Jets news:
Jets official site: Plays of the Year – Round 1, Match-Up 14. Oduya vs. Pavelec. Gonna have to give the edge to the former Jets player in this head-to-head.
Affiliate news – St. John’s IceCaps:
The Telegram: Caps have Penguins on the ropes. The Caps gave up 2 goals on the Baby Pens first two shots of the game, but managed to come back and take a 3-1 stranglehold on the series. Game 5 goes Tuesday night.
The Telegram: Maxwell gives IceCaps another OT win. These Caps thrive on OT, although last night’s victory was just 27 seconds into overtime.
Illegal Curve Hockey Replay:
Part 1: Friday night recap (Phoenix @ Nashville), discussion of on-going games (Rangers @ Capitals, USA vs. Canada). Series discussion: New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals. Series discussion: Philadelphia Flyers vs. New Jersey Devils. Montreal Canadiens hire Marc Bergevin as new General Manager. Interview with Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette. Interview with Paul Edmonds, play-by-play voice of the Winnipeg Goldeyes.
Part 2: Series discussion: Nashville Predators vs. Phoenix Coyotes. Series discussion: Los Angeles Kings vs. St Louis Blues. Interview with Tyson Nash color analyst for the Phoenix Coyotes on FS Arizona. NHL News & Notes. Rapid Fire, Cheers & Jeers.
The Illegal Curve Hockey Show airs Saturdays on TSN Radio 1290 from 12pm-3pm.
Stanley Cup news:
Washington Post: Capitals make their own breaks. This appears to be the grittiest squad the Capitals have iced in years. Will that be enough to get them past the first place Rangers?
New York Daily News: Rangers aim to fire away in Game 5. This game could define the rest of the post season. A decisive victory could send a message to the rest of the NHL. A loss and the Rangers would be on the brink of elimination against the 7th seeded Capitals.
The Tennessean: Preds face daunting take to salvage series. Can the Preds overcome one of the most difficult deficits in hockey? Nashville got lucky in one regard though, as the Coyotes history isn’t one that demonstrates that holding onto 3-1 series is easy.
Arizona Republic: Coyotes remaining poised with series clincher at hand. The team nobody picked or expected to have significant post season success continues to defy the odds and the experts. Coach Tippett has his group not looking too far ahead and that grounding in the present has served this team well. They will be without the services of Rusty Klesla for game 5 as he was suspended for his hit on the Predators Matt Halischuk in Game 4.
Yesterday’s Games:
L.A. Times: Kings sweep their way into Conference Finals. The last time Los Angeles was in the Conference Finals they were being led by a guy named Gretzky and their team resembled a re-born Oilers team (Kurri, McSorley, Huddy) back in 1992-93. Nineteen years later they have an exciting crop of young upstart players who have dethroned the 1st place Canucks and now the 2nd place Blues.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: LA series doesn’t wipe out Blues’ accomplishments. With the exception of Arnott and Langenbrunner, this was a pretty playoff inexperienced St. Louis team. I’m sure coach Hitchcock will take this experience as a teachable moment when he is preparing his team next year.
Star-Ledger: Devils’ Marek Zidlicky proving to be valuable midseason acquisition. Always interesting to see how players who request a trade settle into their new teams. In this instance it is working out very well for the Devils who now find themselves up 3-1 over the Flyers.
Philadelphia Daily-Inquirer: Flyers hopes appear to be dimming. As someone who picked the Flyers to make the Cup finals before the season began, it appears highly unlikely at this point. For whatever reason this team just cannot solve the Devils the way they were able to handle the Penguins. Instead it has been New Jersey which has controlled things through 4 games and now the Flyers are on the brink of elimination, down 3 games to 1.