How the Last 13 Stanley Cup Champions Didn't Repeat, Part 4: Fan's Take (Yahoo! Contributor Network)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 12:46:00 PDT)
In the past 13 years, all 13 Stanley Cup champions fell short of raising the Cup another consecutive time. The first part of my series looked at how the champions from 1999, 2000 and 2001 failed to repeat. Part two studied how the 2002, 2003 and 2004 champions missed the chance to win again. Last week, part three explained how the 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 champions were undone the next year. Finally, this series ends by exploring the way the 2010, 2011 and 2012 champions went home early.

Ratings down for conference finals; Ted Nugent backs David Booth; NHL 13 teaser (Puck Headlines) (Puck Daddy)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 13:07:28 PDT)
Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media. • You're probably seen Zdeno Chara's tribute to Pavel Demitra by now, but here's Slovakia's Branko Radivojevic rocking a tribute T-shirt after their semifinal win over the Czech Republic at the Hockey World Championship in Helsinki. • NBC audiences were down over the weekend for the conference finals. Lepore: "Saturday's Rangers-Devils game drew a 1.3 overnight rating, down 13% from last year's Game 4 between Boston and Tampa Bay. It may have been hurt by the early timeslot, or the fact that there was a huge dip in ratings in the lone local market, New York. Game 3 drew a 4.2 in the Big Apple, well down from the 6.2 for Game 1 on the NBC Sports Network.  Sunday's Game 4 between the Coyotes and Kings drew a 1.1 overnight, down 15% from last year's Game 4 between the Canucks and Sharks, which was a 2-1 series, as opposed to the 3-0 lead the Kings had heading in. The game drew a series high 2.7 in Los Angeles." [ Puck The Media ] • Henrik Lundqvist on the New York Rangers fans that invade the Rock: "We always have played there in Newark. It's one of the things that makes it special to play these types of games, play New York teams.  We have a lot of support, and talked about it earlier, a couple days ago, when you see the way that the fans react to things that happen during the game or even the results, it's exciting." [ Rangers Rants ] • Looks like Stu Bickel will move up to forward to replace the suspended Brandon Prust. [ Slap Shot ] • Larry Brooks believes the hate-o-meter is slowly seeing the needled move on the Rangers and New Jersey Devils. [ NY Post ] • Sports Business Journal is reporting that the Detroit Red Wings have settled on a designer for a new 18,000-seat arena to replace the Joe. [ Detroit News ] • Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League's Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has agreed to terms with defenseman Jamie McBain on a two-year contract. The deal will pay McBain $1.7 million in 2012-13, and $1.9 million in 2013-14. [ Hurricanes ] • They signed Bobby Sanguinetti and forward Nicolas Blanchard to two-way contracts, too. [ Canes Country ] • Zach Parise is a free agent … risk? "It is very likely that he will elevate whichever team signs him in the short run, but as teams weigh the idea of making him an offer, they need to keep in mind the distinct possibility that he will underperform this contract in the near future and eventually become an anchor on the team's salary cap finances." [ NHL Numbers ] • Bear killin' David Booth has a friend in Ted Nugent. [ PITB ]

What We Learned: Embarrassing LA sports media moments while covering Kings playoff run (Puck Daddy)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 06:58:22 PDT)
Hello, this is a feature that will run through the entire season and aims to recap the weekend's events and boils those events down to one admittedly superficial fact or stupid opinion about each team. Feel free to complain about it. It's possibly the greatest bit of investigative journalism conducted since Woodward and Bernstein brought down Richard Nixon. This exemplary, collective effort of sleuth work is currently ongoing in Los Angeles, Calif., where an entire media market has unearthed the NHL's shocking secret: The city has a professional hockey team. Over the past week or so here at Puck Daddy, we've tried to document every startling discovery made by the intrepid Los Angeles media, like how to properly pronounce Anze Kopitar's name (it's hard because he's from Bosnia or something), the real name of this Drew Doughty character ( it's actually Brad !) and that hockey is in fact not played with a ball, but rather a little piece of rubber known as a "puck." That last one makes me pretty uncomfortable because of the word it rhymes with. ("Duck" — sorry, I just don't trust 'em; they have weird beaks). Just how villainous is this team, operating as a sort of sporting sleeper cell? They got all the way to the Western Conference Finals without one local noticing. That takes real criminal talent. And not only that, but, the NHL had the diabolical idea to hide it right under the Los Angelinos' noses, by having their home games played at the Staples Center. You know, where the Lakers play. Further, they named the team the Kings to intentionally confuse even the savviest media organization into thinking they are the NBA's Sacramento Kings. Astonishingly devious stuff. More twists and turns than the Da Vinci Code, which I've read three times just to make sure I understood it all. The best bit of this journalism on this pressing issue comes, of course, from the city's paper of record, the Los Angeles Times, winner of 44 Pulitzer Prizes since 1942, including three in 2012. It was for that towering beacon of journalistic excellence that columnist Chris Erskine successfully scruted several of the team and sport's most inscrutable mysteries . For instance, that thing I said earlier about the puck (again, yuck… oh and that's another gross word it rhymes with), I learned it from Erskine. Apparently they even freeze the thing. And that's a huge point of concern, because, "The hardest shots can reach 110 mph and tear flesh, crush bone, even kill you if you're not careful." Yikes, you guys! ( Coming Up: Rick Nash to Boston?; Tororella defends Prust; Ryan Suter faces his future; Evegni Malkin is having a pretty good season; why Lundqvist is King; why the Capitals can't win with Ovechkin; the Islanders know how to party; Canucks might keep Luongo; Ryan Miller on the CBA; Flames and Oilers coaching news; and are the Kings in trouble?)

