classic had the same reaction as the game ground on, whether it was on Twitter or in a saloon or in your man cave or in your car, listening on the radio:

Man, whoever loses this, it’s gonna be hard to overcome.

Man, whoever wins this is gonna have ALL the momentum.

The hard truth, of course, is that momentum often has a mind, and imagination, of its own. When Jerry West hit that half-court shot to tie Game 3 of the 1970 Finals at the Fabulous Forum, the Knicks wound up winning in overtime. When Endy Chavez brought the ball back from the other side of the Shea Stadium fence, the Cardinals won the pennant a couple of innings later. The Nets blew a 21-point lead to the Celtics in Game 3 of the ’02 East finals, the Celtics immediately lost three straight.

All those teams had momentum. How’d that go for them?

Rangers coach John Tortorella had a thing to say about momentum yesterday, which was interesting since his postgame observations consisted of exactly 11 words. Ten of them were these: “Their power play. They gained momentum from their power play.”

Hard to argue. Twenty-seven seconds after Carl Hagelin was sent off for slashing, Green uncorked his game-winner, and the Verizon Center went into full Mardi Gras mode, and stayed that way until the final horn.

Now, undoubtedly, the Capitals will be the team carrying momentum into Game 5 tomorrow night at Madison Square Garden, and you can forgive the Rangers if they’re inclined to tell the Caps: “You want it? You got it. It’s yours.”

After all, what’s easy to forget in the immediate aftermath of this game is that the Rangers did precisely what they needed to do across this two-

game sojourn to the District. The Caps had stolen home ice with their win in Game 2, and the Rangers came south and took it right back.

“Now it’s a best-of-three and we get the two home games,” Brad Richards said. “We have home ice again. That’s not a bad place to be.”

Would it have been nice for the Rangers to open up a two-game cushion for the first time in these playoffs? Sure. Would you feel better about the work to come if it didn’t feel as if every goal was the result of a perfect hockey storm? Of course.

But every now and again it’s good to take a look at the carnage left in the wake of this 2012 playoff season, the carcasses of so many high seeds littered along the side of the street like so much highway road kill. Who’s in better shape, the Rangers or the Canucks? The Rangers or the Red Wings? The Rangers or the Penguins?

Best of three. They have home ice again. Forget who has the momentum. That’s not a bad place to be.



Offense, officiating cost Blueshirts in D.C.

By LARRY BROOKS

WASHINGTON — The decision making from NHL officials handling supplementary discipline and on-ice calls has been arbitrary throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs, so yesterday was no different regarding penalties called and not called that seemed to tilt against the Rangers.

But if there has been a constant in this tournament, it has been the Blueshirts’ inability to create any breathing room for themselves or Henrik Lundqvist in being limited two goals or fewer eight times in 11 games (and eight of the last 10), including yesterday’s 3-2 defeat in Game 4 to the Capitals that squared the Eastern Conference semifinals 2-2 with the best-of-seven resuming tomorrow night at the Garden.

“We definitely have to do more offensively,” Brad Richards said after the defeat, in which Mike Green scored the winner at 14:12 of the third period on a power play with Carl Hagelin in the box for slashing. “We’re getting a good number of attempts, but they’re blocking a lot and we’re missing the net.”

The Rangers out-attempted the Caps 52-40, but only were able to get 20 shots on Braden Holtby, with Washington blocking 26 shots — nine by Jeff Schultz, who blundered on Marian Gaborik’s second-period goal that tied the match 2-2 — to the Blueshirts’ unusually low seven for the afternoon.

“I think we can always get more shots, more traffic — things like that,” said Marc Staal, who logged a game-high 24:20 and was the Rangers’ most imposing player. “I think we need to get in the goalie’s face more.”

Alex Ovechkin got in Dan Girardi’s face, or more accurately, the defenseman’s head, when the repeat offender left his feet to nail No. 5 above the shoulders at 12:17 of the second period, drawing a two-minute minor for charging.

“He hit me in the head first [before the shoulder],” said Girardi. “I saw him coming and then he hit me.”

The Department of Player Safety apparently will not take action against Ovechkin, who previously had been suspended for three games just before the All-Star break after leaving his feet to deliver a headshot to Pittsburgh’s Zbynek Michalek.

But then, the chance VP Brendan Shanahan would have ruled out No. 8 for Game 5 always was slimmer than the margin of error the Rangers have left for themselves game after game and now series after series.

That’s why it was a game-changer when John Carlson was able to draw a penalty by dropping his stick following the Hagelin hack one shift after a no call was made when Ovechkin broke Brian Boyle’s stick with a slash.

That’s why it was a killer when neither Marc Joannette nor Brad Watson called Brooks Laich for taking down Ryan Callahan as he was carrying the puck up the right wing and was about to clear on the penalty kill, seconds before Green scorched one past Lundqvist from the right.

“There’s no need to comment now,” said Callahan, who screamed at the officials following the unblown whistle. “It’s not going to change anything.”

Chris Kreider, defensively deficient on each of the Caps’ first two goals, was benched in the third, getting one brief shift midway through the period. The Rangers had six shots in the period, and just two over the final 8:28 as they primarily leaned on five forwards, but could not generate sustained pressure.

And so now it’s a best-of-three confronting the Rangers with two at home, just as it was in the first round against the Senators.

Now it is a best-of-three for the team that is unbeaten when scoring at least three goals. But the issue confronting the Blueshirts is they’ve done that only three times.

The issue confronting the Rangers is their constant lack of offense is allowing the officials’ offensive capriciousness to have too much impact on the outcome of their games.



Three stars of Game 4

The Record

1. Artem Anisimov, Rangers

The left wing responded to coach John Tortorella’s first-period screaming with a goal, an assist and strong work along the boards in his best playoff game.

2. Nicklas Backstrom, Capitals

The center had a goal and three shots in 17:47 and was strong on faceoffs.

3. Mike Green, Capitals

The defenseman showed he still has a potent slap shot as he nailed the winner on the power play.

— Andrew Gross



Rangers fall to Capitals as Green scores in third to even series at 2

By ANDREW GROSS

WASHINGTON – Peel away the questions of whether penalties should or should not have been called and whether the Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin delivered a hit to Dan Girardi’s head or his shoulder and what’s left is a different series with the same scenario.

And the Rangers are not happy.

“It’s an opportunity lost,” left wing Mike Rupp said. “You’ve got to let it marinate and let it burn and use it to our advantage on Monday.”

Mike Green scored the power-play winner at 14:12 of the third period as the seventh-seeded Capitals beat the top-seeded Rangers, 3-2, Saturday afternoon at Verizon Center to tie their Eastern Conference semifinal at two games apiece. The teams were coming off the Rangers’ epic 3-2, triple-overtime win in Wednesday’s Game 3.

Game 5 is Monday night at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers were in the same spot in the first round, losing Game 5 to the eighth-seeded Senators before rallying to advance in seven games.

“Right now, it’s tough to be positive but it’s 2-2,” said Henrik Lundqvist, who made 23 saves. “I’m probably going to think about this game for a couple of hours, then move on and look forward to playing at home.”

The Capitals beat the defending Stanley Cup champion Bruins in the first round, winning Game 4 at home to tie the series before advancing in seven games.

“Yeah, we’re very disappointed,” center Brad Richards said. “But that’s going to have to leave our mind. We just did it, same position, best of three with home ice.”

“We don’t feel frustrated,” Rupp added. “We made a few mistakes and they wound up in our net. It was not a horrible game, but it was not what we needed to do to win the series. We had an opportunity to do something today and we didn’t put ourselves in the best position to do that.”

Green’s winner came after left wing Carl Hagelin was called for slashing John Carlson at 13:45 as the Capitals defenseman’s stick was broken. Minutes earlier, Rangers center Brian Boyle had his stick broken without a call.

And on Green’s goal, Rangers captain Ryan Callahan went to the ice along the boards after a collision. Richards, Girardi, defenseman Marc Staal and coach John Tortorella all declined to discuss the officiating.

“You have to,” Callahan said about the Rangers trying to temper their frustration. “It’s the playoffs. You’ve got to control your emotions and keep moving forward to try to get that equalizer. But we didn’t.”

Ovechkin was called for charging Girardi at 12:17 of the second period. The puck was at Ovechkin’s feet in the Rangers’ zone but his skates wound up leaving the ice for a shoulder check on Girardi.

Girardi, who said after the game he escaped injury, said he was hit in the head. Ovechkin said he hit Girardi in the shoulder and he was just trying to protect himself.

The Capitals outshot the Rangers, 14-3, in the first period thanks to a six-shot power play after Anton Stralman’s interference call at 2:25. Ovechkin made it 1-0 at 12:43 with a slap shot from the slot that went in and out of Lundqvist’s glove after rookie Chris Kreider turned over the puck with a blind, backhanded attempt at a clear.

“I think the power play put us on our heels a little bit,” Staal said. “I thought we responded well with a great second.”

Artem Anisimov, berated by Tortorella for a first-period lapse, tied the game at 1 at 1:10 of the second period, then set up Marian Gaborik’s goal to tie the game at 2 at 16:43 of the second period, beating Capitals defensemen Jeff Schultz and Dennis Wideman down the ice to negate a potential icing.

Nicklas Backstrom gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead at 11:54 of the second period.

Braden Holtby made 18 saves for the Capitals.



Rangers notes: Alex Ovechkin's high hit on Dan Girardi

By ANDREW GROSS

WASHINGTON -- Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi and Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin had differing opinions on the severity of Ovechkin’s high hit, which drew a charging penalty at 12:17 of the second period.

“It hit me in the head first,” said Girardi, who was asked if Ovechkin should have received more than a minor penalty. “I’m not the judge of that. You guys can make your comments about that.”

Ovechkin, who appeared to leave his skates, said his shoulder hit Girardi’s shoulder.

“I tired to kick the puck and I saw he was coming so I just got to protect myself,” Ovechkin said.

“I’m not going to get into that,” Girardi said when told of Ovechkin’s comments.

It’s unclear whether the NHL will dole out supplementary discipline, though commissioner Gary Bettman was at the game.

Best save

Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist made the save of the series when he reached back with his glove to snare Ovechkin’s power-play redirection at the post of Jason Chimera’s one-timer at 2:54 of the first period.

He also stoned Nicklas Backstrom at 5:17 of the third period on a two-on-none rush.

But he said he didn’t have much of a chance on Backstrom’s second-period goal or Mike Green’s third-period winner.

“I didn’t see the puck so I was pretty much just guessing where it was going,” Lundqvist said.

Briefs

Rangers rookie Chris Kreider had his ice time reduced to 7:34 as he had a minus-2 rating, including a turnover leading to Ovechkin’s first-period goal. He played just 31 seconds in the third period. … The Capitals had 26 blocked shots to just seven for the Rangers. Capitals defenseman Jeff Schultz had nine blocked shots. …The Capitals’ Matt Hendricks went 9-for-9 on faceoffs. … Marian Gaborik has a four-game point streak.



This frustrating series mirrors series against Sens

Arthur Staple

WASHINGTON

A 2-2 series after a pair of one-goal losses. Plenty of frustration over a possibly suspendable hit and borderline calls. Very, very little in the way of momentum from game to game.

This is the Rangers' daily existence during this postseason, with this second-round series against the Capitals imitating the first-round series against the Senators. Washington has its two 3-2 wins in regulation, with late power-play goals; Ottawa had its wins in overtime, also by 3-2.

You know how that first-round series turned out. This one, in which every game except perhaps the opener could have been decided in an overtime or three, is shaping up exactly the same. The Rangers win with Henrik Lundqvist and opportunistic plays, the Caps with big moments from their offensively gifted players.

Saturday's Rangers loss in Game 4 could have gone either way, especially as it pertains to the officiating. Brian Boyle had his stick chopped in half near the Caps' blue line with the score tied at 2 late. Less than a minute later, Carl Hagelin whacked John Carlson in the hand. Carlson dropped his unbroken stick and Hagelin went to the box.

Then Ryan Callahan got mildly yanked down trying to clear a puck, starting the play that ended with Mike Green's winner with 5:48 to play.

"It's playoff hockey. You've got to control your emotions," Callahan said. "You just keep moving forward to try and get the equalizer. We didn't end up getting it."

The Rangers' ability to control everything has gotten them this far. They weren't much in control of the opening 20 minutes of Game 4, though, as the Capitals overwhelmed everyone except Lundqvist with speed and forechecking and some golden scoring chances.

But the Rangers pushed back after that lousy first, setting up a defining third period with a couple of goals off Washington mistakes.

Six of the Rangers' 11 playoff games have been tied heading to the third; eight of the Caps' 11 have been.

Both teams looked for one big play, as they did in Game 2 when the Rangers tied it at 2 early in the third period. In that one, Brad Richards got whistled for holding for a quick grab of Carlson, who embellished the call well. Carlson did it again Saturday, tossing his stick down as if it were aflame. Coincidentally, it happened as Hagelin and Marian Gaborik were breaking down the ice.

There's also the matter of Alex Ovechkin, whose skates were off the ice when he laid out Dan Girardi in the second period. Ovechkin was given a charging minor. A league source told Newsday Saturday that it is unlikely that Brendan Shanahan, the NHL's VP of player safety, will further discipline Ovechkin for the hit.

That won't quell the private fuming going on in the Rangers' dressing room, which began in Game 2 of the Senators series after Matt Carkner pounded away at Boyle and drew a one-game suspension, while Hagelin's elbow to Daniel Alfredsson's head got a three-game ban.

Tempers were short Saturday, and being repressed.

"I'm not going to comment on the refs," defenseman Marc Staal said. "I'll say something I might regret."

John Tortorella, already fined $50,000 this season for comments about the officiating, stayed mum. When asked about the refereeing, "no" was all he said before departing the podium and the Verizon Center.

But not for the final time this season. The Rangers will be back, just as they knew they would return to Ottawa after letting Game 4 slip away in that series.

The Rangers are frustrated, just as they were after Game 4 (and Game 5) in that opening-round series.

Nothing has beaten them yet, though, throughout this long, adventurous season, and nothing has lasted too long in their minds from game to game.

That's the good news.

The bad? This series still has a long way to go.

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 05.06.2012


Big names make big plays in Game 4 win for Capitals

By ARTHUR STAPLE [email protected]

WASHINGTON -- The Capitals' big boys made a big impact in Game 4.

Alex Ovechkin -- despite playing a modest 15:09, eighth-most among the 12 Capitals forwards -- scored the game's first goal in a dominant first period for the home side.

Nicklas Backstrom, who hadn't scored since a double-OT winner to defeat the Bruins in Game 2 of the opening round, bulled past two Rangers to find space for a quick shot to restore the Caps' lead in the second.

And Mike Green, one of the true forgotten men of the Capitals, blasted home the power-play winner.

These were three of the Caps' stars during their run-and-gun days under Bruce Boudreau, and all three contributed to the 3-2 win Saturday that evened the series.

"We needed that today," Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby said. "We've been relying on our character guys and it's great to see those guys have good games, especially Greenie. He's been working hard and doing all the little things right. To see it rewarded on the stat sheet is huge."

Dale Hunter still relied on what he likes to call his "foot soldiers," the glue guys who blocked 26 Rangers shots and won 30 of 55 faceoffs. Capitals forward Matt Hendricks went 9-0 on faceoffs, according to the stat sheet.

Ovechkin, who let Dan Girardi's point shot through that led to Artem Anisimov's tying goal in the second period, still didn't see much ice time outside of the opening period, but Backstrom and Alexander Semin, who attempted 10 shots on goal and mixed it up physically much more than he had been, were among the Capitals' leaders in ice time among the forwards.

"We really came out hard today," said Backstrom, who shouldered Anisimov down, then pushed past Anton Stralman to the slot to score off Jason Chimera's feed in the second. "I think that's the kind of guys we are in this group."

Ovechkin also got plenty of notice for his leaping hit on Girardi in the second, which drew a charging minor and no further attention from the NHL. Girardi said Ovechkin made head contact. Ovechkin said otherwise, maintaining that the hit was shoulder-to-shoulder initially.

"I just missed the puck. I tried to kick the puck and I saw he was coming, so I just got to protect myself," Ovechkin said.

Either way, the Capitals' captain will be on the Garden ice for Game 5 Monday. He might not play as much as he used to, but as evidenced by his game-winner in Game 2 and his exuberant play in the first two periods Saturday, he's still plenty dangerous.

As are his talented mates.

"You just see the way they're handling the puck, passing the puck. They just show a ton of confidence," Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner said. "They always have confidence, but [now] they take it to another level."



Capitals early power play had Rangers on back foot

By STEVE ZIPAY [email protected]

WASHINGTON -- When the Rangers lost during the season, one of the reasons often was a poor start.

No one on the Rangers would admit they were a step behind in the first period Saturday after the three-overtime game that ended early Thursday morning. Instead, the fingers were pointed at an early power play in which Anton Stralman interfered with Jason Chimera, who was about to burst by him in mid-ice at 2:25, and an inability to get traffic and shots on Braden Holtby.

"That put us on our heels a little bit," said Marc Staal, who led the Rangers with 24:20 of ice time and notched his second assist of the playoffs on Marian Gaborik's goal that tied the score at 2. "They were able to get some forechecks in on us. They were shooting a lot of pucks, so it took us a while to get hold of a couple and start getting the momentum back. I think we need to get in the goalie's face and create some more goals."

Kreider's time limitedRookie Chris Kreider, whose giveaway to Alex Ovechkin for a goal was costly, was a minus-2 and benched in the third period except for one 31-second shift. He played just 7:34 . . . Artem Anisimov had an up-and-down game with a goal, an assist and one very public dressing-down from John Tortorella; given his animated hand motions, it appeared that the coach was threatening the forward with being benched. He played 18:48 but had just one shot.

Ice chipsThe Rangers were 0-for-2 on the power play . . . Dan Girardi and Brian Boyle also had assists . . . Matt Hendricks went 9-for-9 on faceoffs as the Caps took 55 percent of the draws . . . D Stu Bickel played 7:02 after being on ice for just 3:36 in the three-overtime game. . . . The Rangers outhit the Caps 33-24.



Even in loss, Lundqvist comes up big

By ARTHUR STAPLE [email protected]

WASHINGTON -- Henrik Lundqvist has stolen plenty of games for the Rangers during the last decade -- especially this season, with his Hart and Vezina Trophy nominations testifying to that.

He was close to stealing Game 4 Saturday, but a screened point shot did him and the Rangers in as the Capitals tied the series with a 3-2 win.

"I didn't see the puck so I was pretty much guessing where it was going on both the second and third [goals]," Lundqvist said. "It's unfortunate, but I'll move on."

Lundqvist made 23 saves, which is a fairly pedestrian number for him. At least half of those were grade A chances, particularly in a lopsided first period.

Alex Ovechkin thought he had Lundqvist beaten less than three minutes in, when his doorstep tip somehow ended up in Lundqvist's glove rather than the yawning net. Ovechkin stood over Lundqvist and said a few words under his breath.

Later in that same Capitals power play, Lundqvist stopped Alexander Semin from in close and then Nicklas Backstrom in quick succession, keeping the game scoreless as the Caps piled up seven shots on goal in the first five minutes.

"He was huge, as always," Ryan McDonagh said. "They came out real strong and Hank came up big. That early power play got their skill guys some big minutes and good chances, but Hank was great. He's been great the whole playoffs, always giving us a chance to win."

Even after Ovechkin's off-speed, quick slap shot beat Lundqvist late in the first, the goaltender stood tall and allowed the Rangers to get off the mat. His biggest save of the second was a rebound save on Semin while lying flat on his back; 75 seconds later, Marian Gaborik tied the score.

In the third, Lundqvist turned aside Backstrom's two-on-nothing break-in, kicking out with his left pad hard enough to get the rebound beyond Jason Chimera's reach.

"He was definitely good for them," Caps center Brooks Laich said of Lundqvist. "We had some great chances that he definitely took away."

But not the final one, when Mike Green's slap shot slid by McDonagh's skates and beat Lundqvist low to the blocker side. Lundqvist angrily tossed his equipment in his bag after finishing with reporters, showing his disgust with the outcome.

"They're not just going to lay down and give it to us, and they came out way more aggressive," Lundqvist said. "We played a good second half. I don't really have a good explanation. It's going to be a battle to the end.

"Right now it's tough to be positive, but it's 2-2. I'm probably going to think about this game a little bit for a couple hours, then move on and look forward to playing at home [Monday]."



Rangers fall, Capitals even series

By STEVE ZIPAY [email protected]

WASHINGTON -- Unlike the aftermath of the Rangers' three-overtime win in Game 3, the visitors' locker room at Verizon Center wasn't filled with exhausted but happy Rangers Saturday. Instead, equipment was shoved into bags. Doors were slammed. Players were tight-lipped, angry.

They were irritated by a 3-2 loss that allowed the Capitals to tie the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series at two games each. And the refusal to discuss the officiating by coach John Tortorella, Brad Richards, Marc Staal and others spoke volumes.

At least three critical plays in the loss were up for debate.

With 6:15 left in the third and the score tied at 2, Rangers forward Carl Hagelin was whistled for slashing the stick out of John Carlson's hands in the neutral zone, a questionable call. A few minutes earlier, Alex Ovechkin wasn't called for a similar slash on Brian Boyle.

What proved to be the winning goal came on the ensuing power play as Mike Green's slap shot from the right circle zipped past Henrik Lundqvist's stick side with 5:48 left.

Neither Hagelin nor Boyle was available to talk about the plays.

Ovechkin, who opened the scoring with a one-timer that popped out of Lundqvist's glove and in at 12:43 of the first period, a session that the Caps dominated, also was a key figure in another incident.

Nicklas Backstrom had scored his second goal of the playoffs at 11:54 of the second period, firing the puck over Lundqvist's right shoulder for a 2-1 lead. Just 23 seconds later, Ovechkin was assessed a charging penalty when he skated past the puck in open ice and left his feet to hit Dan Girardi high. The Rangers didn't score with the man-advantage, but Ovechkin could face a fine or suspension for the incident.

Ovechkin said his shoulder connected with Girardi's shoulder. "I just missed the puck. I tried to kick the puck and I saw he was coming, so I just got to protect myself," he said. But Girardi said: "It hit me in the head first . . . I saw him coming, then he hit me. I'm not even going to get into that. He's a big guy and he hits hard."

Girardi declined to say whether Ovechkin, who has two goals in the last three games, deserves further punishment. "I'm not going to be judge of that," he said.

Game 5 is Monday at Madison Square Garden. "It's best-of-three with home ice," said Richards, who had four shots. "We've been in good position every game to win it. They needed a win. It happens. Third period, tie game, we just couldn't finish it off. We've got to do more."

The Rangers finished with only 20 shots and the Capitals blocked 26, including Brooks Laich's stop on Girardi with two seconds remaining. The Rangers blocked a playoff-low seven.

The second period ended tied at 2-2 after the Capitals stopped skating for a moment, believing there was an icing. But at least one linesman waved off the icing, and Artem Anisimov -- who had scored to tie it at 1-1 at 1:10 of the second period with some nifty stickwork in front to deke Capitals goalie Braden Holtby -- raced ahead and backhanded the puck from behind the line to Marian Gaborik in front. Gaborik deposited the puck behind Holtby, who had his glove raised, calling for icing.

The Caps showed no sense of fatigue after the three-overtime loss. In the first period, they outshot the Rangers 14-3, with six of those shots on an early power play after Anton Stralman went to the box for interfering with Jason Chimera.

