Panthers sign up Martin until 2012

The Florida Panthers announced today that Jacques Martin has reached an agreement to remain with the team as the club’s general manager through the 2011-2012 season.

Martin, 55, joined the Florida Panthers organization in May of 2004 as the club’s head coach, before assuming the duties of the club’s general manager on Sept. 3, 2006.

>> team release

With so much turmoil in NHL front offices and behind the bench, it's amazing that the GM of a team that hasn't made the postseason in eight years is the one locked up for another four.

I think Martin's done a decent job as GM in Florida, where the franchise was a complete mess in the wake of the Todd Bertuzzi deal. Where he didn't fare so well was as coach, as the Panthers underperformed given the talent on the roster (although they did finish among the league leaders in man games lost).

With young stars like Jay Bouwmeester and Nathan Horton, there's a lot to work with for whoever comes in as coach, and I think Florida could be the surprise team of 2008-09 under the right scenario. They're going to need to improve for Bouwmeester to re-sign with the team after six playoff-less years.

In any event, I can't get too worked up about this one. I believe Mike Keenan had a long-term contract as GM in Florida, too.

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Flyers get one back

Eastern Conference final
(2) Pittsburgh v. (6) Philadelphia
Penguins lead series 3-1

It seems the Pittsburgh Penguins are still in need of a little more maturity.

While they have grown remarkably despite their youthful makeup, the Penguins could use more experience when it comes to the killer instinct. For the second NHL playoff series in a row, they failed to close the deal in an elimination game.

— David Shoalts, The Globe and Mail

Game 4 was more of what I'd expected from this series: A high level of intensity from the Flyers, scrums after the whistle, and a Pittsburgh team that was, at least at some points, on its heels in its own end.

That's not to say Philadelphia has a chance.

No, I'll go back to a few words I had about the San Jose-Dallas matchup in Round 2, when it was the Sharks on the mat looking like they'd soon tap out: "The team in the hole wins a game, brings it to 3-1, well, okay, there's their last gasp. Given where they're coming from, the odds are so long that it's not worth thinking about. Who's next again?"

By that logic, the answer's "Detroit," with only the date to be determined.

The Flyers and Stars need to win another game for my ears to perk up (and take down that poll in the sidebar).

As far as I'm concerned, Penguins fans are safe buying the hat.

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Three women enter IIHF Hall of Fame

Geraldine Heaney, Angela James and Cammie Granato made women's hockey history on Thursday.

The trio of pioneers became the first women players inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame, along with former superstar Mario Lemieux, Russian great Igor Larionov and the first French player ever to skate in the NHL, Philippe Bozon.

— The Canadian Press

Good to see.

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Eastern Conference final Pittsburgh @ Philadelphia

I've got some family coming in from B.C. today, which means I won't be particularly active here, but the crew at FanHouse will be having a live blog for the game tonight that's worth stopping by for.

The Flyers are shuffling up their lines in a last-ditch bid to win a game in this series, but still will not have Braydon Coburn in the lineup. Pittsburgh will be missing Gary Roberts.

And Eric Duhatschek looked into the potential schedule for the finals last night.

UPDATE I'll be on The Team 1260 in Edmonton at 5:50 p.m.
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Stars finally win one

Western Conference final
(1) Detroit v. (5) Dallas
Red Wings lead series 3-1

Modano, the former Stars captain, ensured his team would live to play another day. In a game when the Detroit Red Wings had a second-period goal disallowed because of a goaltender interference call, Modano's third-period power-play goal broke a 1-1 tie and led the Stars to a 3-1 victory over the Red Wings last night, staving off elimination for another game at least.

— Eric Duhatschek, The Globe and Mail

We have a series?

The pertinent play in this one? Well, I'll let someone else explain it: "What do you want me to say?" Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "The guy's not in the paint? The guy's out of the paint. That was a reputation call totally. It's disappointing.

