Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images

The following analysis was taken from the show.

Columbus receives: Jack Johnson, a conditional first round pick

Los Angeles Receives: Jeff Carter

Tale of the tape:

Jack Johnson: age 25, under contract until 2017-18 at a cap hit of $4.35 million per season.

Jeff Carter: age 27, under contract until 2021-22 at a cap hit of $5.27 million per season.

This is a trade that must be looked at through two different perspectives. The first is looking at the trade as a single trade. The second view is to look at it on a whole, meaning, Columbus effectively traded Jakub Voracek and the 8^th overall pick (Sean Couturier).

Off the ice, the reasons for trading Carter were about his contract, and his character, says Illegal Curve Hockey Show analyst Richard Pollock:

“I don’t think Columbus did as badly as I thought they would have, because there was no market for Jeff Carter. It was restricted by the fact he has ten years left on his deal, which restricted him to a couple of teams, and other teams were concerned about his character.”

“The market for him was very small, the fact they were able to get the first round pick, and Jack Johnson, who’s game I have concerns about, but does have potential, was fine work by GM Scott Howson on an evaluation of just this trade. If they can nail the draft pick, they can make it look like an all around good deal.”

“Jeff Carter is a good skater, a good stickhandler, he’s got a terrific shot, he can distribute the puck, but he’s not great at it. He’s good defensively, he can play in all situations, he’s an all around really good player.”

Host of the Illegal Curve Hockey Show Drew Mindell added, “he’s a regular 30 goal scorer, which doesn’t ocme easily.”

Pollock continued on Jack Johnson saying, “he’s as good of a skater as Zach Bogosian, good slapshot, good offensive talent, can join the rush. His hockey sense and defensive awareness leave much to be desired.”

In terms of contracts, Johnson’s is more favourable to Carter’s, as it is for less years and money, he is also younger, and defenseman tend to peak at a later age.

Pollock was not in favour of the deal overall, and would not pick a winner. It was a move of desperation for both teams.

Columbus receives: 2^nd round pick in 2012, conditional 5^th in 2013 and Curtis McElhinney

Phoenix receives: Antoine Vermette (age 29, under contract until 2014-15 at a cap hit of $3.75 million per season)

Off the ice: It is interesting to note that this is a salary dump by Columbus, who is assuredly losing money this season, to the NHL owned Phoenix Coyotes.

Antoine Vermette is a limited player offensively, he skates well, and can handle the puck, but is not a point producer (27 points in 62 games this season). Vermette is a player who is better defensively than offensively.

Columbus is shedding a bad contract, at $3.75 million with three years remaining is a lot for a guy who is not a point producer. The value that they are receiving in this deal is in the 2^nd round pick, as well as the removal of his contract on the salary cap. The Blue Jackets can fill the hole left by Vermette with players such as RJ Umberger, Derick Brassard and the return they get for Rick Nash (assuming he is traded before next season).

Curtis McElhinney is a throw in, a back up goalie who’s been injured all year. He is not the answer for Columbus’ goaltending situation.

From a Phoenix perspective, they are getting a player who fits well into their system. Phoenix loads up on veterans who buy into their boring trap style system. Vermette’s speed can create pressure on the opposition and he can play in all situations. He is a “tweener” a 2^nd or 3^rd line player, and on the Coyotes squad he will play a bigger role. He fits the veteran defensively responsible type player that coach Dave Tippett wants.

This is a good move for both teams.

New Jersey Receives: Marek Zidlicky (age 35, cap hit of $4 million until 2012-13)

Minnesota Receives: Kurtis Foster, Nick Palmieri, Stephane Veilleux, a 2^nd round pick In 2012, a conditional 3^rd round pick in 2013 (if New Jersey makes the conference finals this season or next).

New Jersey is filling a need by getting an offensively talented defenseman who can skate and move the puck. From watching New Jersey this season, it is easy to tell they are missing an offensive defenseman. Players such as Anton Volchenkov, Henrik Tallinder and Bryce Salvador are defensive types who can block shots and hit. They did not have a guy with the ability to lead the power play and move the puck out of the defensive zone well enough.

Zidlicky should have no problem fitting into the dressing room with fellow countrymen Petr Sykora and Patrik Elias. He’s signed for next season at $4 million, which is a lot, but offensive defenseman like Zidlicky don’t grow on trees.

Minnesota was in a situation where they were not playing Zidlicky, and he fell out of favor with Coach Mike Yeo.  They receive ex-Wild Kurtis Foster who’s contract comes off the books next season, he is a big body who can chip in with his point shot.

Stephane Veilleux , also an ex-Wild is 13^th forward and his contract expires after the season.

Nick Palmieri has the potential to be a 3^rd or 4^th line player for Minnesota.

Comparing the deal to the Hal Gill deal, the Predators gave up a 2^nd round pick and Blake Geoffrion for Hal Gill. Because the Foster and Veilleux contracts expire at the end of the season, the Devils gave up Nick Palmieri and a 2^nd round pick. If they do reach the conference finals, they will be happy to relinquish the 3^rd round pick.

This is an even trade for both teams.

Colorado receives: Steve Downie

Tampa Bay receives: 1^st round pick from Detroit.

Detroit receives: Kyle Quincey

While this was two separate trades by Tampa Bay GM Steve Yzerman, it should be looked at as one move.

The trades Yzerman has made leading up to the deadline show that the former Detroit Red Wing is ascending up the ranks as one of the top GMs in the NHL.  He is aware that his team is not a Stanley Cup Contender this season and is selling off assets in order to build for the future. As of February 26, 2012, Tampa Bay now has six picks in the first two rounds of the 2012 draft.  The net result of this trade is that Tampa Bay receives Detroit’s first round pick in exchange for Steve Downie.

Detroit adds depth to their defense in Kyle Quincey. Quincey who was drafted by Detroit in 2003 is a player who skate well, can move the puck, but isn’t the most physical. He is brought in to play the 3^rd defense pairing with Jonathan Ericsson, which should take some pressure off of rookie Jakub Kindl. He  fits into Detroit’s system,  and will be an RFA after this season so they will be able to retain him.

Colorado receives Steve Downie who gives their team some much added toughness. He’s a player who can get in your face, go to the net, hit, and move around in the lineup. While he doesn’t have great hands, he can provide 10-15 goals and 30-35 points. Ideally, he’s a 3^rd line right winger. Downey will be an RFA after this season.

A reasonable deal for all sides.

Philadelphia receives: Pavel Kubina

Tampa Bay receives: Jon Kalinski, 2^nd round pick in 2012 or 2013, 4^th round pick in 2013.

This is a depth acquisition by Philadelphia, which may not have been completely necessary, but he is a big body who fits in well with the Flyers team.

Steve Yzerman is stockpiling picks and building for the future.

The bottom line: An even deal.

Florida receives: Jerrod Smithson (age 33, under contract until 2012-13 for $800,000)

Nashville receives: 6^th round draft pick in 2012

Jerrod Smithson is a 4^th line centre who is better than incumbent John Madden. He is a depth acquisition, whose skill lies in winning draws, playing a defensively responsible and killing penalties. Smithson won’t be counted on to provide offense.

Nashville is a well run club and if hey are giving away players for 6^th round picks, this means they have no use for Smithson. His $800,000 salary will come off the books for next season, making this a quasi-salary dump. The Predators are looking to make a run for the cup this season, the trade also opens up a roster spot for additional moves.

This isn’t a significant move, that shouldn’t be overrated.

Tune in to TSN 1290 all day on trade deadline Monday for round the clock coverage. Drew Mindell and Richard Pollock of the Illegal Curve Hockey Show will be on from 12pm-4pm breaking down all the trades, as well as previewing the Winnipeg Jets contest against the Edmonton Oilers.

Semyon Varlamov

Matt Duchene

Coach Sacco

Thanks to Trevor Rinn for the Avs (Duchene & Varlamov) audio.

Central Division

• If this is just Marian Hossa’s adjustment period, it will be scary to see what he can do at full steam, writes Chris Kuc.  “I think we can learn off some of the things he does with and going into puck areas. A lot of good things happen when he’s on the ice,” said coach Joel Quenneville about Hossa’s presence.
• Derick Brassard lacks a bit of confidence so far this season, explains Tom Reed.  One of Derek MacKenzie or Mike Blunden could find themselves going through waivers this week.  Here are the Blue Jackets’ projected lines for tonight’s game.
• Valtteri Filppula had his cast removed on Tuesday and is slated to return later this month.  With many injuries on the team, Justin Abdelkader has been given more responsibility and coach Mike Babcock has been happy with his play.
• Martin Erat recorded a hat trick last night, which prompted Barry Trotz to talk about the value of getting shots on net, as the Predators defeated the visiting Canucks.  Meanwhile, the Predators are hoping Jerred Smithson’s penalty on Alexandre Burrows is rescinded.
• Many Blues have had scoring trouble this season, so coach Andy Murray had his team practice hitting the goalie and going to the net on Tuesday.

Northeast Division

• Playing without Robyn Regehr has been the Flames’ downfall in the past, so Flames fans have to be hoping that his injury isn’t serious.  Colby Armstrong will have many family members in the Saddledome tonight when the Thrashers visit the Flames.
• Joe Sacco was happy enough with his club on Tuesday that he gave them the day off, explains Terry Frei.
• Jim Matheson answers reader’s questions in the Edmonton Journal.  Lubomir Visnovky and Ladislav Smid have developed some nice chemistry on the Oilers’ back-end.  Jeff Deslauriers has played well enough that he’s made people stop asking when Nikolai Khabibulin is returning to the lineup.
• Mikko Koivu was many people’s pick for Wild captain prior to the season and he is sure proving his worth in that position, explains Michael Russo.
• “Right now we have guys who can play a lot better, who have to play a lot better,” said an angry Alain Vigneault after yesterday’s loss to Nashville.  Mikael Samuelsson was so unhappy after the game that he refused to talk to the media.  When is Cody Hodgson going to return from a back injury?