Lundqvist, who made 23 saves, stopped Alexander Semin, Backstrom and Green in an 11-second span during that man-advantage.

"They came out way more aggressive," said Lundqvist, who said he was screened and guessing on Backstrom's and Green's goals. "Right now it's tough to be positive, but it's 2-2."



Rangers farm team in playoff semis

Newsday columnist Steve Zipay Steve Zipay's Blue Notes

While all eyes are naturally focused on the big club, the Connecticut Whale, the Rangers' top affiliate, is sailing along in the AHL playoffs.

With a mix of vets and some promising youngsters, Connecticut is 4-1 in the postseason, including a three-game, first-round sweep of the Islanders' affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Games 3 and 4 of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Norfolk Admirals, the AHL's top club during the season with 113 points, are today and tomorrow.

"[The Admirals] had won 28 in a row to end the season and we beat them in Game 1," the team's general manager Jim Schoenfeld, who also is the Rangers assistant GM, told Newsday. "That's something. It's not our same team that started the season, we've added some guys who are playing well."

Schoenfeld mentioned goaltender Cam Talbot, (4-1, 1.69 GAA and .956 save percentage) who has surpassed incumbent Chad Johnson; defenseman Tim Erixon, who has seen time on Broadway, and forward Marek Hrivik ("pronounced like 'terrific', Schoenfeld said), but stopped there, saying he was sure to miss someone. "It's really been a complete team effort."

Hrivik, a 6-2, undrafted Slovakian winger who signed a tryout deal on April 30, has five goals and an assist in the last four games; Jonathan Audy-Marchessault, who compiled 64 points in the regular season, has two goals; Casey Wellman (acquired from the Wild for Erik Christensen) has a goal and four assists and 2011 first-round draft pick J.T. Miller netted his first pro point with an assist.

Schoenfeld, who visits Hartford, frequently during the season deferred credit: "[Head coach] Kenny [Gernander], J.J. [Daigneault] and Pat [Boller, assistants] have done a great job there."

Rangers ties to Coyotes

Of the teams vying for the Western Conference title, the Phoenix Coyotes have the most ties to the Rangers.

DON MALONEY

General manager played 11 years for the Blueshirts, from 1978 to 1989, scoring 20-plus goals five times. The brother of former captain Dave Maloney also was vice-president of player personnel and an assistant general manager from 1996 to 2007.

MICHAL ROZSIVAL

Signed as a free agent after the lockout and played here until Jan. 10, 2011, when he was traded to Phoenix for Wojtek Wolski. He ended the Rangers longest home playoff game since 1971 by scoring on Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller on April 29, 2007, at 16:43 of the second OT.

LAURI KORPIKOSKI

Former 2004 first-round draft pick who scored his first NHL goal in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Penguins on May 4, 2008. The Finnish forward was traded in July 2009 to the Coyotes for Enver Lisin.

DEREK MORRIS

Defenseman acquired from Coyotes at the 2009 trade deadline for Petr Prucha, Dmitri Kalinin and Nigel Dawes.

TAYLOR PYATT

Grew up in Thunder Bay, Ontario, home of Marc Staal. His brother, Tom, was drafted by the Rangers in 2005, and was part of the Scott Gomez trade to Montreal in June 2009 when the Blueshirts acquired Ryan McDonagh.

Anisimov family sojourn

The hardest thing for Artem Anisimov about Wednesday's lengthy triple overtime win in Washington was knowing that the best-laid plans of his parents, who were visiting from Russia, and his girlfriend, were ruined.

"They drove down from New York and were waiting and waiting to see me after the game, longer and longer" Anisimov said, shaking his head. "And then they had to drive back at 1 in the morning."

The trio also came to see Game 4 yesterday. "This time, no driving," he said. "The train."

Feds dropping pucks

Ruslan Fedotenko played temporary linesman on Friday, dropping pucks at center ice for faceoff practice, and feigned some anger when asked if he was prepping for a second career. "You're trying to run me out of town already?" said Fedotenko, 33, who will be a free agent. "Can't I finish the season? All I was doing was trying to help and you're pushing me out? [Brian] Boyle was complaining about how I was dropping the puck, anyway."

Biron's critique

Meet Martin Biron, movie critic. Biron, Henrik Lundqvist and Chris Kreider went to see "Hunger Games" on Thursday. Kreider said he wasn't crazy about the cast, and Biron was tossing rotten tomatoes at the whole film. "It was just okay, like a cross between 'The Running Man' and 'The Truman Show,' but not as good. The premise wasn't believable, some parts were too graphic -- with the book you can use your imagination -- and it looked like they rushed the ending to try to wrap things up in a hurry. I want to go see the Avengers."



NHL playoffs: Rangers can't capitalize in Game 4

Rick Carpiniello

WASHINGTON — The hard way is apparently the Rangers’ way. Because everything they’ve done in these playoffs they’ve done the hard way.

Their series with the Washington Capitals will go at least six games now, after the Caps’ 3-2 victory in Game 4 here Saturday afternoon tied the Eastern Conference semifinals at two games apiece.

Game 5 is Monday at Madison Square Garden, and Game 6 will be back in Washington on Wednesday.

Game 4 was not the Rangers’ best in the playoffs, and featured their worst period . And yet, thanks to goalie Henrik Lundqvist and some opportunistic goals, the Rangers found themselves tied 2-2 late in the third period.

With 5:48 left, after a slashing call on Carl Hagelin for knocking the stick out of John Carlsson’s hands, shortly after the Rangers’ Brian Boyle had lost his stick on an identical play with no penalty call, the Caps got the game winner.

Mike Green’s power-play shot from just inside the right circle, with time and space, beat Lundqvist through the pads. The Rangers thought they would get a power play after that goal, when Mike Knuble knocked a puck into the crowd, but nothing was called.

“They needed a win and they came out like that,” Brad Richards said of the start. “It was probably one of our worst periods, but it happens. We were in the game in the third period, in a tied game. We got it back. We just didn’t finish it off.”

The Capitals were desperate after losing the triple-overtime marathon Wednesday.

“Obviously we expect a long series with our group in here, grinding everything out as the last 25 minutes showed,” winning goalie Braden Holtby said. “We had a goal in mind and we accomplished it.”

There was some early pressure by the Capitals, which started with Alex Ovechkin having his shot blocked by Dan Girardi. It came right back to him for a shot in the slot, which Lundqvist kicked away.

Lundqvist somehow kept it scoreless, though the Capitals reeled off the first seven shots of the game, making a wild glove save on Ovechkin’s power-play deflection at the edge of the crease, and consecutive stops on Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin.

Then the Capitals got one off a 2-on-2 battle in the corner. The puck came out to Chris Kreider and his blind backhander landed on the stick of Ovechkin, who ripped it off Lundqvist’s glove and in at the 12:43 mark in the first. Holtby, down the other end, faced three first-period shots and had to make one save of note — on a John Mitchell jam from Brandon Prust.

The Rangers took over at the start of the second. Boyle got the puck back to Girardi for a point shot that was deflected and hit Brooks Laich in front. Laich couldn’t find it, but Artem Anisimov did, with time to put it on his backhand and beat Holtby at 1:10. Holtby made several other good saves after the goal, and Ryan Callahan hit a post behind him on a power-play rush.

After that power play, though, Backstrom put Anisimov on the seat of his pants and got the puck to Joel Ward behind the net. Jason Chimera found Backstrom cutting to the goal between Anton Stralman and Kreider for a far-side shot and a 2-1 lead.

Late in the period, Marc Staal flipped a puck out of his zone and it would have been icing, but Anisimov beat Jeff Schultz to the puck and whipped it in front to Marian Gaborik, who beat Holtby to tie it at 2-2 with 3:17 left in the second period.

Lundqvist made another eye-popping save on a 2-on-none break by Backstrom in the third.

So now it becomes a best-of-three, just as the first round did.

“We did it last round,” Staal said. “Obvously they did, too. But all year long we’ve been a confident team in here. I think we’ll take that confidence into the next game and go from there.

“It’s tight defensively, guys are blocking shots. It’s definitely a battle out there.”

Rockland Journal News: LOADED: 05.06.2012


Rangers vs. Capitals: Alex Ovechkin not a big hit

Rick Carpiniello

WASHINGTON — If we hadn’t seen the NHL jump through hoops so often to not suspend players during these playoffs, we’d probably expect a hearing for Washington’s Alex Ovechkin today.

But, based on what we’ve seen, we shouldn’t.

Ovechkin landed a leaping, skates-off-the-ice shoulder into the head of the Rangers’ Dan Girardi in the second perod of Game 4 Saturday.

Ovechkin barely played the puck, with his skate on open ice, then went for Girardi, leaving his feet and sending the Rangers’ defenseman to the ice with the head shot.

Ovechkin was assessed a two-minute charging penalty, and the Rangers’ power play failed to capitalize.

Ovechkin said he thought Girardi was going to hit him and braced himself. And when asked about hitting Girardi in the head, he said, “In the head? No, I think it was the shoulder.”

Capitals coach Dale Hunter — and we know his resume — called it “incidental contact where both of them were looking down when they hit each other.”

Girardi said he was fine after the game, but clearly not happy about it. When told that Ovechkin said he hit him in the shoulder, Girardi just said, “I’m not going to get into that.”

“He hit my head a bit there. I think it was the right call. I’m not sure what it was, charging or interference. I think he was playing the game hard, but ... I don’t know.

“It hit me in the head first.”

Ovechkin was suspended three games at midseason for leaving his feet to hit Pittsburgh’s Zbynek Michalek in the head, a suspension during which Ovechkin chose to skip the All-Star Game.

Asked if there should be more discipline, Girardi shrugged and said, “I’m not the judge of that. They called the penalty on it. That’s all I know.”

In the first round, the Rangers saw Ottawa’s Chris Phillips elbow Ryan Callahan in the head and then had Chris Neil knock Brian Boyle out of the series with a concussion on a predatory hit to the head. Neither even received a minor penalty. But Rangers rookie Carl Hagelin, who caused a concussion to Daniel Alfredsson with an elbow, received a major penalty and a three-game suspension.

Rockland Journal News: LOADED: 05.06.2012

629923 NHL

Predators Try to Cope With Two Stars on the Bench

By JEFF Z. KLEIN and STU HACKEL

Nashville Coach Barry Trotz suspended Alexander Radulov and Sergei Kostitsyn for Game 3 of their playoff series with Phoenix after they missed a team curfew.M. J. Masotti Jr./ReutersNashville Coach Barry Trotz suspended Alexander Radulov and Sergei Kostitsyn for Game 3 of their playoff series with Phoenix after they missed a team curfew.

The unpredictable nature of this season’s Stanley Cup playoffs asserted itself yet again last week when the Nashville Predators, who were trailing Phoenix by two games to none and being solidly outplayed, suspended

their top two scorers for Game 3 of their second-round series, and were better off for it.

Without Alexander Radulov and Sergei Kostitsyn in the lineup, the Predators shut out the Coyotes, 2-0. Even with the suspension lifted for Game 4, Radulov and Kostitsyn did not dress Friday and their team was shut out, 1-0, in Nashville.

The two were discovered to have broken curfew on the eve of Game 2. They were reportedly seen in a Scottsdale, Ariz., bar, 45 minutes away from the team’s Glendale hotel, as late as 5 a.m. The team confirmed the time of their arrival at the hotel by checking the hotel’s computer records for when the room keys were used.

Radulov is not a drinker. Kostitsyn had previously made headlines in Montreal for late-night partying.

Kostitsyn scored in Game 2, but Radulov’s play was so uninspired that he was singled out for criticism on postgame telecasts in the United States and Canada.

The Radulov-Kostitsyn episode, along with the discussion surrounding Alex Ovechkin’s diminished ice time in Washington, revived old tropes in North American hockey circles about “enigmatic” Russians and how, despite their natural talent, they supposedly do not work hard or sacrifice for the team. Such stereotypes used to be proffered in English Canada about players from Quebec, or, in American sports like baseball and football, about nonwhite athletes.

Nevertheless, breaking curfew during hockey’s postseason is exceedingly rare, as players almost invariably dedicate themselves to the best interests of their teams.

The remaining Predators supported the decision of Coach Barry Trotz and General Manager David Poile to exclude the two.

“As a leadership group, we talked to Trotzy and said whatever you decide, we’ll stand by you,” the alternate captain Ryan Suter said. “We’re in the playoffs. We don’t need distractions.”

The incident was particularly embarrassing to Poile, the popular manager who called the behavior selfish.

Poile addressed Nashville’s longstanding offensive shortcoming by trading with Montreal for Kostitsyn in February, then getting Radulov to join the club in March after the season ended in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League for his team, Salavat Yulaev Ufa.

Radulov is a two-time K.H.L. most valuable player and the league’s leading career scorer. He led Salavat to the 2011 K.H.L. championship and helped lead Russia to gold medals at the world championship tournament in 2008 and 2009.

Radulov jumped to the K.H.L. in the summer of 2008 while still a member of the Predators. His deal with Salavat called for substantially more than the entry-level deal in Nashville, which is capped by the league at less than $1 million annually.

His defection sparked a long period of ill will between the N.H.L. and the K.H.L. over respecting each other’s contracts.

After the postseason, Radulov will be a restricted free agent and Kostitsyn an unrestricted free agent, but their actions last week may have damaged their futures in the N.H.L.

Off-Season Moves Begin

As the playoffs proceed, some teams that didn’t make the tournament or were eliminated early are pondering moves for the future, or already making them.

While the dethroned champion Bruins don’t seem inclined to dismiss anyone in their hockey department, the team’s president, Cam Neely, disclosed a need to upgrade Boston’s power play.

The Bruins managed only two goals with the man advantage in losing to Washington, and each game in the seven-game series was decided by one goal.

Mike Gillis, general manager for last season’s other finalist, Vancouver, has supported the return of Coach Alain Vigneault. But neither man has received a vote of confidence from ownership.

The Canucks were thought to be a serious Cup contender after finishing first over all in the regular season, but their early departure cannot sit well with the owner Francesco Aquilini.

He and Vigneault are set to meet Monday to go over the club’s direction, and some believe the coach may be a casualty.

San Jose, often a league power, took a step backward this season, scrambling to make the playoffs and exiting early. Ownership gave General Manager Doug Wilson a vote of confidence last week, but changes are expected.

The status of Coach Todd McLellan is being discussed.

The Montreal Canadiens hired Marc Bergevin as their general manager. His 20-year N.H.L. playing career earned him the reputation as a reliable defenseman and one of the game’s great pranksters.

Since retiring as a player in 2005, Bergevin held a variety of positions with Chicago, most recently as assistant general manager, where he earned praise for his ability to evaluate talent and work long hours.

Those qualities also characterized the runner-up for the Canadiens job, the NBC hockey analyst Pierre McGuire.

A former assistant general manager for Hartford, McGuire has an encyclopedic knowledge of hockey talent that has made him an invaluable unpaid resource for teams contemplating transactions.

It is the third time McGuire has been runner-up for a general manager’s job. Discussing his failure to land the job in an Ottawa radio interview, McGuire said he was “the Susan Lucci of general manager searches.”


629924 Ottawa Senators

You Be The Boss results

By Don Brennan ,Ottawa Sun

At a $1-million salary, Daniel Alfredsson would have to be the best bargain in the NHL.

Heck, a good number of Sun readers who responded to our You Be The Boss survey wanted to give him a raise on the $4.5-million cap hit he had this season.

However, the Senators’ all-time leader in just about every category is already on record as saying that if he does play in 2012-13, he will honour the contract as is, and that’s for a stipend that, looking at the list of those under contract now, would currently make him the third-lowest-paid player on the team.

Imagine the captain before him — Alexei Yashin — agreeing to that?

Admittedly, there were flaws in the system as it was presented.

For instance, most wanted Alex Auld and Matt Gilroy traded. Both are unrestricted free agents, who nobody would trade for and neither, especially top-vote-getter Auld, has a snowball’s chance in a microwave of getting offered a new contract by GM Bryan Murray.

And just about everybody says Erik Karlsson should get a raise on the $875,000 he was listed at on the survey. No kidding. A RFA who became one of the NHL’s best defencemen in 2011-12, Karlsson is guaranteed a 500% pay hike, at least.

But there were also some interesting trends revealed, as well.

Garnering most votes in the ‘Keep Him’ category were top sniper Milan Michalek and veteran defenceman Chris Phillips. Good players, granted, but given the options on the roster, is that not a Thing That Makes You Go Hmmm?

Also, Murray has decisions to make on UFAs Zenon Konopka and Matt Carkner, and if he is at all swayed by the public participating in the poll, he’ll bring the two tough veterans back.

As far as the fifth and final UFA, Jesse Winchester, the vote is closer to being an even split. Of course, that probably has something to do with the

fact that concussions limited the 28-year-old forward to just 32 games in the regular season and four in the playoffs. Winchester himself isn’t sure he’ll be able to play again.

Despite all the complaints from radio show callers about Jason Spezza’s turnovers, only a small percentage of YBTB participants want to see the team’s top centre moved. Good call, folks. Those whining about Spezza’s performance in the playoffs should remember that without him in the lineup, they would have been watching a Buffalo-New York series in the first round.

Spezza is the leading candidate to replace Alfredsson as captain, if the latter retires, both in your eyes and, it’s believed, in the opinion of those in charge of making the appointment.

Curiously, more people wanted assistant coaches Mark Reeds and Dave Cameron, plus Murray, to be kept than voted for Jack Adams Award finalist Paul MacLean to be retained. At the same time, more also wanted MacLean to get a raise than the other three — and a strong majority also said the hiring of MacLean as the best move Murray made this season — so go figure.

Also, 179 want Murray fired? For what he did to quickly turn the team around, shouldn’t he be considered the NHL’s executive of the year?

While defenceman Jared Cowen received the most votes in the ‘which players signed for at least the next three years do you envision as part of the long-term plan,’ not too far behind him was goalie Craig Anderson. With Ben Bishop and Robin Lehner pushing for a No. 1 job, it figures the Senators will need to deal one of the three at some point. Right now, given his experience and manageable salary, Anderson might fetch the most attractive package.

Of course, Anderson also received your overwhelming support as the goalie that should start next season as the main man between the Senators pipes.

It’s all interesting stuff. We appreciate your participation, just as we know the real Senators’ boss will be looking closely at the results.

Ottawa Sun LOADED: 05.06.2012

629925 Philadelphia Flyers

Carchidi's Key

Devils 4, Flyers 3 (OT)

Devils 4, Flyers 1

Flyers 4, Devils 3

Staff writer Sam Carchidi's

key to the game:

The team that wins the forecheck/cycle aspects - Devils strengths in this series - figures to take Game 4.

Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 05.06.2012


Game 4: Flyers at Devils

FLYERS: Center Claude Giroux

The shifty center has been stifled by rookie Adam Henrique, among others, and the Flyers need him to get untracked if they are going to even the series. Giroux has just one point in three games.

DEVILS: Goaltender Martin Brodeur

The Devils' future Hall of Famer can give his team a stranglehold on the series if he celebrates his 40th birthday with a win. He has a 2.39 goals-against average and .905 save percentage in the three games.

Three keys to the game

1.

The Flyers need to show more passion and physicality than they have displayed in most of the series.

2.

The Devils must continue to win faceoffs on the power play and not give the Flyers a lot of good looks with a man advantage.

3.

The Flyers need their big guns to start producing. Giroux, Scott Hartnell, Jaromir Jagr, and Wayne Simmonds have combined for one goal in the series.

- Sam Carchidi



Flyers Notes: Meszaros practicing, could play Sunday

By Frank Seravalli

By the looks of Saturday's practice, Flyers defenseman Andrej Meszaros will return to the lineup for Game 4 on Sunday night in Newark.

By the sounds of it, Meszaros himself isn't even sure he is ready.

The final call may not actually be up to Meszaros, as the Flyers could try to press him into action for the first time since he underwent lower-back surgery March 21 to remove a disk fracture. It wouldn't be the first time, especially in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

"You want to help the team, but on the other hand, you don't want to overdo it," Meszaros said. "I hope I still have the next 15 years in the NHL. It was a major surgery, so it's tough to push something."

Meszaros, 26, rotated on a pair with Erik Gustafsson and Andreas Lilja on Saturday, a sign that one of those three players will be the odd man out for Game 4.

Meszaros has practiced with the Flyers for more than a week straight. The original prognosis from doctors was a six- to eight-week recovery time. Six weeks passed May 3. He has not worn a noncontact jersey in practice this week, although general manager Paul Holmgren has not responded to repeated questions on whether Meszaros has been cleared by a doctor.

Meszaros said Saturday's practice was the biggest physical test for him thus far.

"Sometimes, you feel great for a couple days and then the third day is tough," Meszaros said. "It's a long process, day-by-day. Every day is different. It's tough to say."

Meszaros admitted the series standing, with the Flyers facing the possibility of trailing three games to one on Monday morning, plays a role in the decision-making. As a confident puck carrier, he could be just the man the Flyers need to stop the bleeding in their own zone.

Couturier out?

Though coach Peter Laviolette said not to "hang your hat on it," he juggled his lines at Saturday's practice. The biggest change was Claude Giroux centering James van Riemsdyk and Wayne Simmonds. Danny Briere skated with Scott Hartnell and Jakub Voracek. Brayden Schenn moved to center Matt Read and Jaromir Jagr, and Zac Rinaldo took Sean Couturier's place on a line with Max Talbot and Eric Wellwood.

Couturier has not skated since leaving Thursday's Game 3 in the first period with an apparent right leg injury. His status for Game 4 is unknown. Officially, he is day-to-day, according to Holmgren.

Praise for N.J.

Jaromir Jagr was asked if Thursday's 4-3 overtime loss was a wake-up call for the Flyers.

"Wake-up call? I don't know if you guys thought we would win 4-0. I knew it was going to be tough. And it is tough," he said. "We didn't play our best. We should play a lot better than we have the last three games, for sure. But

you have to give them a lot of credit, also. They don't give you much. It's not like we're not trying."

Inquirer staff writer Sam Carchidi contributed to this article.



Mike Missanelli: Philly fans' dream season

Mike Missanelli, For the Inquirer

It's that time of the spring when Philadelphia sports worlds deliciously collide.

The Phillies and the NFL draft. The Flyers and Sixers in the playoffs. It's like ordering a Kohr Bros. soft-serve, vanilla-chocolate cone that falls into a vat of multicolored sprinkles. Or something like that.

Sixers sixth man Lou Williams cheers his team on in Game 3 of the opening round series against the Bulls.

So in the spirit of this sports cornucopia, here is a sampling of what is racing through my head.

Conference finals. If the Flyers can beat the New Jersey Devils and the Sixers can outlast the Bulls, we could be looking at the first dual conference-finals situation in this town since 1985. And that's not that far a leap. Apparently, the NBA is a little behind the times and doesn't reseed the second round, which means the Sixers would have to beat only the Boston Celtics or the Atlanta Hawks to advance to the conference finals. Very plausible. But the last time the Flyers and Sixers both went to the conference finals, fate dealt them both a nasty blow.

In 1985, the Flyers, captained by Dave Poulin, beat the Quebec Nordiques in the Eastern Conference finals before losing to the powerful Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Finals. Pelle Lindbergh won the Vezina that season, and Brian Propp and Tim Kerr were both 40-goal scorers. Early the following season, tragedy struck when Lindbergh was killed in a car crash.

