Let’s leave the “What’s wrong with the Detroit Red Wings?” question at the door right now before we even start. That’s another article completely.

Many Red Wings fans were given good news on Halloween when the turned on their computers and went online and/or opened up the sports section of a newspaper and saw that Ken Holland worked his magic again:

Niklas Kronwall remains a Red Wings defenseman for seven more years.

And why wouldn’t he? He was given the title of “Alternate Captain” this season, swapping out with Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg. The Red Wings need that physical kind of force on their ranks, and keeping Kronwall around is a smart move. Plus, with Nicklas Lidstrom on his way out at some point in the future, the team needs some defensemen on which they can rely and not have to worry about re-signing every other year.

Kronwall signed for seven years, $33.25 million; at thirty years of age, this lengthy contract pretty much guarantees he’ll be wearing a Winged Wheel for his entire career, unless otherwise traded. His contract gets a little tricky. The salary cap hit will be $4.75 million, but the breakdown is more intricate than that (naturally).

2012-13 sees him making $4.25 million. The following three seasons, he ears $6 million, then $5.5 million in 2016-17, and the last two years of his contract will be $3.5 million and $1.75million.

Kronwall will earn $4.25 million in 2012-13 and $6 million in each of the next three seasons. He’ll make $5.5 million in 2016-17 and $3.5 million and $1.75 million, respectively, the final two years of the deal.

With a cap hit of $4.25 million, it puts him in the same ranks as Chris Pronger, Kevin Bieksa, Mike Komisarek, Dan Hamhuis, Jack Johnson, and Tomas Kaberle, to name only a handful.

So how does Niklas Kronwall compare statistically with these other defensemen?

Firstly, he’s always been fairly prone to lengthy injuries (one to two months of the season); the 2008-2009 season only saw him missing two games and getting 51 points and 50 PIMs. 2010-11, he only missed five games and hit 47 points and 36 PIMs. Twelve games into the season, he has two goals and two assists, though let’s not forget the Red Wings went through a six-game slump of only scoring six goals total.

Now let’s compare these stats to some of the previously mentioned defensemen. Kronwall’s stats are fairly similar to Pronger’s, if you can believe it. However, Pronger has come close in several recent seasons to hitting sixty points whereas Kronwall still struggles to hit fifty. Last season, Pronger only played fifty games, but still scraped up 25 points, almost identical to Kronwall’s 48 game, 22-point season.

Against a player like Bieksa, Kronwall has more offensive output (and a lot fewer penalties), with Bieksa’s highest offensive season coming in 2008-9 with 43 points. The same goes with comparing him to Komisarek and Hamhuis.

Kronwall is also pretty identical to Jack Johnson, both in offensive output and penalties. They both get around 35 to 45 points per season and hit somewhere around 40 PIMS.

His comparison to Kaberle is very similar to that of Pronger. Kaberle hits anywhere between forty and sixty points per season while keeping his penalties to a minumum. One thing is for sure, Kaberle really hasn’t missed a majority of a season like Kronwall has in the past. But if the Swede can stay healthy and aggressive, anything is possible.

Now after comparing all of these stats, would you find it strange to compare Kronwall’s output to Pronger’s output? People usually rank Pronger up there with Lidstrom, Zdeno Chara, and Shea Weber, but Kronwall gets lost in the mix, and is usually only known for his bone-crunching hits. Well, it all started from the scouting level…

As Hakan Andersson, the director of European scouting for the Red Wings, once said, “I know one scout who tried to bring up Niklas Kronwall’s name with his team. They just laughed at him. They never even had a serious dialogue. They just stopped him. They said ‘a 5-11 Swedish defenceman?’ [The Red Wings] organization is more open-minded than that.”

But the Red Wings like their players to be under the radar and overlooked.

Christina Roberts
NHLHS Detroit Red Wings Correspondent
Twitter: @franzenmuth
Email: christina.roberts@nhlhotstove.com

It has been quite some time since I’ve sat down at a computer, any computer for that matter, and typed about the National Hockey League.