Russia back on top, defeats Slovakia 6-2 in final (The Associated Press)
(Sun, 20 May 2012 15:52:23 PDT)
HELSINKI (AP) Russia won the world championship Sunday by defeating Slovakia 6-2.

Russia beat Slovakia 6-2 to win ice hockey world title
(Sun, 20 May 2012 13:42:48 PDT)
Russia battled from a goal down to win the world championship on Sunday, beating 2002 champions Slovakia 6-2 in the final.

This Jonathan Quick sex joke is our favorite ad of 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs (PHOTO) (Puck Daddy)
(Sun, 20 May 2012 12:58:34 PDT)
You've got your stick in hand and all you want to do is score, but someone is denying you that moment of euphoria. Husbands of the world, the Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues and the Phoenix Coyotes feel your frustration … and this display ad outside of Staples Center around LA Live during Game 4 of the Western Conference final is hilarious. Over the last two years, the Boston Bruins offered some hilarious (and hilariously offensive, to some parties) display advertisements. For example: "Never, Ever Date A Flyers Fan. Even If She Shaves Her Moustache." Whoever put this Jonathan Quick tribute up — the Los Angeles Kings? Reebok? Some mysterious goalie-loving benefactor? — is giving those Boston ads a run for comedic genius in playoff display advertising. Although, a word of advice for that frustrated husband: Try shooting from center ice. s/t @bloodyeyeballs, via @hockeydoc21 and @tonybova Related NHL news from Yahoo! Sports:

Russia faces Slovakia in hockey worlds final (The Associated Press)
(Sat, 19 May 2012 21:47:56 PDT)
HELSINKI (AP) Russia and Slovakia will meet in the world hockey championship final on Sunday for the first time since the Slovaks won their only title a decade ago against the Russians.

Rangers rookie Chris Kreider making it look easy in impressive jump from NCAA title to NHL playoffs
(Fri, 18 May 2012 12:15:57 PDT)
Kreider went from big man at Boston College to a rushed-in rookie on a tight-knit Rangers team, but his power-forward skills and quietly confident ways have eased the transition.

Penalties in 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Who’s drawing them, and who’s taking them? (Puck Daddy)
(Fri, 18 May 2012 07:56:22 PDT)
After his team took four minor penalties in the third period of their Game 3 loss to the Los Angeles Kings, Phoenix Coyotes Coach Dave Tippett used his postgame press conference to bemoan the "dishonesty" that's crept into the NHL when it comes to embellishment. "When it's done well, it's very hard for the referees, because if you fall down near the boards, or you drop your stick or you throw your head back, you're putting the referee in a very tough situation," he said. Before blocked shots became the soapbox topic du jour in the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, diving and embellishment were being hotly debated. Brad Marchand's embellishment earned inspired a lowlight reel on YouTube . Ryan Kesler's tumbleweed dive against the Kings became a point of ridicule. Like Tippett said: Every team, including his, attempts to draw penalties. And some players are better at it than others. Who is drawing the most penalties in the 2012 NHL playoffs? Glad you asked.

The 10 best Sports Illustrated Stanley Cup Playoff covers (Puck Daddy)
(Wed, 16 May 2012 07:05:06 PDT)
The National Hockey League has appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated — either the main mag or on a commemorative issue — 114 times, according to the SI Vault archive. Sometimes, it was a quick mention on a cover story dedicated to Tiger Woods another sports story. Other times, hockey was given the spotlight. The Stanley Cup Playoffs have been featured around 35 times, including Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers on a striking cover from April 2012. While some weren't exactly iconic, they all had their charms. Here are the 10 best Sports Illustrated Stanley Cup Playoff covers.

NHL questions: Can the Rangers go all the way? (The Associated Press)
(Wed, 16 May 2012 00:08:55 PDT)
The NHL's conference finals opened over the weekend without some of the top teams and big stars that highlighted the regular season.