That same year, the Sixers, with Moses Malone, Julius Erving, Andrew Toney, Maurice Cheeks, and an upstart named Charles Barkley, reached the conference finals before losing to the Boston Celtics of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Dennis Johnson, and Danny Ainge. That triggered a downward spiral from which the Sixers took years to recover. Billy Cunningham left as coach after that season. Matt Guokas took over, and the following season the Sixers traded Moses to Washington for Jeff Ruland and Cliff Robinson, and the No. 1 pick in the draft for Roy Hinson. I know. It still hurts.

Roy Halladay. I don't know what's wrong with the Phillies' staff ace, but I'm not that comfortable right now. Halladay, who got shelled for eight runs and 12 hits in less than six innings in his last outing, is averaging three strikeouts fewer than he did per nine innings last year. His velocity is down, as well. He's throwing fewer and fewer fastballs. About two-thirds of all of the pitches he throws these days are cutters or curves.

Here's what I know: A pitcher's arm, like a car, has only so much mileage in it. Is Halladay not 100 percent physically, or has he just hit the wall?

The Phillies' future. It has been a wonderful era of Phillies baseball. And I still think this team will make the National League playoffs and even win the division again. But what happens from here? With so many guys getting old at once and a farm system that could produce only Eric Kratz as an offensive call-up the other day, what does this team even look like next year? How do the Phillies replenish? Who plays third base next year? Do the Phillies re-sign Shane Victorino, knowing that they've probably been mistaken in giving players in their 30s multiyear deals? What about left field, which right now is manned by Juan Pierre and a spin of the wheel when Pierre sits.

At one point, I thought Hunter Pence would be a cornerstone for the Phillies, but now I'm not so sure. Here's the thing about Pence that confuses me: His batting-practice long balls are legendary. And yet I don't see much of that power during the games. Hunter, with Ryan Howard not in the lineup, this team needs you to drive the ball more, not slap ground balls through the hole.

Donovan McNabb. I'm usually hard on our favorite ex-quarterback, but my thinking is fair-minded on McNabb right now. If the Eagles can announce that they'll retire Brian Dawkins' number 20 in a ceremony, can the retirement of McNabb's number 5 be very far behind? I know we're not thinking in those terms just yet, what with McNabb saying such silly things about why he's worthy of the Hall of Fame. But think about it. If the Eagles can retire the number of Dawkins, shouldn't it be a no-brainer to retire the number of the best player in franchise history at the most important position in the sport, quarterback?

NFL suspensions. Roger Goodell right now is reminding me of the Gene Hackman sheriff character, Little Bill, in the movie Unforgiven, who overzealously enforced the law to clean up a town. But that was the Wild West. This is pro football. A one-year suspension for linebacker Jonathan Vilma for his participation in the NFL bounty controversy is a little harsh, don't you think? If Goodell had any evidence that connected a specific injury with a specific bounty, then I could see it. But come on, man. Bounties have been going on in this league for a really long time. The commissioner has already made his point with the suspensions of the coach and general manager. And perhaps he could have continued that point with maybe a half-year suspension of Vilma. Stay tuned for the lawsuit on this one.

The Kentucky Derby. Spent my Saturday at the Derby, and for my money there is no better sporting event one can attend. The thing about the Kentucky Derby is that if you sip enough mint juleps in the hot sun, it makes you more aggressive at the betting window. Many years ago, when I was working in the newspaper business, I felt some karma for a horse named Editor's Note. So not quite clear of mind, I emptied my pockets at the window, betting Editor's Note to win. At the top of the stretch, my horse started to fade, and I watched forlornly as a horse named Grindstone crossed the finish line first.

A patron next to me noted my depressed look, looked at my ticket, and said, "Dude, you won!" Because of the juleps, I hadn't taken note of the fact that Editor's Note and Grindstone were running as a Wayne Lukas stable entry, which means I got both horses for the price of one. Best track day of my life.



Bill Lyon: Four Philly coaches, by their words you shall know them

Bill Lyon, For The Inquirer

For what seemed like forever, the Flyers of Philadelphia played dump-and-chase hockey, paying homage to that old reliable "system" that keeps oral surgeons in business. It was just enough to tease them, and us, into thinking they were always just a hot goalie away.

Then along came Giddy-Up. No more trying to stuff round pegs into square holes. Every shift was an exercise in storming the beaches, Teddy's Rough Riders taking San Juan Hill. The players thrived, and why not, they were the hammer not the nail. The game would be played at the pace they dictated.

And always there was Giddy-Up, rising, stomping behind the bench like Ahab in pursuit of the great white whale, scalding them with his fire and brimstone, and they gathered around him, hanging raptly on every word, and, ah, if only you could bottle those moments.

Because sooner, and almost always later, the bloom fades. The coach wearies of hectoring them, and they tire of the lash, a dissolution is inevitable, and the best you can hope for then is the memory of that one enchanted season when, at long last, you got to dance with the silver cup.

We're just trying to tread water for now.

- Charlie Manuel

Backstroke . . . dog paddle . . . Australian crawl . . . whatever the manager can find to keep the Phillies afloat, keep them afloat until . . . well, until what, exactly? We all know the answer, of course, but what if Ryan Howard and Chase Utley do come back and they're not the Ryan Howard and Chase Utley we remember?

A gruesome thought. The manager would handle that the way he does every crisis, which is lock himself in a soundproof room and engage in some primal-scream therapy, emerge from the room, take out a fresh deck of lineup cards, and say: "Well, boys, who you like in the three hole tonight?"

Panic is not an option.

Cholly is earning his paycheck these days, playing to his strength, which is calming the waters. His easy gait is contagious, and it helps that he has a veteran team, one not easily spooked.

Cholly's not big on team meetings, didn't have much use for them as a player himself because their shelf life tends to be short. He prefers the "walk-through" approach, a casual stroll through the clubhouse, with a one-on-one reassurance.

They put on a brave front but they're all still struggling with the continuing attempt at adjusting to that damnable small-ball offense.

What it does is elevate the importance of Jonathan Papelbon, because if most of your games are going to be close, then you need a rabid closer.

The NBA is all about toughness, not finesse.

- Doug Collins

Isn't that exactly what he's always telling them? Get tough, be tough, crash the boards tough . . . and the litany goes on and on, over and over - yeah, Coach, right Coach, uh-huh, Coach - until it's oozing out of their ears.

But the 76ers coach won't let up, won't let them let up, and nerves get frayed and there's a story making the rounds that a divorce is imminent, and that would mean the coach is gone because everyone knows the cruel math: easier to get rid of one coach than 15 players.

The coach is persistent - that's polite for being stubborn. He sticks to his convictions on who gets what minutes even if some of them are baffling.

"I've got 40 years in the NBA," he says.

Then just after a midseason stretch of truly putrid play, they right themselves. And Joshua Harris, the deepest of the new owners' deep pockets, gives the coach the dreaded vote of confidence. He cannot, he says, envision a situation in which Doug Collins will not be back.

Then they catch a break. The MVP of the league goes down and the passing lane through the first round of the playoffs suddenly opens wide.

Opportunity inviting.

Time's yours . . .

- Andy Reid

Now then, about that invitation to time that has been our scourge for going on 14 years. You know what the Eagles coach does best?

Survives.

A refresher: Andy Reid has been the Iggles man for as long as his three predecessors combined - in order, Buddy Ryan (five years), Rich Kotite (four years), and Ray Rhodes (four years).

Reid prepares now for his 14th year at the helm and, if you believe the tribal drums, his last.

Once and for all. He's gone. Promise.

This, however, could turn out to be wishful thinking, a case of saying something enough times that eventually it becomes accepted as gospel. Because none of the pooh-bahs hunkered down in Fortress NovaCare has announced that unless there is a Super Bowl championship this time around, Andy Reid is gone. Until then, nothing at all that resembles an ultimatum.

Besides, as you know, the inhabitants of Fortress NovaCare are hardly ever - make that never - forthcoming. Nor do they so much as give a fig what you think anyway.

Over the last 13 years, Andy Reid's hair has grayed, his glasses thickened, and an emotionally wrenching family struggle has been endured.

But he won't let any of us in, even the well-meaning, and he remains unchanged and unapologetic, and if the arrogance and the superiority and the pretension bother you, well, take a number.

Time's yours.

For now . . .



Flyers need Giroux to regain star power in Game 4

By Frank Seravalli

Claude Giroux stood there, his arms folded, gently stroking his ginger playoff beard and trying to come up with an answer.

The assembled press corps was eager for Giroux's take on why the recently dubbed "best player in the world" dropped off from a type of first-round series that would satisfy most players for an entire playoff run to just one point in three games against the New Jersey Devils.

Giroux, 24, shrugged off the questions.

"We were one goal away from us leading 2-1," Giroux said. "It doesn't mean that because they have a 2-1 lead that we have doubt. Both sides have had chances, it could have been either way.

"The message is clear. We know we can play better as a team. I think we'll see a different group of guys next game."

Giroux has been quiet. His lone goal of this Eastern Conference semifinal series is on the power play, after an effort where he averaged more than two points a game against Pittsburgh in the first round. His staggering 14 points were second in franchise history to only Tim Kerr in one playoff series.

Giroux has been held scoreless in two straight games. Put in perspective, he went from Jan. 31 to March 29 in the regular season without going pointless in back-to-back games.

Officially, Giroux has not collected a point against New Jersey in 153 minutes, 2 seconds. He has as many points as Devils grinder Stephen Gionta.

In Thursday night's Game 3 loss, Giroux opened himself to speculation that he is injured by not taking a string of five faceoffs, a rarity for the superstar center. Scott Hartnell was left to the take the draws.

Is Giroux hurt? The Flyers won't say. The reality is that at this point in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the only healthy players are the ones who have been watching from the press box.

Frustration is setting in. Coach Peter Laviolette shook up the Flyers' lines on Saturday again, moving Giroux away from Hartnell and Jaromir Jagr. That line has been successful for most of this season.

"I think everyone's frustrated," Hartnell said. "You can tell with [Giroux] that he wants to make something happen every time he's on the ice, and I think we all know that's basically impossible. Whether it's losing a puck battle at the wrong time, or whatever, it seems like it's almost contagious right now. Everybody's doing it.

"It's OK to be frustrated to a point, but we've got to get back our focus and get back to doing what we do well."

Giroux said the Flyers need to do a better job adjusting from their first-round battle against Pittsburgh, which is long over. In fact, Penguins star Sidney Crosby - with plenty of time on his hands now - was in Louisville on Saturday for the Kentucky Derby.

"We've got to find the same emotion that we had against Pittsburgh," Giroux said. "There were a lot of things going on in that series. It's not going to be as open as Pittsburgh. We need to understand that.

"If we have to win 1-0, good enough."

In Game 4, the Flyers face the possibility of leaving New Jersey with a chance to be eliminated on Tuesday night in Philadelphia. The Flyers have won only one series in franchise history (1 for 14) when trailing three games to one in a series.

"There's going to be ups and downs," Matt Carle said. "It's not the first time we've been down [this season]. We're only down 2-1. There's a little added pressure in this game. We're trying to approach it as a must-win. We just need to find a way to win one game."

The best chance to win one game is on Giroux's back. He has enjoyed the pressure before, asking for the first shift - and almost magically scoring a goal - with a chance to close out the Penguins in Game 6.

And the Flyers, if anyone, know how crippling it can be to watch an opponent's stars go radio silent in a series.

Giroux, meanwhile, seems unflappable. On Sunday night, it will be business as usual. It's probably not coincidental that the Flyers have not lost three straight games at any point this season and Giroux has never gone more than three consecutive games without points.

"Since the start of the year, I don't think we've ever been the type of team that quits," Giroux said. "We're excited to come back again. I've just got to be patient and wait for my chances."



Inside the Flyers: Flyers seem to play better as underdogs

By Sam Carchidi

Maybe the Flyers were looking past the New Jersey Devils and ahead to a likely series with their Winter Classic pals from the city that doesn't sleep.

Maybe the Flyers thought the Devils would be an inferior opponent to a Pittsburgh team that they brushed aside in the conference quarterfinals.

Maybe the Flyers figured it would be easy because New Jersey was fortunate to get past mediocre Florida in the first round.

But the Devils, who have a two-games-to-one lead in the series, have their attention now.

"A wake-up call," said center Claude Giroux, who outshined Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and the rest of the NHL in the first round with 14 points, but has just one point in the Devils series.

To be clear, New Jersey has outworked the Flyers and deserves to have the upper hand in this conference semifinal series.

That said, this question begs to be asked: Were the Flyers too full (fool?) of themselves because they knocked off the Team That Was Supposed to Win the Stanley Cup?

"It's probably tougher than everybody thought it would be," right winger Jaromir Jagr said after Saturday's practice in Voorhees. "We were kind of confident after the series against Pittsburgh. It's not going to be easy. It's going to be very hard, a war."

The Devils have been the hungrier, more relentless team, the one that has stolen the Flyers' identity with the better forecheck and cycle.

"There's no excuse for not being ready to play and having them surprise us in the last couple games," center Danny Briere said. "If we thought they were just going to let us win, then we had the wrong mind-set and we deserved to lose."

For the Flyers, the good news is this: They can regain their footing - and the home-ice advantage - with a win in Newark on Sunday.

And this: They seem to play better in the underdog role. For proof, look at how many times they overcame deficits to win during the regular season and in the first round. And look at how they embraced the underdog role against the Penguins.

Now that they face a 2-1 series deficit, an underdog mentality might benefit the Flyers.

"Underdog is for you guys," said Briere, surrounded by a throng of reporters in the Flyers' locker room. ". . . With the team we have, I believe every game we can win, and it's been like that all year. I mean, it's been like that

pretty much since my day one here in Philadelphia. There's not a day I step on the ice thinking I'm not sure we can win tonight."

But Briere did acknowledge that "for some reason, we seem to play well when we come from behind. We find ways to dig deep and we have a lot of character, which I like, and that's what we're going to need once again to get out of this mess."

Briere said the Flyers need to play with the same emotion they displayed in eliminating Pittsburgh, four games to two. So far, this series has lacked the passion and the hatred that marked the Flyers-Penguins matchup.

That series had the feel of a conference final. This one? Well, it just hasn't reached the same intensity level.

But give it time.

"We just have to be desperate," defenseman Kimmo Timonen said.

Sunday will be the Flyers' 92d game since the season started Oct. 6. No game has screamed for more desperation.

"We know we can play better as a team and our work ethic can be better," Giroux said. "The message is pretty clear. We're going to see a different group of guys next game."

If not, the win over the Team That Was Supposed to Win the Stanley Cup will become oh, so hollow.



Phil Sheridan: Can Flyers get their edge back?

Phil Sheridan, Inquirer Sports Columnist

Phil Sheridan on Losing a couple of playoff games isn't all that mysterious. It happens. Even to teams on their way to a championship, it happens.

The mystery is how the Flyers lost their personality in this second-round series against New Jersey. There has been little sign of the swagger and energy that carried the Flyers past the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round. In falling behind two games to one to the Devils, the Flyers have looked flat instead of on edge, lifeless instead of lively, overwhelmed instead of overwhelming.

"We can use emotion and passion to our advantage in this series against New Jersey," forward Danny Briere said. "I think that's the one part that's missing. We had it and we brought it against Pittsburgh. That's not an easy thing to do."

It is an even harder thing to do twice, still harder when the opponent doesn't inspire the same blood lust as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and the Penguins. These are not the intimidating Devils of Scott Stevens. They are the Devils of Zach Parise, the kind of gritty, no-quit player Flyers fans love when he's wearing orange and black.

They are also a pretty good, mostly young team with a virtually unknown coach who has acquitted himself admirably in these playoffs. One answer to the question of where the Flyers' personality went is that the Devils have assumed it for themselves. Only better. They forecheck, they're aggressive, they are very tough in the toughest areas on the ice.

The Flyers were able to push the Penguins around. Now they are getting pushed. It has been a tough adjustment from one series to the other.

"It was probably tougher than everybody thought," Jaromir Jagr said. "We were kind of confident after the series against Pittsburgh. We realize it's not going to be easy. It's going to be very hard. It's going to be a war. They're very strong on the boards, they cycle the puck very well. They're stronger than I thought, for sure. I thought we were going to handle the boards a little better than we have so far. You never know. You've just got to keep fighting."

That's where it is, going into Game 4 Sunday night in Newark. The Flyers won a series, looked good doing it, and got all kinds of good experience for their very young nucleus. Considering how much this team changed, and how much it lost when captain Chris Pronger went down, that would be a

pretty successful season. Losing this series would be disappointing, but on balance, the Flyers would still appear to be headed in the right direction.

You see it all the time. When teams meet or exceed expectations, sometimes they have a tough time maintaining their emotional pitch. The Flyers looked to be at the start of a deep playoff run after ousting the Pens. They haven't looked like that team for most of the 11 periods, including overtimes, in this series.

"Because we beat Pittsburgh, it doesn't mean we're going to go all the way to the final," Jagr said. "It's not like that at all. Don't forget all the games we played against New Jersey were pretty tight. Even in this playoffs, they were decided in the third period, two went to overtime. It's so close."

Can they get their edge back? There is time, but it's running low. Game 4 is the acid test.

"Everybody on an individual basis has to find another gear - has to find a way, first of all, to believe we can beat them," Briere said. "Has to find a way to go out there believing they're going to win every battle and going to fight harder for the puck."

There is a fine line between respecting an opponent's quality and simply submitting to it.

"I thought it was going to be tough and it is tough," Jagr said. "We should have played a lot better than we did the last three games, that's for sure. But you've got to give them a lot of credit. They didn't give you much. It's not like you don't try. But it can change like that."

Sometimes teams exceed expectations and just keep rolling. The St. Louis Cardinals and New York Giants won the last World Series and Super Bowl that way. If the Flyers are going to be one of those teams, they have to flick that switch by Sunday night. They have to regain the identity they developed during the Pittsburgh series.

If they can manage that, they can look back on these losses as little more than the proverbial wake-up call.

"If that was a wake-up call," Briere said, "we're a little bit late to the party. It's the playoffs. There's no excuses for that."

Late to the party? Maybe. But at least the party isn't over. Not yet.



Mez looks ready; Couturier misses practice

Based on Saturday's practice in Voorhees, it appears defenseman Andrej Meszaros will return to the lineup Sunday night in New Jersey, and that center Sean Couturier will sit out the game.

Meszaros was paired with Andreas Lilja for most of Saturday's practice; he sometimes was with Erik Gustafsson.

It appears Meszaros will be with Lilja, and that Gustafsson will be a healthy scratch.

Meszaros hasn't played since March 1; he had back surgery on March 21.

After practice, Meszaros would not say whether he is playing.

"You want to be out there," Meszaros said. "....But I've got a lot of years ahead of me, and it's a tough decision."

Couturier injured his leg in Thursday''s 4-3 OT loss. He skated for a few minutes before practice Saturday, but was not with the team at practice.

Coach Peter Laviolette juggled the lines at Saturday's session. Afterward, he said not to put much stock into them. Here is how they looked:

JVR-G-Simmonds.

Hartnell-Briere-Voracek.

Read-Schenn-Jagr.

Rinaldo-Talbot-Wellwood.

Posted by Sam Carchidi



Flyers realize it's going to be a grind

Wayne Fish Staff writer |

VOORHEES – To borrow and revise a line from a famous movie, “This isn’t Pittsburgh anymore, Toto.’’

No, it’s Newark, home of the Devils, the guys who have been playing that grinding style of hockey so long they seem to have invented it.

They don’t know what a 10-3 game is, need two games to come up with an 8-5 score and have caught a Flyers team which made it look easy with a franchise record 30 goals against the Penguins.

The Flyers now realize they’re in a trench war. Even that Game 1 overtime win didn’t come easy. They’re down 2-1 heading into Sunday night’s Game 4 of the Eastern Conference best-of-seven series at the Prudential Center aware they have to win the physical battles to get even again.

“I think after Game 1 we could see that,’’ Max Talbot said Saturday. “You could see that in the overtime. They check well. They play really well defensively.

“It’s tighter out there than it was against the Penguins. It’s about battles in the corners. The team that wants it most is going to win.’’

Jaromir Jagr has been kept in check by the Devils but that’s nothing new. Over his two-decade career, Jagr has the lowest points-per-game average vs, Jersey of any NHL foe.

“I knew it was going to be tough,’’ Jagr said. “We should have played a lot better than we did the last three games. But they don’t give you much. It’s not over until it’s over.’’

Some frustration is starting to show. Claude Giroux, with a spectacular 14 points in Round 1, has been held in check. He realizes he has to bear down on his chances a little harder to get past the Jersey defense and goalie Marty Brodeur, who turns 40 on Sunday.

“Our work ethic can be better,’’ he said. “The message is clear. I think we’re going to see a different group of guys next game.

“It’s not a series like Pittsburgh that’s more open and there’s going to be a lot of goals scored. I think we have to understand that it’s going to be a close game and if we have to win 1-0, good enough. I think we have to play good defense and make the most of our chances.’’

Danny Briere said, “We have to change or mindset, we have to want it more. We have to find a way to win more one-on-one battles along the boards.’’

In other words, grind-it-out hockey.

“There’s no question it’s a different game from the Pittsburgh series,’’ coach Peter Laviolette said. “There’s a lot of work to be done in both ends. I thought we made good adjustments as far as our end goes.

“We need to push in the offensive zone, whether it be power play or 5 on 5. I think we know what to expect going into New Jersey tomorrow.’’

Burlington County Times LOADED: 05.06.2012


Rinaldo could supply needed spark

By Wayne Fish Staff writer |

VOORHEES — Sometimes a negative development can lead to a positive one.

The Flyers lost one of their best defensive players when Sean Couturier left Game 3 with a lower body injury (believed to be a cut leg — which the

Flyers will not confirm) and is unlikely to play in Sunday night’s Game 4 (he didn’t skate Saturday).

But every playoff cloud seems to have a silver lining and because of the Couturier injury, the door would appear to be open for the return of Zac Rinaldo.

Why is that possibility so significant?

Because the Flyers have been sleep-skating through large portions of the last two games and Rinaldo can be a human alarm clock.

He’s a shift disturber of the highest order and as long as he doesn’t do something stupid (like a roughing penalty in the third period of a 1-1 game), he can be effective at getting a bench going.

“If I get back in the lineup. I’m going to play within the rules,’’ Rinaldo vowed after Saturday’s practice. “I’m not going to cross any lines, just play hockey.’’

Rinaldo has been sitting since midway through the Penguin series after James van Riemsdyk returned from a broken foot. In his brief stint vs. the Penguins, he racked up 46 penalty minutes but some of those were low impact misconducts.

The Flyers might benefit from one of the patented Rinaldo board-rattlers early in the game.

“(In practice) I’m just keeping the faith, cheering on the guys, keeping them positive, even though they’re down a game,’’ he said.

Meszaros getting close

Andrej Meszaros, recovering from March 21 back surgery, has been practicing for a week and now the defensemen is getting peppered with questions about a possible return.

Asked about how he feels responded, “It’s tough to say. Every day is different. It (a return) depends on how I feel. If I don’t feel good, I can’t play. It was major surgery, so it’s tough (to predict a return time).’’

Any more pressure to come back because the Flyers trail the Devils in their series?

“I want to be out there,’’ he said. “I want to be out there so bad. But it (100 percent healthy) hasn’t happened yet. I’m hoping I am going to play in the playoffs, still.’’

Flyers Sunday

What: Flyers at New Jersey Devils in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference best-of-seven semifinals.

When: 7:35 p.m.