"The way I look at it is this: In the league, there's lots that goes on, on the ice. Sometimes a guy gets tripped and you miss it. Some times, things go wrong and you miss it. Just don't make stuff up, that's all. Kelly Sutherland's a good referee. He just blew the call. That's life."

Horrible call. Then again, the Stars were much better in this one, more like the team that made it to this point, so maybe, if they can win in Detroit for the first time in who knows how long, there'll be some semblance of a conference final.

We'll see.

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2008 Memorial Cup open thread

I'm going to be working on a few Memorial Cup related tidbits over the new few days, as Canadian junior hockey's championship tournament gets underway in Kitchener on Friday.

The entrants
WHL champ: Spokane Chiefs
OHL champ: Kitchener Rangers
QMJHL champ: Gatineau Olympiques
OHL runner-up: Belleville Bulls

Would be glad to hear from anyone that's a fan of one of these teams, or just those out there that are interested in junior hockey.

Spokane went 16-5 in the playoffs, while Kitchener was 16-4, Gatineau was 16-3, and Belleville was 15-6 and lost in the OHL final to the Rangers on Monday.

In the final regular season rankings in the CHL, Kitchener was first, Spokane second, Belleville third and Gatineau ninth.

Schedule	Time
Fri. May 16 Gatineau vs. Kitchener	7:00 PM ET
Sat. May 17 Belleville vs. Spokane	4:00 PM ET
Sun. May 18 Kitchener vs. Spokane	4:30 PM ET
Mon. May 19 Belleville vs. Gatineau	7:00 PM ET
Tue. May 20 Spokane vs. Gatineau	7:00 PM ET
Wed. May 21 Kitchener vs. Belleville	7:00 PM ET
Thurs. May 22 Tie Breaker - IF NECESSARY	7:00 PM ET
Fri. May 23 Semi-Final - TBD vs. TBD	7:00 PM ET
Sun. May 25 Championship - TBD vs. TBD	4:30 PM ET

The tournament's going to be broadcast on Sportsnet in its entirety, and as one of the premier hockey events on the calender, it's well worth watching.

To give you an idea of what you can see, I was at the tournament final last year in Vancouver, and Milan Lucic was the star for the hometown Giants en route to a big win. A few months later, he was turning heads in the NHL with Boston.


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And you thought Round 2 was short...

Eastern Conference final
(2) Pittsburgh v. (6) Philadelphia
Penguins lead series 3-0

If both the Wings and Penguins can complete their sweeps tonight and tomorrow, respectively, it would be the first time that both conference finals ended in four games since 1992, when the Penguins swept the Boston Bruins and the Chicago Blackhawks followed suit against the Edmonton Oilers.

— Tim Wharnsby, The Globe and Mail

This round is only six days old, and could be over by Thursday after eight games in eight days. There is a very real possibility that, for the first time since Pittsburgh's first championship in 1991, the Stanley Cup could be awarded in May.

Imagine that.

Here's hoping the finals are more intriguing than this.

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Link o' the day

There's a terrific feature on Penguins GM Ray Shero in the Philadelphia Daily News today.

He's very much been in the background during Pittsburgh's big run, but give the team credit for hiring a younger manager to shape this team and Shero credit for making good on the opportunity.

It's interesting hearing how he grew up among those great Flyers teams in the '70s while his father, Fred Shero, was the head coach.
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All aboard the NHL's coaching carousel

Anyone tired of all the coaching conversation?

It's old news now, even though it happened late last night, that Ron Wilson's exit in San Jose created the sixth opening behind an NHL bench. And if rumours around the league are to be believed, that's a figure that could jump as high as nine in the new few weeks.

Teams without a coach
Atlanta, Colorado, Florida, Ottawa, San Jose, Toronto

Teams that may make a move
Carolina, Los Angeles, Tampa Bay

(Personally, I think Alain Vigneault's safe until October in Vancouver, but some have speculated otherwise.)