Tippett talks Game 2; Torres hearing; Dale Hunter Hockey debate (Puck Headlines) (Puck Daddy)
(Tue, 15 May 2012 13:04:35 PDT)
Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media. • All of this has happened before, and will happen again. (via reader Jon Ward) • Dave Tippett on the keys to Game 2: "First and foremost, if you're not willing to jump in and win a few more one-on-one battles, then the tactical stuff you might as well throw out the window." [ AZ Central ] • Alex Semin on Dale Hunter Hockey: "The whole year it was up-and-down, we win a game, we lose a game. By the time we got to playoffs, the team finally understood how to play the game he wanted, defense first, no mistakes, blocking shots, all five guys together. But during the regular season, intensity is not the same as in the playoffs. In postseason, every goal is worth its weight in gold." [ Russian Machine ] • What on earth did Alex Ovechkin mean about jealousy in the Capitals' locker room? [ Puck Drunk Love ] • Larry Robinson will not be heading to Montreal: "Devils assistant coach and 2000 Cup-winning head coach Larry Robinson vehemently ripped a report suggesting he is interested in joining the new Montreal regime, saying that comments attributed to an agent, whom he called a friend, were five years old and that there has been no such contact or interest." [ NY Post ] • Raffi Torres will watch Gary Bettman deny his appeal on Thursday. [ Sportsnet ] • Oh, it only the Coyotes had moved to Winnipeg; then it would be the Jets making this run in the Western Conference. [ QMI ] • Elliotte Friedman, on Dale Hunter Hockey: "This is where I strongly disagree with statistical analysis, which mocked Hunter's system as being terrible for puck possession and, therefore, determined he was coaching a style that allowed opponents to control the game. This is one where numbers don't tell anything close to the real story. They played hard, they played together and I would've liked to see how things evolved over the offseason. If it's decided that the team must go in a different direction, there are going to be some very unhappy players. It's a delicate balance for McPhee." [ CBC ]

Would New York Rangers vs. Los Angeles Kings Stanley Cup Final fall short of ratings blockbuster? (Puck Daddy)
(Tue, 15 May 2012 09:12:09 PDT)
At the end of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final, the Peacock had something to crow about. The 8.54 million viewers who tuned in to NBC for Game 7 between the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks gave the NHL its largest U.S. television audience for any game in 38 years. The series as a whole attracted an average of 4.6 million viewers per game on NBC and the then-VERSUS network, making it "the most-watched combined network/cable Stanley Cup involving a Canadian team ever." So there's that. It's completely, utterly getting ahead of ourselves to say that the New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings will meet for the Stanley Cup in 2012, despite their emphatic Game 1 wins. But the tantalizing notion that the nation's No. 1 and No. 2 markets could battle on the NHL's biggest stage has some theorizing that the ratings could set records. But Steve Lepore of Puck The Media thinks it's time we all slow our roll on that theory in a post titled "New York and Los Angeles Are Not the Key to Record NHL Ratings, Even if Everyone Keeps Telling You It Is." Lepore's take: "Those two markets are just not at the right level to bring in record ratings at this point. It had better be a great series, or else it might be diehards only until at least Game 5."

Third-period barrage lifts Rangers past Devils in series opener (The SportsXchange)
(Mon, 14 May 2012 21:10:17 PDT)
NEW YORK -- As the New York Rangers prepared to host the New Jersey Devils on Monday night at Madison Square Garden, the home team made a special effort to remind the Devils -- and the fans -- what happened the last time the bitter rivals battled for a trip to the Stanley Cup finals in 1994.

Eulogy: Remembering the 2011-12 Washington Capitals (Puck Daddy)
(Mon, 14 May 2012 13:41:44 PDT)
(Ed. Note: As the Stanley Cup Playoffs continue, we're bound to lose some friends along the journey. We've asked for these losers, gone but not forgotten, to be eulogized by the people who knew the teams best: The fans who hated them the most . Here is are the Boston Bruins bloggers from Days of Y'Orr , fondly recalling the 2011-12 Washington Capitals. Again, this was not written by us ... OK, by all of us. Also: This is a roast and you will be offended by it , so don't take it so seriously.) By Days Of Y'Orr The definition of insanity: Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results … like believing an Eastern Conference Finals game will be played in Washington D.C. after the turn of the century. Welcome to the Washington Capitals Eulogy. We would, firstly, like to welcome all the Capitals fans in attendance. If this were 2003, we're sure the room would be less crowded, but we have enough chairs that all 300 of you should be cozy. We'll have our PA announcer say something whenever we need you to cheer throughout the eulogy, just in case you're as lost here as you are during an actual hockey game. We'll try to refrain from making "Alexander Ovechkin looks like the lovechild of the Geico Caveman and Adam Sandler's boss from 'Happy Gilmore'" jokes, but just know that they're there; they're there. Before the season began, the media always plays its favorite guessing game known as "NHL Predictions," and every season the same ole story happens. People pick the Washington Capitals to finish first in their division and either first or second in the Eastern Conference with Pittsburgh somewhere around them. Every year, writers pat Alexander Ovechkin on the backside and immediately pencil him in for a 90-100 point season while scoring 50-60 goals and being Russia's version of Superman. Well if Ovechkin is the Russian Superman, then clearly his kryptonite is the NHL playoffs.