Where: Prudential Center, Newark

TV/Radio: NBC Sports/WIP 610-AM

Series standing: New Jersey leads 2-1

What to watch: With Sean Couturier out, Max Talbot likely to slide over to center fourth line of Eric Wellwood and Zac Rinaldo. . . . Coach Peter Laviolette shuffled his lines again in practice on Saturday but when asked if he would use that alignment on Sunday said, “Don’t hang your hat on it.’’



No crisis of confidence, Flyers claim

By Wayne Fish Staff writer |

There comes a point in every playoff run when a team has a crisis of confidence, a moment of doubt when the certainty of victory wanes.

The Flyers believed they got into the heads of the Penguins in Round 1 by staging some remarkable comebacks in the early games. Eventually, the Flyers prevailed.

Now, after erasing a couple Flyer leads in Round 2, the Devils believe the skate is on the other foot.

Favored to win the series and winners of Game 1, the Flyers have stumbled twice and several of the Devils have implied they have the Flyers’ number.

Fair claim?

“Maybe,’’ Claude Giroux said after Saturday’s practice. “Maybe we did the same thing to them, too. They’ve got a 2-1 lead and it’s just one goal (in Game 3) for us leading 2-1 or them leading 2-1.

“Both teams had chances. It could have been either way. Now we are trailing. But since the start of the year I don’t think we’re a team that quits. I think we’re pretty excited to come back again.’’

The Flyers know that no disadvantage is too great to overcome. A bunch of these guys were on the 2010 team that made history against Boston. Still, there’s a sense of urgency in the air.

But doubt? That’s a pretty strong word.

“We have to find another gear, find a way, first of all, to believe we can beat them,’’ Danny Briere said. “We have to find a way to go out there and win every battle. We can’t win every battle obviously but we can’t lose the majority, as we did the last two games.’’

It starts with the very first shift of the game, just as it did in Game 6 of the Penguin series when Giroux flattened Sidney Crosby and then scored a goal in the first minute.

Setting the tone will be so important in Sunday night’s Game 4, simply because the Devils will be smelling blood in front of a wild Prudential Center crowd.

“For some reason, we seem to play well when we come from behind,’’ Briere said. “We find ways to dig deep and we have a lot of character, which is what we’re going to need to get out of this mess.’’

If you’re looking for signs of uncertainty, don’t suggest that idea to coach Peter Laviolette.

During his meet the press at the Skate Zone, he scoffed at the notion that his team might have its doubts.

“Do I feel doubt that we can go into Jersey and win a game?’’ he said. “No I don’t. I know that (a win) is very possible.’’

It’s up to Laviolette to crank up some of the Scott Hartnells and Jaromir Jagrs on the emotional side of the game.

“There’s definitely room for improvement in our game,’’ he said. “I didn’t like the way we played the first period of the last game. They had us with energy and shots. We have to go back in there, battle and get a win. I have a lot of confidence we can do that.’’



Flyers trying to spark emotion in Game 4

By ROB PARENT

VOORHEES, N.J. — It might have started as a suggestion within a tense Flyers locker room at some point after a Game 3 loss. And if it didn’t, it should have.

It was thrown out for public consumption near the end of a three-minute-short conference call Scott Hartnell accorded the media Friday, a statement about his broken top line that went like this: “I think we’re all just kind of out of sorts with each other, and it’s good to have a couple days off between each game to get refocused again.”

Yes, it’s time for the Flyers to restore their focus as they take on the Devils tonight in Game 4 at Prudential Center. It is must-win in every way, other than mathematically.

That would include physically, mentally and ... emotionally, too?

“Maybe we have to find the same emotion as we did against Pittsburgh,” Claude Giroux said Saturday. “That was a very emotional series. There were a lot of things going on in that series. The New Jersey Devils are more of a team that’s going to sit back. It’s not going to be as open as Pittsburgh, and we need to understand that.”

If the Flyers don’t know that yet, they should consider themselves lucky to still be in a position to change this series. If they didn’t score in overtime of Game 1, they’d be looking at a 3-oh deficit going back to New Jersey. But then, if the Flyers had scored on one of two power plays they had in overtime of Game 3 ...

Funny how emotions and perceptions can shift so quickly.

“All the games we played against New Jersey (during the season) were pretty tight,” Jaromir Jagr said. “Even in these playoffs, with games not decided until the third period, two games go overtime; it’s so close and anything can change in one good play.”

But Jagr’s mood swung slightly when assessing the way the Devils have played against his team, especially in the past two New Jersey victories.

“It’s probably been tougher than everybody thought it was going to be,” Jagr said. “We were confident after the series against Pittsburgh, but we realized it wasn’t going to be easy. It’s going to be very hard. They’re pretty strong on the boards; they cycle the puck very well. They’re stronger than I thought, that’s for sure. I thought we were going to handle the boards better than what we have so far, but you never know. You just have to keep fighting.”

Flyers coach Peter Laviolette decided to come to a Game 3 fight with some new forward looks. Jagr was dropped down to a line with Brayden Schenn, while Jakub Voracek went up top with Giroux and Hartnell.

Then Saturday at practice at Skate Zone, James van Riemsdyk was working with Giroux and Wayne Simmonds. Not that it means anything.

“We don’t have to show what’s going to be the lines for the game; we’re just trying new stuff and see how it works,” Giroux said. But then some honest emotion washed over him: “We know a little bit how to play together, so hopefully it can spark up,” he added.

One guy still stoked — but mostly with anger — is Danny Briere, who in reviewing the Flyers’ losses the past two games said if his team “thought (the Devils) were just going to let us win … we deserve to lose.

“We haven’t played with enough emotion or passion. That’s something we need to find again. Every single playoff game should be played with the most passion and most emotion. It hasn’t been there the last two games. You have to find something to get your heart ticking.”

Whatever breathtaking new-line looks the Flyers come up with, it likely won’t involve their best defensive shadow, Sean Couturier. The leg injury he suffered in Game 3 kept him off the ice Saturday except for one two-minute turn of solo skating.

If he’s out, it’s a big loss for the Flyers. But then, they saw the Devils win Game 2 by 4-1 without the services of Ilya Kovalchuk.

Emotions shift, series change.

“I’ve been on teams where (another) team totally dominated the first three or four games, then the series changed,” Jagr said. “I think they’ve been a little bit stronger than us, maybe a little bit faster. But you just never know. We should have played a lot better than we did the last three games, that’s for sure. But give them credit, too. They don’t give you much, but you never know. It can change like that.”

With that and a snap of the fingers, Jagr had made his point.

All that’s left is for him and his tight teammates to prove it to themselves.

Delaware County Times LOADED: 05.06.2012


Flyers trying to spark emotion in Game 4

By ROB PARENT

VOORHEES, N.J. — It might have started as a suggestion within a tense Flyers locker room at some point after a Game 3 loss. And if it didn’t, it should have.

It was thrown out for public consumption near the end of a three-minute-short conference call Scott Hartnell accorded the media Friday, a statement about his broken top line that went like this: “I think we’re all just kind of out of sorts with each other, and it’s good to have a couple days off between each game to get refocused again.”

Yes, it’s time for the Flyers to restore their focus as they take on the Devils tonight in Game 4 at Prudential Center. It is must-win in every way, other than mathematically.

That would include physically, mentally and ... emotionally, too?

“Maybe we have to find the same emotion as we did against Pittsburgh,” Claude Giroux said Saturday. “That was a very emotional series. There were a lot of things going on in that series. The New Jersey Devils are more of a team that’s going to sit back. It’s not going to be as open as Pittsburgh, and we need to understand that.”

If the Flyers don’t know that yet, they should consider themselves lucky to still be in a position to change this series. If they didn’t score in overtime of Game 1, they’d be looking at a 3-oh deficit going back to New Jersey. But then, if the Flyers had scored on one of two power plays they had in overtime of Game 3 ...

Funny how emotions and perceptions can shift so quickly.

“All the games we played against New Jersey (during the season) were pretty tight,” Jaromir Jagr said. “Even in these playoffs, with games not decided until the third period, two games go overtime; it’s so close and anything can change in one good play.”

But Jagr’s mood swung slightly when assessing the way the Devils have played against his team, especially in the past two New Jersey victories.

“It’s probably been tougher than everybody thought it was going to be,” Jagr said. “We were confident after the series against Pittsburgh, but we realized it wasn’t going to be easy. It’s going to be very hard. They’re pretty strong on the boards; they cycle the puck very well. They’re stronger than I thought, that’s for sure. I thought we were going to handle the boards better than what we have so far, but you never know. You just have to keep fighting.”

Flyers coach Peter Laviolette decided to come to a Game 3 fight with some new forward looks. Jagr was dropped down to a line with Brayden Schenn, while Jakub Voracek went up top with Giroux and Hartnell.

Then Saturday at practice at Skate Zone, James van Riemsdyk was working with Giroux and Wayne Simmonds. Not that it means anything.

“We don’t have to show what’s going to be the lines for the game; we’re just trying new stuff and see how it works,” Giroux said. But then some honest emotion washed over him: “We know a little bit how to play together, so hopefully it can spark up,” he added.

One guy still stoked — but mostly with anger — is Danny Briere, who in reviewing the Flyers’ losses the past two games said if his team “thought (the Devils) were just going to let us win … we deserve to lose.

“We haven’t played with enough emotion or passion. That’s something we need to find again. Every single playoff game should be played with the most passion and most emotion. It hasn’t been there the last two games. You have to find something to get your heart ticking.”

Whatever breathtaking new-line looks the Flyers come up with, it likely won’t involve their best defensive shadow, Sean Couturier. The leg injury he suffered in Game 3 kept him off the ice Saturday except for one two-minute turn of solo skating.

If he’s out, it’s a big loss for the Flyers. But then, they saw the Devils win Game 2 by 4-1 without the services of Ilya Kovalchuk.

Emotions shift, series change.

“I’ve been on teams where (another) team totally dominated the first three or four games, then the series changed,” Jagr said. “I think they’ve been a little bit stronger than us, maybe a little bit faster. But you just never know. We should have played a lot better than we did the last three games, that’s for sure. But give them credit, too. They don’t give you much, but you never know. It can change like that.”

With that and a snap of the fingers, Jagr had made his point.

All that’s left is for him and his tight teammates to prove it to themselves.



PARENT: Meszaros and his balky back should stay home

By: Rob Parent

VOORHEES, N.J. — Andrej Meszaros walked into the Skate Zone locker room and quickly adopted his usual post-practice look: Backward baseball cap, ready to catch all media-flung flak.

It was sure to come on this Saturday afternoon, since Meszaros, who hasn’t played a minute since March 1, had just worked most of a long practice session with the Flyers’ defensive starters. So rather than wait for a question, he opened with a prelude: “I know what you’re going to ask, but go ahead anyway.”

Despite evidence to the contrary, the answer is probably no, Meszaros won’t play in Game 4 tonight against the Devils. If it’s the rest of the series you might be wondering about, the answer should still be no, Meszaros shouldn’t play in any of these games against the Devils.

If the Flyers work hard enough on a series resurrection to win the right to advance to play either the Rangers or Capitals in an Eastern Conference final, know that the answer should still be no, Meszaros shouldn’t play in that series, either.

The reason is the affable and capable defenseman with an offensive touch simply isn’t confident yet that he can’t severely injure himself by playing. He’s approaching the end of an anticipated 6-8 week recovery period from lower back surgery, but he seems far from sure that he can go back into action worry free about his injury.

And that’s no way for a playoff player to be.

“I’ve practiced with the team for over a week now; it’s more than I did before,” Meszaros said. “After surgery, you get better, so you try to do more. But it still depends on how I feel.

“It’s a major surgery. It’s tough to push anything with this.”

He has been practicing in a brace, which apparently helps him with skating but wouldn’t protect him from other things ...

You know, like all those disrespectful players out there trying to end opponents’ careers.

Meszaros wouldn’t publicly express his concern over that, but it is there.

He is unhappily experiencing one of sports’ greatest dilemmas — sucking it up for the greater good of the team, even if you run the risk of a significant injury.

For Meszaros, the worry is centered on the back rather than in the head. But the feeling of concern is the same. There is nothing to indicate he’s getting any pressure about playing, but what’s evident to him is his team needs all the help it can get right now. In hockey, as in every sport, there are often quiet voices behind closed locker-room doors that offer friendly advice to players unsure about whether a return to action is too much of a risk for them to take. What Meszaros has to do is block out everything but what his brain is telling him.

“I want to be out there,” Meszaros said. “It hasn’t happened yet. Hopefully in the future it’s going to be there. I want to play in the playoffs, still. But that’s what I’m unsure of.”

Back and forth he went, even at one point conceding that if he woke up this morning feeling good, he might say he’s available for Game 4 if Peter Laviolette wanted to put him in the starting lineup.

“Could be,” Meszaros said. “But I don’t know. It depends on the coaches, too.

“It’s a slow process. You have to take it day by day.”

Then, after the cameras scurried away, Meszaros was asked if either the brace he’s worn at practices or any other form of padding could help protect him if he took a shot to his back.

“No,” he said. “It’s impossible. How are you going to protect yourself from getting hit there? You can’t.”

So is that why he’s hesitant to test himself in real action? Meszaros nodded, without his usual grin.

The guy’s not ready, no matter how much he wants to be.



Flyers lacking fire, emotion vs. Devils

FOLLOW TIM PANACCION

Emotional detachment.

It’s one of the things you hear as reasons for people divorcing.

Well, three games into this Eastern Conference Semifinal series, the Flyers seem emotionally detached from the New Jersey Devils.

Whatever fire, whatever anger, whatever challenge that got the Flyers’ collective juices flowing against the Pittsburgh Penguins simply hasn’t manifested itself in this series.

That, more than anything, is a very big reason why they trail, 2-1, heading into Game 4 Sunday in Newark.

Unless the Flyers’ attitude changes, they won’t win a series they are capable of taking.

“If we thought they were just going to let us win, then we had the wrong mindset and we deserve to lose, there’s no doubt about that,” Danny Briere said.

“Everybody on an individual basis has to find another gear. Find a way to believe we can beat them. Find a way to go out there with the mindset that they are going to win every battle and find a mindset.

“We’re not going to win every single battle but we can’t lose the majority of [them] like we have the last two games.”

Patrik Elias and Zach Parise said on Friday that they felt the Devils put “some doubt” into the Flyers in this series.

Which is what the Flyers did to Pittsburgh in the last series.

“As a team, we just haven't used or played with enough emotion and passion as we have in the first round against Pittsburgh,” he said.

“That's what we have to find. I don't know if we left a lot in the other series or what, that's certainly something we need to find again. Every single playoff game should be played with the most passion and most emotion. Obviously it wasn't there the last couple games.”

Claude Giroux said the Flyers that show up at Prudential Center on Sunday will be a different team than the one that was there in Game 3.

“We know we can play better, that's obviously true,” Giroux said. “We know we can play better as a team and our work ethic can be better. The message is pretty clear. We're going to see a different group of guys next game."

Jaromir Jagr is the only player in NHL history who has ever won two Stanley Cups, two Olympic gold medals, and two World Championships.

He knows about emotion and coming from behind and how things can turn on a dime within a series, even for a team being as badly outplayed as the Flyers have been in this series.

“You gotta understand that every series is kinda different,” Jagr said. “It all depends who you play against. They’re a tight checking team that is pretty strong on the boards.

“They’re stronger than I thought, that is for sure. I thought we’d handle the boards a little better than we have so far. You never know. You just have to keep fighting.

“In my experience, I have been on teams that totally dominated the first, three or four games and this series it has changed. I thought they have been a little bit stronger and faster than us.”

Jagr said the Flyers need to dig deeper within themselves.

“Not every time you will feel your best,” he said. “Maybe not feel your best for two weeks. But you got to find a way to produce. Sometimes it tough and it is frustrating and you kinda lose confidence.

“You don’t play your game or the game you wanted to play for whatever reason that is the way it is. It’s tough to find it, but it is the only way you can find it.”

Flyers coach Peter Laviolette declined to speak to anything his players have been saying since Game 3’s overtime loss.

Laviolette said he doesn’t like to respond to “snippets” of what players say because it could be taken out of context.

Yet, as a Stanley Cup winning coach himself, Laviolette has been around long enough to sense the Flyers are not fully “engaged” in this series like they were against the Penguins.

It’s almost as if that series against the Penguins represented the Eastern Conference Finals and this series is a regular season game in January.

There is no hatred for the Devils in this series because no one on this roster was around for the 1990s as a Flyer against Marty Brodeur, when he was winning those three Cups for the Devils and making life generally miserable for Philly every spring.

This Flyers’ group has more Pittsburgh-hatred roots than Devils because of the past several years of facing them in the regular season and postseason.

Laviolette did agree that the Flyers need to find another gear.

“I do think that our team is capable of playing certain parts of that game better than we did,” he said. “That’s the objective. Play a better 60 minutes. More competitive. Emotionally? Yeah, better.

“Offensively? Yeah, better. There’s lot of thing I think we can do better. That’s our goal in Game 4 try to work on those things.”

Couturier update

Sean Couturier skated on his own Saturday, briefly, but doesn't appear ready to play in Game 4. He has a right knee/leg injury. Zac Rinaldo took his place on the fourth line with Eric Wellwood and Max Talbot.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 05.06.2012


Meszaros skates, return still unknown

FOLLOW TIM PANACCIO

VOORHEES, N.J. -- Andrej Meszaros once again skated with the Flyers regulars in practice at Skate Zone Saturday, and even took some regular shifts with Andreas Lilja.

That said, there appears to be zero chance the Flyers defenseman will play in Game 4. Listening to Meszaros, it is plainly evident he is not comfortable that his back is fully healed.

He had herniated disk surgery on March 21. The recovery period was 6-8 weeks. It’s been six weeks and three days now, but Meszaros doesn’t sound as if he is mentally or physically ready to take contact.

“You want to help the team, but on the other hand, you don’t want to overdo it,” Meszaros said. “I hope I still have the next 15 years in the NHL.

“It’s different. Sometimes it’s a tough decision. We’ll see how it goes over the next few days. You don’t want to risk it. Back surgery is tough. It’d different from a broken hand or finger.

“[Back] heals with muscles and tissues. The back is very different. There’s not a lot you can do about it.”

He said he has had good and bad days.

“It depends on the day, what I do before,” he said. “If I do a lot, I'm a little sore. If I don't, I'm not. Tough to say. Every day is different. If I have a day off, I feel great. If I don't, I'm a little sore. Depends what I do.”

Meszaros admitted he doesn’t want any setbacks.

“That's what I'm afraid of,” Meszaros said. “If you put pressure on it, obviously I want to play, but it's hard out there sometimes when you don't feel comfortable.”



Flyers hope to ruin Brodeur's birthday

VOORHEES, N.J. – Before the series began against the Devils, there were all sorts of questions, not the least of which this was this: how would Martin Brodeur play against the Flyers?

Scott Hartnell called him a “world-class” goalie. Which Brodeur is. Wayne Simmonds called him a “Hall of Famer.” Which Brodeur will be. But Brodeur is also about to turn 40 years old – that will happen on Sunday, just as the Flyers and Devils are preparing for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals in Newark. And so some people wondered how Brodeur might perform given that his career is funneling toward its conclusion.

So far, Brodeur has been good enough to help the Devils take a 2-1 series lead. In 10 playoff games this year, Brodeur has a .917 save percentage and a 2.16 goals against average (comparatively, Ilya Bryzgalov has a .878 save percentage and a 3.54 goals against average in nine postseason games.)

Overtime in the playoffs has not always been kind to Brodeur – entering this postseason he had a 12-21 record during bonus hockey periods – but this year has been different. Thanks to Alexei Ponikarovsky’s goal as the Flyers attempted an inopportune line shift in Game 3, Brodeur got his third overtime victory of these playoffs on Thursday evening. (Overall, it was the fourth time in five games that the Devils went to overtime.) Those three playoff overtime victories are the most in one year for Brodeur in his career.

“He’s been a great goalie there for a long time,” Simmonds said. “He’s going to be a hockey Hall of Famer. He’s a good goalie. If we stick to our game, put pucks on the net and create traffic, everything will fall in place. He’s still a good goalie. He makes unbelievable saves at times. He’s like any other good goalie in this league. If you get to him and take his eyes away, he can be beat.”

That may be true, and it has certainly happened at times during the series, but it has also been true that the Flyers have gone long stretches of certain games (Game 2, for instance) without putting pressure on Brodeur. Jakub Voracek said the other outstanding issue is that the Flyers forecheck has not been great during the series, and Brodeur’s ability has served to frustrate them further on that front.

“You’ve got to be smart with the dumps, because Marty Brodeur handles the puck very well,” Voracek said. “If you give it to him, it’s hard to get a forecheck if you give the puck to him behind the net. Those little things, we’ve got to be better.”

The Flyers will try to do that on Sunday. Simmonds said he wouldn’t mind giving Brodeur a goal (or two) as a birthday present. For his part, Brodeur joked about his age before Game 4.

“Do they allow 40-year-olds on the ice?” Brodeur asked.



Flyers' Briere nets goal for sick youngster

FOLLOW TIM PANACCIO

Until a few days ago, Danny Briere never knew Michael Pageau, an 11-year-old who lives in Gatineau.

Not until RDS hockey reporter Renaud Lavoie wrote a blog about the boy on the network’s website.

The youngster is among Briere’s biggest fans and was facing a life-threatening surgery.

This past Monday, the child underwent 14 hours of brain surgery at Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa to remove a tumor. Doctors were unable to remove the entire tumor in one surgery.

Michael is a bantam hockey player in Quebec.

Turns out that Briere's friend, Robert Frenette, is Michael’s hockey coach. Frenette arranged for the boy to contact Briere.

Michael texted Briere, asking him to score a goal for him in Game 3 against the New Jersey Devils.

Sure enough, Briere scored a third period goal that sent Game 3 into overtime where the Flyers lost, 4-3.

After the game, Briere, who is among the most active and involved Flyers within the Philadelphia-area community, taped a message on RDS television for Michael with Lavoie.

“This is the puck, Michael,” Briere said, holding the puck up. “It is with me and the next time I see you, I will give it to you.”

Michael, incidentally, is the cousin of Jean-Gabriel Pageau, a fourth-round 2011 draft pick of the Senators.

"I wish I could have given him a victory as well. But it was a pretty cool feeling," Briere said on Saturday.



Flyers must increase sense of urgency

FOLLOW TIM PANACCIO

Have the Flyers been caught off-guard by the New Jersey Devils three games into their Eastern Conference semifinal series?

After an exhausting physical and emotional six-game series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Flyers seem stuck in semi-indifference in their series against the Devils.

They are not fully integrated into matching the Devils’ urgency and have been outplayed in five of the last seven periods.

Power forward Scott Hartnell suggested on Friday that the Devils, who now lead the series 2-1, are playing much harder against the Flyers than anyone anticipated.

Hartnell’s comments drew some calculated, yet restrained reaction from the Devils, who could take a commanding lead in the series on Sunday night during Game 4 in Newark.

“He doesn’t probably mean physically because I think the first series was very physical,” Patrik Elias said. “But there was a lot of things going on behind the play and that made it look even tougher that series [against Pittsburgh].

“Everybody was wondering what the (heck) was going on in that. I think we’re playing tough in our own way. We don’t give them much room. We don’t give them much space. We’ve got guys coming back.

“We’re trying to always at least outnumber them defensively because when you give them opportunities – three-on-twos – you see that. They had a few and they made some plays and they can be very dangerous. So we need to play that way and stay in their face and be kind of tough to play against and kind of a grind game.”