From six to nine openings, and way more candidates than that to fill those jobs. Here's my list of potential NHL head coaches as per personal research and those named in media reports (feel free to add names to the list if you've seen them mentioned):

Former NHL coaches of note
Ron Wilson
Joel Quenneville
Bob Hartley
Pat Quinn
Pat Burns
Paul Maurice

Assistant coaches
Detroit's Todd McLellan
Dallas' Rick Wilson
N.Y. Rangers' Perry Pearn
Colorado's Tony Granato
Florida's Mike Kitchen
Penguins' Andre Savard

AHL coaches
Portland's Kevin Dineen
Providence's Scott Gordon
Chicago Wolves' John Anderson
Rochester's Randy Cunneyworth
Hamilton's Don Lever
Lake Erie's Joe Sacco

Junior coaches
Peter DeBoer
Craig Hartsburgh
Patrick Roy

"Other" candidates
Barry Melrose

I put together a look at the so-called Bruce Boudreau types in The Globe on Saturday, trying to find a few of the less heralded names who have put in some time in the minors.

Pat Quinn and Pat Burns generate headlines, but fellows like Scott Gordon and John Anderson could easily be the next Jack Adams winner. More on that later.
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Nonis in demand

The Leafs aren't the only team interested Nonis, as he continues to be wooed by the Atlanta Thrashers and an unidentified third NHL team that still has a general manager in place.

The third team is believed to be the St. Louis Blues. St. Louis president John Davidson could not be reached for comment last night.

— The Globe and Mail

It certainly wouldn't be much of a surprise if Larry Pleau is out in St. Louis, where the team fell apart down the stretch.

It's interesting at how in demand Nonis is. While I think his work in Vancouver was sub-par overall, he was far from the league's most inept GM and I don't have a problem with an organization on the bottom rung like Atlanta taking a chance on him.

Everyone learns from their mistakes, and I'd imagine that'd be the case with Nonis.
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Looking for an illegal stick

I have a quick question for you in regards to this article.

Since the NHL increased the curve limit from ½ to ¾ post lockout, have there been any penalties issued for an illegal curve?

I can’t think of any off the top of my head. It seems to me that (1) ¾ is a huge curve and I can’t imagine the benefits of using a curve larger than that and (2) I think most players have more of an open face curve (i.e. Ovechkin and Jagr) which would make the curve appear larger than it really is.

Maybe I am missing the boat and Philly was taking the stick for another sort of measurement?

— Colin in Pittsburgh

Colin's right in that, with the new curve rules, there haven't been many illegal stick calls (at least that I can recall), but that's not to say there haven't been measurements and penalties.

The most famous recent stick measurement was when Ron Wilson used his knowledge of Teemu Selanne's stick width to negate a late-game power play against the Ducks.

"We had an inkling that his stick might be too wide," Wilson said. "When you look at it, it's almost the length of a goalie stick. I was just rolling the dice, and I figured I'd do it in the overtime and it worked."

From the rulebook on sticks:

Rule 10 – Sticks
10.1: The blade of the stick shall not be more than three inches (3") in width at any point between the heel and ½” in from the mid-point of the tip of the blade, nor less than two inches (2"). All edges of the blade shall be beveled. The curvature of the blade of the stick shall be restricted in such a way that the distance of a perpendicular line measured from a straight line drawn from any point at the heel to the end of the blade to the point of maximum curvature shall not exceed three-quarters of an inch (3/4").

10.2: The blade of the goalkeeper’s stick shall not exceed three and one-half inches (31/2'') in width at any point except at the heel, where it must not exceed four and one-half inches (41/2'') in width; nor shall the goalkeeper’s stick exceed fifteen and one-half inches (151/2'') in length from the heel to the end of the blade.

Does anyone else recall any stick measurement calls in the past two years?
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Winged Wheel keeps rolling

Western Conference final
(1) Detroit v. (5) Dallas
Red Wings lead series 3-0

For all of that, the Stars couldn't find the formula to defeat what is turning into an unstoppable Detroit Red Wings juggernaut in these NHL playoffs. The Red Wings won their ninth consecutive playoff game, a 5-2 decision over the Stars and took a 3-0 stranglehold lead on their best-of-seven Western Conference final. The Red Wings can advance to their first Stanley Cup final in six years with a win in the fourth game tomorrow night.