In that time, the team I consider the reason for breathing some nights, the Philadelphia Flyers, were embarrassed in the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the (hat tip) eventual Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins, the salary cap took yet another raise into Christmas in July (Free Agent Frenzy). The aforementioned Flyers completely dismantled its core from head to toe — though the news of the departure of Jeff Carter was music to these ears — and the San Jose Sharks and Minnesota Wild made a trade that will be soon put on a list with the rest of lopsided trades in the history of the NHL.

Ok, maybe not that exaggerated, however, let’s be real here.  How does anyone get away with trading a player with a statistical history such as Dany Heatley. Wait, wait what was that? Oh, Heatley has only five playoff goals in 32 playoff games with the Sharks where Havlat has 12 playoff goals in his last 26 playoff games; guessing that’s the logic behind Mr. Wilson and his madness.

Or maybe that Shark crest is simply haunted to anyone who plays for it? Who am I to say?

Taking a deeper look into the issues the Sharks have had this off-season will give GM Doug Wilson his walking papers in due time.

Dany Heatley (Dan4th/Flickr)

Was it not the same man, and the same team, to ship Milan Michalek and Jonathan Cheechoo to the Ottawa Senators for Heater in the first place?  Then you decide to move, prior to yesterday’s debacle, Devin Setoguchi and now you take the man that you paid a decent price for, and ship him out for a fragile, flash in the pan player making only $2.5 million  less?

Heatley has one season (not counting ’03-’04) where he was unable to reach the 30 goals or more plateau. That was this prior season. So let’s throw away a perennial 30 goal man for a player who has had one……..YES you read that correctly, ONE entire season with 30 goals or better (Havlat ended the ’03-’04 campaign with 31 goals).

Considering the nature of the beast, known as the business side of Hockey Operations, players will come and go with the blink of an eye. Christian Ehrhoff saw, similar to the situation with Dan Hamhuis last year, that you can be part of three teams in one twenty four hour period. He also remembers getting traded from the Sharks for essentially cap space. But when your team is cursed, if you believe in that sort of thing, and you go through previous coaching and player changes, why ship out one of the better players from your roster for one who hasn’t proven anything more then said player?

There really is only one answer: You DON’T (unless you are Wilson).

I’d love to know what’s in your smoke pipe in your office Mr. Wilson because what I have seen take place over the course of the last few days has me pondering how close of friends you and Paul Holmgren truly are. And kudos to Brian Burke and the Toronto Maple Leafs, acquiring two injury-prone centers totally spells out “playoff potential”. Sheesh…that’s another one for another time.

At least Mikko Koivu has some goal scorers to finish off his passes on his line now.

By David Strehle
NHL Hot Stove Creative Editor

With Ilya Bryzgalov and his agent Ritch Winter in town until sometime today,  negotiations with Philadelphia Flyers’ GM Paul Holmgren remain ongoing for the services of the unrestricted free agent netminder.

Following the sweep at the hands of the eventual-Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins, Ed Snider said the uneasy situation in the club’s crease would not continue.  That was as a certain guarantee that the team would finally rectify its goal position after nearly two decades of neglect.

Christian Petersen / Getty Images North America

“Spent the day getting to know Ilya and Jeniya.  There will be no comment on discussions that are ongoing,” Holmgren said yesterday on the Flyers’ official site.

You can’t blame Holmgren for being gun shy about revealing the progression of negotiations after what happened last year.  He had made bold moves in acquiring the rights to two UFAs – defenseman Dan Hamhuis and goalie Evgeni Nabokov.  But when all was said and done, Holmgren was unable to sign either.

After acquiring the negotiating rights to Bryzgalov from the Phoenix Coyotes on June 7th, there has been much speculation as to whether or not the Flyers’ GM will be able to satisfy Winter’s contract demands.

Rumors have Winter looking for somewhere in the 5-7 year range in length, for anywhere from $30-$49 million.

As talks continue, it seems certain there will be changes if the Flyers are indeed able to ink Bryzgalov to a long-term deal.  The very philosophy of the team will likely even be altered.

The general idealogy of head coach Peter Laviolette has been defense-first, forecheck and pressure the puck, and attack in transition.  The fact that his team couldn’t lock down leads over the last half of the season led to a game plan of trying to outgun their opposition.