Devils coach Pete DeBoer weighed Hartnell’s comments rather carefully.

DeBoer realizes these kind of candid remarks can quickly become a political football that could act as fodder for a team like the Flyers, who seem almost comatose in the series, compared to how they played in Round 1 against the Penguins.

“When you go into a series like a team like this I think we all knew as a group we were going to have to play our best hockey,” DeBoer said.

“We were going to have to empty the tanks from a compete point of view, from a mental smart discipline game point of view and that’s just respect for the opponent and what they can do to you if you don’t do that. So when you play with a little bit of that fear in your belly I think that desperation shows on the ice.”

If the Flyers are going to play their brand of hard-nosed hockey where they initiate contact, dominate on the forecheck and aren’t beaten everywhere on the ice to pucks, they need to add some sense of urgency to their play in Game 4 or the series is lost.

Much of the past two games have been played in the Flyers’ end of the ice.

One New Jersey reporter asked DeBoer whether he expected the Flyers to be more “belligerent” on Sunday night at Prudential Center.

“I don’t know about belligerent,” DeBoer replied. “I think desperate. Desperation is probably the word. I know when we were in that spot in the last series you usually play your best game.

“So I think you have to walk a fine line with belligerence and discipline in these playoffs with the importance of special teams. I think we’ll see their best game from a desperation point of view, but I’m not sure about the other stuff.”

If the Flyers are going to win this series, a little belligerence would serve them well in Game 4.



Rinaldo ready to 'just play hockey' if needed

RANDY MILLER

VOORHEES — A giant smile grew on Flyers rookie Zac Rinaldo’s face when somebody asked about his facial hair following Saturday’s practice.

The 21-year-old’s lip is shaved cleanly, but his chin and cheeks are covered with thick brown scruff.

“First time I’m growing a beard ... ever,” the hard-hitting, loves-to-fight right winger said with pride at his locker. “I always shave. I hate growing a beard, but it’s looking good!”

Rinaldo has been growing his first playoff beard somewhat anonymously the last two weeks. After beginning the playoffs where he spent much of the regular season, on the Flyers’ fourth line, he’s been scratched since left wing James van Riemsdyk returned from a broken foot in Game 5 of the first round.

Rinaldo, who says he’s been “kind of like a little cheerleader,” likely will be back in the Flyers’ lineup tonight in New Jersey for Game 4 of a best-of-seven Eastern Conference Semifinal the Devils lead 2-games-to-1.

Bad luck for rookie Sean Couturier, who suffered a low-body injury in Game 3 and likely will sit out Game 4, appears to be a break for Rinaldo, who skated on the Flyers’ fourth line for Saturday’s practice with Max Talbot at center and Eric Wellwood at left wing.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” Rinaldo said. “I saw what happened to Couts ... but that’s part of hockey and I don’t hope anybody gets hurt because I want to be in the lineup. I’m blank-minded waiting for an opportunity. I’m trying not to get revved up too early to get my hopes up and then it crashes down.”

Couturier appeared to injure a knee during a battle for puck possession during the first period of Game 3, a 4-3 New Jersey overtime victory. The 19-year-old center did some skating on Saturday, but for just a few minutes before practice.

If Rinaldo returns, he plans to make a conscious effort to play his usual physical game without drawing penalties, which would be something new.

Despite sitting out five games in row, his 46 playoff penalty minutes top the NHL leaderboard, and during the regular season he finished second with 232 in just 66 games.

“If I get back in the lineup, I’m gonna play within the rules and not cross any lines,” he said. “Just play hockey. I’m trying to score. That’s what we need. We need winning hockey.”

Rinaldo has offensive skills, but the 5-foot-11, 180-pounder provided just two goals and nine points during the season, low numbers that can be explained by his infrequent ice time - 4:56 per game.

“Zac is a guy who brings speed and energy and physical play,” Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said. “That’s his game when he’s skating and banging. He’s also a guy who’s able to generate on the offensive part of our game as well.”

Rinaldo, however, is best known for fighting and using his body to throw big checks ... some of which arguably are clean hits that get penalized.

“I think Zac really gets looked at (by officials) ... hard,” Laviolette said. “He hits hard and he hits often. Certainly we want to walk the line on the physical part. We need to do it with discipline.”

Mez update: Defenseman Andrej Meszaros has been practicing in a contact-allowed jersey for a week, but still doesn’t appear close to returning from March 21 back surgery.

“It’s a long process,” the Czech said after Saturday’s practice. “Everyday is different. If I have a day off, I feel great. If I work too much, I’m a little sore. Sometimes you feel great for a couple days, then the third day is tough. It was a major surgery.”

At the time of his procedure, which removed a small disc fracture, doctors speculated that Meszaros would be sidelined for 6-to-8 weeks. He reached 6 weeks last Wednesday.

“I want to be out there,” he said. “I want to play so bad and it didn’t happen yet. I’m hoping I’m going to play in the playoffs still.”

Empty netters: The Flyers have won just seven of 26 previous series they’ve trailed 2-games-to-1, but they’re 13-13 in Game 4s after dropping two of the first three. ... The Flyers are 14-7 in past series when they’ve split the first four games, 1-14 in ones they’ve trailed 3-games-to-1.

Courier-Post LOADED: 05.06.2012


Rookie Wellwood's speed a huge asset

BILL MELTZER

NEWARK — He may not have a goal or an assist to his credit through the first nine games of the 2012 playoffs, but the play of Flyers rookie winger Eric Wellwood has been a positive factor in the team’s postseason run to date. The 22-year-old has dressed in every postseason game to date after providing a spark down the stretch.

Splitting time on the third and fourth lines at even strength, Wellwood has also seen extensive duty on the penalty kill. He averaged 1:29 of penalty killing ice time per game in the regular season (out of an overall average of 10:53 played), and has seen his five-on-five ice time in the playoffs expand as he has excelled in killing penalties.

Wellwood spent most of the first three-quarters of the 2011-12 regular season with the American Hockey League’s Adirondack Phantoms, where he tallied nine goals and 21 points in 33 games. A revelation upon his first extended callup to the big club, the youngster unexpectedly scored five goals and added four assists in 24 games. He started in each of the final 19 games of the regular season and has not been on the scratch list ever since.

“I know my role on the team is to be defensively sound and play good two-way hockey,” said Wellwood. “Yes, I got a few goals during the regular season, but we have a lot of players here who can put in the net. The

biggest thing for me is to be fundamentally sound and do whatever they need me to do.”

Wellwood’s performance in the second game of the Flyers’ Eastern Conference Semifinal series with the New Jersey Devils was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise desultory effort. Throughout the first period in particular, Wellwood was Philadelphia’s most effective forward in skating past the New Jersey defense and creating scoring opportunities on goaltender Martin Brodeur. In Game 3, Wellwood played 14:14, generated a pair of shots on goal and was not out on the ice for any New Jersey goals.

Speed is the greatest asset that Wellwood brings to the club. He is a constant threat to beat opposing defensemen to the outside, intercept a pass or collect a loose puck and take off on a breakaway or use his skating ability to cancel a potential icing. His speed has also enabled him to get to the puck on the boards ahead of opposing players and either steer it to safety in the defensive zone or keep the forecheck alive in the attacking end.

Back in March, Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette noted Wellwood’s brand of explosive speed .

“There are some players who are fast skaters but they slow down when they have the puck on their stick,” said Laviolette. “Eric is a tremendous skater without the puck, and he’s just as fast when he’s carrying the puck. That’s a very good weapon for him.”

Wellwood’s emergence has pushed fellow rookie Harry Zolnierczyk down a notch on the organizational depth chart. While Zolnierczyk also boasts blazing speed, he struggled defensively at times and did not regularly participate in the penalty kill.

As a result, Wellwood claimed the starting lineup spot that Zolnierczyk held for 37 games.



Couturier may be out Game 4

RANDY MILLER

VOORHEES — It appears there’s a good chance the Flyers will try to rebound Sunday night without 19-year-old rookie Sean Couturier, a shutdown center who suffered a lower-body injury in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal with the New Jersey Devils.

Couturier was injured Thursday night in the first period of the Flyers’ 4-3 overtime loss in New Jersey during a puck battle in a corner with Devils forward David Clarkson.

It appeared that Couturier injured his right leg - perhaps his knee - as his left leg was stretched between Clarkson’s legs and skate against the boards in an apparent attempt to freeze the puck.

Couturier limped his way back to the Flyers’ bench, then quickly headed to the dressing room with a trainer.

Couturier, who has been centering the Flyers’ fourth line with Max Talbot and Eric Wellwood on the wings, was listed day-to-day Thursday night and his status remained the same on Friday. He has three goals and four points in the playoffs, all of them coming in one monster game, the Flyers' 8-5 Game 2 first-round victory in Pittsburgh.

If Couturier is unavailable for Game 4, rookie winger Zac Rinaldo could be back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch for the last five games - since left wing James van Riemsdyk returned from a foot injury for Game 5 of the Flyers' opening-round series against Pittsburgh. Rinaldo had two goals, nine points and 232 penalty minutes in 66 regular-season games, plus no points and 46 penalty minutes in four playoff games.

If Rinaldo replaces Couturier, Talbot would shift from wing to center, a position he's played a lot over his career.

"It's always tough when you lose a player," Flyers center Danny Briere said. "That's for the coaches to adjust. We're just waiting to see who gets called out there."

• ‘G’ Slumping: Flyers center Claude Giroux leads all NHL playoff scorers with 15 points in nine games, but against New Jersey is a minus-3 with one point in three games, a Game 1 goal.

“You can tell with (Giroux) that he wants to make something happen every time he’s on the ice, and I think we all know that’s basically impossible,” said Flyers left wing and Giroux linemate Scott Hartnell. “Whether it’s losing a puck battle at the wrong time or whatever, it seems like it’s almost contagious right now. Everybody’s doing it.”

• Jersey being Jersey: Flyers coach Peter Laviolette isn't surprised his team has its hands full with New Jersey, which followed a Game 1 loss by winning the next two.

During the regular season, the Flyers finished with just one more point than the Devils, who had one more victory. They also split their six head-to-head meetings, although the Flyers earned one more point from losing once in shootout.

"They're not a team that's a Cinderella story," Laviolette said. "They're a top 10 team in the league. They've had a good year and we've got to continue to work at it to win games. I don't think it's anything that we didn't expect, it's just a little bit different. We're trying to make those adjustments to the different type of series."



Day off a mental break for Flyers

RANDY MILLER

VOORHEES — The Flyers had a whole day to soul search.

There was no practice Friday, no film session, no team meeting.

They’d been worked hard in a Wednesday practice and played their third game in five days Thursday night, but this day away from the rink wasn’t time off for good behavior.

They were, in their own words, outworked, outhustled and outplayed Thursday night in a 4-3 overtime loss in New Jersey, a setback that has the Devils up 2-games-to-1 in this best-of-seven Eastern Conference Semifinal.

“I think everyone’s frustrated,” Flyers left wing Scott Hartnell said Friday in a teleconference. “I know me personally, I’m frustrated.”

The Flyers, who will be back in Newark on Sunday night for Game 4, have plenty of reasons to be more than frustrated.

They went into the series as favorites and won the opener at home in overtime, then played a lot of bad hockey in dropping the next two, first at Wells Fargo Center and the next in Jersey.

They were terrible in the final two periods of Game 2, then had breakdowns galore in Game 3, a share of them coming with their often-potent power play at work, two of the wasted man-advantage opportunities coming in overtime before Alexei Ponikarovsky won it for the Devils 17:21 into the extra period.

“I think especially the last two games, they’ve outhustled us,” Hartnell said. “I think they’ve won the majority of the battles. I’m not sure on faceoffs, but they’ve won the majority of those, and that’s not just the centermen, that’s wingers helping out, things like that.

“It’s frustrating to almost always being defending the whole game. It’s definitely something that needs to be addressed. Hopefully a day off can recoup the body and we’ll have a great practice on Saturday and get fired up to play.”

With two days between Games 3 and 4, the Flyers bussed back to Philadelphia late Thursday night so that everyone could have a day off at home on Friday and get in a full work day at their practice rink in Voorhees today. The Flyers are to report to Skate Zone by 10:30 this morning to go over Game 3 footage and get in what figures to be another intense practice.

Hartnell said his mindset was to “have this mental day off, come to the rink excited and realize that it’s not 3-0. It’s only 2-1, and if we win the next game, we’ve got home-ice advantage back.”

A good mindset may or may not help.

Playing better hockey, the kind the Flyers are accustomed to playing, should.

The Flyers played most of the final two periods of Game 2 in their own end with New Jersey cycling them like crazy, and while the Devils somehow managed to head into the third trailing 1-0, they ultimately won 4-1.

The Flyers weren’t quite as bad in Game 3, but certainly had their not-again moments.

Officials rarely call penalties when playoff games go beyond three periods, but the Flyers were awarded four minutes of overtime power-play time in Game 3.

First, Devils winger Dainius Zubrus was sent off for boarding at 8:23. During that power play, the Flyers’ only shot was one by Claude Giroux that wasn’t on net. A little later, they were given another opportunity at 12:29 when Devils defenseman Bryce Salvador shot a puck over the glass for a delay of game infraction. This time, the Flyers managed one shot on goal while not scoring again.

“The power plays cost us the game,” Flyers center Danny Briere said. “I was trying to protect it the first two games, saying that good things were going to happen, it’s just a matter of time. But the last two games, the all-around effort on the power play is just not good enough. It seems like we just think that they’re going to let us do whatever we want out there. Their penalty-kill unit is outworking us by a mile.”

Can the Flyers bounce back?

“I hope so,” Bryzgalov said. “Because if we’re not going to be stronger, we’re probably not going to play longer.”


629949 Phoenix Coyotes

Time to put Phoenix-Los Angeles rivalry on ice?

By Bob Young - May. 5, 2012 06:48 PM

We don't want to put the bugaboo on the Coyotes, so they should just ignore this. They have plenty of work ahead to eliminate the Nashville Predators from the NHL playoffs.

One shift at a time.

But just between the rest of us, aren't you keeping your fingers crossed hoping the Coyotes get by Nashville and the Los Angeles Kings finish off St. Louis in the other Western Conference semifinal? The Kings can complete a sweep of the Blues Sunday night in Los Angeles after upsetting Vancouver in the first round.

We already can hear "Beat LA" reverberating through Jobing.com Arena as it has so many times before at US Airways Center and Veterans Memorial Coliseum during the long rivalry between the Suns and Lakers.

But it isn't just a basketball thing.

We're pretty sure the Valley's disdain for Los Angeles dates to the mid 1500s, when a Portuguese explorer named Juan Rodriguez "La Magia" Cabrillo first arrived there and proclaimed, "Whoa! Is that Jack Nicholson?"

Of course, our Portuguese is rusty.

At any rate, the Valley always has harbored a certain distaste for most things LA, especially its teams.

Now for the first time, we might get to see a Phoenix-LA showdown in hockey. We could count the series Anaheim won against the Coyotes in their first season in Arizona, but "Beat Disneyland" just doesn't have the same ring.

Some big moments in the Phoenix-LA rivalry, not counting the time they stole news anchor Linda Alvarez:

- In 1970, newcomer Connie Hawkins led the Suns to a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference playoffs against the Lakers. But the Lakers rallied to

win the next three, with Jerry West scoring 35 in Game 6 and Wilt Chamberlain posting 30 points and 27 rebounds in Game 7.

- Arizona State entered the Pac-10 in 1978 and its first Pac-10 home football game came against powerful USC and Heisman Trophy candidate Charles White. The Suns Devils upset the Trojans 20-7.

- In 1979, Arizona State had a four-point lead against second-ranked UCLA and was about to snap the Bruins' basketball winning streak at Pauley Pavilion. But Roy Hamilton hit two free throws, ASU's Tony Zeno threw away an inbounds pass and then fouled Kiki Vandeweghe to make it worse. The Bruins won.

- The Sun Devils got payback in 1981 by beating UCLA in triple-overtime in perhaps the greatest game played at what is now Wells Fargo Arena.

- After Suns losses to the Lakers during the playoffs of 1980, 1982, 1984, 1985 and 1989 the Valley was getting a bit of an inferiority complex.

Or maybe it was a superiority complex over in Los Angeles, because before the 1990 Western Conference semifinals Los Angeles Times columnist Mike Downey predicted the Suns would "fold like a tortilla" against the Lakers. Instead, the Suns rolled Magic Johnson and James Worthy like a burrito, 4-1.

- In 1993, the Lakers led the Suns 2-0 in a best-of-five series when Suns coach Paul Westphal made his famous, "We're going to win the series" guarantee. The Suns did, propelling them to the NBA Finals. The Suns won four of their next five series against the Lakers and Clippers.

- The Mercury are 1-1 against the Los Angeles Sparks in playoff history, but they won one of their two championships in 2007 under the guidance of a former Lakers coach, Paul Westhead.

- In 2010 the Suns and Lakers got it on again, this time in the Western Conference finals, where the Lakers prevailed and went on to their 16th title, 11th since they left the Land of Lakes in Minnesota to the Land of Flakes in LA. Maybe that explains the hate.

Arizona Republic LOADED: 05.06.2012


Phoenix Coyotes resting up for Game 5 vs. Nashville Predators

By Bob McManaman - May. 5, 2012 05:50 PM

With a 3-1 series lead over the Nashville Predators and a chance to close out the Western Conference semifinals on home ice Monday night, Coyotes coach Dave Tippett didn't think twice about scrapping practice Saturday and giving his players some well-deserved rest.

"Yeah, very well-deserved," Tippett said a day after the Coyotes defeated the Predators 1-0 in Nashville. "You've got to take advantage of it when you can get rest in the playoffs. We'll practice Sunday and get ready to try and play a solid Game 5."

Tippett hopes Saturday's rest will allow the Coyotes to play their best hockey of the postseason Monday at Jobing.com Arena. That's when and where they want to ice this series, especially considering the Los Angeles Kings are in position to sweep the St.Louis Blues Sunday in their Western Conference semifinals series.

If the Predators extend the series and the Kings win theirs Sunday, the rest advantage would go straight to Los Angeles.

"We know it's going to be a tough, close game with Nashville again," Tippett said. "We expect every game in this series to go like the one (Friday night), where you're looking for someone to make a big play for you or a big save and you've just got to find a way to win. That won't change Monday night.

"They're obviously going to be desperate. They have very little room for error and we're trying to close it out, so it will make it a very competitive game."

It's been an emotional roller coaster for the Coyotes, who have been involved in six overtime games this postseason and are clinging to hope that a new ownership deal is brokered in the coming days. The pressure to eliminate the Predators on home ice brings only more emotion.

"But I think our team has controlled the emotion real well," Tippett said. "We're a team that doesn't get too high, doesn't get too low. We recognize what we have to do to be successful. ... We are a very focused group right now. We know what we have to do to be successful, and the results will hopefully follow."

Making changes

During a conference call with reporters Saturday, Predators coach Barry Trotz indicated that forwards Alex Radulov and Andrei Kostitsyn, who were suspended for Game 3 and were healthy scratches in Game 4, would return to the lineup Monday night in Glendale.

The two were disciplined by Trotz and General Manager David Poile for reportedly missing curfew on the eve of Game 2.

"I think there's a high probability they'll both go in," Trotz said. "I think they're motivated. There's some guys I thought that didn't bring their best game (Friday) and therefore I think there will be a couple of changes."



Phoenix Coyotes' Rusty Klesla faces NHL discipline hearing

By Sarah McLellan - May. 5, 2012 01:04 PM

Coyotes defenseman Rusty Klesla will have a hearing on Sunday afternoon for his hit on the Predators' Matt Halischuk during the first period of Game 4, the league announced on Saturday.

At 6:39 of the first period in Friday's game, Klesla and Halischuk were both chasing a loose puck in the neutral zone. Before pushing Halischuk from behind in front of the Coyotes' bench, Klesla grabbed Halischuk's jersey.

Klesla was assessed a two-minute boarding minor.

Halishcuk went to the dressing room briefly before returning.

Klesla has been suspended once before. In 2006, he was given a two-game ban for a hit on the Chicago Blackhawks' Tuomo Ruutu in a preseason game.

NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan has punished players for similar incidents.

In November, Shanahan handed a three-game suspension to the St. Louis Blues' Chris Stewart for an almost identical hit on the Detroit Red Wings' Niklas Kronwall.

In his explanation, Shanahan cited the boarding rule, which calls for a penalty when a defenseless player is pushed into the boards and collides violently or dangerously.

"Steward is directly behind Kronwall and sees his numbers for quite some time," Shanahan said in his video explanation. " ... The onus is on Stewart to avoid this hit or minimize it."

Stewart had no prior history and Kronwall wasn't injured on the play.

The Coyotes won 1-0 to take a 3-1 series lead. Game 5 is Monday at Jobing.com Arena.


629952 St Louis Blues

Blues face daunting odds against Kings

By Jeremy Rutherford • [email protected]>314-444-7135 | Posted: Sunday, May 6, 2012 12:05 am

LOS ANGELES, Calif. • The Blues won four consecutive games during the regular season seven times, more than any club in the NHL. They'll need to rip off another four-game streak to keep their season going.

The Los Angeles Kings carry a 3-0 lead into Game 4 of the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series Sunday at 2 p.m. (St. Louis time), meaning a Blues loss will bring an abrupt end to a promising season.

The odds of advancement are extreme, as only three teams in NHL history — the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, 1975 New York Islanders and 2010 Philadelphia Flyers — have recovered from being down three games to none. This marks the ninth time in Blues history they have trailed 3-0, and in dropping the previous eight series the club has been swept seven times.

"They're the hammer, we're the nail," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We've got to move the nail around a little bit so they miss."

Registering a combined 96 hits in the first three games, LA hasn't missed many times in this series. The key to the Blues climbing back in contention will be rediscovering their forecheck and learning the importance of not retaliating against the opponent.

Hitchcock noted after Friday's practice that the Kings are beating the Blues at their own game. One aspect of that is the Kings' strong forecheck in the series and ability to nullify the Blues' forecheck.

The club has been unable to move pucks deep into the offensive zone and pin defenders in, creating time in the zone. LA has had free will clearing the puck and setting up its own offensive opportunities.

"We just haven't been on the same page with it," Blues forward Jamie Langenbrunner said. "Our forecheck is about everyone knowing where the puck is going, and for whatever reason, we're playing a little more side-to-side than we do. When everybody has been on that same page, it's been successful. But they've forced us and made us think there's stuff that's not there, kind of like we've done to teams."

Asked how the Blues could reestablish their forecheck, Hitchcock said: "I don't want to comment on that. We know what's going on there. So I'm not commenting."

Hitchcock isn't commenting, but he is making a change to the lineup, adding forechecker extraordinaire Ryan Reaves for Game 4 Sunday.

"If we get the puck deep, I don't think they can handle us," Reaves said. "The last couple of games we really haven't been doing that. If I can get out there and set the tone with that, get every puck deep and go on the forecheck, hopefully the boys will follow suit."

The other area in which the Blues could help their chances is by not retaliating when provoked by LA. Three times in Thursday's Game 3 the Blues tried to settle a score with the Kings' Dustin Brown. Instead, Alex Steen, Andy McDonald and Matt D'Agostini were ushered to the penalty box.

"If they're coming after me, it means (LA forward Anze Kopitar) is going to have a lot of room out there," Brown said. "Let's be honest. We want 'Kopi' to have more ice than I do." Will the Blues get the message?