— Eric Duhatschek, The Globe and Mail

Detroit has steamrolled Colorado and Dallas, outscoring their opposition 37-14 over a 9-0 run that has them one game from the finals. Finishing first in the conference has proven a huge advantage, as the Red Wings have had to beat the eighth, sixth and fifth seeds while coasting into Round 4.

Pretty impressive.

You know, I think the Red Wings could have easily won the Cup last season had injuries not derailed the defence so badly, and without a similar cataclysm, this seems like Detroit's year. It'll be interesting to see if the Flyers can beat up the Penguins and extend their series, or if we'll be into the finals quickly for a true grudge match between the oldest and youngest teams in the running this year.

The Wings have now outshot their opposition 36.9 to 23.5 per game, and Monday night was the first time in these playoffs they'd given up six power-play chances in a game. (They've averaged about 4.1 against, down from about 4.3 during the year.)

It's a combination that's proving very difficult to beat.

"They're causing us to do things we don't want to do," Brad Richards said. "That's what they're good at. … Sometimes, we're just not smart in situations. We tie it up twice and they go down to score and take the lead again. It's tough to do over and over again against a team like that."

Countdown to draft '08

The NHL has just launched a great resource website for the 2008 draft, which will take place a little more than a month from now in Ottawa.

Given 28 teams are soon to be golfing, I imagine it'll be of interest to a few fans.
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Wilson fired

No surprise here, but the Sharks fired coach Ron Wilson earlier tonight. Here's San Jose Mercury News columnist Mark Purdy:

The dismissal of Sharks coach Ron Wilson comes as no stunner. As a regular season coach, he was great — and I do not use that word lightly. But in three of his four playoff trips, the Sharks were defeated by a lower-seeded team. On the fourth occasion, the Sharks were leading higher-seed Detroit before everything fell apart.

The franchise had to change the formula. Wilson was the most obvious move to make.

Wilson is the eighth most winning coach in NHL history, ahead of Jacques Martin, Jacques Lemaire, Pat Burns, Toe Blake, Ken Hitchcock, Roger Neilson and Jack Adams. He's never won the Stanley Cup, however, and his teams have a history of terrific regular seasons and losing to lower seeds some the postseason.

My thoughts on Wilson from last week. The Sharks become the sixth team with a coaching vacancy, meaning we could see some new faces join the ranks.

Which of Bob Hartley, Joel Quenneville, Wilson, John Paddock or Paul Maurice returns to the NHL next season?
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AHL Game 7 Syracuse @ Toronto

There's a ridiculous amount of good hockey being played these days.

Today's lineup, for instance:
World championships in Halifax/Quebec
NHL conference finals, Game 3, Detroit at Dallas
OHL final, Game 7, Belleville at Kitchener
AHL second round, Game 7, Syracuse at Toronto

It's not every day there's a Game 7 in your backyard, so I'm heading over to Ricoh Coliseum here in a few hours to see the Crunch take on the Marlies (Blue Jackets affiliate v. Maple Leafs affiliate).

I'm afraid I'm not that well-versed in the lineups here, but I have heard about Syracuse's 5-foot-8 netminder Karl Goehring, who's had a good playoffs with a .922 save percentage.

Marlies roster
Crunch roster

Players to watch are mostly on the Syracuse side, with future NHLers like Derick Brassard, Joakim Lindstrom and Clay Wilson chipping in. Both teams are pretty heavy on AHL veterans.

If you're in Toronto, this is the only playoff hockey in town and might be worth getting out to see. If you've got Leafs TV and feel like tuning it in, it's there, too.

UPDATE Finally a good turnout for an AHL game I've gone to in this city, with 4,753 announced as being in the seats, and the team won a tight 3-2 game over a pretty talented Syracuse squad.

There was quite a good media contingent out for this one, most of whom were sitting in the seats. And Scott Clemmensen and another unidentified Marlie were sitting behind us at a restaurant afterwards.