Hunter steps down as head coach of Capitals
(Mon, 14 May 2012 10:39:12 PDT)
(Reuters) - Dale Hunter has stepped down as head coach of the Washington Capitals after salvaging the season with a late playoff berth and getting to within one win of the Eastern Conference final, the team said on Monday. Hunter, who was hired to replace Bruce Boudreau in November after the Capitals went on a 3-7-1 stretch, went 30-23-7 the rest of the way and helped Washington clinch a playoff berth in their penultimate game of the regular season. "I thought he did a great job of coming in and helping us out," Capitals General Manager George McPhee said. ...

Hunter won't return as Capitals head coach (The SportsXchange)
(Mon, 14 May 2012 09:40:19 PDT)
Despite an impressive postseason run, Dale Hunter will not return as head coach of the Washington Capitals in the 2012-13 season.

What We Learned: What to make of this Washington Capitals season? (Puck Daddy)
(Mon, 14 May 2012 05:28:10 PDT)
Hello, this is a feature that will run through the entire season and aims to recap the weekend's events and boils those events down to one admittedly superficial fact or stupid opinion about each team. Feel free to complain about it. There's been a lot of talk about what this season has meant for the Washington Capitals in the hours leading up to, and then immediately following, their final game of the remarkably eventful 2011-12 season. Wysh had a pretty good recap of the reasons the Capitals felt this little run to a pair of one-goal Game 7s against the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds in the Eastern Conference — both having been heavy favorites — vindicated the Dale Hunter system of everyone playing defense and collapsing to within three inches of the crease, and it's perfectly reasonable for people to feel that way. Certainly, no one expected these Capitals to do much damage in the postseason given that they frittered away a division they were picked to dominate. But the thing that everyone seems to forget is that, again, they were picked to dominate the Southeast, be a superpower in the East and the League at large. If the team tuned out Bruce Boudreau, and it appears they did, then wasn't his replacement, whoever it happened to be, more or less expected to get this far? Therefore, it becomes a question about what changed, and really, what didn't. Let's not forget, Boudreau came in originally and let guys like Alex Semin, Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green have their run of the rink. Two-minute shifts? Sure! Goals aplenty? You bet. But in the end, what did it get them? Bounce-outs, and if you believe the talk, disappointing ones at that. So Boudreau changed the style, focusing more on defense, tethering Ovechkin and Co. to an extent, and … getting the same amount of success. Under each of the two clearly definable Boudreau regimes, the team lost in the conference quarter- and semi-finals. Which is of course notable because the latter is exactly how far Hunter got in his first chance at the tiller, despite doing everything in his power not to: like limiting Ovechkin to fewer than 20 minutes a night in every game in this series save for Saturday's Game 7 and the three-overtime Game 3, in which he played 35:14 — or, if you prefer 17:37 per three periods of play. This therefore vindicates Hunter only as far as it vindicated Boudreau; which, with a roster like this, and given the "choker" label being hung liberally on the former Caps coach this time last year. The philosophy changed radically under Hunter, and worked only as far as it did for Boudreau. Why? ( Coming Up: Team USA, international ass-kickers; getting stupid about Patrick Kane's drinking; Parise's future; Could Brad Stuart return to the Sharks?; Kevin Lowe says Ryan Murray is the top player in this year's draft class; Suter/Weber questions; Pancakes Penner's revenge; Bruins pumped for Dougie Hamilton; Alfredsson retirement watch; Leafs/Penguins trade?; Lundqvist is King; Alex Burrows runs and hugs a goalie; and Winnipeg Jets fans are burning Coyotes jerseys.)

Familiar ending: Capitals can't get past 2nd round (The Associated Press)
(Sun, 13 May 2012 12:25:11 PDT)
WASHINGTON (AP) All those changes didn't get the Washington Capitals any further in the playoffs.

Key question for Capitals in offseason: Will Hunter return? (The SportsXchange)
(Sun, 13 May 2012 01:20:16 PDT)
Some of the Washington Capitals will look back at their playoff run and say they knocked off the Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins and fell one goal short against the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Brad Richards was expected to deliver on a grand stage for the Rangers, just not quite so quickly
(Sun, 13 May 2012 00:00:56 PDT)
After signing with New York, Richards had high hopes, but even he must be surprised at how quickly success has come.