SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 5/30/2013 Boston Bruins Columbus Blue Jackets 679208 Iginla happy in Pittsburgh as Cup pursuit heats up 679254 All abuzz: Columbus goalie Bobrovsky in finals 679209 No lineup changes for Bruins in practice 679255 Matthews to step away as Blue Jackets' radio voice 679210 Bruins-Penguins playoff schedule set 679211 Claude Julien tried out some new things today Dallas Stars 679212 Kovacevic: Kris Letang vs. Zdeno Chara, winner takes all 679256 Observations: Is Stars' Jim Nill Queen Tara in this 'epic' 679213 Notebook: B’s need killer instinct coach search? 679214 Brad Marchand relishes chance to slay favorites 679257 Rick Gosselin: Two or three years down road, Stars could 679215 Buckley: Don’t count out underdog Bruins contend for a Stanley Cup 679216 B’s hope Tyler Seguin’s game ready to soar Buffalo Sabres Detroit Red Wings 679258 Helene St. James: Detroit Red Wings' Jimmy Howard knows 679217 Rangers fire Tortorella; could Ruff go from Sabres to New how to stay cool in Game 7 York for a second time? 679259 Jamie Samuelsen's blog: Red Wings' season isn't over yet ... Calgary Flames but what a season it has been 679260 Blackhawks say Jimmy Howard has been great, aim to get 679218 Iginla settling in with Penguins as shunned Bruins await in '50 pucks' on him in Game 7 Round 3 679261 Chicago columnist: Brent Seabrook goes from benched to 679219 Flames' Malarchuk focus of 30 for 30 story Game 7 hero Chicago Blackhawks 679262 Mitch Albom: Red Wings eliminated in emotional, overtime thriller 679220 Game 7 won't be surprise to, or from, Wings 679263 Red Wings' Jimmy Howard consoles Niklas Kronwall after 679221 'Relaxed intensity' for Hawks in Game 7 winning goal goes off defensemen's leg 679222 Toews, Kane, Sharp, Hossa: Big names must play big 679264 Chicago 2, Detroit 1 (OT): Red Wings' season done, but 679223 Even Cubs, Sox talking about Hawks-Wings Game 7 there is hope for future 679224 Consider Seabrook redeemed 679265 Happy Damien Brunner a boost for Red Wings 679225 Your Hawks' three-star selections: Skill, depth and heart 679266 Game 7 a fitting end to Red Wings-Blackhawks conference 679226 Hjalmarsson goes from ecstasy to agony to ecstasy rivalry 679227 Hawks heading to conference finals 679267 Three stars by The Detroit News' Matt Charboneau 679228 Blackhawks ready for emotional Game 7 vs. Red Wings 679268 Wings never fold, but come up just short in the bitter end 679229 Potential Blackhawks’ Western Conference final schedule 679269 Blackhawks' OT goal is heartbreaker for Wings 679230 Two of Original Six heading to Game 7 is heaven for NHL 679270 Wings' Valterri Filppula injured in Game 7 fans 679271 Despite Game 7 loss, Red Wings' future looks bright 679231 Niklas Hjalmarsson saw red over disallowed goal 679272 Red Wings put intensity, heart, determination on display 679232 MORRISSEY: Hawks, fans can breathe again after brutally 679273 Red Wings coach Mike Babcock pleased with effort in series tense finale 679274 Chicago's Niklas Hjalmarsson on disallowed goal: 'I went 679233 Game 7 end of an era for Hawks-Red Wings rivalry blank' 679234 Brent Seabrook didn’t see his game-winner go in 679275 Red Wings lose forward Valtteri Filppula early in game with 679236 Defending Stanley Cup champion Kings pose even greater apparent ankle injury (with video) challenge than Red Wings 679276 What the Red Wings and Blackhawks are saying before final 679237 Seabrook! Defenseman sends Blackhawks to Conference playoff game as conference rivals finals with OT goal for Game 7 win 679277 Detroit Red Wings fans: The Chicago Blackhawks are going 679238 Game 7 fitting for these two Original 6 teams down tonight in Game 7 at the United Center 679239 Kane relishes playing on big stage 679278 Red Wings experiment with different look on power play, 679240 For Hawks, historic cardiac comeback which needs to come through in Game 7 679241 Seabrook saves Blackhawks, ref from themselves 679279 Detroit Red Wings Gameday: Which player needs to step up 679242 For Seabrook, exhuastion turns to jubilation in Game 7 vs. Chicago Blackhawks? 679243 Seabrook’s OT goal lifts Blackhawks past Red Wings 679280 Red Wings feel a mixture of pride and dejection after battling 679244 Samardzija makes a pretty bold Game 7 prediction Blackhawks hard, only to lose in the end (with 679245 Konroyd's keys to Game 7 679281 Blackhawks eliminate Red Wings with 2-1 overtime win in 679246 Hawks aim to take series Game 7, on goal by Brent Seabrook 679247 Red Wings final shot at Hawks comes up short 679282 Wings suffer heartbreaking loss to Blackhawks in Game 7 679248 Seabrook gets vindication in ultimate elimination game 679283 Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks to go separate 679249 Blackhawks persevere, advance to Conference Finals ways 679250 Hjalmarsson's go-ahead goal wiped out late in Game 7 679284 Red Wings stars ready for Game 7 Colorado Avalanche 679285 Caputo: Red Wings win unlikely, but possible (with video) 679286 ‘Enjoy yourself,’ Babcock tells Red Wings 679251 Avalanche to add Andre Tourigny to coaching staff under Patrick Roy, reports say Florida Panthers 679252 Patrick Roy shows fire, polish while accepting new 679287 Panthers GM Tallon wants draft pick to contribute right away "challenge" for Avs 679253 New DU coach Jim Montgomery, Avs' Patrick Roy longtime friends Los Angeles Kings Pittsburgh Penguins 679288 Kings-Blackhawks: A first look at Western Conference finals 679329 Plenty of late nights scheduled for Penguins in Boston series 679289 Kings' road runs through Chicago 679330 Physical style of imposing Bruins just fine with Iginla 679290 NHL PLAYOFFS: Skilled Blackhawks pose different 679331 Penguins’ Fleury dodges questions about future challenge for Kings 679332 Starkey: Penguins’ Boston ties run deep 679291 May 29 conference call quotes: Dustin Penner 679333 Penguins' Bylsma still grows as coach 679292 May 29 conference call quotes: Mike Richards 679334 Penguins Notebook: Crosby and Bruins are no strangers 679293 May 29 conference call quotes: Drew Doughty 679335 Penguins in a puzzle of a schedule 679294 The view from San Jose 679295 Waking up with the Kings: May 29 San Jose Sharks 679296 May 28 postgame notes 679336 San Jose Sharks notebook: Joe Thornton coping with abrupt 679297 May 28 postgame quotes: Darryl Sutter playoff exit 679298 May 28 postgame quotes: San Jose 679337 Kawakami: This San Jose Sharks team worth keeping 679299 May 28 postgame quotes: Jonathan Quick together 679300 May 28 postgame quotes: Justin Williams 679338 Couture, Vlasic among Sharks who played hurt 679301 May 28 postgame quotes: Matt Greene 679302 Conference Final scenarios released Tampa Bay Lightning 679303 Kings-Blackhawks conference final schedule 679339 Russian prospect out of KHL deal Montreal Canadiens 679340 Former Lightning coach Tortorella fired by Rangers 679304 Gionta still leading by example Toronto Maple Leafs 679305 Another summer of arm rehab for captain Gionta 679341 NHL draft: Nathan MacKinnon, Seth Jones, Jonathan Drouin Nashville Predators an awesome trio 679342 Brian Burke lawsuit: B.C. court grants him permission to sue 679306 Nashville Predators face tough choices with their free agents online 679307 New Predators assistant recognized for history of success 679343 Yan-Pavel Laplante rockets up NHL draft rankings with USA Hockey 679344 NHL: Maple Leafs could learn some lessons from Penguins New Jersey Devils Vancouver Canucks 679308 Devils won't bring Steve Sullivan, Matt D'Agostini back 679345 Canucks re-sign heavyweight Tom Sestito to one-way, New York Rangers two-year deal 679346 Canucks’ Sestito vows to get fitter, faster 679309 Much to His Surprise, Fiery Tortorella Is Out 679347 Tony Gallagher: John Tortorella a poor fit for Canucks 679310 An Ode to John Tortorella 679311 John Tortorella fired as head coach of the NY Rangers after Washington Capitals 'multiple players' wanted him gone 679348 Watch Matt Hendricks and Karl Alzner fishing 679312 Lindy Ruff, Alain Vigneault considered top two available candidates to be NY Rangers coach Websites 679313 John Tortorella may have lost support of NY Rangers 679349 ESPN / Third-round preview: Hawks vs. Kings players, but it was his poor record got him fired 679350 NBCSports.com / Report: NHL confirms agreement with 679314 John Tortorella is fired, but NY Rangers GM Glen Sather Gosbee group to buy Coyotes hangs on 679351 USA TODAY / Blackhawks beat Red Wings in OT, will face 679315 Rangers fire Tortorella fired as players tired of coach's Kings overbearing personality 679352 USA TODAY / Subplots spice up Bruins-Penguins 679316 Unable to win a Cup in five seasons, Torts shown door conference final 679317 Players made it clear to Sather coach’s act was wearing thin 679353 YAHOO SPORTS / No goal, no problem: Blackhawks shake 679318 Who's got next? off questionable call, Seabrook scores Game 7 winner in O 679319 Rangers fire coach John Tortorella 679354 YAHOO SPORTS / Rangers fire bully bench boss John 679320 Glen Sather has put spotlight back on himself by firing John Tortorella for all the right reasons Tortorella 679321 John Tortorella dismissed as Rangers coach SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 679322 Tortorella was far from perfect; but should he have been fired? 679323 Who’s next? Vigneault? Ruff? Messier? Keenan? Me? 679324 Official announcement of Tortorella firing 679325 BREAKING NEWS: Rangers fire head coach John Tortorella Ottawa Senators 679326 Ottawa Senators release free agent Guillaume Latendresse 679327 Ottawa Senators get their final grades from the Sun's Don Brennan Phoenix Coyotes 679328 Phoenix Coyotes ownership issues keep GM Don Maloney, coach Dave Tippett from new deal 679208 Boston Bruins of his generation, one still trying to get his hands on his sport’s most coveted chalice. The move proved refreshing in more ways than one. Iginla and fellow Iginla happy in Pittsburgh as Cup pursuit heats up newcomers Jussi Jokinen, Doug Murray and Brenden Morrow, became de facto roommates at a downtown Pittsburgh hotel. Iginla found wearing a jersey without a ‘‘C'’ on it liberating. He has kept a decidedly low profile By WILL GRAVES since his arrival, speaking to the media only occasionally while letting Crosby handle the duties that come with being the voice of the franchise. AP Sports Writer / May 29, 2013 Don’t misunderstand. Iginla isn’t hiding but simply enjoying a rare taste of relative anonymity. PITTSBURGH (AP) — Faced with the choice of his hockey life, Jarome ‘‘It’s been a nice change,’’ Iginla said. Iginla figured he couldn’t go wrong. One that will likely come to an end if the Penguins make it to the next As the hours before the March 28 trade deadline ticked away and the round. Iginla is the latest in a long line of veterans who have uprooted their suitors for the Calgary Flames’ longtime captain dwindled down to Boston lives — think Ray Bourque going from Boston to Colorado — in pursuit of and Pittsburgh, the six-time All-Star understood both franchises provided glory. He will become one of the faces of the finals if the Penguins advance. him the chance to win his first Stanley Cup. Iginla is more than ready to handle it. If anything, he’s proven he’s Only one, however, included the added bonus of playing with good friend adaptable. Iginla played at least 19 minutes 17 times with Calgary this Sidney Crosby. And when the Penguins quite literally lured Iginla east in the season, a number he’s topped just three times in 24 games with the middle of the night, the ripple effect forced the Bruins to a backup plan that Penguins. Yet Bylsma has yet to hear Iginla mention it, and he doesn’t turned out better than they imagined. expect to. Spurned by Iginla, the Bruins acquired Jaromir Jagr from Dallas hours later. Neither do his teammates. Now the two clubs — and their two high-profile late additions — find themselves in each other’s way as the Eastern Conference finals get set to ‘‘I think you'll have a hard time finding somebody in this world to fit in better begin Saturday. anywhere,’’ Murray said. ‘‘He’s a great guy and he’s obviously a good player. He demands respect right away.’’ ‘‘I knew that there was a possibility this would be the case,’’ Iginla said. Even if respect from the Bruins will come in the form of bodies being thrown One that just as easily could have arisen if Iginla opted for Boston instead. into Iginla’s path at every turn. He welcomes the challenge, even if the guys While it appeared for a few hours the Bruins had the inside track, the slamming him are the ones that could have been his teammates. Olympic gold medal winner insists he didn’t back out of a deal with Boston when the Penguins swooped in at the last minute. All that’s over now. Any leftover hard feelings with the Bruins is just so much collateral damage. ‘‘I never said yes and then no,’’ Iginla said. ‘‘I knew Boston was a great team,’’ Iginla said. ‘‘It was one of those Though the Bruins initially disagreed — claiming an agreement was in place situations when I (chose Pittsburgh) that I knew there was a big possibility — they have since moved on, adding a necessary part in Jagr to lead to a we'd be in this situation, and here we are. I'm looking forward to the showdown that has felt inevitable for the last three months. challenge.’’ ‘‘I always thought you had to go through them to get to where we want to Boston Globe LOADED: 05.30.2013 go at some point,’’ Boston general manager Peter Chiarelli said. ‘‘It’s been well chronicled, the Iginla stuff and the Jagr stuff, so we’re happy with who we got.’’ So are the Penguins. The 35-year-old Iginla has fit in almost seamlessly in Pittsburgh, picking up 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 13 regular-season games despite being shuttled between the first and second lines while occasionally being moved away from his natural position at right wing. Things have been more settled in the postseason. Coach Dan Bylsma placed Iginla on the second line with reigning NHL MVP Evgeni Malkin and All-Star forward James Neal. The results have been sublime. Iginla quietly rolled up four goals and eight assists in the opening two rounds of the playoffs, his powerful shot and ability to create a little havoc in front of the opposing goaltender perfectly complimenting Malkin’s deft passing and Neal’s sniper-like instincts. ‘‘You want to play together and play hard and not disrupt (their chemistry),’’ Iginla said. ‘‘So you find different places to go and contribute. Is that going to the net? Getting out of the way in certain positions? Knowing where we all like pucks? I think it’s just kind of tying everything together and I've been enjoying it and I think it’s been getting better and better.’’ The result is just the second trip to hockey’s final four in Iginla’s 16-year career. He led the Flames to the Cup finals in 2004 only to fall to Tampa Bay in seven games. Four straight first-round exits followed before the bottom fell out. Calgary was heading to its fifth straight season on the outside of the playoffs looking in when general manager Jay Feaster approached Iginla and asked him if he would consider waiving his no-trade clause. Iginla wanted to help the Flames rebuild almost as badly as he wanted a shot at the Cup. A brief conversation with Pittsburgh general manager Ray Shero convinced him the best chance to do both sat with the Penguins. Pittsburgh sent the Flames college prospects Kenneth Agostino and Ben Hanowski and a first-round pick in the 2013 draft for one of the best players 679209 Boston Bruins

No lineup changes for Bruins in practice

Fluto Shinzawa, Globe Staff May 29, 2013 11:25 AM

WILMINGTON – The Bruins are practicing for the second straight day at Ristuccia Arena. They have another on-ice session at Ristuccia Arena scheduled for Thursday morning. No lineup changes: Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Jaromir Jagr Rich Peverley-Chris Kelly-Tyler Seguin Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton Jay Pandolfo-Carl Soderberg-Kaspars Daugavins Zdeno Chara-Dennis Seidenberg Matt Bartkowski-Johnny Boychuk Torey Krug-Adam McQuaid Wade Redden-Dougie Hamilton Andrew Ference-Aaron Johnson Tuukka Rask Anton Khudobin Boston Globe LOADED: 05.30.2013 679210 Boston Bruins

Bruins-Penguins playoff schedule set

By Jim Hoban, Globe Staff

The Bruins open their Eastern Conference final series against the Penguins on Saturday at 8 p.m. The first two games are at Pittsburgh’s Consul Energy Center. Game 2 is Monday at 8 p.m. The series shifts to Boston for Games 3 (June 5) and 4 (June 7), both at 8 p.m. Game 1: Saturday, June 1 – Boston at Pittsburgh, 8 p.m. Game 2: Monday, June 3 – Boston at Pittsburgh, 8 p.m. Game 3: Wednesday, June 5 – Pittsburgh at Boston, 8 p.m. Game 4: Friday, June 7 – Pittsburgh at Boston, 8 p.m. Game 5: Sunday, June 9 – Boston at Pittsburgh, 8 p.m.-x Game 6: Tuesday, June 11 – Pittsburgh at Boston, TBA-x Game 7: Wednesday, June 12 – Boston at Pittsburgh,TBA-x x-if necessary Boston Globe LOADED: 05.30.2013 679211 Boston Bruins

Claude Julien tried out some new things today

Mark Daniels

Claude Julien mixed and matched at today’s practice in Wilmington. The B’s four lines were the same, but the Bruins coach switched up his defensive pairings, putting Zdeno Chara with Johnny Boychuk, Matt Bartkowski with Dennis Seidenberg and keeping Torey Krug paired up with Adam McQuaid. Julien regularly mixes up his defensive pairings in-game and did it throughout the season. It makes sense to see him try out different combinations this week, in preparation for a dangerous Pittsburgh Penguins team. After practice, Julien said that it’s important for all his defensemen to get used to playing with everyone on the squad. “It’s good,” Julien said. “You saw us during the season. We mixed and matched and you guys kept asking a lot of questions about that and I said, ‘You know what? It’s important that we do that because at some point they’re all going to have to play with each other.’ And guys that can play right that have left shots or vice versa. Or even playing with different players and knowing how to do that. During the game we even mix and match pairs sometimes. It’s not necessarily set pairs that you see on the ice all the time. It’s not going to change.” The same could be said for Julien’s power-play lineups. Today, he put together two different squads. In one he had Chara, Tyler Seguin, Jaromir Jagr, Brad Marchand and David Krejci. The other saw Krug, Seidenberg, Milan Lucic, Patrice Bergeron and Rich Peverely playing together. The B’s power play has gotten better as the postseason has gone on. They enter Saturday’s Eastern Conference finals with seven power-play goals. They’ll need to continue to be solid to keep up with an efficient Pittsburgh squad. The Penguins lead the NHL with 13 power-play goals. Julien said that the players have been receptive in practice and he’s happy where they are at this point in the week. “The last couple of days we’ve had some good practices,” Julien said. “Good tempo. Good jump. Good focus. It’s about being able to handle yourselves at this time of year in these situations. What I mean about that is when you get to the rink, it’s all about business. Leave the rink, relax, (and) enjoy the nice weather that’s there for you. The sun gives you energy. There’s nothing wrong with being out. “Really kind of relaxing and making sure you don’t waste your energy out there when you should be saving it for the game and the time on the ice. It’s about focusing on those types of things and our guys have done a good job. Right now, I have no issues where our team is based on what I see in practice.” Boston Herald LOADED: 05.30.2013 679212 Boston Bruins “Those guys,” Letang said of John Tavares and Co. with a bitter bristle, “if I go up on the rush, they would have four guys behind me, one quick pass, and boom … they were gone. I couldn't go up. Never.” Kovacevic: Kris Letang vs. Zdeno Chara, winner takes all He hardly was alone. The Islanders' transition at times was sensational. Along came Ottawa … Dejan Kovacevic “The Senators were a lot more organized. But for me, that was good. I could Watch video and know where they'd be, how they'd forecheck. The Islanders … you never knew. They were everywhere.” It would be silly to suggest that a matchup of two of the NHL's finest defensemen, the Penguins' Kris Letang and the Bruins' Zdeno Chara, could That's why, in Game 4 in Canada's capital, Letang was rushing at will in singularly decide the upcoming Eastern Conference final. that four-assist beauty. “I knew if I went up, someone could cover me.” And I'll let Letang outline three reasons for that, culling from a talk the other The Bruins, even more disciplined than the Senators within Claude Julien's day at Consol Energy Center: tight system, sound amply aware. 1. “Well, first of all, we're both defensemen, so he's not the guy I'll be “He's a very skilled player, obviously,” Chara told TribLIVE Radio on worried about most of the time.” Tuesday. “He earned his right to be nominated for the Norris. He had a great season, and he's a great player.” 2. “There are a lot of great players on our team and theirs. You never know who's going to step up.” That won't change. 3. “I mean, look at him.” Letang will outperform Chara, in part because of how these teams' respective strategies and supporting casts will work in his favor, in part Yeah, right. The 6-foot-9 Chara, a Norris Trophy winner and Boston's because, well, the kid's pretty good. championship captain, is best known for his uncanny size — think T-Rex on skates — as well as the 105 mph shot, the durability to handle ice time by Oh, and Penguins in six. the hour and, above all, a defensive presence that spans from here to Boston Herald LOADED: 05.30.2013 Bratislava. Aside from Letang now ascending to Norris finalist, he's got zippo in common with Zdeno. And yet, I'll still say this: If Letang outperforms Chara, Penguins win. If Chara outperforms Letang, Bruins win. No, to repeat, it's not that simple. Any number of team or individual elements could overshadow Letang and Chara. But for a broader range of reasons, I expect that their relative performances will provide the best barometer. To explain … The Penguins' plan is to hit Chara at every turn. That's no secret. That was their plan through winning all three regular-season meetings, it's been their plan all through Dan Bylsma's tenure, and it even traces its roots back to those Pittsburgh-Boston playoff matchups in the early 1990s, when Bob Errey, Troy Loney, Phil Bourque and others would pound the great Raymond Bourque with each forecheck. Sometimes not all that legally. By late in those series, Ray Bourque was going back for the puck the way you'd pursue a hand grenade. “We wore him down,” Errey was recalling Tuesday. “He was a target, for sure, and as the series would go on, he was a non-factor. Nobody likes to be hit that much. And, hey, even the big oak Chara can be chopped down to size!” The Penguins will, indeed, do that to Chara. They'll do it with Brenden Morrow, Matt Cooke, Craig Adams and others. And they'll do it in a way the Bruins' first two opponents, the soft Maple Leafs and the who-needs-a- forecheck Rangers, didn't. “He's got to expect that,” Brooks Orpik said of Chara. “There's nothing any defenseman hates more than having to look over his shoulder all the time, knowing he's going to get hit. You look at the Ottawa series we just had, and it was the opposite. They didn't hit our D at all, and it really made a difference for us.” The big, bruising Bruins will hit, too, and they'll similarly target Letang. Or at least try. It's tough to hit what you can't catch, and no player on either side matches his skill/speed/stamina combo. Maybe not even Sidney Crosby at the moment. “Tanger's just been unbelievable,” the captain said. Statistics for defensemen tend to be fraught with flaws, but his 16 points and plus-7 rating — both tied for the Penguins' best this postseason — don't lie. Especially against Ottawa, Letang was brilliant at both ends. Not so much against the Islanders. 679213 Boston Bruins “We know (when) we’re going now,” said Julien. “At one point you want to show some video. You want to do different things. You don’t want to do it too early. You want to do it at the right time. Notebook: B’s need killer instinct “What was tough was that we weren’t quite sure when we were going to start. We had an idea, but nothing was confirmed. At least with a schedule you know what you can do on every single day and you’re certainly able to Steve Conroy prepare a little bit better. Nonetheless, both teams are in the same boat and you try and project what is going to happen. You base your decisions on that.” WILMINGTON — One of the most important facets of the Eastern Boston Herald LOADED: 05.30.2013 Conference finals will be how the Bruins penalty kill works against the Penguins’ vaunted power play. The Pittsburgh power play is the league’s second-best, and the Bruins are trying to get their PK back up to snuff. The B’s spent most of the regular season at the top of the league in penalty killing, but a late-season slide dropped them to fourth with an 87.1 percent kill rate. That swoon continued a bit in the first round when the B’s allowed five power-play goals on 21 opportunities in seven games against the Maple Leafs. They were better against the Rangers’ inept man-advantage, though not infallible. They kept the Rangers off the board in the first three games, but allowed a pivotal power-play goal that let New York force overtime in Game 4, and then gave the Rangers the first goal of Game 5 on a man-advantage. “I think on the whole, it’s been consistently good,” Bruins center Chris Kelly said. “Obviously, sometimes there are going to be some lapses at times and they’re going to score a goal. You’re playing against the other team’s best players and you’re down a man. So if you give guys time and space they’re going to find those plays some times. “But I think when the job needed to get done, it got done. You’d love not to give up any power-play goals, but sometimes that’s not going to be the case.” While the B’s power play has been vastly improved with the additions of Torey Krug and Jaromir Jagr — it’s clicking at a 21.9 percent success rate in the playoffs — the gold standard is Pittsburgh, which is making the opposition pay for its indiscretions at a 28.3 percent clip. With the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jarome Iginla, Kris Letang and James Neal at their disposal, it’s no wonder the Pens are excelling. Said Kelly: “They’ve got a good power play. Anyone who follows hockey — you don’t even need to follow hockey — knows that. You don’t want to take too many penalties. Are you going to take penalties? Yeah. . . . But you’ve got to make sure you’re taking the right penalties. If you’re taking bad penalties, you’re putting the team down and giving them extra opportunities. It’s the bad ones that come back to haunt you.” The Bruins, nevertheless, can’t approach this series afraid of taking penalties. The Flyers, who bumped Pittsburgh out of the playoffs in six games last year, had great success getting the Pens off their game by getting in their faces. You can bet the B’s will try to do the same. “We’re a big, strong, physical team and we’ve had success playing that way,” said Kelly. “We’re not going to change our game. We’re going to go out and play hard and if things happen, they happen. We’re not going to change. It’s been working for us so far and hopefully it’ll continue to work.” Rear guard shuffle? At yesterday’s practice, the B’s used some different defensemen pairings. At one point, Zdeno Chara was with Johnny Boychuk and Matt Bartkowski was paired with Dennis Seidenberg. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the shutdown pair of Chara and Seidenberg will be split up. “You saw during the season, we mix and match,” coach Claude Julien said. “You guys kept asking a lot of questions about that and I said, ‘You know what? It’s important that we do that because at some point you’re all going to have to play with each other.’ Guys that can play right that are left shots and vice versa, or even playing with different players, knowing how to do that. During the game, we mix and match pairs sometimes. It’s not necessarily set pairs that you see all the time. That’s not going to change.” Timing is everything Julien was glad to finally have a schedule for the series, which, after a prolonged delay, was released by the league on Tuesday night. It begins in Pittsburgh on Saturday night. 679214 Boston Bruins

Brad Marchand relishes chance to slay favorites

Mark Daniels

WILMINGTON — Brad Marchand’s been in this situation before. Before the Stanley Cup finals in 2011, all the talk was about how dangerous the Vancouver Canucks were. The underdog tag didn’t bother Marchand then, and it doesn’t bother him now. Heading into Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals in Pittsburgh on Saturday night, most of the chatter is about Sidney Crosby and the high- powered Penguins offense. Marchand admitted the accolades are warranted, but it’s a challenge he’s more than ready to tackle. “We knew if we were going to get to this point, it would probably be against them,” Marchand said yesterday. “If we are going to go to the finals we have to make sure we play our best right now. It’s a very exciting time with all the players they have over there. They’re definitely the favorites. We’re looking forward to the challenge.” Pittsburgh’s top line of Crosby, Pascal Dupuis and Chris Kunitz comes into this series red hot. The three have combined for 18 goals and 34 points this postseason. It’s more than likely that Claude Julien will match Marchand and linemates Patrice Bergeron and Jaromir Jagr against the Crosby trio. It makes sense with Bergeron being the Bruins’ best two-way player. Marchand knows that defensively his line will have to be on point, but he also recognizes that sometimes a strong offense is the best defense. The more Marchand and his mates are pressuring the Penguins defense, the better. “I think that’s definitely a big part of playing against a line like that,” Marchand said. “They want to play in the offensive zone, and if we can find a way to keep them down in the defensive zone down there, it limits their opportunity to score. We want to try and play in their end as much as possible, but it’s not an easy thing to do with the skill and talent they have over there.” Marchand remembers going into the Cup finals nervous. He heard so much about Vancouver’s superiority that a part of him started to believe it. But then the series started and Marchand’s confidence grew. He was a continuous irritant for the Canucks, and he helped the Bruins take home the Cup. This time, Marchand again recognizes that the Bruins are the underdogs. There’s no shortage of talent on this Penguins team, but the winger hopes that once again, the B’s find a way to overcome a tough opponent. “That’s how it goes sometimes. Obviously they are the favorites,” Marchand said. “We’re in over our heads. We’ve got a big job to do. We’re all excited about trying it out and seeing how it goes. You can see how it’s similar to the finals. Vancouver was the same way. They were much better than we were, but we worked hard and got very lucky. “Hopefully we can get lucky in this series, too.” Boston Herald LOADED: 05.30.2013 679215 Boston Bruins Drago, who’s to say the Bruins can’t take down a superstar from the old Soviet Union named Evgeni Malkin. On paper, the Bruins should lose this series. On paper, Canucks fans Buckley: Don’t count out underdog Bruins should still be celebrating their team’s sweep against the Bruins two springtimes ago.

Steve Buckley So listen to Brad Marchand. Listen to Tyler Seguin. Or, you can listen to been-around-the-block-a-few-times Shawn Thornton, who said, “It doesn’t really matter to me. You get on that ice, it doesn’t WLIMINGTON — The only thing missing from Bruins practice yesterday matter if you’re favored or not favored. You gotta do what you do out there morning at Ristuccia Arena was a hysterical Mrs. Rocky Balboa bursting anyways.” into the locker room and, with arms flailing, screaming at the top of her lungs, “You can’t win!!!” Either way, it’s going to be a series for the ages. The temperature may hit 90 today, but until the Bruins punch out, it’s still winter here in the Hub. Look, everyone gets it: The Bruins are huge underdogs going into their best-of-seven Eastern Conference showdown against the No. 1-seeded, Boston Herald LOADED: 05.30.2013 No. 1-hated Pittsburgh Penguins. Heck, forget the best-of-seven format: To save on hotel costs and petrol for the Zamboni, the NHL should just award the first three games to the Pens and pretend that Saturday’s “opener” in Pittsburgh is Game 4. ads not by this site Not counting, oh, let’s say, the Bruins Ice Dancers, national anthem barker Rene Rancourt and the diehards who still wear the Moog and O’Reilly sweaters, does anybody think the B’s can win this thing? Has Jack Edwards weighed in on this? Does he think the Bruins can topple the Penguins? The Pens were already in possession of superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin when they made the deal for Jarome Iginla, the future Hall of Famer who said “no” to Boston because he sniffed out a better Stanley Cup opportunity in Pittsburgh. The Pens have depth, they have muscle and they have a power-play unit. As Eddie Andelman used to say, they have “it.” “They are the favorites,” conceded Brad Marchand. “They have a lot of guys who are very skilled, very talented. They have the two best players in the world and the third and fourth lines are playing so well right now. We’re in over our heads. We have a big job to do and we’re all excited about trying it out and seeing how it goes.” We’re in over our heads. But while it’s dangerous to take the events of two seasons ago and fold them into the dissection of analysis of an upcoming playoff series, it’s nonetheless a reality that the Bruins dressing room has a whole bunch of guys who understand what it means to go into a series they have no chance of winning. That would be the Stanley Cup final of two seasons ago, in which the Bruins lost two straight games to the heavily favored Vancouver Canucks and then wound up winning the Cup in seven games. (After which liquored-up Canucks fans commenced with the obligatory postgame ritual of setting things on fire. Yeah, I know I used that line yesterday; just wanted Canucks fans to know I received their very kind emails.) “It was a little nerve-wracking going into that series,” said Marchand. “Everyone said we were going to lose.” Wait . . . is Marchand comparing this series with that series? “Yeah, Vancouver was the same way,” he said. “They were much better than we were. We worked hard and got very lucky. Hopefully we get lucky in this series, too.” Tyler Seguin agreed. “We’ve been there before,” he said. “Pittsburgh’s a great a team. They obviously have a ton of good players and big names and they can definitely score. We’re excited for the challenge, and the only thing we can do in the face of this is smile and have fun with it.” It’s weird: Any coach in any sport would have these guys in a headlock right now, squeezing ever harder as he reminds them that last year was last year and that two years ago was the Stone Age. It. Means. Nothing. Except that it does. Because if there’s one professional association of big- league jocks that accommodates the underdog, it’s the National Hockey League. Come playoff time, there is no kids’ table. Everyone gets treated as a grown-up, and anyone can win. That’s why I think Mrs. Rocky Balboa, as always, has it all wrong. If Rocky Balboa can take down a superstar from the old Soviet Union named Ivan 679216 Boston Bruins consistently, so I’m still trying to figure out how I fit in there with the chemistry that’s being built. I think with practice time it’ll help us improve.” Does Seguin think he’s on the verge of a breakout? B’s hope Tyler Seguin’s game ready to soar “It’d be nice,” he said with a grin. “I’m working hard and I’m taking advantage of the few days off we’ve had. We’ve had a few good days of Thursday, May 30, 2013 practice here now. I feel like I’m ready to go.” Steve Conroy Let the countdown begin. Boston Herald LOADED: 05.30.2013

WILMINGTON — Is Tyler Seguin finally ready for takeoff? That question has been on the minds of Bruins fans for about a month now. It’s one that can’t really be answered until the Bruins step onto the Consol Energy Center ice for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night. But if the last couple of games against the Rangers serve as an indicator, liftoff could be imminent. Seguin scored his first goal of the playoffs seconds after a power play elapsed in the third period and had a power-play assist in Game 4 in New York. He definitely had his skating legs under him in the clinching Game 5, when he picked up another assist on Torey Krug’s tying goal on a power play. Coach Claude Julien seems committed to keeping Seguin on a line with Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley — the unit has not scored since being brought together in Game 7 of the Toronto series — and Jaromir Jagr on the line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. He likes what he’s seen recently from Seguin, who no longer looks like a player in the throes of a confidence crisis like he did against Toronto. “I think Tyler’s been fine,” Julien said yesterday. “If anything, he’s competed a lot harder. He’s battling, he’s in there. On the power play he’s made some good plays and he’s done a good job. I think right now, to me, that line in the last two games was better. They’re kind of getting to know each other a little bit better and finding each other on the ice a little bit easier. (Yesterday) in practice, I saw the same thing. We know that that line is going to be an important line for us in the next round. Right now I see that line improving.” For much of the regular season, Seguin combined with Marchand and Bergeron to make up the B’s most consistent line. At times it could be downright dynamic. In a pinch, Julien could easily throw them back together. But, in theory, anyway, keeping Seguin with Peverley (1-0-1 in the playoffs) and Kelly (0-0-0) while having Jagr with Bergeron and Marchand gives the B’s the best chance to develop a true four-line attack again. Now it just has to click. “I think (Peverley) can, offensively, have better numbers, there’s no doubt there. And so can (Kelly). They’ve shown that in the past,” Julien said. “Basically, when you look back at a couple years ago, it was those two with (Michael) Ryder as an offensive guy. Tyler’s very capable of producing like Ryder did. It’s just a matter of getting that magic together and doing the stuff that they need to do to be better. Like I said, I thought the last couple games they started showing some things. They didn’t necessarily show up on the scoreboard, but I thought even Game 5 they spent a lot of time in the offensive zone, making some plays, making things happen. I’m encouraged by the direction that line has taken. If it means that they become extremely good in the third round then that will certainly be a big boost for us.” While B’s fans have been itching for the next series to start, it sounds like a little rest was what the doctor ordered for Seguin, who says he was dragging going into the playoffs after having played in Switzerland during the lockout. “I think I felt it a little bit as the season was coming to an end. I’d been playing a lot. But now I feel great,” Seguin said. “Just having a couple of days off I feel so much more rested. The last couple of days we’ve had great practices and I feel good out there.” On paper, his line does have potential. All three of the players can skate like the wind, though it doesn’t do much good if you don’t know where your linemate’s going. “We still want to be better,” said Seguin. “Obviously, we’re a four-line team and you’ve seen how our fourth line’s been playing. We want to step up and contribute as much as we can. I don’t think we’ve had great results so far, but we’ve been working and we’re building chemistry. I think we do have great speed as a line. We’ve played together at times, though not 679217 Buffalo Sabres

Rangers fire Tortorella; could Ruff go from Sabres to New York for a second time?

May 29, 2013 - 1:29 PM By John Vogl

The first time Lindy Ruff left Buffalo, back in 1989, he went to the New York Rangers. It's possible the scenario could happen again. The Rangers have fired coach John Tortorella, which might open the door for Ruff to step behind the Blueshirts' bench. Ruff reportedly interviewed with Dallas and was installed as a favorite to take over for Alain Vigneault in Vancouver, but the job in New York should have even more appeal. Based on conversations regarding Ruff's job wish list, the Rangers are a perfect fit. They are already an established team (no desire for a rebuild), and the proximity to Buffalo is a bonus. Ruff spent parts of three seasons in New York after the Sabres traded him. James Patrick, Ruff's former assistant from the Sabres who is out of work and is expected to join Ruff with a new team, played more than a decade for the Rangers. Elliotte Friedman of CBC reports that Tortorella was let go by the Rangers after goaltender Henrik Lundqvist declined to commit to re-signing with New York and spoke of his time there in the past tense. Buffalo News LOADED: 05.30.2013 679218 Calgary Flames of his generation, one still trying to get his hands on his sport's most coveted chalice. The move proved refreshing in more ways than one. Iginla and fellow Iginla settling in with Penguins as shunned Bruins await in Round 3 newcomers Jussi Jokinen, Doug Murray and Brenden Morrow, became de facto roommates at a downtown Pittsburgh hotel. Iginla found wearing a jersey without a "C'' on it liberating. He has kept a decidedly low profile By Will Graves, The Associated Press May 29, 2013 7:40 PM since his arrival, speaking to the media only occasionally while letting Crosby handle the duties that come with being the voice of the franchise. Don't misunderstand. Iginla isn't hiding but simply enjoying a rare taste of PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Faced with the choice of his hockey life, Jarome Iginla relative anonymity. figured he couldn't go wrong. "It's been a nice change," Iginla said. As the hours before the March 28 trade deadline ticked away and the suitors for the Calgary Flames' longtime captain dwindled down to Boston One that will likely come to an end if the Penguins make it to the next and Pittsburgh, the six-time All-Star understood both franchises provided round. Iginla is the latest in a long line of veterans who have uprooted their him the chance to win his first Stanley Cup. lives — think Ray Bourque going from Boston to Colorado — in pursuit of glory. He will become one of the faces of the finals if the Penguins advance. Only one, however, included the added bonus of playing with good friend Sidney Crosby. And when the Penguins quite literally lured Iginla east in the Iginla is more than ready to handle it. If anything, he's proven he's middle of the night, the ripple effect forced the Bruins to a backup plan that adaptable. Iginla played at least 19 minutes 17 times with Calgary this turned out better than they imagined. season, a number he's topped just three times in 24 games with the Penguins. Yet Bylsma has yet to hear Iginla mention it, and he doesn't Spurned by Iginla, the Bruins acquired Jaromir Jagr from Dallas hours later. expect to. Now the two clubs — and their two high-profile late additions — find themselves in each other's way as the Eastern Conference finals get set to Neither do his teammates. begin Saturday. "I think you'll have a hard time finding somebody in this world to fit in better "I knew that there was a possibility this would be the case," Iginla said. anywhere," Murray said. "He's a great guy and he's obviously a good player. He demands respect right away." One that just as easily could have arisen if Iginla opted for Boston instead. While it appeared for a few hours the Bruins had the inside track, the Even if respect from the Bruins will come in the form of bodies being thrown Olympic gold medal winner insists he didn't back out of a deal with Boston into Iginla's path at every turn. He welcomes the challenge, even if the guys when the Penguins swooped in at the last minute. slamming him are the ones that could have been his teammates. "I never said yes and then no," Iginla said. All that's over now. Any leftover hard feelings with the Bruins is just so much collateral damage. Though the Bruins initially disagreed — claiming an agreement was in place — they have since moved on, adding a necessary part in Jagr to lead to a "I knew Boston was a great team," Iginla said. "It was one of those showdown that has felt inevitable for the last three months. situations when I (chose Pittsburgh) that I knew there was a big possibility we'd be in this situation, and here we are. I'm looking forward to the "I always thought you had to go through them to get to where we want to go challenge." at some point," Boston general manager Peter Chiarelli said. "It's been well chronicled, the Iginla stuff and the Jagr stuff, so we're happy with who we AP Sports Writer Howard Ullman in Boston contributed to this report. got." Calgary Herald: LOADED: 05.30.2013 So are the Penguins. The 35-year-old Iginla has fit in almost seamlessly in Pittsburgh, picking up 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 13 regular-season games despite being shuttled between the first and second lines while occasionally being moved away from his natural position at right wing. Things have been more settled in the post-season. Coach Dan Bylsma placed Iginla on the second line with reigning NHL MVP Evgeni Malkin and All-Star forward James Neal. The results have been sublime. Iginla quietly rolled up four goals and eight assists in the opening two rounds of the playoffs, his powerful shot and ability to create a little havoc in front of the opposing goaltender perfectly complimenting Malkin's deft passing and Neal's sniper-like instincts. "You want to play together and play hard and not disrupt (their chemistry)," Iginla said. "So you find different places to go and contribute. Is that going to the net? Getting out of the way in certain positions? Knowing where we all like pucks? I think it's just kind of tying everything together and I've been enjoying it and I think it's been getting better and better." The result is just the second trip to hockey's final four in Iginla's 16-year career. He led the Flames to the Cup finals in 2004 only to fall to Tampa Bay in seven games. Four straight first-round exits followed before the bottom fell out. Calgary was heading to its fifth straight season on the outside of the playoffs looking in when general manager Jay Feaster approached Iginla and asked him if he would consider waiving his no-trade clause. Iginla wanted to help the Flames rebuild almost as badly as he wanted a shot at the Cup. A brief conversation with Pittsburgh general manager Ray Shero convinced him the best chance to do both sat with the Penguins. Pittsburgh sent the Flames college prospects Kenneth Agostino and Ben Hanowski and a first-round pick in the 2013 draft for one of the best players 679219 Calgary Flames When reached on his cell phone Wednesday, he was en route to Carson Valley Medical Centre as wife Joanie, who has a history of heart problems, was suffering from numbness in her arms amongst other things. Flames' Malarchuk focus of 30 for 30 story “We’re not taking any chances,” said Malarchuk, 52, whose wife watched years of his mental anguish culminate with the attempt on his own life that left him with a bullet still lodged in his head. By Eric Francis ,Calgary Sun “Incredibly, this is the same hospital I was airlifted to that day. I’m actually First posted: Wednesday, May 29, 2013 10:26 PM MDT | Updated: in the parking lot looking at the helicopter as I talk to you.” Wednesday, May 29, 2013 10:41 PM MDT Word of Cutthroat’s release spread quickly as Malarchuk’s phone was burning up with messages largely from complete strangers Wednesday thanking him for having the courage to re-tell his story and encourage “Call my mom,” Clint Malarchuk recalls telling his equipment manager as others in dire straits to seek help. the final few minutes of his life appeared to be ticking away, “and tell her I love her.” “It’s important — it’s embarrassing on a lot of levels, and it’s very emotional, but when I get feedback, it makes it worthwhile,” said Malarchuk, who sent Nearly a quarter-century after one of the most horrific injuries in sports the video link to his mom but, ironically, refuses to watch it himself. history, the pain and fear of the moment is still etched on Clint Malarchuk’s face during ESPN’s latest 30 for 30 short documentary Cutthroat. “I called my mom, and she said it was really good — and I trust her,” Malarchuk said. In the gripping 11-minute piece released Wednesday by award-winning director Steven Cantor, the Flames’ current goalie coach fights back tears “She said she was proud of me.” throughout a tale most hockey fans remember all too well. She’s not the only one. Mar 22, 1989 — a night the young Buffalo Sabres goalie is sure his mother is watching on her Calgary satellite dish — St. Louis Blues forward Steve Calgary Sun: LOADED: 05.30.2013 Tuttle and Sabres defenceman Uwe Krupp barrel into Malarchuk in a seemingly routine goal-crease collision. Malarchuk is surprised to look down to see blood spurting from a six-inch gash in his neck courtesy of Tuttle’s skate-blade, immediately putting him into survival mode and prompting the play-by-play man to beg his cameraman to stop showing the gory scene.

Met by Sabres trainer Jim Pizzutelli, a Vietnam War medic, Malarchuk recalls in the powerful documentary his belief he had two or three minutes left to live. “I said, ‘Hang on to me, I think I’m dying,’” said a red-eyed Malarchuk, genuinely re-living the emotion of the surreal incident on camera. “We had all heard if your jugular or carotid artery are cut you’ve got minutes.” As he added Wednesday, “I knew my mom was watching — that’s why I got off the ice so quick. I thought I was going to die, and I didn’t want her to see that — that was first and foremost in my mind.” Doctors worked all night to save his life, insisting that if the cut was another quarter-inch deeper, he would have died instantly. They sewed him up with 300 stitches and told him to take the year off. “I wish I could have done that,” said Malarchuk who instead went all- cowboy and left hospital the next day. “I wanted to prove them wrong and me, too — I’m a cowboy. “I’m tough.” Within a three-year period, his OCD, depression and undiagnosed post- traumatic stress disorder were unbearable, ruining his career and life. “No one knew the hell I was living at that time,” said Malarchuk in the doc. “I really started to spiral downhill. It was the beginning of the end of my career.” Decked out in a black leather jacket, ball cap and nestled into the barn of his Nevada ranch, the interview is a powerful one for many reasons, including the fact it is there — 19 years after losing nearly a third of his blood on the ice — where Malarchuk tried taking his life with a shotgun blast to the head that shattered his chin, teeth, eye-socket and cheekbone. “I believe being back at the ranch entered into why I was so emotional,” said Malarchuk on Wednesday. “I’ve had tears talking at high schools in Calgary, and so has my wife. “We both get emotional, and it’s real.” Strangely, the release of the short doc came the same day Malarchuk was dealing with another reminder of how precious life can be. 679220 Chicago Blackhawks

Game 7 won't be surprise to, or from, Wings

By Brian Hamilton Tribune reporter 12:37 PM CDT, May 29, 2013

It was late in the last series and into the deciding Game 7 that Mike Babcock shook up the Detroit Red Wings' lineup, and it appeared some power play tinkering occurred Wednesday morning before meeting the Chicago Blackhawks later that night. But vast, profound changes to get the Hawks off-kilter in the game that will end one of the clubs' seasons? Remains to be seen. "To me it wasn't about surprise – it was about what we felt we needed to do because of the way the series went," Babcock said Wednesday, referencing the Anaheim series. "We've been through all those scenarios: If they do that, what are we going to do, if we do this, what are they going to do. "The bottom line for us, Chicago has a different kind of lineup than Anaheim had. So you have to use your players that are going to give you the best chance to win. That’s what we're going to do tonight. We've been through, as you can imagine, every one of those scenarios." The guaranteed scenario is this: A frothing crowd, an anthem, and a piercing atmosphere at the United Center. "The first 10 minutes have been crucial in every playoff game," defenseman Brendan Smith said. "The first 10 almost dictate the game, pretty much. It's soemthing we've talked about -- playing our best 10 at the start. It's really hard to do." The Red Wings survived a road Game 7 in the first round. This is different, though, as two losses spun them into Wednesday's circumstances as opposed to a Game 6 win against the Ducks. They have been careful to craft it as a place they would have loved to have been before the series started -- with a chance to oust the Hawks at all -- but it couldn't be the preferred way after jumping to a 3-1 lead in the series. "They're a good team," winger Justin Abdelkader said. "Obviously no one thought we were going to beat them in five games. It's tough closing out a team, we've learned that. But you know what, we're in a situation where we're in a Game 7 and we can put out the President's Trophy winners, best team all year. Coming into the series, if you would have told us that, we would have jumped on it." Chicago Tribune LOADED: 05.30.2013 679221 Chicago Blackhawks

'Relaxed intensity' for Hawks in Game 7

By Chris Kuc Tribune reporter 12:05 PM CDT, May 29, 2013

The Chicago Blackhawks held their morning skate prior to Game 7 against the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday and are waiting until game time for the do-or-die end to the best-of-seven Original Six showdown. The trick when they take the ice is to be excited but remain disciplined. "It's kind of a relaxed intensity," Hawks winger Viktor Stalberg said. "You've got to be hungry and excited about it, but you can't let it go to your head and run around and be too crazy out there. Play between the whistles, do our job, play tough, but try not to get too excited and take too many penalties." After trailing 3-1 in the Western Conference semifinals series, the Hawks roared back with consecutive victories to force Game 7 at the United Center. "If you can't get excited and up for this one, you're not going to be able to get up for any hockey game," Hawks winger Patrick Kane said. "It should be a good game and hopefully we can take our momentum into it and keep it throughout the game. "Everyone's kind of anxious to get it started," Kane added. "It seems like a long couple of days since we played last. It's a really good opportunity given the position we were in. This is where we wanted to be after the 3-1 deficit. We did a good job getting this opportunity so we have to take advantage of it." With two goals in 11 postseason games, Kane hasn't been able to find much open ice against opposing defenses but believes he can rise to the occasion with the sports world watching. "It's the best time of year," Kane said. "There's been some good games in the past for myself and this team in this kind of situation. You kind of look back at those memories and what happened in those games and use it to your advantage to either help you in these games or try to get a little momentum for yourself. "This is the biggest game this time of year, Game 7, second round," Kane added. "No other games on TV. No other games pretty much around the world that are going to be playing. It's really exciting to be a hockey player in a game like this." Chicago Tribune LOADED: 05.30.2013 679222 Chicago Blackhawks his poise and knack for making important plays. We have seen him score clutch goals, which would include any and all of them tonight. Patrick Kane has two goals against the Wings -- the only two goals the Toews, Kane, Sharp, Hossa: Big names must play big Hawks scored in Games 2 and 3 -- but hasn’t been consistently dangerous. Like Toews, Kane has a history of scoring big goals, and like the Toews paragraph above, that goes for any and all of them tonight. Steve Rosenbloom Marian Hossa also has just two goals in the series, while Patrick Sharp has 9:17 AM CDT, May 29, 2013 only one -- none in the last five games and not so much as an assist in the last four. It goes without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway: Everything assumes Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock says he loves Game 7’s, even if it great play by Corey Crawford. If he doesn’t show up, the Hawks are dead. sounds like he loves whistling past the graveyard. It’s always that way with goaltending. Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson, who is not smart enough to But he can’t score. The Hawks top forwards certainly can. They have to. like the Rolling Stones, at least has the brains to know that home-ice advantage is an advantage. Chicago Tribune LOADED: 05.30.2013 The Hawks get that advantage in Game 7 on the West Side tonight. They get the loudest crowd in the league. They get the critical last change that will keep Jonathan Toews away from Red Wings annoyance Henrik Zetterberg. And we get the drama of a win-or-walk game between the oldest of rivals in their last year of such alignment intimacy. And it never should’ve gotten this far. Thanks for the drama, boys, but the Hawks shouldn’t have to face such potential cliff-diving. They could’ve shown up for Game 2 on the same ice they’re talking up for Game 7. But they refused to compete, and it took them another week to win a game. That’s when the turnaround began. That’s when the Hawks started doing to the Red Wings what Detroit did to Anaheim last series. In fact, the Hawks are coming back bigger. The Wings were down one game, not two, when they won Game 6 at home and Game 7 on the Ducks’ pond to advance to this round and another Game 7. The Hawks are going for the 5-6-7 hat trick. They have done it with desperate third periods. They have done it after allowing bad goals. They have done it after getting stung by lousy defensive coverage. They have a growing confidence that seems to have aided the speed and quickness advantage they were credited for having when the series opened. Even in losses in Games 3 and 4 in Detroit, the Hawks controlled play for long stretches. They had the puck and they had chances. They didn’t convert the way they did in the regular season. In their last two wins, the Hawks not only have shown superior speed and quickness, but also touch. The Hawks have finished plays, even if you can’t believe which players have finished them. And that’s the critical element in my hockey world. The Hawks’ season was saved by some afterthoughts. Their depth won a game they way a good team’s depth can. It makes for a great story, but it wouldn’t be a story without some teammates’ failure. If the Hawks are again expecting Michal Handzus, Bryan Bickell and Michael Frolik to carry them in Game 7, then they can start summer. Actually, Bickell has been a Conn Smythe candidate in this series, if they awarded such things long before they actually give out Lord Stanley’s chalice, but the point is, big names show up in big games. It’s why they get all that money and all that ice time. That might not be where this tale ends, but that’s where you start calling roll, and for starters, the Hawks top four forwards have two goals in the last three games. Combined. That ties them with Andrew Shaw. Here’s an idea for Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa: Meet the moment. They’ve done it before. Their names are on hockey’s Holy Grail. It would be nice if they could get their names on the goal sheet Wednesday night. Toews has one goal in 11 games this postseason. He was a target for the Wings and he lost his composure. In the last two games, he has regained 679223 Chicago Blackhawks The one guy worthy of distracting Chicago from its Game 7 obsession for a few hours was on the mound before the sky opened — no, not Edwin Jackson. Chris Sale started with a scoreless streak of 23 innings that Even Cubs, Sox talking about Hawks-Wings Game 7 remains intact — thank you, Mother Nature — and dominance that, in terms of style and substance, reminded Sveum of former Pirates left-hander John Konerko, Sveum among those eager to see showdown Candelaria. "That stuff and that arm angle isn't something you see on a regular basis,'' Sveum said. David Haugh It was amusing but not really apt to hear sports talkers debate whether Jeff May 29, 2013 Samardzija had supplanted Sale as Chicago's best pitcher. Samardzija did something Monday that no Cubs pitcher had done since Mordecai "Three- Finger" Brown in 1906: throw a shutout against the White Sox. Few Cubs In the White Sox clubhouse Tuesday, the East Coast teenage right wing pitchers have been that overpowering without throwing a no-hitter. Bravo. within Paul Konerko waxed nostalgic about the sport that still warms his Still, in 39 career starts over the last two seasons, Samardzija is 12-19. His heart if not pays his bills. lifetime ERA is 3.88. In 38 career starts, Sale is 22-10. His lifetime ERA is "I can go back to every year since I can remember and tell you every 2.83. Give Samardzija the edge in long-term health, but what else? Both Stanley Cup winner from then on and remember the captain who lifted the possess live arms and bright futures. But on a playoff team, Sale projects Cup,'' said Konerko, who still likes to skate in the offseason. as an ace; Samardzija as a No. 2. Getting tickets from a friend for Wednesday night's Blackhawks-Red Wings Perhaps we can revisit that debate when more people care, like after Game 7 thrilled Konerko as much as going deep. The man who grew up in hockey season. Rhode Island and Connecticut loving hockey called the opportunity "a Chicagoans everywhere hope that's not tomorrow. dream." So it hardly surprised Konerko that TV ratings for Chicago showed the Hawks drew twice as many viewers Monday night as the Cubs-Sox Chicago Tribune LOADED: 05.30.2013 game. "I can't blame them,'' Konerko said. "Don't ask me which one I'd be watching if I wasn't playing.'' I went to a baseball rivalry Tuesday night, and talk of a hockey game broke out. You're not alone, Chicago sports fans. Your baseball teams would rather discuss power plays than their lack of power too. While the Cubs and Sox dealt with a rain delay that eventually postponed their game, they spent much of the day wondering if the Wings would force the Stanley Cup champion-favorite Blackhawks to endure a reign delay in Game 7. A definite buzz spread quickly across the city Tuesday about a group of guys bound to entertain the masses with a rollicking performance at the United Center. The Rolling Stones were in town too. I don't recall another Crosstown Classic in which so many conversations included crosschecking. Across from Konerko in the Cubs dugout, manager Dale Sveum tapped into his inner Coach Q, publicly questioning a call that had nothing to do with an umpire. A Hawks fan, Sveum was hardly complaining but wondered aloud whether forward Michael Frolik deserved the penalty shot that resulted in the Game 6-winning goal. "They obviously got a nice little questionable penalty shot there," Sveum said. There is no photographic evidence, but Sveum actually smiled when sharing his itinerary after Wednesday's scheduled Cubs-Sox day game. The cruelest joke circulating during the downpour was that a rescheduled day-night doubleheader would foil the nighttime plans of the hockey fans in both clubhouses. "There's not too many times Game 7s come around," Sveum said, perhaps unaware the Hawks and Wings haven't met in a Game 7 in 48 years. "You've got to do everything you can do to make that one.'' You can understand why the Cubs and Sox, both under .500, would welcome the diversion. The Cubs have done nothing on the field to steal attention from their minor league prospects or major renovation of Wrigley Field. The Sox have regressed defensively despite solid starting pitching and look like a middling team that might need a midseason shakeup. Not even playing one another generated excitement in a baseball season destined to drag locally. I have no problem with Major League Baseball reducing the number of intracity games or with the Cubs and Sox playing one another four consecutive days. But to maximize fan interest, these games need to be played in June or July. The Cubs-Sox series in May makes the games even easier to ignore considering constant interleague play already has diminished the novelty. "It's not quite as heightened as it used to be,'' Konerko acknowledged. 679224 Chicago Blackhawks