Pacific Division

• Just when you had the Ducks written off, the team stormed back from a three-goal deficit and pulled out an important overtime victory at home against Dallas, writes Eric Stephens.  With Teemu Selanne injured, both Bobby Ryan and Joffrey Lupul will be counted on to carry the load.
• “That can’t happen, it just can’t happen,” said Stars captain Brenden Morrow after the team blew a 3-0 road lead to Anaheim.  Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News likes what he’s seen from youngster Ivan Vishnevskiy.
• Wayne Simmonds has taken advantage of the opportunities that coach Terry Murray has provided for him this season in Los Angeles.
• There are a number of reasons why the Coyotes are surprising the NHL, but strong penalty killing is definitely one of them.
• After some early season struggles, Ryane Clowe has found his game in the Bay Area.

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Apparently, Avalanche fans are going to need a little more proof that their team is as good as its record before they start showing up in larger numbers.

The smallest crowd in Avs history witnessed Colorado’s Western Conference-leading 11th win and 24th point Wednesday night, a 4-1 triumph over the Phoenix Coyotes. The announced attendance of 11,012 was more than 2,000 fewer than the previous low crowd, but that didn’t stop the Avs from staying perfect (5-0) on home ice.

“Our job is just to go out and play hockey and our job is to provide entertainment for our fans,” Avs coach Joe Sacco said. “I think that we’ve done a good job of that this year so far.”

Terry Frei said just three days ago that the Avalanche’s early season success was a bigger story in Canada than it was in Denver.  Well, I guess it is fair to say that he wasn’t kidding.  That is all I could think of when I read Dater’s numbers that you see above. 

Now, attendance is a touchy subject, especially with the economy as it is.  You never want to tell people how to spend their hard earned money, but these numbers are extremely surprising.  First, the economy was bad last year, and the Avs were worse, yet last night’s crowd was the worst of all-time.  That boggles my mind; especially considering the Avs’ amazing start.  Sure Avs fans may not believe this team is for real, and in that respect they are not alone, but can’t at least 12,000 fans come out to cheer this team on?

After taking a look at the Avalanche’s ticket prices, you can get tickets in the upper deck for tomorrow’s game against the Hawks for $38.00 each.  Sure that isn’t cheap, but it isn’t outlandish for a hockey game. 

Is Denver a good hockey market?  I think so.  But this city needs to show its support for the team when it isn’t winning–and let’s admit, the area was spoiled with successful Avalanche teams for a long time.  If the Avs keep winning and the fans continue to stay away, that will be a big concern for the NHL.

Strangely enough, my colleague David chose the same issue to write his Morning Papers Take on.  Here is David’s opinion:

The Avs are a 1st place team but only drawing 25th overall with an average so far this season of 14,759 fans.

Now a number of Avs fans have come to their team’s defense suggesting that there were a number of factors involved in last night’s poor attendance, namely;   high ticket prices, it was a mid week game, possible World Series clinching game on TV, Phoenix Coyotes in town, ownership dumping salary in the offseason and finally these were the 2 worst teams in the Western Conference last season.

The average ticket price for Colorado is around $71.  While many are pleasantly surprised by the Avalanche’s current position, the fact of the matter is this was a 15th place team last season and Colorado didn’t factor that into their ticket pricing.  Combine that with the poor economy, poor season ticket sales as many expected this team to be re-building and you get an exciting, 1st place team with only 11,000 in the stands.  Ownership made a mistake not factoring same into its pricing structure this summer.

Let’s be honest. The Colorado Avalanche had a worse year than Pauly Shore last year. After finishing in last place in the entire Western Conference during the 2008/09 regular season (that’s right, that’s how bad it got), Colorado basically pulled a General Motors and slashed a huge portion of their managerial and coaching staff, albeit at various stages.  Greg Sherman was summoned to replace Francois Giguere as the team’s new general manager and ex-NHLer Joe Sacco was brought in to replace Tony Granato as head coach (Patrick Roy is still trying to find himself). The task ahead for these two men is not that daunting except when you factor in the whole rebuilding of a hockey franchise thing.

In addition, Hall of Famer and Colorado Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques icon Joe Sakic decided to hang up his skates this summer after 20 seasons with the franchise, a huge blow to a team that was hoping that by some miracle, Sakic could drink a magic elixir, sign on for one more year and return to his usual 100-point form.  Unfortunately, Burnaby Joe’s mid-season injury last year was a sign of bleaker things to come for the storied Colorado Avalanche franchise, who missed the playoffs last year for the first time since moving from Quebec City in 1995.

The new men in charge of the Avalanche are going to have to learn to be patient this season because this team will undoubtedly experience a sharp learning curve. How could they not, knowing that their supreme leader Joe Sakic, and his heir apparent, Ryan Smyth will not be around this year.  Yes, I know, Center Paul Statsny is a fantastic player and is at the right stage of his career to take over this team, but what about the rest of this group? The Avalanche have been gutted (eight regulars from last year are gone) and the remaining parts leave much to be desired.

Forwards

Would it be wrong to say that keeping Tyler Arnason might have actually been a smart move?  Maybe not, because when you look at the forward depth chart for the Avalanche, it quickly becomes easy to find holes and question marks on almost every line.

The number-1 triumvirate of Paul Stastny between Wojtek Wolski and Milan Hejduk is a respectable National Hockey League line but it is not exactly Ryan-Getzlaf-Perry is it? Hejduk led the Avalanche in scoring last season with (yikes!) 59 points and although Wolski is a crafty winger, he struggled mightily last year when Joe Sakic and Paul Statsny when down with lengthy injuries. Clearly, Paul Stastny will be counted on as the offensive catalyst for this line, and the entire team for that matter.  Stastny has excellent vision on the ice and has a genetic predisposition for finding the back of the net on a nightly basis. If he stays healthy, Stastny has the potential to register 100 points this season, and he may very well have to, as the void left by Sakic and Smyth is huge.

The success of Colorado’s forward group this season will have a lot to do with how well Joe Sacco and his coaching staff micro-manage the team’s uber-young second, third and fourth lines. There is some talent here, no question. Veteran Marek Svatos, Sophomore T.J Hensick and gritty winger Cody McLeod will most likely form the team’s second line, although it is difficult to tell at this point, as Sacco will tinker with his lines significantly beginning in training camp later this week. After that, Darcy Tucker, Chris Stewart, rookie center T.J Galiardi, and David Jones will form part of the team’s third and fourth lines.  The wild card here is 2009 1st Round Draft Pick Matt Duchene, a two-way forward who played with the Brampton Battalion of the Ontario Hockey league last season (57 games played, 31 goals, 48 assists, 79 points). The Avalanche were ecstatic to land Duchene at the Entry Draft in Montreal at the third overall position as they feel he might be a better all-around player than No.1 selection John Tavares.  Duchene will be given every opportunity to make the team this year as will University of Minnesota prospect Ryan Stoa.

Grade of Forwards: C+

Defensemen

Colorado has a lot of experience on defence but the team is lacking on speed and skill. Adam Foote, Scott Hannan and Ruslan Salei are grizzled veterans to be sure, but the physical component of the game is their specialty. American rearguard John-Michael Liles is Colorado’s No.1 quarterback on the power play and he will benefit from the acquisition of Kyle Quincey from Los Angeles, who enjoys the power play himself.  Quincey had a career year in 2008’09 in Hollywood (38 points) and has developed into a fantastic breakout passer. Tom Preissing, was also acquired in the Ryan Smyth trade, will look to rebound from an injury-plagued season. Preissing usually posts between 35-45 points so he should add some offensive flair to a group that will spend most of the time in their own zone this season.

Grade of Defensemen: B

Goalie

Former Florida Panther Craig Anderson is the man in the Mile High city this year and he may see more rubber than a Colorado highway if all indications are accurate. The 28-year-old has always been relegated to 1A status during his career in the National Hockey League, but this year should be different as Peter Budaj  proved last year that he is not ready to be an everyday NHL goaltender, instead preferring to serve in a back-up role.  Anderson is a big, stand-up goalie who likes to handle the puck and get involved in his crease.  His .924 save percentage last season is pretty impressive when you consider the team he played for.  Budaj signed a one-year contract in the off-season and may split duties with Anderson early on, but NHL coaches are starting to steer away from this approach as it often has detrimental consequences.

Grade of Goaltenders: B

Overall

The Avalanche are not going to make the playoffs this year and the shelves have been left bare by a franchise that has preached win-now for the last decade-and-a-half. It will be interesting to see if talented prospects Matt Duchene and Ryan Stoa can make an impact in their rookie years.

Final Prediction (ceiling): 4th in Northwest Division, 12th in the Western  Conference, and a very interesting year ahead in the Rockies.

(floor): 5th in Northwest division, 14th in the Western Conference

The Colorado Avalanche have traded Ryan Smyth to the Los Angeles Kings for defencemen Kyle Quincey, Tom Preissing and a fifth-round pick.

Read the full story here.

After losing out on several big UFA’s this week, the Kings finally make a splash and acquire Captain Canada, who at 33 isn’t getting any younger, but is exactly the type of player this young Kings team needs.  Quincey put up 38 points in his breakout season and was the key piece in this deal for Colorado.

