YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    Sean Leahy

    • Like
    • Follow
    Author
    • Getty Images

      Ryan Reaves and Ken Hitchcock: Larger than life

      No. 1 Star: Craig Anderson, Ottawa Senators

      Entering the third period down 2-1, the Senators stormed back with three unanswered goals to take Game 1 of their series versus the Montreal Canadiens 4-2. Anderson was kept busy making 48 saves, including 25 in the second period. Jakob Silfverberg, Marc Methot and Guillaume Latendresse were the third period scorers.

      No. 2 Star: Barret Jackman, St. Louis Blues

      Jackman's goal with 50.4 seconds left in regulation snapped a 1-1 tie and gave the Blues a 2-1 victory in Game 2 and a 2-0 advantage in their series against the Los Angeles Kings. The goal was Jackman's first career playoff tally.

      No. 3 Star: Gustav Nyquist, Detroit Red Wings

      Like Jackman, Nyquist played the hero for his team as the Red Wings evened their series with the Anaheim Ducks with a 5-4 overtime win. Damien Brunner had a goal and two assists, while Johan Franzen a pair of goals for the Red Wings.

      Read More »from NHL Three Stars: Anderson denies Habs; Jackman, Nyquist provide dramatics
    • Gustav Nyquist ends Ducks’ comeback quest with OT winner (Video)

      Getty ImagesJohan Franzen scored his second goal of Game 2 on the power play to give the Detroit Red Wings a 4-1 lead over the Anaheim Ducks. The goal came 20 seconds into the third period. It was looking all but over, until the Ducks' top guns mounted a comeback.

      Captain Ryan Getzlaf started things off with a goal at 7:50 of the third period. Teemu Selanne celebrated his second of the series five minutes later. Then, keeping the dramatics for late, Bobby Ryan evened the scored with 2:22 left in regulation.

      But while the Honda Center was ready to explode in overtime at the sight of a completed comeback and a commanding 2-0 series lead for Anaheim, it wasn't meant to be. Just 1:21 into the extra frame, Red Wings forward Gustav Nyquist slotted home the winner after a gorgeous individual effort by Valtteri Filppula to set up the goal:

      Credit Getzlaf, Selanne and Ryan for helping the Ducks force overtime, but give all the praise to Jonas Hiller, who made 10 saves in the third period to keep the comeback alive.

      Game 3 is Saturday night in Detroit. Which way will the momentum swing in this series after that ending?

      Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

      Read More »from Gustav Nyquist ends Ducks’ comeback quest with OT winner (Video)
    • APWhen the Los Angeles Kings plowed their way through the Western Conference en route to their first Stanley Cup last year, they didn't trail in a single series. After Jonathan Quick's overtime gaffe in Game 1 against the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday, they experienced a series deficit for the first time in a while.

      A deficit has now become a hole.

      With Game 2 knotted a two and under a minute to go in regulation, Blues defenseman Barret Jackman broke the tie to give St. Louis a 2-0 series lead:

      It was Jackman's first career playoff goal and ended a period in which the Blues evened the score early on after a Jonathan Quick rebound bounce in off Patrick Bergland.

      The Kings now head back home for Game 3 to Staples Center where they were 19-4-1 during the regular season and are feeling confident.

      "Four games in a series, so we just focus on the next one," Brown told LA Kings Insider Jon Rosen. "We’re going home. We played really well at home this year, and we’ve got to take care of our home ice here.”

      Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

      Read More »from Barret Jackman’s goal with 50.4 seconds left gives Blues 2-0 series advantage over Kings (Video)
    • @BonksMulletThe Bell Centre crowd was still celebrating Rene Bourque's goal 13:09 into the second period when they soon went quiet after seeing Lars Eller land face first onto the ice after this hit by Ottawa Senators defenseman Eric Gryba:

      (Warning: There's a lot of blood)

      The mix of the blood and the face-first landing almost brings back memories of Kevin Stevens from 1993.

      Gryba was assessed five minutes for interference and given a game misconduct. Brendan Gallagher would score on the ensuing five minute power play as the Canadiens took a 2-1 lead into the third period. Eller left the ice on a stretcher and appeared to be conscious.

      The Canadiens say Eller suffered a "head and facial" injury and is alert at hospital. Hockey Night in Canada reported that Eller suffered a broken nose and a concussion.

      This play was a recipe for disaster, beginning with Diaz sending a suicide pass Eller's way. His head is looking for the pass as Gryba is skating in to separate Eller from the puck. Like we saw in the Ryan White suspension, Gryba could have lined up his hit better with Eller's body, not his head, taking the brunt of the blow. The moment of impact appears to be the back of Gryba's shoulder with Eller's chest/head. That's how far off line he was on the hit.

      Game 2 for Ottawa/Montreal is Friday night, so a quick decision will be made, one way or another. And the more you watch the hit, the more you have to believe Gryba won't be taking part.

      UPDATE: According to CBC's Elliotte Friedman, Gryba will have a hearing with the NHL on Friday at 12pm ET.

      Read More »from Lars Eller on Montreal bloodied by Eric Gryba hit in gruesome scene; suspension worthy? (Video)
    • A week ago, it was Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown getting a suspension for initiating contact and hitting Jason Pominville in the head. On Thursday, it was Boston Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference's turn for his check to the head of Mikhail Grabovski in Game 1 of their series against the Maple Leafs.

      The hit earned Ference a 1-game ban, as handed down by the NHL:

      Ference was not penalized on the play and Grabovski was no injured.