Consider Seabrook redeemed Hawks defenseman proves he's worth increase in ice time with game- winner in overtime

By Brian Hamilton, Chicago Tribune reporter 11:40 PM CDT, May 29, 2013

Of all the unfamiliar positions in which Brent Seabrook found himself during these last seven games with the Blackhawks, this was somehow the most peculiar: Generally alone, lost in space, skating in overtime with the puck toward the net and just one man and one goalie between him. "Shooting pucks around in the front yard, against the garage, breaking garage doors, that's always something you think about — scoring the overtime winner," Seabrook said. "I didn't really know what to do with all that room." This postseason, and especially the Western Conference semifinals against the Red Wings, had not started the way he had hoped. A blue-liner accustomed to gobbling up minutes saw his play lag and that ice time disappear and moments of doubt arrive. In the end, though, Seabrook got his shot. It went through the Red Wings' Niklas Kronwall, and maybe off him a little bit. And then it slid by goalie Jimmy Howard and into the net. And Seabrook had the Game 7-winning overtime goal in a 2-1 victory that sent the Hawks to the Western Conference finals, the man who had been receiving messages sending one of his own. "It's exciting," Seabrook said. "I tried to stay even keeled. Some days it was a little tough. But as a hockey player, as a professional, you try to support your teammates and be a good teammate. I thought I did a good job of that. It was nice to play a little more and help this team out." Seabrook averaged 22 minutes per game during the season, as much a part of the Hawks' bedrock as anyone. By the end of Game 4 against the Red Wings, he was down to 12 minutes total, and down about nearly everything else, too. Hawks coach Joel Quenneville then reunited him with longtime partner Duncan Keith. Seabrook considered that more admonition than promotion. "Putting me back with Duncan was pretty much all that needed to be said," Seabrook said. "I took that as, we expect more from you, and we need you to be better." Seabrook logged 23-plus minutes in Games 5 and 6, and it was clear the change had re-energized him. "Even in those games he didn't play a lot of minutes, he didn't change at all," defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson said. "He kept pushing the guys and that just shows what kind of character he has. I knew when he was back playing with Duncs he was going to be the old Seabs, playing rock solid." Seabrook couldn't get into specifics about what rekindled his game this series, suggesting he had been punched in the head too often during the post-Game 7 revelry. But this was one effort, and one shot, that didn't require extensive explanation. "It was a pretty exhausting game, but I think I was more tired during the celebration with guys jumping and pushing me in the face and dragging me down," Seabrook said. "It's exciting. You don't get to do that too many times." Chicago Tribune LOADED: 05.30.2013 679225 Chicago Blackhawks

Your Hawks' three-star selections: Skill, depth and heart

Steve Rosenbloom 11:32 PM CDT, May 29, 2013

The Blackhawks were the better team entering their second-round playoff series against Detroit. It just took them seven painful games to prove it, right down to an excruciating and exhilarating Game 7. No, wait, even that wasn’t enough. It took Game 8 before Brent Seabrook scored 3:35 into overtime to finally vanquish the dreaded Red Wings on Wednesday night. It took coming back from a three-games-to-one precipice, something the Hawks had never done. It took two goals by Andrew Shaw to win that first game, a harbinger of the impact the young center would have on the Wings and the series. It took a season-saving third period to win that second game, as Michal Handzus, Bryan Bickell and Michael Frolik made like Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa. It took recovering from a bad call late in the third period of Game 7 that wiped out a potential series-deciding goal, the Hawks’ regaining championship-caliber poise to give themselves a chance to win another championship. It took a belief in their game, no matter how thin their public statements sounded. It took the Captain maintaining his poise, as Toews scored and continued to be the only reliable Hawk in the faceoff circle. It took an alternate Captain remembering how to finish, and what a brilliant three-way passing play Patrick Sharp finished for the Hawks’ only goal in regulation in Game 7. It took Joel Quenneville changing the defense pairings, allowing the Hawks to take control of their zone and start their puck-possession game. It took one of those defensemen scoring the biggest goal of the season -- the biggest of Seabrook’s career. It took character by goalie Corey Crawford, who ignored an oops goal in Game 6 to play nearly perfect the rest of the series. It took a lot of character by all the Hawks. You can’t say enough about that. That record 24-game unbeaten streak in regulation to start the season gave the Hawks only one acceptable end to this season. For the longest time, it loomed as a taunt. The Hawks’ heart would have none of that. And so, the jubilant and relieved Hawks move into the Western Conference final against the reigning champion Kings. They earned it. But yet, after two weeks of emotion, frustration, celebration, aggravation, and ultimately celebration again in sudden death of a sudden-death game that capped a series worthy of a Stanley Cup Final, the Hawks are only halfway there. Chicago Tribune LOADED: 05.30.2013 679226 Chicago Blackhawks "Obviously, the next time we face them in the Stanley Cup playoffs will be a lot of fun," Babcock said. "We'll both have gotten some place. So that's a good thing." Hjalmarsson goes from ecstasy to agony to ecstasy Memory lane: Patrick Kane looks to past games for big-game inspiration, Defenseman's waved-off goal only delayed exultation until Seabrook could and none was bigger than his hat trick against Canucks goaltender Roberto set things right in OT Luongo in Game 6 of the 2009 playoffs. "I remember it was a crazy day in general for me," the Hawks winger said before Game 7. "I woke up late, missed the meeting, saw a big accident on By Brian Hamilton and Chris Kuc, Chicago Tribune reporters the way home from (the morning skate) and then kind of had a funny feeling coming to the rink that day that something was going to happen and it did." May 30, 2013 Saw him coming: Count Babcock, who coached Jonathan Toews with the Canadian national team, among those least surprised by the Hawks captain's three points in Games 5 and 6. Niklas Hjalmarsson thought he had a winning goal to send his team to the Western Conference finals. Then he didn't. The Blackhawks defenseman's "Lots of you people did a lot of talking about Jonathan Toews at the start of reaction was as expected. the series," the Red Wings coach said. "I just know that those kind of people just come. They just do. That's just the way it is." "I don't know if you saw me, but it showed pretty clear — I almost threw my stick up in the crowd," Hjalmarsson said. "I got pretty mad. I got pretty Chicago Tribune LOADED: 05.30.2013 happy when I scored, I was probably looking like a fool when I was celebrating in the middle of the ice. Kind of a roller coaster there." It was the call that would have caused months of angst were in not for a Brent Seabrook overtime goal that mitigated it Wedensday night, providing a 2-1 Game 7 victory over the Red Wings. Hjalmarsson skated in from the blue line and ripped a shot past the Red Wings' Jimmy Howard with 1 minute, 47 seconds left in regulation, scoring an apparent go-ahead goal. But behind the play, the Red Wings' Kyle Quincey crushed Brandon Saad into the boards and almost over into the visitors' bench. Referee Stephen Walkom saw the ensuing scrum and skated in to whistle coincidental minor penalties on both Quincey and Saad. That happened before the Hjalmarsson goal, the league later confirmed, and wiped it out. Thus, the overtime. "We were pretty upset," Seabrook said. "It sucks when a goal like that, with that much time left, gets called back. To be honest, we got in the room, we thought we should have been game over and series over. But the boys just forgot about it, regrouped and went out there to try to have a good start to the overtime." Said Hjalmarsson: "We won the game. That's all that matters." Early out: The Red Wings were working from behind early even if the score was even, as center Valtteri Filppula and his six postseason points left the game in the first period with an apparent leg injury and did not return. "Obviously, I was disappointed we lost Filppula early," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "I thought we could've been a lot more dynamic if we'd had Fil. He's one of our top four forwards, but I thought our guys hung in there." Fitting end: Few participants in the Blackhawks-Red Wings playoff series could appreciate it as Justin Abdelkader does. He was born in Muskegon, Mich. He grew up a Red Wings fan. His bio lists Steve Yzerman as his hockey hero. Perhaps no player at the United Center understood what the rivalry has meant for both clubs, for better or for worse. "With us moving conferences next year," Abdelkader said, "there's no better way to go out than in a Game 7 deciding match." That was the prevailing sentiment Wednesday, in which a wistful, funereal feel descended upon the proceedings — one that had little to do with the possibility either club's season would end. With realignment moving the Red Wings to the Eastern Conference in 2013-14, Game 7 was the end to a long chapter between the franchises, and an appropriate one at that. "Everybody remembers a Game 7," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "You look at the tradition and the history between the two teams, regular- season games, playoff series, battles in the Norris Division series and you come down to a Game 7 to end it. It's fitting for an amazing history." The teams now have played more than 800 times, including 81 postseason games. But they will meet just twice per season until further notice, though any playoff contests will have the nice bonus of the Stanley Cup being at stake. 679227 Chicago Blackhawks

Hawks heading to conference finals Seabrook's OT goal gives them 2-1 victory in Game 7 to end Wings' postseason

By Chris Kuc, Chicago Tribune reporter 11:49 PM CDT, May 29, 2013

The improbable comeback is complete and the Blackhawks' season rumbles on. Brent Seabrook's goal in overtime gave the Hawks a stirring 2-1 victory over the Red Wings in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals Wednesday night at the United Center. It was the Hawks' third consecutive triumph, making them the 21st team in NHL history to advance from a 3-1 series deficit. The victory was a roller coaster of emotions for the Hawks after they took the lead only to see the Wings tie it and then had a goal waved off late in the third period. But Seabrook ultimately sent the Hawks' bench — and the crowd of 22,103 — into a frenzy when he scored 3 minutes, 35 seconds into overtime. "That was an emotional game," captain Jonathan Toews said. "The guys poured everything out there. It's an amazing feeling to win something like that. We know we're only halfway to where we want to go but to win a series like that is huge for our confidence and huge for everyone in this room to believe in what we can do. That's heck of a way to win a series." They won it when Seabrook rifled a wrist shot from the high slot that deflected off Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall and sailed past goaltender Jimmy Howard's glove. "I don't know if I saw it go in to be honest," Seabrook said. "I just heard the horn going and the boys jumping out. It was a pretty exhausting game, but I think I was more tired during the celebration with guys jumping and pushing me in the face and dragging me down. It's exciting. You don't get to do that too many times." Seabrook's heroics were necessary after referee Stephen Walkom blew the whistle to call coincidental penalties a split-second before Niklas Hjalmarsson rifled a shot past Howard with less than two minutes remaining in the third. In the dressing room before overtime, Toews told his teammates, "We'll beat them 3-1." "We were obviously pretty pissed off that the whistle blew right before that one went in," Toews said. "We weren't going to go away that way. It was frustrating at the time thinking that maybe when the time ticked out we should have won that game but that wasn't going to faze us. We were still focused on what we had to do going into the overtime." Goaltender Corey Crawford improved to 7-2 in career elimination games and Patrick Sharp also scored for the Hawks. Henrik Zetterberg had the Wings' only goal as Howard was the tough-luck loser despite making 33 saves. "That was a great game, up-and-down (with) so many different situations throughout the game," Crawford (26 saves) said. The Hawks will face the defending Stanley Cup champion Kings in the conference finals beginning Saturday at the United Center. The Wings, meanwhile, will start their offseason after letting the series slip away. "We did a lot of good things but it's about scoring goals and winning games and we came up short," Kronwall said. "It's the end of the road for us." Chicago Tribune LOADED: 05.30.2013 679228 Chicago Blackhawks 679229 Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks ready for emotional Game 7 vs. Red Wings Potential Blackhawks’ Western Conference final schedule

BY MARK LAZERUS Twitter: @MarkLazerus May 29, 2013 2:38PM BY MARK LAZERUS [email protected] May 29, 2013 10:40AM Updated: May 29, 2013 8:31PM The NHL released the potential schedule for the Western Conference final should the Blackhawks beat the Red Wings in Wednesday night’s Game 7. Brent Seabrook said what he’s supposed to say in a situation like this. Here it is. Note the back-to-back games this weekend, likely a result of the “It’s just a normal game,” the Blackhawks defenseman said a little less than Rolling Stones playing the United Center on Friday and Monday. All times eight hours before Wednesday night’s Game 7 against the Detroit Red are central. Wings. “You’ve got to treat it like a normal game.” Saturday, June 1, 4 p.m. Los Angeles at Chicago NBC Sports Network, Yeah. Good luck with that. TSN, RDS While the Hawks have faced elimination in each of their last two games, Sunday, June 2, 7 p.m. Los Angeles at Chicago NBC Sports Network, TSN, there’s nothing quite like a Game 7. The United Center will be rocking, the RDS world will be watching, and the excitement level will keep rising throughout Tuesday, June 4, 8 p.m. Chicago at Los Angeles NBC Sports Network, the day. Even the players feel that. TSN, RDS “It’s really the best time of year,” Patrick Kane said. “This is the biggest Thursday, June 6, 8 p.m. Chicago at Los Angeles NBC Sports Network, game this time of year -- Game 7, second round, no other games on TV CBC, RDS and no other games pretty much around the world. It’s really exciting to be a hockey player in a game like this.” *Saturday, June 8, 7 p.m. Los Angeles at Chicago NBC, CBC, RDS The trick is to use that excitement and the hot crowd to fuel a fast start, *Monday, June 10, 8 p.m. Chicago at Los Angeles NBC Sports Network, while reining in the emotions that even the most experienced professional CBC, RDS athlete feels in such a pressure-packed environment. *Wednesday, June 12, TBD Los Angeles at Chicago NBC Sports Network, “It’s really easy to get excited and ready for this one, but at the same time CBC, RDS you don’t want to make mistakes and put too much pressure on yourself,” Kane said. “It’s tough to say you want to take it as any other game, because Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 05.30.2013 it’s not, but just go out there and play our game, play the way we have the last two, and we should be successful.” Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said his team has had the right mind-set since falling behind 3-1 in the series. “Watching our group out here today and yesterday, I think we haven’t changed at all the last four or five days,” he said. “It’s been consistent. We’re excited, we’re looking forward to it, and you’ve got to commend them on their approach.” Both teams said that the start would be key — for the Hawks, to keep the momentum and rev up the crowd, and for the Wings, to quiet the crowd and put the pressure back on the Hawks to rally yet again. Mike Babcock was asked if he was just hoping to “survive” the first 10 minutes, and the Red Wings coach scoffed. “No, that’s not the plan at all,” Babcock said. “I thought that’s what we did in our building [in Game 6]. We didn’t win a faceoff in the first 10 minutes. All the Game 7s I’ve ever been involved in, the start is so critical.” That said, Babcock didn’t want his players feeling the pressure of the situation, only the excitement. “We talk about Game 7 like it’s something to avoid,” he said. “It’s as much fun as you can have in hockey. It’s about having fun. When you do what you’re supposed to do and you’re organized and you trust your teammates and you trust your structure — let’s play.” Detroit has far more experience in dealing with the emotions of a Game 7 than the Hawks do. Only Marian Hossa (six) and Michal Handzus (four) have played in more than one Game 7 among the Hawks active players. Meanwhile, nine Red Wings who’ll likely be dressing tonight have played in at least four. Most of the Hawks’ only experience came in 2011, when they rallied from a 3-0 series deficit to force a Game 7 in Vancouver. The Hawks lost 2-1 in overtime. “A lot of guys were in here against Vancouver when we lost in Game 7, when we fought back from 3-0, and that’s one of those things we’re going to draw off tonight,” Seabrook said. “A lot of guys bring their own experiences into this kind of game, but we’re looking forward to getting off to a start and making some new memories tonight.” Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 05.30.2013 679230 Chicago Blackhawks Not a bit. This isn’t really Game 7 of the semis. Two of Original Six heading to Game 7 is heaven for NHL fans This is Game 1 of a single-elimination tournament on the Blackhawks’ home ice that begins at 7 p.m. and ends about 21/2 hours later, with one team devastated and the other giddy with joy. BY RICK TELANDER [email protected] May 28, 2013 9:32PM With that finality comes a separation of two great franchises, with each Updated: May 29, 2013 1:07PM drifting away to the (alleged) beginnings of new rivalries with teams that never will get that bare-knuckled Rust Belt animosity going. You can’t just create history.

Old-time hockey in Chicago doesn’t get better than this. Not on ice, you can’t. Here we go: Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals with the Until the new order, it’s all about the Blackhawks’ resurgence from the edge Original Six Blackhawks against the Original Six Detroit Red Wings at the of the abyss, a No. 1-seeded team hopefully realizing that seventh-seeded United Center in front of a standing-room-only crowd of lunatics. Win or go Hockeytown is for real. As always. home. All those concerns about Detroit coach Mike Babcock lying in the weeds, Maybe you would have preferred a simpler route to get here — say, the about overconfidence in front of a deafening home crowd, about Hawks over the Wings, four games to none. forechecking and dumb penalties and Corey Crawford letting in random weak shots and Jonathan Toews being forced to wear Henrik Zetterberg But it didn’t happen. like a shawl — it all means nothing. What did happen is, in its way, even better. The Blackhawks came from the This is one and done. brink of disaster — down three games to one, one loss from elimination — and brought it all back to here. This almost never happens. To this. This is great. Something’s going to end tonight, for Chitown or Motown. And something Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 05.30.2013 else is going to continue. Do you feel classic in the air? The Blackhawks and Red Wings are so linked in their history they might as well share underwear. OK, hip pads. They’ve played each other about a million times since they joined the NHL in 1926. The Red Wings were the Cougars back then, then the Falcons. Someone in The City That Henry Ford Built got some car sense, dumped the animal concept in 1932, and the flying puck/wheel was born. Ten years later, when the Brooklyn Americans dropped out of the league, the Original Six became lore: Boston, Montreal, Toronto, New York, Chicago and Detroit. The big organ-i-zations. The granddaddies. Gordie Howe skated forever for the Wings. Brawler Bob Probert beat up players for both sides. The octopus became a victory glop. And Hockeytown arose. In Chicago, Hull, Hall, Mikita, Nesterenko, Esposito, Savard and now Kane and Toews have done their best against Detroit. Not with love, mind you. What we have now is a rivalry. In 2009, the Blackhawks and Red Wings played in the second Winter Classic, held at Wrigley Field, only the second outdoor league game in U.S. history. And the first with two Original Six teams going at each other. But we have nostalgia building here, too. After this season, the Red Wings are moving to the reordered Eastern Conference and the Blackhawks will stay in the West, and, well, it’s pass-the-Kleenex time. It’s like losing the fighter down the block, the one who made you tougher every time you duked it out. Bye-bye, Detroit. We’ll see you in the Stanley Cup finals someday. For now, the dice are in the cup, ready to be rolled. Think this thing’s a lock for Chicago? Uh, no. Consider that in their history the Blackhawks have played in 10 series that went to a seventh game. They are 5-5. The Blackhawks and Red Wings have played only two Game 7s against each other, in 1964 and 1965. They split. Then, too, the Blackhawks are 0-11 in playoff series when losing three of the first four games, as they did to Detroit this year. Of course, the Blackhawks beat the Red Wings four consecutive times during the regular season. Does any of it mean anything? 679231 Chicago Blackhawks

Niklas Hjalmarsson saw red over disallowed goal

BY ADAM L. JAHNS [email protected] Last Modified: May 30, 2013 02:28AM

Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson wanted to throw his stick into the United Center stands. The typically mild-mannered Swede was that incensed — that enraged that his potential series-deciding goal was waved off. “I went blank from there — I got so mad,” Hjalmarsson said. “I didn’t see the situation. But it doesn’t really matter now.” Of course not. The Hawks overcame it in their rousing 2-1 victory against the hated Detroit Red Wings in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals on Wednesday. Defenseman Brent Seabrook scored the game-winner 3 minutes, 35 seconds into overtime. Hjalmarsson’s apparent goal in the final two minutes of regulation was waved off by referee Stephen Walkom because of coincidental penalties away from the play on Red Wings defenseman Kyle Quincey and Hawks winger Brandon Saad. Quincey had shoved Saad into the Detroit bench and the two tussled to the ice as play continued. “I didn’t do anything,” Saad said. “I don’t know why the coincidental was called. But it is what it is. “I just grabbed onto the guy so I didn’t fall into the bench. . . . I was shocked when the linesman told me I was going to the box.” Coach Joel Quenneville said he didn’t ask for an explanation from the officials, while Red Wings coach Mike Babcock contended afterward that there should have been a tripping penalty called on the Hawks, upon seeing center Henrik Zetterberg tumble to the ice. The only word from the NHL’s war room in Toronto was that play was blown dead. “Seabs scored a huge goal for us,” Hjalmarsson said. “If we would have lost, it would have been a tough one. But now that we won, it doesn’t really matter too much.” What does matter is that the Hawks were able to put it behind them, a fitting ending to a series that saw them fall behind 3-1. It might have helped the Hawks that the period ended shortly after Walkom’s call. Patrick Kane said the message during the intermission was “forget about it and move on.” It gave them a chance to refocus. “I don’t know if you saw me but it’s pretty clear, I almost threw my stick up in the crowd,” Hjalmarsson said. “For me personally, I needed a breather. I was pretty upset there for a while.” Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 05.30.2013 679232 Chicago Blackhawks ‘‘We won three in a row, and then they won three in a row,’’ Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said of the series. ‘‘We should have won the first one.’’ Now we’ll see how much the Hawks can take away from this series. Now MORRISSEY: Hawks, fans can breathe again after brutally tense finale we’ll see if they’ve learned their lesson — that the playoffs is not the place to see if you can turn it on when you want. That’s not going to work against the talented Kings. BY RICK MORRISEY I think they get that now. The team that put together a massive consecutive- [email protected] point streak to start the season is back. It has a goalie in Corey Crawford who can carry a team if need be. Now the Hawks know for sure. Last Modified: May 30, 2013 02:28AM They know what happened Wednesday night is not an end in itself. ‘‘We should enjoy it for another couple hours,’’ Seabrook said. ‘‘Our main If you want to know exactly how Brent Seabrook scored the game-winning goal is still ahead of us.’’ goal in overtime Wednesday night, don’t ask him. But if you want to experience hockey’s fog of war, a blurry place of pure reactions and muscle Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 05.30.2013 memory, take an unsteady walk with him: ‘‘It bounced off something, and then I don’t know, Kronwall was coming up the middle and I had some room. I don’t know. I didn’t really know what was going on. I tried to get the puck on net.’’ To be more precise, Seabrook’s shot deflected off defenseman Niklas Kronwall’s shin pad, past Detroit Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard and into Chicago lore. The 2-1 victory in Game 7 sent the top-seeded Blackhawks into the Western Conference finals against the Los Angeles Kings. A wobbly world was back to spinning properly on its axis. What a crazy, wonderful brute of a series. The team that had, yes, skated through the regular season found all sorts of trouble against the Red Wings, at one point falling behind three games to one and peering over the edge of disaster. ‘‘You do what you’ve got to do,’’ Hawks captain Jonathan Toews said. ‘‘We dug deep, and we found a way. To come out on top, given the situation we were in three games ago, it’s pretty amazing.’’ It is indeed. Seabrook’s goal 3:35 into overtime sent the United Center crowd into a frenzy. The tension of the night had held those people hostage from the opening faceoff. The Hawks had taken what seemed like an all- important 1-0 lead in the second period, gave it up on a bad play in the third period and watched a Niklas Hjalmarsson goal get waved off because of dueling roughing penalties. How much more could anyone take? There was so much at stake. If the Blackhawks fell, major offseason remodeling likely would be on the way. Maybe the general manager would get the ax. Maybe the coach would go. Who knew? It’s what happens when expectations reach their cruising altitude of 35,000 feet. It’s what happens when the three seasons after the 2010 Stanley Cup title end in two first- round losses and one second-round loss. Who stays, who goes? But there was Seabrook to save the day. ‘‘[Coach Joel Quenneville] talks about putting pucks on net all the time,’’ he said. ‘‘Anything can happen in a tight series like this. We were talking about it in the room — it was going to take an ugly goal to win this, a bounce or something. Luckily, we got the bounce.’’ The Hawks seemed to have taken a 2-1 lead after Hjalmarsson blasted a shot past Howard with 1:49 left in regulation, but officials had called roughing penalties on the Hawks’ Brandon Saad and the Red Wings’ Kyle Quincey, whistling the play dead. The UC crowd seemed to be very anti- establishment at that point, in that it wanted to kill the refs. But then overtime came around, full of hope and possibility, even if the Red Wings had outplayed the Hawks in the third period. Anything could happen now, and it did. The Red Wings were a seventh seed that played like a No. 2 seed. They were every bit as good as the Hawks were. ‘‘I’m more in shock more than anything,’’ Red Wings defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo said. ‘‘We battled really hard, and I thought with how hard we competed in the third period, we had the momentum going our way, and heading into overtime we felt pretty good about our chances. Then, all of a sudden, one shot and your whole season is over.’’ That’s how it works in hockey, a sport of strange bounces that can bring grown men to their knees with a shot on net. One shot. One goal. 679233 Chicago Blackhawks

Game 7 end of an era for Hawks-Red Wings rivalry

BY MARK LAZERUS [email protected] Last Modified: May 30, 2013 02:28AM

So many playoff series ignite rivalries, fostering hatred and bad blood. Ask the Blackhawks and Vancouver Canucks about that. But this Western Conference semifinal series between the Hawks and the Detroit Red Wings didn’t rekindle the rivalry so much as it rekindled memories of a rivalry about to be torn apart by realignment. With the Red Wings heading to the Eastern Conference next season, the Blackhawks’ 2-1 overtime victory in Game 7 on Wednesday was the final meeting between the archrivals as division and conference foes. It was an ending and a stage worthy of the storied Original Six rivalry. ‘‘Everybody remembers a Game 7,’’ Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. ‘‘You look at the tradition and the history between the two teams — regular- season games, playoff series, battles and wars, Norris Division series — and you come down to a Game 7 to end it. It’s fitting for an amazing history.’’ While the players on both sides understand the significance of the history, it’s especially poignant for hockey lifers such as Quenneville and Red Wings coach Mike Babcock, who sounded wistful before the game as he talked about how much he enjoys these games. ‘‘When you’ve been in it a long time and you’ve got a lot of respect for the game, Original Six means something to you,’’ Babcock said. Babcock chose to look on the bright side of the split — a potential matchup in the finals. ‘‘Obviously, the next time we face them in the Stanley Cup playoffs, it’ll be a lot of fun,’’ he said. Bolland booms Brent Seabrook was the hero, scoring the game-winning goal in overtime. But Dave Bolland — an afterthought for much of the series, struggling and playing limited minutes on the fourth line — made it happen. His big hit on the Red Wings’ Gustav Nyquist along the boards triggered the play. Just as Seabrook found redemption after a poor start to the series, so did Bolland. ‘‘Yeah, it’s gratifying for myself,’’ Bolland said. ‘‘I had been struggling. I had been finding my game, but I had to help out the team. To help out that last game there was great.’’ Crow flies Before the game, Seabrook said Corey Crawford already was considered an elite goalie in the Hawks’ locker room. His 26-save performance in Game 7 surely won over a few outside the room, too. Crawford was too busy catching his breath from the exhilarating victory to put it in much perspective, though. ‘‘That was a great game, up and down, so many different situations throughout the game,’’ he said. ‘‘They played well; they played great, too. They’re a fast, skilled team. That was definitely an exciting game for all the fans to watch.’’ Injury report Red Wings forward Valtteri Filppula appeared to suffer an ankle injury early in the first period during a scrum involving Andrew Shaw. He didn’t return. Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 05.30.2013 679234 Chicago Blackhawks

Brent Seabrook didn’t see his game-winner go in

BY MARK POTASH [email protected] Last Modified: May 30, 2013 02:28AM

Brent Seabrook was just trying to get off the ice. The next thing he knew he was mobbed by teammates, dragged and punched to the ice in a wild celebration. That’s playoff hockey. ‘‘I didn’t realize how much room I had,’’ said Seabrook, who saw the ice open up for him as he skated into the Red Wings’ zone and fired a wrist shot past Jimmy Howard for an overtime goal that gave the Blackhawks a 2-1 victory in Game 7 of their Western Conference semifinal series Wednesday night at the United Center. ‘‘[Niklas] Kronwall, he’s a great defenseman. He tried to block it. I just wanted to get it past him and on net so I could change. Luckily it went in.’’ The game-winner culminated a week of redemption for Seabrook, who was beaten for a key goal in a Game 3 loss and limited to 12:03 of ice time in a 2-0 loss in Game 4. Reunited with Duncan Keith in Game 5, Seabrook responded with three solid games — all of them Blackhawks victories — and made coach Joel Quenneville look like a genius when he did as he was told, put the puck on the net and struck gold. ‘‘I’m a defenseman. So when I have that much room I usually screw up or trip or fall or something like that,’’ Seabrook said. ‘‘But Q harps on it all the time — put pucks on the net. Anything can happen. ‘‘I think it went off Kronwell a little bit, changed direction a little bit. I don’t know. I just tried to get it on net, get it past Kronwell. I didn’t want to get it blocked.’’ Center Dave Bolland ignited the game-winning play with a hit on Gustav Nyquist along the boards that freed the puck for Seabrook. As Seabrook skated in, the Red Wings’ defense retreated, giving Seabrook enough room to shoot. ‘‘I don’t even know if I saw it go in, to be honest,’’ Seabrook said. ‘‘I just heard the horn going and the boys jumping out. It was a pretty exhausting game. But I was more tired during the celebration, from all the guys jumping and punching me in the face and dragging me down and pulling my head down. ‘‘But it’s exciting. You don’t get to do that too many times. It’ll be something I remember for the rest of my life.’’ Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 05.30.2013 679235 Chicago Blackhawks

Niklas Hjalmarsson saw red over disallowed goal

BY ADAM L. JAHNS [email protected] Last Modified: May 30, 2013 02:28AM

Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson wanted to throw his stick into the United Center stands. The typically mild-mannered Swede was that incensed — that enraged that his potential series-deciding goal was waved off. “I went blank from there — I got so mad,” Hjalmarsson said. “I didn’t see the situation. But it doesn’t really matter now.” Of course not. The Hawks overcame it in their rousing 2-1 victory against the hated Detroit Red Wings in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals on Wednesday. Defenseman Brent Seabrook scored the game-winner 3 minutes, 35 seconds into overtime. Hjalmarsson’s apparent goal in the final two minutes of regulation was waved off by referee Stephen Walkom because of coincidental penalties away from the play on Red Wings defenseman Kyle Quincey and Hawks winger Brandon Saad. Quincey had shoved Saad into the Detroit bench and the two tussled to the ice as play continued. “I didn’t do anything,” Saad said. “I don’t know why the coincidental was called. But it is what it is. “I just grabbed onto the guy so I didn’t fall into the bench. . . . I was shocked when the linesman told me I was going to the box.” Coach Joel Quenneville said he didn’t ask for an explanation from the officials, while Red Wings coach Mike Babcock contended afterward that there should have been a tripping penalty called on the Hawks, upon seeing center Henrik Zetterberg tumble to the ice. The only word from the NHL’s war room in Toronto was that play was blown dead. “Seabs scored a huge goal for us,” Hjalmarsson said. “If we would have lost, it would have been a tough one. But now that we won, it doesn’t really matter too much.” What does matter is that the Hawks were able to put it behind them, a fitting ending to a series that saw them fall behind 3-1. It might have helped the Hawks that the period ended shortly after Walkom’s call. Patrick Kane said the message during the intermission was “forget about it and move on.” It gave them a chance to refocus. “I don’t know if you saw me but it’s pretty clear, I almost threw my stick up in the crowd,” Hjalmarsson said. “For me personally, I needed a breather. I was pretty upset there for a while.” Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 05.30.2013 679236 Chicago Blackhawks

Defending Stanley Cup champion Kings pose even greater challenge than Red Wings

By ADAM L. JAHNS [email protected] Last Modified: May 30, 2013 02:27AM

If you thought the Detroit Red Wings were a challenge for the Blackhawks, get ready for the Los Angeles Kings, the defending the Stanley Cup Champions. They’re big. They can skate. They hit. They are deep at the center position. They are well coached. And they have an elite goaltender. The Hawks know it. “They’re tough to play against, that’s for sure,” winger Patrick Kane said after the Hawks’ stirring 2-1 overtime victory against the Detroit Red Wings in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals on Wednesday. “Goals and chances will be hard to come by.” The top-seeded Hawks undoubtedly have some momentum after what they accomplished against the Red Wings. But what about the Kings? The top- seeded Hawks undoubtedly have some momentum after what they accomplished against the Red Wings. But what about the Kings? The champs rumbled past the rival San Jose Sharks last round, winning their own Game 7 in front of their rowdy crowd. The Kings also won four in a row to rally from a 2-0 hole in their first-round series against the St. Louis Blues. There are story lines, too. There’s Kings coach Darryl Sutter, whose hiring late last season helped propel the Kings in the postseason. Sutter played for the Hawks in 1980's and coached them from 1992-95. There’s pesky center Colin Fraser, a member of the Hawks’ Cup-winning team who found a home with the Kings. There is Hawks assistant coach Jamie Kompon, who was with L.A. last year, but wasn't brought back. The Kings also have forwards Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, who were with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2010 when the Hawks won and who lead the Kings in playoff points. The Hawks won the regular-season series 2-1, but the Red Wings' success this past round should be a reminder that doesn’t matter now. They have to find a way to beat goalie Jonathan Quick (1.50 goals-against average, .948 save percentage), who is having another stellar postseason. “They’ve got a great goaltender,” Kane said. But there’s more. The Kings’ list of standouts — Richards, Carter, Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar, Justin Williams and Drew Doughty — is as long as the Hawks’. “It’s going to be a good challenge,” Kane said. Thanks to last year’s Cup run as an eighth seed, the Kings have transformed into a cliché for the get-in-and-anything-can-happen-in-the- NHL-playoffs approach. But they were a special case last year — very special. Few, if any No. 8 seeds have that type of roster. And the Kings, who have won every game at home this postseason, look even better. “L.A., they have got the Cup and they played two tough rounds in a row and they know how to win,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “We’ve got to make sure we’re well prepared.” Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 05.30.2013 679237 Chicago Blackhawks and playing Mario Kart and being together. There’s nowhere else to be right now.” Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 05.30.2013 Seabrook! Defenseman sends Blackhawks to Conference finals with OT goal for Game 7 win

BY MARK LAZERUS [email protected] Last Modified: May 30, 2013 12:07AM

Brent Seabrook’s head hurt. The pounding he took from his teammates, who thumped his helmet like a bongo while 22,103 delirious fans danced along to the beat, combined with the giddy delirium and head-spinning drama of an unforgettable Game 7, left him barely able to formulate his thoughts. “I, uh, I’m sorry, I think I got punched in the head too many times,” he said with a weary smile. Hard to blame him. Who could sum up THAT game in one pithy soundbite, anyway? Seabrook’s shot from the high slot ticked off Niklas Kronwall’s stick and into the net 3:35 into overtime Wednesday night, giving the Blackhawks an indescribable 2-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. It capped a stirring comeback from a 3-1 series deficit. It sent the Hawks into the Western Conference finals against the Los Angeles Kings. And it rendered what could have gone down as one of the most controversial moments in Chicago sports history a mere footnote. With 1:47 left in the third period — a period in which the Hawks found themselves on their heels after Henrik Zetterberg tied the game at 1-1 just 26 seconds in, equalizing Patrick Sharp’s second-period goal — Niklas Hjalmarsson stepped into a shot from the top of the left circle and drilled it past Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard. The crowd roared with glee, but soon roared with anger upon the realization that the goal had been disallowed — the third Hawks goal to be waved off in the series. Referee Stephen Walkom had blown his whistle a fraction of a second before Hjalmarsson’s shot went in, as Brandon Saad was called for a roughing minor for a quick retaliatory facewash after being dumped into the boards and dropped on the ice by Kyle Quincey. As the stunned Hawks gathered themselves during the overtime intermission, an angry, defiant Jonathan Toews addressed his team. “I said, ‘We’ll beat them 3-1,’” the captain recalled. “We were obviously pretty pissed off that the whistle blew right before that one went in. But we weren’t going to go away that way.” And they didn’t. Dave Bolland drilled Gustav Nyquist along the boards to spring Seabrook, and Seabrook capped his own personal comeback from a poor start — and his team’s — with what he said was the biggest goal of his career. The Hawks leapt into each other’s arms after that, the mentally taxing, emotionally draining, physically exhausting series finally behind them — an uncertain offseason delayed, a crushing failure staved off in character- revealing fashion. After seven tense games, after facing three elimination games, after celebrating the game-winning goal twice, Hawks-Wings — the game, the series, the rivalry for all intents and purposes — was finally over. OK, now. Halfway there. That’s the funny thing about apocalyptic, earth-stopping showdowns. It’s only the apocalypse for the loser. The earth keeps spinning for the winner. And by booting Detroit off to the Eastern Conference, the Hawks reached only the midway point in their quest to hoist the Stanley Cup. Up next: the Kings, a fast, physical and skilled team with a red-hot goalie in Jonathan Quick and the experience of winning it all last season. The Hawks go right back to work on Saturday, for a late-afternoon Game 1 matinee at the United Center. Game 2 comes the very next day. No rest for the weary. And no rest wanted. “It’s too early to go home,” Toews said. “We don’t want to go home yet. We want to keep playing hockey for another month. We enjoy going on the road 679238 Chicago Blackhawks

Game 7 fitting for these two Original 6 teams

By Tim Sassone

All rivalries should end like this, with a seventh and deciding game in the playoffs. With the Red Wings moving to the Eastern Conference next season with Columbus as part of the NHL's realignment, this is the last time the Blackhawks and Detroit can meet in the playoffs other than in the Stanley Cup Finals. The two teams have been playing each other regularly since the 1920s as either division or conference rivals. This was the 16th all-time playoff meeting between Detroit and the Hawks. "I think everybody remembers a Game 7," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said before Wednesday's finale of the Western Conference semifinals at the United Center. "You look at the tradition and history between the two teams, regular season games and playoff series, battles, wars, Norris Division series, and you come down to a Game 7 to end it, so it's fitting for an amazing history." Red Wings coach Mike Babcock appreciated the rivalry as well. "Obviously, the next time we face them in the Stanley Cup playoffs it'll be a lot of fun and we'll both know we got someplace," Babcock said. "For me, what I like is they have high-end players. I like the way they play because they play fast. I like coming in the building. Their captain (Jonathan Toews), to me, is what a captain should be. He's respectful of the game and does things right. So to me there are a lot of great things about (the rivalry). "It remind me of our franchise in a lot of ways, the guys you bump into when you're around the building. I like that part of hockey. When you've been in it a long time and you've had a lot of respect for the game, Original 6 means something to you." The Hawks will be the only Original 6 team not playing in the Eastern Conference next season. They will be in a still-to-be-named division with St. Louis, Minnesota, Nashville, Dallas, Winnipeg and Colorado. Daily Herald Times LOADED: 05.30.2013 679239 Chicago Blackhawks It wasn't the first time there was a concert the night before the Hawks played. But because it was the Rolling Stones, several Hawks were asked about the ice conditions at the United Center on Wednesday, the morning Kane relishes playing on big stage after the Stones played the venue. "The ice was fine," Joel Quenneville said.

By Tim Sassone "Actually, the ice has been pretty good throughout the playoffs," Patrick Kane said. "That's good for us as a fast-skating team. "When it's hot out is when it's toughest, but both teams have to play on it." The entire hockey world was watching the Blackhawks and Red Wings on Wednesday night in their Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals, Daily Herald Times LOADED: 05.30.2013 which is just how Patrick Kane liked it. "This is the biggest game this time of year, Game 7, the second round, no other games on TV, no other games pretty much around the world that are going to be played," Kane said. "It's really exciting to be a hockey player in a game like this. "If you can't get excited for this one you're not going to be able to get up for any hockey game." It was Kane's second Game 7. He was part of the 2011 team that lost 2-1 in overtime at Vancouver after the Hawks rallied from a 0-3 hole. Kane did have a big Game 6 against the Canucks on 2009 when he scored a hat trick against Roberto Luongo in a series-clinching win for the Hawks. "You look back on those games," Kane said. "We've kind of had some big games in the past for myself and this team in this kind of situation so you kind of look back on those memories and what happened in those games to use it to your advantage to either help you or try to get a little momentum." Kane remembered vividly the Game 6 against the Canucks. "That was just a crazy day in general for me," he said. "I woke up late and missed a meeting, saw a big accident on the way home from practice and had a funny feeling coming to the rink that day that something was going to happen, and it did." Toews fan club: Red Wings coach Mike Babcock never passes up an opportunity to gush over Jonathan Toews, who he coached in the 2010 Olympics when Canada won the gold medal and the Hawks captain was named the tournament's most valuable forward. "Lots of you people did a lot of talking about Jonathan Toews at the start of the series," Babcock said. "I just know that those kind of people just come, they just do. That's just the way it is." Toews took a lot of criticism, mostly from Detroit writers, for his performance in Game 4 when he took three straight penalties and didn't score for the ninth straight game. Toews got his first goal of the playoffs in Game 5 and had 2 assists in Game 6, both Hawks wins. "I think scoring certainly helped him," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "Throughout the series he's been playing well. He may have had some frustration with those three straight penalties, but one thing about Johnny, you get a lot of consistency in his play. He's the ultimate competitor." All about goaltending: The way Tuesday's Game 7 between Los Angeles and San Jose played out, it came down to a battle between Kings goalie Jonathan Quick and the Sharks' Antti Niemi. Joel Quenneville believes that's how most Game 7s are decided. "You can talk about playoff games and the first thing that's always mentioned is goaltending," Quenneville said. "Game 7 is no different. We talk about the importance of making big saves, timely saves and the importance of the confidence you get from it. "I think (Tuesday's) game, if you look at any Game 7, you can almost change the name of the game from hockey to call it goalie." Red Wings coach Mike Babcock saw it differently. "The 19 other guys, they kind of think they're involved too," Babcock said. "So let's not get too carried away." Ice talk: 679240 Chicago Blackhawks The Hawks took a 1-0 lead into the third period thanks to a Patrick Sharp goal and Crawford’s amazing play. It was scoreless until 1:08 of the second period when the Hawks caught the For Hawks, historic cardiac comeback Red Wings in a bad line change and capitalized on a 3-on-1, with Sharp scoring his seventh goal of the playoffs on a nice passing play with Michal Handzus and Marian Hossa. By Tim Sassone The Red Wings played most of the game without Valtteri Filppula, who hurt his ankle in a first-period collision with Andrew Shaw.

Brent Seabrook has scored bigger goals before this — all of them in his “Obviously, I was disappointed we lost Filppula early,” Red Wings coach driveway as a kid growing up in British Columbia. Mike Babcock said. “I thought we could’ve been a lot more dynamic if we’d had Fil. It was Seabrook’s goal at 3:35 of overtime Wednesday that gave the Blackhawks a 2-1 win over the Red Wings in Game 7 of the Western “Obviously, they’re a very talented group and I thought we pushed them Conference semifinals. real hard in the series and had a lot of fun doing it. Those dreams you have as a kid in Game 7, you always score. The other team doesn’t score.” Seabrook’s shot deflected off defenseman Niklas Kronwall’s skate and past goalie Jimmy Howard to send the Hawks into the West finals against Los Daily Herald Times LOADED: 05.30.2013 Angeles in a series that starts Saturday at the UC. “Shooting pucks around in the front yard, against the garage, breaking garage doors, it’s always something you think about, scoring an overtime winner in Game 7,” Seabrook said. “I love overtime. I think it’s exciting and lots of fun. The stakes are really high.” Seriously, it was the biggest goal of Seabrook’s career. “I don’t think I’ve scored a bigger goal than that,” he said. “With the Game 7 mentality, in overtime, against Detroit, it was pretty special.” Dave Bolland started the play with a hard check on Gustav Nyquist along the boards, and the puck squirted free to Seabrook — who took a few strides inside the blue line and fired a wrist shot.” “I just tried to get it on net and get it past Kronwall,” said Seabrook. “I didn’t want to get it blocked. “I don’t even know if I saw it go in, to be honest. I just heard the horn going and the boys jumping out. It was a pretty exhausting game, but I think I was more tired during the celebration. You don’t get to do that too many times, and it’ll be something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.” The shot made a deserving winner out of goalie Corey Crawford, who was sensational with 26 saves. Crawford was beaten only by Henrik Zetterberg on a shot he had no chance to stop 26 seconds into the third period that made it 1-1. “After that goal (by Seabrook) it’s a little of a relief, but it’s more a reward from our hard work and from us being relentless,” Crawford said. “It feels great. Obviously, it’s another step for us to move on to our ultimate goal.” “The real dream is two more round from now,” Seabrook said. The game wasn’t free of controversy. It appeared that Niklas Hjalmarsson had scored with 1:47 left in regulation to snap the 1-1 tie, but referee Stephen Walkom waved if off because he had called a pair of penalties well behind the play. Walkom sent off both Kyle Quincey and Brandon Saad for roughing, even though it was Saad who got mugged in front of the Detroit bench. “I didn’t agree with it, but there’s not much you can do,” Saad said. “I was shocked when the linesman told me I was going to the box.” None of the Hawks agreed with the call to wipe out the goal. “That was a tough call,” Patrick Kane said. “It was a tough break for us, but we wanted to regroup and get back at it in overtime.” The win completed the comeback from 3-1 down in the series for the Hawks. “I think we might have needed a little adversity to get us going here in the playoffs the last three games,” Kane said. “It’s a fun time to be a Blackhawk. The city’s got to be buzzing right now. We have a great opportunity to do something special.” The Red Wings dominated the third period after getting the tying goal from Zetterberg. “They came flying out of the gate in the third period and made a nice play to get their goal,” Crawford said. “It was just a matter of cooling down, not losing our cool or lose our heads.” 679241 Chicago Blackhawks “It wasn’t pretty. I just threw it at the net,” Seabrook said. “Joel (Quenneville) always talks about getting pucks to the net and anything can happen.” Seabrook saves Blackhawks, ref from themselves In the end, it was a simple play that got the Hawks into the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2010, but it was a play the Hawks didn’t make enough of at any point in the series with Detroit. By Barry Rozner Maybe they really have learned from what happened against the Red Wings, that they didn’t make enough simple plays, play with enough desperation and take the body until they were down 3-1 and with their The celebration was on in the locker room as it continued in the stands at backs against the wall. the UC. “We’re gonna enjoy this for a day and get some rest,” Keith said. “Then, we Players smiled, coaches shook hands and reporters asked questions about have to learn from this. I think we will.” the amazing comeback from down 3-1 in the series. They can prove that starting Saturday afternoon. Blackhawks players smiled and exhaled, feeling equal parts relief and absolution after surviving a round that many had mistakenly thought would Daily Herald Times LOADED: 05.30.2013 be easy — apparently including the players themselves. But Duncan Keith stood quietly, his back to the melee, and put it into perspective. “We have to learn from our mistakes,” Keith said. “We definitely showed character coming back from down 3-1. We knew Game 7 would be the toughest game and we battled and overcame. “But we have to know that we need to start better against the Kings. We can’t go down 3-1 again and expect to win that series.” No, they can’t. With a 2-1 victory over Detroit in overtime Wednesday night, the Hawks became just the 21st team in 230 attempts to rebound from a 3-1 series deficit and advance to the next round. They will face the defending Stanley Cup champs beginning Saturday at home, and they best hold serve, which means starting the series on time. “That’s not a situation you want to be in, down 3-1,” said Patrick Sharp. “But give credit to the coaches and the players in here for fighting back.” OK, full faith and credit to the Hawks’ comeback, with the understanding that the Kings are big, mean and physical, along with having depth and the best goalie in the NHL. If the Hawks don’t think they need to play like it’s Game 7 from the start of the next series, they will find themselves facing a quick exit again. “We have our work cut out for us,” Keith said. “It only gets harder now. That’s a great hockey team.” Facing a team that few would consider great, the Hawks appeared to have the game in hand with 1:47 left in regulation when Andrew Shaw found Niklas Hjalmarsson trailing late and Hjalmarsson blistered a shot past Jimmy Howard for what seemed at the time to be a 2-1 Hawks advantage. But the goal was disallowed by one of the NHL’s worst referees, Stephen Walkom, who consistently makes himself a part of the game — a la Joey Crawford or Angel Hernandez. Walkom watched Kyle Quincey beat up Brandon Saad on the Detroit bench and throw him to the ice before Justin Abdelkader kicked Saad in the head, at which point Walkom blew the whistle, took away the goal and gave Saad and Quincey matching minors. Saad’s was apparently for receiving. “I didn’t really see what happened,’’ Keith said. “I just know I heard the whistle before the puck went in.” But instead of packing it in, the Hawks fought through it. “Before overtime, we pretty much said what we said for the last three games,” said goaltender Corey Crawford. “Stick with it. It’s our time.” It was their time in OT, and it was a huge hit by Dave Bolland near center ice that sprung Brent Seabrook, who fired a puck off Niklas Kronwall and past Howard only 3:35 into the extra period. “Anything can change a game, even a little play,’’ Bolland said. “Sometimes you can just make a hit to make a play, and that’s the kind of thing we talk about in here.” Seabrook’s goal not only saved Walkom from infamy, he saved the Hawks’ season with a simple play. 679242 Chicago Blackhawks

For Seabrook, exhuastion turns to jubilation

By Mike Spellman

Brent Seabrook was absolutely exhausted. And it wasn’t from scoring the game-winning goal in overtime of Game 7 Wednesday night to propel the Blackhawks past the Red Wings and into a Western Conference showdown against Los Angeles, which begins this weekend at the United Center. Nor was it from capping off a long, sloggy series against a longtime rival that proved not only physically draining, but at times, emotionally draining as well for the veteran defenseman. Neither of those was what had big ol’ No. 7 breathing a little heavily as he addressed the swarm of reporters around his locker late on Wednesday night. “It was a pretty exhausting game,” Seabrook admitted, “but I think I was more tired during the celebration — guys jumping and hitting me in the face, dragging me down, pulling my head down ... “But it’s exciting. You don’t get to do that too many times.” And after the way the series with the Red Wings had progressed, from an easy win in the opener to Seabrook seeing his ice time basically cut in half by the time Game 4 rolled around, you had to wonder what kind of role the veteran defenseman would play the rest of the series. One thing for sure, he wasn‘t going to take it sitting down. “I was ticked off at myself, first and foremost,” Seabrook admitted Sunday. “I’ve got to be better and play.” And that’s just what he did beginning in Game 5 when he was reunited with longtime defensive partner Duncan Keith and his play improved as the Hawks wins began to pile up. “Like I said earlier in the series, he’s a guy that we need to succeed,” Keith said. “he proved that.” Seabrook’s game-winner 3:35 into OT came courtesy of a Dave Bolland hit on Gustav Nyquist that sent the puck right to Seabrook, who had nothing but open space ahead of him. “I didn’t realize how far back their defense was,” Seabrook said. “I know (Niklas) Kronwall is a great defenseman; he tried to get out there and block it.” The puck appeared to hit off Kronwall’s skate and knuckle past Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard. “I don’t even know if I saw it go in to be honest,” Seabrook said. “I just heard the horn blowing and the boys jumping out.” And the scrum lasted for quite a while as the sold out UC joined in the celebration. “It was a great opportunity for someone in here to step up, and Seabs was the guy, ” Patrick Kane said. Daily Herald Times LOADED: 05.30.2013 679243 Chicago Blackhawks

Seabrook’s OT goal lifts Blackhawks past Red Wings

Brent Seabrook sent a wrist shot past goalie Jimmy Howard's glove 3:35 into overtime to give the Blackhawks a 2-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings in Game 7 of their second-round playoff series on Wednesday night. The Blackhawks, who had the best record in the NHL regular season, rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to reach the Western Conference finals against the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings. For just the second time in NHL history, the final four teams remaining in the playoffs are the four most recent Stanley Cup winners. Chicago captured the Cup in 2010. Seabrook picked up a loose puck and skated in on Howard through the middle of the ice, with Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall in front of him. His shot hit Kronwall's leg before it sailed into the left side of the net for the defenseman's first goal of the postseason. "I was just trying to step up," Seabrook said. "The coaches have been on me all year to get up and jump into the play." The sellout crowd of 22,103 roared as Seabrook skated over to the boards and was mobbed by his delirious teammates. Howard put his arm around Kronwall, who was down on one knee, and tried to console him while the Blackhawks celebrated. It was quite a change from the end of the third period, when the Blackhawks thought they had scored the go-ahead goal. But it was waved off with less than 2 minutes remaining by referee Stephen Walkom, who called a pair of penalties behind the play. Henrik Zetterberg scored the tying goal in the third period for Detroit, which beat second-seeded Anaheim in seven games in the first round. Howard finished with 33 saves. Pavel Datsyuk was held without a point, closing out an ineffective series for the Russian star. Chicago made it to the conference finals for the first time since it won the title in 2010 and will host Los Angeles in Game 1 on Saturday night. The Kings advanced with a 2-1 victory over San Jose in Game 7 on Tuesday night. Pittsburgh will host Boston in the opener of the East finals on Saturday. Chicago was one of the favorites to win the Stanley Cup when the playoffs began, storming to the Presidents' Trophy during the lockout-shortened season. The Blackhawks then boosted their credentials with a five-game win over Minnesota in the first round and a convincing 4-1 victory against the Red Wings in the series opener. But Howard and Detroit responded with three straight victories, pushing Chicago to the edge of elimination. The frustrated Blackhawks held a team meeting the day after Game 4, where the seeds were planted for their improbable comeback. They felt one win would turn it around, and they were right. Three victories later — in which the Blackhawks outscored the Red Wings 10-5 after managing just two goals in Games 2-4 — made them the 25th team to win a series after trailing 3-1. It was the first time in franchise history they have made such a comeback. Daily Herald Times LOADED: 05.30.2013 679244 Chicago Blackhawks

Samardzija makes a pretty bold Game 7 prediction

May 29, 2013, 1:45 pm Nina Falcone

Jeff Samardzija has been a Blackhawks fan for as long as he can remember. So much so that the Cubs pitcher has dusted off his Bob Probert jersey for tonight's Game 7 matchup against the Detroit Red Wings. He'll be inside the United Center with a number of other Cubs and White Sox players tonight following their Crosstown Cup matchup on the North Side. But before anyone takes ice, it's time to make some predictions. Oh, and maybe offer up an idea or two on how to make this game as even as possible. So who wins this one, Jeff? "It's easy, the Blackhawks do," he said without an ounce of hesitation. "I was saying we should just run four guys out there: (Jonathan) Toews, (Patrick) Kane, (Patrick) Sharp and (Brent) Seabrook and then just really even it up for the Red Wings. These guys come out in big games and play, balls out all the time in big games. "I'm expecting the place is going to be rocking tonight and I'm excited." Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 05.30.2013 679245 Chicago Blackhawks

Konroyd's keys to Game 7

May 29, 2013, 1:30 pm Steve Konroyd

1. Power play has been key to this series: The Blackhawks have scored four power play goals in three games this series and they have won every one of those matchups. The power play scores, and the best players are usually on the ice. This certainly gives a boost to their confidence and their play on the ice. Typically there are not a lot of penalties called in a Game 7 scenario, but should the Blackhawks get a power play, they have to gain that momentum. 2. Go to the net, young man, go to the net: All eight goals the Blackhawks have scored in their last two games have come from the front of the net. Bryan Bickell, Andrew Shaw, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Michal Handzus, and Michael Frolik have all recorded goals that came from a 10- foot diameter in front of Jimmy Howard. That has to be the mindset in Game 7. Pay the price and pick up some loose change. Detroit’s coverage of late has been hit and miss in front of their goalie of late. 3. Relax, it’s only a Game 7: It’s so hard to calm yourself when you’re aware that a bad bounce or simple mistake can end up costing you a series. What you have to realize is you have to play like it’s just another game and the sooner you get into it, the better off you’re going to be. You don’t have to go end to end and score a goal to be effective. Get a hit, block a shot, make a good pass, win a face off; all those boring, thankless little things that go into any win are really what matter most. Do them well and do them consistently. Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 05.30.2013 679246 Chicago Blackhawks

Hawks aim to take series

May 29, 2013, 10:30 am CSN Staff

It's all come down to this. After a rocky start to the matchup with their historic conference rivals, the Hawks battled back to even up the series and force a Game 7 at the United Center. But the celebrations from Monday night's thrilling victory in Detroit are over. The Presidents' Trophy winners must find a way to take the series from the Wings after trailing 3-1 and keep their campaign for the Cup alive- something that's only been done on 20 of 229 occasions in the history of the NHL. Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 05.30.2013 679247 Chicago Blackhawks Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 05.30.2013