NHL

• The Thrashers have signed Nikolai Antropov to a 4 year, $16 million contract.  As well, the team also re-signed Chris Thorburn.  A lot of cash to be throwing at Antropov but really not out of line with the ridiculous spending we’ve already seen the past day and a half.  Antropov gets a lock of criticism but he can be a 25 goal scorer and 60 point player in Atlanta. 
• Mark Recchi has re-signed in Boston for 1 year, $1 million.  Good signing for both sides.  It is reasonable and gives Recchi another shot at the Cup.
• The Flames have signed Riley Armstrong and Garth Murray.  Murray is a plugger who will help to fill out the two-way roster.  Armstrong is also a depth player but he has a bit more scoring touch.
• James Gordon of the Ottawa Citizen asks why the Oilers would even want Dany Heatley?  Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Team Canada

• As Neil mentioned early today, Marc Savard has not been invited by Hockey Canada to the team’s training camp in August.   I like Marc Savard as a player but his representation of Canada has not exactly been exemplary.  Additionally, would he slot in ahead of Crosby, Getzlaf, Richards, Lecavalier or Staal on your team?  It is arguable, but I don’t think he would.
• The Hurricanes will be represented at Team Canada’s camp with Eric Staal and Cam Ward in attendance.  Both worthy invites.
• Ryan Smyth and Joe Sakic have been invited from Colorado.  The question is, will Joe Sakic be playing hockey next season?
• Rick Nash and Steve Mason have been invited from Columbus.  As I said yesterday, Nash’s value will sky-rocket after the Olympics, so Columbus better get him signed before.
• Brenden Morrow and Stephane Robidas have been invited from Dallas.  As Heika says, a big boost in confidence for Robidas.
• The injured Brent Burns has been invited from Minnesota.  If healthy, I think he has a real shot but concussions are tricky to deal with.
• Mike Green was the only Capitals player invited.  He better shore up his defense if he wants to be in Vancouver for the tournament.
• No Steve Stamkos invite from Team Canada.  Still too young and too many good centers ahead of him.  He’ll gets his chance down the road.

New Colorado Avalanche general manager Greg Sherman has apparently wasted no time in hiring a head coach.

According to the Denver Post, the club will announce the hiring of former player Joe Sacco at a 2pm pt news conference.

The move comes just one day after Sherman was named the new general manager of the team and that previous head coach Tony Granato had been fired.

Sacco has spent the last two seasons as a coach for the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League.  Last season, the Monsters won 34 games and finished out of the playoffs with 76 points.

Read the full article here

Instant analysis: Obviously, new Avs GM Greg Sherman thinks very highly of the opinion of columnist Woody Paige. If you missed it earlier this morning in the Morning Papers, Woody Paige opined that the Avs should not hire Sacco, deeming him unsuited for the head coaching position in the NHL. I can’t argue with him necessarily, as if he wasn’t able to lead the Avs farm team to success in the AHL, what evidence is there that he will be able to do so in the big leagues with a minor league roster? I suspect that Sacco is working for relatively cheap, which may have been an influence in this hiring. Really though, if I was Joe Sacco, given the talent around him on the Avs, I would be renting and not buying in the Denver area.

The Colorado Avalanche parted ways with head coach Tony Granato and five other members of the franchise’s hockey operations staff on Wednesday.

The Avalanche also relieved assistant coaches Jacques Cloutier and Dave Barr, goaltending coach Jeff Hackett, assistant to the general manager Michel Goulet and video coordinator PJ DeLuca of their respective duties.

In another move, Greg Sherman will be named the new general manager of the club. Sherman had been serving as the team’s assistant GM.

Read the entire article here.

This comes as a surprise to no one, after the Avalanche’s fairly transparent pursuit of Patrick Roy to run the show in the Rockies.  The way Granato has been treated by the Avalanche organization leaves much to be desired.  Say what you will about his coaching ability, and we’ll get to that in a second, but he is a class act and always has been.  He deserved better treatment throughout the past few weeks and should resurface with another organization as an assistant coach fairly quickly.

In terms of his coaching ability, I have to admit I was not a fan of Granato’s work the first time around in Colorado.  I felt he didn’t play to his team’s offensive strengths and shifted around his lines far too often.  However, this time around was a different story.  He was never given a fair shot.  Granato had to deal with injuries to centers Paul Stastny and Joe Sakic and was saddled with two netminders that would not have started on any other NHL teams last season. 

When taking all of that into account, the fact Granato was released after one season behind the bench makes little sense.  What were the Avalanche’s expectations last season?  Obviously they didn’t think they’d be as bad as they were, but the playoffs were really not realistic.  While some may point to the fact that he was Francois Giguere’s guy, and Giguere has been fired, the fact is he was Pierre Lacroix’s guy the first time around. 

You have to believe Granato is better off moving on to another organization.

• Luck played a factor in yesterday’s result, writes Mitch Albom.  With Game 2 tonight, Albom believes the Penguins saw many signs that gave them confidence heading into Sunday night.  Last night had to be frustrating for Pittsburgh, explains Bob Wojnowski.  Dave Dye says Marc-Andre Fleury wasn’t as sharp as Chris Osgood.  Jonathan Ericsson probably wouldn’t have played had this been a regular season game.
• The Penguins probably deserved to win on Saturday but a few bad bounces led to a Game 1 loss, writes Dave Molinari.  Pittsburgh needs to be a lot better in the face-off circle.  Penguins coach Dan Bylsma made sure to reinforce to his team that they should not be in awe of the high-powered Red Wings.  In a rare appearance, Mario Lemieux spoke to the media yesterday.  (Writer’s note: Mario looks like he can still play.)  The Penguins’ fans sure travel well.

Teams that are not in the playoffs

• Terry Frei says that Avalanche coach Tony Granato would be fighting a losing battle if he coached the team next season.
• Damien Cox likes the fact that the game can take some of the spotlight away from the NHL’s off-ice problems.
• Gary Bettman wants to see stronger drug testing in the NHL, writes Corey Masisak of the Washington Times.

Sunday special articles

• Fluto Shinzawa subs in for Kevin Paul Dupont in this week’s edition of Hockey Notes from the Boston Globe.
• Bucky Gleason warns the Blackhawks of possible salary cap problems down the road. 
• Larry Brooks says Gary Bettman needs to drop his personal issues with Jim Balsillie and negotiate with him to take the Coyotes to Hamilton.

Coyotes situation

• Gary Bettman addressed the Coyotes situation at his league news conference yesterday.
• The city of Glendale has seen some hope in the results of the court hearings so far.
• Chris Chelios is in favor of another team in Ontario.

Calder Cup Final

• Last night, Alex Giroux demonstrated why he was the MVP of the AHL this season, writes Ken Wiebe.  Paul Friesen says last night’s game had all the action one could have hoped for.  “Our pain was self inflicted. We had a number of guys that didn’t bring their A-game,” said Moose coach Scott Arniel.

After two weeks of thinking it over, Patrick Roy has turned down the Colorado Avalanche’s offer to be their new head coach, according to the Denver Post.

According to the paper, Roy phoned Avalanche president Pierre Lacroix on Tuesday night to tell him that he would not be accepting the offer because of family reasons, as he wants to spend more time with his children.

Read the entire article here.

I would guess that family probably wasn’t Roy’s only consideration when turning down this job.  Some may speculate that Roy is waiting on other jobs such as the Canadiens opening, but I think a large part of his decision is attributable to the Avalanche’s long rebuilding process ahead of them.  The team has needs on defense, in net and, to a lesser extent, up front and isn’t expected to contend for at least the next two seasons.  Roy, being the ultimate competitor, probably sees himself growing tired of losing very quicky and felt it was best to wait for another opportunity. 

Eastern Conference

Pittsburgh Penguins (4) versus Carolina Hurricanes (6)

• Shelly Anderson with a quick recap of Game 1.  Many of the Penguins were giving credit to Marc-Andre Fleury for keeping the team in last night’s contest.  Apparently Pittsburgh Tribune-Review columnist Joe Starkey felt the same way.  Fleury was good, but two unlikely contributors were also the key for Pittsburgh on Monday.  “He was cutting across the middle. I turned sideways to hit him, and he turned the other way. I almost fell over, too,” said Matt Cooke about his hit on Erik Cole.  (Writer’s note: Let’s call a spade a spade.  Matt Cooke is a dirty hockey player and has been for sometime now.  He continually makes cheap plays and last night’s hit on Cole was no exception.)   Penguins fans unfamiliar with Tuomo Ruutu should realize his game is very different from his brother’s.
• He was very, very good but last night Hurricanes fans realized that Cam Ward is, in fact, human.  It is not like the Canes haven’t been down 1-0 before this playoff season.  Scott Walker has more important things on his mind than hockey, but it helps that his wife is tougher than his teammates.

Western Conference

Detroit Red Wings (2) versus Chicago Blackhawks (4)

• Mike Babcock wants his Red Wings players to improve in the puck control department for Game 2.  Having been a veteran of so many playoff battles, do not expect Tomas Holmstom to panic because of his current goal-scoring drought, writes George Sipple.  Superstitions are running rampant in the Wings dressing room.  Even though he’s been a Red Wing for a while now, Chris Chelios still has a place in his heart for Chicago.
• Can Patrick Kane bounce back from a poor Game 1 performance?  Jonathan Toews will also try to do the same.  It will certainly help if they leave Game 1′s performance behind him like the rest of their teammates have done.  WIll Wings fans want to fight Bob Probert after hearing that he’s rooting for Chicago?  Many Blackhawks fans probably remember Daniel Clearly from his days with the Hawks, and boy, has he come a long way.  “The thing is against him is you need to be hungry to keep the puck and not give it up,” said Jonathan Toews about playing against Nicklas Lidstrom.  Mike Imrem of the Chicago Herald wonders why Dale Tallon doesn’t get more credit for the job he’s done in Chicago?