That, as the history books will show, did not work out well for Philadelphia.

With youngster Sergei Bobrovsky and veterans Brian Boucher and Michael Leighton in the crease, Laviolette was forced to play an embarassing game of musical goaltenders for a good portion of the last month before his team was eliminated.

As much as everyone in the area discounted the importance that Philadelphia failed to register a single shutout in a season for the first time in 30 years, the postseason should suggest otherwise.

Ryan Miller was spectacular in net for the Buffalo Sabres against the Flyers in the first round before finally succumbing in the seventh game.  Miller posted two 1-0 white-washes of the Orange-and-Black, and nearly stole the series for the Sabres.

Boston’s Tim Thomas and Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks were the goaltenders in the Cup Finals, and both played major roles in their club’s respective postseason success.

Thomas justifiably won the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the playoffs,  posting a miniscule 1.98 GAA and .940 save percentage – and recording four shutouts, including a 4-0 decision in the Cup-clincher.

Although dramatically inconsistent, Luongo almost pulled off a miracle in the Finals.  Even though his team managed to score just eight goals in the seven-game series, Luongo posted two 1-0 blankings of the Bruins in getting his team to a deciding Game 7.

The point being here that there will always be times when your club goes into scoring slumps from time-to-time.  That is a given, and it is just the nature of the sport.

Philadelphia experienced their fair share of offensive slumps down the stretch and in the playoffs, but the team’s netminders were rarely able to steal a game for them.

Bryzgalov will be that type of a clutch goaltender that can win a game – and possibly even a series – when the team isn’t playing at its best.

Norm Hall / NHLI via Getty Images

He showed the inate ability to steal games for an offensively bland Phoenix club.  The Flyers – even with the realization that they will have to part with (an) asset(s), dependent on the size of the pact Bryzgalov will surely get, if signed - will still have much more in the way of offensive firepower at their disposal.

But the reality is that Bryzgalov will allow Philadelphia to gut out those 1-0 victories that have been one-sided wins for the opposition for over a year.  Opponents blanked the Flyers on nine occasions this past season - seven in the regular season – so that was nine contests that Philly had no chance at winning.

With Bryzgalov backstopping the Orange-and-Black, Laviolette should be able to expect a clutch save at the most important point of a game – much the same way he did with Cam Ward in net when he coached the Carolina Hurricanes to the 2006 Stanley Cup.

For much of the latter part of the year, those who followed the Flyers held their breath much of the time when the puck was in the Philadelphia end of the ice late in tight contests.  The nervous anxiety of the back-breaking goal was realized more often than not.

Trust can be a fleeting thing, and Laviolette’s was understandably lost late in the season.  With Bryzgalov in the fold, that trust should be unwavering from the coach.

And with that type of trust, Laviolette’s stifling, air-tight defense and counter-punching style should be able to be employed to the maximum next year.

Of course, much of that will also depend on the health of the club’s top two defensemen, Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timonen.  But that is an issue for another time.

The groundwork is apparently laid for a deal, as both sides have met extensively this week.  As long as both sides are reasonable, a pact could be in place and announced sometime around Bryzgalov’s 31st birthday on June 22nd.

If you have any comments or questions, you can email the author at dstrehle@nhlhotstove.com.  You can also follow him on Twitter – @David_Strehle

By Alexander Monaghan
President

Tonight, the Boston Bruins hoisted the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1972, turning Beantown back into a hockeytown.

Bostonians can now bask in the fact that their four franchises all earned the highest honors in their respective sports in the shortest time period. In short, the city has bragging rights.

When the series first began, we wondered how this Bruins team would react to such a powerhouse in the Vancouver Canucks as the latter was fresh off an impressive and decisive Western Conference Finals victory over the San Jose Sharks, taking the matchup in the only five games.

Meanwhile, the Bruins were just this same, blue collar team. They fought hard against the Montreal Canadiens, dominated a Pronger-less Philadelphia Flyers and snuck by a cinderella story in the Tampa Bay Lightning, stealing their identity with Nathan Horton‘s Game 7, overtime game winner. If you were to ask me, I thought they were out of the playoffs in each respective series but clearly what do I know.