Red Wings final shot at Hawks comes up short

May 30, 2013, 12:00 am Nina Falcone

The United Center was booming Wednesday night, packed with more than 22,000 fans there to cheer their team on as they made their final push to the Western Conference Finals. It was the last time the Blackhawks and Red Wings would meet as conference rivals, and after a roller coaster of a series, both teams were making their final push in Game 7 in Chicago. Heading into the semifinals, all things pointed up for the Blackhawks. The Red Wings came in as the underdog, but that was nothing new for the team that had already pushed past the second-seeded Ducks in the quarterfinals. They proved their worth after suffering a 4-1 loss in Game 1 against the Blackhawks as they came back to take a 3-1 lead in the series. Detroit was confident in where they stood against the league's No. 1 team, and despite dropping the last two matchups to Chicago, they felt they had what it took to get the job done in Game 7. But the Red Wings' final attempt at advancing was cut short. "Of course it feels really empty right now. I think we played a good game, we did a lot of good things," captain Henrik Zetterberg said following his team's 2-1 loss. "We had momentum, we played well and created a lot of chances, but unfortunately we couldn't get one." The Blackhawks got on the board at the start of the second period as Patrick Sharp recorded his seventh goal of the playoffs. Zetterberg responded by tying the game just 26 seconds into the third and gave Detroit the momentum and control they needed. "It was nice that we tied it up early in the third there, and after that we had momentum," Zetterberg said. "We played well, we created chances. But unfortunately we couldn't get one more past." The emotional roller coaster hit an all-time high inside the United Center after a goal by Niklas Hjalmarsson was waved off with just 1:47 left to play in regulation. For the Red Wings, it was a chance to come back and make a case for themselves, but an overtime goal by Brent Seabrook meant the end of the road for Detroit. "We were confident coming out into overtime, had a good feeling in the room," defenseman Jonathan Ericsson said. "We just said we were going to go for it and then it just ends like that and the whole season ends like that. It feels kinda surreal and empty right now." Goaltender Jimmy Howard came up with plenty of key saves throughout the series, but the disappointment of the loss made it too early to talk about the positives throughout the last seven games. "It's the end of the road for us, and it's obviously a very disappointing way to go out," said Howard, who stopped 33 shots against the Blackhawks Wednesday night. "We played some good hockey. We stuck to our game plan and in Game 6, it felt like we should have won that one. Tonight was one of those games with great goaltending on both ends. But the puck went off me for the winning goal." The disappointment throughout the Red Wings locker room was abundantly clear, but despite the outcome, the team put on a heck of a postseason performance. Coach Mike Babcock knows there's a lot to be proud of regarding his team, but is ready for the work that has to be put in over the offseason. "Those dreams you have as a kid, in Game 7 you always score. The other team doesn't score," Babcock said. "I thought we did a lot of really good things here tonight. I thought our guys really stepped up. We had a really good third period. We had a glorious chance in the third period and [Corey] Crawford made a huge save right after we had scored. That's hockey. "I think our guys played hard. I think we really competed. I say this all the time, maximize with what you've got and I think our group did that. I'd like to see a healthy [group] because I know we could be a way better team. We need to be better if we want to be in this position consistently. We've got some work to do as a group this summer." 679248 Chicago Blackhawks

Seabrook gets vindication in ultimate elimination game

Brent Seabrook had his ups and downs in this Western Conference semifinal series. The Chicago Blackhawks defenseman was struggling midway through the series against the Detroit Red Wings, playing just over 12 minutes in Game 4. He started getting back to his play and his usual bigger time-on-ice totals in Games 5 and 6. But Seabrook couldn’t have completed his 180 any better than how he did it Wednesday night. Seabrook scored the game-winning goal 3:35 into overtime, as the Blackhawks beat the Red Wings 2-1 at the United Center. The Blackhawks, who trailed Detroit 3-1 in this series heading into Game 5, advanced to the Western Conference Finals where they will host the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday and Sunday. For Seabrook, it was an exclamation point on a series that, for him, had some questions throughout. He was frustrated and admitted struggling with his game midway through the series. But he kept with it, and came through with a goal he’ll never forget. “It was exciting. I don’t think I’ve scored a bigger goal than that,” Seabrook said. “With the Game 7 mentality, in overtime, against Detroit, it was pretty special. The boys fought hard all game. It was tough giving up that goal early in the third and we couldn’t grab another one. But we did a good job defensively; kept the puck out of our net. Corey [Crawford] did a great job giving us the opportunity to win.” Coach Joel Quenneville, who reunited Seabrook with longtime defensive partner and friend Duncan Keith in Game 5, liked Seabrook’s response to it all. “That was good for his game and confidence as well,” he said. “He played a real strong Game 5. That pair was solid as we went along. Our defense wasn’t a problem this series. But I think we got a little more offense on our back end when those guys got reunited.” Game 7 was about taking advantage of an opportunity, especially when Niklas Hjalmarsson’s would-be go-ahead goal late in the third period was nullified by a referee’s whistle. Dave Bolland said he wasn’t surprised when Seabrook came through with a big goal. “Half his goals, I think come against the Red Wings, most in OT. If you need a guy in OT against Detroit you put Seabs out there the whole time,” Bolland said with a grin. “You don’t come in here thinking things are going to happen and you’re going to be successful. We have to battle and play hard.” Seabrook battled through some tough moments in this series. He got the ultimate vindication in the ultimate elimination game. Not a bad way to end one series and go into the next one. “We had a tough couple games to start the series,” Seabrook said. “And we like the way we finished.” Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 05.30.2013 679249 Chicago Blackhawks “We need to use that confidence that winning a series like this does for us,” Toews said. “We keep our eyes on the long-term result we want. It’s never over until it’s over, and we proved that in this series.” Blackhawks persevere, advance to Conference Finals Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 05.30.2013

Niklas Hjalmarsson admitted he needed that third-period intermission to cool off after getting what looked to be the go-ahead goal nixed late in regulation. But he and the rest of the Chicago Blackhawks would be screaming for a much different reason not long into overtime. The Blackhawks overcame a waived-off goal and Brent Seabrook scored the winner 3:35 into overtime as the Blackhawks beat the Detroit Red Wings, 2-1 at the United Center Wednesday night. The Blackhawks came back from a 3-1 series deficit to eliminate Detroit and will now host the Los Angeles Kings beginning on Saturday. It was a bizarre final few minutes for the Blackhawks. Hjalmarsson thought he had the go-ahead goal with 1:47 remaining in regulation, but it was nullified when Stephen Walkom whistled the play dead back by the blue line and called Brandon Saad and Kyle Quincey for roughing penalties. “Yeah, I don’t know what the call was, why he made it, but that was his decision. I’m just fortunate we got the goal in overtime,” Saad said. “Obviously I wasn’t happy. But it’s refocus in between periods, go into overtime and get the win.” Hjalmarsson said he was beyond steamed. “I went blank from there; I got so mad,” he said. “I didn’t see the situation and what happened there, but it doesn’t matter now. We got the win and Seabs scored a huge goal for us. If we would’ve lost, it would’ve been a tough one. But since we won it doesn’t really matter much.” The Blackhawks tapped into their resiliency once again, much like they have this entire series. They regrouped after going down 3-1 in the series. They regrouped in the second intermission in Game 6 when they were down 2-1. And they used the third-period intermission to do it once again. “[Jonathan] Toews said, ‘Stick with it. It’s our time,’” recalled Corey Crawford, who stopped 26 of 27 shots for the series victory. "We have to keep pressing, keep playing hard, keep making plays and we’re going to get one." The Blackhawks apparently even found a way to have a laugh in it. “It was pretty funny seeing [Hjalmarsson] hopping around like that,” said Dave Bolland, whose big hit on Gustav Nyquist along the boards came moments before Seabrook’s game-winner. “But we came in, we were calm and confident that, when we went out there for OT, we were going to come through. We know with the depth we have, we can do damage out there.” And less than four minutes into overtime, Seabrook was inflicting that damage, a shot that looked like it deflected off Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall’s skate and past Jimmy Howard, who had a stellar series for the Red Wings. It was the ultimate vindication for Seabrook, who’s had his ups and downs in this series. “I don’t know if I saw it go in to be honest. I just heard the horn going and the boys jumping out,” Seabrook said. “It was a pretty exhausting game, but I think I was more tired during the celebration with guys jumping and pushing me in the face and dragging me down. It’s exciting. You don’t get to do that too many times.” Coach Joel Quenneville said the Blackhawks just stuck with it all. “Commend the guys for their attitude,” he said. “It goes back to [after] Game 4, our approach and belief were there. We got excited again, got momentum back. Give Detroit credit. It was a tough series, a great series. We were on the ropes for a long time. We’re very excited with where we’re at today.” The Blackhawks’ road only gets tougher from here. The Kings are coming off a seven-game series themselves, dispatching the San Jose Sharks Tuesday night. Los Angeles is playing much like they did last postseason. Yes, the Blackhawks know they’ll have their work cut out for them. But they’re also confident in what they’re doing right now. They fought back in a series where most counted them out. They’ve proven their resiliency. And they’ll keep tapping into that as much as they need to. 679250 Chicago Blackhawks

Hjalmarsson's go-ahead goal wiped out late in Game 7

The Chicago Blackhawks thought they had what could’ve been the game- winning and series-winning goal against the Detroit Red Wings when Niklas Hjalmarsson slammed a shot past Jimmy Howard. But a whistle blew just a second before, nullifying it. And as the Blackhawks seethed, both teams prepared for overtime. Hjalmarsson thought he had the go-ahead goal with 1:47 remaining in regulation, but referee Stephen Walkom blew the whistle back behind the blue line where Brandon Saad and Kyle Quincey were tangled up along the boards, nullifying the goal. It was a frustrating moment for the Blackhawks and a terrible time for a whistle to blow. The Blackhawks had another nullified goal in this series, when Andrew Shaw was called for being in the crease in Game 3 in Detroit. Multiple replays showed that Walkom blew the whistle just a moment before Hjalmarsson scored. The Blackhawks and Red Wings headed to overtime, tied at 1. Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 05.30.2013 679251 Colorado Avalanche

Avalanche to add Andre Tourigny to coaching staff under Patrick Roy, reports say

By Adrian Dater The Denver Post Posted: 05/29/2013 01:42:39 PM MDT Updated: 05/29/2013 02:21:39 PM MDT

Looks like new Avalanche coach Patrick Roy has wasted little time hiring a new assistant coach. Multiple reports out of the Province of Quebec say the Avs have reached a tentative agreement to hire Andre Tourigny as an assistant to Roy. TVA Sports from Montreal reported such an agreement has been reached. During a news conference Wednesday morning in Quebec to address media there about the future of the Quebec Remparts team he departed, Roy told TheQnews.ca: "(Tuesday) we had, you can call it, an agreement in principle but now we have to send the contract over to André for him to analyze and in the end make his decision. Maybe he's decided to accept the offer by the Avalanche, but at the same time André is part of the group of people I'd like to work with." The Avalanche declined to comment Wednesday afternoon on the reports. Since 2003-04, Tourigny has coached the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. All but one of his teams made the playoffs, and he took the Huskies to the third round of this year's playoffs, compiling a 40-24-4 record. The Huskies have announced a news conference for Thursday morning. Nicknamed "The Bear," Tourigny has been an assistant on some recent Canadian junior national teams. He has had a close relationship with Roy despite being a rival coach. Denver Post: LOADED: 05.30.2013 679252 Colorado Avalanche

Patrick Roy shows fire, polish while accepting new "challenge" for Avs A serving of sports commentary each weekday near noontime

By Adrian Dater The Denver Post Posted: 05/29/2013 11:30:00 AM MDT Updated: 05/29/2013 11:30:33 AM MDT

Patrick Roy struck me as a different person Tuesday than the one I remembered. It had been 10 years since he addressed the local media on the club level of the Pepsi Center to announce his retirement. The Roy of my memory always had been confident, but there was another layer to him this time — a more mature confidence, a more polished demeanor. He seemed like a real-life executive, a guy used to addressing situations in a reassuring corporate manner. And yet, there was enough of the old Roy to reassure he wasn't just another boring corporate drone. Roy seemed refreshingly confident in his new role as coach and vice president of hockey operations of the Avs, in a way that didn't seem fake. Every coach when hired says he is excited about the future. Roy was that way with his words too, but his body language was what struck me the most. The Hall of Fame former goalie nearly pounded the table with his fist a couple times when emphasizing how much he wants to bring the Avs back to their former glorious ways. He seemed genuinely thrilled at starting a new adventure, repeating one of his stock words — "challenge" — over and over. Despite embarking on a new career in the NHL, Roy looked like a man used to being in control of the surroundings. He spent eight years as coach, GM and partial owner of a junior team in Quebec, but until Tuesday it hadn't been evident just how much this experience had changed him. Roy was ultra-confident as a player, but seemed to keep that within the strict confines of the locker room, always distancing himself from the people above him. He deferred to them. Now, he is a guy with those other powers, and he seems at ease with that, too. Yes, this could fail spectacularly. Great players don't make great coaches, history says. But if anyone can break that trend, Roy has a great chance. He seems to have adapted to changing times, while still maintaining his lifelong inner core. Go ahead and bet against Roy succeeding in his new life, if you must. Just don't be shocked if Roy is the winner — again. Denver Post: LOADED: 05.30.2013 679253 Colorado Avalanche best coaches under whom he's worked and wonders where the stigma that goalies don't become good coaches comes from. It's another reason he thinks Roy will succeed in Denver. New DU coach Jim Montgomery, Avs' Patrick Roy longtime friends Denver Post: LOADED: 05.30.2013

Posted: 05/30/2013 12:01:00 AM MDT Updated: 05/30/2013 12:10:05 AM MDT By Mike Chambers

Colorado's two newest hockey coaches were briefly teammates, but friends ever since. Jim Montgomery made his debut with his hometown Montreal Canadiens in 1995, after being addressed in front of the team by star goaltender Patrick Roy, who by then had led the Canadiens to two Stanley Cups. " 'Go show everyone what's inside your heart tonight,' he told me, right in front of everyone," Montgomery said. "For the superstar of the Montreal Canadiens to say that to me, it was very motivating and something I will never forget." Montgomery, 43, was hired by the University of Denver last month and Roy, 47, by the Avalanche last week. Montgomery was a journeyman forward from Montreal, the city where Roy is legend. They played only five games together for the Canadiens before Montgomery was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers and Roy to the Avalanche, but Montgomery said he learned enough to know Roy will do well behind the Avs' bench. "He is by far the most competitive person I was ever around, and a real imposing figure in the dressing room," Montgomery said. "Demanding. Good leadership. Challenged players to be better. "He's had tremendous (coaching) success at the junior level, and he has a clear vision of how he wants his team to perform. It's natural that he's going to be a very demanding (NHL) head coach and a good fit here in Colorado." Roy and Montgomery are coming from the junior ranks, both serving as coach and general manager for teams in competing leagues. Montgomery last week led the Dubuque Fighting Saints to the United States Hockey League (junior-A) Clark Cup championship, sweeping the Fargo Force in a five-game series. His first official day at DU was Tuesday, when Roy was introduced as the Avs' sixth coach. Roy spent the past eight seasons with the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, an arm of the 19-under Canadian Hockey League and an alternative to NCAA college hockey. "Tell him he's not going to take my players this time, because I'm in the NHL now," Roy joked about Montgomery on Tuesday. Roy remembers Montgomery fondly from their brief stint as teammates. "You could tell he was a student of the game by the way he was working with the drills," Roy said. "That tells you (a lot) about the players, and I'm not surprised to see him (at DU). I met him in a lot of the junior arenas in the past years. He's been working hard and I have no doubt in my mind he's going to have a lot of success at DU." Montgomery was a standout at the University of Maine, where he served as captain when the Black Bears won the 1993 NCAA championship behind superstar freshman Paul Kariya. Undrafted, Montgomery signed a free- agent, entry-level contract with the St. Louis Blues, beginning a 12-year professional career that included 130 NHL games with four teams. He was traded to Montreal before the lockout-shortened season of 1994-95 for Guy Carbonneau, who returned to Montreal to begin a five-year coaching stint with the Canadiens in 2001. Montgomery was sent to the Flyers with John LeClair soon after the lockout ended. As a fourth-line forward with the Flyers, Montgomery coined the name "Legion of Doom" line of LeClair, Eric Lindros and Mikael Renberg. He also played for the San Jose Sharks and Dallas Stars before retiring in 2005 and beginning his coaching career at Notre Dame under Jeff Jackson, a top amateur coaches. Jackson grew up as a goalie, the position former Maine coach Shawn Walsh played. Montgomery lists Jackson and the late Walsh as two of the 679254 Columbus Blue Jackets

All abuzz: Columbus goalie Bobrovsky in finals

Kyle Robertson

Sergei Bobrovsky, a Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender, has a shot at stardom. He has become a finalist to grace the cover of the EA Sports video game NHL 14, to be released in September. To reach the finals, Bobrovsky beat John Tavares of the New York Islanders by 1 percentage point. Only goaltender Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils stands in his way during the last week of voting. Fans have until 11:59 p.m. Sunday to choose Bobrovsky (or Brodeur, if they’re so inclined). To vote, go to covervote.nhl.com/#/ballot. Also, today only, Bobrovsky fans might tweet with the hashtag “#NHL14Bobrovsky” as many times as they wish — with each tweet counting as two votes. (Brodeur fans, of course, have the hashtag “#NHL14Brodeur.”) This week, the Blue Jackets have turned to their Twitter account to drum up support for their goalie: “Have YOU voted for #NHL14 Bobrovsky today?” Fans have joined in, too: • “I voted for Bob at least 15 times in only a few minutes on lunch. If I can, so can you.” • “A CBJ player is in the final round of voting for the NHL 14 cover. Shun the nonbelievers.” — Kelly Lecker [email protected] Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 05.30.2013 679255 Columbus Blue Jackets

Matthews to step away as Blue Jackets' radio voice

By Aaron Portzline The Columbus Dispatch Thursday May 30, 2013 5:40 AM

George Matthews’ rapid-fire play-by-play voice brought the Blue Jackets to life on radio and endeared him with scores of fans since the earliest days of the franchise. But after 12 seasons and more than 1,000 broadcasts, Matthews will finally heed the call home to his native Prince Edward Island in Canada. Matthews stepped down as the full-time play-by-play voice yesterday, a move he said he has mulled for at least “three to four years.” “I feel great, and the broadcasts we did this year were as good as any we’ve done, energy-wise,” Matthews said. “I feel like I’m 50 years old, but the real number is 60. Believe me, nobody enjoys doing this job more than I do. Maybe a lot of people enjoy it as much as I do, but nobody loves it more.” Bob McElligott, who has worked with Matthews the past four seasons, will handle play-by-play duties without an analyst for the foreseeable future, the club said. Matthews will still broadcast 10 to 12 games per season for the Blue Jackets, he said, but hopes to stay active by calling games for the Charlottetown Islanders of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He spent the past several offseasons debating how much longer he could juggle spending eight months each year away from his wife, Debbie, who runs a successful retail purchasing agency in Prince Edward Island. “I will miss Columbus. I will miss it dearly,” Matthews said. “I’ll miss the city, the fans, the players, and most certainly the people I worked with. I enjoyed every minute of it. “Let me be really honest here: When I was first hired in Columbus by (former club president and general manager) Doug MacLean, I didn’t have any idea it was going to be 13 years or whatever it’s been. I never thought I’d be here this long. But I got attached to the city and the fans, and I just couldn’t leave.” The love affair was mutual. Fans latched on to Matthews’ magnetic personality, the bond growing even stronger, it seemed, as losing seasons mounted and the turnstile of coaches and players spun quickly in Columbus. Fans who had never met Matthews felt like longtime friends. “George does not have one single enemy,” said Blue Jackets TV color commentator Bill Davidge, who did radio with Matthew for nine years. “Everybody who has met him, loves the guy. And as much as they all love him, he has never met somebody he didn’t like, either. That’s just the way he is.” Matthews carried a lengthy list of handwritten catch phrases and quirky sayings into the booth with him each night, but it was his auctioneer-like cadence and throaty enthusiasm that delighted both fans and peers. “I have loved listening to George since he debuted with the Blue Jackets,” Nashville Predators play-by-play voice Pete Weber said. “He has unbounded energy and enthusiasm, and he maintained it no matter what. After hearing just a few minutes of one of his broadcasts, anyone could feel that … along with his deep love for hockey.” Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 05.30.2013 679256 Dallas Stars Todd McLellan, who has a year left on his deal. Will the Sharks look at the repeated frustration of their playoff shortcomings after a Game 7 loss to the Kings Tuesday and decide to go in a different direction? The Canucks Observations: Is Stars' Jim Nill Queen Tara in this 'epic' coach search? made that decision with a successful coach in Vigneault a couple of weeks ago. If McLellan (who was an assistant coach for three seasons with the Red MIKE HEIKA Wings from 2005-08 and worked closely with Nill in that time) becomes available, doesn't he shoot right to the top of Nill's chart? Staff Writer That would seem logical, but Nill also had a hand last summer in hiring Published: 29 May 2013 09:51 AM Detroit associate coach Tom Renney, with whom he had worked on Team Canada. So if the Red Wings lose on Wednesday, doesn't Renney become Updated: 29 May 2013 06:50 PM a possible candidate? We don't know. We'll just have to speculate and hope for more feedback I took in the latest animated film "epic'' with the family last weekend, and it from sources. of course made me think about the Stars' coach search. But you can see Jim Nill walking on lily pads through the bog right now, I know, I have problems, but stick with me on this. gently sweeping his hands over leaf pods just like Queen Tara. He's looking for the right vibe, and he'll know it when it happens. Queen Tara is the leader of the little people who live in the forest, and it's her job to select an heir to carry on the power of good. There are evil That's just how this coach search is going to go, it seems. Boggans out there trying to catch her, so the quest to retrieve a leaf pod to Dallas Morning News LOADED: 05.30.2013 serve as heir is dangerous, and her bodyguard Ronin suggests that he go out, grab a leaf pod, and bring it back to Tara. But Tara simply laughs, and explains to Ronin that the only way to pick an heir from thousands of leaf pods is to walk among them. When she senses the right feel from one pod, she will know it's the perfect fit. I think you can see where I'm going with this…New Stars GM Jim Nill is definitely Queen Tara right now. OK, maybe he's just taking a tip from Queen Tara, but the idea is the same. As Tara walks among the pods, she senses the power and magic and inner strength in each, and she settles on the one that will save the forest. Jim Nill is using something of the same technique. He's out there talking to coaches right now, and he's just trying to find the right fit. Nill does a lot of research, he talks to a lot of people, he studies numbers, he ponders playing styles. But he really believes in "gut feeling.'' Here's what he said earlier this month: "I know what I'm looking for, but so much of it is just feel. You'll know when the right fit is there.'' That's sort of how Nill settled on the Stars' job. He did his research, he studied the organization and where it sits, but he said he knew as soon as he talked to owner Tom Gaglardi that this was the right place for him to become a GM. He said he felt it, and he said he really would like to be here for decades. That's just how he envisions things. Nill is up in Toronto for the NHL Draft Combine, and he said he will not be revealing who he talks to in his coach search. He would like the protect the privacy of the process for both sides. But he will reveal "how'' he is talking to these coaches. He said he will be having formal interviews with some in hotel rooms, he will be taking some to lunch or dinner, he will be talking to some while watching the combine. He's looking for a vibe, and that comes at different times in a process. Now, names will leak out, and it's not tough to see who the candidates might be. Sources say he already has talked to former Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff, who would be an excellent candidate. Nill has worked with Ruff on Team Canada, and Ruff has a sparkling resume of working with all kinds of players in his 15 seasons with the Sabres. So sign him up, right? Well, not so fast. Former Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault also is out there. He and Nill played together way back in the day in the Blues organization, and Vigneault also has a pretty impressive resume. He won six division championships and two Presidents' Trophies in seven seasons with the Canucks. His record is so strong, some are already handing him the Stars job. I don't believe that decision has been made yet. I think Nill still wants to talk to Texas Stars coach Willie Desjardins, and also would like the chance to see if Dave Tippett might decide to leave the Phoenix Coyotes and become a free agent on July 1 (Tippett is pondering a contract extension with the Coyotes, who still are seeking stability in Arizona). Heck, we have no idea what San Jose will do with head coach 679257 Dallas Stars

Rick Gosselin: Two or three years down road, Stars could contend for a Stanley Cup

SportsDayDFW.com Published: 29 May 2013 10:05 PM Updated: 29 May 2013 10:05 PM

Columnist Rick Gosselin joined Norm Hitzges on KTCK-AM 1310. Here are some highlights. On the Stars' future Rick Gosselin: They've got a good, solid young nucleus. They and the Rangers have done it right with the farm system. They've taken the draft seriously. I don't think Cowboys or the Mavericks have necessarily taken the draft as seriously as they should have over the last 10 years. Adding two first round draft picks to that nucleus. This team is geared, two or three years down the road, to contend for a Stanley Cup. They don't need to go and try to win now and do things on a short-term basis. They're building for the long term. When they brought in Jim Nill. That told me the direction they're going. They're all in on the draft. I don't think you're going to see this team throwing around crazy money in free agency. And I like that approach for this team. Dallas Morning News LOADED: 05.30.2013 679258 Detroit Red Wings goaltenders he’s coached – Osgood, Dominik Hasek, Jean-Sebastien Gigure – and said, “When your goalie is good, even if they give up a bad goal, you don’t think about it. Helene St. James: Detroit Red Wings' Jimmy Howard knows how to stay “When your goalie is not good, everyone that goes in, you analyze. It’s way cool in Game 7 more fun when you don’t analyze.” Howard hasn’t required analysis all playoffs. Except by opponents. 5:29 PM, May 29, 2013 | Detroit Free Press LOADED: 05.30.2013 By Helene St. James Detroit Free Press Sports Writer

CHICAGO — Jimmy Howard has learned not to get fazed, not to fear Game 7s, to just face the moment. The Wings’ long run into the playoffs – past Anaheim, all the way to seven games against the top-seeded Blackhawks – has had a great deal to do with their man in net, a guy who one month into the playoffs still has only straggles for a playoff beard but who has striven to succeed every night. His coolest-cucumber-in-the-room persona rubs off on teammates, who know better than to talk to him on game days, but also know no one laughs more on off-days. “When he comes in for a game, he is in a bubble, for sure,” Jonathan Ericsson said this morning at United Center, hours before the Wings face the Blackhawks in Game 7. “He’s just doing his thing, and he’s really focused about everything. But when it’s not game day, he likes to joke around. You can hear him – he can be pretty loud. He laughs pretty loud. “He’s smooth. He knows his task and what it takes for him to be who he has to be. He’s been big for us all playoffs, and that’s when you need your goalie the most.” Howard had gone through three Game 7’s before tonight, improving his record to 2-1 after besting Anaheim earlier this month on the road. His overall numbers in those three games were a respectable 2.02 goals- against average, and a terrific .938 save percentage. Three games may not sound like oodles of experience, but every one of those events made Howard better prepared for the next one. “You don’t get as jittery, you don’t get as nervous,” Howard said. “I look at them as though they’re a lot of fun; it’s down to the last game and you lay everything out on the line, that’s the only thing you can ask of yourself.” Howard learned to be this cool from one of the most relaxed goalies to ever play the game: Mentor and longtime friend Chris Osgood. With Osgood and goalie coach Jim Bedard behind him, Howard has learned not to doubt, just to do. “Oz, I think he’s passed on about as much wisdom as he can give me,” Howard said, laughing. “He’s taught me a lot. Having him and Jimmy in my corner at all times has been great for me. They’re two guys that I can bounce ideas off. They’ve always been there for me, so it’s two great relationships.” Howard has earned respect from fellow American Patrick Kane, who spent the series trying to solve Howard. “I’ve met him a few times before at All-Star Games and things like that,” Kane said. “Knowing that he’s an American kid, you follow goalies like that growing up, especially when you hear so much about them. “He seems like a pretty calm, cool and collected guy just in general. Usually that’s the best comfort zone for a goaltender, when you’re going through that. He’s been great.” Brent Seabrook left the round equally impressed with Howard, saying, “he’s been great all series. He’s a great goaltender.” The Wings think so, too, which is why general manager Ken Holland locked up Howard with a six-year, $31.75 million contract near the end of the regular season. The money puts Howard, 29, in the second-tier of NHL goaltenders, his $5.3 million average salary cap hit below that of guys like Pekka Rinne and Henrik Lundqvist, but a solid assessment of how highly Howard is valued. Detroit coach Mike Babcock often has assessed Howard’s performance as doing what he’s paid to do, which is true, but there’s more to what Howard does than just saves. Over and over, in the regular season and playoffs, he has instilled confidence in his team. Babcock looked back over the 679259 Detroit Red Wings casual fans normally get familiar in the playoffs. And these playoffs have lasted long enough for the likes of Damien Brunner, Patrick Eaves and Gustav Nyquist to become household names in Detroit. Win or lose, that’s a Jamie Samuelsen's blog: Red Wings' season isn't over yet ... but what a huge accomplishment for the Wings. season it has been Hockey may yet last into June. And all of these positives would be reinforced further. And believe me, I’d never try to make a case for a good loss, especially against the Blackhawks and especially with a 3-1 series 3:29 PM, May 29, 2013 | lead. By Jamie Samuelsen Emotions will be mixed if the Wings lose tonight. So there’s really only one way to avoid it. Don’t lose. And the way this team has responded to adversity this spring, that option is still very much on the table. Regardless of how Game 7 turns out, would you call this a successful Detroit Free Press LOADED: 05.30.2013 Detroit Red Wings season? “If I told our whole team before the series that we'd be playing Chicago in Game 7, I think they'd be pretty excited about that.” — Mike Babcock, Wings coach Never has a coach said something so right and so wrong at the same time. The emotions are high for the Red Wings and their fan base heading into tonight’s Game 7. The emotions afterward? Well, that will depend on the outcome. Babcock is correct. If you had told any Red Wings fan that they would reach Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals against the hated Blackhawks, they would have celebrated. This team barely made it into the playoffs and was predicted by many to lose in the first round to Anaheim. Instead, they find themselves on the brink of the NHL’s Final Four, a place they haven’t been since 2009. This was supposed to be a season of transition for the Wings. Instead, they’ve turned it into one of the most memorable springs in years. Playoff runs were expected from the Wings in the past. But this team has surprised us. And it’s awfully hard to surprise fans these days. On the other hand, a loss in Game 7 would represent a collapse. Blowing a 3-1 series lead happens frequently in the NHL, but that doesn’t lessen the sting. To the fans’ credit, nobody was making travel plans to California when the Wings won Game 4 on Thursday night. But they could smell the upset. Detroit wasn’t just beating Chicago; the Wings had taken the mental edge as well. Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews lost his composure in Game 4, taking three consecutive penalties in the second period and barking at the officials on his way to and from the box. The powerful Chicago offense was blunted, scoring just two goals in the three Red Wings wins. And goaltender Jimmy Howard had clearly played his way into the ’Hawks’ heads and Red Wings fans’ hearts. Victory wasn’t assumed, but it was expected. And now those expectations look precarious, at best. Making predictions is a waste of time. But there is no doubt that the Red Wings can win tonight. They have skated with Chicago for much of this series and have the star power to match the ’Hawks’. The biggest key for both teams will be composure. The team that has kept its cool and kept its focus has been the better team in every game. The Wings lost Game 6 because the defensive corps lost its way. Brendan Smith is getting much of the blame, just like he did after Game 1. And while some of that is fair, it is a team game. Just like the critics in the ’90s loved to lay all the blame on the goaltender (whether it was Tim Cheveldae, Bob Essensa, Mike Vernon or Chris Osgood), it seems that fans today look to single out one young defenseman when things don’t go the Red Wings’ way. If youthful exuberance is on display tonight, the Wings will win. If youthful indiscretion is the overriding emotion, the season will end in Chicago. It’s not that simple, of course. But that will be a topic of discussion in the postgame analysis regardless of what happens. And regardless of what happens, this has been a huge month for the Detroit Red Wings. It’s silly to analyze a season before it’s over. So to decide how the fans should feel after a loss that hasn’t happened is pointless. But there will be some anger and disappointment over lost opportunity. That’s natural. And there will be some fans looking for someone to blame. That’s natural, too. But once that initial emotion passes, it’s important that we realize what has been accomplished here. Hockey matters in this city again. And it matters a lot. When Nicklas Lidstrom retired last summer, it seemed like the team was in for a long rebuild. When most of the big-name free agents passed on coming to Detroit, the outlook seemed bleaker. But thanks to a strong playoff run, we’re reminded (in case we forgot) just how good some of these players are. And we’ve been introduced to a new cast of characters. The die-hard hockey fans get to know these guys in the regular season. The 679260 Detroit Red Wings

Blackhawks say Jimmy Howard has been great, aim to get '50 pucks' on him in Game 7

2:21 PM, May 29, 2013 | By Helene St. James Detroit Free Press Sports Writer

CHICAGO — There are certain things any team wants to do in a Game 7 — besides the obvious one — such as rattling the opposing goaltender. That's one of the keys for the Chicago Blackhawks tonight, as they take on the Detroit Red Wings in the series finale at the United Center (8 p.m., NBCSN, CBC). The Blackhawks know that if they're to advance, it'd help to throw Wings goalie Jimmy Howard off his game. "He's been playing great," Chicago winger Patrick Kane said. "He makes a lot of big saves for them, hasn't given up any weak ones or anything like that. He's been tough to score on, that's for sure. We've got to keep getting chances, keep getting shots. "If we have to throw 50 pucks at the net tonight, that's what it's got to be ... to go our way. He's playing great." The winner of tonight's game advances to meet the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings in the Western Conference finals. The Wings are prepared to fly directly to LAX after tonight's game because, in their case, the series would start Friday at Staples Center. Of course, they first have to get there. And for the Wings and Howard, the approach is the same as it is for every other playoff game: "They’re a good team, and it’s on us," Howard said, "to come out and focus and stick with our game plan for a full 60." Detroit Free Press LOADED: 05.30.2013 679261 Detroit Red Wings When the Hawks trailed the series 3-1, momentum and history were not on their side. But Toews was. He never let the Hawks doubt themselves no matter how much everybody Chicago columnist: Brent Seabrook goes from benched to Game 7 hero else in the city swore the hockey sky was falling. For a guy known for his seriousness, Toews projected a relaxed sense of calm. A looser Hawks team responded for three games as if it had nothing to lose. May 30, 2013 | Deep down, Quenneville knew better. Ignore everything he said; he knew By David Haugh the potential fallout of winning the Presidents’ Trophy and exiting in the second round against the seventh seed. His actions spoke louder than any Chicago Tribune of his words. Before the first of three elimination games, Quenneville reunited defensemen Duncan Keith and Seabrook, whose time he limited. Of more As Brent Seabrook carried the puck deep into the Red Wings’ zone in significance, he reassembled the Desperation Line of Toews, Sharp and overtime of Game 7 on Wednesday night, strangely no Red Wings Patrick Kane. The tinkering worked. converged. “We had to find ourselves again,” Seabrook said. “When I have that much room, I usually screw up or trip and fall,” Seabrook said. Quenneville reintroduced them. Coach Q got outcoached by Mike Babcock in the first four games. The same wasn’t true in the final three. He put his This time, Seabrook put a hockey city on his back. team where it should be: in position to keep playing. Seabrook fired a wicked wrist shot between the faceoff circles 3 minutes, 35 “It’s too early to go home,” Toews said. “We want to play hockey another seconds into the extra session that ricocheted off defenseman Niklas month.” Kronwall’s shin and past goalie Jimmy Howard for the winning goal in the Blackhawks’ epic 2-1 victory. After Wednesday night, nobody expects anything less. “I don’t even know if I saw it go in. I just heard the horn going and the boys Detroit Free Press LOADED: 05.30.2013 jumping up,” Seabrook said. “It was a pretty exhausting game, but I think I was more tired during the celebration, guys dragging me down and pulling my head down.” Keeping his head up when coach Joel Quenneville benched him earlier in the series allowed Seabrook to be in position to save the season. Fittingly, the player who was forgotten played the hero’s role for the team that was written off after Game 4. It provided the type of unlikely comeback other sports towns enjoy. This was Chicago’s turn. “It’s not the way you want to win a series, but you do what you’ve got to do,” Jonathan Toews said. “It just goes to show the character we have on top of the ability and potential this team has.” Never has that potential looked more limitless than after overcoming a Red Wings team that prepared the Hawks well for their next two rounds. You just sensed the Wings would ferociously attack a one-goal deficit in the third period the way the Hawks had done to them at Joe Louis Arena. You just knew these Original Six rivals would produce a magnificent Game 7 that deserved to be decided in overtime. The first Hawks-Wings Game 7 in 48 years was so good, it was worth the wait. It was tied at 1 when Niklas Hjalmarsson scored the apparent go-ahead goal with 1:47 left, but officials inexplicably waved off the goal because of matching penalties behind the play, ruining parties in living rooms and barrooms everywhere. A crowd of 22,103 fans who didn’t see the replay broke into a rude chant that showed what they thought of the officiating. “I didn’t get any explanation,” Quenneville said of the bad call. The reaction was much different after the Hawks’ long-awaited first goal. In a sequence worthy of a highlight tape or an instructional video, the Hawks took the lead when center Michael Handzus passed the puck to Marian Hossa to begin a 3-on-1 for the ages. Hossa patiently waited to hit a racing Patrick Sharp. Sharp did the rest, elevating the shot past Howard at the 1:08 mark of the second period. “That was a fun goal to score,” Sharp said. Sharp’s movie-star smile to celebrate the score never has made more Chicagoans go gaga. The delirium lasted for nearly a period. Just 26 seconds into the third, Henrik Zetterberg turned a Hawks mistake into the equalizer. Veteran defenseman Johnny Oduya, reprising the Game7 role of Chris Campoli in 2011, made a poor decision that allowed Wings winger Daniel Cleary to beat him to the puck. Cleary advanced it to Gustav Nyquist, who found Zetterberg in a perfect spot to freeze Hawks goalie Corey Crawford. Suddenly, the air was sucked out of a building that was full of Chicago celebrities and athletes. But the confidence wasn’t. 679262 Detroit Red Wings Because Game 7s are crapshoots, always have been. The time to close out an opponent is when you have you foot on his throat. “Kill the snake,” Bill Laimbeer used to intone in the Pistons days, once even bringing in a sharp Mitch Albom: Red Wings eliminated in emotional, overtime thriller object to illustrate the point. But those were veteran Pistons teams, and this was a mostly young Red Wings group in transition. So here we were instead, Wednesday night, the seventh time in the last two May 30, 2013 | weeks that these two teams have squared off, and it looked, from the start, that they were pretty sick of each other. There was more shoving, wrestling, By Mitch Albom rabbit punching and face-wiping Wednesday than in the last three meetings combined. Maybe they wanted to give each other something to remember them by. But long after the bumps and bruises are gone, here is some of CHICAGO — In the closing moments of “Rocky,” the gutsy fighter and his what will haunt in the Red Wings’ minds: slick rival clench together at the bell, their epic battle now complete. Point-blank chances on Crawford — denied. A penalty shot in Game 6 that “Ain’t gonna be no rematch,” one gasps. sealed a defeat. A night of bad penalties in Game 5. The fatigue that haunted them in a weak third period in Game 1. “Don’t want one,” gasps the other. Kronwall’s shin. This fight is over. The Blackhawks win Game 7, in overtime, in gut- wrenching fashion, final score, 2-1, on a goal by Brent Seabrook that just “It’s hard to put into words,” Kronwall said, when asked to describe the grazed Niklas Kronwall’s shin and flew past Jimmy Howard. devastating feeling of a season closing — on a goal off your body. “I think you have to be part of sports to understand. …You win, you advance. You Fight over. Ain’t gonna be no rematch, because the sands are shifting, lose, the season’s over. It’s tough to put in words.” Detroit will be in the Eastern Conference next season, and the only way it will face Chicago again in the playoffs is if the Stanley Cup itself hangs in Then again, it almost ended before Kronwall or overtime were part of the the balance. story. In fact, a dodged bullet may have changed the tone of the night. With 1:47 left in regulation, Hjalmarsson whipped a shot past Howard that sent That’s OK. It’ll take Detroit fans a while to recover from this one. the United Center into hysteria. It seemed as if the game was all but won. It was so loud, that no one had heard a whistle blow just seconds earlier, “I didn’t even have time to think,” said a dejected Kronwall in the locker when a referee called incidental roughing penalties on Kyle Quincey and room after the loss. “I knew right away that it went off of me.” Brandon Saad. So close. Three chances to advance. And the season ends in overtime — Never mind that the two men were wrestling each other on the ice. At that just under four minutes in. The two teams who faced each other more than moment, in that kind of a game, you don’t blow that whistle. But the official any pair in NHL history waved a nasty playoff farewell at the United Center did, and the goal didn’t count — even though it took a minute or two for on Wednesday night, on a warm, pre-summer evening that was full of bad everyone in the delirious crowd to realize it. blood, untimely injury, a truly weird officiating call, and — from a Red Wings point of view — one too many goals in the Detroit nets. “You couldn’t hear anything,” Howard said. “It was deafening. I was just looking around and saw the official waving it off. I had to ask the guy what “Proud and disappointed,” Daniel Cleary said when asked to sum up the happened and he said, ‘I blew the whistle.’” game and the series. “Proud and disappointed.” Did you say “thank you,” Howard was asked? Fight over. Season done. It began slipping away when Andrew Shaw, a 21- year-old rookie annoyance, hurled Valtteri Filppula to the ice early in the “Nah.” He chuckled sadly. “You try to keep the karma on your side.” game and put him out for the night with a leg injury, causing the Wings to shuffle everything. It didn’t work. A little thing here. A little thing there. The Wings played gamely, they gave a good battle. But the score doesn’t lie. It continued slipping away when former Wing Marian Hossa slid a perfect pass to a charging Patrick Sharp on a three-on-one break, and Sharp lifted Fight over. a hard shot past Howard for a 1-0 lead in the second period. Howard was great Storm clouds gathered when, with the score tied and less than two minutes There are explanations for what happened, but that’s all they should be. to go in regulation, Niklas Hjalmarsson scored an apparent game-winner Explanations. Not blame. You certainly can’t fault Howard, who for much of that was waved off because an official blew a whistle for — get this — these playoffs was like the mature kid giving all the correct answers while coincidental minor penalties. The Wings escaped, but karma was boiling his younger classmates dropped their pencils or forgot their homework. against them. Howard did not give up a soft goal in this series. He had a couple of one- And it was finished when Seabrook flittered the puck off Kronwall and past goal games and a shutout in Game 5. He got in the Blackhawks’ heads. He Howard at 3:55 into overtime, and the goalie skated out of his crease, head remained unflappable throughout. down, as the Blackhawks fans sang deliriously, their season still intact. And you can’t blame the young defensemen or the rookie forwards. Yes, Fight over. Season done. But before you scream, “The Wings blew this they made mistakes. But they also made great contributions. The leading series!” give a nod to these Chicago men. Only 20 teams in NHL history goal scorer for the Wings this series was Damien Brunner, the 27-year-old have come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a playoff series. But if any team virtual rookie. made a good candidate, it was the Blackhawks: explosive, deep, talent- “Our young ‘D’ has been fantastic in this series, way beyond what I heavy and not easily shaken, they bounced off the canvas after Game 4 expected,” Babcock said before Game 7. “I think they’re beyond their years. and began a comeback that relied on sharp skating, tightened goaltending Do they make mistakes? Yeah. When they make mistakes and they don’t and the shifting fortunes of stars like Hossa and Jonathan Toews, who go in, we don’t notice them. When they make mistakes, and they go in, we came on strong in the three closing victories. notice them.” The Wings biggest stars — Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and Johan After the Game 5 defeat, and again after the Game 6 one, Babcock chose Franzen — had one goal apiece in seven games. to look at the glass as half full. That will be harder this morning. A glorious So many chances chance was missed in this second-round series. And while many feel the Wings were lucky to get this far, the flip side of that is when you do get this “What could have been done differently in Game 7?” someone asked far, you should only think about getting farther. The Wings, in Game 6, were Cleary. one period away from advancing to the Western Conference finals. In Game 7, they were one overtime goal away. “Win?” he said. And today they are home for the summer. Yeah. That would have worked. But the Wings had their chances. Three chances to be exact. And what will now and forever be debated is why Questions remain. What will they do with Filppula, who, as an unrestricted those chances were not capitalized upon one or two games earlier. free agent, didn’t do himself any favors with a largely ineffective postseason — and a sad, injured ending. Cleary and Brunner also can sign where they want. But for the most part, the growing pains the Wings suffered this year should pay off with new heights in the season to come. Kids like Gustav Nyquist and Brendan Smith gained invaluable ice time, and, with a healthier lineup, the fall looks promising. But that is for later. For now, we tip a hat to a team that almost made it. “Nick (Lidstriom) left, Homer (Thomas Holmstrom) left, Stewie (Brad Stewart) left, and we had some challenges earlier in the year,” Cleary said, summing up the shortened season. “With a week left … we won four in a row to get in. We won a Game 7 in Anaheim. Had a 3-1 lead against Chicago and we lose in OT in Game 7. … “I thought our team showed a lot of heart, showed a lot of character.” All true. And this loss will still hurt more Friday than it does today. The smoke fades, and in the clearing, we’ll call the series this way: Chicago drew first blood, Detroit won three straight, Chicago won three straight — the last one going to overtime. Not the way it usually happens. But might as well go out with style. No more first or second rounds for the Wings and Hawks. No more clawing through one another to reach the Stanley Cup Finals. Fight over. With the playing ghosts of Hull and Howe, Mikita and Lindsay, Yzerman and Savard nodding from above, the two teams skated past each other and shook hands, and the rivalry as we’ve known it — and this last entertaining series — was history. Ain’t gonna be no rematch. And that’s fitting. This one stands on its own. Detroit Free Press LOADED: 05.30.2013 679263 Detroit Red Wings

Red Wings' Jimmy Howard consoles Niklas Kronwall after winning goal goes off defensemen's leg

May 30, 2013 | By Helene St. James

CHICAGO — Jimmy Howard skated over to Niklas Kronwall to console him, loath to see a teammate feel down over what just happened. Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook’s shot had just gone off Kronwall’s shin and slipped past Howard into Detroit’s net, landing Chicago a 2-1 victory in overtime Wednesday in Game 7. That ended Detroit’s run in the playoffs, but Howard’s first concern was his friend. “It’s tough,” Howard said. “How can you get upset at someone who is sacrificing their body out there, blocking shots. Kronner has been huge for us all year, and you know, he doesn’t deserve that luck.” Kronwall said Howard’s actions, “say a lot about him as a person. Everybody wants to win in here, you don’t make a mistake on purpose. It’s hard. Unfortunately it went in off me and we’re going home.” Seabrook wasn’t even aware the puck had gone in until he was deafened by the reaction around him. “I don’t know if I saw it go in to be honest,” Seabrook said. “I just heard the horn going and the boys jumping out. It was a pretty exhausting game, but I think I was more tired during the celebration with guys jumping and pushing me in the face and dragging me down. It’s exciting. You don’t get to do that too many times.” NO GOAL: The Wings might have been incensed with Michael Frolik getting a penalty shot in Game 6, but that ire paled compared to the boos the United Center crowd let out after Niklas Hjalmarsson’s goal was called off with 1:47 left in regulation of a 1-1 game. Referee Stephen Walkom had seen something behind the play, and was calling coincidental roughing minors on Brandon Saad and Kyle Quincey. “I don’t know why he made that call, but he made it,” said Saad. “But it was his decision to make and we were fortunate we got the win in overtime. Obviously I wasn’t happy, but it’s really a matter of refocusing between periods and going into overtime to get the win.” Quincey pushed Saad into the bench, so that roughing call was easy to understand. Former referee Kerry Fraser tweeted: “Saad weak right glove back. Quincey did not equate as coincidental minor. Play should have been allowed 2 continue w/ Hawk possession.” Toronto, headquarters of NHL officiating, gave a simple explanation for the call to a pool reporter for the series, saying that there was no goal because the whistle had been blown. “I knew right away because I heard the whistle before the horn,” Quincey said. “It was getting to the point where he had to call the penalty I guess, we were going back in forth. I guess it worked in our favor there.” Detroit Free Press LOADED: 05.30.2013 679264 Detroit Red Wings That’s when the Wings rolled out four straight victories, leaping from ninth to seventh and a first-round date opposite Anaheim. Seven games later, the Wings renewed a dormant playoff rivalry with the Blackhawks. Chicago 2, Detroit 1 (OT): Red Wings' season done, but there is hope for Seven games later, the Wings head into the off-season having infused hope future into next season. The upside to off-season departures and in-season injuries was the emergence of Nyquist, Joakim Andersson and Danny DeKeyser, who showed in a brief month what a difference he’ll make on the May 30, 2013 | back end. This loss may sting, but the lasting effects should sing. By Helene St. James Detroit Free Press LOADED: 05.30.2013

CHICAGO — The party ended in overtime, ended when the Blackhawks rang the clock on the Red Wings, ended with a trip home. It also ended with hope and rejuvenation and optimism. When Brent Seabrook took a quick wrist shot over Jimmy Howard’s glove early in overtime at the United Center Wednesday night, it sent the Wings into a handshake line with a 2-1 loss in Game 7. Seabrook’s goal ended a series tight from Game 2 onward, ended a night that was thrilling from the start, especially for the seventh-seeded Wings. They upset Anaheim in seven games to get to Chicago and were able to take a 3-1 lead in that series before the Blackhawks showed why they’re No. 1. “It was a tight series,” Daniel Cleary said. “We played hard. It was a great Game 7. Guys should be proud of themselves.” The Wings had to play without Valtteri Filppula, who suffered a high ankle sprain two shifts into the game. They had to play from behind for the entire second period, after Patrick Sharp connected on a pass from Marian Hossa. The Wings got a goal from their captain, Henrik Zetterberg, as expected in a big game. They got a break from referee Stephen Walkom, who was the reason Niklas Hjalmarsson’s goal with 1:49 left in regulation didn’t count, as Walkom was calling two penalties behind the play. The Wings got great goaltending from Jimmy Howard, who made 33 saves Wednesday. They got hard efforts from players young and old. “I thought it was a good game,” Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “I was disappointed we lost Fil early. We could have been a lot more dynamic. Our guys hung in there. They battled hard just like they have all year long. “They’re a very talented group. We pushed them real hard in this series.” The Wings came into the series finale determined to set the tone and got off to a good start by winning the opening face-off, then creating a storm system when they got a power play 5 minutes into the game, with no less than top penalty killer Duncan Keith going to the penalty box. The Wings didn’t convert, but they ran the Blackhawks ragged in their own zone and forced three good saves out of Corey Crawford. “We did a lot of great things out there,” Howard said. “We did a great job. I’m really proud of the way this team carried itself this year, especially when a lot of people counted us out. We did a great job. “It just sort of stinks that it’s all over with.” It didn’t help that the power play was nonexistent all series except for one goal. The Wings got two opportunities in Game 7, got good looks, but no conversions. “Maybe if we score on there, it’s a different game,” Zetterberg said. The Blackhawks scored a minute into the second period, when Hossa, showing perfect timing, pushed the puck up the left side before at the last second finding Sharp across the the ice, giving Sharp a wide-open net. The Wings finally got on the board 26 seconds into the third period, when Gustav Nyquist sent a pass straight to Zetterberg, who had a net as open as possible after a bad pinch by Johnny Oduya. “It was nice that we tied it up,” Zetterberg said. “After that, we had momentum, we played well, we created a lot of chances. Unfortunately we couldn’t get one more.” The Wings’ ride lasted longer than many expected, in light of the off-season departures of Nicklas Lidstrom and Brad Stuart, which decimated the defense. When the season began the question was whether the Wings would continue a 21-year streak of making the playoffs; that was still a question heading into the final week of the regular season. 679265 Detroit Red Wings

Happy Damien Brunner a boost for Red Wings

May 30, 2013 | By Helene St. James

CHICAGO — Todd Bertuzzi suggested Damien Brunner print up his approach to life on a T-shirt, and make a mint. Brunner has been a key part of the Red Wings’ run through two seven- game series in the playoffs, which ended Wednesday after the Blackhawks eliminated the Wings with a 2-1 overtime victory in Game 7. Brunner finished the playoffs with five goals, consistently scoring for his teammates, consistently making them just as happy off the ice with an approach that underscores the importance of enjoying events even whether they go your way or not. “Just work hard, enjoy life,” Brunner said. “You live only once, so you have to enjoy the time you have.” This was overheard by Bertuzzi who yelled, “that should be on T-shirt,” and laughed. Through the ups and downs of the season and playoffs, Brunner has remained consistently optimistic. He went through a slump in March when he didn’t score, and then he sat out a few games with a sore hip flexor. When he returned, he was off Henrik Zetterberg’s line and on one with Joakim Andersson and Gustav Nyquist, both of whom have benefited from being around Brunner. “He’s a very happy person, fun person to be around,” Nyquist said. “He’s good at handling pressure.” Andersson said Brunner “is always smiling at the rink, outside the rink. He likes playing hockey and if you have a bad day, maybe you can look at him and get a smile on your face.” The whole line has been huge for the Wings: Nyquist, whose creativity nears that of Pavel Datsyuk; Andersson, the line’s safety net, the guy who Mike Babcock repeatedly has said “knows how to play. He’s a big body, makes good plays, smart.” As for Brunner, there hasn’t been much not to like since he joined the team in January, fresh off another standout season in his native Switzerland. “He’s a kid that started real strong,” Babcock said, “and then faded and everyone said, ‘OK, NHL is too much for him.’ It’s not too much for him. He’s coachable. He’s got great personal energy and he brings that every day.” Brunner, 27, didn’t want to speculate on his future, on what will happen when his contract expires this summer. He has flaws — he needs to get stronger, for example — but his goal-scoring touch makes it hard to think the Wings won’t do what it’ll take to bring him back. Teammates would certainly notice the void if that smile disappeared. “It’s every day he comes in, smiling,” Jonathan Ericsson said. “We’re like, ‘what’s up, Bruns? What’s so funny?’ He just laughs by himself. He’s always on his phone, too, I don’t think he leaves that for more than 20 seconds at a time. It’s fine. He knows where to be to get the goals. He’s in good spots. He’s been effective for us.” Detroit Free Press LOADED: 05.30.2013 679266 Detroit Red Wings

Game 7 a fitting end to Red Wings-Blackhawks conference rivalry

Ted Kulfan The Detroit News

Chicago — What a fitting ending to one of the best rivalries in sports. The Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks, two old and proud Original Six teams, to a certain extent will put this rivalry on hold after Wednesday night's Game 7 in Chicago. The Red Wings are moving to the Eastern Conference next season under the new NHL realignment. The Blackhawks are staying in the Western Conference. With the switch, instead playing each other up to six times during the regular season, they'll see other twice next season — once on each other's ice. And the playoffs? The only way the teams will meet there after this will be the Stanley Cup Finals. "The next time we play them in the Stanley Cup playoffs, it'll be a lot of fun," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. Both teams acknowledged a terrific past and a great way to end this particular chapter in the rivalry with a Game 7. "It's been fun to be a part of and just to see both cities and the way they get behind their teams," forward Justin Abdelkader said. "The excitement and energy in both stadiums has been fun." Abdelkader couldn't remember a rival of the Red Wings who could instill the same kind of passion in fans. "Pittsburgh was good there (in the back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals in 2008-09), but even those guys, we played them in the Finals but we didn't see them in the regular season," said Abdelkader, adding the Blackhawks have been the Red Wings' deepest rivals. "Once Chicago got good and got (Patrick) Kane and (Jonathan) Toews, and picked up a few other players, the rivalry kind of renewed itself." Babcock appreciates the history of both organizations. "When you've been in the game for a long time, you have a lot of respect for the Original Six, and it means something to you," Babcock said. Said Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville: "You look at the tradition and history between the two teams. The regular season games, the playoff series, Norris Division (playoff) series, and now down to a Game 7. "It's a fitting end to an amazing history." Detroit News LOADED: 05.30.2013 679267 Detroit Red Wings

Three stars by The Detroit News' Matt Charboneau

Brent Seabrook, Blackhawks Scored his first goal of the playoffs to complete the comeback and send the Blackhawks to the Western Conference finals. Patrick Sharp, Blackhawks Took a nice feed from Marian Hossa to give Chicago a 1-0 lead. It moved Sharp into a tie for the league lead with seven goals in the postseason. Henrik Zetterberg, Red Wings Took a pass from Gustav Nyquist and buried it into an open net to tie the game, a goal that eventually forced overtime. Detroit News LOADED: 05.30.2013 679268 Detroit Red Wings "I thought our guys hung in there and battled hard, just like they have all year long," Mike Babcock said. "From the start to the end, I think we're a team that just got better and better and better. Obviously they're a real Wings never fold, but come up just short in the bitter end talented group and I thought we played them real hard and had a lot of fun doing it. But in those dreams you have as a kid, in Game 7, you always score — the other team doesn't score."