Teams that are not in the playoffs:

• Here is some video on the possibility of Teemu Selanne retiring from the OC Register.
• What’s next for the Bruins?  Meanwhile, Bruins netminder Tim Thomas is going to try not to agonize all summer long over the Game 7 overtime goal he let in.  Sure they had a heartbreaking loss, but at least the team is trying to learn from this setback and move forward.  In other Boston news, long-term Bruins forward P.J. Axelsson may have played his final game for the franchise.
• Patrick Roy may deny it, but Adrian Dater is reporting that the choice is up to him whether he coaches the Avalanche next season or not.
• Michael Russo gives readers an inside view at the personality and perspectives of Minnesota Wild acting GM Tom Lynn.
• In Philadelphia, Flyers center Daniel Briere has decided to undergo corrective eye surgery.
• Some notes about the Sharks, courtesy of John Ryan.

The Coyotes situation:

• Could Jim Balsillie be stuck with the Coyotes in Phoenix?
• David Naylor elicits help from Bankruptcy experts in an attempt to predict which way the court will rule today.
• Apparently if Balsillie loses the court ruling, he won’t appeal.
• Winning cures everything, writes Paolo Boivin of the Arizona Republic.
• Craig Harris of the Arizona Republic has an interesting piece examining whether the Coyotes really are viable in Phoenix.
• Did only 7,000 homes tune into Coyotes games on television in the Phoenix area last season?
• One thing is for certain, the other professional sports league are supporting the NHL.

AHL Playoffs:

• The Manitoba Moose have taken a commanding 3-0 series lead over the Houston Aeros in the Western Conference Final.

Eastern Conference

Boston Bruins (1) versus Carolina Hurricanes (6)

• Bruins attempt to finish the rally tonight.  Net worth in game 7 as goalie‘s are key factors to winning the series.  Claude Julien reiterated yesterday that Marc Savard will be able to play in Game 7 tonight.  As last night’s Illegal Curve Radio show guest and Boston Herald Bruins beat writer Stephen Harris said, when Savard, during Game 6,  came onto the ice to test whatever was ailing him, he didn’t last long.  Stephen then writes about the unique perspective that Andrew Ferrance has to view the B’s erratic performance.
• Are the Canes loaded for bear because they’ve got a big bad Bruin in their sights and if they don’t step it up they are in for a mauling.  Canes coach Paul Maurice said there could be an adjustment on defense and with the lines for Game 7 against the Bruins.  Carolina Hurricanes’ captain Rod Brind’Amour, then (2006) and now, didn’t have to say much to make his impact felt, but when he thought something had to be said, he said it.

Washington Capitals (2) versus Pittsburgh Penguins (4)

• Tarik El-Bashir discusses how the Capitals’ Nemesis took control quickly and closed an otherwise thrilling series with an easy win.  In the end, Crosby was the better player opines Mike Wise.  After last night’s loss, the Caps have nothing but praise for Simeon Varlamov.  What some of the Caps players did to keep their minds off game 7.
• Game 7s, like the one the Penguins and Washington played last night to determine the winner of their second-round playoff series, are always special.  Game 7, the drama, became a comedy or a tragedy depending on your rooting interest with Sidney Crosby as the hero.  The Pens never stopped believing, not after they fell behind two games to none and not after they were beaten at home in Game 6, a 5-4 Capitals victory that necessitated Wednesday night’s Game 7.  With a swipe of his glove, goalie Marc-Andre Fleury sent a message to everyone who doubted his abilities.

Western Conference

Detroit Red Wings (2) versus Anaheim Ducks (8)

• A little nastiness to end Game 6, now Game 7 to decide which team keeps its Stanley Cup dreams alive and which one’s season ends abruptly.  What more can you ask for?  The Wings’ response should be to do what they do, which is show poise and experience and skate the feathers off the Duckies.  As I’ve been saying for quite some time, after an MVP-quality regular season, Pavel Datsyuk has slumped at a bad, bad time for the Red Wings.  Detroit’s most dependable distraction, Tomas Holmstrom, is suddenly nowhere to be found.  There isn’t much to hate about Hiller, except this: he is quite capable of standing on his head (figuratively), winning this series (literally) and ripping the Wings’ hearts out.
• To defeat the Red Wings, Ducks will need to outsmart them, and not rely on passion alone.  Could this be the Ducks’ most impressive playoff series victory. Ever.  The Ducks prepare for game 7 and all that entails.

Chicago Blackhawks (4)

• All the Blackhawks and their fans can do is sit back and watch as the other Western Conference semifinal series plays out to determine who the team will face in the conference finals and then try and figure who they’d rather face.  What do the Blackhawks do with all those hats thrown on the United Center ice?  Chicago Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane now understands Denis Savard firing.  GM Dale Tallon talks hockey, golf, pressure.

Teams that are not in the playoffs:

• Predators General Manager David Poile came away from a recent meeting with Alexander Radulov believing the talented Russian forward does want to return to the NHL.
• Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke appeared on Toronto radio station AM 640 on Wednesday afternoon to dismiss rumours he was looking to move up in the NHL Entry Draft by making a deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning.  A serious error has been committed by Sports Illustrated in judging the Maple Leafs ownership to be the worst in the NHL.
• The Monreal Canadiens have signed defencemen P.K. Subban and Andre Benoit, GM Bob Gainey announced on Wednesday.
• They packed their bags, shook hands, and for some Vancouver Canucks, walked out of the dressing room for the last time yesterday.
• Of all of the coaches in Calgary Flames organization — at the National Hockey League level, at the American Hockey League level — only Mike Keenan has another year remaining on his contract.  Yet it’s his future, above all others’, that seems most uncertain.
• While the Avalanche remains without a general manager and intrigue surrounds its head coaching position, the team did manage to sign a couple of top prospects Wednesday to pro contracts.
• Comcast Corp. has no plans to sell its majority ownership stakes in the Sixers and Flyers because of the weak economy.
• The Atlanta Spirit were named one of the five worst owners in the NHL in a recent ranking by Sports Illustrated’s Web site.
• The Sharks are paying the price for their first-round playoff exit. The team, in a packet to season-ticket holders that included a letter from CEO Greg Jamison calling the loss “disappointing and embarrassing,” announced that season-ticket prices will remain the same for 2009-10.
• As soon as Willie Desjardins told his wife, Rhonda, he’d been chosen head coach of Canada’s next junior team, her reply was: “‘Well, we’ll have to win six.”
• India’s women’s field hockey team have cancelled their tour of Canada this month because of fears over the H1N1 influenza outbreak.

The Phoenix situation:

• Hamilton council approves Balsillie lease option for Copps Coliseum.
• Coyotes can’t be sold to Balsillie, Arizona city says.
• The provincial government is doing the old spinarama when it comes to financial help for BlackBerry billionaire Jim Balsillie’s bid to bring the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes to Hamilton.

• As linked on IC yesterday, apparently Jay Feaster has an interest in the Colorado GM job.
• Mike Heika wonders whether the Stars franchise will continue to move forward with a two-GM arrangement?
• The Oilers fired Craig MacTavish on Wednesday and Robert Tychkowski is calling the franchise a mess right now.  Many changes are on the way.  Derek Van Diest has the reaction from Steve Tambellini’s press conference.  Decisions have yet to be made on the team’s assistant coaches.  Don’t expect MacT to be out of a job for long.
• Here is a post-season chat Michael Russo had with Wild fans about the team’s disappointing season.
• More layoffs from Lightning ownership on Wednesday.
• Brian Burke is already burning up the phones lines trying to move up in the draft, writes Paul Hunter.

Just got off the phone with Jay Feaster, the former G.M. of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

He has contacted Pierre Lacroix and told him of his great interest in the vacant Avs G.M. job. Feaster has a connection to the Avalanche – he was the G.M. of the Hershey Bears when the Bears were an Avs affiliate. Pierre basically hired him for that job, and played a role in helping him get the G.M. job in Tampa.

Feaster won a Stanley Cup five years ago, but was let go in all the madness that engulfed the Lightning not long after.

He’s had an interesting career path.  From law school to working at a firm to working for Hersey to the Lighting GM.  In fact as Dater says he owes his hiring in Tampa to Pierre Lacroix who recommended him for the job to Lightning Coach Jacques Demers so he already has a good connection in Denver.  Could be a good fit.

Colorado Avalanche general manager Francois Giguere was fired today after the most disappointing season in franchise history.

Team president Pierre Lacroix will step in for the time being and said a new management structure would be installed.

In a statement released by the team, Lacroix said: “The results of this season are unacceptable. We feel a new direction is needed which re-emphasizes those standards of excellence our fans have grown accustomed to since 1995. We will work diligently towards reclaiming our identity that made our brand so special and unique.

For complete story click here.

This franchise has been on the decline and it looks like they are going to do some full scale cleansing to get it back to the Stanley Cup contender it was year after year.