Up next, either Rockford or Chicago, depending on what happens in Game 7 in that one.
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Erat signs seven-year deal

Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that the club has signed restricted free agent forward Martin Erat to a seven-year, $31.5 million contract.

“Martin Erat is a perfect example of this organization’s philosophy,” Poile said. “He came to us as a seventh-round draft pick, and grew steadily into an elite player when given an opportunity to succeed. He has continued to take on more responsibility and is an integral part of our team moving forward. We look forward to his leadership and production for the next seven years.”

>> team release

Erat's only 26 years old and emerged as a solid 60-point player over the past two seasons. Next year, $4.5-million might be a bit high as a cap hit, but over time, this contract should be a bargain for the Predators.

Another massive contract, however, for a young restricted free agent. The Predators also have to sign Ryan Suter and Shea Weber, who are in similar situations and will command surprisingly large contracts.
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Hull-isms

The National Post's Joe O'Connor has a terrific Q&A with Brett Hull today:

NP Finish this sentence for me: Old scorers never die they just…
BH Learn to score off the ice.

I still find it hard to believe he's the GM of a team in the conference finals. Good stuff.
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Gonchar: Shutdown specialist

Q. How have you been able to contain Daniel Briere's line? Is it just as simple as putting the Staal line out and Gonchar or is there something that you've been able to do to shut it down?

COACH THERRIEN: Well, it's not an easy thing to do. They've got a lot of skill. And one thing, Gonchar is doing a fantastic job. Like Gonchar yesterday, picking up three assists, playing so solid defensively. He's been doing that for a long time for us. Last night I thought he was phenomenal and deserved more credit than he receives right now.

This is a guy that always goes under the radar. He's a good leader in that dressing room. He's a good leader on the ice, and he's capable to shut down the best player on the other team. I thought yesterday he did a fantastic job.

If there was some sort of an unsung hero or underrated player award in the playoffs, I think Sergei Gonchar would be my choice at the moment.

For all of the attention, all of the coverage, I've seen very little mention of his role in how dominant the Penguins have been defensively in these playoffs. He's made an incredible transition this season from a purely offence-first blueliner into one of the better defensive defencemen in the league, a little-known fact that's paying off for Pittsburgh in these playoffs.

Has anyone else picked up on his defensive play? And could he potentially get MVP consideration?
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Mule remains sidelined

Detroit Red Wings forward Johan Franzen is experiencing concussion-like symptoms and will not be available to play in tonight’s Game 2 or Monday’s Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals.

Franzen has been experiencing recurring headaches since early in the Western Conference Semifinals vs. Colorado. The Red Wings medical staff has recommended that as a precaution, Franzen not play until further testing and evaluation is completed. He is scheduled to remain in Detroit to undergo testing on Monday.

>> team release

An unfortunate turn of events given Franzen was the story of the playoffs this season and the leading candidate for the Conn Smythe heading into Round 3.
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How much do you love Hank?

Probably not this much:

I also love Henrik Tallinder because Henrik Tallinder seems pleasant. Henrik Tallinder is very smiley and I think Henrik Tallinder is adorable when he's flashing his Henrik Tallinder grin. Henrik Tallinder also laughs a lot and I find that aspect of Henrik Tallinder to be very endearing. I think Henrik Tallinder is one of the best interviews on the team and I don't understand why he, Henrik Tallinder, is not interviewed more often. Media of Buffalo, please interview Henrik Tallinder more. More Henrik Tallinder on the radio, more Henrik Tallinder on television, more Henrik Tallinder in TBN. Henrik Tallinder for everyone! Henrik Tallinder is joy!

Alert the authorities.
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Meet Ville Leino

A couple weeks ago, at the height of the Fabian Brunnstrom madness, I was chatting a bit with Risto Pakarinen, a Finnish hockey writer based out of Stockholm. What I really wanted was a sense of what those who had seen Brunnstrom play thought of him, and where they pegged him as a potential NHL player.