Bob Wojnowski Hello and goodbye This unexpected postseason ride brought the Wings to a logical apex, to a Game 7 against their old Original Six rival. And it felt like the Wings were Chicago — They went as far as they could, and even a little farther. But saying hello and farewell at the same time, with their move next season to when it gets this tight and this late, it can end in a frantic flash. the Eastern Conference. With the flick of a stick and the bounce of a puck, the Red Wings' season It was a momentous way to depart, with an entertaining, back-and-forth ended Wednesday night. This series was destined to be decided by one series. If palpitating pressure counts as fun, this was it. Truly, this Wings last twist, and it came off the stick of Chicago's Brent Seabrook. His shot team pumped in fresh spirit, reinvigorating the ol' Hockeytown aura. For a tipped off Niklas Kronwall and flipped past Jimmy Howard's glove early in franchise that has made the playoffs 22 consecutive seasons, they're still overtime, and that's how these crazy Game 7s often end. capable of pulling a spring surprise. With six playoff rookies on the roster, they beat the second-seeded Ducks in the first round and pushed the The Wings had their chance and lost it, dropping a 2-1 heartbreaker, and as Blackhawks as far as they could. grueling as this series was, it was over that quickly. The Blackhawks completed a stirring comeback from a 3-1 series deficit, and halted the The Wings may have buckled in back-to-back losses, but they matched the Wings' stirring comeback season. It was a terrific effort from both teams, Blackhawks' energy early in this one. These games usually come down to and it doesn't get any tenser or more thrilling than this. bounces and breaks (and stars and skating too), and the Wings got the first bad one. Valtteri Filppula was knocked to the ice by Chicago's Andrew On the ice afterward, Kronwall dropped to one knee, his head down, while Shaw in a scuffle near the bench and left the game, limping down the Howard put his arm around him. There aren't any good ways to lose a tunnel. Game 7 but this was a brutal one, and Kronwall could barely describe it. Filppula's absence meant more ice time for one of the rising rookies, "I thought everyone laid everything on the line, and to go out like that, it's Nyquist, and that actually proved beneficial. And of course Zetterberg, who tough," Kronwall said. "Right now, it's just an empty feeling. I think the puck practically carried the Wings to victories in Games 6 and 7 against went off my shin, to be honest with you, not sure. But I knew right away it Anaheim, was excellent again. went off me, and I turned around and saw it in the net." The teams skated through the heat and turned it into a goalie duel. Both No regrets sides had decent scoring chances, and Howard was matching Crawford. Howard was stellar again, and his words reflected the prevailing mood in The Wings kept banging away but weren't cashing in, and when that the Wings' dressing room. It was profound disappointment, tinged with happens, well, you know what happens. The Blackhawks went the other pride. Yes, the Wings blew a 3-1 series lead. No, they didn't expect it to end way, and 1:08 into the second period, they unleashed a spectacular like this. passing play to beat Howard the only way they could. They came out flying in the third period, tying the score on Henrik Michal Handzus dished the puck to Marian Hossa, who slid it across to Zetterberg's goal, and perhaps they deserved a better fate, as they nearly Patrick Sharp, who saw a wide-open net. Howard had no chance and the ousted the top seed. It was a shame to lose it, but frankly, there's no shame Blackhawks had a 1-0 lead, and sometimes that's all it takes to lift the in losing it. The Blackhawks and their goalie, Corey Crawford, grabbed it tension for the home team, at least for a while. from the Wings' clutches, even if it took a fluky shot just 3:35 into overtime. The Wings couldn't close this out, but make no mistake, they started "It's tough, but how can you get upset at someone sacrificing their body out something this season. They filled out their roster nicely with a lot of there, blocking shots like (Kronwall) was," Howard said. "He doesn't previous unknowns, and the future looks bright. Now GM Ken Holland has deserve that one. I thought we did a lot of great things. I'm really proud of to round it out with more scorers and more experienced defensemen. the way this team carried itself this year, especially when a lot of people The Wings made a significant transitional leap this season, and all sorts of counted us out, didn't even expect this series to get past four games. It just young players gained 14 games of valuable playoff experience. They didn't stinks that it's all over with." have enough to finish off the Blackhawks, and that's today's news. The Johan Franzen had a prime scoring chance shortly after Zetterberg tied it, lasting news is, the Wings showed enough that it won't be a surprise if and the entire third period was a furious rush. It takes all sorts of breaks, they're playing at this same high level, same time next year. and the Wings certainly got a huge one with 1:47 left in regulation. Niklas Detroit News LOADED: 05.30.2013 Hjalmarsson fired the puck past Howard and the crowd erupted as the Blackhawks grabbed a 2-1 lead — for about a second. The refs waved off the goal because trailing official Stephen Walkom blew the whistle apparently before the shot. He stopped play to separate Kyle Quincey and Brandon Saad in a scuffle, and both drew penalties. The goal was wiped out and overtime beckoned, and the gasping Wings inhaled incredibly good fortune — fortune that didn't last. "It's one of those things where you feel you got new life," Howard said. "But it wasn't meant to be." It had been this way all season. Just when it appears the Wings might wilt, they tilt it the other way. Trailing 1-0 entering the third period, they struck quickly and almost repeatedly, and naturally, the captain was involved. Gustav Nyquist slid a perfect pass to Zetterberg, who slammed the puck past Crawford, and in a stunning turn it was 1-1 a mere 26 seconds into the third. From there, the Wings went up and down the ice, peppering Crawford, smelling the upset. Hey, if you expected the Wings to wither, you hadn't watched these playoffs, including that Game 7 victory in Anaheim. When the Blackhawks won twice to tie this series, it appeared the heavy favorites might assert themselves. They did for a while, but not for long. 679269 Detroit Red Wings "You don't know what's going on behind you so you just try and engage with the guy," Quincey said. "It was getting to the point where he called the penalty, he had to call the penalty, I guess. We were going back and forth. I Blackhawks' OT goal is heartbreaker for Wings guess it worked in our favor there." Zetterberg tied the game 26 seconds into the third period on a pass from Gustav Nyquist. Ted Kulfan Crawford was committed to one side and never moved as Zetterberg had The Detroit News an empty net to score his fourth goal of the playoffs. Sharp put the Blackhawks ahead 1-0 with a goal 1:08 into the second period. Chicago — An excellent series between two old rivals just refused to end in regulation, so Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook ended it in After a slow and sloppy Red Wings line change, the Blackhawks found overtime. themselves on a quick 3-on-1 rush on Howard with only Quincey close to being able to defend. Seabrook scored 3:35 into overtime Wednesday night as the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Red Wings, 2-1. Michal Handzus moved the puck up to Marian Hossa on the wing, who patiently waited for Howard to commit and swung a pass back to Sharp on Seabrook took a quick wrist shot from between the top of the circles that the opposite wing. beat Howard after forward Dave Bolland's hit sprung Seabrook free. Sharp quickly deposited his seventh goal of the playoffs, giving the The puck deflected off the leg of defenseman Niklas Kronwall and past Blackhawks the early lead. goalie Jimmy Howard. Detroit News LOADED: 05.30.2013 "I don't know if I saw it go in to be honest," Seabrook said. "I just heard the horn going and the boys jumping out. "It was a pretty exhausting game, but I was more tired during the celebration with guys jumping and pushing me in the face and dragging me down. It's exciting. You don't get to do that too many times. "We did have some learning curves in this round. Detroit played a great series. We really had to find ourselves after the fourth game." The Blackhawks won the series, 4-3 — winning the last three games of the series — and advance to play the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings in the Western Conference finals. "It went off me," said Kronwall, dejected and who was consoled on the ice by Howard. "Right now it's just empty. We worked real hard. To go off that way, it's pretty tough. "Obviously being up 3-1 (in the series), it's disappointing." Said Howard: "How can you be upset with anyone who is sacrificing his body to block a shot? Kroner has been huge for us all season and he doesn't deserve that kind of luck." The Red Wings weren't helped by the loss of forward Valtteri Filppula early in the first period because of a lower body injury. Filppula was injured after an apparent slew foot by Chicago's Andrew Shaw along the Red Wings bench. Filppula only played two shifts in the game for a total of 1:28 of ice time Filppula was on crutches, although Babcock wouldn't go into details on the injury. "I'm disappointed we lost Fil early, we could have been more dynamic," Babcock said. The loss ends a Red Wings season that began with questions, had ups and downs throughout the regular season, took a four-game win streak the final week to make the playoffs, then make an unexpected run through the playoffs. "From the start to the end, we were a team that just got better," coach Mike Babcock said. "Our guys played real hard, they competed. "Our guys hung in there and battled hard as they have all season long." Henrik Zetterberg and Chicago's Patrick Sharp scored the goals in regulation. Had the Blackhawks lost, there would have been a disputed call for the ages. An apparent goal by Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson with 1:47 left in regulation was waved of by referee Stephen Walkom. Walkom called coincidental roughing penalties on Kyle Quincey and Blackhawks forward Brandon Saad behind the play moments before Hjalmarsson's goal. 679270 Detroit Red Wings

Wings' Valterri Filppula injured in Game 7

Ted Kulfan The Detroit News

Chicago - The Red Wings won't have Valtteri Filppula for the rest of Game 7. Filppula was injured early in the first period after an apparent slewfoot by Chicago's Andrew Shaw along the Red Wings bench. Filppula only played two shifts in the game for a total of 1 minute 28 seconds. Reports from near the Red Wings locker room indicated Filppula was on crutches. The Red Wings announced in the second period Filppula would not return because of a lower body injury. General manager Ken Holland gave no update on Filppula's condition. From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130529/SPORTS0103/305290399#ixz z2UlaD3X45 Detroit News LOADED: 05.30.2013 679271 Detroit Red Wings Detroit News LOADED: 05.30.2013

Despite Game 7 loss, Red Wings' future looks bright

Ted Kulfan

Chicago — Earlier in these playoffs, Red Wings coach Mike Babcock was talking about the growth of his young players who were participating in the postseason for the first time. Mostly, how beneficial this entire experience was going to be for them in their development going forward. "When I coached junior hockey, I used to always say a playoff game, development-wise, was like 2-1 to a regular-season game," Babcock said. "Your players are getting better and better. That's what's happening for our kids." In recent summers, Wings fans have been dreading the future once the season ended because of the relative lack of promising players on the horizon. But this time, it's totally different. With so many young players having played outstanding hockey in the playoffs, you wonder what they can accomplish next season with a full training camp and this valuable playoff experience with them. Here are some of the players who excelled in the playoffs: Justin Abdelkader: At 26, he's a bit older than some others on this list, but Abdelkader's ascent during these playoffs was something. After not scoring the first 23 games of the season, Abdelkader wound up with 10 goals and was a big, rugged winger who complemented Pavel Datsyuk on Datsyuk's line. "The biggest improvement out of anybody has been Justin Abdelkader," Babcock said. "He was our fourth-line center (to start the season) and suddenly he's playing with Pavel and he's a dominant, physical guy for our team." Joakim Andersson: With Darren Helm (back) missing the the Red Wings were constantly looking for a third line. After they promoted Andersson from Grand Rapids, the problem was on its way to being fixed, especially after Babcock put wingers Damien Brunner and Gustav Nyquist on Andersson's line. Damien Brunner: His defense isn't the greatest and it appears Brunner will be prone to hot-and-cold goal-scoring streaks, but you can't help but remain intrigued about what this guy could do in the future. Though 27, it appears sometimes Brunner is more raw to the NHL than players three or four years younger than he is. But Brunner has a great shot and appears to have a knack to finding scoring spots on the ice. Danny DeKeyser: The way this 23-year-old defenseman moved from Western Michigan into the Wings lineup late in the season was truly impressive. Jakub Kindl: The Red Wings have waited a long time but Kindl, the 2005 first-round draft pick, appears ready to fulfill his promise. Kindl has size (6- foot-3, 215 pounds), mobility and improved his defensive game. Gustav Nyquist: It took a while before the Red Wings felt the time was just right, but once they brought Nyquist, 23, up for good, it made them a deeper and better offensive team, particularly in the playoffs. His speed and quickness bothered Anaheim in the first round and he has good chemistry playing with Andersson. Brendan Smith: There were probably a lot more difficult moments to watch than positive ones during the playoffs for Red Wings fans focused on Smith. But at age 24, and with his array of skills, it's likely fans will have to learn to take the good with the bad for a little while longer. From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130530/SPORTS0103/305300335#ixz z2UlaHuZJV 679272 Detroit Red Wings "Proud and disappointed," Cleary said, when it was over. "We went up 3-1 and couldn't close them out. This team worked hard all season." Red Wings put intensity, heart, determination on display Hands from God

When Gustav Nyquist got the puck, after Cleary's awesome performance, Gregg Krupa he lifted a saucer pass over the stick of a Blackhawks defenseman toward Zetterberg.

Detroit -- Heartbreaking, certainly, but the Red Wings had quite a year. It was a nice play by Nyquist. They took the best team in the NHL in the regular season to overtime in the But the puck fluttered much more than either he or Zetterberg would have seventh game and lost, when defenseman Brent Seabrook, fired a puck hoped. But Zetterberg is world class player for several reasons. Among that deflected off Niklas Kronwall's skate and behind Jimmy Howard. them, his hands are from on high. Kronwall only did his job, as he has done all year essentially replacing one He swung at the puck before it hit the ground and despite the gyrations and of the greatest defensemen in the history of the game, Nicklas Lidstrom. He uncertain course it took, one of the finest money players in Wings' history had marvelous playoffs with his partner Jonathan Ericsson, holding big knocked it behind Crawford. scorers like Corey Perry and Jonathan Toews almost entirely in check Zetterberg neutralized Toews throughout the series, when the Red Wings throughout 14 games. could devise that matchup. He could not be faulted on the goal. And, once again in the playoffs, when it was absolutely necessary for their Howard had no chance on it, stopped 33 of 35 shots and held his guys in best players to step forth and land the punches, Zetterberg answered the for long, stretches when they struggled. bell. Much was learned in this game, this series, these playoffs, in this season. Powerless play The Red Wings are much better positioned for next season than many The Red Wings were 1 for 24 on the power play in the series. They could doubters could imagine, even several weeks ago. certainly have used a few more goals, and one more in Game 7. Babcock coached The Blackhawks have been brilliant on the penalty kill to this point in the playoffs, but the Red Wings power outage also had to do with their lineup. Mike Babcock worked and worked with the roster in flux and a bunch of As was the case at the end of 2012, they find themselves need more young guys. firepower going into next season. Somehow it managed to come together enough that they pulled one big Lousy change, Sharp goal upset in the playoffs, beating the Ducks, and came within one goal of ousting the powerful Blackhawks. Amid a myriad of little things at the start of the second period, the Red Wings completely messed-up a line change. With the puck barely in the His Wings were clipped, yet again, in Game 7 when Valtteri Filppula went Blackhawks end of the ice, Kronwall and Ericsson skated without sufficient down because of a left leg injury in the opening minutes. Babcock was pace towards the Red Wings bench with their sticks raised, beckoning unable to juggle lines to match-up differently against the deeply-talented replacements. Blackhawks and play Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk on the same line. They were tired after a long shift on which the Blackhawks put heavy pressure on them, and Howard, in the opening 50 seconds of the period. "Obviously, we're disappointed in the outcome, very proud of our guys," Babcock said. "I thought that we had exceptional, exceptional leadership But at least one of them should have waited to change. And one of the Red from our guys. I thought our kids really played hard. Wings forwards should have stayed more involved in the play, too. "To get back to the level where we are now, we obviously need to improve Instead, when the Blackhawks transitioned in an instant and launched their our hockey club. For me, I thought our players really competed hard and attack, it was Kyle Quincey struggling to become relevant on the play, and worked hard. We think we got kids going in the right direction. But we've still Howard largely alone. got to get better." [email protected] Cleary as a leader From The Detroit News: He started the season speaking for the players and keeping the young http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130530/OPINION03/305300334#ixzz fellows on message out in Troy during the lockout. His leadership was 2UlaNDH1A superb, in trying circumstances. Detroit News LOADED: 05.30.2013 Daniel Cleary had a tough season, at times. By the end, there was some talk about the importance of his grit, but doubt about whether the Wings will sign him again for next season. But when he took the ice in the third period, Cleary burned. In a terrific display of intensity on the forecheck, he prevented the Blackhawks from leaving their own zone for the first 20 seconds. He and had them so bottled up, it forced the turnover that led to the Wings first goal and a tie game. Now, his leadership was by example. For the much of the entire game until those opening moments of the third period, the Wings had not mounted much of a forecheck, or a backcheck. Their forwards seemed slow, perhaps listless and it allowed the Blackhawks to pour out of their zone, quickly through the neutral zone and in on Howard. Cleary's shift not only produced the game tying goal, it signaled a huge switch in the game The Red Wings forwards were finally hard on the Blackhawks defense and, if that failed, back-checking their hearts out. 679273 Detroit Red Wings

Red Wings coach Mike Babcock pleased with effort in series

Ted Kulfan The Detroit News

Detroit — So close, but they couldn't close it out. The Red Wings held a 3-1 series lead against Chicago but couldn't get that clinching, closing fourth victory. The capper was losing Wednesday's game in overtime, 2-1, to the Blackhawks at United Center, ending the series with Chicago advancing. The Red Wings will look fondly at an unexpectedly long playoff run. But the pain of not being able to close out the Blackhawks will sting. "Being up 3-1, it's disappointing no doubt," defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. Both teams had three game winning streaks in the series, Chicago's to successfully end the series. So the odd game could well have been Chicago's 4-1 Game 1 victory, a convincing win that had many people thinking the Blackhawks could sweep the Red Wings. "If you look at Game 1 and 5 (another 4-1 loss) in here (United Center), we didn't play our best," Kronwall said. "Other than that, we played some good hockey. We stuck to our game plan and in Game 6, we should have won that one (a 4-3 loss at Joe Louis Arena as the Blackhawks rallied in the third period). "Tonight was one of those games. "Great goaltending at both ends and the puck went off me for the winning goal." Defenseman Brent Seabrook's shot deflected off Kronwall and past goalie Jimmy Howard for the winner in overtime. Coach Mike Babcock felt the series was as close as it could get. "I didn't like our Game 5, but other than that, we played," Babcock said. "We didn't skate very good in Game 1 but we competed real hard. "We had an opportunity at home (in Game 6), we had momentum, and made a couple of mistakes defensively. "We did a lot of good things (in Game 7). Our guys really stepped up." Tough call What could have been an incredible turning point in the series was referee Stephen Walkom waving off the goal by Chicago defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson with slightly over a minute left in regulation. Walkom called offsetting penalties on Kyle Quincey and Chicago's Brandon Saad. "Steve made a call that he thought was the right call," forward Daniel Cleary said. "I don't think he saw Hjalmarsson coming down the slot. "I mean, listen, referees are human. They make mistakes. I don't know why everybody keeps getting on them for it. They try to do the best they can. It's a fast game. Anybody can look from up top or look on TV and say shoulda, coulda. But you're not the ice. You don't know how it is out there." [email protected] From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130530/SPORTS0103/305300338#ixz z2UlaRZTOL Detroit News LOADED: 05.30.2013 679274 Detroit Red Wings

Chicago's Niklas Hjalmarsson on disallowed goal: 'I went blank'

Ted Kulfan The Detroit News

Chicago — So what was the immediate reaction from Chicago defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson when his apparent winning goal in the third period was waved off? "Went blank from there. I got so mad," said Hjalmarsson, whose goal with 1:46 left in regulation was waved off by referee Stephen Walkom after he penalized Kyle Quincey and Chicago's Brandon Saad for roughing. "I didn't see the situation what happened there but it doesn't matter now," said Hjalmarsson after defenseman Brent Seabrook scored the winner in overtime, sending Chicago to a 2-1 victory and a 4-3 series win over the Red Wings. "We got the win and Seabs scored a huge goal for us. "If we would've lost it would've been a tough one. But since we won it doesn't really matter much." Saad was equally mystified and upset about the call. "I don't know why he made that call, but he made it," Saad said. "But it was his decision to make and we were fortunate we got the win in overtime. "Obviously I wasn't happy, but it's really a matter of refocusing between periods and going into overtime to get the win." Credit due Will this series benefit the Blackhawks later in the playoffs? They had to dig deep and rebound from a 3-1 series deficit and should be ready to play in the Western Conference Final against the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings. The Blackhawks said the Red Wings definitely tested them. "You have to give the Red Wings credit, they're a well-coached team, they keep coming at you," Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp said "Each game could have gone the other way. But we have to be proud of ourselves in this locker room for being able to battle back." Olympic similarity Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith (Michigan State) was on the 2010 Canadian Olympic team coached by the Red Wings' Mike Babcock. Keith agrees with Babcock that Canada's gold medal game against the U.S. in 2010 essentially was the greatest Game 7 memory Keith has had. "We played in four straight games that were basically do or die," said Keith, and Canada's game against U.S. was its seventh game in the tournament. "If we lost them we'd be done, so those are pressure, especially being on your home soil (Vancouver). "We've all played in pressure situations, even if it's playing for a championship in peewee. They're always there in the memory bank, and as you get older you just use that experience, one way or another, somehow, and just use it as confidence." [email protected] From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130530/SPORTS0103/305300337#ixz z2UlaWBei7 Detroit News LOADED: 05.30.2013 679275 Detroit Red Wings

Red Wings lose forward Valtteri Filppula early in game with apparent ankle injury (with video)

By Ansar Khan | [email protected] on May 29, 2013 at 8:49 PM, updated May 29, 2013 at 9:09 PM

CHICAGO -- Detroit Red Wings forward Valtteri Filppula left early in Wednesday's game with an apparent ankle injury and will not return. Filppula was injured about four minutes into the game during an exchange near the bench with Chicago Blackhawks forward Andrew Shaw, who appeared to slew-foot the Detroit forward. Filppula appeared to twist his ankle. He immediately went to the training room. Shaw was not penalized. Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said he had no update on Filppula's condition. Michigan Live LOADED: 05.30.2013 679276 Detroit Red Wings • Quenneville on Nick Leddy: "He's fine." On Marcus Kruger: "He's fine." On the Rolling Stones, who played at the United Center Tuesday night. "I think they're fine too, yeah." What the Red Wings and Blackhawks are saying before final playoff game Michigan Live LOADED: 05.30.2013 as conference rivals

By Brendan Savage | [email protected] on May 29, 2013 at 5:00 PM, updated May 29, 2013 at 5:05 PM

CHICAGO – Here's a sampling of what the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks are saying leading up to Game 7 of their Western Conference semifinal series tonight at the United Center. • Brendan Smith, on being a rookie in the final Western Conference playoff game between the Red Wings and Blackhawks. "It's an honor just to be a part of that. This will be my second Game 7 in a row I guess and it's pretty cool to already have that and to be a part of this whole awesome atmosphere. You have to treat it like a normal game. You understand in the back of your head what you have to do and how much difficult the game is going to be. I think you still go out and play your game and what got you here. That's what will end up taking care of you." • Viktor Stalberg, on the Blackhawks' desperation victories in Game 5 and 6: "We have to play the same way we have over these last two games. We feel like we have a second chance to advance. We're just excited to play this game tonight. It's a fresh start for both teams, it's one game that decides it all. It's exciting, we're going to come out flying here tonight and do our best to advance. We've faced elimination two games in a row, but the biggest thing is not to let up here, we have to play desperate here again, our backs are still against the wall. We can't be happy by just coming back. We have to find a way to win this last one here, that's all that matters." • Justin Abdelkader, on tonight's game: "Anytime you get to play in a Game 7 it's a unique opportunity, exciting to be a part of. With us moving conferences next year there's no better way to go out than Game 7 deciding match. We're excited about the opportunity. Game 7 experience against Anaheim will help us.'' • Joel Quenneville, on Game 7: "There's pressure on both teams. And I thinkmost of that pressure comes from within. It was no breeze getting to this point, and even though it was a shortened season, every guy in this room -- whether they played every night or sacrificed their playing time and got scratched -- we have a lot of great individuals here who paid the price to get here. So that's where the pressure comes from. We want to win for each other." • Mike Babcock, on Detroit's second Game 7 in two rounds: "We got an absolute ton of experience in that area. We talk about Game 7 sometimes like it's something to avoid. It's as much fun as you can have in hockey. When you do what you're supposed to do and you're organized and you trust your teammates and you trust your structure, let's play.'' • Patrick Kane, on how to potentially rattle Jimmy Howard: "He's been playing great, he makes a lot of big saves. Hasn't given up any weak ones. He's been tough to scorer on. Just try to keep getting chances, keep getting shots, if we have to throw 50 pucks on the net that's what it's got to be. I've met him a few times before at all-star games and things like that. Knowing he's an American kid, you follow goalies like that, especially when you hear so much about him. He seems like a calm, cool and collected guy just in general. Usually that's the best comfort zone for a goaltender.'' • Patrick Eaves, on the excitement and nervous tension leading up to a Game 7: "You just have to keep all of your emotions in check and you have to be ready to go when the puck drops. The hardest part is waiting all day for the big game. It's just about keeping everything in check and being ready when it's time to be ready." • Duncan Keith, on playing Game 7 at home: "We're happy to play in front of our crowd and be in our building. We're going to use that energy from our fans as best we can. But that doesn't change the way the game is played. It is still played the way the same way, so we're going to have to be good. It is do or die for both teams. One team's season is going to be over (to)night. We don't want it to be us. We're excited about the opportunity to push them out and move on." 679277 Detroit Red Wings Finally, one reader is just happy the Red Wings have made it this far. "Hope the Wings win," wrote reader wings1917. "Happy with whatever happens it has been so fun this year. I will just say first goal scored will win Detroit Red Wings fans: The Chicago Blackhawks are going down tonight in the game." Game 7 at the United Center Who do you think will win Game 7? Michigan Live LOADED: 05.30.2013 By Brendan Savage | [email protected] on May 29, 2013 at 4:00 PM, updated May 29, 2013 at 4:03 PM

CHICAGO – The Detroit Red Wings are going to the Western Conference Finals to play the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings, according to MLive.com readers. Of the 3,095 votes cast in our poll – who will win Game 7 between the Red Wings and Blackhawks? – the Red Wings were a slight favorite. If our readers are correct, that would earn the Red Wings a date with the Kings for a spot in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Red Wings received 1,699 votes – 54.9 percent – when it came to picking a winner in Game 7 while Chicago got 1,396 votes. That's not exactly a landslide victory but it seems fitting given that Game 7s are usually close, too. The Red Wings will be trying to win Game 7 after taking a 3-1 lead in the series with three straight victories before dropping Games 5 and 6. "The Hawks obviously wanted it more in game 5; and at least in the 3rd period of (Monday) night, that was the case again," wrote reader akscott. "Wednesday that should all even up, so I like the Wings again to finish them off. They played their best game of the playoffs in game 7 against the Ducks, and I wouldn't bet against Zetterberg & Datsyuk in a game 7." One reader likes the Red Wings chances because they had to win all four of their games during the final week of the regular-season just to get into the playoffs. Losing one of those games in regulation would have left the Red Wings on the outside of the playoffs looking in. "Red Wings finished the season with 4 game 7's," wrote reader Petard. "They were 4-0. Wings 3-2." There are some readers who are picking the Red Wings simply because they couldn't live with themselves if they voted for the Blackhawks. "I'm certainly not going to pick the Hawks," wrote reader tcyooper. "Wings have a good chance. Regular season we came within a goal (and we plinked a couple off goal posts) of winning. Split with them in the first two games. So why not. If they can skate a full game, Hawks are beatable." The Blackhawks were overwhelming favorites entering the series after winning the regular-season championship and now that they've rallied to put themselves in position to eliminate the Red Wings it's tough for some readers to pick against them. "Chicago," wrote reader Karlander. "It pains me to say it but Chicago is clearly showing why they were a threat even when this was 3-1. Chicago has all the momentum in the world and we have all the mistakes in the world. Additionally, Howard has not been sharp the last two games . If we win, absolutely wonderful and I will eat crow, eat my hat, eat the Sears Tower if necessary but I expect the Hawks to bring their skill, their physical game, their skating and their intensity. And I expect, like the last two games, we will bring more mistakes." Blowing a 2-1 third-period lead in Game 6 has one reader skeptical the Red Wings can bounce back in Game 7. "Much as I would like to pick the Wings. I just do not see it, after watching game 6," wrote reader SimonSaid. "Where have Datsyuk and Zetterberg been. I give up on Fils and the Mule." The atmosphere in the United Center – aka the Madhouse on Madison (Street) – will definitely be anti-Red Wings and that could be a factor tonight as well. "To think that the Wings will win in Chicago is just wishful thinking," wrote reader red wing fan. "After (Monday) nights game which the Wings had a chance to win and end this series how could anyone really believe the Wings have a chance in the Mad House? 679278 Detroit Red Wings Patrick Sharp-Jonathan Toews-Patrick Kane Bryan Bickell-Michal Handus-Marian Hossa Red Wings experiment with different look on power play, which needs to Brandon Saad--Andrew Shaw-Viktor Stalberg come through in Game 7 Marcus Kruger-Dave Bolland-Michael Frolik On defense: By Ansar Khan | [email protected] Duncan Keith-Brent Seabrook on May 29, 2013 at 2:09 PM, updated May 29, 2013 at 2:21 PM Nick Leddy-Niklas Hjalmarsson Johnny Oduya-Michal Rozsival CHICAGO – The Detroit Red Wings are hoping a different look to their top power-play unit will yield better result tonight in Game 7 of the Western Corey Crawford (starting) Conference semifinals against the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Ray Emery Center (8 p.m., NBC Sports Network, CBC). Michigan Live LOADED: 05.30.2013 The Red Wings, during the morning skate, used sort of an umbrella formation with only one point man, Niklas Kronwall, and had Pavel Datsyuk and Johan Franzen at the flanks, with Justin Abdelkader at the net-front and Henrik Zetterberg roaming around in the zone. They previously have used a conventional formation with Damien Brunner at the right point. Brunner was practicing on the second unit. “We tried it out in practice; we'll see what happens in the game, if that stays or not,'' Abdelkader said. “If it goes, we just got to shoot pucks and get second chances and break them down. Power plays always start with the shot, we got to make sure we're shooting and getting pucks back and taking it to the net.'' The Red Wings are 1-for-22 on the power play (4.5 percent) in this series. Their only goal came from Jakub Kindl with one second remaining on a power play in Game 4. The Blackhawks are 38-for-39 (97.4 percent) on the penalty kill in the playoffs. “Our biggest thing in this series on our power play is their 'four go,' '' Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “That's when a puck is shot and it's on the wall and they got four guys going. Our power play retrieval part of it hasn't been good enough. So their four guys are working harder than our power play to get it back. “If you're one and done your power play's not very good because there's no skills plays happening, you're just shooting and they fire it down and you work on your breakout. That's a lot of exercise. It's way more fun wearing them out in their zone.'' The Red Wings went 6-for-25 (24 percent) on the power play in the first round against Anaheim. “Anytime somethings' not working you got to find different ways through it,'' Kronwall said. “We tried a different look, we'll see if that's going to happen in the game as well. But it felt pretty good in practice, we'll see where it leads.'' The Red Wings skated today with the same lines and defense pairings they have for most of the series: Johan Franzen-Pavel Datsyuk-Justin Abdelkader Valtteri Filppula-Henrik Zetterberg-Daniel Cleary Gustav Nyquist-Joakim Andersson-Damien Brunner Drew Miller--Cory Emmerton-Patrick Eaves Jordin Tootoo, Todd Bertuzzi, Mikael Samuelsson (scratched). On defense: Niklas Kronwall-Jonathan Ericsson Kyle Quincey-Brendan Smith Carlo Colaiacovo-Jakub Kindl Ian White (scratched) Jimmy Howard (starting) Jonas Gustavsson Jordan Pearce (third goalie) Here are the Blackhawks' anticipated lines and defense pairings: 679279 Detroit Red Wings

Detroit Red Wings Gameday: Which player needs to step up in Game 7 vs. Chicago Blackhawks?

By Brendan Savage | [email protected] on May 29, 2013 at 11:00 AM, updated May 29, 2013 at 11:37 AM

GAME INFORMATION • Who: Detroit Red Wings vs. Chicago Blackhawks, Game 7 • Faceoff: 8 p.m. at United Center • Live coverage: Join the MLive conversation at 7 p.m. ET and follow Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) and Brendan Savage (@BrendanSavage) on Twitter. • TV: NBC Sports Network, CBC • Radio: WXYT-FM (97.1) and the Red Wings Radio Network • Latest line: Blackhawks -1.5 (5.0) THE ISSUE After winning three straight games to take a 3-1 lead in their Stanley Cup playoff series with the Chicago Blackhawks, the Detroit Red Wings are facing an all-or-nothing game tonight at the United Center. Win and the Red Wings pull of the biggest upset in the 2013 playoffs. Lose and they've blown a golden opportunity by dropping the final three games of the series. If the Red Wings are going to beat the Blackhawks tonight and move on to the Western Conference Finals, which player needs to step up and lead them a victory? BRENDAN SAVAGE I'm tempted to say Pavel Datsyuk but instead I'll go with captain Henrik Zetterberg. Zetterberg was the guy who led the Red Wings into the playoffs during the final week of the regular season and he was the one who stepped up his game in the fist round, when Detroit won two straight games to beat the Anaheim Ducks in seven games. He's Detroit's unquestioned leader and if Zetterberg comes up with a big performance tonight, there's a good chance the rest of the Red Wings will follow. It obviously wouldn't hurt if Datsyuk has a big game, too. ANSAR KHAN It's about time Johan Franzen made an impact. He's always capable of breaking loose. You just never know when. The Red Wings know what they're going to get from Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. They might get held off the scoresheet, but they'll play hard and give a good effort. If Franzen contributes some offense, it'll take some of the burden off Datsyuk and Zetterberg. Michigan Live LOADED: 05.30.2013 679280 Detroit Red Wings being slew-footed by Andrew Shaw. Filppula, who had the leg in an immobilizer, did not return. “It was a good game,'' Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “I was Red Wings feel a mixture of pride and dejection after battling Blackhawks disappointed we lost Fil early, I thought we could have been a lot more hard, only to lose in the end (with video) dynamic if we had Fil, he’s one of our top four forwards. “I thought our guys hung in there and battled hard just like they’ve done all year long. From the start to the end we were a team that just got better, better and better and they’re a very talented group. I thought we pushed By Ansar Khan | [email protected] them hard in the series and we had a lot of fun doing it.'' on May 30, 2013 at 1:13 AM, updated May 30, 2013 at 3:07 AM The Red Wings went 0-for-2 on the power play, 1-for-24 in the series against a team that has killed 40-of-41 opportunities in the postseason. “If our power play would have been better we would have won the series,'' CHICAGO – The Detroit Red Wings were proud of what they accomplished, Kronwall said. rallying to extend their playoff streak, pulling an upset in the first round and then taking the best team in the NHL to the limit. Cleary said his teammates should be proud of themselves for battling hard. Howard echoed those sentiments. But, they were bitterly disappointed in how it ended, because they were on the brink of doing something special, only to see it slip away at the very “Just thank the guys for never giving up, constantly being resilient,'' Howard end. said. “There were people that counted us out, saying you can’t do it because we lost Nick (Lidstrom). We lost a lot of guys. We had a lot of guys When Brent Seabrook scored at 3:35 of overtime Wednesday in Game 7 of step up this year. the Western Conference semifinals at the United Center, the Chicago Blackhawks capped a spectacular series comeback with a 2-1 victory. “But as far as the series go, I’m proud of the guys. We know we battled.'' The Blackhawks advanced to the conference finals against the Los Angeles Michigan Live LOADED: 05.30.2013 Kings. The Red Wings blew a 3-1 series lead for only the third time in franchise history. “Right now it's just empty,'' defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “I thought we played a pretty good game, stuck with it, worked really hard. To go out like that is a tough way.'' Said forward Daniel Cleary: “We had three chances to close them out, just didn't get it done.'' Seabrook picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone, carried it over the blue line and fired a wrist shot from the high slot. It deflected in off Kronwall's shin, past Jimmy Howard. “I didn't get good enough gap control there, didn't get up,'' Kronwall said. “He was able to walk down. I tried to block it and it went off me and in.'' Said Seabrook: “I don’t know if I saw it go in, to be honest. I just heard the horn going and the boys jumping out. It was a pretty exhausting game, but I think I was more tired during the celebration with guys jumping and pushing me in the face and dragging me down. It’s exciting. You don’t get to do that too many times.” Detroit's Jonathan Ericsson called it a “surreal'' feeling. “We were confident coming into overtime, had a good feeling in the room,'' Ericsson said. “We said we were going to go for it and then it just ends like that, the whole season.'' A dejected Kronwall was consoled on the ice by Howard. “Howie just came up and said, 'You played well,' '' Kronwall said. “Howie's been so great for us. In the postseason I never seen him this good. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get one for him.'' Said Howard: “How do you get upset at somebody who is sacrificing their body to block a shot? Kronner has been huge for us all year. He doesn’t deserve that one.'' The Red Wings were attempting to win Game 7 on the road for the second series in a row, after beating Anaheim in the first round. They finished 21 points behind the Blackhawks during the regular season, but little separated the teams in this series. “Of course it's really empty right now,'' Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg said. “We did a lot of good things to come back and force overtime. Not surprised, kind of fluke play that goes in.'' The Blackhawks opened the scoring at 1:08 of the second period when Patrick Sharp completed a nice tac-tac-toe passing play with Michal Handzus and Marian Hossa during a three-on-one created by the Red Wings' bad change. The Red Wings tied it 1-1 on Zetterberg's goal 26 seconds into the third period. Gustav Nyquist set him up with a nice pass. Nyquist was moved to that line because Valtteri Filppula injured his left leg early in the game after 679281 Detroit Red Wings

Blackhawks eliminate Red Wings with 2-1 overtime win in Game 7, on goal by Brent Seabrook

By Ansar Khan | [email protected] on May 29, 2013 at 11:06 PM, updated May 30, 2013 at 2:06 AM

CHICAGO – Brent Seabrook scored at 3:35 of overtime Wednesday to lift the Chicago Blackhawks to a 2-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals at the United Center. The Blackhawks advanced to the Western Conference finals against the Los Angeles Kings. The Red Wings showed must resilience in reaching this point, but ended up losing three in a row after taking a 3-1 series lead. It is just the third time in franchise history the Red Wings have squandered a 3-1 series lead. Seabrook skated the puck over the blue line and beat Jimmy Howard with a wrist shot from the high in the slot. It appeared to deflect off Niklas Kronwall and sail over Howard's outstretched glove. It marks the first time Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville has beaten the Red Wings in the playoffs. He is 1-5. The Blackhawks appeared to take a 2-1 lead with 1:49 left in regulation on a goal by Niklas Hjalmarsson, who entered the zone and blasted in a shot. But, it was immediately waved off because referee Stephen Walkom was in the process of calling coincidental minor penalties for roughing to Kyle Quincey and Brandon Saad and had blown the whistle. The Red Wings' surge at the start of the third period was spearheaded by Henrik Zetterberg, who tied it at 1-1 at the 26-second mark with his fourth goal of the playoffs. Gustav Nyquist made a nice chip pass over defenseman Johnny Oduya to Zetterberg, who fired the puck into an open net as Corey Crawford barely moved. Nyquist replaced Valtteri Filppula on the line with Zetterberg and Daniel Cleary. The Red Wings lost Filppula toa left leg injury four minutes into the game, when he was slew-footed by Andrew Shaw near the Detroit bench. Filppula was going off for a change when he got involved in an altercation between Shaw and Zetterberg. The Red Wings did not reveal the extent of the injury. The Red Wings went 0-for-2 on the power play. They were 1-for-24 in the series (4.2 percent) against the top penalty-killing club in the NHL during the playoffs (40-for-41, 97.6 percent). Patrick Sharp opened the scoring at 1:08 of the second period with his seventh goal of the postseason, following a bad change by the Red Wings. Sharp capped a nice tac-tac-toe passing play during a three-on-one break. Sharp passed to Michal Handzus, who passed to Marian Hossa, who passed across the front of the net back to Sharp, who scored from a sharp angle. Chances were few and far between for the remainder of the period. Crawford stopped a point-blank opportunity by Corey Emmerton. Later, Kronwall blocked a one-timer by Patrick Kane, who was set up by Jonathan Toews. Howard then made a save on Shaw, who broke free on a two-on-one with Viktor Stalberg. The first period was scoreless, but the Red Wings played well, getting off to the good start they needed Emmerton had their best scoring chance, getting stopped by Crawford during a two-on-one with Brendan Smith early in the period. Michigan Live LOADED: 05.30.2013 679282 Detroit Red Wings “Right now it’s just empty,” Kronwall added. “I thought we played a pretty good game, stuck with it and worked really hard. To go out like that is a tough way.” Wings suffer heartbreaking loss to Blackhawks in Game 7 The game remained tied despite what looked like an apparent goal from Niklas Hjalmarsson with 1:47 left in the third period.

By CHUCK PLEINESS However, referee Stephen Walkom had blown his whistle for an incident near the Wings’ bench that sent Kyle Quincey and Brandon Saad both off [email protected]; @wingsfrontman for roughing and put both teams down a man, just before Hjalmarsson’s shot beat Howard. Posted: Thursday, 05/30/13 12:35 am “I thought they should have had a penalty when they tripped Zetterberg and then I didn’t see the pile up, it was underneath my bench so I couldn’t really see what happened,” Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “Our guy showed us CHICAGO – The team that scores first in a Game 7 nine times out of 10 the replay and the ref blew the whistle. usually comes out victorious. “These games are highly contested and real hard to officiate,” Babcock Make that 16 out of the last 16. continued. “If this was a regular season game there would have been a Brent Seabrook scored just three minutes and 35 seconds into overtime as parade to the penalty box with what goes on out there. That’s why the the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Detroit Red Wings in Game 7 of their playoffs are so much fun is because they’re hard.” Western Conference semifinal series, 2-1, Wednesday night at the United Cleary agreed with the call. Center. “Steve made a call that he thought was the right call,” Cleary said. “I don’t “Right now it feels a little surreal,” Jonathan Ericsson said. “We were think he saw Hjalmarsson coming down the slot. I mean, listen, referees are confident coming into overtime, had a good feeling in the room. We said we human. They make mistakes. I don’t know why everybody keeps getting on were going to go for it and then it just ends like that, the whole season just them for it. They try to do the best they can. It’s a fast game. Anybody can ends like that. Like I said it feels kind of surreal, empty right now.” look from up top or look on TV and say shoulda, coulda. But you’re not the It’s now 16 straight postseason Game 7s that the team that scored first has ice. You don’t know how it is out there.” gone on to advance. Trailing 1-0 to start the third, Zetterberg got the equalizer for the Wings just “I’m at a loss for words right now,” Carlo Colaiacovo said. “I’m more in 26 seconds into the third period after getting a pretty feed from Nyquist. shock more than anything. We battled really hard and I thought with how Nyquist waited for Johnny Oduya to commit and chipped a puck over the hard we competed in the third period we had the momentum going our way Blackhawks defenseman’s stick and right to Zetterberg, who had nothing and heading into overtime we felt pretty good about our chances. Then all but an open net to shoot at as Crawford didn’t make a move to get back in of a sudden, one shot and your whole season is over. It’s tough to swallow his crease. now, but I couldn’t be more proud of a bunch guys. We battled hard and earned everything we deserved. It’s just unfortunate it’s got to end this The goal was fifth of the playoffs and third in six career Game 7s. way.” Nyquist normally wouldn’t have been on that line, but an injury to Valtteri Chicago, which trailed 3-1 in the series, takes the best-of-seven Western Filppula on just his second shift of the game forced the Wings to juggle up Conference semifinal series 4-3. their forward units. Detroit last lost a series when leading it 3-1 in 1991, when it was ousted Filppula got tied up with Andrew Shaw by the Wings’ bench. Filppula was from the opening round by St. Louis. helped off the ice and back to the locker room and never returned. The Blackhawks will host the Los Angeles Kings in Game 1 of the Western Shaw first crosschecked Zetterberg and then Cleary tried to grab him while Conference finals on Saturday at 5 p.m. Los Angeles advanced after a 2-1 on the bench. Shaw then crosschecked Filppula high and the forward win over the San Jose Sharks in Game 7, Tuesday. tumbled awkwardly to the ice. “Of course if feels really empty right now,” Henrik Zetterberg said. “I think The replay looked as if Shaw slew-footed Filppula to bring him to the ice. we played a good game, we did a lot of good things, came back there forced overtime. You know, not surprised that they scored on kind of a fluke “You guys watched the video, you decide,” Babcock said. play there, it goes in when I think it hits Kronner’s skate and goes in.” It took Chicago all of a 1:08 to open the scoring taking advantage of a Patrick Sharp scored Chicago’s other goal early in the second period and horrible line change by the Wings, which led to a 3-on-1 going the other Corey Crawford stopped 26 shots. way. Zetterberg scored the Wings’ goal and Jimmy Howard made 33 saves. As Kronwall and Ericsson went for a change, Kyle Quincey did jump over the boards and tried to break up the rush, but some precision tape-to-tape It was Detroit’s fifth overtime game this playoffs, finishing 3-2. passing from Sharp to Michal Handzus to Marian Hossa and back to Sharp, who beat Howard cleanly with a one-timer, led to the goal. Chicago improved to 2-1 in OT. The goal was Sharp’s seventh of the playoffs. The series win was Chicago coach Joel Quenneville’s first against the Wings after losing the first five. It’s also his first win in three tries against Detroit is now 14-10 all-time in Game 7s. Mike Babcock. Two years ago, Chicago suffered a defeat in a Game 7, which was also in “It was a tight series, we played hard, it was a great Game 7,” Daniel Cleary overtime, after dropping the first three games in the series with the said. “Guys should be proud of themselves. I thought we played a good Vancouver Canucks. Crawford was also the goalie for the Blackhawks. game, had a good third period. It’s a good team we played. (I’m) proud and disappointed. We had three chances to close them out, just didn’t get it Michigan Live LOADED: 05.30.2013 done.” Just past the three-minute mark of overtime, Dave Bolland leveled Gustav Nyquist along the boards and Seabrook pounced on the loose puck and skated over the Wings’ blue line and wristed a shot over Howard’s glove to end things. The shot deflected slightly off Niklas Kronwall. “I think it went off me and went right in,” Kronwall said. “I didn’t get good enough gap control there, didn’t get up. He was able to walk down, I tried to block it and it went off me and in. 679283 Detroit Red Wings and the other team is not so good, maybe it’s not going to be there as much, but when both teams are good and they’ve won a Stanley Cup over the past five years the rivalry intensifies that much more.” Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks to go separate ways The Pittsburgh Penguins were a rival for a few seasons after meeting the Wings in back-to-back finals.

By CHUCK PLEINESS “That was good there, but even those guys we played them in the finals, but we didn’t see them during the regular season,” Abdelkader said. “I’d [email protected]; @wingsfrontman have to say it’s Chicago for me.” Wednesday, May 29,2013 The Wings will play next season in a Division with three Original Six teams, Boston, Montreal and Toronto, along with Ottawa, Buffalo, Florida and Tampa Bay. CHICAGO – In some ways, Wednesday night marked an end to an Original “Travel-wise it’s going to be good,” Abdelkader said. “It’s going to be a lot Six rivalry when the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks met in different. Travel-wise it just makes so much sense, but it’s going to be a Game 7 of their Western Conference semifinals at the United Center. bummer not coming here three or four times a year.” Next season the Wings will be moving to the Eastern Conference which Chicago will be in a division with Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, Nashville, St. means the only way the teams will meet in the Stanley Cup finals. Louis and Winnipeg. “The next time we face them in the Stanley Cup playoffs it’ll be a lot of fun; Columbus will also move from the West to the East, which will house of 16 that means we will have gotten someplace so that’s a good thing,” Wings of the league’s 30 teams. coach Mike Babcock said Wednesday morning. “For me, I’ve mentioned this already, is I really like the city. They have high end players. I like the ANDY COMING OF AGE way the Blackhawks play because they play fast. I like coming in the building. Their captain is what a captain should be, he’s respectful of the Rookie Joakim Andersson was praised by his coach at the team’s morning game and does things right.” skate. This was the 16th playoff series between the storied franchises and 81st “Andy knows how to play,” said Babcock. “He’s a big body, he knows how meeting overall in the postseason. to play, he makes good plays, he’s smart and as he gets better and becomes more comfortable and more physical – and I’m not just talking “There’s no better way to go out with these guys than a Game 7, win or go without the puck, but with the puck – he’ll become a better and better home game,” forward Justin Abdelkader said. player.” “We couldn’t have scripted it any better with hopefully a win for us,” Andersson has really come of age in the playoffs, especially in the faceoff defenseman Kyle Quincey said. circle. The teams have met twice in the Stanley Cup finals in 1934 and 1944 with Heading into Wednesday’s game, Andersson had won 56.3 percent of his the Blackhawks’ winning both series. draws, which is slightly below team leader Pavel Datsyuk at 56.5 percent. “They remind me of our franchise in a lot of ways,” Babcock said. “The “Confidence-wise is the biggest thing and just to be confident to do stuff history that’s around it, you bump into guys every time you’re in the that I’m good at,” Andersson said. “I don’t know if I improved skills in my building. I like that part of hockey. When you’ve been in a long time and game. I’m more confident to do the stuff I usually do. I’m still young so I’m you’ve had a lot of respect for the game, Original Six means something to improving all the time, in faceoffs and the defensive part of the game and you.” being in the right spots.” The teams, who are separated by less than 300 miles of road, have faced Andersson was just 46.4 percent in faceoffs during the regular season. each other in more regular season games than any other two clubs in NHL history. “I want to play more with the puck, have more confidence to make plays, hold onto it longer in the offensive zone,” Andersson said. “Sometimes I get The first meeting took place on Nov. 24, 1926. The Detroit Cougars beat mad at myself when I throw it away in the offensive zone, instead of just the Black Hawks, 1-0, on a goal by Frank Frederickson with five minutes holding onto it and protecting the puck. I know I can do that better.” remaining in the third period. The assist went to Hobie Kitchen and rookie goalie Hap Holmes recorded the shutout. Macomb Daily LOADED: 05.30.2013 “It was rough, a lot different when I was a kid,” Abdelkader said of the early years that he can recall of the rivalry. “The Proberts, McCartys, Kocurs, it was fun. All you have to do is look at the jerseys, Original Six, two of the best jerseys in the league. Just the tradition and what each organization is about, every time you put on the jersey you take pride in it. “And the fans are just into it,” Abdelkader said. “They’re a big part of why the rivalry has been so good. It’s been fun to be a part of. To see both cities get behind their teams and the excitement and energy in both stadiums is always fun.” With Chicago’s team falling on hard times for a bit, Colorado took over as the Wings’ biggest rival. From 1996-2002 the teams met five times in the playoffs. And in Game 6 of their meeting in the 1996 Western Conference finals, Claude Lemieux checked Kris Draper from behind into the boards that sent the Wings forward to the hospital with a broken jaw, shattering a cheek and an orbital bone. “That took over for a few years when they had those certain players and that one hit certainly sparked everything,” Quincey said. “But as soon as those players retired and the team and game changed that rivalry fizzled pretty quick.” “Once Chicago got good again, they got (Patrick) Kane and (Jonathan) Toews and picked up a few other players the rivalry kind of renewed itself, got new energy,” Abdelkader said. “It’s tough when one team is really good 679284 Detroit Red Wings Nothing matters what happened previously in the serious. You just go out there and play.” As a franchise, the Wings are 14-9 all-time in Game 7s. Red Wings stars ready for Game 7 2013: Western Conference QF vs. Anaheim, W 3-2 2011: Western Conference SF vs. San Jose, L 3-2 By CHUCK PLEINESS 2010: Western Conference QF vs. Phoenix, W 6-1 [email protected]; @wingsfrontman 2009: Stanley Cup Final vs. Pittsburgh, L 2-1 Wednesday, May 29,2013 2009: Western Conference SF vs. Anaheim, W 4-3 2002: Western Conference Final vs. Colorado, W 7-0 CHICAGO – Superstars are called upon to step up when the team needs them the most. 1996: Western Conference SF vs. St. Louis, W 1-0 2OT And that’s been the case with Detroit Red Wings forwards Henrik 1994: Western Conference SF vs. San Jose, L 3-2 Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. 1993: Norris Division SF vs. Toronto, L 4-3 OT In five career Game 7s, Zetterberg has two goals and six assists, while Datsyuk has four goals and one assist. 1992: Norris Division SF vs. Minnesota, W 5-2 That’s why Wings coach Mike Babcock doesn’t worry about his two 1991: Norris Division SF vs. St. Louis, L 3-2 superstars heading into Game 7 against the Chicago Blackhawks tonight at 1987: Norris Division Final vs. Toronto, W 3-0 the United Center. 1965: Semifinal vs. Chicago, L 4-2 “That’s because I’ve been hanging around them for a long time,” Babcock said. “Pav had six shots on net (in Game 6). He was home-free (Monday) 1964: Stanley Cup Final vs. Toronto, L 4-0 night and didn’t score, he didn’t get up over the pad. Like he’s due. So the way I look at guys like that when they haven’t scored in a bit they’re due, 1964: Semifinal vs. Chicago, W 4-2 they’re bound to come through.” 1955: Stanley Cup Final vs. Montreal, W 3-1 Zetterberg has yet to score through six games in the series, but does have 1954: Stanley Cup Final vs. Montreal, W 2-1 OT three assists. 1950: Stanley Cup Final vs. NY Rangers, W 4-3 2OT Datsyuk has just one goal and one assist in the series with Chicago. 1950: Semifinal vs. Toronto, W 1-0 OT “Everyone talked about (Jonathan Toews) for a long time,” Babcock continued. “It’s the same thing. When you’re due and you’re a good player 1949: Semifinal vs. Montreal, W 3-1 and you work hard and you’re determined, eventually you’re going to break out. So to me those guys are like money in the bank as far as I’m 1945: Stanley Cup Final vs. Toronto, L 2-1 concerned.” 1945: Semifinal vs. Boston, W 5-3 Zetterberg did come through in the clutch for Detroit in Games 6 and 7 1942: Stanley Cup Final vs. Toronto, L 3-1 against Anaheim. He had two goals and an assist in Game 6 and followed that up a goal and an assist in Game 7. Macomb Daily LOADED: 05.30.2013 Datsyuk had a goal and two assists in Game 6 against the Ducks. “That’s why they are who they are,” Niklas Kronwall said of Zetterberg and Datsyuk. “I wish I could tell you why. They bring it every night and in games like these is when they shine the most. “They seem to find that comfort zone and just go out there and produce and make things happen out of nowhere,” Kronwall added. “They’re two of the best players in the league and we’re really happy that they’re on our club and not the other teams.” Toews had been held without a goal this postseason before he finally lit the lamp in a must-win Game 5 for Chicago. He then had two assists in the Blackhawks’ second must-win game of the series, Game 6. “I just think anybody who is a scorer, who is getting shots on net is bound to score,” Babcock said. “If you’re not getting any shots on net, you’re not getting any looks, you’re not going to get any opportunity that way. We had looks (Monday) night, there’s no question about it. In the end, if you fail to execute around the net that’s just part of it. You have to find a way to put it in the net. Close doesn’t get you anywhere at this time of year.” Valtteri Filppula also has come up clutch in Game 7s, registering a goal and five assists in five games. Jimmy Howard is 2-1 in three Game 7s, with a 2.01 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage. “We knew it was going to be tough,” Howard said. “They’re a really good team. They showed it in the last two games. Just made a couple mistakes and it wound up in the back of our net. “Some days they go in, some days they don’t,” Howard continued. “It’s just one of those things where you put it all behind you. It’s just one game. 679285 Detroit Red Wings Can they do it again? Win or lose, the emotion the Red Wings invoke undoubtedly will be on one extreme or another. Caputo: Red Wings win unlikely, but possible (with video) That is the definition of a big game. Pat Caputo By Pat Caputo Macomb Daily LOADED: 05.30.2013 [email protected]; @patcaputo98 Wednesday, May 29,2013

The Red Wings’ Game 7 in Chicago tonight presents a myriad of emotion. If it had been presented to this town at the start of the season as a second- round match, or a month ago when the Red Wings’ spot in the playoffs was tenuous, it would have been celebrated. Yet, the Red Wings were up three games to one in their Western Conference semifinal Stanley Cup set against the Blackhawks. Then, they held a 2-1 lead entering the third period of the potential series-clinching Game 6 Monday at Joe Louis Arena. Poof…the lead vanished within minutes during the third period. Thus, we have Game 7 and the makings of what could, accurately, be defined as a classic playoff collapse. Is it a final epic battle between two long-time Original Six rivals, one last flash before the Red Wings move to the Eastern Conference next season? Or is it merely another sign the Red Wings aren’t what they used to be — should they lose Game 7? Or is it a case of water finding its level? The Blackhawks were the best team in the NHL during the regular season. Have the Red Wings done well merely to throw fear into such a strong opponent, and ultimately losing this series is inevitable? Oh, and are the Red Wings actually done? What if they win tonight? Wouldn’t that only make it sweeter? This year, the Red Wings have been about unpredictably and accomplishing the unlikely. There was a late rally to get into the playoffs, and coming back from three games to two down in the opening round against Anaheim. As you’ve likely already been reminded numerous times — the Red Wings did win Game 7 on the road to clinch that series. It wouldn’t be out of character for this version of the Red Wings to shock the hockey world by winning Game 7 in Chicago. The list of things the Red Wings must do better in order to win Game 7 is long, though. It begins with taking better care of the puck in their own zone. When the Red Wings have faltered in the postseason, it’s usually been the biggest factor. The Blackhawks are an exceptionally skilled and deep team for the NHL’s salary cap era. If you give them an inch, they will take a mile. That’s exactly what transpired during the third period Monday. The Red Wings barely blinked during the first 10 minutes of the third period and Chicago scored three goals. Subsequently, the game was over and Detroit’s season put on the edge. Another factor is not taking bad penalties. There are two sorts of penalties. One is deep in your own zone denying a potential goal. Another is in the neutral zone or in the opponent’s zone — and the penalty serves no purpose. It’s not just whether a power play goal is scored, either. It takes a lot of energy to kill penalties. Jimmy Howard has been very good in goal for the Red Wings. If anything, he has outplayed his counterpart with Chicago, Corey Crawford. It must continue. In recent games, the Red Wings have been depending too much on their secondary scoring. This is a moment Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, easily the Red Wings’ best players, and two of the best in the world, must step forward. They must score goals. It’s not a coincidence they played their best hockey during the Red Wings’ playoff push, and the later portion of the Anaheim series. It will take essentially the perfect road playoff game for the Red Wings to take this series, but they’ve done it before. 679286 Detroit Red Wings They scored early in the game (Monday) night and I thought we really responded. We need to start on time (Wednesday), for sure.” The Wings took a 2-1 lead into the third period of Game 6, only to witness ‘Enjoy yourself,’ Babcock tells Red Wings Chicago score three times in less than nine minutes to swing the momentum back on its side.