"You can talk about it all you want, but when it hurts you, it hits home," Hitchcock said. "Reactionary penalties have hurt us in this series. You hope at some period in time that they get the message ...

"Take it to the whistle and then turn it off. I think that is experience that allows you to do that. Our inexperience at times has shown, but it's also been veteran players. It hasn't hurt us on the scoreboard because our (penalty killing unit) has been so good. Where it's hurt us is building momentum. To me, it's a small element of frustration. And if you're going to win in the playoffs, you can't have frustration."

The frustration, however, has been mounting.

"With our team, there's no reason we should be down three games right now," D'Agostini said. "But we're the type of team that's very capable of coming back in this series. There's a lot of promise in this room and we have a lot of belief in our guys and what we can do, so don't count us out just yet."

Even if the odds are against them.

"You can't think about winning four games," Langenbrunner said. "You've got to think about winning one, and that was our focus coming out here, to make sure we get one and bring it back to St. Louis. Obviously (that has) got to be Sunday now. That can be our only focus. Too big a picture, it can be a little daunting."

On the final day before the Blues' season could come to a close, Hitchcock didn't sense the players were ready for summer to begin.

"I don't know if we're naïve and think the season is going to go on forever, but we've got great energy," he said. "We're getting better. Hopefully we get good enough to win a game and take (the series) back to St. Louis.

"I think the shock is if we don't win. That's what happens when you haven't been through this before. The reality, if we don't win, we're out ... we're done ... we don't play anymore. You don't want that to be the shocker."

St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 05.06.2012


Bernie: LA series doesn’t wipe out Blues' accomplishments

Bernie Miklasz • [email protected], 314-340-8192 | Posted: Sunday, May 6, 2012 12:05 am

The Blues' stunning crash in the Western Conference semifinals is alarming. A rising team that rolled up 109 regular-season points before beating San Jose in the first round is being embarrassed by the Los Angeles Kings.

Trailing the dominant Kings 3-0, the Blues will try to avoid elimination Sunday afternoon at Staples Center.

Do you believe in miracles?

(Silence.)

We've seen an assortment of understandable reactions from Blues fans. I don't blame anyone for being openly angry or quietly depressed. The Kings are destroying the excitement and the promise of the Blues' season, and it's difficult to watch.

Unfortunately, this is nothing new for Blues fans. That familiar, sinking feeling is settling in. Optimism has been slapped away by another hard shot of reality.

If indeed this is the end, we'll spend a few weeks trying to process emotions. Would the 2011-2012 season be tarnished by an abrupt playoff ejection? If the Blues fall weakly and meekly to the Kings, does their season go down as a failure?

Everyone who cares about this team is forming an opinion, and there is no right or wrong one. You can boil over. You can remain upbeat.

As a fan who has enjoyed watching this team all season, I'm staying on the bandwagon. I'll be frowning and maybe muttering a few curse words, but I won't jump.

As a sports columnist, I'm trying to maintain a reasonable perspective. I respect the progress that has been made. But I also want to see what new ownership will do to help this team go higher in the coming season.

For now, it would be ridiculous to write off this season as a worthless, meaningless tease.

"Absolutely not," said Jeremy Roenick, the NBC Sports hockey analyst who scored 513 goals in his NHL career. "The Blues have really made tremendous strides. The quality of the team, the reputation of the team, all of it. They're going to be very respected in the league. They've worked hard, and they have quality players. They really did something special this year. And if they go out in four to LA, they really don't have anything to hang their heads about."

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The last three games, all losses, were awful. But take a deep breath and recognize that the Blues have had an outstanding campaign overall.

The Blues put together only the fourth 100-point season in their 44 seasons of NHL competition. Their regular-season winning percentage (.665) was the third-best in franchise history. The 109 points placed the Blues tied for No. 2 among the NHL's 30 teams.

Until now, no Blues team had won as many as 41 games at home or led the NHL in shutouts. The Blues' average of goals allowed per game (1.89) was the lowest by an NHL team since the league expanded from the original six in 1967-68.

The Blues won the NHL's toughest division, the Central, for the first time since 1999-2000. A year ago, if someone guaranteed you that the Blues would beat out Detroit, Chicago and Nashville for the Central crown, I assume you would have been thrilled. The Blues' postseason took a terrible, wrong turn against LA, but that doesn't erase their win over San Jose, the first triumph in a postseason series since 2002.

Ken Hitchcock is a finalist for the coach of the year award. Doug Armstrong is a finalist for GM of the year. David Backes is a finalist for the Selke Trophy, which goes to the league's best defensive forward.

The Blues went 49-22-11 this season with a roster that includes 11 players ages 25 or younger. And that doesn't include rookie Jaden Schwartz, who scored two goals in a seven-game trial late in the season. The Blues might have a heralded prospect, forward Vladimir Tarasenko, in the mix next season.

The Blues' list of positives is more impressive when put into the proper context. Over the previous six seasons combined, the Blues' were 27th in the NHL in winning percentage, and 28th in wins. They were only one of three NHL teams that didn't win a single postseason game in the six-season period.

We've seen the franchise rise from the bottom of the league. The Blues haven't reached the top, but they zoomed to 109 points after failing to qualify for the playoffs in five of the past six seasons.

That's a big step.

Winning the Stanley Cup is the most difficult mission in North American professional team sports. It doesn't happen in the flash of one season, especially for a maturing group that wasn't good enough make the playoffs in recent years.

The LA Kings offer an example. It's easy to forget that this is their third consecutive trip to the postseason; the Kings' nucleus has been building for this 2012 run. And the Kings, unlike the Blues, had the financial jack to add an expensive and impact player, forward Jeff Carter, this season at the trade deadline. Last summer, the Kings traded for center Mike Richards, assuming his enormous contract.

Armstrong doesn't have that kind of money to spend to improve the Blues. Because of the Blues' shaky financial status, Armstrong was prohibited from adding payroll at the deadline. I'm not saying that money would have gotten the Blues past Los Angeles and deeper into the postseason; we'll never know. But I'd like to see Armstrong have more resources to work with.

It's imperative for the Blues to stabilize their ownership. That said, I question prospective owner Tom Stillman's financial muscle. I'd be pleasantly surprised by a significant increase in team payroll.

All we can do now is wait and see. Stillman's opportunity to make a difference will come later.

If the Blues fail to shock the hockey world by rebelling against the Kings, I'll be disappointed by the way their ride ended. But I'm not disgusted. This has been an entertaining season.

Even with payroll restrictions, the Blues are in good position for a run at that elusive Stanley Cup over the next few seasons. I just hope Stillman can give his hockey people a better chance to reach for it.

After years of slowly developing a young nucleus of talent, the Blues have come a long way this season.

This isn't the end.

It's the beginning.



Blues-Kings series is a tale of two teams

By Dan O'Neill • [email protected] > 314-340-8186 | Posted: Sunday, May 6, 2012 12:05 am

LOS ANGELES • Strange things have happened, we all know that. But, I would submit, nothing stranger.

If the Blues were to get off the canvass and win the next four games to beat the Los Angeles Kings in this Western Conference semifinals, that officially would top the list. That would be dogs sleeping with cats, students paying back loans, nonstop flights out of St. Louis.

At some point this season the Kings were not as good as the Blues — regular season standings indicate as much. And they're not as good as them at this point, either. They're much better.

It's not close, folks, hasn't been since the opening minutes of Game 1. This is men playing with boys, a tsunami opposed to intermittent showers. The Kings are dialed in. The Blues aren't on the same bandwidth. They are not big enough, fast enough or experienced enough.

They can't get the puck from the Crown Royals, and they can't keep it from them. The Kings get out of their zone Jonathan quick. The Blues get out of their zone the way U.S. military personnel and civilians evacuated Saigon.

There are spurts, yes. A shift here, a minute or two there, but nothing sustained. When GM Doug Armstrong hired Ken Hitchcock, he wanted to find out more about his players. He wanted to eliminate the possibility they weren't being coached properly and discover how good his group is, and the playoffs are the ultimate swab test.

The Blues are a young team. So what? The NHL is a young league, an intensely competitive league. Given the regular season they had, one might conclude the Blues are close to championship caliber.

Sorry, close only counts in flea collars. Close puts you in a neighborhood with a dozen other teams in the league. Realistically, how close are you if an eighth-place finisher sweeps you?

The Blues' best players have not been good enough or plentiful enough in this series. A foundation appears to be in place, but Armstrong and Co. will have to locate the cracks. Sentimental value can't be a factor.

Fans run a hockey adoption program in St. Louis. They finance their furniture and take out second mortgages so they can buy their favorite $225 jersey.

They cuddle their T.J. Oshies and David Perrons like binkies. If it's not a fetish, it's a fidelity that transcends wins and losses.

Armstrong wants to win a Stanley Cup. Hitchcock wants to win a Stanley Cup. Presumably the group that buys this team wants to win a Stanley Cup, and is bringing the financial wherewithal to do so.

These Blues will look different next season. Count on it. Eleven of the current player contracts expire when this season ends, seven in unrestricted fashion, which brings us to the point of this dissertation.

There's no reason to be insulting here, no need to ask for miracles. Let's save those for the troops. The Blues have been down 0-3 in a series eight times in their history. They have forced a Game 5 just once.

But it would be a crying shame if they can't win Sunday, if they can't bring this show back to St. Louis for at least one more engagement, one more night.

Those who bleed Blue deserve as much. This team deserves as much. Don't misunderstand.

The goal and expectations should be much higher than a conference semifinals appearance. It's not the result here that calls for acknowledgment; it's the group.

Cup worthy or not, it has been special. It has restored this franchise in real terms, not in marketing hooks. It gave us back Saturday nights at the Scotty and many nights in between. It moved the needle, away from the all-consuming Cardinals crush, if only for a few months.

There's no denying the developments in this series have been discouraging. It was natural to jump to conclusions. When teams such as Detroit, Vancouver, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Boston were eliminated, you started putting two and two together and got Final Four.

Logic hormones ran wild and you saw a legitimate opportunity to end a 45-year wait.

But two truths are at work now. One, the team was underachieving when Armstrong made a coaching change. Two, it has overachieved since.

The Blues defeated the San Jose Sharks in five games, and they could have lost the series in five games. When Hitchcock said that afterward, it

wasn't a cliché, it was gospel. Nothing more than a more effective forecheck and six power play goals separated the two.

Take it however you want, but it's not a vilification of this team, it's a compliment.

The Blues are not built on a substantial talent platform. They are the sum of parts. They needed most everyone to show up and bring their lunch to do what they did this season. Almost every night, these guys did.

The sports entertainment dollar is especially steep these days. This group never mortgaged it. They did the Note and their sometimes-nutty followers proud. For that, if nothing else, they don't deserve to have this end 1,800 miles away in LA Live.

If this season has run its course, let it do so in St. Louis, where these Blues and their fans can connect one more time, where they can say a proper goodbye.

"Believe me,"' Hitchcock said on Friday, "we're going to make a push to get back, a huge push."

Here's hoping they make it.



Doughty carries Kings in series

By Lisa Dillman • Los Angeles Times | Posted: Sunday, May 6, 2012 12:00 am

LOS ANGELES • Los Angeles Kings coach Darryl Sutter understands the ways of the twentysomething male, the rare breed happening to play hockey for a living.

After all, his son Brett, who plays in Carolina's system, is 24 years old. Nephew Brandon, a year younger than Brett, was Carolina's alternate captain this season and scored 17 goals and 32 points for the Hurricanes.

It's another way of saying that Sutter "gets" Kings defenseman Drew Doughty.

"Drew's a kid, right? I've got kids older than him," Sutter said of the 22-year-old. "(I'm) just trying to handle him like I would handle my children. Drew's an awesome, awesome kid. I've said that. He's an awesome kid. He's no different than any other kid that age."

In Sutter-speak, the word "awesome" is the highest form of praise.

They had one of those father-son type moments in the first round of the playoffs against Vancouver, in the intermission of the only game the Kings have lost in the playoffs — Game 4 at Staples Center.

"I went in, in between periods, to grab a drink, and we had our TVs on in there," Doughty said. "And I was grabbing a drink, took a peek at the TV, and he (Sutter) happened to catch me in there when I was looking at the TV. So, I got in trouble for that. He yelled at me, so I made sure not to go in there anymore."

He understood every word Sutter said.

Mind you that wasn't always the case for Doughty and the Kings when the new coach showed up in Los Angeles just before Christmas. Sutter's inflections are hard to describe and his words often hard to hear.

"There were a couple of practices, we didn't know what the hell we were doing," captain Dustin Brown said.

Doughty said: "I couldn't understand anything he said when he first came, so I made sure when drills were happening to be at the back of the line."

These lighthearted stories about Sutter are the kind you hear when a team is up 3-0 in a playoff series. Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals between the Kings and the Blues is Sunday afternoon at Staples Center.

Doughty was one of the many reasons the Kings smothered the Blues 4-2 in Game 3, with a goal and two assists.

"You've seen him at the top, and you've seen him struggle," Sutter said. "There's not many guys his age in the league that play that position and play that many minutes and play that many situations. And, so, there is gonna be peaks and valleys."

Brown maintains that Doughty is a better player than when he was nominated for the Norris Trophy two years ago, when he scored 16 goals and had 59 points.

"Everyone forgets he's playing against the other team's top guys, especially in a playoff series," Brown said. "You've got guys trying to run him left, right and center. ... (Thursday) he had a breakout game, and it was huge for us on the offensive side of things.

"But ... everyone forgets how good he is at the other end of the rink. A lot of successes in the first series and this series have been in shutting down the top guys, and he's a big reason."

It's all coming together for the Kings. Sutter is pushing the "right buttons," and getting his team "emotionally attached to games," Brown said.

Brown is getting under the skin and into the heads of the Blues with his brand of physicality.

And Kings defenseman Matt Greene has more points in this series than Blues forwards Alex Steen, T.J. Oshie and Andy McDonald. Greene has a point in all three games and said, dryly: "That's an accident."

The eighth-seeded Kings have flipped the script as the No. 2 Blues aren't used to pursuit mode. At least not since Coach Ken Hitchcock came on board in early November.

"They're the hammer," Hitchcock said. "We're the nail. We've got to move the nail around a little bit so they miss. We've done a lot of good things the last couple of games. We're not built chasing games. We've been chasing the games, and it's forced us into difficult matchups."



Blues to shuffle lineup for Game 4 against Kings

By Jeremy Rutherford [email protected] 314-444-7135 and Dan O'Neill [email protected] | Posted: Sunday, May 6, 2012 12:00 am

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. • Facing elimination, the Blues plan to make two lineup changes for Game 4 Sunday against the Los Angeles Kings.

Forward Ryan Reaves will replace B.J. Crombeen on the fourth line and defenseman Ian Cole will step in for Carlo Colaiacovo.

Blues coach Ken Hitchcock has been tinkering with the lineup lately, searching for the right mix. He inserted Matt D'Agostini for Game 2, taking Chris Stewart out, and D'Agostini responded with a goal. Stewart was resurrected for Game 3, with Jason Arnott out, and Stewart scored both Blues' goals in a 4-2 loss.

"More size, more speed," Hitchcock said. "We keep pulling speed into the lineup and it works. D'Agostini was good. Obviously Stewart was good. So Reaves brings more speed, more size, we're trying to get a little bit better."

Reaves had four hits in eight minutes of ice time in Game 1 of the first round against San Jose, but he has not played since, sitting out as a healthy scratch the last seven games. He will return to the fourth line with Jamie Langenbrunner and Scott Nichol.

"I'm really excited," Reaves said. "Hopefully I can bring something to the table, a little bit of physical energy to help get the boys going. (The Kings) are a physical team and I think we're kind of playing into their hands right now. They've been running us around a little bit, so I think we have to turn the tide."

Cole's only playoff action came in Game 2 against LA, when he replaced an injured Alex Pietrangelo.

In Saturday's practice, Cole was paired with Kevin Shattenkirk, Pietrangelo was with Barret Jackman and Kris Russell remained with Roman Polak.

"Cole will play, again, more size, so … we're close," Hitchcock said. "Last game was our best game, so (Sunday) hopefully we'll be a little bit better."

CAPTAIN VS. CAPTAIN

Off-ice officials counted 85 hits in Game 3 Thursday, including a breath-taker involving the Blues' David Backes and the Kings' Dustin Brown, the captains of their respective clubs.

"Two big guys, eh?" Hitchcock said. "That hit against the bench, that hurt me. … Whoa! You saw both guys get squished. I'm surprised both guys got up, but that was big, big-time hit. They're both going at each other. When you're 225, 230 pounds, I think you get a real appreciation for how big guys are."

Brown does have an appreciation for Backes.

"Backes is a big boy," Brown said. "He's one of those guys you can hit him 100 times … the only way to have an impact on him is to try and be physical with him. Sometimes it's an uphill battle with a guy like that. He's always going to show up and play. You just got to keep after him just to have an effect over the course of a series on him. Not let him have that free ice. A big body like that with the skill he has — if you're not running into him every chance you get, he's going to be running into you."

EARLY START

The Blues and Kings will be adjusting their body clocks again in Game 4 Sunday. The puck will drop shortly after noon local time, a little after 2 p.m. in St. Louis time.

Hitchcock pointed out the sleepy play early in Saturday's New York-Washington game, which began at 12:30 localtime.

"I'm curious ... noon out here (is different)," Hitchcock said. "You saw one team was really dozy in the 12:30 game (Saturday) in Washington at the start, really dozy. I sure as (heck) hope it ain't us. Because if it's us, (the series) is over."



Reaves, Cole return to Blues' lineup for Game 4

By JEREMY RUTHERFORD | Posted: Saturday, May 5, 2012 1:27 pm

LOS ANGELES - Facing elimination, the Blues will make two lineup changes for Game 4 Sunday against the Los Angeles Kings.

Forward Ryan Reaves will replace B.J. Crombeen on the fourth line, and defenseman Ian Cole will step in for Carlo Colaiacovo.

“More size, more speed,” Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. “We keep pulling speed into the lineup and it works. (Matt) D'Agostini was good. Obviously (Chris) Stewart was good. So Reaves brings more speed, more size, we're trying to get a little bit better."

Reaves, who has not played since Game 1 of the San Jose series, hopes to give the Blues a spark. LA has been physical in the series and the Blues have been unable to establish their forecheck, one of Reaves' specialties.

“I'm really excited,” Reaves said. “Hopefully I can bring something to the table, a little bit of physical energy to help get the boys going. (The Kings) are a physical team and I think we're kind of playing into their hands right now. They've been running us around a little bit, so I think we have to turn the tide."

Cole's only playoff action came in Game 2 against LA, when he replaced an injured Alex Pietrangelo. Cole played 10:40 in that game and had two hits.

“Cole will play, again, more size, so … we're close," Hitchcock said. "Last game was our best game, so tomorrow hopefully we'll be a little bit better.”

In practice Saturday, Cole was paired with Kevin Shattenkirk, Pietrangelo was with Barret Jackman and Kris Russell remained with Roman Polak.

Reaves will return to his familiar spot on the fourth line with Scott Nichol and Jamie Langenbrunner.

Hitchcock inserted D'Agostini for Game 2, taking Stewart out and D'Agostini responded with a goal. Stewart was resurrected for Game 3, with Jason Arnott out, and Stewart scored both Blues goals in a 4-2 loss.

“We haven't been getting the puck deep," Hitchcock said. "If we get the puck deep, I don't think they can handle us. The last couple of games we really haven't been doing that. If I can get out there and set the tone with that, get every puck deep and go on the forecheck, hopefully the boys will follow suit.”

***

CAPTAIN VS. CAPTAIN

Off-ice officials recorded a combined 85 hits between the Blues and LA in Game 3. The one that stood out happened in the second period, involving the Blues' David Backes and the Kings' Dustin Brown, captains of their respective teams.

"Two big guys, eh?" Hitchcock said. "That hit against the bench, that hurt me. Whoa, cripes! You saw both guys get squished. I'm surprised both guys got up, but that was big, big-time hit. They're both going at each other. When you're 225, 230 pounds, I think you get a real appreciation for how big guys are."

Brown does have an appreciation for Backes.

"Backes is a big boy," Brown said. "He’s one of those guys you can hit him 100 times…the only way to have an impact on him is to try and be physical with him. Sometimes it’s an uphill battle with a guy like that. He’s always going to show up and play. You just got to keep after him just to have an effect over the course of a series on him. Not let him have that free ice. A big body like that with the skill he has – if you’re not running into him every chance you get, he’s going to be running into you."

***

EARLY START

The Blues and Kings will be adjusting their body clocks again in Game 4 Sunday. Using all local times, Game 1 was at 6:30 p.m., Game 2 was 8 p.m., Game 3 was 7 p.m. and Game 4 will be at noon Pacific time.

The New York Rangers and Washington Capitals played at 12:30 p.m (Eastern time) on Saturday and it showed early.

"I'm curious...noon out here (is different)," Hitchcock said. "You saw one team was really dozy today in the 12:30 game in Washington at the start, really dozy. I sure as (heck) hope it ain't us. Because if it's us, (the series) is over."

***

ODDS & ENDS

- Blues forward Chris Stewart snapped an 18-game scoring drought with his two goals in Game 3. His two goals lead the club in this series.

- After further review, Hitchcock felt that Matt D'Agostini's reactionary penalty against Dustin Brown perhaps wasn't justified.

- Blues center Jason Arnott came to the rink briefly today, but did not practice. The club says that Arnott has a lower-body injury, but multiple sources say the veteran is upset with Hitchcock's decision not to play him.


629958 Tampa Bay Lightning

So much to love about the NHL playoffs

By Tom Jones, Times Staff Writer

We're coming up on the halfway point of the NHL playoffs, but already there has been plenty to love about this year's race to the Stanley Cup. Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens? More like blood drops on noses and whiskers on Coyotes … and Flyers and Rangers. These are a few of our favorite things about this year's Stanley Cup playoffs.

Overtime

Find yourself having trouble getting out of bed in the morning? Nodding off at work in the afternoon? Perhaps you're staying up to watch overtime in the playoffs. See, there's a mantra among hockey fans: You simply cannot go to bed during overtime no matter how tired you are, how late it is and how early you have to get up in the morning. And it seems like every other night we're all abiding by that.

Seriously, is there a more thrilling thing in sports than sudden death overtime in the hockey playoffs?

Of the first 62 games in this year's playoffs, 20 have gone to overtime. Of the eight series in the first round, seven had at least one game go to overtime. The first five games of the Coyotes-Blackhawks series went to overtime.

The winner-take-all seventh game of the Devils-Panthers series in the first round went to double overtime. That right there is an example of what is so awesome about the Stanley Cup playoffs. Two teams whose season hangs on the next goal. Score it and you stay alive. Allow it and your season is finished.

Wednesday, the Rangers and Capitals started at 7:40 p.m. and were still going at it at a quarter after midnight Thursday in the third overtime before the Rangers' Marian Gaborik scored the goal that gave the Blueshirts a 2-1 series lead.

Watching former Lightning stars

For bay area hockey fans, if you can't root for the Lightning in the playoffs, cheering on former Lightning stars is the next best thing. In that regard, most likely are pulling for the Rangers, which features former Lightning coach John Tortorella, left, and forwards Brad Richards and Ruslan Fedotenko. All three hold a special place in Lightning history. Tortorella led the Lightning to its only Stanley Cup in 2004, Richards was the playoff MVP that year, and Fedotenko scored both goals in the 2-1 victory over the Flames in Game 7 of the Cup final.