• Andrew Ebbett has quietly been very productive for the Ducks since being called up from the AHL, writes Billy Witz.
• A number of the Thrashers players are heading to the World Championships.
• Add Chuck Kobasew to the list of Bruins players that are injured, explains Kevin Paul Dupont.  Even though Boston has clinched first place in the conference, they will be geared up to face the Habs tonight.
• With yesterday’s victory at Toronto, the Sabres stayed alive in the playoff race.  Sure they stayed alive, but after reading Bucky Gleason’s article this morning, you will realize they have no chance of getting in.  At least the future looks bright, as Sabres prospect Nathan Gerbe has won AHL rookie of the year.
• The Flames are aiming to ‘get that swagger back’.   Eric Francis tells us the Flames are banking on the return of Rene Bourque and maybe even Rhett Warrener, with all the injuries they have sustained.  It is clear from listening to the Flames players that their goal is the Stanley Cup or bust.  Calgary has had its cap issues, but if you are wondering, no team can go over the cap.
• Little known Chad LaRose has been a bargain of an impact player for the Hurricanes. 
• The Blue Jackets denied the Hawks‘ bid to clinch the fourth spot in the Western Conference.  With the Hawks leading more games, Adam Burish has been involved in less fights. 
• Peter Budaj may be having a difficult season numbers wise, but his attitude is certainly respected in the room.
• “I don’t know if it has quite sunk in yet,”, said Rick Nash after his team clinched the first ever playoff spot in team history.  The fans are just as excited as the players are about the team’s first ever playoff birth.  Meanwhile, coach Hitchcock wants  Jiri Novotny to continue to play hard.
• The Stars must take a hard look at themselves.  J.J. Taylor guaranetees Mike Modano‘s return to Dallas next season.  Learn more about Stars rookie Ivan Vishnevskiy here.
• In Detroit, the Wings are expecting Andreas Lilja to miss the start of the playoffs.  If we are talking matchups, it appears the Wings are hoping to duck Anaheim.  In contract news, the Wings have tabled an offer to Johan Franzen.
• Disappointment was the catch phrase around Rexall Place on Wednesday.  With the Oilers out of playoff contention, Dwayne Roloson is finally going to get some rest.  Sam Gagner is taking the Oilers’ struggling finish to heart.  At least they can bring over Linus Omark….maybe not.
• Florida Panthers coach Pete DeBoer said he is going to make his decision on whether he starts Vokoun or Anderson today.
• In Los Angeles, Kings owner Phil Anschutz should take the Kings’ fate personally.
• Concussions have been an issue in the Wild room this season and a serious one continues to keep a frustrated Brett Burns off the ice.  The youngsters’ struggles in Minnesota may be the reason the Wild is probably going to miss the playoffs.
• Bob Gainey is searching for a winning lineup in Montreal.  Tough economy or not, there are many suitors who are aiming to purchase the Habs franchise. 
• Consecutive wins may not be enough for the Predators to make post-season play.  At least Nashville is not intimidated by Detroit, their matchup tonight.  David Legwand’s hopes of returning for the team’s final two regular season games was taken away when doctors told him his injury is still too fresh.
• The up-and-down Devils can clinch the Atlantic Division title tonight.  Martin Brodeur admits that it is tough getting in a groove when you’ve missed most of the season.
• Bill Guerin has been grateful for the opportunity to move from the Island to Pittsburgh where he has a chance to compete for the Cup.
• If the Rangers defeat the Flyers tonight, they make the playoffs.  The Rangers know they control their own destiny.
• The Senators players were happy for coach Cory Clouston on Wednesday, as he was allowed to smile upon signing a two-year contract extension.  Is Alex Auld going to stick around with Clouston?
• Flyers coach John Stevens gives you his take on a possible matchup with Carolina.  Daniel Carcillo is moving in the right direction.  Former Flyers center Keith Primeau is doing his best to help further concussion research.
• Petr Prucha has been excited about getting more ice-time in the desert as compared to NY.
• Next goal for the Penguins: Some rest, tuning up for playoffs.  Should the Pens have locked up Sid and Geno longer?  Ruslan Fedotenko has really found his game as of late.
• Patrick Marleau and Ryane Clowe are expected to return to the Sharks lineup tonight.  Ray Rotto lays down the gauntlet for the Sharks, saying it is Cup or bust.
• Injury prone defenseman Jay McKee‘s turnaround has really given the Blues a boost.  The Blues are close to throwing a big party, writes Bernie Miklasz.
• The Lightning organization is not any more stable than it was last summer.  Martin St. Louis is a great team guy.
• Cujo, May record milestones, as Leafs fall 3-1 to Sabres.  One Leafs milestone was celebratory, one wasn’t, writes Lance Hornby.  Could the Marlies be getting help from the Leafs for the AHL playoffs?
• In Vancouver, the Canucks are getting back to basics.  The Canucks have to ensure they don’t have a letdown against the Kings, with the division yet to be wrapped up.
• Caps’ Rookie Goaltender Simeon Varlamov wins confidence From Boudreau.  The Capitals have some nice organizational depth between the pipes.
• Lastly, here is an update on injured hockey player, Derek Zike from the NAHL, who appears to be recovering well.

**The IllegalCurve.com Radio Show archives of yesterday’s show with Dan Wood of the OC Register and Eric Duhatschek of the Globe & Mail should be posted on the website early this afternoon**

**Also, special thanks to David who gave a nice helping hand for the morning papers**

• Are the NY Islanders already looking for Free Agents?  Would you sign in Long Island right now?
• Update around the Sens world. 
• Flyers fans are upset with the B’s play by play announcer, Jack Edwards.  His laugh is rather maniacal.
• Preds a lock to achieve key attendance goal.  Impressive that with all the talk of a move, the fans continue to show up.
• Alex Burrows hair pull that’s being heard around the world.  I’ve used this move on my sister.  Works everytime.
• Top Av’s of all time: #6 (on the list) Rob Blake.  I usually think of him as a King first.
• Defending Forest Gump and Sidney Crosby.  In a strange sort of way her argument makes sense.
• A message to Dallas Stars fans. 
• Alexander Semin: “The Playoffs can’t start soon enough”.  It seems like the Capitals are just waiting around for the playoffs to start.
• The Swedish machine that never breaks, Nicklas Backstrom.  Guys a beast.
• Panthers fans are irate with Steve Ott.  Bet lots of NHL teams feel the same.
• The future of the Thrashers is discussed. 

• Are the Canadiens forging a new identity?
• Too much fixation on a non-issue for the Rangers?
• Hejduk wants to play (for Avs) beyond current contract.

FINAL		T				FINAL		T
	Tampa Bay	3					Toronto	3
	Washington	5					Buffalo	5
Game Scoresheet						Game Scoresheet
Game Threads:						Game Threads:
Raw Charge Japers’ Rink						Pension Plan Puppets Die by the Blade
Game Recap						Game Recap

FINAL		T				FINAL OT		T
	NY Islanders	2					New Jersey	2
	Detroit	0					Chicago	3
Game Scoresheet						Game Scoresheet
Game Threads:						Game Threads:
Lighthouse Hockey Winging it in Mowtown						In Lou We Trust Second City Hockey
Game Recap						Game Recap

FINAL		T				FINAL		T
	Vancouver	4					Edmonton	5
	Colorado	1					Anaheim	3
Game Scoresheet						Game Scoresheet
Game Threads:						Game Threads:
Nucks Misconduct Mile High Hockey						Lowetide Battle of California
Game Recap						Game Recap

• James Gordon of the Ottawa Citizen wonders who the heck would want to buy the Coyotes?  I have been asking the same question myself.  That team has been a money pit for owners, why would someone, particulary in these economic times, want to invest in a money losing venture?
• Phil Kessel was not at Bruins practice this morning.  Awaiting word on why.
• Drew Stafford will be in the lineup tonight versus Toronto after being demoted to the “fifth line” in Buffalo’s last game.  They certainly need him to contribute to have a realistic shot at the playoffs.
• Adrian Dater is doing a good job of getting the Avs fans geeked up for the possibility that John Tavares will end up in Denver.  Gotta have something to look forward to!
• In a rather frightening story, some person was apparently threatening to kill Steve Mason last night at the Blue Jackets game.  This is the link from the Columbus papers, Drew has linked some quotes in the post below.

• Anyone ever wonder what its like to cook with Evgeni Malkin? 
• Madden and Gionta want to remain Devils.
• The Thrashers are dealing yet again with another early spring.
• After last night’s shootout loss to Anaheim, Nashville‘s choice of shooters are analyzed.

FINAL		T				FINAL		T
	Florida	3					Minnesota	6
	Buffalo	5					NY Islanders	2
Game Scoresheet						Game Scoresheet
Game Threads:						Game Threads:
The Litter Box   Die by the Blade						Hockey Wilderness Lighthouse Hockey
Game Recap						Game Recap

FINAL		T				FINAL		T
	Ottawa	1					Calgary	0
	Carolina	2					Pittsburgh	2
Game Scoresheet						Game Scoresheet
Game Threads:						Game Threads:
Silver Seven Canes Country						Matchsticks & Gasoline Pensburgh
Game Recap						Game Recap

FINAL SO		T				FINAL		T
	San Jose	5					Anaheim	7
	Chicago	6					Colorado	2
Game Scoresheet						Game Scoresheet
Game Threads:						Game Threads:
Fear the Fin Second City Hockey						Battle of California Mile High Hockey
Game Recap						Game Recap

• The bounces seem to finally be falling the Ducks’ way, so don’t count them out quite yet.  This team has been a bit of an enigma this season, so I’m not sure if they’d strike fear into the first or second seed if they indeed got into the playoffs.  That said, they still have Getzlaf, Perry, Selanne, Ryan, Niedermayer and Pronger, so I’m sure those top teams would rather play some other team.
• Claude Julien will 100% not be fired by the Bruins.  Why was this question even asked?  Is that what it has come to with coaches these days?  C’mon.  This team has over-achieved all season and is sitting atop the Eastern Conference standings.  Absurd.
• Adrian Dater says last night’s performance versus Edmonton was an atrocity.  When beat guys flat out say it is the worst performance they’ve ever seen, you certainly have to take their word for it.  Dater, as he says in the post, has seen a lot of Avalanche games over the years, if last night’s game was truly as bad as he says (I didn’t catch the game) then heads could roll in the Rocky Mountains.
• Denis Gauthier was injured last night for the Kings.  No word yet on whether he kneed himself.
• No Colin White for the Devils tonight.  No reason to rush it with the playoffs just around the corner.
• James Gordon of the Ottawa Citizen wonders whether Sens fans believe in miracles?  Daunting task, but it isn’t like the teams in front of them are lighting the world on fire.
• Seth Rorabaugh previews all things Kings for Penguins fans.  Desperate bunch they are facing tonight in Pittsburgh.
• Bruce Boudreau had a talk with Alexander Ovechkin following last night’s goal celebration with you can find here.  Let’s just say, don’t expect a similar celebration any time soon.  Personally, I don’t like Ovechkin’s celebrations, as he think he goes over-the-top just about every time; however, I generally don’t really have a problem with his celebrations because he does seem to be genuine in his excitement.  That said, last night’s celebration was unnecessary and lacked class.  I’ll just say this–Wayne Gretzky scored 894 career NHL goals, and he didn’t have any celebrations like that.  Learn from the best.