By CHUCK PLEINESS “I think we all know it’s Game 7,” Zetterberg said. “It’s win or go home. But that makes it a lot more exciting to play. Preparation-wise you just do what’s [email protected]; @wingsfrontman normal.” Wednesday, May 29,2013 This is just the third time in their 87-year rivalry that the Original Six teams will meet in a Game 7. They last met in a Game 7 on April 15, 1965. The teams are 1-1 in those two preview Game 7 meetings. DETROIT – As the regular season drew to a close and as their chances began to dwindle of keeping their postseason streak alive, the Detroit Red “They could tell you that they just went through two Game 7s because they Wings played some of their best hockey just to get in. were elimination games,” Babcock said. “I just find that they’re all different and getting started on time is really important. That’s what our focus will be. Then, down 3-2 in the opening round of the playoffs to Anaheim, the Wings We want to get off to a good start. Now if you don’t have it it’s not the end of won two straight to advance to the next round. the world. You have to play, but the reality is we’ve been through it. Each experience is just a lot of fun and you know it’s going to be fun. You relish Also in that series with the Ducks, Detroit squandered three- and two-goal the opportunity. Enjoy yourself.” third period leads only to regain its composure and beat Anaheim in overtime. Macomb Daily LOADED: 05.30.2013 The Wings seem to play their best hockey when their backs are against the wall, which is where they’re at tonight, playing Game 7 at the United Center against the Chicago Blackhawks. “I think you’ve got to be at the right level for you,” Wings coach Mike Babcock said when asked if he would prefer his players loose or amped for the game. “But loose is a great way to be, but you’ve got to be intense about what you’re doing too, so there’s a fine line there. “I think when players are talking about being loose, I don’t think they’re talking about loose in a bar,” Babcock continued. “I think they’re talking about loose enough to execute, do good things, to feel good about themselves. So you don’t want to be all wound up, but at the same time you want to be amped enough that you’re at the best of your ability. That’s the challenge for you to walk that fine line.” This will be Detroit’s fourth consecutive Game 7 on the road. “I’ve been fortunate to win some on the road and lose some,” Babcock said. “I just like the fact that it’s what competition is all about. I mean, if you’re going to continue to play you’ve got to be successful in the game. You play to play again. “I think you grow up as a kid dreaming of scoring a goal in Game 7,” Babcock continued. “Obviously, anytime you go to Game 7 it’s been a heck of a series, so we just feel that we’ve done enough good things and feel good about our game. We got a lot of positive reinforcement from (Monday) night.” The Wings beat Anaheim 3-2 in the first round this year, and shellacked Phoenix 6-1 in 2010. “I don’t know if there’s really one that stands out more than another one,” Niklas Kronwall said when asked about his previous experience in Game 7s. “Just the feeling after the first series against Anaheim was something very special, just how hard fought it was. We had our ups and downs, but we found a way through it and it always feels great coming out on top.” They lost to San Jose 3-2 in 2011 in the second round after falling behind 3- 0 in the series. “We’re excited about being here,” Babcock said. “Would you like to have the series over and moving on? Absolutely, but in saying that what an opportunity as we played in a Game 7 last series. It was a lot of fun, and why wouldn’t this be?” This will just be Chicago’s third Game 7 since 1995. “When you’re in this situation you look back at what you’ve done before and use the experience you’ve been through,” Henrik Zetterberg said. “It’s nothing different for (Wednesday). It’s nice that we’ve been through it.” After falling behind 1-0 in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series with the Blackhawks, the Wings won three in a row before dropping the final two. “When we’re successful you go onto the next game,” Babcock said. “I’m not a big momentum guy. I just never have been. You just play the game. I think the starts of all games are really important at home and on the road. 679287 Florida Panthers

Panthers GM Tallon wants draft pick to contribute right away

May 29, 2013|By Harvey Fialkov, Sun Sentinel

Panthers GM Dale Tallon is in Toronto at the NHL Scouting Combine where he is checking out potential draft picks in the upcoming Entry Draft on June 30 at the Prudential Center in Newark. The Panthers have four of the first 97 picks, including the second overall pick after finishing 30th in the league last season. They lost the first pick to Colorado in the draft lottery but that could be a good thing as the general consensus has defenseman Popeye Jones and forward Nathan MacKinnon as the top two prospects. Being the Avs are in desperate need of blue-liners and the Panthers are always desperate for scoring it follows that MacKinnon, the MVP of the Memorial Cup, will fall into Florida’s lap. Of course, Tallon would never divulge his favorites, but he did tell NHL.com today that whoever he selects he wants to step into the lineup right away and contribute this season. “We’re going to be a young team,’’ Tallon told NHL.com. “It’s going to be a necessary part of our puzzle moving forward. I would hope the guy we select can play for us next year.’’ Panthers director of scouting Scott Luce told me last month that of the top prospects that MacKinnon was the most NHL-ready. MacKinnon had 75 points in 44 games this season and then 13 points, including seven goals, in four games to lead the Halifax Mooseheads to their first Memorial Cup title. It was the most points during the prestigious QMJHL tournament since 1997. Although this seems to be contradictory to the Panthers oft-repeated philosphy of not rushing prospects anymore, Tallon and assistant GM Mike Santos might’ve changed their thinking after watching several Panthers rookies pay immediate dividends, albeit in a reduced 48-game losing season. For example, 19-year-old Jonathan Huberdeau is a frontrunner for the Calder Trophy to be announced before the second game of the Stanley Cup finals. Fellow rookies such as Drew Shore and Alex Petrovic also showed they belonged, as did young players like second-year defenseman Erik Gudbranson and midseason pickup defenseman T.J. Brennan. Promising rookie forwards Quinton Howden and Nick Bjugstad showed flashes of their potential but are most likely destined for a season in San Antonio. Rookie goalie Jacob Markstrom did have three seasons in the AHL and he too appears ready to finally assume his long projected status as the franchise’s cornerstone netminder. That said, Markstrom also was inconsistent at times. Tallon, who has been known to wheel and deal didn’t rule out a draft-day trade, but it probably won’t include the second pick. Sun Sentinel LOADED: 05.30.2013 679288 Los Angeles Kings Game 7. I love overtime. I think it's exciting and a lot of fun. It's a fun part of the game and the stakes are really high." [email protected] Kings-Blackhawks: A first look at Western Conference finals LA Times: LOADED: 05.30.2013 Chicago took two of three during the regular season from the Kings, with a split at the United Center.

By Lisa Dillman May 29, 2013, 10:12 p.m.

The Blackhawks ruined the Kings' Stanley Cup banner-raising celebration on Jan. 19 at Staples Center, winning that season-opening game, 5-2. Overall, Chicago took two of three games against the Kings, splitting the other two games at the United Center. The Blackhawks won, 3-2, on Feb. 17 and the Kings won the last time the teams met, 5-4, on March 25, with Kings captain Dustin Brown scoring the winning goal with 1:27 remaining. Chicago captain Jonathan Toews was the best player on the ice in the season series, scoring three goals and six points in the three games. Kings Coach Darryl Sutter got off one of his better lines before the Feb. 17 meeting when Chicago had not lost yet in regulation, saying: "They're not on a different planet than us." Kings: Anze Kopitar 10 goals, 42 points; Justin Williams 11 goals, 33 points; Jeff Carter 26 goals, 33 points. Blackhawks: Patrick Kane 23 goals, 55 points; Toews 23 goals, 48 points; Marian Hossa 17 goals, 31 points. Goaltenders Kings: Jonathan Quick: 18-13-4, 2.45 goals-against average, .902 save percentage. The back surgery Quick had in the off-season is in the rearview mirror and Quick is displaying the form that won him the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs last season. Blackhawks: Corey Crawford: 19-5-5, 1.94 goals-against average, .926 save percentage. In fact, he was one of the question marks going into the regular season for the Blackhawks and came up with all the answers. Penalty kill Kings: 83.2% (10th). Blackhawks: 87.2% (3rd) Power play Kings: 19.9% (10th). Blackhawks: 16.7% (19th) Worth noting Kings: Sutter has not been known to be a "matchup" guy, but he was willing to shuffle the deck in the latter stages of the series against the San Jose Sharks. One move involved dropping Brown to the third line and moving winger Kyle Clifford up with Kopitar and Williams. The burning question now: Does he play Kopitar against the dynamic Toews or does he opt for center Mike Richards? Blackhawks: They faced adversity in rallying from a 3-1 series deficit against the Detroit Red Wings, the 25th time it has happened in the NHL. Toews, who wasn't good early, was good when it mattered, regaining his lost composure. Defenseman Brent Seabrook bounced back from a tough start of the series to score the overtime winner in Game 7. Last time in the playoffs Kings: 2012. They are trying to become the first team to win the Stanley Cup in consecutive years since the Red Wings did it in 1997 and 1998. Last year, they were the first No. 8 seed to take the Cup. Blackhawks: 2012. Chicago, which won the 2010 Cup, lost to the Phoenix Coyotes in the first round in six games, with the first five games going to overtime. They said it Kings: Quick, on winning two rounds in the playoffs: "We're only halfway up the mountain." Blackhawks: Seabrook, on the thrilling finish of Game 7 against the Red Wings: "It's always something you think about, scoring an overtime winner, 679289 Los Angeles Kings SAFETY NET Jonathan Quick won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP last June. Is he even better now? Kings' road runs through Chicago "I think he makes bigger saves than he did all playoff run last year,'' Doughty said. By RICH HAMMOND Of course, Doughty spoke with a fresh memory of the third period of Game 2013-05-29 21:40:30 7, in which Quick made a handful of remarkable stops, including a sprawling, reaching glove save to rob Joe Pavelski. Quick has a 1.50 goals-against average and a .948 save percentage in this The Chicago Blackhawks crashed the Kings' first Stanley Cup party. Now postseason, best in both categories among all starting goalies. Last season, they want to prevent another. he had a 1.41 GAA and a .946 save percentage. Chicago rallied from a 3-1 second-round series deficit and beat Detroit in Quick has also been doing more with less. In 20 playoff games last year, Game 7 on Wednesday. Now it's Kings vs. Blackhawks in the Western the Kings averaged 2.85 goals per game. They're averaging exactly two Conference Finals, featuring two of the NHL's past three champions. Game goals per game through 12 games of this postseason. Quick has also faced 1 is Saturday at 2 p.m. at Chicago. an average of 2.4 more shots per game than he did in last year's playoffs. "We're halfway there, but we have a lot more work to do,'' winger Dustin DAY OF REST Penner said Wednesday, a day after the Kings eliminated San Jose in the second round. Eight wins down, eight to go for the Kings. As the Red Wings and Blackhawks battled in Game 7, the Kings got a recovery day. They stayed away from the rink and will practice Thursday Chicago won the Cup in 2010 and the Kings won last year, but after their morning in El Segundo before a flight to Chicago. lockout-delayed banner-raising ceremony Jan. 19 at Staples Center, their party balloons got popped in a 5-2 loss to Chicago. The Kings went 1-2 Having played consecutive intensive, one-goal games in a span of 52 against Chicago this season, splitting two road games and losing the only hours, the Kings relished a rare lazy morning rather than a drive to the home game. practice rink. Widely expected to cruise into the Stanley Cup Final, the Blackhawks had "I laid in bed for about an hour and a half, two hours, just to unwind,'' to rally from against a veteran, disciplined Detroit team. They did it, but they Richards said. "It's nice just to relax and take your mind off it a little bit and no longer seem invincible. give your brain a rest.'' The Kings were close observers Wednesday night, and most probably Orange County Register: LOADED: 05.30.2013 preferred a Detroit victory, as the fifth-seeded Kings would have had home- ice advantage over the seventh-seeded Red Wings. Chicago's strengths this season? Pretty much everything. The Blackhawks started this season with a record-setting 21-0-3 run and cruised to the No. 1 seed in the West with the NHL's best record (36-7-5). The Blackhawks finished second in goals scored, first in goals against and third in penalty-kill percentage. "We'd love to play (the Red Wings),'' defenseman Drew Doughty said Wednesday afternoon, "but I feel comfortable with whoever we play, that our team will step up to the plate.'' The challenge for the Kings is to corral the talented Chicago forwards, including Jonathan Toews, who scored three goals against the Kings this season. The Kings will have a size advantage and typically play a more physical game, and will attempt to wear down the Blackhawks and limit their possession time. The series presents one inherent challenge for both teams. Because of tight scheduling at Chicago's United Center, Game 1 will be Saturday afternoon and Game 2 will be Sunday evening. "It comes down to being mentally ready for it,'' center Mike Richards said. "You know it's obviously going to be intense. It's playoff hockey. To carry that over a two-game, two-day stretch, it's going to be pretty important us to stay with it, stay focused and manage our rest on these days that we do have off.'' STOLL RETURNING? It seems probable that veteran center Jarret Stoll will be able to return to the Kings' lineup during the conference finals. Stoll suffered a concussion May 14 but resumed skating last week and hasn't publicly reported any setbacks — headaches, etc. — in his recovery. Stoll has been participating in full-team practices in recent days, which makes it at least possible that he could return for Game 1. Stoll is considered the Kings' top faceoff man and a strong penalty killer. "We missed him, obviously, a lot, and to hopefully get him back here at some point would be a big boost for us,'' Richards said. "Whenever you can play with a full roster at this time of year, with the depth that we have, it's going to benefit us.'' Where will Stoll play, though? He's typically the Kings' third-line center, but in his absence, center Trevor Lewis and wingers Dustin Brown and Dwight King have formed an effective line, particularly on defense. 679290 Los Angeles Kings Drew Doughty, Slava Voynov and rookie Jake Muzzin are the Kings' more creative defensemen. Robyn Regehr, Matt Greene and Rob Scuderi are their bruisers. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook can wreak a little havoc in NHL PLAYOFFS: Skilled Blackhawks pose different challenge for Kings both regards for the Blackhawks. Goaltending is where the Kings have a clear advantage, with the Kings' Jonathan Quick bidding for a second consecutive Conn Smythe Trophy as By Elliott Teaford, Staff Writer the MVP of the playoffs and the Blackhawks' Corey Crawford simply looking to establish himself as a standout in the postseason. Posted: 05/29/2013 10:33:51 PM PDT Crawford was sound during the first two rounds, but Quick was Updated: 05/29/2013 11:14:20 PM PDT otherworldly. Quick stopped 362 of 382 shots in 13 games for a .948 save percentage. None of his saves were bigger than his sprawling glove save with San OK, now we know. Jose's Joe Pavelski poised to tie the score with five minutes remaining in The Kings will face the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference Game 7 on Tuesday. The Kings held on for a 2-1 victory. finals. "He won the Conn Smythe Trophy last year and he's making better saves Game 1 is Saturday afternoon at the United Center. than in our Stanley Cup playoff run," Doughty said of Quick. "It's great to have him do that. We need to back him up a little bit more. He's having to It will be a different kind of a game for the fifth-seeded Kings, and maybe for make too many big saves for us." the top-seeded Blackhawks, too. The first Stanley Cup playoff series between the Kings and the Blackhawks since 1974 features a dramatic LA Daily News: LOADED: 05.30.2013 clash in styles of play and personalities. Until now, the matchups have been decidedly in the Kings' favor. The St. Louis Blues played the same sort of grind-it-out style as the defending Stanley Cup champion Kings in the first round, a hard-hitting brand of hockey that featured more body shots than shots on goal. The Blues put up a good fight, but fell in six bruising games. The San Jose Sharks added a dash of creativity with the puck to their gritty style of play, with their power play a force to contend with during the games at HP Pavilion, in particular. The Sharks pushed the Kings to seven games, but they also tumbled. At first glance, the Blackhawks are nothing like the Blues and Sharks. Or the Kings, for that matter. Chicago can play a physical style, but is more adept at skating and passing and shooting with an uncommon flair. The Blackhawks want the tempo fast and don't mind trading scoring chances with opponents because, well, their skilled players are better than the other team's skilled players. Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp - among others - can make opposing defensemen and goaltenders look bad. The Blackhawks' scoring depth will be impossible for the Kings to match, and they could be doomed if they try to play Chicago's style. Running-and-gunning hockey isn't the Kings' strength, as evidenced by the Blackhawks' two victories in three games during the regular season. The Blackhawks won 5-2 in the season-opener Jan. 19 at Staples Center and by 3-2 on Feb. 17 in Chicago. The visiting Kings won 5-4 on March 25. Chicago presents "a lot of problems" for the Kings, according to forward Mike Richards. Actually, Richards spoke to reporters before the Blackhawks eliminated the Detroit Red Wings in Game 7 of their second-round playoff series Wednesday. He said of both the Blackhawks and Red Wings, "They've got world-class players, great goaltenders and, really, a lot of threats on the ice." The Kings would get a lift with the return of third-line center Jarret Stoll from a concussion he suffered in Game 1 against the Sharks. Stoll isn't known as a great offensive player, but excels in killing penalties and winning faceoffs, two key aspects of winning hockey in the playoffs. "You could see it on the penalty-kill and on faceoffs," Richards said of the absence of Stoll in the second round. "I think we were under 50 percent on faceoffs for most of the series. When you're winning faceoffs, you have the puck consistently instead of defending and chasing the puck. "It will be a big boost to play with a full roster." The Kings and Blackhawks each have a fine blend of defensemen, with some capable of moving the puck and creating offense and others more skilled at inflicting bruises on the opposing forwards along the boards and in front of the net. 679291 Los Angeles Kings

May 29 conference call quotes: Dustin Penner

Posted by JonRosen on 29 May 2013, 3:38 pm

On the feeling of reaching the halfway point of the team’s postseason goal: “It felt great. A sense of accomplishment. We’re half way there, and we have a lot more work left to do.” On whether Jonathan Quick continues to amaze him with his level of play: “Obviously, we’ve become fans like the rest of the people in the building and people watching on TV. We get kind of spoiled and get used to it. He does it in practice too. He never gives up on a puck. We also expect those saves during the game because we see them so often during practice.” On potential third round match-ups: “You know, we’ll scout. We’ll probably be scouting both games, but we’re not looking to play one or the other. Whoever comes out is going to pose a unique challenge of itself and we’ll have our hands full either way. They’re both there for a reason, both teams. You don’t get to the final four by luck. It’s not going to be easy and we have no preference in the matter.” On the ability of the team to prevail in close games: “I think it’s always great for a team’s overall confidence when we pull out close game, but we lost a few close games too, obviously. I think three loses in San Jose were 2-1s. We learn from those experiences, but what we’re able to do after each loss – even though we had two in St. Louis back-to-back – we were able to learn from it and adjust our game and play at a higher level the next time around and win an important game. We keep winning the right games at the right time and that’s a testament to the coaching staff, the players and our leadership group.” On his evolving role with the team: “You know, as you get older, depending on what type of player you are, you have to adjust different areas of your game. Obviously I’d like to be playing more minutes, but you could ask pretty much everybody except maybe Doughty and they would tell you they want to play more. But I’m way more happy winning than getting more minutes. Whatever facet on the team that I’m playing that night, I’m going to do the best to my ability and try and have a positive impact on the game. It doesn’t matter. I think that’s the best thing about our team – you saw Brownie on the third line – the quote-unquote third line – for a game or two. We fill the spot that we’re put it. It doesn’t matter, you put your own selfish pride away because it’s about a team goal and I think that’s why we’ve won six series in the last 18 months, just because we worry about the end result more than anything else, and that’s winning.” On finding ways to win games in the playoffs: “The mark of a good team and good players is finding a way to win. You know, obviously it’s a lot different than going up three-nothing last year starting as the road team. I think we would have been fooling ourselves to think that we would have gone through the first two series this year in the manner we did last year. It would have been nice, but every playoff poses certain challenges, and it’s up to the team and players as a whole to rise to the challenge and we’ve been able to do that so far. It’s been a lot more wear and tear I think on us mentally and physically this year, but we’ve been able to overcome it this far and we’re only half way done.” LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 05.30.2013 679292 Los Angeles Kings excuses or using any excuses and really just finding it and playing with what you’ve got.” On how he felt when he woke up this morning: May 29 conference call quotes: Mike Richards “I laid in bed for probably an hour and a half, two hours, just to unwind. Days like today, where you’re not sure who you’re going to play, so you’re Posted by JonRosen on 29 May 2013, 3:20 pm not quite yet getting ready for the next series. You know, you don’t have time to think about hockey, it’s nice just to relax and take your mind off it for a bit and give your brain a little bit of a rest.”

On how he feels on a recovery day halfway to the team’s goal: On whether he has ever played in back-to-back games in the playoffs, which could happen with Games 1 and 2 in Chicago this weekend: “Obviously happy that we’re here, like you said though, it’s taken a lot to get to this point. Two grinding, grueling, tough, hard-hitting series. Obviously “Yeah, I believe a couple times. I want to say we played Game 6 and Game nice to move on and nice to get a day to relax and rest up and excited to 7 back-to-back a number of years ago. But, it comes down to that, what I see who we get to play next.” just talked about, being mentally ready for it. You might be a little bit exhausted, but it’s mental, about getting down and finding it. Trying to get On challenges presented by the potential conference final opponents: your legs and just be ready for it because you know it’s obviously going to be a test. Playoff hockey, any playoff game is a grind. So, to carry that over “I think there’s a lot of problems on both teams that we’d play. Either team two games, two-day stretch, is going to be pretty important for us to stay has a lot of skill. I think if you look at both rosters, they’ve got world class with it, stay focused and manage our rest on these days that we do have players, great goaltenders and really just a lot of different threats on the ice. off.” Obviously it’s nice to play at home – so it’s not picking somebody – but Detroit would be nice just so we could have home-ice advantage because I On why there has been a challenge in finding consistency from the left side think in the playoffs, I think everybody has seen how important it is. But, it’s on his line: a tossup right now. I’ve been watching the other series pretty closely and seeing some good hockey, and I expect to watch today too.” “I’m not really sure. I think the guys that have been put in the situation have done a good job, to be honest with you. I think it’s a situation where if you’re On roster and coaching changes last year, and whether anything this year playing on the left side, I think, of a left-handed centerman, it’s harder to get compares: production because the centerman’s always facing the right side, and it’s an easier pass if you’re making it on your forehand than say your backhand. “It’s a different season. It’s hard to really look back right now and say So, I think the right winger is going to get more touches than the left side. there’s a couple different points like we did last year. This year, just with the But, I think the guys that have played with us, it’s hard to step into a line amount of games, it’s seems like we’ve done nothing but play hockey and that has really played together for a long time. I enjoy playing with Penns. I no time to think, just play. But there hasn’t really been one thing I think this liked playing with Kinger for a little bit. We’ve played with a lot of different year. We’ve continued to get better. We’ve added Robyn Regehr, which I guys throughout the year. So I think they’ve done a good job, and obviously think is a huge help for our hockey team and getting Matt Greene back in as time goes on we’re going to get more confidence and we definitely have the playoffs. I think with just those two in the line-up it adds that physical some chemistry with Dustin over there.” presence which I don’t think that we had before and it definitely makes us a much harder team to play against.” On whether he feels there’s “a type” of player that would fit best with he and Jeff Carter: On whether this feels like a “more stable” roster and team this year: “I’m not really sure. Like I said, we have some chemistry with Dustin. We’ve “Well, I think when you have confidence and anytime you have a team that played together for a bit now and [he’s] probably the guy that I’ve played has played together for a period of time and not have people added, like I with the most with on the left-hand side. So, I think that chemistry is pretty was last year, [and] Jeff was, I think you can find a consistency a little bit good with him and I, and Jeff as well. We’ve had some success together, easier when you have guys that are familiar with each other, especially we know each others’ games and at this time of year, it’s obviously easier power play. I think our power play, even though we haven’t probably scored when you can read a player a lot easier than having different guys in the as many goals as maybe we want, but I think we’re creating some mix.” momentum and when you have players that have been together for a while that obviously helps.” On what he says to people who complain about the low-scoring series: On what it would mean to the team to potentially get Jarret Stoll back in the “I just don’t think those people that are saying that watched the series. They conference final: might be low scoring, but they’re definitely high-hitting. There’s some great goaltending, which had been a big part of that. I think Niemi was great, and “I think you could see the penalty kill especially, and faceoffs, are a big part Quickie obviously made a lot of big saves throughout the series, too. So for that we struggled throughout the series. I think we were under 50% for most people saying that, I don’t think they paid too much attention to the series. of it. I’m not sure what we were last night, but faceoffs is a big part. When Especially our last one too…the St. Louis series was as hard-hitting of a you’re having the puck, it seems that you’re controlling the game more series as I’ve ever been a part of.” instead of chasing it and hunting it down, it’s obviously a lot easier to play when you have the puck and making plays than you are defending and LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 05.30.2013 chasing it down. So we miss him obviously a lot, and hopefully will get him back here at some point. It will be a big boost for us whenever we can play with a full roster. At this time of year, with the depth that we have, I think its going to benefit us.” On the “wear and tear” mental element of the season: “I think it wears on both the mental aspect along with the physical aspect of hockey. It’s grinding at the best of times and then you throw another game in a week where you have no down time. You’re either getting ready for a game or just played a game and got to get right back and get re-energized, regrouped for the next game. It seems like you’re always thinking of the game, who you’re playing next, what team you’re playing, maybe even thinking about the game prior instead of having those days where you can just unwind and not think about hockey. And then that also carries into the shift-to-shift basis, where you might not have it every night or every shift, where you’re physically fatigued and that’s also part of the mental aspect of trying to battle through that and gearing yourself up to play and even though you don’t have it deep down, you try to find it. It’s been a tough year and I think the coaching staff has done a great job of giving us rest when we need it. I think the players have done a good job of not making any 679293 Los Angeles Kings couple guys yesterday, ‘He makes better saves than I think he did all playoff run last year.’ He’s just been standing on his head for us, and it’s great to have him do that, but I think we’ve got to back him up a little more. May 29 conference call quotes: Drew Doughty He’s been having to make too many big saves.” On how he would describe Darryl Sutter’s coaching technique:

Posted by JonRosen on 29 May 2013, 2:03 pm “I think he demands the most out of every single one of his players. You can do some great things, make some great plays, and [he’ll tell] you you did a great job, but at the same time – he doesn’t get made at you if you’re working hard and you’re playing physical and you’re trying to do the right On the benefit of recuperating before opening the conference finals: things, but if he doesn’t feel you’re prepared for the game, or if you’re not competing to your highest level, then that’s when he gets mad at you, and I “Yeah, it’s huge to get this couple of days here [to] start focusing on our think that’s the right thing. He lets you know about it. That’s just his whole next opponent. But most importantly, get some rest. Obviously some guys philosophy – if you’re ready for the game, the better prepared team always are banged up, and that’s just something you’ve got to play through in wins.” playoff hockey. It’s a good thing to get some rest.” On whether any “chirping” has begun between he and childhood friend On whether he’s rooting for Detroit and home ice advantage in the next Logan Couture: round: “Yeah, I’m not going to start chirping him or anything just yet. We’ll wait for “Yeah, that’s probably the best-case scenario, obviously to get home ice the softball tournament. But obviously he’s probably pretty upset, so I’m not advantage. We love playing at home. We’ve played great home, and [use] going to make it any worse.” the energy of the crowd. So we’d love to play them, but I’m comfortable with whoever we face that our team will step up to the plate.” On whether he spoke with Couture in the handshake line: On whether he feels capable of playing 28 minutes per game over the final “Yeah, I just talked to him quickly and talked to him a little bit after the rounds, if needed: game, too. He’s frustrated with the way their series turned out, obviously, and he loves the game of hockey. He competes, and he cares a lot. He’s “Yeah, of course. That’s what we used the lockout for. We trained hard. We obviously pretty frustrated, and rightfully so.” got in shape, and…we’ve been playing every other day. We’re just used to it. For sure I can play 28 minutes. I love playing that much. I feel the more I On whether there’s satisfaction of defeating the last team that had beaten play, the better I play. So you know whatever they do – if they bring my ice them in the playoffs: down, I’ll still play the same way.” “Yeah. You know, I kept thinking about that, especially last game. Not all On his level of conditioning now and throughout the season: the guys on the team obviously witnessed that, but there were a lot of us, and just remembering that we were up like four-nothing or something like “Well, right now I feel great. Obviously at the start of the season with such a that, and they came back us in our own building, and we were making sure long time off actually playing in games was tough to try and get ready, so I that wasn’t going to happen again. I can still picture Joe getting that last just had to get conditioning going. That’s all you can really do. Now, goal and celebrating in the middle of the ice, and that’s really why we throughout the season I put on a little more weight. It just feels better down wanted to beat them.” low where I can make hits and be physical with guys in the corners, and that’s where I feel comfortable. LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 05.30.2013 On whether there’s a different feel on defense with some different players on the blue line: “Well, it’s definitely a different group, but I don’t really think it’s a different feel. Obviously we’re missing a lot in Mitchie. He’s an unbelievable player. But at the same time we got Reg at the deadline, and he’s obviously a great player, great defensively, and there are young guys. Slava’s been playing unbelievable, and Muzz has been playing great as well, so we feel great about our group. It’s different without Mitchie for sure, but we’re still really confident in the group of guys we’ve got. We just have to continue playing well.” On the benefit of getting Matt Greene late in the season and for the playoffs: “Yeah, Matt’s great. Not only is he great every night on the ice and works the hardest and plays hard, but in the room he’s a great guy to have. He’s vocal. He’s always getting guys pumped up for the game and telling guys where they need to be if they do something wrong, so he’s great at doing that and it’s huge to have him back.” On whether Darryl Sutter’s voice has changed at all from last year to this year: “No, I haven’t really noticed a difference. I haven’t at all, actually. I don’t really know what to say about that one. But I [haven’t] noticed a difference.” On Robyn Regehr, and what his addition means to the blue line: “He’s been great for us, especially at that point, I think. Greener was still out, so we needed that defensive presence and that physical guy. For the most part our D-corps wasn’t the most physical, and we were more of good passers and stuff like that. We didn’t have that physical presence. In bringing him in, he’s helped out a lot. He’s been a great guy to have. We all love him, and he’s a big part of where we are right now.” On whether he had seen a replay of Jonathan Quick’s save on Joe Pavelski: “Yeah, I saw it on the jumbotron during the game. That’s just a great save. That’s Quickie. He won the Conn Smythe last year, and I was saying to a 679294 Los Angeles Kings “It wasn’t the several missed scoring chances in Game 7 that necessarily cost the Sharks a chance to compete in the NHL’s final four, according to Todd McLellan.” The view from San Jose -Analysis, blog post Ray Ratto: Are the Sharks ever going to earn their turn? Posted by JonRosen on 29 May 2013, 10:57 am “And so it ends, again. The San Jose Sharks have exhausted themselves San Jose Mercury News only to end up doing the sad-face handshakes, and face another summer of wondering if it will ever end a different way.” -Commentary, analysis David Pollak: San Jose Sharks ousted from Stanley Cup Playoffs LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 05.30.2013 “In a span of less than three minutes, two Los Angeles Kings goals ended the dream that this might be the Sharks’ year after all.” -Game story David Pollak: Logan Couture played with sprained ankle since Game 3 “The Sharks’ leading goal scorer this season, Couture left Game 3 four minutes into the second period after getting tangled up with Kings forward Jeff Carter. Couture came back for one shift in the second period, skated an even nine minutes in the third, then scored the overtime winner for a 2-1 San Jose victory.” -Notebook David Pollak: Looking at what went wrong, debunking one theory and an injury debate “Every game — or series — between evenly matched teams comes down to a handful of plays. As Todd McLellan noted last night, the Kings got their first goal on a broken-stick shot that throws everything off and their second when a line stayed out on the ice too long and the Sharks couldn’t recover. Those aren’t excuses, they’re explanations.” -Blog post Mark Purdy: Game 7 silences Sharks “Instead, it ended the way Thornton’s previous seven seasons have ended in a San Jose uniform, with him standing in a quiet dressing room after being eliminated. Tuesday night, the room seemed especially hushed, because this was a Game 7 and the Sharks had come so close to defeating the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Los Angeles Kings.” -Analysis, photo gallery Tim Kawakami: San Jose Sharks and what might have been “This Sharks team was grittier, tougher and just plain better suited for the Stanley Cup playoffs than most of the previous eight editions of the Joe Thornton Era.” -Analysis, quotes George Alfano: Antti Niemi holds back Los Angeles Kings – except for second-period segment “Kings goalkeeper Jonathan Quick was better than Niemi during the series. That’s far from any negative indictment against Niemi’s play. Quick, who was outstanding in leading the Kings to win the 2012 Stanley Cup, had two shutouts and made some key saves in the waning moments of the third period.” -Analysis CSNBayArea.com Kevin Kurz: Sharks can’t bury chances in Game 7 loss ““I thought I had to jam it in right away when I had to regroup it. I thought I was getting more pressure than what I was,” he said. “I thought I had a quick second to get it back, but you go back and you see it on the jumbotron four times, and right away it’s one that’s an easy flick of the wrist up. It’s one you’ve got to have right at the very end.” – Joe Pavelski -Game story, post-game locker room video Kevin Kurz: Instant Replay: Sharks’ season ends with Game 7 loss in L.A. -Statistics, notes, analysis Kevin Kurz: Sharks Notes: End of Game 2 key; Couture sore 679295 Los Angeles Kings

Waking up with the Kings: May 29

Posted by JonRosen on 29 May 2013, 9:44 am

-The difference between the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks in the teams’ Western Conference semifinal series could be measured by the amount of space in which Justin Williams’ first goal crossed the goal line. This was a series decided by one or two inches over seven games. Williams’ greasy goal early in the second period popped in. Moments later, Logan Couture’s deflection – following a terrific spin-around attempt by Patrick Marleau – trickled inches wide. On the ensuing rush, Williams calmed down an Anze Kopitar pass and threaded a hard, low shot through a four or five inch seam between Antti Niemi’s right pad and the right post. These were the distinguishing characteristics between two sound defensive teams with excellent goaltenders. Margin of victory has never been narrower in a Kings playoff series. -After a first period in which the teams appeared tentative and playing to avoid making a mistake, the Los Angeles Kings took advantage of a Brent Burns penalty 190 feet from his own net. Burns’ rambunctious net-presence had been a challenge for Kings defensemen in this series; I was thinking before the game that if there would be someone taking a hyper-caffeinated uncontrolled penalty in Game 7, there was a good chance it would be him. That wasn’t necessarily the case, though in attempting to assert his presence deep in the Los Angeles zone he crossed the line in a net-front battle. Six of the seven penalties assessed in the game were either taken in the offensive zone or negated a power play, and the seventh penalty – the unsportsmanlike conduct infraction assessed on Jonathan Quick – shouldn’t have even been called. -The Sharks activated their defenseman in an attempt to generate more offense – as they had for many games in the series – and the Kings’ wingers were excellent along the boards in winning puck battles and keeping the play mostly to the perimeter against the pinches. The only costly mistake along the boards was when no winger was able to control Kopitar’s rim-around in the lead-up to Dan Boyle’s goal, which led to Joe Pavelski being able to find Dan Boyle with ample space, and the veteran defenseman beat Quick with heavy traffic in front. -If you’re looking for another statistic that indicates how terrific Jonathan Quick’s play has been outside of save percentage, goals against average and shutouts, here’s one that I used earlier in the series: no team that has reached the Stanley Cup Final since the 2004-05 lockout has averaged less than the 2.32 goals per game that the Vancouver Canucks averaged in the 2011 postseason. The Kings have averaged exactly two goals per game this spring, and they’re four wins away from providing a minor statistical outlier. Marleau, Pavelski and Logan Couture may spend some time analyzing their Game 7 looks on Quick – Marleau on a spin-around, Pavelski on a third period rebound, and Couture on a backhand, all Grade- A opportunities – as Quick’s top saves Tuesday night stifled one of the Sharks’ premier scoring lines. -TJ Galiardi and Burns skated with Joe Thornton throughout the second half of the regular season and the entirety of the series, but was that a good thing? What, really, did Galiardi (two points) and Burns (one point) consistently provide against Los Angeles? Did Raffi Torres’ absence handcuff Todd McLellan from being able to make adjustments that could have added some punch to San Jose’s scoring? Torres had skated with Couture and Marleau, and when he was suspended, Joe Pavelski jumped up to that line. Did that keep McLellan from being able to adjust and add another skilled forward – Pavelski, perhaps? – to play alongside Thornton in the midst of the team’s scoring woes? Thornton is one of the most gifted playmakers and a matchup nightmare for opposing teams, but he was playing with a forward who averaged .39 points per game in the regular season and a converted defenseman in this series. -Red Wings or Blackhawks? Which hue of red and nasally-tinged Midwestern accent do you prefer, Kings fans? LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 05.30.2013 679296 Los Angeles Kings

May 28 postgame notes

Posted by JonRosen on 28 May 2013, 11:42 pm

-The Kings are now 4-4 all-time in Game 7s. This was the first series that the Kings have ever won in which they lost a Game 6. They are now 5-5 in series in which they held home-ice advantage. -The Kings are 14-19 in best-of-seven series and 17-25 in all playoff series. -The Kings improved to 15-20 in playoff games in which they faced elimination in a best-of-seven series and 14-10 with a chance to clinch a best-of-seven series. -The Kings have won six consecutive playoff series. -The Kings have played 33 playoff games since last year, the most in the NHL. They are 24-9 in those games. -The Kings are 7-0 at home in the playoffs and have won 14 straight home games, dating back to the regular season. -The home team has won 16 of the last 17 matchups between the Kings and Sharks over the last two seasons. -Justin Williams has nine points in four career Game 7s (5-4=9) and has won all four. -Jonathan Quick has stopped 362 of 382 shots in the playoffs, good for a . 948 Sv%. He had a .946 Sv% during last year’s playoff run. He is 28-17 lifetime in the postseason. -The Kings have killed 18-of-19 penalties at home during the playoffs. -The Kings won 25-of-55 faceoffs. Anze Kopitar (14-for-25) and Mike Richards (8-for-13) were the top performers, while Jeff Carter (0-for-5) and Brad Richardson (1-for-5) were the low performers. -Joe Thornton won 10-of-16 faceoffs and Joe Pavelski won 5-of-16 faceoffs for San Jose. Adam Burish and Logan Couture both won 4-of-5 faceoffs. -The Kings won 13 of 23 faceoffs in the third period. -Justin Williams and Logan Couture finished with a game-high five shots. -Wednesday marks the 20-year anniversary of the Kings’ previous Game 7 win, a 5-4 win at Toronto on May 29, 1993. Wednesday is a day off for the Kings, though there will be content posted throughout the day on LA Kings Insider. LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 05.30.2013 679297 Los Angeles Kings “Not close yet. Not even half close. Jeez, you know that’s the thing depends on the winner [of Chicago-Detroit], when you start. Either way – what are they saying? [Reporter: Friday if it’s Detroit]. Friday at home if it’s May 28 postgame quotes: Darryl Sutter Detroit. Saturday if it’s Chicago. So either way, we’re practicing and traveling. Practicing and-or traveling Thursday…Gotta get a hotel room. Gotta get an airplane. [Reporter: Don’t forget your glasses.] Hope for three overtimes.” Posted by JonRosen on 28 May 2013, 11:13 pm LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 05.30.2013

On Justin Williams being a big game player: “Yep. I think Game 7s – Justin Williams.” On whether there was a turning point in the second point that turned the game around: “Not really.” On whether there’s anything that Jonathan Quick does that still amazes him: “He made some big saves tonight, as did Niemi.” On whether Dustin Brown skating with Kopitar and Williams was due to a Kyle Clifford injury: “No, I think it was more getting Lewie back on the wing, putting Brad at center and moving Brownie from right to left just to try and [respond to] who they were playing, what they were doing.” On how the 60-minute performance compared to that of Game 5: “Well, I think the most important part of the series that has been well documented is the team that scores the first goal is the team that won the series, that won games, and that was the same tonight. So in terms of turning points or special players or anything like that I think both teams are going to say ‘one team lost and one team won’ and we scored the first goal and we were able to find a way.” On how good the San Jose Sharks were: “They’re as good as us. It’s a low-scoring series. It’s crazy. What was it? 14-to? What’d it end up? 14-10. So when you do it, it’s 2-to-1.4 or whatever. [Reporter: It’s a 2-1 league in the playoffs.] Really, like when you do it, that’s how close it is. So what’s the difference? Point-whatever that is. That’s the difference. And one game is overtime, one goal is an empty net goal. Look at it. Four 2-1 games? Two shutouts. Crazy. It reminds me of another Game 7, that Stanley Cup Finals I was in that we lost. Tampa Bay beat us 2-1 in Game 7, and I think we outscored them in that series 12-10, something like that. I give both teams lots of credit. Tough to win and tough to lose.” On Justin Williams being a player who comes through in big games: “Yep, and it’s good to see it too, because it’s a confidence thing for them. His game is about scoring and offense, and when he doesn’t, then there’s parts of him that sag. It’s always good to see. Quite honest, you think of the number of guys that have been in big games on both teams that played really well tonight…Don’t forget both goalies, too, how they’ve been in big games. Niemi hasn’t been talked much about. Jonathan is the goalie on a defending team, but remember Niemi was a big part of a Stanley Cup in Chicago, too. On rooting for Detroit to beat Chicago, considering the Kings have won 14 in a row at home: “Regular season doesn’t mean screw-all to me, quite honest.” On the team growing stronger as the game progressed: “I think we were competing as hard as we could and we tried to start the game with a full tank and I think we had some guys that were on empty at the end.” On whether the adversity in the first round helped the team in the second round: “I think every team that makes the playoffs goes through a lot of adversity. That’s the only thing you get from the regular season. To win a round you’ve got to go through adversity. I know you’re a little bit taken by surprise this year because you think the team should win every game we play. But it doesn’t happen like that very often ever, ever.” On how close this year’s team is to last year’s team: 679298 Los Angeles Kings “It’s tough. They are a real good team. We thought we could come in here and steal a game. We played our hearts out and that’s all you can ask of each other. We had to lay it on the line in the third and I thought we did. May 28 postgame quotes: San Jose Jonathan Quick is just a fantastic goalie. It’s disappointing right now. We were just having so much fun. It’s disappointing that it has to end because we were really enjoying this. It’s a tough way to finish.”

Posted by JonRosen on 28 May 2013, 10:44 pm Thornton, on the emotional letdown after the Kings’ first goal: “It was a tough bounce. It just happens. The next couple of shifts are very important. They threw that second one in. But we responded well. We Todd McLellan, on the Game 7 loss: fought our hearts out and that’s all you can ask of each other.” “We couldn’t get one extra past Quick, that’s probably what it was. When I Logan Couture, on the Game 7 loss: look at the game tonight, they got a power-play goal that we didn’t get, and we didn’t give them much time on it. And it was a lucky one, when you “We had some chances. I think I tipped one and it almost went in and they break the stick, the timing of that shot fools everybody including the go back down and score. We had a bunch of chances in the third. That’s goaltender. That was a tough one, and then the second one they got was what teams do when they move on, they score on those chances they get. we had overextended a shift and they took advantage of it. So in the end They did it and we didn’t. That’s why they are moving on.” we probably made one more mistake than they did and we couldn’t find a way to get another puck by Quick. We’d love to go back and play Game 2 Couture, on Jonathan Quick’s save on his second period backhand: over again, the last four or five minutes. That’s probably one that we “I have to score there. I’m counted on to score goals. If I get a chance like needed and didn’t get.” that I have to score.” McLellan, on not being able to “bear down” and capitalizing on chances: Couture, on the level of disappointment: “We had very good looks. And trust me it wasn’t that they weren’t trying to “It’s heartbreaking. It’s tough. It’s been a long year. We battled hard to get bear down, it just didn’t go. We picked the wrong spot or we didn’t shoot where we were. We made some changes and played a good first round quick enough, maybe we held on too long, but the competitiveness and then forced, I think the best team in the league, to seven games and almost effort of our team and organization down the stretch is something I’m very beat them in their building. It’s tough to take.” proud of, and we should be proud.” Couture, on the biggest difference in the series: McLellan, on not being able to stem the Kings’ momentum in the second period: “So close. Both teams played good hockey. Every game was so tight. We just didn’t score on our chances. That’s what it came down to tonight. We “I don’t think it ‘fell apart’. I thought they got some energy off their power could have had three, but Quick made saves and we didn’t score. That’s play goal, and that’s going to happen. That happens in our building when the difference.” we score first. They got a little bit of energy. We had a turnover. I think Scottie Hannan had a turnover that created a scoring chance – more LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 05.30.2013 energy. They get the second goal, and then we settled down. So a three or four minutes span that didn’t go our way, but you have to build that into a game. That’s going to happen. The poise factor was very high in recovering from that, I believe.” McLellan, on whether home ice advantage is an indication of how important the regular season is: “That’s a great question, because I think we played a best-of-eight series. The last game of the regular season was a three-two loss here where we could’ve earned home ice. Who knows. We would’ve had a different opponent in the playoffs. I don’t know if we would’ve ever met. But in hindsight now, looking back, we couldn’t win here in five games straight, so home ice was factor, as was it in our building.” McLellan, on how hurt Logan Couture was: “He was sore. There were some questions about his productivity after the injury. He played sore. A lot of our guys did, but a lot of theirs did as well.” McLellan, on Antti Niemi’s play in Game 7 and throughout the series: “Well, we’re not playing tonight if Nemo doesn’t play the way he did down the stretch. In fact, I don’t even think we’d get to play against Vancouver if Nemo doesn’t play the way he did down the stretch. He’s up for the Vezina. He’s our Team MVP for a reason. Just like some of the shooters, some of the defensemen, coaching decisions – sometimes you’d like to have one back, but I thought Nemo played an outstanding series, outstanding game. I don’t know if you’ll see that type of goaltending in another series. Maybe you will, but it was a pretty special series for goaltending.” McLellan, on whether the team’s camaraderie makes the loss more difficult: “Well, it stings. The group that we ended up with after the trade deadline could’ve went one way or the other. We’re in transition a little bit as an organization, obviously with some of the moves we’ve made. But I thought the way they banded together and the way they played for each other and with each other was exceptional. It was a really positive sign for our organization, not only in the playoffs but moving forward. It’s not about one or two guys. It’s about the group as a whole. They accepted that, and I think we have something to build on moving forward.” Joe Thornton, on the Game 7 loss: 679299 Los Angeles Kings

May 28 postgame quotes: Jonathan Quick

Posted by JonRosen on 28 May 2013, 10:22 pm

On playing in a Game 7: “It’s no different than any other game when you have a lead. I think if you start approaching it differently just cause it’s kind of a win-or-go-home, I think if you approach it differently, then you’re adjusting your game based on the circumstances. You’ve got to try to play your same game no matter what’s going on around you. I think the guys prepared that way and we were able to [win].” On the team’s resiliency and winning games when pressed: “Well, not necessarily. We would’ve liked that win in Game 6. We were able to get it on home ice. Obviously if we think we’re going to be able to continue in the playoffs, we have to win some road games. We’ve got to figure out what’s going on there, and we’ve got to get better at it. We had a chance to close it out two nights ago but weren’t able to do that. Sometimes if you give those games up, they come back and bite you. We were able to win tonight, but we definitely know there’s room for improvement. Both Detroit and Chicago are going to be very challenging. We have a lot to prepare for.” On how much of the puck he saw during a heavy screen on Dan Boyle’s goal: “Not as much as I would’ve liked. You kind of wish you have it. You wish you picked the right side. I thought he was going to shoot my left. Kind of based on the screen, I guessed wrong. A few goals against that have happened similar to that in the last couple weeks. So I’ve got to start getting a read on the situation a little bit better.” On where the intensity of this win ranks compared to other wins: “Obviously it’s a high pressurized situation at the end, but I don’t think the game is any more intense than any other game this series. I think the first period…everybody was playing a little cautious, and you didn’t want to make the first mistake. It opened up a little bit in the second, and the third you obviously were just trying to protect the lead there in the last couple minutes. I don’t think there was ‘high intensity’ any more high than the past few.” LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 05.30.2013 679300 Los Angeles Kings LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 05.30.2013

May 28 postgame quotes: Justin Williams

Posted by JonRosen on 28 May 2013, 10:03 pm

With two goals tonight, Justin Williams improved to 4-0 in Game 7s with five goals, four assists and nine points in the ultimate game of a Stanley Cup Playoff series. On his Game 7 production: “I’m certainly happy I was able to contribute. Goals have been tough to come by for me, certainly this series. As I said, I was happy to help out and get a couple for us.” On winning a Game 7 after not playing in an elimination game last year: “Yeah, we didn’t that’s not to say that we weren’t involved in any pressure games. Every game’s a pressure game. It’s just facing elimination is a little bit different. We were able to get the two-goal lead. Quickie, as I said, made some huge saves for us. Can’t say enough about him. But we grinded our way through.” On coming through for the team in clutch situations: “As I said, sometimes the puck just seems to find you. I scored two goals, but I feel I could’ve had three or four tonight. Had a lot of opportunities in the second period, and sometimes you just find holes and the puck bounces your way. If it wasn’t me, I guarantee you it would’ve been somebody else scoring tonight.” On the feeling of winning a Game 7: “Obviously huge, but we’re only halfway there. We’ve won eight games out of 16. We’re happy with where we’re at, certainly not satisfied. 30 teams down to four is great.” On whether he feels “it’s probably enough” to score twice and have Jonathan Quick in net: “No, not against that team. That team gave us everything that we could handle. San Jose’s an explosive offensive team. We sat back at the start of the third period and we saw what they did to us. They scored a quick goal and made it a little bit tougher on us and probably tougher on a lot of people on the edge of their seats.” On whether the final 10 minutes in a one-goal game seem to last “forever”: “They do. I feel it was running backwards at some times, but you can’t look that way. You’ve got to keep thinking, ‘Five more shifts. Four more shifts. Three more shifts,’ and focus on the next one.” On whether his teammates were aware of his Game 7 stats: “No, but it’d be something I’m going to have to try and live up to my next Game 7. As I said, if itprobably wasn’t me scoring two goals tonight, I guarantee you it would’ve been somebody else, and we would’ve gotten it done.” Additional quotes, courtesy of Kings PR: On his two goals: “Goals are tough to come by, it just so happened I was able to get a couple tonight. I think I could have had a few more also. Sometimes the puck bounces your way. Certainly glad to help out today.” On if the goals were opportunistic: “Yeah I’d say so. Sometimes you get a few more opportunities than you usually get, sometimes you can’t explain it but my line makes some great passes to me and some good turnovers, and we were able to hold on.” On pressure situations: “I don’t know I certainly enjoy pressure situations, I know everyone in this dressing room does. We pride ourselves on being a team that, push come to shove, we’re going to get it done. We’ve been through it before and we know we can do it.” 679301 Los Angeles Kings

May 28 postgame quotes: Matt Greene

Posted by JonRosen on 28 May 2013, 9:45 pm

On what came together in Game 7: “Guys just got back to playing our game plan, you know? Spending a lot more O-zone time – I think that’s what they got a hold of – and also staying out of the box, too. I mean, they get a lot of confidence off their power play. Trying to stay out of the box there, especially in the first period. Not trying to give them a lot of momentum on that and try to get our game going.” On how he would describe the defensive efforts: “You can always be a little tighter. I think they were putting some good pressure on us, but I think we were doing a good job of if there was a mistake made, there wasn’t a second or third mistake made after that trying to cover up for the first one. It was a good job by the forwards, especially helping us out down low. I thought the wingers had a great game along the wall. They were pinching all night. For the wingers to give you help and get pucks out of the zone, it’s always a blessing.” On how he reacts and what he says to Quick after highlight-reel saves: “You just tell him good job, and hopefully he just stays in the zone. That’s the way he’s been going, and you just want him to keep going that way.” On whether he was aware of Justin Williams’ history in Game 7s: “Yeah, he had a couple points against us my rookie year, so either way he scores some points. I didn’t know it was nine now, or whatever it is. That’s pretty impressive. He’s a big game player. Comes up huge for us all the time, and for him to get the two tonight, it’s awesome. It’s rewarding. He’s a real big part of this team.” On how the game turned in the second period: “Just burying chances. I think Stick got a couple of chances to put it in the net, and he did. That’s it. Then, also, just riding Quick. He’s awesome back there for us, and he’s making saves he shouldn’t. It’s keeping us in games and it’s keeping us alive in this thing.” LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 05.30.2013 679302 Los Angeles Kings

Conference Final scenarios released

Posted by JonRosen on 28 May 2013, 9:35 pm

Gmae 7 between the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks will take place at 5:00 pm PT on Wednesday. If CHICAGO wins: Saturday, June 1 – Los Angeles at Chicago, 2:00 pm PT Sunday, June 2 – Los Angeles at Chicago, 5:00 pm PT Tuesday, June 4 – Chicago at Los Angeles, 6:00 pm PT Thursday, June 6 – Chicago at Los Angeles, 6:00 pm PT Saturday, June 8 – Los Angeles at Chicago*, 5:00 pm PT Monday, June 10 – Chicago at Los Angeles*, 6:00 pm PT Wednesday, June 12 – Los Angeles at Chicago*, TBD *if necessary All games would be carried by NBC Sports Network in the United States except for Game 5, which would be carried by NBC. If DETROIT wins: Friday, May 31 – Detroit at Los Angeles, 6:00 pm PT Sunday, June 2 – Detroit at Los Angeles, 5:00 pm PT Tuesday, June 4 – Los Angeles at Detroit, 5:00 pm PT Thursday, June 6 – Los Angeles at Detroit, 5:00 pm PT Saturday, June 8 – Detroit at Los Angeles*, 5:00 pm PT Monday, June 10 – Los Angeles at Detroit*, 5:00 pm PT Wednesday, June 12 – Detroit at Los Angeles*, TBD *if necessary All games would be carried by NBC Sports Network in the United States except for Game 5, which would be carried by NBC. LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 05.30.2013 679303 Los Angeles Kings

Kings-Blackhawks conference final schedule

Posted by JonRosen on 29 May 2013, 10:14 pm

Saturday, June 1 – Los Angeles at Chicago, 2:00 pm PT, NBC Sports Network, TSN, RDS Sunday, June 2 – Los Angeles at Chicago, 5:00 pm PT, NBC Sports Network, TSN, RDS Tuesday, June 4 – Chicago at Los Angeles, 6:00 pm PT, NBC Sports Network, TSN, RDS Thursday, June 6 – Chicago at Los Angeles, 6:00 pm PT, NBC Sports Network, CBC, RDS Saturday, June 8 – Los Angeles at Chicago*, 5:00 pm PT, NBC, CBC, RDS Monday, June 10 – Chicago at Los Angeles*, 6:00 pm PT, NBC Sports Network, CBC, RDS Wednesday, June 12 – Los Angeles at Chicago*, TBD, NBC Sports Network, CBC, RDS *if necessary Kings Live will follow all games on FOX Sports West other than Game 3, in which it will be carried on Prime Ticket. Nick Nickson and Daryl Evans’ radio call of all playoff games can be heard on KTLK 1150 AM and I Heart Radio. LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 05.30.2013 679304 Montreal Canadiens decisions that I’m sure are really tough in the business. He put people in place who were great, and it trickled down from management. “Marc has been great right from the start. He has a player’s perspective, he Gionta still leading by example played the game for a long time. He understands what guys you need in the room. By Dave Stubbs, The Gazette May 29, 2013 “Michel was great,” Gionta added of head coach Michel Therrien. “He brought in a system that everybody bought into and played. That’s why you saw the success we had. It doesn’t matter what system we had — as long as everybody’s doing it, it’s going to pay off.” MONTREAL — Brian Gionta will turn the corner into his fifth season with the Canadiens this September, and he knows no better than the rest of us Gionta described 2010-11 as “a bad year, an off year,” the season that was whether he’ll be in Montreal for a sixth. called a lot worse by many. “How I’ve always dealt with it, including the last years of my deal in New “But we always believed in the guys in the room,” he said. “Everybody kind Jersey, is I just go out and play,” Gionta said this week at the Habs’ of wrote us off (this season) and didn’t expect much from us, but we Brossard training facility for a daily session of biceps tendon surgery rehab expected what we achieved. treatment. “That’s why I was so disappointed at the end of the year (falling in five “I don’t worry about it, I let my agent take care of it. That’s just my games to Ottawa). We’re a last-place team last year, then we finish on top personality. I’m not the guy who’s going to get caught up in stuff and worry of our division and go to the playoffs. People said, ‘That should be a good about it. Things work out for a reason. They happen the way they’re year.’ Well, it was disappointing. We should have gone further. supposed to.” “The success starts with leadership at the top. Mr. Molson has invested in Of any contact to this point with Canadiens general manager Marc having a great team and Marc is the guy who will do that. Bergevin: “I’m confident that this is just the start of it. It’s not a fluke thing that we “No, there’s been none,” Gionta replied, not that there’s anything bounced back. It’s getting the right guys in that room. It’s character guys. whatsoever revealing about that. You see the transformation and it will only continue.” Gionta, 34, signed with Montreal on July 1, 2009, his five-year, $25-million Time will tell whether Gionta, having been a part of this team’s recent contract bringing him to town as part of the free-agent armada that docked checkered past, will be here for what seems to be a promising future. in then-GM Bob Gainey’s massive Habs retooling. Hockey, this captain has learned, is too rugged a game to be played with a Gionta was named the club’s 28th captain on Sept. 29, 2010, the position crystal ball. having historically sat fallow for a season as team management and head coach Jacques Martin had the dressing room led by committee through Montreal Gazette LOADED: 05.30.2013 2009-10. Two hundred and 22 games played with the Canadiens since his arrival, an even 250 counting the postseason, Gionta well knows the business of hockey. He’s worn just two NHL jerseys — that of New Jersey for 473 games, beginning as a 23-year-old rookie in 2001-02, and then the Canadiens. It was with the Devils in his sophomore season that he won his Stanley Cup. For 170 games with Montreal, regular-season and playoffs, Gionta has been captain both by the letter on his jersey and his actions on the ice, where he has played much taller and heavier than his advertised 5-foot-7, 175 pounds. “I don’t think things will change too much,” Gionta told a media crowd upon being introduced as captain. “I’m a leader by example on the ice. There’s a good group of core guys on this team who can do a majority of the leading. That’s still going to be the case.” Much of that core has changed in the nearly three years since Gionta spoke those words. But veterans who departed for elsewhere have been replaced. And Gionta still leads by example. “I love the captaincy. I’m very honoured to have it and I try to do what I can,” he said this week. “I try to leave everything on the ice every night. “I’m not a ‘show’ person. I don’t have to prove things. I don’t do things to say, ‘Hey, this is why I’m doing it.’ I am who I am. I don’t need to go down the bench and whisper in someone’s ear to prove it to a camera. I play and that’s it.” Gionta has ridden the roller coaster that is hockey in Montreal. He went three rounds deep into the 2009-10 playoffs; lost a seven-game, overtime- decided series the following year to Boston, the eventual Cup champion; endured the 2010-11 disaster of dented bodies and dysfunction; then was part of the remarkable turnaround of this season, which ended on a personal low when he tore a biceps tendon in the first postseason game against Ottawa. If Gionta is surprised by the dramatic about-face of this season, following the world’s longest funeral of 2010-11, he’s not letting on. “It started when Mr. Molson made changes,” he said of owner Geoff Molson’s bold hiring of Bergevin as GM last summer. “(Molson) made 679305 Montreal Canadiens

Another summer of arm rehab for captain Gionta

Posted by Stu Cowan

For the second straight summer, Canadiens captain Brian Gionta will be rehabbing a surgically repaired torn biceps tendon. This summer it’s his left arm … last year it was his right. “If I had known,” Gionta told The Gazette’s Dave Stubbs this week, reclining on a treatment table in the Canadiens’ Bell Sports Complex medical clinic in Brossard, “I’d have had both done at the same time.” Both operations were performed by Paul Martineau, the Canadiens’ head orthopedic surgeon. “(Martineau) was telling me this time, ‘Make sure everyone knows it’s your other arm. Make sure they know it wasn’t anything I repaired last year that went wrong,’ ” Gionta said, laughing again. Gionta has set off into a rehabilitation program that he hopes will have him ready for the September start of Habs training camp. Montreal Gazette LOADED: 05.30.2013 679306 Nashville Predators • Case for: He turned into a top-two defenseman this season, setting career bests in points and average ice time, and displaying a calm and savvy puck-moving style. Overall, he did an admirable job in replacing Suter. Nashville Predators face tough choices with their free agents • Case against: None. The Predators should re-sign Josi to a deal similar to Suter’s second contract (four years, $14 million).