A few other former Lightning players scattered about, but the interesting name out there is goalie Mike Smith, below, now in Phoenix. Smith was acquired in a trade that sent Richards to Dallas in 2008 and was supposed to become the Lightning's No. 1 goalie, but it never worked out that way. He left for Phoenix last offseason.

As it turned out, the Lightning desperately needed a No. 1 goalie this season, and Smith is the franchise goalie with the Coyotes.

Smith's name is brought up here for a purpose. To suggest he would have had this type of season with the Lightning is misguided. Smith, who left as a free agent, appears to be more the benefactor of Phoenix's defensive system than a goalie who has suddenly found the secret formula for stopping pucks. Think of it this way: Ilya Bryzgalov looked like a way better goalie with the Coyotes from 2007-11 than he has with the Flyers this season.

Seeing every game

For the first time, every game of the playoffs is being televised. NBC, NBC Sports Network and CNBC have picked up the bulk of the games nationally, with the NHL Network carrying a few strays in the first round. It's hard to believe, but in years past, not every playoff game could be seen on television. That had to be frustrating for those in the Tampa Bay area who were, say, a Devils fan or a Kings fan but were forced to find a sports bar to watch their favorite team instead of being able to watch at home. It's always better to order off the menu than to eat what the chef picks for you.

Mike Emrick

A perfect scenario: overtime and NBC's Mike Emrick on the play-by-play. No one makes playoff hockey more exciting than the Hockey Hall of Fame broadcaster. Emrick never makes himself bigger than the game he is calling. But his uncanny sense of timing and right balance of emotion make a dramatic game more dramatic. When it comes to hockey, there's Emrick and then there's everyone else. But while we're talking about "everyone else,'' Lightning play-by-play announcer Rick Peckham has been picked up by NBC for a few games this postseason. In less than 24 hours, Peckham called games in New York and Vancouver, and sounded crisp on each game.

Seeing new stars

Every playoff season seems to bring an unexpected star. This year our favorite is a 22-year-old kid from Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, named Braden Holtby. Unless you're a Capitals fan, you probably had never heard

of this goalie before a few weeks ago. Coming into this postseason, Holtby had played 21 NHL games. But that didn't stop him from outplaying last year's playoff MVP, Boston goalie Tim Thomas, in the first round. Meantime, the Rangers' Chris Kreider, who turned 21 on Monday, already has two winning goals in these playoffs. Just last month, Kreider was at the Tampa Bay Times Forum leading Boston College to the national championship in the Frozen Four. Think about it: Kreider could continue scoring goals, lift the Stanley Cup, get his name on the Stanley Cup, then make his NHL regular-season debut in October. Crazy, eh?

Unexpected stars

Every season a few third- and fourth-line players suddenly sport a red cape and become Superman. They go from being muckers, grinders and pluggers to scoring key goals. Remember last season when then-Lightning Sean Bergenheim went crazy collecting big goals? This season it's players such as New Jersey's Travis Zajac and Phoenix's Antoine Vermette and Mikkel Boedker.

Zajac scored two goals in 15 games during an injury-plagued regular season but had five in his first 10 playoff games. Vermette has five goals in 10 playoff games after scoring 11 in 82 regular-season games. And Boedker scored overtime winners in back-to-back games in the first round after having two winning goals all regular season.

Martin Brodeur

The legendary Devils goalie turns 40 today, and he will be in net for New Jersey as it tries to take a 3-1 series lead against the Flyers. Brodeur won his first postseason game in 1994. Flyers defenseman Sean Couturier, who is facing Brodeur in this semifinal round, was 1 at the time. Brodeur has won 105 playoff games, more than every other starting goalie left in these playoffs combined. Do yourself a favor and watch Brodeur before his postseason ends. This could be his last season. It could be his last run at a Cup. Watch him closely right now so you can always remember the greatest goalie who has ever lived.

Tampa Tribune LOADED: 05.06.2012

629959 Washington Capitals

Capitals and Nationals make it tough to decide what to watch on television

By Tracee Hamilton,

Game 4, or Game 2? How to choose between the Caps-Rangers at Verizon Center or the second of three “Take Back the Park” meetings between the Nats and Phils? The weather said Nats, the stakes said Caps, the flat screen said “Why choose?” When the flat screen talks, I listen. I worry, but I listen.

So I took back the recliner — two very angry cats retired to the basement to watch episodes of “Too Cute!” on Animal Planet — and spent the afternoon flipping.

The one drawback in this plan: The Caps are being broadcast on NBC, not Comcast. That means no Joe Beninati, no Craig Laughlin. No fair.

12:30: Here we go. There’s John Carlson . . . in the locker room.

12:31: And we’re going to the studio show. NBC already pre-empted a bunch of cartoons for hockey; why not “Jane and the Dragon,” so the game could start on time?

12:40: Here were go, for real.

12:43: First power play for the Caps. This is the easy part of the day, before the Nats start.

12:59: Alex Ovechkin scores, hopefully ending talk of whether Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist is “in” the Caps’ heads. Something’s in there, but it’s not Lundqvist.

1:10: Time to flip, and Gio Gonzalez is already walking off the mound after a 1-2-3 first inning.

1:11: Thought: Now that the Nats have Taken Back the Park, how about Taking Back the Seats behind Home Plate?

1:15: Steve Lombardozzi is quite the little pest. Not sure we ought to be using “The Sniper” as a nickname in D.C., however.

1:30: Artem Anisimov ties it up with barely a minute gone in the second period. Time to check back with the Nats.

1:31: Scoreless.

1:47: Nick Backstrom’s turn. The Caps are outscoring the Nats, but then, the Rangers are outscoring the Phils, thanks to Gonzalez.

1:52: Nice double by Lombardozzi. And then Bryce Harper lines out.

1:53: You know how football players sometimes write something in their eye black? Harper could write the Declaration of Independence in his eye black today.

1:55: The NBC announcers just declared of Alexander Semin: “Whatever they pay him, it’s not enough.”

1:59: I was only with the Nats a minute. The Caps are tied 2-2?

2:14: Teddy loses again. A nation mourns.

2:18: Gio is not smiling. Unusual.

2:23: Standup double. THERE’S the smile.

2:31: While the officials check out Mike Knuble’s slide into Lundqvist, the Nats have been racking up the runs — 3-1. Oops, 4-1.

2:42: Commercials, both channels. Now’s my chance for a big ol’ glass of iced tea.

2:49: Power-play goal, Mike Green. Now, no overtime, or I’ll have a big ol’ case of the megrims.

2:53: Checking in on the Nats — 5-1, top of the seventh, Gio going strong. When I’m not watching, they’re scoring. Point taken.

2:57: The Holtby chants are starting, the Rangers have an empty net. New York and Washington media members alike are chanting “No OT.” Don’t have to be there to know that.

3:04: Series tied. Boz hailing a cab for Nats Park, where it’s . . .

3:05: . . . the bottom of the seventh. And as F.P. Santangelo points out, Ovechkin’s already in the stands (okay, it’s just his jersey), in time to see Chad Tracee, er, Tracy, homer. Nats, 7-1.

3:08: I admit, I thought the Nats without Michael Morse were in trouble, and the Nats without Morse and Ryan Zimmerman were toast. Glad to see there is more to this bench than I expected.

3:25: Lombardozzi’s up to stay. Right? Has to be.

3:29: Nats have 15 hits today. My, my.

3:34: Nats end it with a double play. Good day for Washington fans — three hours, two wins.

3:35: Time for some NBA, the Derby, more NBA, golf. But first, ice for my thumb.

For Tracee Hamilton’s previous columns, go to washingtonpost.--com/

-hamilton.

Washington Post LOADED: 05.06.2012


Alex Ovechkin says he only hit Rangers’ Dan Girardi in shoulder, not head, in Capitals’ win

By Tarik El-Bashir,

New York Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi said Alex Ovechkin made contact with his head when the Washington Capitals’ star leaped to deliver an open-ice hit in Saturday’s 3-2 victory.

Ovechkin was assessed a minor penalty for charging on the play, which occurred midway through the second period. Girardi was not injured.

“I think he hit my head a bit there,” Girardi said after the game Saturday. “I think it was the right call. I’m not sure what it was, if it was charging, interference or whatever. But the head’s kinda there and he hits it.

“I think he’s just playing the game hard but I don’t know,” Girardi added. “He hit me in the head first.”

Ovechkin disagreed with Girardi’s assessment, saying he only made contact with the defenseman’s shoulder.

“In the head? No,” said Ovechkin, who appeared surprised that the questioned was posed. “I think it was the shoulder.”

On the play, Ovechkin was cutting through the offensive zone when he attempted to control a puck that was turned over by Girardi by kicking it to his stick. Ovechkin missed the puck with his skate, then appeared to realize that he was about to collide — at a rather high rate of speed — with the Rangers’ rugged blue-liner.

Ovechkin then appeared to decide to be the hitter rather than the recipient of the blow. As he neared Girardi, who braced himself, Ovechkin’s skates left the ice.

It was unclear whether NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan planned to review the hit or was considering supplemental discipline, which can range from a warning to a $2,500 fine or suspension. In January, Shanahan banned Ovechkin for three games after ruling the Capitals’ captain “launched” himself and hit Pittsburgh defenseman Zbynek Michalek in the head along the boards.

The question, if Shanahan reviews the hit, is not whether Ovechkin left his skates; he did. It’s where Ovechkin’s shoulder struck Girardi, who was knocked down and momentarily held his head in his hands.

Replays appear to show that the primary point of contact was Girardi’s shoulder.


Girardi said he was not hurt.

“He’s a big guy and hits hard, but I feel good,” he said.

Told Ovechkin said he was protecting himself, Girardi responded, “I’m not even going to get into that.”

Rangers defenseman Marc Staal added: “I thought he jumped when I saw it on replay. Yeah, I mean, things happen fast, but it looked to me like he left his feet and was targeting his head. That’s up to them.”

Capitals Coach Dale Hunter said it was “incidental contact.”

“I didn’t see the replay on it yet, but it was, you know, I think both of them were surprised they hit each other,” Hunter said. “It was incidental contact where both of them were looking down and they hit each other.”

Ovechkin, the Capitals’ leading scorer in the playoffs with four goals and three assists, has been suspended three times and fined twice in his seven-season NHL career.

Asked whether he feels Ovechkin should receive further punishment, Girardi said: “I’m not the judge of that. You guys can make your comments about that. They called a penalty on it, that’s all I know.”



Ryan McDonagh: Rangers’ Game 3 win ‘only one step in the right direction’

By Tarik El-Bashir

(Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)A day after skating a whopping 53 minutes 21 seconds in the Rangers’ triple overtime victory, Ryan McDonagh spent part of his Thursday away from the rink visiting Arlington National Cemetery.

“It was a quite a scene,” McDonagh said. “You talk about … war and the battle that [Game 3] was, then you go out and you see something like that. It really hits home for you.”

McDonagh was joined on the afternoon excursion by teammates Brian Boyle, Derek Stepan and Brandon Dubinsky, among others. The trip was organized by the Rangers.

“It puts things into perspective when you see all those gravestones as far as you can see,” said Boyle said.

After Friday’s practice at Verizon Center, the Rangers’ mantra was keeping Wednesday’s triumph in proper perspective. While the marathon gave them a 2-1 series lead and plenty of momentum heading into Saturday’s Game 4, it also was just one game.

“It’s only one step in the right direction [toward] what we’re trying to accomplish,” McDonagh said.

McDonagh said he felt rested and refreshed despite receiving two games worth of ice time on the same night (and nearly 12 minutes more than Dennis Wideman, the Capitals’ ice time leader). McDonagh took a total of 60 shifts and did not miss a single one after absorbing a crushing shoulder-to-chest hit from Matt Hendricks early in the first overtime. Stu Bickel, meantime, skated only 3:24 as New York's sixth defenseman.

“Pretty good,” McDonagh said when asked how he was doing. “A lot better because we won the game.

The reason Rangers Coach John Tortorella turned to McDonagh so often is simple: Just as he’s been all postseason, the 22-year-old was on top of his game.

McDonagh blocked a game-high eight shots, dished out three hits and directed 11 pucks at Washington’s net. Along with defensive partner Dan Girardi, McDonagh was also a big reason the Rangers managed to keep Capitals stars such Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom off the scoresheet.

“I didn’t know what my ice time was at,” McDonagh said. “You were just trying to make sure you did your part when it was your shift, your turn to go out. Try to make sure you played hard.”

A few more notes from New York’s practice at Verizon Center:

*The Rangers had full attendance at practice, minus Dubinsky, who has missed three games with a lower-body injury. The forward has been seen wearing a supportive boot on his right foot.

*Forward Mats Zuccarello (left wrist) skated on his own before practice and continues to progress toward a return to the lineup. He’s been sidelined since March 23 and still is wearing a cast.

*Here’s how the Rangers lined up in practice:

Forwards

Hagelin-Richards-Gaborik

Kreider-Stepan-Anisimov

Fedotenko-Boyle-Callahan

Rupp-Mitchell-Prust

Defense

McDonagh-Girardi

Staal-Stralman

Del Zotto-Bickel

*Tortorella dropped perhaps the quote of the series when asked whether captain Ryan Callahan leads vocally or by example: “He doesn’t say [expletive], really. What you see is what he is. It’s easy for people talk, but it’s much more important for a leader to ‘do.’” Callahan was named captain in training camp.



2012 Stanley Cup playoffs: Capitals rebound to even series with 3-2 victory over Rangers in Game 4

By Katie Carrera,

Throughout the postseason it has been the character guys, role players, the pluggers and, as they’re known in the Washington Capitals’ dressing room, the “wagons” who have stepped up on a consistent basis. Saturday afternoon in a pivotal Game 4 contest against the New York Rangers, it was the top half of the lineup that took charge and led the Capitals to a much-needed victory.

Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green all scored in Washington’s 3-2 win at Verizon Center that evened this Eastern Conference semifinal series at two games apiece.

It marked the first time since Oct. 30, 2010, at Calgary that those three of the four “Young Guns” had scored in the same game, and the combined effort couldn’t have come at a better time. The Capitals needed the win not only to tie the series, but to bounce back collectively after a gut-wrenching triple overtime loss in Game 3 on Wednesday.

“Young guns? Not so young anymore. But we needed to step up,” said Green, whose tally on the power play came 14 minutes 12 seconds into the third period and stood as the game-winner. “It was important that we got a win tonight here in our building and that it be the guys that need to start scoring. Alex is one of them. Myself and Nicky. So it was good.”

From the start it was clear that the Capitals’ star players were ready for the challenge of sending the series back to New York tied. When Jason Chimera drew an interference call on defenseman Anton Stralman less than three minutes into the contest, the Capitals’ power play buzzed and their best players were at the forefront.

Henrik Lundqvist (23 saves) made six stops during Washington’s man advantage, a few of them stunning. Ovechkin had a backdoor redirect attempt that required perhaps the save of the series, and then the Capitals peppered Lundqvist with three attempts — Alexander Semin from point-blank range, Backstrom from the circle and Green from the point — in nine seconds.

While the all-star netminder turned those opportunities aside with relative ease, Washington’s forwards continued to swarm around him. After a lengthy battle in the corner, the puck popped out to New York rookie Chris Kreider, but he subsequently gave it away to Ovechkin.

Washington’s star left wing took one step toward the center of the ice and ripped a booming slap shot from a few feet inside the blue line. The puck bounced over Lundqvist’s glove and in for Ovechkin’s fourth goal of the postseason to give the Capitals a 1-0 lead at 12:43. Washington is 6-1 in this year’s playoffs when scoring first.

Ovechkin, Backstrom, Semin and Green combined for seven of the Capitals’ 14 shots on goal in the first period. Even in those early stages, the play of Washington’s thoroughbreds was noticeable to the rest of the group.

“You see just the way they’re handling the puck, passing the puck,” defenseman Karl Alzner said. “They just show a ton of confidence. They always have confidence, but they take it to that next level.”

New York responded swiftly at the start of the second as Artem Anisimov scored 70 seconds in to make it 1-1.

Although the Capitals looked sluggish early in the second — the Rangers outshot them 6-0 in the first 9:30 — they withstood that flurry and answered by regaining the lead after killing a holding penalty to Joel Ward.

Backstrom knocked over Anisimov in the corner to send the Rangers’ defense scrambling and made his way into the slot. When Backstrom arrived in front of the net, Chimera fed him the puck from the left wall, and the top-line center rifled a shot over Lundqvist’s shoulder into the top left corner of the net. The tally put Washington ahead 2-1 at 11:54 and marked Backstrom’s first goal since his second-overtime tally in the second game against Boston last round.

“People, I guess, has been talking about it — that we need to step up,” Backstrom said, adding that it’s impossible to entirely ignore the pressure to produce. “You feel a little bit and you can’t think about it too much. You’ve just got to go out and play, same way as you always have. I’ve been thinking about it a little bit, for sure.”

Twenty-three seconds later, Ovechkin delivered a crushing open-ice hit on Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi. Ovechkin, who received a minor penalty for charging on the play, left his feet, but the head did not appear to be the principal point of contact. It was unclear whether Ovechkin, a repeat offender, would receive any discipline from the NHL.

At 16:43 of the second, Marian Gaborik made it 2-2 after a miscommunication between Jeff Schultz and Dennis Wideman on a waved-off icing call. The score remained tied well into the third period, but Washington received a power play when rookie Carl Hagelin slashed John Carlson with 6:15 to go.

With plenty of space on the right-hand side of the ice, Green walked in from the blue line, and when he reached the top of the circle he sent a blistering slap shot through Lundqvist’s pads to make it 3-2 at 14:12.

After Green’s tally, Washington ensured the game wouldn’t reach overtime. The Capitals allowed only two shots to reach rookie goaltender Braden Holtby (18 saves) and blocked six others as time ticked down. It was a necessary win for Washington, and one that it might not have achieved without its best players rising to the challenge.

“We just have to score more goals than our opponents. It was very important game for both team,” Ovechkin said. “We’re pretty happy, we take this. Right spot and right time. Right now series is tied. We’re going to New York and gonna win this game over there.”



Alex Ovechkin says he only hit Rangers’ Dan Girardi in shoulder, not head, in Capitals’ win

By Tarik El-Bashir,

New York Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi said Alex Ovechkin made contact with his head when the Washington Capitals’ star leaped to deliver an open-ice hit in Saturday’s 3-2 victory.

Ovechkin was assessed a minor penalty for charging on the play, which occurred midway through the second period. Girardi was not injured.

“I think he hit my head a bit there,” Girardi said after the game Saturday. “I think it was the right call. I’m not sure what it was, if it was charging, interference or whatever. But the head’s kinda there and he hits it.

“I think he’s just playing the game hard but I don’t know,” Girardi added. “He hit me in the head first.”

Ovechkin disagreed with Girardi’s assessment, saying he only made contact with the defenseman’s shoulder.

“In the head? No,” said Ovechkin, who appeared surprised that the questioned was posed. “I think it was the shoulder.”

On the play, Ovechkin was cutting through the offensive zone when he attempted to control a puck that was turned over by Girardi by kicking it to his stick. Ovechkin missed the puck with his skate, then appeared to realize that he was about to collide — at a rather high rate of speed — with the Rangers’ rugged blue-liner.

Ovechkin then appeared to decide to be the hitter rather than the recipient of the blow. As he neared Girardi, who braced himself, Ovechkin’s skates left the ice.

It was unclear whether NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan planned to review the hit or was considering supplemental discipline, which can range from a warning to a $2,500 fine or suspension. In January, Shanahan banned Ovechkin for three games after ruling the Capitals’ captain “launched” himself and hit Pittsburgh defenseman Zbynek Michalek in the head along the boards.

The question, if Shanahan reviews the hit, is not whether Ovechkin left his skates; he did. It’s where Ovechkin’s shoulder struck Girardi, who was knocked down and momentarily held his head in his hands.

Replays appear to show that the primary point of contact was Girardi’s shoulder.


Girardi said he was not hurt.

“He’s a big guy and hits hard, but I feel good,” he said.

Told Ovechkin said he was protecting himself, Girardi responded, “I’m not even going to get into that.”

Rangers defenseman Marc Staal added: “I thought he jumped when I saw it on replay. Yeah, I mean, things happen fast, but it looked to me like he left his feet and was targeting his head. That’s up to them.”

Capitals Coach Dale Hunter said it was “incidental contact.”

“I didn’t see the replay on it yet, but it was, you know, I think both of them were surprised they hit each other,” Hunter said. “It was incidental contact where both of them were looking down and they hit each other.”

Ovechkin, the Capitals’ leading scorer in the playoffs with four goals and three assists, has been suspended three times and fined twice in his seven-season NHL career.

Asked whether he feels Ovechkin should receive further punishment, Girardi said: “I’m not the judge of that. You guys can make your comments about that. They called a penalty on it, that’s all I know.”



Mike Green’s second goal of playoffs lifts Caps past Rangers in Game 4

By Katie Carrera

It hasn’t been the easiest of years for Capitals defenseman Mike Green. Hindered for the second straight year by injuries, he missed 50 games in the 2011-12 regular season and wasn’t back in the lineup full time until late February.

Since returning from sports hernia surgery, it has taken Green time to assimilate to his role in Coach Dale Hunter’s system. His overall play improved steadily and he had a strong first round against Boston, but the first three games of this Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Rangers saw mistakes abound.

So when Green sent a blistering slap shot through Henrik Lundqvist’s legs on the power play for a goal that stood as the game-winner in a 3-2 Game 4 victory, it was a tally that meant a lot to the defenseman.

Check out a video of the goal below:

“Well, I knew that I had some time to wind up and shoot,” said Green, who finished with 22 minutes, 8 seconds of ice time, three shots and three blocks. “Their forwards collapsed to the other side, Dennis [Wideman] made a great play over. I just had to wait out that d-man on block. He came across and I just held on to it and was lucky enough to get it through.”

It was the type of tally that used to be routine for Green, before the injuries began piling up over the past two seasons. His teammates know that cashing in on a shot like that should provide a boost for the defenseman.

“It’s great for him,” Green’s close friend, Nicklas Backstrom, said. “It’s great to see him score a goal, it gives him some confidence too.”

The goal was Green’s second of the postseason; the other tally came in Game 6 against the Bruins.

“He’s been wanting to score really bad and I don’t think he scored as much as he’d like to,” Karl Alzner said. “[He’s been] shooting the puck in, a lot of great chances. It was awesome. I don’t even know if he was trying to necessarily score on that or shoot for a rebound. But it was great that it went in, great timing.”



Ovechkin says he hit Girardi in shoulder, not head, during Caps’ Game 4 win over Rangers [video]

By Lindsay Applebaum

Update: Here’s Tarik’s story on the hit, with reaction from the Caps and Rangers.

Alex Ovechkin said he only made shoulder-to-shoulder contact when he hit Dan Girardi during Washington’s 3-2 Game 4 victory on Saturday.

At 12:17 of the second period, the Capitals captain was called for charging after he launched himself at Girardi, leaving his feet on the hit. It was unclear whether Ovechkin hit the Rangers defenseman’s head, though it appears the shoulder was the principal point of contact.

“In the head?” Ovechkin said when asked about the hit. “No, I think it was the shoulder.”

Capitals Coach Dale Hunter said he thought it was incidental contact. But Girardi, who wasn’t injured on the play, said Ovechkin hit his head.

“I think he’s just playing the game hard but I don’t know,” Girardi said after the game. “He hit me in the head first.”