• Ovechkin gets goal #50.
• Canucks trying to avoid twin distractions.
• Surging Penguins seek to clock Kings.

FINAL OT		T				FINAL		T
	Los Angeles	3					Montreal	4
	Boston	2					Ottawa	5
Game Scoresheet						Game Scoresheet
Game Recaps:						Game Recaps:
Inside the Kings Stanley Cup of Chowder						Habs Inside/Out Black Aces

FINAL		T				FINAL		T
	Washington	5					Toronto	1
	Tampa Bay	2					Florida	3
Game Scoresheet						Game Scoresheet
Game Recaps:						Game Recaps:
Japer’s Rink Raw Charge						Pension Plan Puppets  Litter Box Cats

FINAL		T				FINAL		T
	Edmonton	8					St. Louis	0
	Colorado	1					Vancouver	3
Game Scoresheet						Game Scoresheet
Game Recaps:						Game Recaps:
Cult of Hockey Mile High Hockey						St. Louis Game Time Nucks Misconduct

FINAL OT		T				FINAL SO		T
	Anaheim	3					Nashville	2
	Phoenix	2					San Jose	3
Game Scoresheet						Game Scoresheet
Game Recaps:						Game Recaps:
Ducks Blog Five for Howling						Tennessean Mercury News

In other hockey related news congrats to Martin Brodeur who passed Patrick Roy at the Prudential Center this evening in a victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.

FINAL		1	2	3	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Chicago	0	1	1	2	32	N. Khabibulin
	New Jersey	2	1	0	3	30	M. Brodeur
Scoring Summary:
CHI:  Barker, C. (PPG, Brian Campbell, Patrick Kane), Byfuglien, D. (Matt Walker)
NJD:  Langenbrunner, J. (Zach Parise), Zajac, T. (Zach Parise, Paul Martin), Gionta, B. (SHG, Patrik Elias, Mike Mottau)
Attendance: 17,625
Headlines:
Game Review (Second City Hockey – Chicago)  Game Review (In Lou We Trust – New Jersey) Brodeur sets NHL Win record

FINAL SO		1	2	3	OT	SO	T	SOG	GOALIES
	NY Rangers	0	1	2	0	1 (3-3)	4	42	H. Lundqvist
	Montreal	0	1	2	0	0 (2-3)	3	29	C. Price
Scoring Summary:
NYR:  Antropov, N. (Chris Drury, Wade Redden), Zherdev, N. (Scott Gomez, Marc Staal), Callahan, R. (Brandon Dubinsky), Drury, C. (in SO)
MTL:  Kovalev, A. (PPG, Andrei Markov, Mathieu Schneider), Lapierre, M. (Andrei Markov), Markov, A. (Guillaume Latendresse)
Attendance: 21,273
Headlines:
Game Review (Rangers Report – NY Rangers)  Game Review (Habs Blog – Montreal)

FINAL		1	2	3	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Buffalo	2	0	0	2	13	M. Tellqvist
	Ottawa	0	2	2	4	36	B. Elliot
Scoring Summary:
BUF:  Lydman, T. (Henrik Tallinder, Jason Pominville), Pominville, J. (Thomas Vanek)
OTT:  Heatley, D. (Jason Spezza, Chris Neil), Bell, B. (PPG, Daniel Alfredsson, Filip Kuba), Alfredsson, D. (PPG, Jason Spezza, Filip Kuba), Bell, B. (PPG, Filip Kuba, Ryan Shannon)
Attendance: 20,053
Headlines:
Game Review (Die By the Blade – Buffalo) Game Review (Silver Sevens – Ottawa)

FINAL		1	2	3	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Atlanta	1	1	0	2	20	J. Hedberg
	Pittsburgh	2	3	1	6	31	M. Fleury
Scoring Summary:
ATL:  Little, B. (Todd White, Slava Kozlov), Boulton, E. (Chris Thorburn, Eric Perrin)
PIT:  Gonchar, S. (PPG, Bill Guerin, Evgeni Malkin), Kunitz, C. (PPG, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin), Staal, J. (Tyler Kennedy, Kris Letang), Malkin, E. (Sergei Gonchar, Kris Letang), Malkin, E. (PPG, Sergei Gonchar, Sidney Crosby), Eaton, M. (Sergei Gonchar, Evgeni Malkin)
Attendance: 17,088
Headlines:
Game Review (PensBurgh – Pittsburgh)  Malkin surpasses 100 in Pens’ win.

FINAL SO		1	2	3	OT	SO	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Toronto	0	1	2	0	1 (2-6)	4	39	C. Joseph
	Tampa Bay	1	2	0	0	0 (1-6)	3	22	K. Ramo
Scoring Summary:
TOR:  Mitchell, J. (Jason Blake, Anton Stralman), Blake, J. (Lee Stempniak), Hamilton, J. (Boyd Devereaux, Matt Stajan), Mitchell, J. (in SO)
TBL:  Lecavalier, V. (PPG, Cory Murphy, Martin St. Louis), Stamkos, S. (PPG, Martin St. Louis, Karri Ramo), Pettinger, M. (Martins Karsums, Lukas Krajicek)
Attendance: 18,793
Headlines:
Game Review (Pension Plan Puppets – Toronto)  Game Review (Raw Charge – Tampa Bay) Artyukhin Gaining A Reputation

FINAL		1	2	3	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Washington	0	1	2	3	27	J. Theodore
	Florida	0	0	0	0	19	T. Vokoun
Scoring Summary:
WSH:  Laich, B. (SHG, John Erskine), Kozlov, V. (Michael Nylander, John Erskine), Green, M. (EN, Alexander Semin, Alexander Ovechkin)
Attendance: 14,650
Headlines:
Game Review (Japers Rink – Washington)  Game Review (The Litter Box – Florida)

FINAL		1	2	3	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Philadelphia	1	1	0	2	26	M. Biron
	Detroit	0	1	2	3	48	C. Osgood
Scoring Summary:
PHI:  Hartnell, S. (Braydon Coburn), Lupul, J. (Jeff Carter, Scott Hartnell)
DET:  Datsyuk, P. (Johan Franzen), Franzen, J. (Pavel Datsyuk, Brad Stuart), Zetterberg, H. (Mikael Samuelsson, Jonathan Ericsson)
Attendance: 20,066
Headlines:
Game Review (Winging It in Mowtown – Detroit)  Game Review (Broad Street Bullies – Philadelphia)

FINAL SO		1	2	3	OT	SO	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Colorado	0	2	0	0	0 (1-3)	2	26	P. Budaj
	Minnesota	0	1	1	0	1 (2-3)	3	29	N. Backstrom
Scoring Summary:
COL:  McLeod, C. (Ben Guite), Smyth, R. (Wojtek Wolski)
MIN:  Veilleux, S. (Martin Skoula, Eric Belanger), Schultz, N. (Dan Fritsche, Eric Belanger), Zidlicky, M. (in SO)
Attendance: 18,568
Headlines:
Game Review (Hockey Wilderness – Minnesota)  Game Review (Mile High Hockey – Colorado)

FINAL SO		1	2	3	OT	SO	T	SOG	GOALIES
	St. Louis	0	1	0	0	0 (0-3)	1	32	C. Mason
	Edmonton	1	0	0	0	1 (1-3)	2	34	D. Roloson
Scoring Summary:
STL:  Backes, D. (PPG, T.J. Oshie, Brad Boyes)
EDM:  Souray, S. (PPG, Denis Grebeshkov, Sam Gagner), Kotalik, A. (in SO)
Attendance: 16,839
Headlines:
Game Review (St. Louis Game Time - St. Louis)  Game Review (Edmontonoilers.com – Edmonton)

FINAL		1	2	3	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Dallas	1	0	1	2	26	M. Turco
	Vancouver	1	2	1	4	25	R. Luongo
Scoring Summary:
DAL:  Robidas, S. (PPG, Mike Modano, Steve Ott), Ott, S. (Chris Conner, Mike Ribeiro)
VAN:  Sedin, D. (PPG, Henrik Sedin, Kevin Bieksa), Kesler, R. (Pavol Demitra, Mats Sundin), Sundin, M. (PPG, Kyle Wellwood, Ryan Kesler), Bernier, S. (Mason Raymond, Kevin Bieksa)
Attendance: 18,630
Headlines:
Game Review (Defending Big D – Dallas) Game Review (Nucks Misconduct – Vancouver)  Canucks win 10th straight at home.

FINAL		1	2	3	T	SOG	GOALIES
	San Jose	0	1	2	3	36	B. Boucher (L) , E. Nabokov
	Phoenix	3	0	1	4	20	I. Bryzgalov
Scoring Summary:
SJS:  Thornton, J. (PPG, Jonathan Cheechoo, Rob Blake), Thornton, J. (Rob Blake, Jonathan Cheechoo), Marleau, P. (Joe Thornton, Rob Blake)
PHX:  Turris, K. (Shane Doan, Peter Mueller), Turris, K. (PPG, Shane Doan, Dmitri Kalinin), Kalinin, D. (PPG, Kyle Turris, Shane Doan), Doan, S. (PPG, Scottie Upshall, Kyle Turris)
Attendance: 15,563
Headlines:
Game Review (Five for Howling – Phoenix)  Game Review (Fear the Fin – San Jose)

Here is a video I took of the Red Wings powerplay in the 3rd period which ends with Rafalski’s PPG and a roar from the 20,066 fans in attendance. 