May 29, 2013 12:45 PM Forward Nick Spaling Josh Cooper • 2013 stats: Nine goals, four assists in 47 games • 2013 salary: $1.05 million

Losing often breeds change. For the Predators, a disastrous 2013 season • Case for: He’s a big two-way forward and one of the team’s top penalty means some stalwarts who are free agents could be in for difficult contract killers. In recent years he has added an offensive element, and this year he negotiations this summer. notched a career-high in goals per game. Last year, Nashville opted to keep pending unrestricted free agent forward • Case against: Though his offense improved, he was weaker defensively Brandon Yip, a waiver-wire pickup who became a solid depth player up and not quite as physical as in years past. His faceoff percentage also front. This year, Yip is unrestricted again, but he’s not as much of a slam- dropped from more than 50 percent in 2011-12 to 46.3. dunk to return. Forward Matt Halischuk Nashville kept forwards Matt Halischuk and Nick Spaling when they were • 2013 stats: Five goals, six assists in 36 games restricted free agents two years ago. After mediocre seasons, the duo might be unworthy of qualifying offers. • 2013 salary: $712,500 With starting goaltender Pekka Rinne coming off of hip surgery, should • Case for: His game screams “Predator.” He’s a decent offensive experienced backup Chris Mason be retained, or should Magnus Hellberg contributor who knows his way around the defensive zone. Sent to the be promoted from the minors? minors midseason, he came back and posted 10 points in his last 20 games. These conundrums are vastly different from those in the franchise’s recent past. • Case against: He’s not the biggest player (5-11, 187), and the Predators are on record saying they want to add size at forward this offseason. A year ago it was quite obvious that the Predators wanted to re-sign their unrestricted free agents including forward Paul Gaustad and defensemen Defenseman Jonathon Blum Hal Gill and Ryan Suter. It was also clear that they would make minimal effort to hold on to forwards Alexander Radulov (restricted free agent) and • 2013 stats: One goal, six assists in 35 games Andrei Kostitsyn (unrestricted). • 2013 salary: $650,000 Nashville kept Gill and Gaustad, lost out on Suter, and saw Radulov and • Case for: He looked OK playing alongside Hal Gill. The previous year, he Kostitsyn head off to the Kontinental Hockey League. was back-and-forth between Nashville and Milwaukee, but he stayed with Two years ago, the Predators let forwards Joel Ward, Steve Sullivan and the Predators for all of the lockout-shortened season. Marcel Goc walk, while keeping their younger restricted free agents as • Case against: He constantly drew the ire of coach Barry Trotz for missed replacements as part of a quasi-rebuild. assignments and shoddy defense. A change of scenery might be best for all As for what the Predators will do with their free agents this summer, here parties. are some factors to consider: Forward Bobby Butler UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS • 2013 stats: Four goals, seven assists in 34 games Goaltender Chris Mason • 2013 salary: $525,000 • 2013 stats: 1-7-1, 3.73 goals against average, .873 save percentage • Case for: Once he found his groove, he displayed a nice wrist shot and • 2013 salary: $1.5 million some decent offensive ability. He notched five points in his last seven games. • Case for: With Rinne unable to train for most of the summer, the Predators will need an experienced backup for the 2013-14 season, and Mason fits • Case against: He was somewhat inconsistent. He also notched just four that mold. points in eight games in what proved to be an extended tryout for him at the World Championships following the season. • Case against: After a decent start this season, Mason was highly shaky, allowing fewer than three goals in just three starts. Also, young netminder OTHERS Magnus Hellberg is another viable backup option. • Unrestricted free agents (2013 salaries): F Chris Mueller ($550,000), F Forward Brandon Yip Kevin Henderson ($550,000). • 2013 stats: Three goals, five assists in 34 games • Restricted free agents: D Victor Bartley ($537,500), F Daniel Bang ($925,000) • 2013 salary: $750,000 Tennessean LOADED: 05.30.2013 • Case for: The coaching staff seems to like the veteran Yip’s versatility. He’s a decent value at that salary. • Case against: There are probably cheaper options within the organization that boast Yip-like skill sets. Also, Yip dealt with a few injuries last season and didn’t produce a point after March 25. RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Defenseman Roman Josi • 2013 stats: Five goals, 13 assists in 48 games • 2013 salary: $1 million 679307 Nashville Predators

New Predators assistant recognized for history of success with USA Hockey

Wednesday, May 29, 2013 at 10:23pm By David Boclair

The players were different. The results were similar. In the span of five months Phil Housley, hired last week as an assistant coach by the Nashville Predators, was a part of two medal winning efforts with USA Hockey. He was head coach of the team that won gold at the World Junior Championships and an assistant with the national team that won bronze this month at the World Championships. That multi-generational success were the latest in a long line of international achievement that prompted the organization on Wednesday to name him the 2013 Distinguished Achievement Award winner. The award is presented to a U.S. citizen who has made hockey his or her profession and has made outstanding contributions on or off the ice to the sport in America. “The difference is just maturity and strength and power of the pros versus the younger kids,” Housley said recently. “… They learn to be pros and approach the game the right way. Those things take time to become a really good pro day in and day out. They come to the rink ready and prepared, and that’s the difference that I saw.” Twice previously (2007 and 2011), Housley was an assistant with the junior national team, and both times the U.S. won bronze medals. The gold medal with him in charge was the third all-time and second in three years. “I think this last World [Junior] Championships in Ufa, Russia, you saw a lot of the best players that were available to play so there wasn’t much difference in that age group,” he said. “There were some terrific players over there, a lot of them that were NHL guys. That’s why winning that was very special. You can just see the maturity.” His extensive history with USA Hockey also includes one previous turn as an assistant coach at the World Championships (2010), nine appearances as a player at the World Championships, a silver medal as a player at the 2002 Winter Olympics and an spot with Team USA at the first World Cup of Hockey (1996). Housley will receive the award at an awards dinner June 7 at Colorado Springs. Nashville City Paper LOADED: 05.30.2013 679308 New Jersey Devils

Devils won't bring Steve Sullivan, Matt D'Agostini back

Rich Chere/The Star-Ledger on May 29, 2013 at 3:55 PM, updated May 29, 2013 at 5:48 PM

The Devils will not bring forwards Steve Sullivan or Matt D'Agostini back next season, general manager Lou Lamoriello told The Star-Ledger. Sullivan, 38, was re-acquired in a deadline day trade with the Phoenix Coyotes. He is an unrestricted free agent. "I don't think we'll be bringing Steve back simply because where he is at in his career," Lamoriello said. "And where our young players are at." D'Agostini, 26, was obtained on Mar. 22 in a trade with the St. Louis Blues. He is a restricted free agent who earned $1.8 million this season and would have to be qualified by July 2. "Qualifying him at the salary he is at is going to be very difficult," Lamoriello said. "I'm just being honest." Sullivan scored two goals (with three assists) in nine games. D'Agostini, who ended the season out of the lineup with a sprained wrist, played 13 games and had two goals with two assists. Lamoriello said there is a chance Cam Janssen (unrestricted) could return to the organization. "I think it has to be a mutual thing if Cam wants to come back. We haven't had any discussions yet," Lamoriello said. "That will happen shortly." Although the Devils seem to have a surplus of defensemen, Lamoriello said unrestricted free agent Peter Harrold still figures in the club's plans. "No question we'd like to have Peter back," the GM noted. Lamoriello said he plans to have talks with UFA defenseman Matt Corrente, who has battled injuries in recent seasons, as well as goalie Jeff Frazee. Frazee, who made his NHL debut this season, has received an offer from Allsvenskan in play in Sweden next season but is leaving his options open. Lamoriello has had contract talks with the agent for UFA Dainius Zubrus. The forward hopes to come back to the Devils. “I know my agent has met with Lou and they talked. That was a couple of weeks ago. As far as I know, the conversation was good,” Zubrus told me. “They’ll be talking again. “The Devils are my first choice right now. If I don’t have to, I would not want to move and go somewhere else. I want to be a Devil.” Does he expect to test the market beginning noon (ET) on July 5? “I’m hoping I don’t have to, but I can’t tell you if something will happen or not,” Zubrus said. “I’d be guessing. I don’t know how it’s going to play out with other players and myself, who will be a priority. I truly don’t know.” Lamoriello indicated a decision on Alexei Ponikarovsky (UFA) will not be made before the situations involving UFA's Patrik Elias, David Clarkson, Zubrus and Marek Zidlicky are resolved. "(Ponikarovsky) played well for us. We'll have to see what happens with our other players," Lamoriello said. As far as possible amnesty buyouts, Lamoriello said: "That hasn't even been a thought process at this point. Our free agent signings are all first (on the agenda)." I asked Lamoriello about the firing today of Rangers coach John Tortorella. "I have no reaction to other teams," he said. "I have enough to worry about with my own team." Star Ledger LOADED: 05.30.2013 679309 New York Rangers Sather also said Tortorella’s playoff benching of Brad Richards, the team’s slumping $60 million center, was not a factor in the firing. He called it “an organizational decision,” and said the team would decide in June whether to Much to His Surprise, Fiery Tortorella Is Out buy out the last seven years of Richards’s contract. “There wasn’t one specific reason I decided to make this choice,” Sather said. “It was a matter of how we’re going to get better and how we’re going By JEFF Z. KLEIN to move forward.” While Tortorella led the Rangers to the playoffs in four of his five seasons, several problematic issues emerged. He clashed with the news media, and As Rangers coach, John Tortorella was a creature of certitude — he has been suspended for throwing a water bottle at a fan and fined for opinionated, volatile and confident to the point of arrogance. He drove his criticizing officials and opposing teams. He failed to get consistently good players to throw themselves in front of shots, occasionally criticized them in performances from star offensive players like Richards, Nash and Marian public and often insulted members of the news media. On Monday, as the Gaborik, who was dealt away at the trade deadline. The power play was Rangers packed up their locker room at the end of another season without among the worst in the league. He had difficulty integrating young players a Stanley Cup, Tortorella spoke like a man certain he would be around to fix like Chris Kreider and J. T. Miller into the lineup. the team. He even said he was looking forward to training camp in the fall. Tortorella acknowledged that the Rangers might not have been prepared But on Wednesday, Tortorella was caught by surprise, fired four days after for the Bruins series after an emotional Game 7 victory against the the Rangers were eliminated by the Boston Bruins in the second round of Washington Capitals. the N.H.L. playoffs. “The biggest part of my job is that and how you handle your top players to Tortorella had one year left on his contract, and was expected to be back get them to play, and that falls on my shoulders,” Tortorella said Monday. next season. But a sixth-place finish in the Eastern Conference and a disappointing postseason proved to be Tortorella’s undoing. The Rangers Sather declined to say whether any of these issues led to Tortorella’s were the top team in the Eastern Conference last season and reached the dismissal. conference finals. After acquiring the star scorer Rick Nash in the off- season, they were considered a Stanley Cup contender, but they struggled “Every coach has a shelf life,” Sather said. “I’ve told every guy that I’ve to find their identity until late in the lockout-shortened 48-game season. hired, at some point in time this is going to change. Our goal is to win the Stanley Cup, and we didn’t achieve that goal this year, and I had to make There were also indications that Tortorella’s outbursts and tough-love the decision, so I did.” stance with his players may have alienated the team. The most recent example was during the Bruins series, when he repeatedly told reporters For Tortorella and Renney, that shelf life seemed to be about four and a that Carl Hagelin, one of his favorite players, “stinks on the power play.” half years. Sather, whose shelf life seems to be considerably longer, said he would return for at least one more season. “I’m very appreciative of what Torts has done here,” General Manager Glen Sather said in a conference call with reporters. “We have an evaluation at Sather, 69, has been the Rangers’ president and general manager since the end of the year like we always do. We sit and talk about the future and 2000. The best they have done in the regular season during his 13-year plan on where we’re going and how we’re going to get there. And our goal tenure is a single first-place finish and one trip to the conference finals, both is to win the Stanley Cup. I felt that this was a decision we had to make achieved last season. going forward.” Sather said he hoped to have a new coach in place by the N.H.L. draft on Among the few details Sather provided was a description of Tortorella’s June 30. Alain Vigneault, recently fired as coach of the Vancouver surprise at being told of his dismissal. Canucks, is among the candidates to replace Tortorella, as is Lindy Ruff, who was fired by the Buffalo Sabres during the season. Dallas Eakins of the “He was a little bit shocked, but he’s a gentleman, and he took it very well,” American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies may be ready to make the Sather said. jump to the N.H.L. “I think any time somebody loses a job it’s a bit of a shock,” he added. “I Perhaps the most intriguing prospect is Mark Messier, Sather’s special can’t tell you how much it was, but I don’t think that he was prepared for it. I assistant and a Ranger icon. His coaching experience is limited to sporadic don’t think anybody’s prepared for it. It’s a difficult role that he has to work with the Canadian national team, but he was approached to be the accept, and a difficult role for me to have to deliver the message.” Edmonton coach last season. Tortorella, 54, was not immediately available for comment. He won a Some former players who had run-ins with Tortorella reacted on Twitter to Stanley Cup in 2004 as coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning, and he has won the firing. “Don’t ever doubt what I say,” said Sean Avery, who during a 410 regular-season games as an N.H.L. coach, the most by an American- Rangers losing streak in March posted that the team should “fire this born coach. He was believed to be a front-runner to coach the United clown.” States Olympic men’s hockey team in Sochi, Russia, in February. Matthew Barnaby, a former Lightning player, said on Twitter: “Torts is awful A noted disciplinarian, Tortorella coached the Rangers for five seasons, to play for. A good guy away from the rink but NO fun at all to be around.” starting as a midseason replacement for the easygoing Tom Renney on Feb. 23, 2009. He won 171 regular-season games and lost 144, and won Gaborik had a cryptic message on his Twitter account: “Everything happens three playoff series and lost four. In 1999-2000, he coached four games as for a reason.” a late-season replacement for John Muckler and went 0-3-1. The current Rangers have been quiet so far on social media. While Sather denied speculation that goalie Henrik Lundqvist was a factor in the Lundqvist, Ryan Callahan and others called the 2013 season “a step back” firing. Lundqvist, 31, has one year left on his contract, and delivered a Monday, Tortorella termed it “a sideways step,” saying there were some much-parsed answer when asked Monday whether he would sign a positives and suggesting it was part of a learning experience that might help contract extension with the Rangers. the Rangers win a Stanley Cup in the future. He gave no indication that he thought he might not be a part of that future. “I will talk to my agent and see where we are,” he said. “I’ve had a great time in New York. They have treated me really well. We’ll see where it New York Times LOADED: 05.30.2013 goes.” Sather said Lundqvist’s comment “didn’t have anything to do with” Tortorella’s fate. “We plan on signing Henrik to a long-term contract,” Sather said. “I’m not going to make any public comments on negotiations, when and how they’re going to take place. But that had nothing to do with this. This was a decision that I made.” 679310 New York Rangers

An Ode to John Tortorella

By NAILA-JEAN MEYERS

John Tortorella’s lasting legacy with the Rangers will not, alas, be a Stanley Cup. Instead, he will mostly be remembered for his verbal sparring with the New York news media. This is one way of depicting that. But sometimes moments like these require poetry. Here is an appreciation of Tortorella, using his own words from his Rangers’ tenure: I’m not telling you. You ask stupid questions, you’ll get stupid answers. I’m going to keep it in the room. No. It’s one of the most arrogant organizations in the league. They whine about this stuff all the time, and look what happens. I want to get along, but I’m not going to talk about injuries, and I’m certainly not going to talk about the lineup every day. I’m not going to have a staring contest. If you don’t ask me questions, I’ll just leave. No. I love our jam. I thought we stunk. Because he stinks on the power play. I don’t know why. No. I have no idea what you’re talking about. I answered that question. That’s ridiculous. No. You were probably beat up at the bus stop most of the time. I don’t take anything back. There are a couple of reporters there that I do think are idiots. It’s easy to say, “I’m sorry.” I’m not sorry for most of the things I’ve said. No. New York Times LOADED: 05.30.2013 679311 New York Rangers Corey Sipkin/New York Daily News John Tortorella's abrasive style may have fallen on deaf ears with the Rangers this season. John Tortorella fired as head coach of the NY Rangers after 'multiple players' wanted him gone In the postseason Tortorella demoted Richards, the Conn Smythe winner from their shared ’04 Cup victory in Tampa Bay, and then benched Richards for Games 4 and 5 against the Boston Bruins. While that was the By Pat Leonard / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS correct hockey decision, the Daily News wrote at the time that such a move risked losing the locker room, since Tortorella already managed with an Updated: Wednesday, May 29, 2013, 6:12 PM overbearing, in-your-face style but had support partially because of Richards being a conduit for his message to other players. Perhaps most importantly, though on Monday most of the Rangers sounded The Rangers fire head coach John Tortorella after the Blueshirts' second- optimistic, Lundqvist chose his words carefully when asked whether he’d be round loss to the Bruins. interested in signing a contract extension – an unsettling few sentences. Stop coaching, Torts. “I’m gonna talk to my agent, and we’ll see,” Lundqvist said. “You know, I had such a great time here in New York. From day one they treated me The Rangers fired John Tortorella as their head coach Wednesday really well and have given me an opportunity to play a lot of hockey. It’s afternoon with one year remaining on his contract after “multiple players,” been a lot of fun. I have one more year on the contract. I’m just focused on including some “top guys,” wanted the fiery 53-year-old gone for good, – well, right now, I’m trying to get over this year – but we’ll see. I’ll talk to my according to a source. agent and take it from there.” General manager Glen Sather said in a conference call that Tortorella Also, though Sather avoided addressing the issue, Tortorella repeatedly this seemed “a little bit shocked” by his dismissal. It is unknown specifically season took underhanded shots at Sather and management by mentioning which Rangers voiced their displeasure, but the frustration mounted high publicly that he did not have the flexibility or depth in his lineup to properly enough that Sather pulled the trigger after four-plus seasons. coach the team. While Tortorella was not incorrect that management had Tortorella lost his job only two days after team MVP goaltender Henrik left the cupboard slightly bare, his repeated mentioning of the fact may have Lundqvist avoided committing to a long-term contract extension and four gotten under Sather’s skin. days after he benched Brad Richards, his strongest connection to the New Then of course, there was Tortorella’s insistence on being difficult with the York locker room, for the second straight playoff game to conclude the media, which resulted in several entertaining sound bites but also created Blueshirts’ second-round elimination. Sather said the Richards benching an adversarial relationship with the press. was an “organizational decision made in conjunction with the rest of us,” but Tortorella ultimately still makes the lineup call. “Well as I said, I don’t want to get into any specifics,” Sather said, “but I think in dealing with the press, it’s important that you have a relationship, Tortorella did not return a phone call or email. Lundqvist and Richards were whether it’s good or bad. I mean, it’s a factor of sports in the modern world unavailable for comment. But Wednesday’s developments mark a drastic today that we all have to deal with speaking to you fellas, and I think some shift in support from late March, when captain Ryan Callahan and the team people relish the opportunity to speak their mind and some people are more shot down ex-Ranger Sean Avery’s “Fire this CLOWN!” tweet with a reserved about it. But that’s an individual choice, and I’m not going to get message of solidarity: into any specifics about things that happened or didn’t happen. I just think in “Sean Avery’s comments solely represent his own thoughts and opinions,” general that’s part of professional sports today.” the players’ statement read. “He did not speak for us as a team when he Finally, the attractive current list of available coaching candidates could was here and certainly does not now.” have led the Rangers to act sooner, no doubt in search of an experienced WFAN first reported Tortorella’s dismissal. Sather said he hopes to fill his NHL coach given their young yet promising roster. coaching vacancy by the June 30 NHL draft, and though he wouldn’t name Under Tortorella’s guidance, the Rangers fell in the first round to anyone, leading candidates include former Ranger forward and ex-Sabres Washington in 2009 and 2011 and missed the playoffs on the final day of coach Lindy Ruff and ex-Canucks coach Alain Vigneault. the regular season in 2010. But last season the Blueshirts posted their “I’m very appreciative of what Torts has done here, spending four years second most wins all-time in a single season with 51, and tied for second in with the New York Rangers,” Sather said. “We have an evaluation at the franchise history with 109 points in 2011-12. end of the year like we always do, and we sit and talk about the future and Tortorella became the 30th coach in NHL history to coach 800 games on where we plan on going, and how we’re going to get there, and our goal is March 27, 2012, won his 100th game as Rangers coach on Nov. 5, 2011, to win the Stanley Cup. And I felt that this is a decision that had to be made and became the 30th coach in league history to register his 400th NHL to move forward, and we made the decision. As far as John is concerned, I coaching victory on March 26. think he was a little bit shocked, but he’s a gentleman and he took it very well.” But on Wednesday, the Rangers said so-long to Torts for good. Tortorella, 54, the winningest American-born NHL head coach with 410 His final words as Rangers head coach concluded an answer to a question career victories, took over for Tom Renney as the franchise's 34th head about whether he’d like to front office to re-sign bruising winger Ryane coach on Feb. 23, 2009 and in four-plus seasons took the Rangers as far Clowe. Tortorella endorsed Clowe’s talents but reminded reporters “I can’t as last year's Eastern Conference finals, bowing out in six games to the talk about contracts” and finished his interview with: “So we’ll see where it New Jersey Devils. goes.” Sather and the front office had bought in fully to Tortorella's program Then he walked through a door into the back hallways of the Rangers’ focused on discipline, details, player development, "the process," Greenburgh training center, his final act as Rangers head coach being a everything he preached. But player unrest built, and a combination of press conference: how appropriate, and how sudden. factors resulted in the decision to part ways with the fiery skipper out of Concord, Mass., who coached the Tampa Bay Lightning to the 2004 New York Daily News LOADED: 05.30.2013 Stanley Cup. “What we dealt with this year was a shortened season, we dealt with a lot of injuries, and I thought that the team under the conditions played well,” Sather said, when asked about the evaluation of Tortorella, in which he consulted several front office members but ultimately made the decision himself. “Did they play up to the expectations that we had for them? No. And that’s probably as far as I can go with that answer.” John Tortorella's abrasive style may have fallen on deaf ears with the Rangers this season. 679312 New York Rangers 679313 New York Rangers

Lindy Ruff, Alain Vigneault considered top two available candidates to be John Tortorella may have lost support of NY Rangers players, but it was his NY Rangers coach poor record got him fired

By Pat Leonard / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Thursday, May 30, 2013, 12:11 AM Wednesday, May 29, 2013, 11:57 PM

Glen Sather wants to win a Stanley Cup now, so it’s a good bet he’ll pursue At least one Capitals fan gets his wish as John Tortorella is canned by the someone who’s been there before to replace John Tortorella. Rangers Wednesday. Ex-Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff, 53 and ex-Vancouver Canucks coach You didn’t have to do anything but watch the Rangers in the playoffs to see Alain Vigneault, 52, are considered the top two available candidates to that in the end they wanted to play for John Tortorella about as much as become the 35th Ranger coach. Neither coach has won the Stanley Cup, Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks wanted to play for Mike D’Antoni at the but Ruff led Buffalo to four Eastern Conference finals appearances and a end. When that happens the coach gets fired the way Tortorella got fired on 1999 Finals berth, while Vigneault won back-to-back Presidents’ Trophies in Wednesday by Glen Sather, who apparently will be at Madison Square 2011 and 2012, including a 2011 Finals appearance. Garden after even the Dolans are gone. Ruff also skated at left wing for the Rangers from the 1988-89 season John Tortorella has a Stanley Cup on his resume. So do a lot of guys who through 1990-91 to conclude his playing career, when former teammate never acted as if they invented hockey. In New York, over four-and-a-half Brian Leetch recalls Ruff was a “great (influence) in the locker room,” where seasons coaching the Rangers, he missed the playoffs once on the last day the current Rangers players are seeking a change. of the regular season, lost in the first round twice, nearly got swept in the second round this year, one year after making it to the Eastern Conference “On the surface, Lindy Ruff or Alain Vigneault seem the most obvious and finals. well-equipped candidates,” NHL analyst Billy Jaffe said Wednesday. “Lindy played here and has had a lot of success at the NHL level. He’s a little Even if you watched the guy from the outside you have to know that none of different than Torts. He’s hard-nosed, but there’s less edge to him, no this ever stopped Tortorella – to borrow a great line from the movie “All question about that. And he will promote offense.” About Eve” – from acting as if he were the piano that wrote the concerto. Vigneault, meanwhile, has coached in a Northwest Canadian hockey RELATED: TORTORELLA FIRED AS HEAD COACH OF THE RANGERS hotbed with circumstances and pressures similar to New York, plus he approaches his job with a different demeanor than the Rangers are used to. This isn’t about the way Tortorella occasionally treated reporters just trying to do their jobs, perhaps thinking at the Garden you could treat the media “Vancouver is rabid (about hockey), it’s a very wealthy franchise, not any way you wanted to and still get carried around the room on your dissimilar to the Rangers, and the expectations are high,” Jaffe said. “And bosses’ shoulders. Isn’t about the way he sometimes demanded they only Vigneault has a little different way about him. He’s not as overtly fiery address him with questions. No, this was about the guy’s record, and about probably than Lindy Ruff or Torts – definitely not Torts – but even Lindy. But the way it ended for his team after they managed to finish strong against he’s had success there. He was able to coach offense, handle the media the Capitals. and he’s a veteran.” And the way it ended was with what should have been a sweep by the Paul Maurice, a former coach of the Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Bruins in the second round of the playoffs. The Knicks and their star, Maple Leafs who led the Canes to the 2002 Finals, is also available after Anthony, looked a lot better in their second-round series against the Pacers reportedly turning down a contract extension with the KHL’s Metallurg than Henrik Lundqvist and the rest of Tortorella’s players looked against Magnitogorsk. Coyotes coach Dave Tippet, whom Sather has interviewed Boston. If the Bruins goalie, Tuukka Rask, doesn’t trip all over himself in a for previous vacancies, is a possible candidate if he does not re-sign with big moment in Game 4, the Rangers’ season doesn’t even make it to Phoenix when his contract expires this summer. Memorial Day weekend. Maybe that is why Lundqvist, before he said goodbye for the summer, sounded as enthusiastic about Tortorella as Then there is a rising star, Toronto Marlies coach Dallas Eakins, who led Carmelo did about D’Antoni in the end. the Maple Leafs’ AHL affiliate to the 2012 Calder Cup final and already has received interest from Vancouver for its vacancy. You have seen the quote all over the place by now, Lundqvist saying, “We’ll see” when asked about the possibility of signing a long-term deal with the “He’s an incredibly bright, intellectual, detail-oriented coach,” Jaffe said. Rangers after his current contract runs out. It must have made them all “He’s had incredible success with Toronto, but I don’t know if the Rangers slightly hysterical in the corporate offices on 33rd and Seventh, even if would go for a non-proven NHL coach in this market.” Sather said on Wednesday that Lundqvist’s comments had nothing to do Sather said Wednesday he would like to conclude the coaching search by with his decision to tell Tortorella to go. the time the NHL draft arrives on June 30. He said no decision had been If there is one thing you have to know by now with the current owner of the made yet about assistant coach Mike Sullivan, though he is not expected to place, Mr. James L. Dolan: He sure does like his stars. be retained. So now the Garden’s teams once again do not make it to the month of Of course, the captain of all captains, Mark Messier, is the assistant to the June, do not make it past Memorial Day weekend, which is where president, working with Sather in his current role. Perhaps he shouldn’t be Tortorella’s season ended last year against the Devils. In the last 12 ruled out, either. seasons, which means since James L. Dolan became the big boss of the “There are a lot of factors when you go in looking for someone to help you place, the Knicks and Rangers — between them — have made it past the develop and help your team and get us to our ultimate goal,” Sather said of second round of the playoffs exactly one time. his previous two hires in Tom Renney and Tortorella. And have missed the playoffs a total of 12 times over that same period. “It’s not an easy thing to achieve, but we have to keep striving to get there, Have been bounced in the first round of the playoffs five other times. It and hopefully whoever we hire has a lot of the things that Torts had and a makes the early summer of 1994 seem as far away as ever, that amazing lot of the good things that Tom Renney had. time in the city when the Knicks went to Game 7 of the NBA Finals before losing to Houston and the Rangers won their first Stanley Cup since 1940. “There are a number of good coaches around and a lot of them have different qualities. It’s a little tricky sometimes to find someone who has all In those days the Knicks would finish their playoff game at the Garden and those qualities, but hopefully that’s what we’re going to find this time the fans would stay in their seats and watch the end of a Rangers playoff around.” game on the road. And it wasn’t just the fans who would stay. We all would. This was the magic time in that place, when it really did feel like the world’s New York Daily News LOADED: 05.30.2013 most famous arena and maybe even a mecca of basketball again, and you did not want to miss a game or a night. The Knicks at least put up a fight in their second-round series against Indiana. The Rangers? Once they got behind in Game 5, they went down and stayed down. Then some of them started talking about how the team had taken a step back and how they had underachieved. The only person surprised when Ranger for Life Sather gave it to Tortorella on Wednesday was apparently John Tortorella himself. “Every coach has a shelf life,” that is what I heard Glen Sather say early in his conference call with the media a little after 2 on Wednesday. “Our goal is to win a Stanley Cup,” Sather said, on this day when he finally decided that you couldn’t do that without power play goals, or sometimes any goals at all. “He was a little bit shocked,” Sather said of Tortorella, and then added, “but took it very well.” Tortorella made the playoffs every season except one, which is a lot better than D’Antoni did, coaching his first two years without any chance after he and Donnie Walsh came in to clean up the BP-like mess Isiah had left behind. Again: This isn’t coming from some passionate follower of the team, or the sport, just someone who watches a ton of Stanley Cup hockey for the pure speed and fun and drama of it; from somebody who watched Tortorella’s team play 12 playoff games this year and win five of them. The Rangers were supposed to do a lot better than that this season, weren’t they? And you can answer that one, coach. It was in the form of a question. New York Daily News LOADED: 05.30.2013 679314 New York Rangers is, Tortorella is a man who respects authority unless that authority is dressed in vertical, black-and-white stripes. All in all, the Rangers just got a lot more interesting on the ice, and a lot John Tortorella is fired, but NY Rangers GM Glen Sather hangs on less interesting off it. Seems like a fair trade. NEW YORK DAILY NEWS New York Daily News LOADED: 05.30.2013 Wednesday, May 29, 2013, 11:54 PM

Everybody will exhale a bit, now that John Tortorella is gone. That includes the players who were demoted for taking too many attacking chances, or failing to lay down their bruised bones in front of another slap shot; the franchise goaltender who couldn’t quite get himself to endorse the Rangers, despite his love of New York; the reporters who were shoveled aside, treated like ice chips; the purist fans who wished to watch entertaining games again, instead of negative, turtle-in-the-shell hockey. Tortorella lost too much of the locker room and too much of New York when he started benching players like Dan Girardi, for a short span, and Chris Kreider, for long ones. His departure is a considerable relief, and yet this unexpected dismissal is no guarantee of a Stanley Cup, either. Tortorella instilled grit and discipline into this franchise. That is his legacy, and the team should retain those tough characteristics. But Tortorella and Glen Sather also molded the roster into a reflection of the reactionary coach. The Rangers now have a fine corps of young, risk- averse defensemen and not nearly enough imagination, depth or finishing power. They have a bunch of Columbus Blue Jackets who don’t exactly own an institutional memory for winning titles. All that doesn’t change right away. “Finish our checks,” Tortorella would always say, his pedantic mantra, when asked how his Rangers could turn around a game or a series. The same coach whose motto in Tampa Bay was “Safe Is Death” had somehow lost his attacking nerve. Now there is the matter of choosing the next coach, a task that Sather has botched in the past. This will be his sixth coach since taking over in 2000, counting himself, and most of them were epic flops much worse than Tortorella. The most infamous, of course, was Bryan Trottier, an early appointment that demonstrated Sather’s complete ignorance of the city’s hockey geography. “Every coach has a shelf life,” Sather said on Wednesday. “I've told every guy I’ve hired at some point, ‘This is going to change.’” Fair enough. The question that needed to be asked of Sather and not everyone on the conference call was afforded the opportunity to pose one was this: If coaches have shelf lives, don’t GMs have them, too? Sather has now been president and general manager for 13 years. He says that every time his team fails to win a Stanley Cup, it fails. Yet he is the architect of this failure; of a franchise that has won only five playoff series during his tenure, and never reached the Finals. Sather did an awful job at the start of his reign in New York, when he was throwing money at the wrong players. He fared much better once the new salary cap forced him into more familiar, Edmonton Oiler thinking. He does his best with smaller deals, not the ones that brought Marian Gaborik and Brad Richards to the Garden. Give him credit, too, for drafting Henrik Lundqvist. Sather was asked on Wednesday, reasonably, whether he might consider giving up a few of his many duties with the club. He was taken aback by the suggestion, said he was perfectly capable of multi-tasking. “I don't sharpen skates here,” he said. Sather is 69 years old and has a job for life at the Garden, because Jim Dolan loves the guy and apparently doesn’t read the agate on the sports pages that chronicle the Rangers’ annual struggle for the last playoff spots. Sather is a civil fellow, not as ornery as Tortorella. He won’t say much of anything, though, which fits right into the Garden’s bunker mentality. We can only surmise that Sather agreed with Lundqvist, who said the Rangers took a step back in 2013, and not with Tortorella’s assessment that the season was merely a “sidestep.” Sather said Tortorella was “shocked” by the firing but that he took it like a gentleman. As volatile as he 679315 New York Rangers and Bruins in the East finals, and the Kings set to take on the winner of Wednesday night’s Game 7 between the Blackhawks and Red Wings. “If you look at the teams that are going to be contending for the Stanley Rangers fire Tortorella fired as players tired of coach's overbearing Cup, there are specific ingredients that every team has and some teams personality don’t have,” Sather said. “I’d like to take the best of what those teams have and integrate them into our team.”

By BRETT CYRGALIS The most logical choices out there for possible replacements start with Lindy Ruff, the longtime coach of the Sabres who was fired early in the Last Updated: 6:10 PM, May 29, 2013 year. After him comes former Canucks headman Alain Vigneault, and then possibly Dave Tippett, whose contract with the Coyotes expires on June 30. Posted: 1:13 PM, May 29, 2013 “There are a lot of factors when you go looking for someone to develop and help your team get us to your ultimate goal,” Sather said. “And as you know it’s not an easy thing to achieve, but we have to keep striving to get there.” The dirty laundry was not about to be publicly aired Wednesday afternoon when Rangers general manager Glen Sather announced the firing of coach The striving continues, but now it goes on without Tortorella. John Tortorella. New York Post LOADED: 05.30.2013 “It wasn’t one thing, and I’m not going to speculate or start to criticize what happened with Torts and give you a lot of reasons why we decided to do this,” Sather said on a conference call. “After the analytical work we do every year at the end of season trying to decide how we’re going to improve the team and how we’re going to move forward, this is a decision we made, a decision that was consulted with some people so that everyone knew what was going to happen.” Sather did say that Tortorella was shocked to hear the news, but that he took it like a gentleman. The decision is believed to be unrelated to the team’s 2012-13 regular-season record and second-round playoff elimination, but rather to the core belief by management that the club’s players had grown weary of Tortorella’s overbearing personality. “Removing anybody from the coaching role of the New York Rangers is a difficult decision,” Sather said, “but I think I made the right decision so that we can go forward in another direction.” WATCH: THE POST'S FIVE FAVORITE TORTS MOMENTS One year after making it to the conference finals, the Rangers lost this season a round earlier, falling in five games to the Bruins in the Eastern Conference semifinals. There seemed to be conflicting sentiments about the season coming from Tortorella and from his locker room, specifically franchise goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. During Monday’s break-up day, Lundqvist called the season “a step back.” Minutes later, Tortorella vehemently disagreed, calling it instead, “a sideways step.” “What Henirk was talking about was last year we got into the conference finals, this year we didn’t make that,” Sather said. “I think that’s what he was referring to. As far as I’m concerned, if you’re not in the Stanley Cup [finals] and you’re not there winning it, your season has not been a success. The ultimate goal is to win the Stanley Cup here, so anytime that we don’t get there, I don’t think we’ve achieved our goal.” Lundqvist is going to be a free agent after this coming season, and it seems as if the team doesn’t wrap him up with a long-term deal before training camp starts, then he might have one foot out the door. To say that Sather had to choose between Lundqvist and Tortorella is nothing more than wild speculation, yet the GM said his plan is for the reigning Vezina Trophy winner to stay in New York for good. “We plan on signing Henrik to a long-term contract,” Sather said. “I’m not going to make any public comments on the negotiations, how and when they’re going to take place. But it had nothing to do with this. This was a decision that I made.” A decision that Sather also said he had a hand in was scratching former Conn Smythe winner Brad Richards for the final two games of the Bruins series. Richards, 33, is due $6.67 million per year until 2019-20, and because of the precipitous decline in his game has become a prime candidate for the Rangers’ final amnesty buyout. Sather can use that either this summer or next to send Richards packing and wipe his cap hit off their books. “That’s a decision we’re going to make later at our organizational meetings [in late June],” Sather said about Richards. “At this time, I’m not thinking about that. I’m trying to deal with this situation and move forward.” As for moving forward, Sather continued to be evasive about the type of coach he would like to hire. Yet he did point out there are similarities between the teams still alive fighting for the Stanley Cup – the Penguins 679316 New York Rangers “There are a lot of factors when you go looking for someone to develop and help your team get us to your ultimate goal,” Sather said. “And as you know it’s not an easy thing to achieve, but we have to keep striving to get there.” Unable to win a Cup in five seasons, Torts shown door The striving continues, but now it goes on without Tortorella. New York Post LOADED: 05.30.2013 By BRETT CYRGALIS Last Updated: 3:51 AM, May 30, 2013 Posted: 1:54 AM, May 30, 2013

The final day John Tortorella publicly spent as the coach of the Rangers, he had his back against the wall and his guard up, the only way he would have liked to go out. Yesterday general manager Glen Sather announced the firing of Tortorella, an unceremonious end to an era that dovetailed into an open conflicting of opinions between players and coach during Monday’s break-up day, one that turned out to be the final straw that broke this stubborn camel’s back. “Every coach has a shelf life,” Sather said on a conference call, also announcing his plan to stay on as GM. “I’ve told every guy that I’ve hired that at some point in time, this is going to change. Our goal is to win the Stanley Cup, and we didn’t achieve that goal this year. I had to make the decision, so I did.” The Rangers’ season ended Saturday in Boston, losing in five games to the Bruins in the Eastern Conference semifinals. It was one round short of last season’s run to the conference finals, and how the results were interpreted showed an irreconcilable difference of opinion. Franchise backbone goaltender Henrik Lundqvist called it “a step backward” while captain Ryan Callahan said the team “underachieved.” Tortorella, on the other hand, called it “a sideways step” and added, “I know that a surrounding feeling [is] it was a negative season, a disappointing season. I don’t buy it. I don’t buy it and I won’t.” Hired to replace Tom Renney on Feb. 23, 2009, Tortorella has the most wins of any U.S.-born coach in NHL history (410), and finishes his Broadway tenure with the fourth-most wins (171) in franchise history. Sather would not get into the details of why he fired Tortorella, admitting his vagueness after saying, “It wasn’t one thing, and I’m not going to speculate or start to criticize what happened with Torts and give you a lot of reasons why we decided to do this.” Lundqvist might have been one of them. The reigning Vezina Trophy winner is poised to be a free agent after next season and was lukewarm about re- signing, saying on Monday, “I’ll talk to my agent and we’ll take it from there.” “We plan on signing Henrik to a long-term contract,” Sather responded. “I’m not going to make any public comments on the negotiations, how and when they’re going to take place. But it had nothing to do with this. This was a decision that I made.” Another decision Sather also said he had a hand in was scratching former Conn Smythe winner Brad Richards for the final two games of the Bruins series. Richards, 33, is due $6.67 million per year until 2019-20, and because of the precipitous decline in his game has become a prime candidate for the Rangers’ final amnesty buyout. Sather can use that either this summer or next to send Richards packing and wipe his cap hit off their books. “At this time, I’m not thinking about that,” Sather said about Richards. “I’m trying to deal with this situation and move forward.” As for moving forward, Sather continued to be evasive about the type of coach he would like to hire. He did not declare any decision on assistant coach Mike Sullivan, but it’s hard to imagine an instance where he and his putrid power play would be welcomed back. The most logical choices out there for possible replacements start with Lindy Ruff, the longtime coach of the Sabres who was fired early in the year. After him come former Canucks headman Alain Vigneault, and then possibly Dave Tippett, whose contract with the Coyotes expires on June 30. And the franchise could also pull on its fans’ heart-strings by calling on icon Mark Messier or former coach Mike Keenan. 679317 New York Rangers he said he was “disgusted” with his top players was not at all well received inside the room or across the industry. The needle had moved forward under Tortorella, but progress was nil this Players made it clear to Sather coach’s act was wearing thin year and threatened going forward. Players had become afraid of making mistakes; fearful of the reprisal at the coach’s command. His way or no way might not have been a road to exactly nowhere, but it was leading toward a By LARRY BROOKS dead end. Last Updated: 4:34 AM, May 30, 2013 A fresh approach will be sought by Sather. The Blueshirts require an individual with a constructive, positive voice who will maximize the team’s Posted: 1:54 AM, May 30, 2013 talent. They need a face who will represent the franchise and the fan-base with pride. There is no doubt that Mark Messier embodies those attributes, though it is unclear whether No. 11’s absence of coaching experience Glen Sather said yesterday the decision to fire John Tortorella was his. The would rule him out of serious consideration for the job. reality is the players made the decision for the club president and general Tortorella always said that what happened in the room would stay in the manager. room. On Monday, it all made its way into the players’ exit meetings with The Rangers players had had enough of the coach and they said so during Sather. their exit meetings on Monday. Sources have confirmed Sather had no When the meetings had ended, when the extent of the players’ alienation intention of dismissing Tortorella in the wake of the team’s second-round from the coach had become clear, it wasn’t about steps back or steps elimination by the Bruins until a critical mass of players informed the GM sideways, it was about Tortorella being told to step down. that the coach’s overbearing personality had become a roadblock to success. New York Post LOADED: 05.30.2013 When Henrik Lundqvist told the press Monday he would need time to think about committing his future to the Rangers, that was the tip of the iceberg. The franchise goaltender did not sing an executioner’s song, but we’ve learned that he was troubled enough by what had become a deteriorating dynamic between the coach and his teammates that he believed it was necessary to give voice to it. We’re told that though there were no ultimatums issued by the players, the overwhelming sentiment was that Tortorella had become the problem rather than the solution for the Rangers, who are now going on 20 years and 19 seasons since their last Stanley Cup in 1994. In the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s Game 5 defeat in Boston, Tortorella blamed himself for being unable to get the best out of the Rangers’ top players. On Monday, at what turned out to be his own exit interview with the media, he blamed himself for not being able to get the team properly prepared for the second-round series. Sather refused to indict Tortorella for anything during yesterday’s conference call with the press. He refused to identify a reason for the move, acknowledging that he was being “vague.” Clearly, he did not want to leave the impression his players had blood on their hands, or that the team faced the prospect of an in-season mutiny if camp opened in September with Tortorella still in place. The GM, who confirmed that he will continue in that position, did talk about “a shelf life” for coaches. And while Sather was accurate in suggesting all coaches have a shelf life, for those with the unyielding, acerbic, critical approach of Tortorella, seasons of “sideways steps,” lead to steps out the door. It is difficult to paint a broad brush over Tortorella’s regime. Marian Gaborik had two of his best seasons playing for him as well as his two worst before finally being forced out the door, a victim of barely disguised scapegoating. Chris Kreider couldn’t have met with a more skeptical coach, yet young players such as Derek Stepan and Ryan McDonagh blossomed quickly playing for him. (Tortorella incredibly warned the press not to “interfere” with his relationship with Gaborik hours after No. 10 had been shipped to Columbus at the deadline. Yesterday afternoon, Gaborik posted, “Everything happens for a reason...” on his Twitter account.) Tortorella would not modify his zealous safety-first, block-every-shot approach to fit his personnel. He demanded that every player, regardless of talent, adapt to him. The 2012-13 Rangers were not the 2011-12 Black-and- Blueshirts, yet he would not adjust his blueprint. But it wasn’t the demanding on-ice style that finally grinded down the Rangers. It was, we’re told, the harshness with which he too often interacted with the athletes. The angry public face of Tortorella was too often the private face, as well. In addition, Tortorella’s occasionally brutal public cut-downs of his players were doing no good for the organization. The Carl Hagelin “stinks” on the power play bit drew laughs from his audience, but we’re told that Tortorella’s outburst in Buffalo following the March 12, 3-1 defeat in which 679318 New York Rangers

Who's got next?