      As Brendan Shanahan highlights, it's one thing for Ference to attempt to protect the puck along the boards and make contact with Grabovski; it's another to do so while lunging toward the Maple Leafs forward with his arm up and leading the way.

      Targeting the head. Principle point of contact. It was a recipe for supplemental discipline, especially for a repeat-offender, which Ference is considered after his Jan. 2012 suspension.

      Ference will return to the Boston lineup on Monday for Game 3 in Toronto.

      Read More »from Andrew Ference suspended 1 game by NHL for check to head of Mikhail Grabovski
    • Getty Images"They have to realize that if you want to be a playoff team, and you want to be a Stanley Cup contender, it's the teams that grind it out, that play with that desperation in their game to win those battles."

      Those were New York Islanders head coach Jack Capuano's words after his team had a second consecutive defeat in which the game was lost in the third period. After managing to hang on and defeat the Florida Panthers, 4-3, despite allowing three third-period goals, the Islanders then watched a 3-1 lead against the Ottawa Senators evaporate after allowing four unanswered goals in the final frame.

      Two night later, the Montreal Canadiens scored three times in the third, breaking a 2-2 tie and sending the Islanders to a second of three defeats on a four-game homestand.

      That's when Capuano, with his team sitting three points out of a playoff spot with 18 games to go after that loss to the Canadiens, gave his team a reality check, reminding them what it takes to win in the NHL.

      Read More »from NY Islanders face Penguins with emotions high, pressure low in playoffs
    • The last time the New York Islanders advanced out of the first round they then went on to eliminate the highly-favored Pittsburgh Penguins. David Volek's goal in overtime of Game 7 in 1993 to send New York to the conference final is forever etched in both franchise's histories. Twenty years later they meet again and both teams enter in different states of existence. The Penguins are one of the NHL's powerhouse teams, while the Islanders are the up-and-comers. Hmm, sounds a lot like 1993, doesn't it?

      Pittsburgh took the season series 4-1, but aside from a 6-1 loss in March, the Islanders' losses were close. They last played March 30, two days before the Islanders started a month where they would go with just one loss in regulation and fight to earn the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. It's a different team that the Penguins will face over the next week and a half.

      Sidney Crosby will likely come back at some point in the series, adding to Pittsburgh's highly-powered arsenal. Can the Islanders withstand their offensive weapons and provide another monumental upset 20 years after another they managed the same feat?

      Read More »from Pittsburgh Penguins (1) vs. New York Islanders (8): Puck Daddy’s NHL 2013 Stanley Cup Playoff Preview
    • Getty Images

      1. Can the Los Angeles Kings repeat?

      We're still waiting on our first repeat champion since the 1998 Detroit Red Wings. Are the Kings the ones to do? Thanks to the lockout, they didn't experience the short summer like other Cup champs do. They entered this season with an almost identical roster that was celebrating on Staples Center ice last June, added the likes of Robyn Regehr and Keaton Ellerby to their defensive depth and got an entire season with Jeff Carter up front. Jonathan Quick wasn't the same goaltender during the regular season like he was in the playoffs a year ago. His strong numbers during the 2011-12 regular season carried over into the playoffs. Will he improve upon what he did in the 2013 regular season?

      2. Are the Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks destined to meet in the Stanley Cup Final?

      The Penguins were one of the favorite heading into the season, while the Blackhawks played themselves into the "heavy favorite" category thanks to their 24-game point streak to start the season. Since the puck dropped on Jan. 19, the two teams have been on a collision course to face one another in the Final. They've separated themselves from their individual conference foes and could set up a rematch of the 1991 Final; though we'd bet heavily this one wouldn't end in a sweep.

      Read More »from Top 10 Stanley Cup Playoff storylines to watch in the 2013 NHL postseason
    • On the way to their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, the Kings dispatched the Blues in a sweep in the second round last season.

      Lots went wrong for the Blues. Jaroslav Halak and Alex Pietrangelo were injured. And St. Louis was forever searching for momentum as of the Blues' six goals in the series, the Kings scored five times within eight minutes of those tallies. Things just never went St. Louis' way.

      But that was last season. This season the Blues and Kings finished a point apart from one another, with St. Louis winning out on the No. 4 seed and home-ice advantage. While home-ice isn't always a huge factor in series, the Kings haven't fared so well away from Staples Center. LA was 8-12-4 on the road this year.

      It remains to be seen what sort of factor home-ice will play, but checking recent history, the Kings have won their last eight straight games over the Blues, including the sweep a year ago. Can the Blues derail LA's attempt at a repeat?

      Read More »from St. Louis Blues (4) vs. Los Angeles Kings (5): Puck Daddy’s NHL 2013 Stanley Cup Playoff Preview
    • TSN's panel of James Duthie, Darren Dreger, Aaron Ward and Bob McKenzie had a little fun recently with some help from a couple of Los Angeles Kings.

      In their best version of "The Hangover", the panel proved they've got some decent acting chops:

      A few thoughts:

      • If Ed Helms ever needs a future body double, I think we've found one in Duthie.

      • Darren Dreger is apparently not a robot and is hilarious.

      • Darryl Sutter's part should have been replaced with Nick Kypreos, or at least a dude wearing a Kypreos jersey, for obvious reasons.

      • Seriously, how amazing was Dreger?

      • Bravo, Aaron Ward, for the Iginla to the Bruins line.

      Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

      Read More »from TSN’s hockey ‘Hangover’: In which Darren Dreger gets sand in his butt (Video)

    Pagination

    (2,205 Stories)