My Winnipeg Jets hat was underappreciated except by one hard core hockey fan.  Has it really been that long?  Alas I was unable to start a Go Jets Go chant.  I expected to see a few Wpg jerseys but it appears I was the lone Manitoba resident at the game.

FINAL		1	2	3	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Calgary	1	0	1	2	37	M. Kiprusoff (L) , C. McElhinney
	New Jersey	0	2	1	3	31	M. Brodeur
Scoring Summary:
CGY:  Jokinen, O. (David Moss, Michael Cammalleri), Glencross, C. (PPG, Michael Cammalleri, Dustin Boyd)
NJD:  Langenbrunner, J. (SHG, Colin White, Paul Martin), Rolston, B. (PPG, Niclas Havelid, Brendan Shanahan), Parise, Z. (Jamie Langenbrunner, Travis Zajac)
Attendance: 14,598
Headlines:
Brodeur moves within 2 wins of record. A summary of the game from Calgary Flames.

FINAL		1	2	3	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Buffalo	1	0	1	2	29	P. Lalime (L) , M. Tellqvist
	Philadelphia	1	0	4	5	33	M. Biron
Scoring Summary:
BUF:  Afinogenov, M. (Teppo Numminen), Hecht, J. (Paul Gaustad)
PHI:  Hartnell, S. (PPG, Claude Giroux, Mike Richards), Carter, J. (Joffrey Lupul, Scott Hartnell), Richards, M. (PPG, Kimmo Timonen, Simon Gagne), Carter, J. (Joffrey Lupul, Scott Hartnell), Hartnell, S. (Kimmo Timonen)
Attendance: 19,421
Headlines:
Carter dominate in Flyers victory. A summary of the game from the Flyers. And one from Die By The Blade.

FINAL		1	2	3	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Boston	0	0	0	0	35	T. Thomas
	Columbus	0	0	2	2	34	S. Mason
Scoring Summary:
CBJ:  Torres, R. (PPG, Antoine Vermette, Jason Williams), Nash, R. (EN, Mike Commodore)
Attendance: 16,675
Headlines:
Mason makes 35 saves for 9th shutout. A summary of the game from Puck-rakers. And one from The Bruins Blog.

FINAL OT		1	2	3	OT	T	SOG	GOALIES
	NY Islanders	2	0	0	0	2	30	J. MacDonald
	Toronto	1	0	1	1	3	28	M. Gerber
Scoring Summary:
NYI:  Okposo, K. (Sean Bergenheim, Frans Nielsen), Comeau, B. (Josh Bailey, Mike Iggulden)
TOR:  Stempniak, L. (Jeff Finger, Jason Blake), Ponikarovsky, A. (unassisted), Grabovski, M. (IN OT, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Anton Stralman)
Attendance: 19,041
Headlines:
Grabovski‘s goal drought ends in OT.  A summary of the game from TMLfans. And one from Lighthouse Hockey.

FINAL OT		1	2	3	OT	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Edmonton	0	3	0	0	3	32	D. Roloson
	Montreal	1	1	1	1	4	26	C. Price
Scoring Summary:
EDM:  Cogliano, A. (Steve Staios, Sheldon Souray), Souray, S. (Ales Hemsky, Patrick O’Sullivan), Gagner, S. (Marc Pouliot, Denis Grebeshkov)
MTL:  Tanguay, A. (Mathieu Schneider, Josh Gorges), Metropolit, G. (Mathieu Dandenault), Koivu, S. (Andrei Kostitsyn, Alex Tanguay), Koivu, S. (PPG in OT, Mathieu Schneider, Andrei Markov)
Attendance: 21,273
Headlines:
Habs win Gainey‘s debut.  A summary of the game from the Oilers. And one from Habs Inside/Out.

FINAL SO		1	2	3	OT	SO	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Florida	0	3	0	0	0 (0-2)	3	21	T. Vokoun
	Pittsburgh	1	0	2	0	1 (2-3)	4	50	M. Fleury
Scoring Summary:
FLA:  Boynton, N. (David Booth, Keith Ballard), Kreps, K. (Nick Boynton, Cory Stillman), Ballard, K. (Ville Peltonen, Radek Dvorak)
PIT:  Malkin, E. (Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang), Staal, J. (Matt Cooke, Tyler Kennedy), Crosby, S. (Bill Guerin, Chris Kunitz), Letang, K. (00:00 in SO)
Attendance: 17,132
Headlines:
Penguins rally for seventh straight win.  A summary of the game from PensBurgh.

FINAL OT		1	2	3	OT	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Phoenix	1	0	1	0	2	25	I. Bryzgalov
	Detroit	1	0	1	1	3	43	T. Conklin
Scoring Summary:
PHX:  Hanzal, M. (Brandon Prust, Todd Fedoruk), Doan, S. (PPG, Ed Jovanovski, Steve Reinprecht)
DET:  Filppula, V. (Johan Franzen, Niklas Kronwall), Rafalski, B. (PPG, Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg), Franzen, J. (In OT, Brad Stuart, Valtteri Filppula)
Attendance: 20,066
Headlines:
Franzen ties a career high with his 27th in OT. A summary of the game from Detroitredwingsfansite.

FINAL OT		1	2	3	OT	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Washington	0	1	0	1	2	44	J. Theodore
	Nashville	1	0	0	0	1	28	D. Ellis
Scoring Summary:
WSH:  Backstrom, N. (Alexander Ovechkin, Viktor Kozlov), Fedorov, S. (In OT, Viktor Kozlov, Alexander Semin)
NSH:  Suter, R. (Shea Weber, Martin Erat)
Attendance: 16,064
Headlines:
Ellis 42 saves not enough for Preds.

FINAL OT		1	2	3	OT	T	SOG	GOALIES
	San Jose	2	1	1	1	5	23	B. Boucher
	Minnesota	0	1	3	0	4	29	N. Backstrom
Scoring Summary:
SJS:  Thornton, J. (Travis Moen, Christian Ehrhoff), Moen, T. (SHG, unassisted), Thornton, J. (PPG, unassisted), Michalek, M. (Ryane Clowe, Dan Boyle), Ehrhoff, C. (In OT, unassisted)
MIN:  Olvecky, P. (Cal Clutterbuck, Marc-Andre Bergeron), Bouchard, P. (Kim Johnsson), Nolan, O. (Marek Zidlicky, Mikko Koivu), Nolan, O. (Mikko Koivu)
Attendance: 18,568
Headlines:
Sharks blow 3 goal lead but win in OT. A summary of the game from Hockey Wilderness.

FINAL		1	2	3	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Dallas	0	2	0	2	22	T. Stephan
	St. Louis	3	2	0	5	27	C. Mason
Scoring Summary:
DAL:  Neal, J. (PPG, Mike Modano, Trevor Daley), Ribeiro, M. (unassisted)
STL:  Backes, D. (Alexander Steen, Jay McKee), Perron, D. (Carlo Colaiacovo, Mike Weaver), Winchester, B. (PPG, David Backes, Roman Polak), Perron, D. (T.J. Oshie), Tkachuk, K. (PPG, Brad Boyes, Carlo Colaiacovo)
Attendance: 17,708
Headlines:
Blues continue playoff push.  A summary of the game from St. Louis Game Time. And one from Defending Big D.

FINAL		1	2	3	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Atlanta	0	2	1	3	36	K. Lehtonen
	Colorado	0	0	0	0	35	P. Budaj
Scoring Summary:
ATL:  Bogosian, Z. (Ilya Kovalchuk, Bryan Little), White, T. (PPG, Slava Kozlov, Ilya Kovalchuk), Peverley, R. (EN, unassisted)
Attendance: 13,608
Headlines:
Lehtonen gets 2nd shutout in last 3 games. A summary of the game from Mile High Hockey.

Caught part of the Detroit/Nashville game and behind the power of Jason Arnott’s 8th career hatrick, the Preds took it to the Wings powering them to an 8-0 victory.  Amazingly Nick Lidstrom managed to stay even despite the 8 goals scored against the Wings.

FINAL OT		1	2	3	OT	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Washington	1	1	1	1	4	32	J. Theodore
	Boston	1	1	1	0	3	37	T. Thomas
Scoring Summary:
WSH:  Backstrom, N. (Alexander Semin, Mike Green), Ovechkin, A. (Matt Bradley, Milan Jurcina), Fleischmann, T. (Brooks Laich, Tom Poti), Semin, A. (in OT)
BOS:  Hunwick, M. (Marc Savard, Phil Kessel), Kessel, P. (Marc Savard, Matt Hunwick), Chara, Z. (Mike Green, Jeff Schultz)
Attendance: 17,565

FINAL		1	2	3	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Florida	0	1	1	2	17	C. Anderson
	New Jersey	2	4	1	7	46	M. Brodeur
Scoring Summary:
FLA:  Peltonen, V. (Jassen Cullimore, Radek Dvorak), McCabe, B. (Keith Ballard, Radek Dvorak)
NJD:  Parise, Z. (Jamie Langenbrunner, Paul Martin), Parise, Z. (unassisted), Shanahan, B. (David Clarkson, Brian Rolston), Zajac, T. (Zach Parise, Patrik Elias), Rolston, B. (Brian Gionta, Colin White), Clarkson, D. (Brendan Shanahan, Johnny Oduya), Zubrus, D. (Patrik Elias, Brian Gionta)
Attendance: 16,256

FINAL		1	2	3	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Anaheim	2	0	2	4	18	J. Giguere
	Dallas	0	2	1	3	33	M. Turco
Scoring Summary:
ANA:  Niedermayer, S. (Andrew Ebbett, Bobby Ryan), Ebbett, A. (Chris Pronger, Bobby Ryan), Perry, C. (Ryan Getzlaf, Drew Miller), Selanne, T. (Andrew Ebbett)
DAL:  Ribeiro, M. (Steve Ott, Darryl Sydor), Niskanen, M. (Mike Ribeiro, Stephane Robidas), Ribeiro, M. (Steve Ott, Jere Lehtinen)
Attendance: 18,171