By LARRY BROOKS Last Updated: 4:17 AM, May 30, 2013 Posted: 1:54 AM, May 30, 2013

A look at potential candidates for the Rangers’ coaching position: MARK MESSIER: A special assistant to club president Glen Sather, No. 11 would introduce a fresh dynamic and philosophy to the equation. A believer in attack hockey and in talent, Messier could become part of a coaching staff including assistants Adam Graves and Brian Leetch if the Rangers are image-conscious in their search. DALLAS EAKINS: Has been coach of the AHL Marlies for the last four years, a developer of young talent such as Nazem Kadri. LINDY RUFF: Dismissed as Sabres coach on Feb. 20 after 14-plus seasons behind the Buffalo bench that featured one trip to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1999 and three to the conference finals. Neil Miller Mark Messier ALAIN VIGNEAULT: Fired after seven seasons with Canucks, led Vancouver to back-to-back President’s Trophies in 2010-11 and 2011-12 while coming within a game of the Stanley Cup in 2011. DAVE TIPPETT: Defense-first coach, under contract until June 30 with Phoenix, has made the most out of limited-budget Coyotes, who hope to retain him. PAUL MAURICE: Former coach of the Hurricanes and Maple Leafs, worked this year in the KHL for Metallurg. MIKE KEENAN: The only coach in the last 73 years to win the Stanley Cup for the Rangers, recently signed a three-year deal to go behind the bench of KHL Magnitogorsk, but deal is believed to contain NHL out-clause. New York Post LOADED: 05.30.2013 679319 New York Rangers Via his Twitter account Wednesday, Gaborik said, “Everything happens for a reason…” Lundqvist also seemed lukewarm Monday, responding “We’ll see” when Rangers fire coach John Tortorella asked whether he would consider signing a contract extension with the Rangers. The franchise goalie’s deal expires after 2013-14 and that was interpreted as a possible sign Lundqvist was not convinced of the Wednesday, May 29, 2013 Last updated: Wednesday May 29, 2013, 9:10 franchise’s direction. PM “It didn’t have anything to do with it,” Sather said. “We plan on signing BY ANDREW GROSS Henrik to a long-term contract.” Tortorella, who won the Jack Adams Trophy as the NHL’s top coach in 2004, was a finalist for the award in 2012 after the Rangers won 51 games, Whoever is chosen as the Rangers’ new coach, and general manager Glen the second most in franchise history. Sather said that process could take until the end of June, it’s highly doubtful he’ll be as polarizing as John Tortorella. But the team struggled through this lockout-shortened, 48-game season, needing to go 10-3-1 in April to secure a playoff berth. Tortorella, 54, was fired Wednesday just four days after the sixth-seeded Rangers were eliminated by the Bruins in five games in the Eastern Sather said, as of now, assistant coach Mike Sullivan remained with the Conference semifinals. The previous season, the Rangers finished first in organization. the East and reached the conference final for the first time since 1997. Bergen Record LOADED: 05.30.2013 “It wasn’t one thing,” said Sather, adding he hoped to have a new coach in place by the NHL Draft on June 30. “After our analytical work in how to improve the team, this is the decision to move forward. I think we made the right one to move forward.” Tortorella did not respond when asked to comment via text message. Sather was vague as to what qualities he was looking for in his next coach or whether that person might be in the organization. Mark Messier, a special assistant to Sather, could be considered though he has not coached at the professional level. The Oilers approached him about replacing Tom Renney prior to this season and Sather spoke to Messier about coaching the Rangers while he still was their captain. Alain Vigneault, recently fired by the Canucks, and Lindy Ruff, fired this season after leading the Sabres since 1997, also may be considered. Whoever is hired, however prickly, probably won’t have the amount of run- ins with media, players or fans that Tortorella has. Sather refused to acknowledge if Tortorella’s abrasive public persona played a role in his dismissal. “I think in dealing with the press it’s important that you have a relationship, whether it’s good or bad,” Sather said. “It’s a factor of sports in the modern world today that we all have to deal with speaking with you fellows. I think some people relish the opportunity to speak their mind and some other people are a little more reserved about it.” In 2009, his first year behind the Rangers’ bench, Tortorella was suspended for Game 6 of a first-round playoff series against the Capitals after throwing a water bottle into the stands in Washington, then grabbing Aaron Voros’ stick and holding it in a threatening manner toward fans in Game 5. Still, Tortorella is fourth on the Rangers’ all-time victory list, having gone 171-115-29 since replacing Renney on Feb. 23, 2009. He also went winless in a four-game stint as interim coach at the end of the 1999-2000 season after John Muckler was fired. “Every coach has a shelf life,” said Sather, who disclosed he had no plans to relinquish his role of GM next season and remain just the team’s president. The fiery Tortorella’s style clearly had worn thin on some of his players. Center Brad Richards, a candidate to be bought out of the final seven seasons of his nine-year, $60 million deal that Tortorella advocated, did not hide his disappointment at being a healthy scratch the final two playoff games despite his longstanding relationship with the coach. The two won a Stanley Cup together with the Lightning in 2004. Goalie Henrik Lundqvist contradicted Tortorella’s breakup day assertion that this was not a disappointing season by saying the Rangers had taken “a step back.” Left wing Carl Hagelin was not amused by Tortorella’s playoff comment that he “stinks” on the power play. Marian Gaborik was traded to the Blue Jackets on April 3 after the elite right wing — switched against his will to left wing by Tortorella earlier in the season — and the coach could not see eye to eye. 679320 New York Rangers The Dolan family owns controlling interests in the Rangers, Madison Square Garden and Cablevision. Cablevision owns Newsday. Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 05.30.2013 Glen Sather has put spotlight back on himself by firing John Tortorella

May 29, 2013 8:56 PM By ARTHUR STAPLE

John Tortorella led the Rangers to 44 playoff games in his four-plus seasons as coach. That's third-most in franchise history. But perhaps the biggest thing Tortorella accomplished in his time behind the bench was to take the heat off Glen Sather, the Rangers president and general manager who hasn't been called out nearly as much since he hired the volatile Tortorella back in February 2009. That cushion is gone now after Sather decided to fire Tortorella. The focus is on the GM and his players. One Ranger told Newsday's Steve Zipay that Tortorella was tough to play for. He certainly was not alone in that viewpoint and those views likely were communicated to Sather on Monday during the team's exit interviews, which may have tipped the scales against Tortorella just 48 hours later. This move reinforces that Sather, who was out of commission for a spell after prostate cancer surgery in late March, is fully in charge of the Rangers, a fact that sometimes has been forgotten over recent seasons with his few public briefings and the fiery Tortorella being the face of the front office. Despite his turning 70 in three months, Sather is still president and general manager, a dual role he reiterated will continue into next season. Of course, there is work to be done with this Rangers team this offseason. Sather wasn't thrilled with Tortorella's honest but impolitic assessment that the Rick Nash trade and the loss of Brandon Prust in free agency changed the depth Tortorella relied upon last season, and not for the better. Removing Tortorella doesn't remove the truth of what the former coach said. Even a new coach with an up-tempo style of play still will need a solid fourth line and better defensive depth to keep up in the new division next season, with the Penguins still around, the Flyers ready to make themselves over and the Islanders on everybody's watch list. And the Red Wings are joining the Eastern Conference, too. That is on Sather now. It's now also on the players who talked Tortorella out of the job to show they can win with a gentler touch from whomever comes in next. This move doesn't solve the Brad Richards problem, with seven years left on his contract and a diminishing salary cap. Richards' comment on Monday that "relationships come and go" reflected a drastic change in his feelings about Tortorella, but Richards' $6.67-million cap hit through 2019- 20 is not about emotion. The Rangers need to make changes, and that was without making a coaching change. There are, to Sather's credit, several good candidates from which to choose. Longtime Sabres coach Lindy Ruff tops the available coaches list; so does Dave Tippett, who has not signed an extension in Phoenix and was a candidate for Sather in 2002, when the GM chose Bryan Trottier over a host of more experienced coaches. Mark Messier, Sather's special assistant, also could be in the mix. Sather may be wary of hiring a first-time coach to run this team, but he has long been partial to his loyal players and coaches -- Trottier and Tortorella were the only two coaches he hired that he didn't already know well. A source indicated this will be a quick process, so Sather already may have a new coach in mind. Tortorella put a lot of the focus on himself, with his rigorous training camps, his demanding style and his media dealings. Sather has put the spotlight back on himself with this move, and though it hasn't been mentioned much with the team's modest success the past few seasons, Sather will be starting his 14th season as Rangers president. He just fired the only coach who got his team beyond the second round of the playoffs. It was Tortorella's way or the highway, as players such as Marian Gaborik found out. Tortorella's gone now. Those who remain may not enjoy the scrutiny that comes with the big, bad coach getting fired. 679321 New York Rangers

John Tortorella dismissed as Rangers coach

Originally published: May 29, 2013 1:10 PM Updated: May 29, 2013 9:56 PM By STEVE ZIPAY

In the end, it wasn't one particular failing that marked the somewhat surprising end of Rangers coach John Tortorella's tenure. But undeniably, after 51 wins and a run to the Eastern Conference finals last season, not being able to bring the best out this year's edition of the Blueshirts, who struggled during the 48-game campaign, barely got past the Washington Capitals and didn't come close to defeating the Bruins in the playoffs, was a major factor. "Did they play up to expectations? No," said president and general manager Glen Sather, who informed Tortorella Wednesday morning. "That's probably as far as I can go with that answer." Tortorella, 54, the Concord, Mass., native who would be abrasive and bullying with the media one day and accommodating the next, coached the team for five seasons after being tabbed to replace Tom Renney on Feb. 23, 2009. His final record is very similar. He finished 171-115-29 in the regular season and won three of seven playoff series. Renney, now an assistant in Detroit, was 164-117-46 and won two of five postseason series. "Every coach has a shelf life and I have told every coach I have hired that this will happen," Sather said. "I had to make a decision and I did. It wasn't one situation or one specific thing. It wasn't the power play . . . It was more of a decision on how to get better and challenge for the Stanley Cup." The timing of the dismissal was intriguing. It came two days after Henrik Lundqvist's comments that the team took "a step back" and his noncommittal stance on a potential contract extension. "I have a great time in New York," he said. "I have to talk to my agent. We'll see." Sather said the remarks did not play a role in Tortorella's ousting. Instead, Sather declared: "We plan on signing Henrik to a long-term contract." Tortorella, who may have more than one year remaining on his contract, did not return a phone call and an email, and players were reluctant to speak on the record as well. But the coach's relentless and sometimes unforgiving style certainly made some players uncomfortable. "It was tough to play sometimes because you're so nervous about making a [defensive] mistake," said one player who asked to not be identified. It also seems clear that management and the coach didn't always see eye to eye. Sather said the benching of struggling center Brad Richards, who had played for Tortorella in Tampa when the Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2004, for the final two playoff games, was "an organizational decision," although Tortorella had asserted that it was his call. Tortorella, who preached a dump-and-chase, defense-first style to a team that was transforming into more of a finesse outfit, complained about the lack of grit and depth on the roster. And somehow he didn't find a way to connect with Marian Gaborik, who has scored 40 goals multiple times, and was shipped to Columbus, or get the most from players such as Rick Nash, an elite power forward who scored 21 goals but only one in 12 playoff games. Lundqvist, a Vezina Trophy finalist again, expressed disappointment in the offense during parts of the season, and the numbers don't lie. The Rangers sported the league's 23rd-ranked power play and were 4-for-44 in the playoffs, where they averaged slightly more than two goals per game. Assistant coach Mike Sullivan, in charge of the power play, was not fired Wednesday, but Sather did not give him an endorsement. Sather said the search for a replacement will begin soon, and hoped that it would conclude before the June 30 draft, but there was no firm deadline. "There are a lot of good coaches out there," Sather said. Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 05.30.2013 679322 New York Rangers factor. The organization will almost certainly buy out his contract. Maybe Tortorella didn’t buy into that buy out. That said, you can find a lot of arguments against Tortorella, that his system Tortorella was far from perfect; but should he have been fired? smothered offensive skill, though, really how much skill was there? Or that he didn’t handle Chris Kreider particularly well – though he did inject youth into the roster in each of the previous three seasons; or that players like Rick Carpiniello Michael Del Zotto regressed. You could also argue that players such as Ryan McDonagh, Derek Stepan and Dan Girardi thrived under his system. And you could never say the players quit on him. OK, I admitted, I was wrong about this. I’ve been wrong plenty of times, and That doesn’t mean they all loved him, and they sure didn’t all despise him. will be again, but I was as wrong on this as I’ve ever been on anything. That Tortorella had more enemies among the fanbase and among the media, said, it wasn’t just me. Pretty much everybody in and around the team starting from the day he walked into the room and limited access and thought John Tortorella was going to get the start of next year at the very started barking and snarling. least. Yet in many ways he was the best coach the Rangers have had in a long Thus I am convinced, and speaking with some who know convinces me time, and again, his 2011-12 performance was remarkable. His 2013, not even more, that something changed between the end of the exit meetings so much, most notably that power play and sticking with Richards. early Monday afternoon and the announcement of the firing early Wednesday afternoon. That said, now it will be up to Sather to find somebody different and somebody better. Sather is the guy who, in his Rangers tenure, has hired Also, though I probably had a better relationship with Tortorella than others Ron Low, Bryan Trottier, himself and Tom Renney to coach. And John in the media because I knew him when he was a human being/assistant Tortorella. coach/interim coach in 1999-2000, I’m not close to him. I don’t know him well at all. And unlike other firings—Herb Brooks, Roger Neilson, Colin If the Stanley Cup is the only acceptable outcome, Sather will now have to Campbell among them—I don’t feel saddened at all. I feel my job has to be outperform his own resume by a lot. easier, my relationship with the next coach has to be better, than it’s been these last four-plus seasons. Rockland Journal News: LOADED: 05.30.2013 Here’s my column from The Journal News and LoHud.com (unedited version, so please excuse typos or errors): By Rick Carpiniello

John Tortorella is many things, and many of them are bad. Stubborn, short-tempered, rude and at times disrespectful among them. The exact reasons he was fired may have had nothing to do with those, nothing, even to do with his abysmal power play, or his teams’ lack of creativity or offensive play. Maybe we’ll never really know why, in the 48 hours after he conducted exit meetings with his players, something apparently changed. Or maybe nothing changed. Maybe GM Glen Sather was going to fire him all along for a season of mediocrity, and a second-round pounding by the Boston Bruins, the start for which Tortorella admitted – taking the blame as he did – his players weren’t emotionally prepared. Maybe it was as simple as Sather put it, that the Rangers’ goal is to win the Stanley Cup (they’ve won once in 73 years) and they fell short, and that coaches have shelf lives and his was up. “Our goal is to win the Stanley Cup and we didn’t achieve that goal this year,” Sather said. “I had to make that decision, so I did.” If Tortorella was fired simply because he didn’t win the Cup, then Sather is delusional. The Rangers aren’t terribly far off from contending, but if you stack their talent against the teams in the final four, the difference it pretty obvious. And if that’s the bottom line, how does Sather rate his own job performance? Because Tortorella built an identity here in 2011-12, as hard-working and likeable and overachieving team as the Rangers have had in 30 or 40 years – one of the best coaching jobs over that span—that got Sather closer to the Cup than he’s been since 1990. So maybe something else happened, because all signs said Tortorella was coming back. Maybe Henrik Lundqvist, who hates being screened or having sliding defensemen deflecting shots past him, and who has grown frustrated of being in 2-1 games under Tortorella’s system, and who, by the way, was friendly with Marian Gaborik and Sean Avery, and who was non-committal in discussing his desire to sign a new contract (his expires in 2014) and whose view of this season being a backward step differed from Tortorella’s view, was a factor. Maybe Brad Richards, who was scratched for Games 4 and 5 against Boston after what Sather said was an organizational decision, but was given more rope that any player Tortorella has ever coached here, was a 679323 New York Rangers

Who’s next? Vigneault? Ruff? Messier? Keenan? Me?

Rick Carpiniello

Put together this list without doing a lot of checking around. And since nobody ever knows what’s going on in Glen Sather’s world, I won’t even pretend to have a clue about who’s next. Lindy Ruff: The most obvious choice, has been available since being fired in February after 16 seasons coaching the Buffalo Sabres. A former Rangers defenseman, who had another former Ranger, James Patrick, as an assistant, Ruff is known as a players coach. Alain Vigneault: Just fired by Vancouver after going 313-170-57 with two Presidents’ Trophies (including the one in which the Canucks nipped the Rangers last season) and one trip to the Stanley Cup finals in seven years. But he had a lot more skill in Vancouver than he’d have here. Vigneault was said to be on the Rangers’ radar, though not officially interviewed, when Bryan Trottier was hired in 2002. Paul Maurice: The former Hartford/Carolina coach has been out of work since November, 2011. All-around good guy (and close friend of Rangers exec Adam Graves). Dave Tippett: His name has been mentioned, even though he is currently employed by Phoenix as the Coyotes continue to go through ownership issues. But GM Don Maloney is getting a new extension, so Tippett probably stays. Anyway, he was interested in the job when Trottier was hired and didn’t get it. Mike Keenan: The Rangers’ only Cup-winning coach in the last 73 years – who negotiated with two other teams during that title run and bolted immediately after winning it— he also wanted the job when Trottier got it. But he just signed to coach in the KHL. Anyway, he’s more demanding than Tortorella, and not as patient with kids or mistakes. Would butt heads with Sather. Marc Crawford: An up-tempo coach, he was hired by Joe Nieuwendyk to replace Tippett in Dallas in 2009 and lasted two seasons. Won a Stanley Cup coaching Colorado in 1996. Mark Messier: The wildest wild card in the bunch. He’s Sather’s special assistant now, but not generally seen as Sather’s heir (Jeff Gorton is). He was interested in coaching the Oilers recently. Not sure he wants to do the full-time coaching grind, and no way of knowing if he’d be good at it. Most great players aren’t. Ken Gernander: Praised year in and year out by the organization for developing their prospects and minor leaguers as the coach of the Whale in Hartford. Probably not nearly high-profile enough for this job at this time. Rockland Journal News: LOADED: 05.30.2013 679324 New York Rangers

Official announcement of Tortorella firing

Rick Carpiniello

New York, May 29, 2013 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that head coach John Tortorella has been relieved of his coaching duties. Under Tortorella’s guidance, the Rangers posted their second most wins all-time in a single season with 51, and tied for second in franchise history with 109 points in 2011-12. He became the 30th coach in NHL history to coach 800 games on March 27, 2012, at Minnesota (3-2 win), and won his 100th game as Rangers Head Coach with a 5-3 win on November 5, 2011, vs. Montreal. On March 26, 2013, Tortorella became the 30th head coach in league history to register his 400th NHL coaching victory, with a 5-2 win at Philadelphia. He also passed Tom Renney for fourth on the Rangers’ all- time coaching wins list with a 3-2 shootout victory on April 10, 2013 vs. Toronto. Tortorella was named the 34th head coach in franchise history on February 23, 2009. He ranks first on the NHL’s all-time wins list among U.S.-born coaches with 410 career victories, having passed Peter Laviolette with a 4- 3 shootout win at Montreal on March 17, 2009. Prior to returning to the Rangers, Tortorella served as Head Coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning for seven seasons. Under his guidance, Tampa Bay compiled a 239-222-36-38 record in 535 games. He led the Lightning to four consecutive Stanley Cup Playoff appearances, including two Southeast Division Championships in 2002-03 and 2003-04. In 2003-04, Tortorella guided Tampa Bay to a franchise record 46 wins and 106 points, and went on to capture the only Stanley Cup Championship in franchise history. He was awarded the Jack Adams Award as the National Hockey League’s top coach following that season. Tortorella joined Tampa Bay following a one-year stint with the Rangers in 1999-2000 where he was an Assistant Coach and served as Head Coach for the final four games of the season. Prior to joining the Rangers, he spent two seasons as an Assistant Coach with the Phoenix Coyotes. He joined Phoenix during the 1997-98 season, after spending the previous eight seasons with the Buffalo Sabres organization. Tortorella served as an Assistant Coach with the Sabres from 1989-90 to 1994-95 and as Head Coach with their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rochester Americans, during the 1995-96 and 1996-97 campaigns. He guided the club to the Calder Cup championship in 1995-96, and followed that up by posting the AHL Northern Conference’s best record during the 1996-97 regular season. Tortorella began his tenure behind the bench with the Virginia Lancers of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League (ACHL), where he spent two seasons as General Manager and Head Coach from 1986-87 to 1987-88 and immediately established himself as one of the league’s best. In two seasons with the Lancers, Tortorella compiled a 73-24-1-0 record to earn Coach of the Year honors both seasons, along with the league championship during the 1986-87 campaign. Following the 1987-88 season, Tortorella joined the Fort Wayne Komets of the International Hockey League (IHL) during their 1988 playoff run before serving as an Assistant Coach with the New Haven Nighthawks (AHL) in 1988-89. Tortorella also served as an assistant coach for the silver medal-winning Team USA at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada. He also served as head coach for Team USA at the 2008 World Championship, and was an assistant coach at the 2005 World Championship. Rockland Journal News: LOADED: 05.30.2013 679325 New York Rangers

BREAKING NEWS: Rangers fire head coach John Tortorella

29 May 2013 by jmercada

After a second-round playoff exit, the Rangers on Wednesday fired John Tortorella as head coach. Tortorella had one year remaining on his contract. The Rangers, who lost to the New Jersey Devils in six games in the NHL’s Eastern Conference finals a season ago, were dispatched from the playoffs in the second round by the Boston Bruins in five games. Rockland Journal News: LOADED: 05.30.2013 679326 Ottawa Senators

Ottawa Senators release free agent Guillaume Latendresse

By Bruce Garrioch ,Ottawa Sun First posted: Wednesday, May 29, 2013 01:21 PM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, May 29, 2013 04:08 PM EDT

It didn't take long for Senators GM Bryan Murray to start sending people packing. A day after saying he'd made a decision on the future of Guillaume Latendresse, the veteran winger tweeted Wednesday he was packing his bags and thanked the people of Ottawa for their support this season. Latendresse, signed to a one-year deal as a UFA on July 1, will have to test the market again this summer because Ottawa won't be bringing him back next year. Expect centre Peter Regin and defenceman Mike Lundin to be given similar news if they haven't been already. "It seems official now. Thanks to the fans, management, owner of the Sens. An A1 class organization," Latendresse tweeted around noon Wednesday. This is no surprise. It just didn't work for Latendresse. The 26-year-old missed 21 games either injured or as a healthy scratch. He finished with six goals and four assists in 21 games, but only suited up for three games in the playoffs. The Senators had no issue with his work ethic but if he's not able to fulfil the role of a Top 6 forward, the club has to look elsewhere to find somebody. He made a pro-rated $2 million last season and should get a chance elsewhere. "If he hadn't have gotten hurt, he'd have been able to contribute here," said Murray at his season-ending news conference Tuesday at Scotiabank Place. "He started off, he got hurt right away, he was really concerned about the head but it was more of a neck-related injury but coming off the concussion the previous year he was really concerned and that really set him back. "We knew his foot speed wasn't going to be the reason we signed him. We thought around the net, being a front-of-the-net, goals, offensive zone type of guy and it never really got there for him." The Senators will speak with defenceman Sergei Gonchar's agent to see what kind of money he wants on a two-year deal before deciding what is next for him. Ottawa Sun LOADED: 05.30.2013 679327 Ottawa Senators The speed and feistiness sometimes hid the fact he was often the smallest player on the ice. Puck management and play without it needs to improve greatly for him to become a Martin St. Louis type. Ottawa Senators get their final grades from the Sun's Don Brennan Grade: D+ Erik Condra By Don Brennan ,Ottawa Sun Right Winger First posted: Wednesday, May 29, 2013 09:57 PM EDT | Updated: Regular Season: 48 GP, 4 G, 8 A, 12 PTS, plus-3 Wednesday, May 29, 2013 10:14 PM EDT Playoffs: 10 GP, 1 G, 6 A, 7 PTS, minus-1 Excelled in the role of a penalty killer, with speed, positioning and shot- Last time I did one of these report cards, a Rough Riders DB named blocking fearlessness. Despite the fact he was the team's fourth leading Anthony Drawhorn objected to the 'C' he was given and threw a cup of playoff point-getter, he generally has trouble in the offensive zone. water (or something) at me as he emerged from a washroom at Frank Clair Stadium. Grade: C+ So maybe I was a little more gracious to the 2012-13 Senators than I Jared Cowen should have been, but I still refused to give anyone -- not even the two stars whose last names begin with an 'A' -- the highest possible marks. Defenceman They get handed out when the Senators win a championship, which is Regular Season: 7 GP, 1 G, 0 A, 1 PT, plus-1 conceivable in the not-too-distant future given the pieces that are in place. Playoffs: 10 GP, 0 G, 3 A, 3 PTS, minus-6 From the management and coaching staffs to the prospects in Binghamton Deserves much credit for battling back from hip surgery that was knocking at the door for NHL jobs, the organization appears to be pointed in supposed to keep him out for the year. Provided tough physical play and a that direction. new-found willingness to drop the gloves, but had obvious trouble keeping It's difficult to think otherwise after the past season, which must be up in the playoffs. Expect him to be an 'A' player going forward. considered a success for an injury-ravaged Senators team that made it to Grade: D the playoffs and then managed to win a round as underdogs. Sergei Gonchar Next year or the year after, with some luck, just a few more moves and the expected player growth, the cup we could be writing about is the one Defenceman named after Lord Stanley, and the champagne inside it. Regular Season: 45 GP, 3 G, 24 A, 27 PTS, plus-4 Daniel Alfredsson Playoffs: 10 GP, 0 G, 3 A, 3 PTS, minus-3 Right winger Senators might not have made the playoffs had he not stepped in and Regular Season: 47 GP, 10 G, 16 A, 26 PTS, plus-1 filled for an injured Erik Karlsson the way he did, especially as a power-play point man. And as a leader he was very respected in the room. Playoffs: 10 GP, 4 G, 6 A, 10 PTS, plus-5 Disappeared in the second round of the playoffs. The captain's self-evaluation of his season was "ok," but the only flaw we Grade: B saw was in the last playoff game, when he was one of four Senators not to record a shot on goal. Otherwise, this 40-year-old leader was the team's Colin Greening best skater, night in and night out. Left Winger Grade: A Regular Season: 47 GP, 8 G, 11 A, 19 PTS, plus-5 Craig Anderson Playoffs: 10 GP, 3 G, 1 A, 4 PTS, minus-1 Goalie Didn't consistently use his size and speed in the regular season, but Regular Season: 12-9-2, 1.69 GAA, .941 SPCT showed flashes of his capabilities, particularly in Round 2 of the playoffs. If he could ever develop a mean streak, he could be a star. Playoffs: 5-4, 3.01 GAA, .918 SPCT Grade: C+ He was great in a record-setting regular season and spectacular in two playoff games, stealing one in Montreal and another at home against the Eric Gryba Penguins. Faded under a heavy barrage from Pittsburgh's star shooters. Defenceman Grade: A Regular Season: 33 GP, 2 G, 4 A, 6 PTS, minus-3 Andre Benoit Playoffs: 4 GP, 0 G, 0 A, O PTS, even Defenceman No one expected him to play in the NHL this season, but given the Regular Season: 33 GP, 3 G, 7 A, 10 PTS, minus-3 opportunity he elevated his status and is likely now here to stay. Slow afoot, he needs to use his size (the occasional fight wouldn't hurt) and hard shot Playoffs: 5 GP, 0 G, 3 A, 3 PTS, plus-3 more often. Stepped up admirably to fill in on a battered blue line to provide a steady Grade: C presence. Never did anything spectacular, but also made very few mistakes. Saw time on the power play and killed penalties when needed. Erik Karlsson Grade: C+ Defenceman Cory Conacher Regular Season: 17 GP, 6 G, 8 A, 14 PTS, plus-8 Left Winger Playoffs: 10 GP, 1 G, 7 A, 8 PTS, even Regular Season: 47 GP, 11 G, 18 A, 29 PTS, plus-3 He was on his way to a second straight Norris Trophy when sidelined by Achilles tendon injury, and despite a heroic comeback never did fully regain Playoffs: 8 GP, 3 G, 0 A, 3 PTS, minus-2 his speed and confidence when he returned. Grade: B- Jean-Gabriel Pageau Matt Kassian Centre Left Winger Regular Season: 9 GP, 2 G, 2 A, 4 PTS, plus-3 Regular Season: 15 GP, 1 G, 0 A, 1 PT, even Playoffs: 10 GP, 4 G, 2 A, 6 PTS, plus-4 Playoffs: 5 GP, 0 G, 2 A, 2 PTS, plus-1 Only Senator the fans have ever come up with a song for was the single biggest surprise in the organization. Smart, grounded player could develop Surprisingly was given playing time in the post-season and had some into a top-line centre once he gets a little bigger and stronger. effective moments -- it's a good thing when a tough-guy is never a minus player. Will be useful next season in the enforcer role, especially if he can Grade: B improve his skating. Chris Phillips Grade: C- Defenceman Guillaume Latendresse Regular Season: 48 GP, 5 G, 9 A, 14 PTS, minus-5 Left Winger Playoffs: 10 GP, 0 G, 1 A, 1 PT, plus-6 Regular Season: 27 GP, 6 G, 4 A, 10 PTS, minus-2 If this team ironman had scored 16 playoff goals, the Senators would Playoffs: 3 GP, 1 G, 1 A, 2 PTS, plus-1 have won the Cup. Had a steady, consistent season after trying times as spokesman for Senator players during the lockout. Leadership skills are not Really, he was what he is -- a big man with decent hands (in a full fully appreciate by those outside the dressing room. season, he would have been on pace to score 20-plus) who has trouble keeping up. If only he would have at least wrestled Ryan White to the ice, Grade: B+ increased his compete level and used his size more. Peter Regin GRADE: D- Centre/Winger Robin Lehner Regular Season: 27 GP, 0 G, 3 A, 3 PTS, minus-4 Goalie Playoffs: Did not dress. Regular Season: 5-3-4, 2.20 GAA, .936 SPCT Skilled, smart player lost his confidence and never did compete with the Playoffs: 0-1, 2.45 GAA, .920 SPCT intensity the team wanted. No doubt back-to-back shoulder surgeries had something to do with that. His days in Ottawa are over. Kicked down the door to get to Ottawa and proved he is on his way to becoming an elite puck-stopper. Should challenge for No. 1 role next Grade: F season and possibly force an Anderson out in 2014-15, the way his emergence forced a Ben Bishop move last March. Jakob Silfverberg Grade: B+ Right Winger Marc Methot Regular Season: 48 GP, 10 G, 9 A, 19 PTS, plus-9 Defenceman Playoffs: 10 GP, 2 G, 2 A, 4 PTS, minus-1 Regular Season: 47 GP, 2 G, 9 A, 11 PTS, plus-2 Great shot and hockey sense, he learned a lot in his rookie season. Realizes he has to use his size and strength more, particularly around the Playoffs: 10 GP, 1 G, 4 A, 5 PTS, plus-1 net. If he does, he could be a 25-goal scorer next season. A great example of how stats don't tell the whole story. Senators would Grade: B- have been in big trouble without this acquisition last summer -- especially in light of Jared Cowen injury. Played very well, and hard, in the D-zone, while Zack Smith emerging as a team leader. Centre Grade: A Regular Season: 48 GP, 4 G, 11 A, 15 PTS, minus-9 Milan Michalek Playoffs: 10 GP, 1 G, 1 A, 2 PTS, minus-2 Left Winger Made great strides in his development, picking up more ice time and a Regular Season: 23 GP, 4 G, 10 A, 14 PTS, plus-8 bigger role with Jason Spezza's injury. Played well defensively and was a force on the forecheck, but didn't produce the kind of numbers he should be Playoffs: 10 GP, 3 G, 2 A, 5 PTS, plus-3 able to with his skill set. Good all-around player was limited by injured knee that may never allow Grade: C+ him to return to full speed. No player missed Jason Spezza more, as the pair had good chemistry when both were healthy. Jason Spezza Grade: B Centre Chris Neil Regular Season: 5 GP, 2 G, 3 A, 5 PTS, plus-3 Right Wing Playoffs: 3 GP, 0 G, 1 A, 1 PT, minus-1 Regular Season: 48 GP, 4 G, 8 A, 12 PTS, even Not much to say here. If he's healthy and in the lineup, he makes a big difference. Senators very much suffered offensively without him and Erik Playoffs: 10 GP, 0 G, 4 A, 4 PTS, even Karlsson. Again performed his role as well as anyone, finishing second in hits Grade: C throughout the regular season and averaged more than six per game in the playoffs. Pound-for-pound remains one of the NHL's top fighters and Kyle Turris continues to play well without the puck. Centre Grade: A- Regular Season: 48 GP, 12 G, 17 A, 29 PTS, plus-6 Playoffs: 10 GP, 6 G, 3 A, 9 PTS, plus-2 Inconsistent offensively, he still led the team in scoring during the regular season and finished second in the playoffs. Like Smith, he received the coach's kudos for his development, especially without the puck. He's 23. If he fills out, could become a star. Grade: B+ Patrick Wiercioch Defenceman Regular Season: 42 GP, 5 G, 14 A, 19 PTS, plus-9 Playoffs: 1 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 PTS, even Showed enough flashes of his ability with the puck to potentially convince management he could step into the role Sergei Gonchar occupied -- if not next season then the one after. Still needs to get stronger and increase his intensity level. Grade: D+ Mika Zibanejad Centre Regular Season: 42 GP, 7 G, 13 A, 20 PTS, plus-9 Playoffs: 10 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 4 PTS, minus-3 Learned a lot and showed a lot while playing most of the season as a teenager. Displayed enough offensive skill and physicality to give hope that he can become a power forward, whether it be at centre or on the wing. Grade: B- Paul MacLean Coach His system, hockey smarts, demeanour, the way he communicated, his experience as a player and his "the best players play" motto all added up to make him an even better coach than he was in his rookie season. Grade: A Bryan Murray GM The rebuilding has been faster than predicted but his team wasn't going to win the Cup no matter what he did at the deadline. Resisting the urge to trade youth for proven players was the right way to go -- this season. Expectations will be higher going forward. Grade: B+ Ottawa Sun LOADED: 05.30.2013 679328 Phoenix Coyotes “It’s just that extra talent to get that extra goal on the road that you need when you’re tied or down a goal,” Maloney said. “We really missed that this year — maybe the last couple years.” Phoenix Coyotes ownership issues keep GM Don Maloney, coach Dave Many predicted an owner with a wider wallet would be the only way to Tippett from new deal finally add scoring help without picking off assets, but that lifeline likely won’t appear anytime soon.

By Sarah McClellan Wed May 29, 2013 7:11 PM So it’s up to Maloney to, once again, work his magic. Good thing he’s up for the challenge.

Negotiations on a new contract between Coyotes General Manager Don “We have a lot of work to do,” he said. Maloney and NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly spanned three weeks, Arizona Republic LOADED: 05.30.2013 but a deal was always going to get done because, despite ongoing obstacles, Maloney still wanted the job. “I felt Bill Daly took a page out of my playbook and got himself a good deal,” Maloney said. “I gave him the Wal-Mart special. He took it.” Maloney should make sure he gets that playbook back because it sounds like he’s still going to need it as he starts to assemble a roster. The four-year ownership saga has re-entered its own negotiation phase, with the City of Glendale needing to reach a lease agreement with Renaissance Sports & Entertainment before the sale can be completed. In the meantime, the league continues to operate the Coyotes. Maloney hasn’t been given a set budget to work from this off-season, but he’ll eclipse the salary-cap floor of $44 million. “Are we going to jump much higher than we were this year?” he said. “Probably not, and that’s fine. The cap is coming down (to $64.3 million). We’ll make it work.” As much as a resolution is predicted this summer, Maloney’s working conditions are the same and that doesn’t seem to bother him. “To me it’s a challenge,” he said. “I think it’s been shown with great coaching, with Dave Tippett, with great chemistry and great goaltending, you can win here.” But some of those pieces might finally disappear because of the very circumstances that have made Maloney thrive as a GM in this league. Maloney and Tippett are close on the nuts and bolts of a potential new deal, so ownership clarity is the holdup. Meanwhile, coaching jobs around the league continue to pile up with the New York Rangers dismissing John Tortorella Wednesday. Tippett interviewed with the Rangers in 2002, meeting with General Manager Glen Sather and the then-assistant to the GM: Maloney. “Geez, I really think he might be great,” Maloney remembered telling Sather. The next day, Tippett took the gig in Dallas simply because the Stars made an offer first, Maloney said. Aside from Tippett, the Coyotes could also lose goalie Mike Smith and center Boyd Gordon largely because of the off-ice uncertainty. Maloney said he touched base with Smith’s agent last week but since he can’t answer where the team will play next season and who will coach it, the conversation pretty much ended there. “I expect to re-engage with Mike fairly soon, and then find out if there’s a deal,” Maloney said. Not much progress has happened with Gordon, either. “We heard from Don after the season but we haven't heard since and, in fairness to him, I think he knows that settling out the team situation will put both sides in a better position to move forward,” Gordon’s agent, Brad Devine, wrote in an email. “I am sure we will hear from him as soon as he gets through that.” Maloney also has three restricted free agents (Mikkel Boedker, Lauri Korpikoski and Mike Stone) on his to-do list, but those negotiations aren’t as worrisome. “They’ll get done,” Maloney said. It’s unclear, though, whether Maloney will be able to lasso offensive talent, an organizational shortcoming. It’s still being viewed as an off-season priority. 679329 Pittsburgh Penguins

Plenty of late nights scheduled for Penguins in Boston series

By Rob Rossi Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Updated 15 minutes ago

• All by one player participated in a Penguins practice at Consol Energy Center on Wednesday. Left winger Chris Kunitz missed the session, which lasted almost 90 minutes. Coach Dan Bylsma, sticking with his Stanley Cup playoffs policy, did not provide specifics about Kunitz. Though he played in Game 5 of Round 2, Kunitz did not finish Game 4 of that series. Kunitz did practice Monday. The Penguins were off Tuesday. • With Kunitz not at practice, Bylsma experimented with different line combinations for some drills. One combination featured Brenden Morrow as the left winger with center Sidney Crosby and right winger Pascal Dupuis. Since joining the Penguins in a regular-season trade, Morrow has not played with Crosby. He has mostly worked on a third and fourth line, though early he did skate with center Evgeni Malkin and right winger James Neal. • Fans can expect late evenings as long as the Penguins remain in the postseason. Games 1-5 of the Eastern Conference final against Boston will begin after 8 p.m. The start times for Games 6 and 7, which would be played consecutive nights if necessary, are also likely to be after 8 p.m. because of television. The East final could feature two games broadcast on NBC and local affiliates. Game 1 is set for the NHL's national network, and Game 6 and/or 7 could air on NBC instead of NBC Sports Network. All Stanley Cup Final games would begin after 8 p.m. • Most players are eager for the East final to begin. Thursday will mark the fourth practice since Round 2 ended. The Penguins held only nine practices during Rounds 1 and 2, and four were optional. Tribune Review LOADED: 05.30.2013 679330 Pittsburgh Penguins “He's a fierce competitor. He sets the tone. There's not a lot of people who aren't put in check when Jarome's on the ice.” The Bruins knew that in March. Physical style of imposing Bruins just fine with Iginla Tribune Review LOADED: 05.30.2013

By Rob Rossi Updated 4 hours ago

Jarome Iginla is ready for a battering. Physicality — a part of the Boston Bruins' DNA for about 40 years, and especially now — is not something from which Iginla will shy away in the Eastern Conference final. Actually, he will take it any day over more questions about his decision to play for the Penguins instead of the club that stands between them and a return to the Stanley Cup Final. “Well, I do like to get engaged physically — in the corner, to bump and be bumped,” Iginla said Wednesday after the Penguins practiced at Consol Energy Center. “I do like to play that style of hockey, and I know we're going to have no shortage of it in this series.” Iginla has scored four goals and recorded 12 points in the playoffs. He has yet to produce a signature moment like those that turned him into an icon with the Calgary Flames. He agreed to leave Calgary in March to join the Penguins. He wanted to chase the Cup that has eluded him over 16 NHL seasons, and the Penguins — led by former MVP and scoring-champion centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin — provided him the best chance, Iginla said. He had nothing personal against the Bruins, whose general manager Peter Chiarelli said he had a deal with Calgary that was nixed by Iginla. “When I was faced with that choice, I was fortunate a couple of really good teams were interested,” Iginla said. “I guessed it was a possibility it would be this case.” In March, Iginla assessed the Penguins as a deeper squad, one for which he would not be required to carry among the heaviest loads along a path toward the Cup. The Bruins' defense — a black-and-gold forest of 6-footers led by captain Zdeno Chara (6-9) — stands as a considerable road block. That defense corps, despite injuries that forced smaller contributors (Torey Krug) into the lineup, had its way with physically imposing New York Rangers forwards in Round 2. Rick Nash, one of the dominant power forwards of the past decade, was rarely noticeable for the Rangers. Nash, though, had never played in the second round. Iginla is hardened mentally by a Game 7 in the Cup Final (2003) and is quite familiar with opponents trying to take him on physically from all angles over a best-of-seven series. The Bruins would do him a favor by trying that approach. “The more physical, and the more you go on adrenaline and intensity, for myself, personally, it takes away the thinking,” Iginla said. “And that's a good thing for my game.” That should work for Malkin and right winger James Neal, too. That dangerous duo — Malkin and Neal were first-team All-Stars last season — finished Round 2 formidably. Neal scored five goals over Games 4 and 5. Malkin played poised between the hashes while also adding a goal and an assist. Opponents often try to frustrate Malkin and Neal into a state in which they may choose force over the flow that benefits their natural skills. Iginla, playing the opposite side with Malkin and Neal, is on their line in part to help keep them composed. Also, coach Dan Bylsma said, he'll serve as a deterrent in case a member of the opposition tries to prove who's bad. “This is more based on when I played against Jarome than what you can visibly see on the ice, but you don't mess around when this guy's on the ice,” Bylsma said. 679331 Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins’ Fleury dodges questions about future

By Rob Rossi Updated 4 hours ago

Goalies think only about their next stop. Marc-Andre Fleury is trying to avoid that. Displaced as the Penguins starter — a role he had held for 79 straight Stanley Cup playoff games before Tomas Vokoun took over for Game 5 in Round 1 — Fleury is not sure about his future with the organization beyond this postseason. “I'm trying not to think about it,” Fleury said Wednesday after a practice at Consol Energy Center. “I don't want to think about it.” Vokoun is likely to start Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final against Boston at Consol Energy Center on Saturday night. He does not feel like the starting job is his, though. Fleury said Wednesday he is hesitant to say anything for fear of providing a distraction. Still, for a second straight practice, he was not given treatment typical for a backup, which is to say he faced a lot more action when regulars were on the ice. Fleury, 28, is paid like a franchise goalie at $5 million annually. There are two seasons remaining on his contract. General manager Ray Shero, who has two compliance buyouts at his disposal this and next season, does not discuss personnel matters during the playoffs. His previously stated two offseason objectives are long-term extensions for center Evgeni Malkin and defenseman Kris Letang. With limited salary-cap space, he will also look to retain the services of impending free agents from a group that includes wingers Pascal Dupuis, and possibly Matt Cooke and Jarome Iginla. All of that — and the continued MVP-like play of Vokoun, 36, but signed for next season — could make Fleury expendable via a buyout or trade. However, there remains no indication Fleury, a two-time Cup finalist, is finished for this playoff run. Coach Dan Bylsma has consistently declined to publicly commit to Vokoun, who has gone 6-1-1 on the strength of a .941 save percentage and 1.85 goals-against average. Earlier this week, Bylsma appeared to plant a seed for The Flower to again bloom for the Penguins. “He's been practicing extremely well, and I think he's ready to go in there and stop the puck when he gets that chance, when he gets that opportunity,” Bylsma said of Fleury on Monday. Bylsma looks to be preparing both goalies for the short term. What comes after that will require a lot more thought by the Penguins. Tribune Review LOADED: 05.30.2013 679332 Pittsburgh Penguins “I think Brian Leetch was on the ice (for the Bruins); I remember that,” Crosby said. “He just kind of tapped it over, and I had a wide-open net.” Crosby's first fight broke out Dec. 20, 2007, in Boston against ex-Penguins Starkey: Penguins’ Boston ties run deep defenseman Andrew Ference. “I think I got a Gordie Howe hat trick (goal, assist, fight) that night,” Crosby By Joe Starkey said. “It's probably the one and only one I'll ever get.” Updated 6 hours ago A look around the Penguins' dressing room reveals Boston connections past and present. Brooks Orpik (Boston College), Joe Vitale (Northeastern) and Craig Adams (Harvard) played collegiately there.

Boston guys everywhere. Boston ties everywhere. The wall shows photos of Jaromir Jagr (now a Bruins winger) and Craig Patrick (spent much of childhood in Boston), among others. For franchises that have spent nearly 40 years in the same conference, the Penguins and Boston Bruins don't have a ton of shared history. If the Banners in the rafters show the Penguins with 14 Art Ross Trophy winners, Eastern Conference final ever begins, it will mark only the teams' fifth Ross being the Bruins' first-ever coach and GM. playoff meeting and first since 1992. Penguins president David Morehouse attended Harvard's John F. Kennedy Penguins connections to the city of Boston, however, run deep. And the all- School of Government. Tom Fitzgerald (Boston guy) put the Penguins time series has seen its share of notable moments. through the school of hard knocks in the '96 playoffs but also helped them win a Cup as an assistant coach. I should begin with Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby, who scored their first career goals against the Bruins, but I can't resist the story of Don Mostly, though, when Penguins fans of a certain age think Penguins-Bruins, Cherry's dog. they think of Lemieux, Raymond Bourque and two unbelievable goals. Long before he launched his first insane rant on “Hockey Night in Canada,” The first was Oct. 11, 1984, at Boston Garden when Lemieux, in his NHL Cherry was a coach. A very good one in Boston. His team was sweeping debut, accidentally blocked Bourque's shot and scored on a breakaway. the Penguins out of the 1979 playoffs when Penguins fans hung his poor First shift, first shot, first goal. dog Blue in effigy. The second was in the '92 playoffs, in Game 4 of a Penguins sweep. “I don't mind them wishing me or one of my players to die,” Cherry said. Lemieux, on the penalty kill, gained control in the defensive zone and threw “But to say something like that about a defenseless dog like my Blue is the puck at Bourque's feet, then beat him about 66 ways down the ice senseless.” before roofing a shot over Andy Moog. Not a lot makes sense in Penguins-Bruins annals. Phil Bourque (Boston guy, no relation to Ray) was sitting in the penalty box at the time. Steve McKenna notched the only two-goal game of his career against the Bruins. “I remember the attendant — who had a Bruins jacket on — giving me a little fist pound,” Bourque recalled later. “If (then-Bruins GM) Harry Sinden Back in 2009, Penguins winger Bill Guerin (Boston guy) tied a game with had seen it, that guy would have been fired on the spot.” 0.4 seconds left in the third period. Boston guys, everywhere. Back in 1991, Kevin Stevens (Boston guy) guaranteed the Penguins would come back from a two-games-to-none deficit to win the Eastern Conference Tribune Review LOADED: 05.30.2013 final. His teammates weren't sure what to make of it. “We're like, ‘What are you doing?' ” recalled then-Penguins winger Joe Mullen (Boston College guy). “Kevin, being Kevin, was like, ‘Don't worry about it.' ” The Penguins promptly won four in a row. Some memorable (Tom Barrasso) and not-so-memorable (Billy Tibbetts) Penguins were Boston guys. One of the all-time Penguins (Jean Pronovost) arrived in a trade with the Bruins. Another (Les Binkley) turned in a performance for ages at old Boston Garden, stopping all 33 shots from a powerful Bruins team Jan. 28, 1968. Boston goalie and future Penguins fixture Eddie Johnston usually left a six- pack for the opposing goaltender. On that night, he left ol' Bink a 12-pack. A Boston guy (Roger Marino) once owned the Penguins — and once placed them in bankruptcy. Another Boston guy (Mike Milbury) lost his mind and lit into Badger Bob Johnson in the 1991 playoffs. This was after Penguins defenseman Ulf Samuelsson had destroyed Cam Neely on a play that still gets Bruins fans' blood boiling (almost as much as Matt Cooke's horrific hit on Marc Savard). The Penguins, by the way, might never have adopted black and gold if a Bruins' protest had held. Looking to capitalize on Pittsburgh's newfound “City of Champions” status, the Penguins first donned black and gold Jan. 30, 1980, in a game against St. Louis. Outraged Bruins officials, claiming rights, lodged a protest with the league. The Penguins prevailed by arguing their city had set the NHL's black-and- gold precedent in the early 1920s, in the form of the hockey-playing Pittsburgh Pirates. But back to Lemieux and Crosby. Sid spoke Wednesday of his first career goal — Oct. 8, 2005, at Mellon Arena. 679333 Pittsburgh Penguins The next season, they lost in seven games to Tampa Bay in the first round, but played without Crosby and fellow explosive center Evgeni Malkin, who were hurt. Penguins' Bylsma still grows as coach The first-round exit last season against underdog Philadelphia stung in so many ways. It came against the Penguins' rival and was based on lapses in discipline, defense and special teams. May 30, 2013 12:15 am This year, perhaps even more than last year, the Penguins are a strong By Shelly Anderson / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette favorite to win the Cup. Perhaps it's wiser for the coach to remain a little more measured. Bylsma has not had the urge to overhaul the way he coaches or what he The previous time the Penguins were this deep into the playoffs, it was teaches. 2009, and Dan Bylsma was a rookie NHL head coach still getting to know his players. "He's still brings the same attitude to the rink, the same preparation," Adams said. It's not as if he was calling them Stanley Crosby or Chris Adams -- it was a comfortable, if frantic, first few months on the job -- but his relationship with "Our systems have evolved over the years. I'd say it's the same basic his players was somewhat limited to hockey because of the team's philosophy, but we've made adjustments along the way." situation. Bylsma took over a team in February that was in danger of missing the playoffs and led it on an 18-3-4 tear over the final 25 games. Bylsma said in terms of preparation, this season, shortened to 48 games by a lockout, reminded him of the 25-game chunk of season left when he took The Penguins that year beat Philadelphia, then Washington, swept Carolina over as Penguins coach Feb. 15, 2009. in the Eastern Conference final and beat Detroit in seven games to win the Stanley Cup. The results certainly were comparable -- the Penguins went 36-12 to earn the top seed in the East. Now, going into Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final Saturday against Boston, Bylsma has grown as a coach, and so has his relationship with his Bylsma can feel himself on the same course as in 2009 with its blazing players -- even as he tries to keep at least a sliver of professional distance. stretch run and gallop through the postseason. "Sometimes, as a head coach you try to temper those [relationships], but "I felt at the time that really the main focus of the team was: We've got to I've talked with players about whether they should get married or not, and keep getting better," he said. "And we did that, we felt, even as we moved have kids, and when to have kids," Bylsma said Wednesday after practice from Philly to Washington to Carolina and into the final. We did that as a at Consol Energy Center. group. "And you've dealt with some good times and bad times, both personally and "Just because I'm 4 1/2 years further down the road, I don't think I've professionally. changed that. After '09, we had success, and I still tried to get better from that experience. "I think there's a depth to the relationship that's way beyond what it was originally -- even though originally there was still communication as a strong "I know in the last 4 1/2 years I've continually tried to get better and grow." point." Post Gazette LOADED: 05.30.2013 Familiarity has come with time, and Bylsma said that is exaggerated given how much time he spends around his team -- including a few players who were in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton when he coached that American Hockey League affiliate six, seven years ago. "It's a long time in hockey," Bylsma said. "I equate to dog years." "I think we have a better idea for the way each other is," said Sidney Crosby a 21-year-old team captain in 2009. "At that point, it was full-gear, we-had-to-make-the-playoffs. There weren't really a ton of discussions. He was really busy trying to coach. It was pretty quick." Bylsma was 38 during the 2009 Cup run, full of energy and the type of enthusiasm that induced him to often sprint down the runway and jump onto the ice for practice. At 42, Bylsma projects the same persona to the players. "His personality has stayed the same," forward Craig Adams said. "You know what you're going to get from Dan every day, which is good. He's very consistent. I think guys appreciate that. "I think you can tell that he still enjoys coming to the rink and being here, being around the game, being on the ice, talking about hockey, all those things. That passion is still there, for sure." In a subtle but designed way, however, Bylsma has scaled back that outward passion. "Maybe some of my growth has been to find areas where keeping that in check is better -- particularly with this hockey team," he said. "I've been more stoic this year, but there's not less enthusiasm." Bylsma declined to spell out why he felt compelled with this season's team to be more restrained, but he offered a clue when he noted that the Penguins' success during his tenure has come more in the regular season than in the playoffs, at least since the Cup run. The Penguins made it to Game 7 of the second round before losing to Montreal in 2010. 679334 Pittsburgh Penguins The Penguins clinched their place in the East final by defeating Ottawa in Game 5 of the second round last Friday. Boston locked up its with a victory against the New York Rangers the following day. Penguins Notebook: Crosby and Bruins are no strangers "Who knows the thought process that goes into making the schedule?" forward Craig Adams said

May 30, 2013 12:14 am "Clearly, I don't think anyone in here thought we'd be starting Saturday. By Shelly Anderson / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "I don't mind that it's back-to-back. I just have no idea why we're waiting so long [to start]." Goalie in wonderland Facing Boston in the Eastern Conference final won't be the first big moment of Sidney Crosby's career against the Bruins. Eric Hartzell, the goalie from Quinnipiac who signed with the Penguins as a free agent after leading his team to the NCAA championship game, is Crosby scored his first NHL goal Oct. 8, 2005, the Penguins' home opener getting a behind-the-scenes look at the franchise's bid for the Stanley Cup. at Mellon Arena his rookie season, a 7-6 overtime loss. It came on a power play in the second period. He was at least the third Penguin to take a swipe He dresses in the locker room, despite being based on a folding chair rather at a rebound from his original shot and beat Boston goaltender Hannu than in a stall, and participates in practices, even though much of his work Toivonen. is done after the formal portion ends. Crosby said he doesn't remember it clearly. He said it's an "awesome" experience, and clearly is enjoying it. Still, it might not be the coolest thing that's happened to him this month. "I think Brian Leetch was on the ice" for Boston, he said Wednesday after practice at Consol Energy Center. Or even the second coolest. "He just kind of tapped it over, and I had a wide-open net. It was a great A couple of weeks ago, Hartzell received his degree in marketing from feeling. That first home game was a lot of fun." Quinnipiac and, at the urging of the Penguins' coaching staff, returned to campus for the graduation ceremony. Crosby said the puck from that goal is at his parents' home in Nova Scotia. "Being able to walk and get my diploma, it was an amazing weekend, for "I keep that," he said. "I think everyone's got their first." sure," he said. A little more than two years later, Dec. 20, 2007, Crosby had his first NHL What's more, USA Hockey announced Wednesday that Hartzell was fight, against the Bruins' Andrew Ference in Boston. chosen as its college player of the year after recording an NCAA-best 30 victories, with a 1.57 goals-against average and .933 save percentage. "I didn't realize he was as tough as he was," Crosby said. "I got lucky getting out of that one all right. He's a tough customer. USA Hockey also honored goalie John Gibson of Whitehall, an Anaheim prospect, with the Bob Johnson Award. "I think I got a Gordie Howe hat trick [goal, assist and fight] that night. It's probably the one and only one I'll ever get. Got it out of the way early." It recognizes excellence in international hockey competition during a specific season, and Gibson led Team USA to a gold medal at the 2013 Crosby actually had a goal, two assists, the fight and was named the first world championships. He went 5-0-0-2 in that tournament, and was named star in a 5-4 shootout win. the most valuable player there. Fleury: 'It's about winning' Tip-ins This likely is, goalie Marc-Andre Fleury acknowledged, the longest he has Penguins winger Chris Kunitz, who has been dealing with an unspecified gone during his pro career without appearing in a game. injury for a week or so, did not practice. ... Penguins coach Dan Bylsma, on the physical nature of winger Jarome Iginla's game and the way he can At least without being injured or on a summer break, anyway. stand up for teammates such as Evgeni Malkin and James Neal: "You don't But Fleury, who has backed up Tomas Vokoun for the past seven playoff mess around when this guy is on the ice. He's a fierce competitor." ... games -- six of them Penguins victories -- after starting the first four games Penguins forward Jussi Jokinen, on having a couple of days off from in an opening-round series against the New York Islanders, made it clear practice between rounds 2 and 3: "Some guys like to hang around. Some he has no interest in complaining about his current role. guys like to hang with their families and not think of hockey. It's an individual thing. With this kind of layoff, maybe it's just kind of a good thing "It's not about me," he said. "It's about the team. It's about winning. We've to have a couple days when you try to think of hockey less." been winning, so I'm happy. Post Gazette LOADED: 05.30.2013 "We all love the game, we all want to play. But it's not about individuals. It's about the team." Fleury said he has tried to stay physically and mentally sharp by working hard during and after practices. Perplexed by schedule If the Eastern Conference final between the Penguins and Boston goes the distance, Game 7 will be played at Consol Energy Center June 12, one day after Game 6 will be contested at TD Garden. Somewhat surprisingly, that wrinkle in the schedule doesn't appear to have upset most of the Penguins. Which doesn't mean they're entirely pleased with the way the scheduling of Round 3 was handled. "If we were having to go from Chicago to LA or Detroit to LA [for Game 7], it would be a bigger difference," winger Brenden Morrow said. "I don't know if 6 and 7 being back-to-back is as big a deal as just sitting here idle for nine days [between series]. The motor's revved up, and you're excited to play and just have to wait it out. That's the toughest part." 679335 Pittsburgh Penguins caused the playoffs to conflict more significantly with major summer concerts, including the Rolling Stones. "The Rolling Stones have been the bane of my playoff existence this year," Penguins in a puzzle of a schedule Mr. Hatze Petros said. "They started off in L.A. in the first round and they're following us all over the place."

May 30, 2013 12:03 am Mick Jagger and company are playing at Chicago's United Center on Friday night, which could push the start of the Western Conference Finals back a By Sam Werner / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette day, depending on whether the Blackhawks defeated Detroit Wednesday night for a berth in the conference finals against Los Angeles. Also because of the lockout, the league wasn't even sure it would have a The longest layoff the Penguins got between games during this lockout- season, and had to tell venues that it could book concert dates and other shortened regular season was a pair of three-day breaks in April. events that could eventually conflict with playoff games. When the puck drops in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on "When you get these big shows, it's very difficult to tell the owner of a club Saturday night, eight days will have passed since the Penguins closed out or someone running that arena that they can't go and pick up a lucrative their semifinal series against Ottawa. concert just because their team might be there," Mr. Hatze Petros said. A combination of NHL policy, television preferences and lingering effects of Consol Energy Center only has two concerts booked for June: New Kids on the lockout coalesced to give the Penguins and Boston Bruins, who have the Block on the 11th and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on the 20th. been off since Saturday, their longest breaks of the season before they take Two New Kids on the Block concerts in Boston next week are one reason the ice to battle for the right to play for the Stanley Cup. the Penguins and Bruins couldn't start their series Thursday because there would be conflicts with Games 3 and 4. The primary -- and perhaps most simple -- explanation for the extended layoff has simply been the length of the respective series. The Penguins Mr. Hatze Petros said he understands fan criticism that the league has and Bruins both won their respective conference semifinals in five games, waited too long to release schedules for the next round, but was adamant while both Western Conference semifinals went to the maximum seven that internal discussions take place up until the last minute. games. "Up until [Tuesday] night, contrary to popular belief, Saturday [for Game 1 The NHL, unlike the NBA, has a long-standing policy of not starting a new of the Eastern Conference Finals] was not set," Mr. Hatze Petros said. "We round until the previous round has completely finished. The fear is that were still debating, we were taking all the information, all the suggestions. juggling two rounds at the same time could lead to an even more prolonged break before the Stanley Cup finals. "There's nothing worse than telling fans it's going to be Friday then have it Saturday. That's when people are upset. Until we feel we get it right, that's The NBA makes up for this inequity by creating prolonged breaks, when we let it go." sometimes as long as four days, within the series. The NHL, though, prefers to keep up sustained momentum once a series begins. Post Gazette LOADED: 05.30.2013 "What we're looking for from a television standpoint is to have continuity, to have hockey every single night," said Steve Hatze Petros, NHL vice president of scheduling and broadcast business. "When you're building the momentum as we've built in a series, the fan is engaged. ... Once the series begins, that's where you don't want to have two- or three-day gaps between games." The second factor is the wishes of the NHL's national television broadcasters, NBC in the United States and CBC and TSN in Canada. The NHL has the final say on all scheduling, but it consults with all parties involved -- including local broadcasters in early rounds -- to try and make a schedule that appeases everyone. The league faces the unique challenge of catering to two countries of fans, both with specific hockey viewing tastes. Canadian viewers for example, are largely opposed to daytime Saturday games, usually an NHL playoffs staple, to keep the tradition of Saturday night as "Hockey Night in Canada." This year, the NHL has two prime time Saturday night slots for the conference finals on NBC, rather than NBC Sports Network. Those two slots factored heavily into the scheduling for these series. The national games will be Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals and Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. "When you have two Saturday prime time windows in a round, we almost have to ensure that that second window is covered by at the very least a Game 5," Mr. Hatze Petros said. "It would be very hard to stretch a Game 4 out there, because you'd leave too many gaps, so we try to get at least a Game 5." The desire to broadcast the opener of the much-anticipated Penguins- Bruins series, as well as the ability to showcase Penguins star and Nova Scotia native Sidney Crosby to a Canadian audience in the country's most traditional viewing time slot, likely played a role in the Penguins starting their series Saturday night, rather than Friday. "CBC, their biggest window is Saturday night," Mr. Hatze Petros said. The final piece of the scheduling puzzle, and one that looms slightly larger this year than others, is the availability of arenas during the playoff season. Because of the lockout that cost the NHL nearly half its season, the league is playing its playoff schedule roughly two weeks later than usual. That has 679336 San Jose Sharks

San Jose Sharks notebook: Joe Thornton coping with abrupt playoff exit

By Curtis Pashelka Posted: 05/29/2013 03:15:29 PM PDT Updated: 05/29/2013 06:29:26 PM PDT

SAN JOSE -- Sharks captain Joe Thornton still was coming to grips with his team's season being over as he briefly came by the team's practice facility Wednesday, less than 15 hours after San Jose lost 2-1 to the Los Angeles Kings in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals. "It sucks that it ends," Thornton said Wednesday morning. "You kind of like the aches and pains, because you know you're still playing hockey." Thornton, who had two goals and eight assists in San Jose's 11 playoff games, said the Sharks "really bonded as a team, hit our stride and away we went. We were having so much fun, it was contagious in the locker room. Guys were excited to play for each other." The Sharks had the day off Wednesday and will gather on Thursday to collect their belongings and begin the offseason. Thornton is aware that when the Sharks reconvene in the fall for the 2013- 14 season, the roster is unlikely to be the same as it was since the trade deadline. San Jose has a number of soon-to-be unrestricted free agents, including winger Raffi Torres and center Scott Gomez. Torres was suspended for the remainder of the second round after his hit on Kings center Jarret Stoll in Game 1. Stoll suffered a concussion but might be available for Los Angeles in the Western Conference finals. "Raf was great. You could tell that we missed Raffi," Thornton said. "Gomez was a just a good veteran that's been there and done that, a calming influence on the guys. "Every team that you're on is different once October rolls around, but I think those two guys were a big part of this team and a big reason we were where we were." Asked about Torres' and Gomez's looming free agency, Sharks coach Todd McLellan, who was also at the team's practice facility Wednesday, said, "They get to decide, and internally we have to decide where we want to go with the team. But we haven't had time to decompress or even begin to think about those types of questions." The other most notable unrestricted free agent is defenseman Scott Hannan, who had four assists in the playoffs and formed a reliable defensive pair with Brad Stuart. Thornton said he felt fine physically and that he wouldn't need any offseason procedures. It was revealed after Game 7 that defenseman Marc- Edouard Vlasic had suffered a hairline fracture in his right foot in Game 4 and needed to have it frozen before the remaining games so he could play. Center Logan Couture had a sprained ankle, suffered when he was tangled up with Kings forward Jeff Carter in Game 3. McLellan, like Thornton, said he was disappointed but also feels there's a solid foundation for the team to move forward. "As the year wore on, more and more players were given opportunities to assume bigger roles. The positive sign is they were capable of doing it," McLellan said. "Now everyone can get better. The 12- or 14-year player can be better, the coach can be better. The young players have to be better. "It's a responsibility of ours to improve moving forward. Whether you're a one-game player, or a thousand-game player. You have to accept that responsibility." San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 05.30.2013 679337 San Jose Sharks I just don't see how you blow this up ... especially when I think the chemistry is at a very high point. The Sharks might not have the best talent in the league if they hold onto Kawakami: This San Jose Sharks team worth keeping together this roster core as Thornton, Boyle and Marleau edge out of their prime years, of course.