Pakarinen was relatively muted in his praise of the young Swede, but he was keen on another player. Good Finn that he is, Pakarinen wanted to let me know about a countryman named Ville Leino.

"Brunnstrom is not the hottest player around here," he said. "This guy is."

I took at look at his stats, and sure enough, Leino's pretty impressive. The 24-year-old Jokerit sniper won the Finnish league MVP this season with 28 goals and 77 points in 58 games.

I'd meant to write about him ages ago, but got caught up in the NHL playoffs and filed the name away. Let's just say I wasn't surprised when this bit of news made the rounds today:

Wings sign Finnish star
The Red Wings lost out on Swedish prodigy Fabian Brunnstrom on Thursday but may have landed the Finnish equivalent on Saturday, signing 24-year-old, high-scoring winger Ville Leino to a one-year entry-level contract.

Given Detroit's success with little-known European gems, I'd bet on Pakarinen's guy.

"In the playoffs, Leino had 19 points in 14 games in Finland, Brunnstrom (had no goals and one assist) in 12 games," Pakarinen said.

"Sure, the Swedish League may be a little better, but Leino would have dominated the Swedish league as well."

Although he might need a new agent.
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Penguins pounce on Flyers

Eastern Conference final
(2) Pittsburgh v. (6) Philadelphia
Penguins lead series 2-0

To make matters worse for Philadelphia, which already lost its top defenceman, Kimmo Timonen, because of a blood clot in his ankle before the series, the Flyers watched in horror when 1:51 into the game defenceman Braydon Coburn was hit the face with a deflected puck after a shot from Pittsburgh's Hal Gill.

"My left eye is swollen shut right now," said Coburn, who added there is a possibility he'll play in the third game in Philadelphia Tuesday. "I will keep the ice on it and get the swelling down."

— Tim Wharnsby, The Globe and Mail

Next to Nick Lidstrom, Timonen had been the best defencemen in these playoffs. And 23-year-old behemoth Braydon Coburn, one of the most improved players in the NHL during the season, wasn't all that far behind.

The Flyers' hopes of winning this series without Timonen were slim; minus Coburn, too, they're nonexistent. Sunday night, John Stevens was stuck leaning hard on Randy Jones (26:14 ice time), Jaroslav Modry (20:28) and Jason Smith (21:33), while Derian Hatcher drew more than 28 minutes.

You can sneak through a handful of regular games like that, playing varied opposition, but in the conference finals, that doesn't cut it.

Chalk another win up for Team Peach Fuzz, which is now an incredible 10-1 in these playoffs. (Is it just me or is Sidney Crosby looking more and more like you wouldn't want him hanging around the local elementary school... )

This was a pretty sloppy hockey game, all in all, something Gary Roberts alluded to in a postgame interview. The ice in Mellon Arena apparently isn't great, and it showed at certain times in the game.

Overall, the entertainment value in the conference finals has been rather low. As someone just hoping for some solid hockey, here's hoping the Flyers have something in store Tuesday night in Philadelphia.
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And the wheel of justice says...

The league just confirmed. There are some fines involved, but both Ribeiro and Osgood are good to go for Game 3.

— Mike Heika, The Dallas Morning News

I agree with Tom Benjamin on this one: They should have banned Ribeiro for a game.

Call it a suspension "for utter stupidity."
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U.S. burned by goal through net

A controversial goal by Ville Koistinen sparked a huge comeback as Team Finland rallied with three unanswered goals in the third period to edge the United States 3-2 in the qualifying round at the 2008 IIHF World Championship.

— TSN.ca

I'll say it was controversial — the puck went through the side of the net. USA coach John Tortorella looked like he was about to blow his stack afterwards.

"I'm suggesting blindness," the coach said when asked to explain the officials' error.

"What a joke. It's a joke."

There's video highlights of the game available on TSN's site.
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Can you spot a counterfeit ticket?

A little more than a week ago, a good friend of mine was in New York, right about when the Rangers were being thumped in the second round by the Penguins. On the day of Game 4, with New York trailing 3-0 in the series, he headed to Madison Square Garden to try and find a deal on a ticket.