FINAL		1	2	3	T	SOG	GOALIES
	San Jose	0	2	0	2	48	B. Boucher
	Montreal	3	0	0	3	21	J. Halak
Scoring Summary:
SJS:  Pavelski, J. (Milan Michalek, Dan Boyle), Thornton, J. (Patrick Marleau, Christian Ehrhoff)
MTL:  Markov, A. (Tomas Plekanec, Mathieu Schneider), Gorges, J. (Matt D’Agostini, Saku Koivu), Koivu, S. (Andrei Markov)
Attendance: 21,273

FINAL OT		1	2	3	OT	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Toronto	2	0	1	1	4	38	C. Joseph
	Ottawa	0	2	1	0	3	32	B. Elliot
Scoring Summary:
TOR:  Mayers, J. (John Mitchell, Tomas Kaberle), Stapleton, T. (Jason Blake, Dominic Moore), Kubina, P. (Nik Antropov, Mikhail Grabovski), Kubina, P. (Ian White, Matt Stajan)
OTT:  Shannon, R. (Jason Spezza, Dany Heatley), Ruutu, J. (Mike Comrie, Shean Donovan), Alfredsson, D. (Mike Fisher)
Attendance: 20,050

FINAL		1	2	3	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Buffalo	0	0	0	0	31	P. Lalime
	NY Islanders	0	1	1	2	34	Y. Danis
Scoring Summary:
NYI:  Bergenheim, S. (06:13 in 2nd), Bergenheim, S. (17:58 in 3rd)
Attendance: 14,198

FINAL		1	2	3	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Colorado	0	1	0	1	24	A. Raycroft
	NY Rangers	4	1	1	6	30	H. Lundqvist
Scoring Summary:
COL:  Smyth, R. (Milan Hejduk, John-Michael Liles)
NYR:  Callahan, R. (Brandon Dubinsky, Chris Drury), Zherdev, N. (Lauri Korpikoski), Prucha, P. (Lauri Korpikoski, Paul Mara), Gomez, S. (Marc Staal, Nikolai Zherdev), Drury, C. (Scott Gomez, Markus Naslund), Naslund, M. (Scott Gomez, Dmitri Kalinin)
Attendance: 18,200

FINAL		1	2	3	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Carolina	2	0	1	3	35	C. Ward
	Atlanta	0	1	4	5	32	K/ Lehtonen
Scoring Summary:
CAR:  Ruutu, T. (Eric Staal), Samsonov, S. (Jussi Jokinen, Patrick Eaves), Babchuk, A. (Tuomo Ruutu, Eric Staal)
ATL:  Kovalchuk, I. (Todd White), Peverley, R. (Marty Reasoner, Ilya Kovalchuk), White, T. ((Ilya Kovalchuk, Bryan Little), Peverley, R. (Ilya Kovalchuk, Slava Kozlov), Kovalchuk, I. (Ron Hainsey)
Attendance: 17,796

FINAL		1	2	3	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Detroit	0	0	0	0	30	T. Conklin, C. Osgood
	Nashville	5	1	2	8	23	P. Rinne
Scoring Summary:
NSH:  Koistinen, V. (Shea Weber, Cal O’reilly), Legwand, D. (Jerred Smithson, Joel Ward), Ward, J. (unassisted), Pihlstrom, A. (Jordin Tootoo, Kevin Klein), Arnott, J. (Ville Koistinen, Ryan Jones), Arnott, J. (Steve Sullivan, J.P. Dumont), Weber, S. (Steve Sullivan, J.P. Dumont), Arnott, J. (J.P. Dumont, Steve Sullivan)
Attendance: 17,113

FINAL		1	2	3	T	SOG	GOALIES
	St. louis	0	1	2	3	30	C. Mason
	Phoenix	0	0	1	1	27	I. Bryzgalov
Scoring Summary:
STL:  McClement, J. (Alexander Steen), Perron, D. (David Backes, Patrik Berglund), McDonald, A. (Keith Tkachuk, Brad Boyes)
PHX:  Jokinen, O. (Keith Yandle, Peter Mueller)
Attendance: 15,893

FINAL		1	2	3	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Minnesota	2	0	0	2	45	J. Harding
	Edmonton	1	2	0	3	30	D. Roloson
Scoring Summary:
MIN:  Brunette, A. (PPG, 06:14 in 1st), Miettinen, A. (PPG, 19:25 in 1st)
EDM:  Hemsky, A. (12:47 in 1st), Stortini, Z. (05:03 in 2nd), Gilbert, T. (15:22 in 2nd)
Attendance: 16,839

 Marty Brodeur got a welcome return to the NHL with the 99th shutout of his career.

FINAL		1	2	3	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Anaheim	0	0	0	0	35	J. Giguere , J. Hiller
	Boston	1	4	1	6	27	T. Thomas
Scoring Summary:
BOS:  Hunwick, M. (Blake Wheeler, Michael Ryder), Ryder, M. (David Krejci, Blake Wheeler), Kobasew, C. (Zdeno Chara), Ryder, M. (Tim Thomas), Kobasew, C. (Dennis Wideman, Andrew Ference), Bitz, B. (Andrew Ference, Matt Hunwick)
Attendance:  17,565

FINAL		1	2	3	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Colorado	0	0	0	0	24	A. Raycroft
	New Jersey	1	1	2	4	32	M. Brodeur
Scoring Summary:
NJD:  Langenbrunner, J. (Travis Zajac, Zach Parise), Elias, P. (Paul Martin, Zach Parise), Parise, Z. (Jamie Langenbrunner, Travis Zajac), Zajac, T. (Paul Martin, Johnny Oduya)
Attendance: 16,107

FINAL SO		1	2	3	OT	SO	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Toronto	1	1	2	0	1 (2-3)	5	33	V. Toskala
	NY Islanders	0	1	3	0	0 (1-3)	4	44	J. MacDonald
Scoring Summary:
TOR:  White, I. (Ian White, Niklas Hagman), Moore, D. (Jason Blake, Jonas Frogren), Kubina, P. (Mikhail Grabovski, Jason Blake), Antropov, N. (Matt Stajan, Ian White), Stapleton, T. (00:00 in SO)
NYI:  McAmmond, D. (Bill Guerin, Jon Sim), Bergenheim, S. (unassisted), Streit, M. (Bruno Gervais), Sim, J. (Mark Streit)
Attendance: 12,201

FINAL		1	2	3	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Florida	0	0	2	2	22	C. Anderson
	NY Rangers	1	0	0	1	41	H. Lundqvist
Scoring Summary:
FLA:  Booth, D. (Stephen Weiss, Keith Ballard), Horton, N. (Richard Zednik, Bryan McCabe)
NYR:  Naslund, M. (Scott Gomez, Dmitri Kalinin)
Attendance: 18,200

FINAL		1	2	3	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Atlanta	1	1	1	3	24	K. Lehtonen
	Washington	2	1	1	4	40	M. Neuvirth
Scoring Summary:
ATL:  Kovalchuk, I. (Todd White, Slava Kozlov), Peverley, R. (Niclas Havelid, Tobias Enstrom), White, T. (Ilya Kovalchuk, Marty Reasoner)
WSH:  Semin, A. (Sergei Fedorov, Alexander Ovechkin), Laich, B. (Mike Green, Alexander Semin), Green, M. (Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Semin), Fehr, E. (Shaone Morrisonn, Dave Steckel)
Attendance: 18,277

FINAL SO		1	2	3	OT	SO	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Buffalo	0	1	0	0	0 (0-3)	1	37	P. Lalime
	Carolina	0	0	1	0	1 (1-3)	2	32	C. Ward
Scoring Summary:
BUF:  Kaleta, P. (Clarke MacArthur, Paul Gaustad)
CAR:  Babchuk, A. (Michael Ryan, Eric Staal), Jokinen, J. (in SO)
Attendance: 18,219

FINAL		1	2	3	T	SOG	GOALIES
	San Jose	0	2	0	2	24	B. Boucher
	Ottawa	1	0	0	1	24	A. Auld
Scoring Summary:
SJS:  Michalek, M. (Joe Pavelski, Marc-Edouard Vlasicnd), Marleau, P. (Jeremy Roenick, Joe Thornton)
OTT:  Fisher, M. (Chris Campoli, Dany Heatley)
Attendance: 17,791

FINAL		1	2	3	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Phoenix	0	1	0	1	26	I. Bryzgalov
	Nashville	1	1	2	4	47	P. Rinne
Scoring Summary:
PHX:  Jovanovski, E. (Olli Jokinen, Daniel Carcillo)
NSH:  Sullivan, S. (J.P. Dumont), Arnott, J. (unassisted), Ward, J. (Martin Erat, Dan Hamhuis), Legwand, D. (Joel Ward, Shea Weber)
Attendance: 14,954

FINAL		1	2	3	T	SOG	GOALIES
	St. Louis	1	0	2	3	22	C. Mason
	Dallas	1	0	0	1	42	M. Turco
Scoring Summary:
STL:  McClement, J. (unassisted), Oshie, T. (Patrik Berglund), Berglund, P. (David Perron, Barret Jackman)
DAL:  Lehtinen, J. (Mike Ribeiro, Steve Ott)
Attendance: 17,603

FINAL		1	2	3	T	SOG	GOALIES
	Columbus	0	0	1	1	32	S. Mason
	Edmonton	0	0	0	0	19	D. Roloson
Scoring Summary:
CBJ:  Torres, R. (Jared Boll, Fedor Tyutin)
Attendence: 16,839