By Tim Kawakami But the Sharks have had some of the best talent (minus some of the grit) in past years, and we've seen how that has failed them, too. Posted: 05/29/2013 02:33:20 PM PDT I think the only solid path is to keep what they have -- and keep McLellan Updated: 05/29/2013 07:43:02 PM PDT and Wilson for sure -- and see how far Couture, now 24, can take them. It will be a transition, but it doesn't have to be a total redo.

Yes, it seems a little odd to praise and defend the Sharks now, after one Some of this, I guess, will depend on how Thornton, 33, accepts the focus more postseason full of hope ended with a frustrating exit. shifting from him to Couture. I'm going to do it, anyway -- within the proper, realistic context. But some of that happened already this season, and Thornton was fine with it, from what I can tell. Though they lost Game 7 in Los Angeles on Tuesday, this Sharks team was tougher and simply better suited for the Stanley Cup playoffs than most He's still the captain and will be the captain for the foreseeable future. He's of the previous seven iterations of the Joe Thornton Era. a good guy, he's a leader, and he can adjust to the Couture Era. If it had finished first or second in the West's regular-season standings and That's because Thornton knows how good Couture is and will be and that carried home-ice advantage at least into the second round, this Sharks Sharks management has let this happen organically -- they haven't pushed team would have been a serious threat for the Stanley Cup. Couture over Thornton, they have respected Thornton in every proper way, and he has to appreciate that. And it wouldn't have blown up in the early rounds as a high seed, as we know several Maybe when the spotlight goes to Couture, and off of Thornton, the Sharks captain won't have to hear every little thing about how he plays in Game 7s, San Jose Sharks' Brad Stuart (7), Brent Burns (88) and Scott Hannan (27) and maybe that will be a tiny relief, too. celebrate TJ Galiardi's (21), center, 2-0 goal against the Los Angeles Kings in the second period in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals at He has earned it at this point, I think. HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. on Sunday, May 26, 2013. (Josie Lepe/Bay Area News Group) San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 05.30.2013 previous editions have done after glittering regular seasons. But the Sharks finished sixth, and the Kings had home-ice for Game 7 -- add Jonathan Quick's great goaltending, and that was the series, right there. Still, this year's group just played and felt more like coach Todd McLellan's kind of team (and assistant Larry Robinson's kind of team) than any of four previous squads McLellan took into the postseason. It bounced back harder, played more consistently and seemed more emotionally resilient and invested than any Sharks team of this millennium, basically. Because of all that, because general manager Doug Wilson already made some fairly significant moves during the season, and because the Sharks don't have much to trade, anyway, I just don't see an efficient way to blow it up and hit "reset." This was not a soft Sharks team and it wasn't a soft ending. This is not a franchise that needs -- or, really, can do -- an overhaul. Obviously, Wilson will have to explore every personnel avenue this offseason, but this roster is fairly well structured: Logan Couture is the new centerpiece, and his rising generation includes Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski, Antti Niemi and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Then there's Thornton -- who proved this postseason that he can still take over a handful of games in a series -- Patrick Marleau, Dan Boyle and a few others as the veteran group. I presume the Sharks will move on or discard Martin Havlat, who is owed $10 million over the next two seasons -- the Sharks probably will try to trade him to anybody willing to take that money. If there's no deal, they will have to use the amnesty provision and pay out 66 percent of the contract ($6.67 million in Havlat's case) to be done with him. That's a good test of new controlling partner Hasso Plattner, a billionaire whose appetite for eating multimillions on one player is as yet unknown. Beyond that, anybody they might want to trade either has a no-movement clause or is too valuable to discard. 679338 San Jose Sharks

Couture, Vlasic among Sharks who played hurt

May 29, 2013, 10:45 am ProHockeyTalk.com

Few NHL players are 100 percent healthy by the time playoff hockey rolls around, as was certainly the case for this year's Sharks. A day after San Jose's season ended at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals, reports are surfacing that multiple Sharks toughed the pain to take the ice with significant injuries. While they're not making excuses, forward Logan Couture received an injection prior to every game after injuring his ankle, and defenseman Marc Edouard-Vlasic suffered a hairline fracture in his left foot in Game 4 that required freezing before each subsequent game. Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 05.30.2013 679339 Tampa Bay Lightning

Russian prospect out of KHL deal

Damian Cristodero, Times Staff Writer Wednesday, May 29, 2013 12:49pm

If the Lightning, as believed, has interest in taking Valeri Nichushkin with the No. 3 overall pick in the NHL draft on June 30, a major hurdle might have been eliminated. Nichushkin told rsport.ru, a website covering sports in Russia, his two-year deal with Dynamo Moscow of Europe's Kontinental Hockey League has been terminated — no details were provided — and he wants to play next season in North America. What Tampa Bay must determine when talking to Nichushkin at this week's combine in Toronto is what happens if he is drafted but does not make an NHL roster or isn't immediately signed. "We agreed they would let me go," Nichushkin said of Dynamo, "but if something across the ocean goes wrong, I'll come straight back." Nichushkin, 18, ranked by the International Scouting Service as the No. 4 prospect in the draft, is exactly what the Lightning is looking for. At 6 feet 3, 194 pounds, he has room to grow and his skating and one-on-one skills are advanced. Of Nichushkin's performance in February at the Five Nations under-18 tournament, Tampa Bay head scout Al Murray called the wing player "a combination of (Alex Ovechkin) and (Evgeni) Malkin." "He was spectacular," Murray said. GOALIE WATCH: The Lightning hopes Russian goaltending prospect Andrey Vasilevskiy finds his way to North America next season as the team's enthusiasm for the No. 19 overall pick of the 2012 draft continues to grow. "I haven't seen a goalie in my time scouting as developed at this stage of his development as this guy is," Murray said. "That doesn't mean he's going to eclipse Patrick Roy or Martin Brodeur. But at this stage of his development, at his age, I haven't seen a goalie as good as this guy." Vasilevskiy, 18, had a big year. In eight games with Ufa of the KHL he was 4-1-0 with a 2.22 goals-against average and .924 save percentage. At the world junior championship he helped Russia to bronze with a 1.81 goals-against average and .950 save percentage in four games. Vasilevskiy has one year left on his contract, so the only way he gets to North America next season is if he, his agent or the junior team that holds his rights (Mississauga of the Ontario Hockey League) buys out the final season. "He's on the cusp of pushing his game to a whole other level," said Murray, adding Vasilevskiy also is eligible to play for AHL Syracuse. "We're just not sure where that's going to be." MEDAL STAND: C Nate Thompson said helping the United States to a bronze medal at this month's world championship was "a once-in-a-lifetime experience I will never forget." Thompson, 28, had a goal, three points and was plus-1 in 10 games at the tournament in Sweden and Finland. He was an alternate captain and played with teammates Matt Carle (also an alternate captain) and Ben Bishop. "It was awesome," Thompson said of earning bronze. "With the guys we had and how young we were, I don't think anyone would have picked us to do that." Staff prospect? In addition to Ulf Samuelsson, speculation about a new Lightning assistant includes Peter Horachek, a former minor-league right wing fired after nine seasons with the Predators. He coached the power play and penalty kill. Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 05.30.2013 679340 Tampa Bay Lightning

Former Lightning coach Tortorella fired by Rangers

Times wires Wednesday, May 29, 2013 4:30am

NEW YORK — John Tortorella was defiant earlier in the week, stating that the Rangers didn't take a step back when they were knocked out of the Stanley Cup playoffs in the second round. General manager Glen Sather thought otherwise and fired the combative coach on Wednesday. Tortorella was let go four days after the Rangers' season ended with a Game 5 loss to the Bruins. "I came up with the decision that I really needed to do something to improve our team going forward," Sather said. "Every coach has a shelf life. I've told every guy that I've hired that at some point in time this is going to change. Our goal is to win the Stanley Cup and we didn't achieve that goal this year. I had to make a decision, so I did." Sather didn't name a replacement but hopes to have a new coach by the June 30 NHL draft. Tortorella, 54, was dismissed with one year left on his contract. In 319 regular-season games with New York, including a four-game run at the end of the 1999-2000 season, he went 171-118-1-29. Since his first game with the Rangers (Feb. 25, 2009), Tortorella's club had the fourth-best record in the East (.589). But he was 19-25 in the postseason, reaching the playoffs in four of five seasons. Tortorella, hired to replace Tom Renney, achieved success with the Rangers but couldn't match the Cup title he earned in 2004 with the Lightning before being let go after the 2007-08 season. On Monday, Tortorella said his club wasn't emotionally ready to take on Boston after getting past Washington. "I don't think our mind-set was ready to play another series and to the level you need to be at," he said. "It didn't have a playoff atmosphere." Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 05.30.2013 679341 Toronto Maple Leafs

NHL draft: Nathan MacKinnon, Seth Jones, Jonathan Drouin an awesome trio

By: Kevin McGran Sports reporter, Published on Wed May 29 2013

Don’t ask Nathan MacKinnon, Seth Jones or Jonathan Drouin who they think will go first overall at the June 30 NHL draft. They don’t know either. What is clear is that MacKinnon, Jones and Drouin are as close off the ice as they are in the draft rankings. MacKinnon and Jones shared a hug at the end of the Memorial Cup — won by MacKinnon’s and Drouin’s Mooseheads over Jones’s Portland Winterhawks — and shared lunch Wednesday at an airport hotel between interviews. Instead of a rivalry for the honour of going first overall — there was between Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin, as well as between John Tavares and Victor Hedman — this is more of a mutual admiration society. “He left a great a impression,” Jones said of MacKinnon’s Memorial Cup performance. “Every time we played him, a hat trick each game. It doesn’t get any better than that. Five points in the final, one of the greatest performances in the final. He’s a tough player to contain. He’s a great player, he’s strong, got good hands, fast. I’ll be happy for him.” MacKinnon wasn’t taking that compliment lying down. “Seth’s an unbelievable defenceman,” said MacKinnon. “Seth and Jo are great players. Obviously, human nature, you think about going No. 1, but at the same time, you’re going to be the exact same player going to the draft coming out of it. “It’s just how high you go. It would be pretty cool to go No. 1. It would be pretty special.” As for Drouin, the third-ranked player in most draft lists, he beat out both Jones and MacKinnon for CHL player-of-the-year honours. He believes the order will come down to what teams needs more: a defenceman (Jones), centre (MacKinnon) or winger (Drouin). “I played my game, put everything on the table,” said Drouin. “They’re going to make the decision. I have nothing else to prove. It’s up to them.” Two developments might have shifted the ground regarding who’ll go No. 1, a pick held by the Colorado Avalanche: MacKinnon’s Memorial Cup performance and Colorado’s hiring of Patrick Roy as coach. After the Memorial Cup, the Independent Scouting Service flip-flopped MacKinnon and Jones in their final pre-draft rankings. MacKinnon is ranked No. 1 there, but No. 2 to Jones in the NHL’s Central Scouting rankings. “In the playoffs and through the Memorial Cup, MacKinnon has been simply dominating,” said Dennis McInnnis, ISS director of scouting. “The Memorial Cup tipped it.” And Roy will have a big say in hockey personnel decisions. Those who know him from coaching in the QMJHL believe him to be enamoured with MacKinnon, moreso than Jones. The Avalanche — a team struggling at the gate — will need a good excuse not to draft Jones, a home-grown product with abilities likened to Chris Pronger. “Watching your hometown team win a Stanley Cup, that makes you want to put on an Avalanche jersey,” said Jones. “It would be special to go to Colorado, because that’s where I live. Wherever I go, I’ll be happy. “It’s something I can’t control.” Globe And Mail LOADED: 05.30.2013 679342 Toronto Maple Leafs

Brian Burke lawsuit: B.C. court grants him permission to sue online

By: Curtis Rush News reporter, Published on Wed May 29 2013

A B.C. court has granted Brian Burke the right to sue people online. The former Leaf general manager filed a lawsuit in April against 18 anonymous people who allegedly posted comments that he had an affair with a Toronto television sportscaster and fathered her child. The court ruling, made Tuesday in B.C. Supreme Court, means Burke can now send private messages to 18 anonymous defendants through their online message boards advising them that they are being sued. The judgment means he does not have to serve them in person. This is not unprecedented, legal experts say, since there are other cases of hard-to-identify people being notified through Facebook and Twitter that they have been sued. However, it is unusual since the courts want to ensure that plaintiffs have exhausted all other means to identify the defendants and serve them in person. Burke has been unsuccessful in finding the people behind the user names who allegedly posted the defamatory statements in January on several online message boards. Robert Grant, who represents Burke for Heenan Blaikie LLP, made the submission in B.C. Supreme Court on Tuesday. Burke, who is now a part-time scout for the Anaheim Ducks, did not attend the hearing. An added wrinkle is that Burke’s legal team intends not to send the exact notice of claim, but rather a message containing a link to a website where the notice of claim is posted. In essence, this means sending them a notice of a notice. Had the defendants deleted their accounts, it would be impossible to serve notice in this method. The defendants in the motion are listed under such Internet usernames as “NoFixedAddress,” “Lavy16” and “Slobberface.” There are only seven listed, while 18 in total have been named in the legal action. Burke’s lawyer, Grant, told the Star that only seven message board defendants and their message boards have been named. “We have excluded defendants who cannot be served in this way or who we already have some other identifying information,” he said. This is a legal power play by Burke, who now works as a part-time scout with the Anaheim Ducks. The notice would be effective five days after the date the message was sent, and those message board defendants would then have 28 days to file their responses to the civil claim. Burke has been blocked in his attempts to unmask all of those alleged to have made the claims about him. Burke’s legal team has contacted the administrators at each of the message boards requesting information on the identity of the defendants. None has presented any of that information, according to the application. Globe And Mail LOADED: 05.30.2013 679343 Toronto Maple Leafs

Yan-Pavel Laplante rockets up NHL draft rankings

By: Kevin McGran Sports reporter, Published on Wed May 29 2013

Yan Pavel Laplante of the P.E.I. Rocket could well be this year’s Henrik Zetterberg or Jamie Benn — a mid-to-late-round NHL draft pick whose career output surpasses the expectations of a modest draft position. Despite a pre-season injury that limited him to 18 regular-season games in the QMJHL, Laplante went from unranked at mid-season to 50th among North American skaters. That could see him as an early third-round pick depending on how many Europeans and goalies go in the first two rounds and how teams feel about his shoulder. Zetterberg was a seventh-round selection (210th overall) by Detroit in 1999 and Benn was taken by Dallas in the fifth round (129th overall) in 2007. “It feels good to see that (ranking) after missing so much of the year with (shoulder) surgery,” said Laplante on Tuesday in the middle of a spate of interviews during the NHL draft combine. “But I’m not thinking about it. I was just waiting. I was just playing my game.” Laplante has a stellar reputation — he might have been ranked among the top 20 if he hadn’t missed most of the year due to that torn labrum. “He was a guy that had the potential to be a first-round candidate,” said Dan Marr, the director of NHL’s Central Scouting. “He ended up in a good spot.” While suffering a serious injury in your draft year can be a serious blow — Laplante was devastated to miss six months — he had some measure of luck on his side. Laplante suffered his injury in August while representing Canada at the Ivan Hlinka under-18 tournament, so he was already on the radar of some important people. “His journey was a little more straightforward because he was at the U18 camp, so he had a little bit of exposure there, but then he got injured,” said Marr. “It’s just limited views, because he hasn’t been playing. “When he did come back, he was an impact player on his team and that draws everybody’s attention. His consistency throughout the rest of the season and the playoffs, that stood out for the guy.” Laplante is among the 100 or so teenage hockey prospects housed at the Westin Bristol Place near Pearson Airport, taking their turns being interviewed by representatives of the league’s 30 teams. The Maple Leafs are talking to about 20-25 players a day. This week’s combine is the last chance for players to try to improve their draft standing. “I’m a little bit nervous. That’s normal I think,” said Laplante. “They just want me to talk about myself, and the season. Simple questions. “This is cool, talking to teams, and seeing guys I played with before.” Laplante had five goals and eight assists in his 18 regular-season games; three goals, two assists in six playoff games. “He’s the kind of player that’s very versatile,” said his agent, Allan Walsh. “He can kill penalties, play a third-line role and he’s got the kind of offensive upside that could indicate a future top-six player. “He’s a physical player, he skates well and that’s what teams are looking for. Globe And Mail LOADED: 05.30.2013 679344 Toronto Maple Leafs

NHL: Maple Leafs could learn some lessons from Penguins

By: Kevin McGran Sports reporter, Published on Wed May 29 2013

If the Pittsburgh Penguins can teach the Maple Leafs anything, it’s that you can’t have enough talent. Down the middle, and especially in net. Just ask yourself what tandem would you rather have: Marc-Andre Fleury and Tomas Vokoun, or James Reimer and Ben Scrivens? Before making any jokes about the currently out-of-favour Fleury, just consider what depth means in various what-if scenarios. Since drafting Sidney Crosby (1st overall, 2005) and Evgeni Malkin (2nd overall, 2004), the Penguins have situated themselves among the elite in the East, winning the Stanley Cup in 2008. There aren’t that many true No. 1 centres in the NHL, and the Penguins have two of them.The Leafs don’t have centres of that quality, but can make it up on pure talent up front. Each year, the Penguins are deemed to be Stanley Cup contenders with the core of young, highly touted players maturing together. The Leafs, too, seem to have an emerging core of maturing young players in Nazem Kadri, Phil Kessel, James van Riemsdyk and Jake Gardiner. The journey to the Cup — even for the talent-loaded Penguins — is never easy. They have weathered injury issues: Crosby’s repeated concussion injuries, and this year his broken jaw. Malkin had back problems that limited him to 43 games in 2010-11 and further limited him this season and into the playoffs. “We’ve played without Sidney, we’ve played without Malkin, we’ve played without other players in our lineup, and our team has continued to have the right focus and the right way to play and win hockey games,” said Penguins coach Dan Bylsma earlier in the playoffs. The Pens have indeed played for long stretches without key players: Kris Letang, James Neal and Paul Martin among them. Penguins GM Ray Shero’s late-season trades — Leafs GM Dave Nonnis would be wise to wait a few years for his go-for-it moment — to acquire Jarome Iginla, Brenden Morrow and Douglas Murray helped Pittsburgh ride out this season’s injuries. When the Leafs have had injuries during the Brian Burke/Nonis eras, they haven’t had similar depth to ride it out until this past season. Joffrey Lupul’s injury in 2012 was devastating to the club while his 2013 injury was a blip because van Riemsdyk was able to fill in on the top line. For the Penguins, goaltending has been main issue of recent playoff disappointments. Fleury, a first-overall pick in 2003, can be great some nights but awful the next. Such was the case in 2012 when the Flyers eliminated the Penguins and Bylsma simply did not have confidence in backup Brent Johnson. This season, Shero acquired Tomas Vokoun to be the steadying force behind Fleury. When the bad Fleury emerged in the first round against the New York Islanders, Bylsma felt confident turning to the veteran Vokoun — a starter most of his career. Vokoun has been in the Pittsburgh net ever since. That’s the dilemma the Leafs face. If Reimer gets hurt or goes cold, is Scrivens good enough to pick up the slack? Nonis tried to address that very issue at the trade deadline. Toronto Star LOADED: 05.30.2013 679345 Vancouver Canucks Vancouver Sun: LOADED: 05.30.2013

Canucks re-sign heavyweight Tom Sestito to one-way, two-year deal

By Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun May 29, 2013

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks have locked up heavyweight fourth-liner Tom Sestito for the next two seasons as they continue to “reset” their team for the 2013-14 NHL season. Sestito. 25, received a two-year, one-way deal worth $1.5 million. His cap charge is $750,000. He made $605,000 in 2012-13 and stood to become a Group 6 unrestricted free agent on July 5. Sestito announced the signing himself on his Twitter account. “Once I got my end signed and they got their end signed and it was official, I just went out and did it,” Sestito chuckled over the phone from his home in Rome, N.Y. Listed at 6-5 and 228 pounds, Sestito arrived in Vancouver mid-season on waivers from Philadelphia and played his first game March 2 against the L.A. Kings. He appeared in 23 regular-season outings for the Canucks, scored once, had 11 shots on goal and collected 53 penalty minutes while averaging just 6:37 time on ice. His fight card included the Kings' Jordan Nolan, the Flames' Brian McGrattan (twice), the Wild's Mike Rupp and the Blues' Ryan Reaves. “Players like Tom Sestito are a commodity, they really are,” said Canucks assistant GM Laurence Gilman, who negotiates the team's contracts. “He has size, he's prepared to play a physical games and has some aptitude with the puck. We were pleasantly surprised with him.” Because he is limited in his skating ability, Sestito has never had a full-time gig in the NHL. He once scored 42 goals in junior with the OHL's Plymouth Whalers but hasn't been able to achieve anything close to that in the professional ranks. In six seasons since leaving junior, he's played in just 57 NHL games, 13 with Columbus and 21 with the Flyers. He has five career goals. Security was an issue with Sestito in his contract talks with the Canucks. “I wanted to have a two-year deal and I definitely wanted the one-way,” he said. “Being a UFA, I imagine I would been able to get a one-way somewhere but I definitely wanted to be in Vancouver again. I expressed that in my exit meeting and they said they wanted me back, too, so I thought it was going to get done pretty quickly. “Vancouver is a great organization with great fans and they treat you well. The leadership group in that locker room is second to none. So I didn't want to go anywhere else. I honestly don't think I could have matched that up in another place.” Sestito did admit he was a little apprehensive that the Canucks are without a head coach after the firing of Alain Vigneault last week. Like every other player, he'll now have to gain the trust of the new man. “The coaching situation is always a concern but the organization is pretty sure what I'm going to bring and I think the coach, whoever it is, will appreciate what I bring,” he said. Sestito's agent, Scott Norton, agreed that not knowing who will coach the Canucks could be a bit risky for his client but noted that management's desire to have him back was paramount. “There is always a gamble in not knowing who the coach is and there are certain coaches, I guess, who appreciate Tom's style of play more than others,” Norton said. “Tom was faced with the option of going to UFA this summer but he loved his time with Vancouver. The talks went pretty smoothly, They seemed happy with what he brought to the table and I think they've publicly said they probably need a little bit more size and grit in their lineup.” With the Sestito signing, the Canucks still have 11 players from the season- ending roster who stand to become free agents on July 5. The UFAs are Mason Raymond, Andrew Alberts, Max Lapierre, Derek Roy, Manny Malhotra, Andrew Ebbett, Cam Barker and Steve Pinizzotto while those in the restricted category are Chris Tanev, Dale Weise and Jordan Schroeder. 679346 Vancouver Canucks The Canucks acquired Sestito after they lost Aaron Volpatti to Washington in an odd, uncharacteristic sequence. They put Volpatti on waivers, because they wanted to get Steve Pinizzotto on the active roster. They Canucks’ Sestito vows to get fitter, faster never did replace Volpatti’s physical play. Sestito fought four times, and essentially lost all four, though he had one tilt with Ryan Reaves that was close. By Jason Botchford, The Province May 29, 2013 5:06 PM Still, even with the losses, it turned out to be a fortuitous situation for Sestito. He came to a team that was searching for a player with his enforcer DNA and desperate enough to give him the two-year contract he wanted At the 2011 trade deadline, the Vancouver Canucks traded for Chris even though he only played 30 NHL games this past season. His next Higgins and did it thinking he’d play wing on their fourth line. highest in a year is 14 games. Wednesday’s Tom Sestito signing sure suggests the times have changed. “Talking with my agent, he reinforced to me that it was a team looking for a physical big-body role,” Sestito explained when asked what he was told The Canucks re-signed the hulking, tough, slow-footed, waiver-wire pickup, about the Canucks before he got here. essentially an anti-Higgins, to a two-year, $1.5-million contract, for a $750,000 cap hit. Sestito’s March 2 debut with the Canucks was quite a barn burner. He upended Colin Fraser early, fought Jordan Nolan and kept up his physical Fans may not have seen much in him in 23 mostly forgettable games he play all night in an impressive 5-2 win over the L.A. Kings. played with the Canucks. The Canucks could use a lot more games like it. But the Canucks crave his size and see some promise, and untapped potential, in the big guy. And this is a management team that’s always been Since Manny Malhotra’s horrific eye injury, the Canucks have had zero a sucker for a project. consistency on their fourth line. Sestito acknowledged to The Province that he remains a work-in-progress. Compare it to the Boston Bruins, who are still rolling out the same fourth At 25 years old, he needs to improve his fitness and his foot speed. He’s line that was winning games against the Canucks in the 2011 Stanley Cup got big plans this off-season to move those needles. final. “I don’t want to be walking into the locker-room wondering if I’m going to “I think the last couple of years, it’s always a fourth line which you see play,” he said. “I want to be confident. I want to know I’m going to be in the making huge contributions to playoff wins. Even Jersey last year on their lineup. run,” Sestito said. “It’s going to big a summer for me. My foot speed has to get faster in the “You need four lines to win.” summer and I have to work on the cardio more than anything.” As of now, the Canucks have only one. He told the team he wanted to re-sign in Vancouver after the season. He’s not dumb. He heard people continuing to say the Canucks need to get Vancouver Province: LOADED: 05.30.2013 bigger, and tougher. For those who kept saying it, you are getting your wish. It starts here. Why would Sestito be a priority over Dale Weise or Max Lapierre? Because he’s 6-foot-5 and 228 pounds. But the most remarkable element of the signing isn’t the money, or the two- year term. It was the local reaction. Generally, fans were fuming, which should emphasize just how little credit GM Mike Gillis and assistant GM Laurence Gilman have left in the public bank account. One main criticism of the signing, of course, centred around Sestito’s foot speed. It’s not going to help the Canucks’ dump-and-chase future to sign players who can dump but not chase. Another critique was a sense this signing feels like the same old, same old in a city craving change. But it can’t be both. When Higgins was acquired in 2011, the Canucks were looking at a potential fourth line of Higgins, Max Lapierre and Tanner Glass. That is a fast fourth line with impressive skill, and three players who can all kill penalties. This year’s fourth line is not likely to look anything like that as the Canucks seek out that tougher wrapping paper. The Canucks didn’t sign Sestito to be a 13th forward. They signed him to play, knowing that the free agent market is not going to include many 6- foot-5 wingers. Gilman suggested players like Sestito may be a lot more coveted than most people realize. He’s not wrong. When the Canucks got him off waivers, there were multiple claims. There were also teams who looked into trading for him near the deadline, and one of them is believed to be the Philadelphia Flyers, the team that waived him. Heck, 6-foot-8 John Scott re-signed in Buffalo for $750,000 and he can barely play a lick. 679347 Vancouver Canucks Now, writing a column to say that Joe Schmoe, or in this case Tortorella, shouldn’t get the coaching job in Vancouver is pretty goofy in itself. We admit that, right here and now. Tony Gallagher: John Tortorella a poor fit for Canucks Neither should about seven billion other people on the globe, so this hardly narrows the field. But five minutes after news leaked that he was out in New York, TEAM 1040 delivered a poll question as to whether he should be the By TONY GALLAGHER, THE PROVINCE May 29, 2013 4:06 PM man here — so the issue became more salient. Let’s just say it isn’t a very good idea.

Judging by how little it takes to get John Tortorella to act like an immature Vancouver Province: LOADED: 05.30.2013 goof who doesn’t seem to realize that dealing with the media is part of his job, reporters in the Vancouver market could set him off without even trying. Perhaps now that John Tortorella has been dismissed by the New York Rangers, those moaning over the fate of Alain Vigneault will give it a rest. Consider that Tortorella took his team to the Eastern Conference final last year. This year they finished strong in the last two months of the season, then won a round and lost just recently to the Boston Bruins — who seem to get the breaks with respect to the officiating, although people here in Vancouver will have trouble imagining that. Despite the fact Tortorella has won a Stanley Cup in Tampa Bay, and had far better results than Vigneault in the last two seasons, he still got handed his head. So it’s certainly fair to say AV more than had his opportunity. But even though Canucks GM Mike Gillis has said that he feels coaches learn a lot from having been fired — because they tend to get very introspective and genuinely consider ways in which they can become better — it’s unlikely the little firebrand, who picked so many fights with the media in New York, would be considered as a candidate for the Canucks’ head coach position. For starters, Gillis is on record as saying he prefers an upbeat, attacking style (and he certainly should, given the way this team has been put together), with the defence contributing tremendously to the offence when it’s playing well. But perhaps no team sat back more over the past two or three years than the Rangers. At times it reached absurd levels, to the point where Glen Sather, who had coached those great Edmonton Oilers teams, surely must have almost tossed his cookies. Winning as a GM in New York, however, was a new experience, so he lived with it. So how could the Canucks, a team that has had trouble scoring goals in the last two playoffs, hire a coach who was fired in New York because his team couldn’t score goals in the playoffs? Not sure that makes sense, even in the bizarre world of the NHL. And consider why there were no goals scored. For the most part, the Canucks’ power play over this past short season, and another half season further back, has been absolutely hopeless, despite the fact it was composed of some very good parts: the Sedins, Ryan Kesler at times, Alex Edler and others. Now you’re going to hire a coach whose team couldn’t perform on the power play in these playoffs? The Rangers went 4 for 44 in the postseason despite haviang some pretty attractive parts, not the least of whom was Rick Nash, who was added specifically to produce offence? Further, consider that Marian Gaborik was so at odds with the way things were going in New York that he welcomed a trade to Columbus. Not that pleasing Gaborik should be the way a coach is measured, but the Slovak star saw it going the same way it went under Jacques Lemaire in Minny, and when you are happy going to the Blue Jackets, you are truly desperate. Consider also that Brad Richards, another significant offensive talent to whom the Rangers had just ill-advisedly decided to pay $60 million, proceeded directly into the tank this season. Why is anyone’s guess, but it’s clear the coach was unable to help him in any way. And imagine the media wars here if this guy were to come in. Given how popular hockey is in this town, and how prominently it’s played compared to its relatively minor status in the Big Apple, people would be going out of their way to ask him questions that would tick him off, just to get the video on the show. Judging by how little it takes to get Tortorella to act like an immature goof who doesn’t seem to realize that dealing with the media is part of his job, some guys could set him off without even trying. 679348 Washington Capitals

Watch Matt Hendricks and Karl Alzner fishing

By Dan Steinberg, Updated: May 29, 2013

Cool it with your “hit the golf course” jokes. The next NHL playoffs joke can involve being out on a fishing boat. Also, Matt Hendricks attempts to catch fish with the ol’ “Here, fishy fishy fishy fishy fishy fishy fishy fishy” trick. “It’s all about the different pitches,” he explains. “You’ve got to find what they like. You could do a Bon Jovi, or maybe they like Sinatra.” Hendricks still doesn’t catch anything, but he helps Karl Alzner learn how to make his own catch look bigger by holding it further in front of him. Smart man, that Hendricks. Washington Post LOADED: 05.30.2013 679349 Websites The Kings played the final six games of their second-round series without No. 3 center Jarret Stoll, who suffered a concussion on a heavy hit from Raffi Torres (who was suspended for the series as a result). Should Stoll ESPN / Third-round preview: Hawks vs. Kings remain symptom-free and avoid setbacks, he could return early on against the Blackhawks. That'd be a huge boost for the Kings. Stoll is a glue guy for Los Angeles, a luxury to have as a No. 3 pivot, a faceoff whiz, and a special teams staple. By Pierre LeBrun 5. Hawks' adversity ESPN.com It's the madness of the game, really. Veteran hockey men always talked about how uncomfortable they were with teams that breezed through a regular season as wire-to-wire leaders. Most coaches will tell you they like We'll try not to get blinded by all the Stanley Cup bling in this year's their team to face a little adversity along the way in order to strengthen the Western Conference finals, what with the 2010 and 2012 NHL champions resolve of the team when things get tougher in the playoffs, as they always meeting up in a tantalizing matchup. The Chicago Blackhawks, champs in do given the higher level of competition. It's why some were a little nervous '10, have ruled since Day 1 in this lockout-shortened season. The Los about the Blackhawks entering the playoffs after an impeccable regular Angeles Kings are the reigning champs after romping a year ago. There's season in which they had nothing to play for over the final month. Those star power galore as Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Marian fears proved well-founded after the Hawks dug themselves a 3-1 series Hossa, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook of the Blackhawks share the ice hole against Detroit, seeming a little unhinged as they faced their first real with Mike Richards, Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter, Dustin Brown, Drew Doughty adversity of the season after losing three games in a row for the first time all and Jonathan Quick of the Kings. Many of them will be in Sochi, Russia, year. But Chicago rose back from the brink with its season on the line, next February for the Olympics as well, where Toews, Sharp, Keith and winning the final three games against the Red Wings and very possibly Seabrook could possibly join up with Richards, Carter and Doughty on providing the galvanizing moment the Hawks were looking for. They might Team Canada, while Brown and Quick could possibly pal up with Kane on be hard to stop now. Team USA. Right now, though, their alliances are clear as day. One NHL team stands in front of the other with a trip to the Cup finals on the line. • The goalie matchup makes you a bit nervous for Chicago, but the Kings Both clubs are catching their breath after needing seven games to survive are a beat-up squad that isn't rolling like a year ago. Still, I see this going all the second round, with little time to spare as Game 1 looms Saturday the way. Blackhawks in 7. afternoon at the United Center. The two teams last met in the playoffs in 1974, when the Hawks prevailed in five games. ESPN LOADED: 05.30.2013 1. Quicksand in net Where do pucks go to die? Into Quick's equipment. The Kings netminder has stopped 362 of 382 shots in the playoffs for a .948 save percentage, which amazingly is a tad better than the .946 save percentage he sported last spring while winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as NHL playoff MVP. He was the difference in a hotly contested series with the San Jose Sharks in the last round, capping a great series with a late-game save on Joe Pavelski, which said it all. "It's not like you expect him to make those saves, but you expect him to make those saves, right?"' Kings captain Dustin Brown said after Game 7. Expect the Hawks to take a page out of San Jose's playbook and try to get Quick unsettled as much as possible by crashing the net. The refs will be on the lookout for that tactic early, however, so expect goalie interference to be an early storyline in this series. The Kings clearly have the edge in goal, with Corey Crawford giving the Hawks decent goaltending overall this season, though he did show jitters at times during the seven-game series with Detroit. 2. Doughty vs. Keith Olympic teammates in 2010, Doughty and Keith will log team-leading minutes once again in the conference finals, with each being a staple in all facets of the game for their respective teams. And the game plan from each team will include targeting each star blue-liner: pound them every time you have a chance on the forecheck, and wear them down as much as possible. Doughty and Keith might as well both have signs on their uniforms saying "Hit me please." 3. Kings' road woes A year ago, the Kings were road warriors, opening all four series in opposing rinks and amazingly coming home with a 2-0 series lead from Vancouver, St. Louis, Phoenix and New Jersey. What a difference a season makes. The Kings are 1-5 on the road in these playoffs, a meek performance that got them in a 2-0 hole in the first round versus the St. Louis Blues and made them play a seventh and deciding game in the second round against the San Jose Sharks after dropping all three games (and scoring only three goals) on the road. "Obviously, if we're going to be able to continue in the playoffs we have to win some road games," Quick said after Game 7. "We got to figure out what's going on there. We got to get better at it. We had a chance to close it out [in Game 6 in San Jose]. Sometimes if you give those games up, it might come back and bite you. We were able to win [Game 7], but we definitely know there's room for improvement." Given the Hawks have home-ice advantage in the Western final, it's pretty simple for L.A.: find a cure for the road woes or the season is over. 4. Stoll's return 679350 Websites

NBCSports.com / Report: NHL confirms agreement with Gosbee group to buy Coyotes

Joe Yerdon May 25, 2013, 1:41 PM EDT

It wouldn’t be summer until we’ve had a buyer approved for the Phoenix Coyotes. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports the NHL has confirmed they have an agreement with George Gosbee’s Renaissance Sports & Entertainment group to purchase the ownerless franchise. Does that mean the now four-year old struggle to sell the formerly bankrupt franchise is at an end? No. There are still many issues left to be figured out yet including a lease agreement for Jobing.com Arena with the City of Glendale. That part of the arrangement has been the major sticking point for previous buyers including Jerry Reinsdorf, Ice Edge Holdings, and Matthew Hulsizer. Greg Jamison had a deal worked out with the city only to fall short of coming up with the money to purchase the team. We told you here last night the NHL was sharing an ownership plan with the city on Tuesday and Gosbee’s group will be the ones to likely take part in that. The cost of what it takes to run the arena figures to be a huge issue as the city is strapped for cash and cannot afford to pay out in a big way to do that. If there’s traction there, the sale may actually happen. NBCSports.com / LOADED: 05.30.2013 679351 Websites The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 2010, but they have changed more than half of the team since then. Toews said not everyone on the roster understood the team's full potential before this series. USA TODAY / Blackhawks beat Red Wings in OT, will face Kings "But you really, really have to believe in what you can do, and how good you can be," Toews said. "And you have to put it in action on the ice if you want to accomplish that. Not everyone was believing, but they are now." Kevin Allen, USA TODAY Sports1:38 a.m. EDT May 30, 2013 USA TODAY LOADED: 05.30.2013

CHICAGO – Patrick Kane wondered aloud if the Chicago Blackhawks' sinful play and then redemptive acts against the Detroit Red Wings might turn out to be the righteous path toward a Stanley Cup. "We realize how good we can be," Kane said. "You don't like to put yourself in the hole, but for us to get out of it and come back and win…how many teams can say they have done that?" What the Blackhawks did was rally from a 3-1 series deficit to win a series against the Red Wings, finishing that feat in dramatic, emotional fashion Wednesday with a 2-1 overtime win. Defenseman Brent Seabrook carried the puck into the offensive zone and ripped a shot that struck defenseman Niklas Kronwall and caromed past Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard. This is the first time the Blackhawks have won a series after trailing 3-1. BOX SCORE: Blackhawks 2, Red Wings 1 (OT) The Blackhawks were the No. 1 team in the NHL this season, and were supposed to beat the Red Wings. But they looked like they had lost their swagger after losing Games 3 and 4 in Detroit. Now, they go into the Western Conference Final against the defending champion Los Angeles Kings on Saturday (5 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network) with the exhilaration of someone who has regained their footing after teetering on the edge of the cliff. "We did have some learning curves in this round," Seabrook said. "Detroit played a great series. We really had to find ourselves after the fourth game." The Red Wings were not your garden variety No. 7 seed. They have qualified for the playoffs for 22 consecutive seasons and were playing their best hockey at the end of the season. In Game 7, the Red Wings were down 1-0 going into the third period, but captain Henrik Zetterberg scored to tie the game. They pushed back against the Blackhawks with all that they had. "They keep coming at you," said Patrick Sharp, who scored Chicago's other goal. "Each game could have gone the other way. But we have to be proud of ourselves in this locker room for being able to battle back." The Blackhawks were mad at themselves for allowing the Red Wings to take a commanding lead, and now they see their struggles as a test that maybe they needed to have before they reached the conference final. VIDEO: Blackhawks goal disallowed Even in Game 7, the Blackhawks had to overcome the disappointment of having what appeared to be a game-winning goal by Niklas Hjalmarsson waved off with 1:47 left in regulation because referee Stephen Walkom blew the whistle to call penalties on Chicago's Brandon Saad and Detroit's Kyle Quincey. "It's an amazing feeling to win a series like that," said Chicago captain Jonathan Toews. "It was huge for our confidence, and huge for everyone in this room to believe in what we can do." Toews addressed the team after regulation, simply reminding everyone that losing Hjalmarsson's goal wasn't the end of their season. "We were not going to go away that way," Toews said. The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 2010, but they have changed over more than half of the team since then. Toews said not everyone on the roster understood the team's full potential before this series. SCHEDULE: Conference final times, TV "But you really, really have to believe in what you can do, and how good you can be," Toews said. "And you have to put it in action on the ice if you want to accomplish that. Not everyone was believing, but they are now." 679352 Websites

USA TODAY / Subplots spice up Bruins-Penguins conference final

Kevin Allen, USA TODAY Sports12:04 p.m. EDT May 29, 2013

Five subplots that make the Boston Bruins-Pittsburgh Penguins Eastern Conference finals even more interesting: 1. The Jaromir Jagr story: Jagr played his first 11 seasons with Pittsburgh, developing into an NHL superstar. The Penguins thought they were going to get him back when he decided to leave the Kontinental Hockey League and return to the NHL in 2011. The Penguins made what they thought was a good offer, but Jagr opted to sign with their archrival, the Philadelphia Flyers, for more money. HOMECOMING: Jagr returns to Pittsburgh Jagr signed with the Dallas Stars as a free agent last summer, and Boston acquired him in April to bolster its offense in the playoffs. But Jagr has no goals in 12 playoff games. 2. Cornering the market: The Bruins and Penguins were interested in obtaining Brenden Morrow and Jarome Iginla in trades, and the Penguins won both bidding wars. The Iginla situation was particularly stressful, because Boston was told it had the winning offer, but Iginla, who had a no- trade clause, preferred to go to Pittsburgh. Morrow is being hampered by an injury, but Iginla has four goals and eight assists in 11 playoff games for Pittsburgh. 3. Blaming the Cooke: The career of Bruins center Marc Savard essentially was ended by a head hit from Penguins forward Matt Cooke in 2010. Cooke's hit on Savard would warrant a suspension under today's rules, but it was legal at the time. After a season-ending suspension for another infraction in 2010-11, Cooke altered his game with the hope of staying away from further suspensions. Boston broadcaster Jack Edwards recently took a shot at Cooke, referencing the fact that the Pittsburgh news media had nominated Cooke for the Masterton Trophy (for dedication and perseverance) last season for his attempts at reforming his playing style. "Nominating Cooke for the Masterton is about the equivalent of nominating (Robert F. Kennedy assassin) Sirhan Sirhan as the prisoner of the year," Edwards said during a broadcast. "An outrageous lack of judgment on the part of the Pittsburgh press." Edwards later apologized. 4. Small defenseman, big impact: Rookie Torey Krug, who stands 5-9 on his tallest day, played one regular-season game for the Bruins this season. But he has four goals and an assist in five playoff games. The former Michigan State player had 13 goals and 32 assists in 63 games with Providence (R.I.) in the American Hockey League. SCHEDULE: Times, TV for series The Bruins have benefited from defensemen scoring in these playoffs: Johnny Boychuk also has four goals in 12 games after scoring once in 44 games during the regular season. 5. Penguins fly on offense: The Penguins (8-3) have scored 46 goals in 11 playoff games. That's an average of 4.18 a game. That's Mario Lemieux-era scoring. But the Penguins haven't come close to playing their best hockey. They are being outshot during the playoffs and have given up too many high-quality scoring chances. USA TODAY LOADED: 05.30.2013 679353 Websites to call coincidental roughing minors on Quincey and Saad about the time Hjalmarsson wound up to shoot. “You don’t know what’s going on behind you, so you just try and engage YAHOO SPORTS / No goal, no problem: Blackhawks shake off with the guy,” Quincey said. “It was getting to the point where he called the questionable call, Seabrook scores Game 7 winner in OT penalty. He had to call the penalty, I guess. We were going back and forth. I guess it worked in our favor there.”

3 hours ago That’s an understatement. Nicholas J. Cotsonika “Buffalo Wild Wings at it again!!!” tweeted Toronto Maple Leafs forward Tyler Bozak, referring to the TV commercial in which the restaurant fixes games so they can last longer and patrons can hang out more.

CHICAGO — The whistle blew, but few heard it. There is no question Walkom blew his whistle before Hjalmarsson scored, and there is no question that nullified the goal. The question is why Walkom The 'Hawks were irate when they had a goal waved off late in the third blew his whistle at all (and why the officiating has been so suspect period, but responded like champions. ( …Defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson throughout these playoffs). What did Saad do to deserve a penalty? Why had fired the puck into the net Wednesday night, and it looked like the wasn’t it a delayed call on Detroit? Why wasn’t play allowed to proceed? Chicago Blackhawks had pulled ahead of the Detroit Red Wings, 2-1, with 1:47 left in the third period of Game 7. It looked like they were 107 seconds “I just grabbed onto the guy so I didn’t fall into the bench,” Saad said. “I was from the Western Conference final. “Chelsea Dagger” played. The fans shocked when the linesman told me I was going to the box.” celebrated. The United Center shook. [Watch: Brent Seabrook delivers in Game 7 OT to send 'Hawks to West Except the whistle blew, and after a moment, everyone realized it. final] Penalty call. No goal. Former NHL referee Kerry Fraser tweeted that Saad’s “weak” glove back at Quincey “did not equate as a coincidental minor. Play should have been Hjalmarsson said he “went blank” because he was “so mad.” Captain allowed [to] continue.” Jonathan Toews said there was “violent emotion” on the Blackhawks’ bench and he couldn’t repeat what came out of his mouth. “We were pretty upset,” Seabrook said. “I was right behind Hammer, so I didn’t even see what happened. But it sucks when a goal like that with that “To be honest,” said defenseman Brent Seabrook, “we thought it should much time left gets called back.” have been game over and series over.” The Wings showed something despite blowing a 3-1 lead in this series. Eventually, it was game over, series over. Seabrook ended up scoring 3:35 They weren’t necessarily supposed to make the playoffs this season after into overtime when his wicked wrist shot glanced off the shinpad of Wings losing all-time great Nicklas Lidstrom to retirement. They won their final four defenseman Niklas Kronwall and into the net. This time, there was no games and made the playoffs, anyway. They upset the second-seeded whistle. This time, the goal counted. This time, it really was Chicago 2, Anaheim Ducks in seven games and took the top-seeded Blackhawks to Detroit 1. overtime of a seventh game. Refusing to fade away, the Wings showed they still have a future. [Watch: Niklas Hjalmarsson's Game 7 'winner' waved off due to penalty call] But they didn’t get the next goal. Seabrook did. Still, this was a test for the Blackhawks – a gut-wrenching, nerve-wracking test that will be part of the lore if they go on to win the Stanley Cup. “Bullet dodged!” Fraser tweeted. The Blackhawks were never tested in the regular season. They didn’t lose Apparently he was referring to Walkom. But he could have been referring to in regulation in their first 24 games, an NHL record, and won the Presidents’ the Blackhawks. Trophy for posting 77 points, No. 1 in the league. They weren’t really tested in the first round of the playoffs, beating the Minnesota Wild in five games. “Sometimes your heart kind of sinks a little bit and you tend to sit back on They beat the Wings in Game 1 of the second round, 4-1. your heels,” Toews said. “We keep saying, ‘Bounce back. Don’t worry about it. Take a deep breath. Keep working.’ That’s what we were going to do Then they lost three games in a row for the first time all year, and they were there. We didn’t let that bother us. We didn’t think about what could have shut out for the first time all year in Game 4. The second-best offense in the been. We just knew that we needed to score another one.” NHL could not crack goaltender Jimmy Howard. Because they did, they not only advanced to play the Los Angeles Kings, “When you’re down 3-1,” said defenseman Duncan Keith, “the odds are the defending Stanley Cup champions. They gained the feeling that they against you.” can beat anybody, at any time, no matter what happens. Chicago got another chance at a Game 7 celebration when Brent Seabrook “It’s not the way you want to win a series, going down three games to one scored early in overtime. (AP)After a dominant victory in Game 5 at home, and having to come back like that,” Toews said. “But you do what you’ve the Blackhawks found themselves trailing by a goal entering the third period got to do, and we dug deep and found a way. To come out on top given the of Game 6 on the road. They took advantage of two defensive mistakes by situation we were in three games ago, it’s pretty amazing. It just goes to Wings rookie Brendan Smith and a penalty shot, and they eked out a 4-3 show the character we have, on top of the ability and the potential this team victory. has. Now this. Game 7. The first Game 7 between these old Norris and Central “So looking forward, we need to use that ability and use that confidence Division rivals since 1965, when Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita were players at that winning a series like this give us. Regardless of the situation, we keep Chicago Stadium and not retirees with statues outside United Center. One our eyes on the long-term result that we want, and we keep pushing last tussle before the Wings head east next season in realignment. through every moment. It’s never over until it’s over, and we proved that in this series.” The Blackhawks took a 1-0 lead in the second period; the Wings tied it early in the third. The ’Hawks looked tense; the Wings looked loose. As the YAHOO.COM LOADED: 05.30.2013 seconds ticked down, the game was getting to the point where one play would decide it – whether it was a great play, a bad play, a freak play or a bad call. As Blackhawks forward Brandon Saad played the puck into the Detroit zone, Wings defenseman Kyle Quincey shoved him into the Detroit bench. Saad wrapped an arm around Quincey’s helmet, and Quincey threw Saad to the ice. Referee Stephen Walkom, once the NHL’s director of officiating, skated behind the play with a view of the action in front of him. He blew his whistle 679354 Websites It didn’t help that expectations were higher than ever before, that Gaborik and Richards struggled, and that Marc Staal suffered an eye injury. Tortorella was partly to blame for Gaborik’s problems, benching him, YAHOO SPORTS / Rangers fire bully bench boss John Tortorella for all the moving him from right wing to left wing and back again, alienating him. right reasons Gaborik was traded at the deadline – to Columbus, in exchange for depth pieces, like the Nash deal in reverse. Richards just didn’t show up ready to play and made himself a candidate for a compliance buyout.

10 hours ago The power play ranked 23rd at 15.7 percent for the second straight season, and the Rangers scored less (2.62 goals per game) than they did in 2011- Nicholas J. Cotsonika 12 (2.71), giving Lundqvist even less margin for error. Most alarming, they didn’t outwork everyone consistently anymore. Their identity was gone. They looked worn out. It all added up. John Tortorella can be a jerk. Maybe he hugs kids and pets dogs and Though they made the playoffs and won a seven-game series with the supports charities away from the rink, but that doesn’t make him Washington Capitals in the first round, they were no match for the Boston misunderstood. Far too often he chooses to represent himself and his Bruins in the second round, losing in five games. Youngster Chris Kreider organization as curt, condescending and profane. He intimidates and added a spark when finally given an opportunity, but that made Tortorella embarrasses not just reporters, but players and officials and goodness look bad because he had kicked him around and buried him in the minors. knows who else. That makes him understood all too well. Nash was a bust. Richards, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the The Rangers took a step backwards this season, costing John Tortorella his playoffs’ most valuable player under Tortorella in 2004, was scratched from job. (Getty)That is why so many people are piling on now that he has been the final two games – an “organizational decision,” in Sather’s words. fired as the coach of the New York Rangers. It’s like the bully on the Lundqvist, with one season left on his contract, made headlines with non- playground just got his comeuppance, and suddenly the schoolkids are committal comments about his future with the team. unafraid to express what they really feel as he sniffs and wipes the blood off “It’s a trying job,” Sather said. “It’s something that you just have to take day his nose. It’s even sweeter that general manager Glen Sather said by day with every coach. You never know how long it’s going to last or how Tortorella was “a little bit shocked.” What a punch to the gut it must have long it’s going to work.” been. Tortorella’s fatal error was not his failure to adjust his personal style; it was But that is not why Tortorella was fired. He might be a bully, but he will be his failure to adjust his playing style. But nobody likes a bully, and it’s back as soon as another team decides it needs a bully – a bully with a harder to tolerate one when you’re not meeting expectations. Being a jerk Stanley Cup ring and a Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s coach of the year. makes everyone turn on you faster, inside and outside the room. Maybe You don’t need the media to like you. You don’t need the players to like with a full training camp, a full exhibition season and a full 82-game regular you. The conventional wisdom is that you need the players to respect you, season, Tortorella could have had a fair chance to change. But if Richards and that certainly helps, but you might not even need that. is gone and Lundqvist is uncertain, if good candidates are available, it’s However you do it, you need to get the most out of your players, and you easier and cleaner just to change coaches. need to win. Bottom line: Tortorella wasn’t getting the most out of his Sather said he couldn’t predict what the new coach’s system would be like, players anymore. He wasn’t winning enough anymore. He wasn’t trending but he’d like to take the best elements from the best teams in the league. In toward the Cup anymore, and there was reason to question whether he was other words, not too soft or too hard, not too offensive or too defensive, not the best man for the job going forward, especially when the Rangers might too veteran or too young. Sather needs to find someone who can do what be able to hire Alain Vigneault, Lindy Ruff or possibly Dave Tippett – all Tortorella didn’t. Let the talent shine and the grinders grind. Fix the power Jack Adams winners themselves. play, score more, keep playing defense and take pressure off Lundqvist. “Every coach has a shelf life,” Sather said. And, yeah, show some class, too. Every GM has a shelf life, too. Sather will turn 70 before next season and is YAHOO.COM LOADED: 05.30.2013 far removed from his glory days, when Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier won him all those Cups in Edmonton. He has led the Rangers since 2000 and has made his share of bad decisions. But this isn’t one of them. After years of collecting big names and failing to generate big results, the Rangers have built the right way in the salary-cap era. They have drafted and developed a core of young players. They have supplemented it through trades and free-agent signings. Tortorella was right for the Rangers when they needed to build an identity and a hard-working, shot-blocking style fit their personnel, with gritty guys like Ryan Callahan and Dan Girardi leading the crew in front of world-class goalie Henrik Lundqvist. It’s not like Tortorella didn’t know how to play high-tempo hockey. When he won the Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004, his motto was “safe is death.” It’s not like scorers didn’t want to play for him and couldn’t put up numbers in his system. Marian Gaborik and Brad Richards both signed as free agents while he was the Rangers’ coach. Gaborik had 41- and 42-goal seasons under him. Richards had 25 goals and 66 points last season. It’s not like young players didn’t respond to him, either. The Rangers finished first in the East last season with 109 points and went to the conference final. Tortorella was a Jack Adams finalist. Tortorella didn't really have the time or opportunity to overhaul the Rangers' style this season. (Reuters)But then the Rangers changed their look in the off-season, trading for Rick Nash to add offense, losing pieces like Brandon Prust in the process. With Nash and up-and-coming scorers like Derek Stepan – and with less depth and grit – the Rangers should have shifted from sitting back and blocking shots toward attacking and taking shots. They didn’t, and as it turned out, safe was death. Tortorella either would not change because of stubbornness or could not change because of the lockout. He had a week of training camp, no exhibitions and little practice time during the season, not exactly ideal conditions for an overhaul.