The glitz gone, these Caps are merely … admirable

By Dan Daly

The Washington Capitals aren’t as photogenic as they used to be. We may never, for instance, see Alexander Ovechkin score another goal while lying on his back. But what they’ve evolved into is much more pleasing to the eyes. They’ve become, in baseball parlance, a tough out.

And let’s face it, until you become a tough out – in any sport – you’re never going to accomplish a whole lot. You’re never going to win the biggest games. You’re never going to come away with the grand prize. Individual awards will be within your reach, but after a while those become almost monuments to your Greater Inadequacy.

A year ago, the Capitalsweren’t a tough out. Once Tampa Bay took a 2-0 series lead in Round 2, it was timberrrrrr! It was the same the season before, when Montreal ran off three straight wins – two of them at Verizon Center – to knock them out of the playoffs. In boxing, this is known as having a glass chin.

But these Capitals aren’t those Capitals. We’ve been reminded of that time and again in these playoffs. We were reminded of it in the Boston series, when the Caps kept coming back from potentially demoralizing losses and ultimately out-gutted the defending champs – on the road, in overtime – in Game 7. And we were reminded of it again Saturday, when they rebounded from a triple-overtime defeat to nip the New York Rangers 3-2 and pull even at two games apiece.

“I don’t think there was a doubt in anybody’s mind that that game would have any effect on this game,” Braden Holtby said after stopping 18 of 20 Rangers shots and keeping the visitors off the scoreboard in the third period. “[That Game 3 loss] wasn’t the end of the world. We had two days off [to regroup].”

The Capitals of the recent past might not have been able to shake off the hangover from Game 3. They might have been too busy feeling sorry for themselves … or cursing their fate … or forgetting there was still much hockey to be played. The current Caps, it seems, aren’t susceptible to such self-defeatism, which is what has made them – all together now – a tough out.

Their tough-outness could be measured Saturday in their 26 blocked shots – to seven for their opponents – and in the fact that, even though they had a couple of defensive lapses, they never trailed, not for a single second. Ovechkin got them started with a blast off the usually reliable glove of Henrik Lundqvist, and scores by Nicky Backstrom and Mike Green, who had the game-winner on the power play with 5:48 left, kept the Rangers from ever getting the upper hand.

“It just shows the heart a lot of these guys are playing with, ” Jay Beagle said, “– blocking shots and putting everything on the line. That’s the way we win.”

To which Backstrom added, “This really a step in the right direction. After that long game the other night, to be able to find a way to win . . . .”

This is what a Tough Out does: It finds a way. And finding a way against the Rangers – like the Bruins before them – is no easy matter. John Tortorella’s team grinded its way to the best record in the conference this season, and you’re not going to beat them with picturesque, made-for-“SportsCenter” tic-tac-toe goals. You’re only going to beat them with hard work and harder hits and a simple refusal to give in.

The Capitals of ‘08, ‘09, ‘10 and ‘11 would have had a hard time winning that kind of series. Those Caps were appealing, in their youthfully exuberant way, but they also were maddeningly irresponsible, and it invariably cost them. These Caps, the Dale Hunter Caps, have traded “appealing” for “admirable”; they’re doing whatever’s required, especially the unglamorous stuff like taking an occasional slapshot in the abdomen. And look where it’s gotten them. They’ve eliminated the second seed and now find themselves in a three-game series against the top seed.

They might have to play the first of those three games without Ovechkin, who could face a suspension for demolishing the Rangers‘ Dan Girardi in the second period. Of course, they faced the same situation in Game 4 against the Bruins, which Backstrom had to sit out after an ill-timed crosscheck. They persevered minus Nicky, winning 2-1, and it would be a mistake to think they can’t do the same in Ovie’s absence. They are, after all, a Tough Out now, as the NHL is discovering.

Washington Times LOADED: 05.06.2012


Alex Ovechkin’s hit on Dan Girardi sparks debate

By Stephen Whyno

Alex Ovechkin served a three-game suspension during the regular season for a head shot on Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Zbynek Michalek that NHL VP of player safety Brendan Shanahan said was clearly charging. There was no penalty on that play, and the Washington Capitals captain still faced supplemental discipline.

It’s uncertain if Ovechkin will face anything beyond a two-minute minor for his hit on New York Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi in Game 4 on Saturday, and there’s sharp debate about the star left wing’s intent and what happened on the play.

Ovechkin left his feet to make contact with Girardi, though he said he hit the defenseman’s shoulder. Girardi felt and saw it differently.

“He hit my head a bit there, but I think it was the right call. I’m not sure what it was, whether it was, charging or interference or whatever. But my head’s kind of there, he hits it, but I think he’s just playing the game hard,” Girardi said.

Asked if Ovechkin made contact with his shoulder first, he said it was actually his head.


Washington coach Dale Hunter admitted after the 3-2 victory that he didn’t see a replay. But he also doesn’t believe any kind of league-imposed discipline is coming.

“I think both of them were surprised they hit each other. It was incidental contact where both of them were looking down and they hit each other,” Hunter said. “It was more incidental contact where both of them were protecting themselves and trying to get out of the way.”

Citing a league source, Newsday reported that it was highly unlikely Ovechkin would face further discipline from the league.

On NBC, analysts Keith Jones and Mike Milbury disagreed on the intent.

“It’s circumstantial. The puck was in his feet and then he leapt up after,” Jones said. “I think he elevated more to protect himself than he did to knock Dan Girardi down.”

Milbury said it was “still not acceptable.”

“He’s got to at least be fined. This a a guy that does this all the time as a matter of course,” Milbury added. “I think you got to just lay the law down. I don’t think it’s more than a fine, but I think send a message.”

Because Ovechkin is a repeat offender, he would likely face a suspension rather than a fine.

Girardi did not believe it was incidental contact.

“I saw him coming, then he hit me,” he said. “Obviously I knew he was gonna hit me and he’s a big guy, but I saw it coming.”

Told of Ovechkin’s answer that he tried to protect himself, Girardi said: “I’m not even gonna get in the middle of that.”



Young guns lead Caps to Game 4 win over Rangers

By Stephen Whyno

Last year when the Washington Capitals‘ season ended, the core Young Guns were battered and bruised. Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom were playing hurt, Alexander Semin wasn’t producing and Mike Green even got knocked out with a hip injury. The Tampa Bay Lightning were able to sweep them out of the playoffs because the best players didn’t look at all like that.

Saturday afternoon, the Young Guns were the best players on the ice as the Caps beat the New York Rangers 3-2 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at Verizon Center to ensure they wouldn’t be facing elimination Monday. Instead, it’s a 2-2 series after Ovechkin, Backstrom and Green all scored for the first time since Oct. 30, 2010.

“Young guns?” Green said with a smirk. “Not so young anymore. But we needed to step up. It was important that we got a win tonight here in our building and that it be the guys that need to start scoring. Alex is one of them. Myself and Nicky. So it was good.”

The pressure on Backstrom and Green to produce was heavy. The star center hadn’t scored since his double-overtime winner in Game 2 of the Boston Bruins series.

“You feel a little bit and you can’t think about it too much you’ve just got to go out and play, same way as you always have,” Backstrom said. “I’ve been thinking about it a little bit for sure.”

Green scored in the Caps’ Game 6 loss to the Bruins, but that was his only goal since returning from sports hernia surgery in February. In scoring the game-winner on the power play with 5:48 left, he looked like the same Green who was a Norris Trophy finalist in 2009 and 2010.

“He’s been wanting to score really bad and I don’t think he scored as much as he’d like to,” defenseman Karl Alzner said. “[He’s been] shooting the puck in, a lot of great chances. It was awesome. I don’t even know if he was trying to necessarily score on that or shoot for a rebound. But it was great that it went in, great timing.”

Timing is everything, but finding a place to beat Henrik Lundqvist was even more important. Ovechkin beat the Rangers goaltender by shooting the puck off his glove and in; Backstrom did so with a slick shot over the Vezina Trophy finalist’s shoulder.

Just score, just produce. That’s what the Caps’ stars knew needed to happen.

“We just have to score more goals than our opponents. It was very important game for both team,” Ovechkin said. “We’re pretty happy we take this, right spot and right time. Right now series is tied. We’re going to New York and gonna win this game over there.”

Ovechkin and Backstrom’s teammates can tell when they’re feeling it. Backstrom had so many chances thanks to favorable matchups and always seemed to be in the right place.

“You see just the way they’re handling the puck, passing the puck. They just show a ton of confidence. They always have confidence, but they take

it to that next level,” Alzner said. “Those guys were playing great today and we needed them.”

It’s not an exaggeration that the Caps play better up and down the lineup when the stars are going, too. With the Rangers forced to key on Backstrom and Ovechkin, the so-called “foot soldiers” got more opportunities.

“We feed off our top players when they’re playing like that. It gives you energy,” forward Jay Beagle said. “For them to score big goals like that is huge. It’s what we need if want to keep winning is them to continue to step up and just keep playing great.”



Behind its stars, Caps even series against Rangers

Brian McNally

They were once known as the "Young Guns," a nickname that reflected both their thrilling style of hockey and a limitless future.

It hasn't worked out that way for the Capitals' Mike Green, Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin. Those four men have endured so much heartache and change in recent years, the moniker has long been consigned to the dustbin.

But the quartet remains the backbone of a team that still believes it can win a Stanley Cup. On Saturday afternoon, in Game 4 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series against the New York Rangers, they showed it again. Ovechkin scored in the first period, Backstrom did the same in the second and Green provided the game-winner on a power-play goal with 5:48 to play that gave Washington a 3-2 victory.

"Young Guns? Not so young any more," Green quipped. "But we needed to step up. It was important that we got a win here in our building and that it be the guys that need to start scoring. Alex is one of them. Myself and Nicky."

The Caps evened this best-of-seven series 2-2. The next game is Monday night in New York at Madison Square Garden with a Game 6 now guaranteed back in the District on Wednesday.

Washington dominated the first period with 14 shots on goal to New York's three. An early power play led to seven Caps shots. It took a spectacular save by Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist (23 saves) on a tipped shot by Ovechkin at the right doorstep to keep the game scoreless. But Ovechkin finally broke through at 12:43 of the first after rookie forward Chris Kreider's ugly turnover resulted in a point shot that slipped off the glove of Lundqvist and into the net.

That lead lasted just 70 seconds into the second period, however. Artem Anisimov was left alone in front with Washington forward Brooks Laich and slammed home a rebound goal. After a penalty kill ignited the crowd in the second period, however, Backstrom took over. He drilled Anisimov to the ice with a hit to recover possession in the offensive zone, worked the puck around to teammate Jason Chimera and was in front of the net to receive Chimera's pass. A quick wrist shot over Lund?qvist's right shoulder made it 2-1.

But New York answered again -- and in a particularly brutal way. On an expected icing call, defenseman Dennis Wideman didn't skate back to touch up the puck, assuming partner Jeff Schultz would do so. Anisimov beat both and hit a cutting Marian Gaborik, whose goal tied it at 2-2.

"Bad luck at some points of the game is going to happen," Laich said. "It's how you respond to it. We weren't going to let that deter us."

After a cautious first 10 minutes of the third period, the Caps earned a break when John Carlson drew a slashing penalty. Wideman won a battle for a puck along the left boards and sent a pretty pass across to Green, who waited on a defender to go down for a block, deftly skated to the side and powered a shot past Lundqvist.

"This is what we needed," Green said. "We didn't want to shoot ourselves in the foot and have to have our backs up against the wall and be a desperate hockey team [Monday]. Now we can go into their building and hopefully steal it."

Washington Examiner LOADED: 05.06.2012


Capitals-Rangers Game 4 report card

Brian McNally

Thunder rally to complete 1st-round sweep of Mavs

Impact player

Mike Green

He has had some shaky moments in this series, but he scored the game-winning goal on a power play late in the third period, was on the ice for Nicklas Backstrom's second-period tally and was not on for any goals against.

Under the radar

New York goalie Henrik Lund?qvist did allow one soft goal when his glove failed him on Alex Ovechkin's point shot. But the Rangers could have been down three or four early if not for Lundqvist's brilliance. He finished with 23 saves.

Did you notice ...

Caps defenseman Jeff Schultz blocked a game-high nine shots? That even surprised coach Dale Hunter. With a long reach and big body, Schultz can make it difficult to get shots through. He was on the ice for both New York goals, however.

Behind the bench

John Tortorella received plenty of questions when he played No. 6 defenseman Stu Bickel only 3:24 in a triple-overtime win Wednesday. Bickel didn't play much in Game 4, but at least he was on the ice for 7:02.

Dale Hunter decided to flip his centers again. After pairing Nicklas Backstrom with Alex Ovechkin on the top line in Game 3, Hunter put Brooks Laich back there with Backstrom on the second line. Both revamped lines produced goals.

Washington Examiner LOADED: 05.06.2012

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ESPN / Caps showing mental toughness

By Scott Burnside

WASHINGTON -- A year and a day ago, the Washington Capitals were swept by the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was a series that seemed to begin and end at almost the same time, and it was a series that seemed to sum up perfectly the Capitals' perplexing inability to respond to adversity.

From a bad line change that led to a Vincent Lecavalier goal to defensive breakdowns and individual play, that series against Tampa reinforced the widely held notion that as talented as they might be the Caps had no push-back, no intestinal fortitude.

On Saturday, the Caps took another step toward erasing that identity by squeaking out a 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers to even their Eastern Conference semifinal series at two games apiece.

The win, decided by a Mike Green power-play goal with fewer than six minutes left in regulation, marked the 10th one-goal game the Caps have played this spring. They are 6-4 in such contests and have not lost two games in a row in regulation since the middle of March.

They turned in another workmanlike performance in Game 4, made more impressive because it followed a gut-wrenching triple-overtime loss. The Capitals are a remarkable 3-0 in games following overtime losses, which suggests there is more than a little resolve residing in the team's locker room.

But things did not come easily on Saturday, as the Rangers tied the score twice after the Caps had taken one-goal leads.

Watching Washington celebrate, it was hard not to imagine that this was exactly the kind of game the Caps would have found a way to lose in the past.

Capitals forward Brooks Laich suggested the difference comes from the personality of coach Dale Hunter.

"I hear you guys talking about it and you ask about a different mental toughness," Laich said. "It's a different makeup of a team a little bit. It comes from our head coach and he's a very calm, composed guy behind the bench and he really, I said it from day one when he got here, he runs a tight ship and he's a guy that we draw from."

It is one thing to talk about mental toughness as a concept or something that you aspire to have, but it is quite another to see it come to life.

With a little more than two minutes to go in regulation, Matt Hendricks blocked a big shot from the blue line. Then, with Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist on the bench for a sixth attacker, Marcus Johansson, Troy Brouwer and Laich all blocked shots to help preserve the win.

In all, the Caps blocked 26 shots, while the Rangers were credited with just seven.

"That's the way it went in the first series, too," Laich said. "It's a grinding game. We're a grinding team now. Our identity is kind of flipped, but we try not to give up much defensively and keep pucks out of the middle and along the boards, and we've been successful at that.

"Maybe in talking to friends and family they're sitting at home biting their nails and pulling their hair out and they're just dying for a four or 5-0 win, but I keep telling them those days are gone a little bit. I think they're going to be tight like this the rest of the way. That's our identity and we feel comfortable in these games. If we just can keep finding that goal when we need it, it'll take us a long way."

That the Capitals were able to parlay this new mental stamina into a seven-game series victory over the defending Stanley Cup champions was impressive. But, hey, that was the first round, wacky things happen. The second round is often where water finds its level; some teams fade, whereas others build momentum. It is so with the Los Angeles-St. Louis series, where the Kings have been dominant and lead 3-0, and likewise with Nashville-Phoenix, where the Coyotes have assumed a 3-1 series lead.

But after falling behind in this series 1-0 and 2-1 -- as they did against Boston -- the Capitals remain very much on topic.

On Saturday, they got production from their big guns as Green, Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin scored -- just like in the old days. But they also limited the Rangers to 20 shots on goal and took only two minor penalties, both of which they killed.

"It definitely comes from experience," defenseman Karl Alzner said.

The team got sick of losing, the feeling of losing, he said.

"For us it was going through an up and down year. We were all so frustrated that we know now how to deal with getting scored on or losing a game," Alzner added. "We've lost more than we wanted to this year, so we know what it feels like. It's just all about playing hockey. We don't worry at all about a loss. We're on the right track. It's very nice to see, refreshing to see I guess."

The Rangers are no strangers to these types of games, either, with eight of their 11 postseason games decided by one goal.

They are 4-4 in one-goal games, but the best team in the Eastern Conference during the regular season has shown a surprising inability to take advantage of its own successes this spring. The Rangers led Ottawa 1-0 and 2-1 but wound up having to win two in a row to escape the first round in a seven-game set.

Saturday, the Rangers could have pushed the Capitals to the brink but instead looked sluggish to begin with and chased the game the entire time.

Were the Rangers on the wrong end of some questionable calls? To be sure.

The penalty call on Carl Hagelin (for slashing John Carlson's stick) that set up the Green power-play goal late in the third period was weak. And

officials missed Mike Knuble gloving the puck over the glass, which should have been a delay of game penalty shortly after the Green goal.

But winning teams invariably overcome those situations.

"Two good teams were playing. They aren't just going to lay down and give it to us," Lundqvist said.

"I think they came out way more aggressive, but like I said, we played a really good second half. I don't really have a good explanation. We're playing good teams. It's going to be a battle until the end."

Game 5 is Monday night in New York. The Capitals are 4-2 on the road this spring, another sign of a team that doesn't let much bother it.

"It's do or die so you're putting everything on the line and playing playoff hockey, and it's important to stay mentally strong and keep pushing and every shift go out and do what you can do to help win that shift," said Washington defensive specialist Jay Beagle. "And I think that's the mentality of the team and that's why we're not letting much faze us."

ESPN LOADED: 05.06.2012

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ESPN / Will Radulov, Kostitsyn play in Game 5?

By Pierre LeBrun

NASHVILLE -- The night owls may be back Monday.

Nashville Predators coach Barry Trotz, on a media conference call Saturday, said there is a "high probability" both Alexander Radulov and Andrei Kostitsyn will return to the lineup Monday night with his team down 3-1 in the series to the Phoenix Coyotes.

Trotz said the Predators had a lot of chances in Friday night's 1-0 loss at home, but several of his top players failed to finish. So he may re-insert Radulov and Kostitsyn. Both players were suspended for Game 3 after breaking the team curfew on the eve of Game 2. Trotz sat them out again for Game 4, because -- like most NHL coaches at playoff time -- he was not willing to change a winning lineup from Game 3.

The Predators managed 25 shots on goal on red-hot netminder Mike Smith in Game 4, but also had 14 missed shots.

“I thought we did a good job to pressure them to make those bad shots,” Smith said after the game. “It’s one thing to have time and get a good look and get a shot away, but we forced them tonight where they got in situations where they had to shoot the puck quick. When you have to shoot the puck quick, you can’t get it on target. My D were outstanding tonight, back pressure was great and we found a way to sneak one out.”

Preds winger Patric Hornqvist missed five shots by himself, wasting a few golden chances.

"I have to score," Hornqvist said after the game. "If I get that opportunity, I have to put one in the back of the net to get us to overtime. It was bad. I tried to get it up. I'm so close to [Smith on one play]. He's so big. So I tried to get it over. So, yeah, I missed the net. And then when Leggy [David Legwand] gave it to me backdoor, I didn't really see it -- it was bouncing and couldn't finish and one hit the post. Yeah, that happens. Now we have to get three games in a row."

Discipline for Klesla?

Coyotes defenseman Rostislav Klesla will have a disciplinary hearing Sunday for pushing Predators winger Matt Halischuk into the boards from behind during the first period of Friday night's game.

Klesla got a two-minute boarding minor on the play. Halischuk was shaken up on the play and briefly went to the locker room but returned to the finish the game.

Trotz said Saturday that he thought it was a dangerous hit.

"When I looked at it on film, I thought it was a very dangerous hit," Trotz said. "I played defense, not well mind you, but I’ve played defense before. Klesla grabs the back of Halischuk’s shirt, and pulls him back. That’s that whiplash effect that when you push him right between the numbers when

he’s facing the boards, I looked at it and it was a really dangerous hit in my eyes. How the referees or the league will view it, I can’t really speak on that, but from my eyes and knowing from playing defense, drilling him when you do that whiplash effect of pulling the shirt and then driving him, it was really fortunate that Halischuk did sort of spin at the last moment or that could have been very similar to a Kris Draper type of hit when he was playing for the Red Wings against Colorado and [Claude] Lemieux hit him. He could have took the edge of the boards right across the face there and it could have been a lot worse than it was. I think Matt was very fortunate and it was a dangerous hit in my eyes. From my perspective, I’m obviously partial to our players and our team. We’ll let the league decide what they’re going to do with it, but if they’re looking at it, I think it’s the right thing to do and I’m sure they’ll deal with it with the way they always have with the thoroughness of all the other situations. A hard game to call and I respect all the decisions no matter what the decision is. But personally, I thought it was a dangerous hit."

ESPN LOADED: 05.06.2012

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NBCSports.com / Report: NCAA to recommend move to three-quarter visors

Jason Brough

It may seem counterintuitive at first, but the NCAA is reportedly on the verge of eliminating full face shields in order to make the game safer.

From College Hockey News:

The NCAA Ice Hockey Rules Committee is planning to formally recommend, at its June meetings in Indianapolis, that college hockey change from full shields to three-quarter visors.

… there is a passionate belief throughout college hockey that full shields impair peripheral and up-and-down vision, and create unsafe conditions in and of themselves.

The college hockey contingent has acknowledged that more facial lacerations and dental injuries could result from the elimination of full shields, but believe the tradeoff is worth it.

Any hockey player that’s been forced to wear a full shield will tell you it cuts down on your vision.

Granted, it’s debatable whether moving to a three-quarter visor will improve peripheral vision. However, one situation where serious head and neck injuries could be reduced is when a player loses the puck in his feet and has to look down to locate it.

In that situation, a full cage can get in the way, and we all know what can happen when a player is skating around with his head down.

NBCSports.com / LOADED: 05.06.2012

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NBCSports.com / A few thoughts on making all head shots illegal

Jason Brough

Earlier today we passed along the opinion of concussion and brain injury expert Dr. Charles Tator, who believes it’s time for all contact with the head to be taken out of hockey.

A zero-tolerance approach to head contact has also been promoted by players like Sidney Crosby, who said in September, “If a guy’s got to be responsible with his stick, why shouldn’t he be responsible with the rest of his body when he’s going to hit someone?”

Others have argued that if the NFL can have a zero-tolerance approach to helmet contact in certain situations, the NHL can too.

But are those comparisons really appropriate?

First off, ensuring your stick doesn’t come up and make contact with a player’s head is a lot easier than ensuring your shoulder doesn’t. The blade of a stick spends most of the time on the ice. The shoulder doesn’t. Zdeno Chara can be expected to keep his stick far away from an opponent’s head when making a body check. Ditto for his hands, arms and elbows. Not so much for his shoulders.

As for the NFL comparison, a football tackle is considerably different than a hockey check. In football, the pass rusher is taught to wrap up the quarterback around the legs or lower torso and take him down. In hockey, that’s called holding.

Not to mention, a hockey player making a defensive play needs to stay on his feet. A football tackle almost always results in the defensive player going to the ground.

And let’s not pretend all head contact is illegal in football, because it’s not.

NBCSports.com / LOADED: 05.06.2012

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