Waiting until the first period was more than half over, he asked a scalper if there were any discounted tickets. Could he and a friend get in the building for the final 40 minutes or so for $100?

This is one of the tickets he was sold:
The headline gives it away, but my pal didn't end up seeing 40 minutes of hockey at MSG that day. The tickets wouldn't scan at the front, they couldn't get in.

All $100 bought him was two bogus tickets, a decent story and an entry on this blog.
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Comparing slogans

Q. Your playoff slogan "sacrifice." Is it something that you guys have bought into or is it just a word that's on a T-shirt?

COACH MICHEL THERRIEN: (Laughs) You always try to find that extra motivation when you start the playoffs. Like for us "sacrifice," is we believe that was the right word and we approach it almost every day with that young group. When we talking about sacrifice, not always sacrifice on the ice, there's sacrifice off the ice as well. You can go on, the list on and on.

Q. I don't know if you heard at end of Michel Therrien's interview, he was asked about the Penguins' T-shirts, and the big slogan about "sacrifice." Do you guys have a rallying point a word or would you like one or how do you feel about that?

JEFF CARTER: We actually had some shirts made up coming into this round, just saying "why not us?" It kind of seems like the whole playoffs, Washington series, Montreal, now this. We're kind of the underdog role, I guess, and why not us?

We played well, we're here, why not keep it going?

Uh, overactive marketing wings?

More on the Flyers' slogan here. I guess we are more than a month in; how many more Franzen/Malkin/Briere/Turco stories are left in the can?
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Red Wings keep rolling

Western Conference final
(1) Detroit v. (5) Dallas
Red Wings lead series 2-0

Osgood, he's having a tea party back there ... They could have played five more periods and they wouldn't have been tired.

— Don Cherry

Was Detroit effective in this game? No doubt.

Entertaining? That's more debatable.

Dallas just hasn't brought much to the table in this matchup. Detroit outshot the Stars nearly 2-1 (34-18) and the margin in faceoffs was even more lopsided (39-16). At no time watching this one did the outcome seem in doubt, and that speaks volumes as to where the series is headed.

I'd be shocked if the Stars prolong it past five games. The Red Wings should be able to easily cruise into the finals, playing much as they've done since Chris Osgood came in relief of Dom Hasek after the fourth game of the first round against Nashville.

There's been little adversity, and that doesn't appear to be soon to change.

Some postgame quotes, including a few that talk about the stick swing Mike Ribeiro took at Osgood at the end of the game:

Q. Can you just talk about the fact that you're two games away from the Stanley Cup Finals?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: I don't look at it like that. My own mind, as just about five minutes after I get home tonight I'll start getting scared about Game 3. And I've been coaching a long time. I've seen it go the wrong way too often. And I'm a big believer in our team and how hard we work.

But we were here, like I said, last year and it didn't work out. And you spend your whole life, if you're in hockey, trying to win that thing. And so you just want to do everything you can to get the opportunity.

Q. Chris, after that cheap shot from Ribeiro, you seemed like you were hurt for a little while there. Are you all right physically now?

CHRIS OSGOOD: Yeah, got me across the back and in the ribs kind of. I seen so many sticks, I kind of turned a little bit. I do have a lot of padding up there but it got me in the side where I didn't have much. It did hurt a bit. It was kind of a full swing right to the side.

But I'll be fine, I'm sure. A little sore but I'll be fine.

NICKLAS LIDSTROM: I think he should be suspended, to do something like that after the game is over. He two-handed our goalie right in the chest. You can't do that.

Not much else of interest in the postgame pressers. Dave Tippett looked very, very frustrated up at the mike and only took one question before leaving.

One last tidbit: I'm not surprised in the least that Darren Helm made an impact in this game. He only played eight minutes, but picked up the first goal. I had a chance to see Helm first-hand at the Memorial Cup last year in Vancouver, when his Medicine Hat team lost in the finals, and he was one of the few players that showed up to play in that game.

(I felt horrible asking him some silly question in the postgame presser as he and his teammates were lined up, on the verge of tears, but he was a pro answering everything. He was very excited about the prospect of sticking with the Wings in the fall, something that didn't come to fruition, but don't be surprised to see him as a full-timer next year at only 21.)

Helm's quick, terrific defensively and can shoot the puck. Another late-round steal for Detroit who we'll be seeing make an impact in the NHL postseason in a big way in the future. At the very least, he has the potential to be Kris Draper's replacement on the Wings as a top-notch shutdown performer.
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Coaching Spezza

"I think Jason Spezza has reached the stage of his career where he really wants to be coached. To this point I think he's done it mostly on talent. But I think he now realizes he needs more than that natural talent to go to another level.

"I can see here that he wants to be coached. He wants information. I think he's come to the realization that he needs coaching help to get better."

— Ken Hitchcock

Canada destroyed Germany today at the world championships, a 10-1 slaughter that I'm sure drew quite an audience on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in May.

Well, maybe not.

This tourney's been short on intrigue so far, but the Spezza chronicles are starting to get interesting. Hitchcock's hardly playing the Senators star, has him down on the fourth line, and today had some pretty peculiar comments in the Edmonton Sun about him.

This is a veritable all-star team, so perhaps there's no shame in sitting more than usual, but either Hitchcock's wrong here or there's some serious reason for concern for Ottawa fans.

What does he see that Bryan Murray didn't? And is this really the best way to coax something useful out of Spezza at a short international event?
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Brunnstrom does Dallas

For the soft-spoken Brunnstrom, the choice between his suitors (mainly the Stars, Red Wings and Canadiens) was a difficult one.

"All the others were good, but Dallas felt a little bit better for me," he said. "I enjoyed the team, and I liked the people there."

— Star-Telegram.com

I'm a few days behind the news cycle with this one, the news that Fabian Brunnstrom has chosen Dallas, but I'd been waiting for a few words from the man himself on how he made the choice.

I'm not sure that we're going to get that particular insight, at least not yet. But I have an idea why he'd choose Dallas over Detroit, Montreal and Toronto, and it doesn't have anything to do with the people.

The Red Wings have, by far the most Swedish content with seven players, as the Stars and Leafs have five and three on the roster this season and the Habs don't have a Swede at all. That's not the deciding factor.

It's also not money, as Brunnstrom was essentially guaranteed to get the same sort of contract wherever he went, a max deal under the rookie entry-level cap with $1-million-plus in bonuses.

And if he wanted ice time, a team in transition, like Toronto or Vancouver, would really be the way to go. (Although the Stars will have a few holes up front with a few free agents on the way out.)

No, the bottom line for Brunnstrom, a "soft-spoken" 23-year-old not particularly used to (or, some would say, suited for) the spotlight, is that Dallas keeps him about as far from the glitz as possible. Texas has its hockey fans, to be sure, but the media contingent is much, much smaller than in Detroit, and it can't even compare to the downright nutty atmosphere in Toronto or Montreal.

It really does take a special player to excel under those conditions — and that's not a slight against Brunnstrom. He could very well develop into a good NHLer, but it's going to take time, and given his billing — something he's going to be stuck trying to live up to for a while — he's likely to disappoint in the early going.

It's easier to pull that off in Dallas.

And if, by chance, you're set to become the next Patrik Stefan, pick the smallest stage possible.
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Tough break for Timonen

You've got to feel for Kimmo Timonen.

The injured Flyers defencemen spoke to the media in Pittsburgh before last night's loss to the Penguins, and he's had a tough go. Here's a guy, 33 years old, who has played in more than 650 regular season games and before this April, had played in just 16 NHL playoff games.

Timonen's emerged as an elite NHL defencemen, among the top 20-30 in the league, but he didn't play his first NHL game until 1998-99 and after six seasons in Finland's top league. He sounded heart-broken yesterday talking about being unable to play due to a blot clot in his leg, an ailment that will ke