As an up-and-down team during the regular season, this group seemed to win the Northeast Division by default. The Canadiens struggled down the stretch due to their beat-up blue line. Their only other competition, the Buffalo Sabres, needed to be one of the best teams in hockey just to make the show. Both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators improved later into the season but still finished in the bottom-10 in overall standings.

To say the least, this team became an underdog despite their high seeding and Vezina/Norris Trophy finalists.

We know they were not expected to win. However, what we are more concerned about is explaining exactly why this Bruins team actually won this series when most pundits put them out of the Cup in six or seven. Instead of breaking out the tape and analyzing this series in a game-by-game basis we found ten solid reasons why this team takes possession of Lord Stanley’s goblet and 29 other teams regroup for another grueling season.

Without further ado, we bring you a plethora of reasons why one team came away victorious.

1. Tim Thomas. Thomas was an absolute rock. He never allowed more than three goals, and never allowed more than two in regulation. When all the media focused on the struggles of Roberto Luongo and how he would handle the pressure, Thomas once again took control of the game and ultimately took home the Cup. He carried a very strong, record breaking season into the playoffs and never looked back. When anyone doubted him, or attempted to pump his tires he never looked back. With his back up against the wall, he stopped the last 73 of 75 shots, winning both games including a 37-save Game 7 shutout. There is absolutely no chance he would not have won the Conn Smythe as the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs MVP.
2. Motivation. Horton left the series early into Game 3. As their most clutch performer, the team clearly needed him as he scored the game winner in two Game 7 overtime wins. Although he would not return to the series, the team hoisted the motto of “Do it for Horton.” The first-year playoff performer served as a motivator, showing up for Game 6 and then pouring water from the TD Garden ice onto the ice in the Rogers Arena prior to Game 7. The hit served as the turning point of the series as Aaron Rome used too much force to injure a player while his team was up in the series 2-0, changing the momentum as a result.
3. Physical Play. Dan Hamhuis got knocked out of the series after playing only 8:09 in Game 1. Mason Raymond left in Game 6 and may never skate the same again. The walking wounded of Christian Ehrhoff, Ryan Kesler and Alexander Edler were all consistently pounded to the point where they were rendered ineffective. Rome tried to answer their physicality but wound out missing the rest of the playoffs.
4. Efficient defense. The top defensive pairing of Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg not only shut down their opponent’s top line, they also improved their teammates’ games by doing so. Johnny Boychuk and Andrew Ference played excellent hockey on both end of the ice mainly due to their team-low quality of competition in 5×5 situations. Additionally, they also displayed much better zone rate finishes, making what should have been a weakness in a third pairing into a strength.
5. Primary Scoring. David Krejci finished the playoffs as the points leader with 23 during the 2011 NHL Playoffs. His chemistry with winger Milan Lucic allowed Michael Ryder and eventually Rich Peverley to continue to contribute in the offensive zone, quietly outplaying some of the best players in the League.
6. Secondary Scoring. Just like the Krejci line, the secondary scoring was just better. Most of the talk surrounded Kesler as the firepower on Vancouver but the second line with Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Mark Recchi stepped up in time of need. The troika combined for an even more impressive four goals and six points in Game 7, leading their team to the Cup.
7. Forechecking. When the team was able to establish their forecheck, they created all kinds of problems for The Sedin Twins, Alex Burrows and Kesler not to mention the defense. They forced turnovers, took advantage of bad line changes and put pucks behind Luongo before he ever saw them coming.  Combined with their physical play, the Bruins used their cumulative team speed to out-work and simply out-play their opponents.
8. Discipline. Unlike the Canucks, the Bruins never seemed flustered. They rarely took bad penalties and honestly head coach Claude Julien would not allow it. They maintained their focus throughout the series, allowing the Canucks to play themselves out of the series due to frustration and simply not being the better team.
9. Perseverence. Down 2-0 in the series, they won two straight. Down 3-2 in the series, they sweep a series of two. They came back from their initial series 2-0. These guys were the ultimate comeback kids, never down and out.
10. Leadership. Neither team held a great deal of experience but keeping both Recchi and enforcer Shawn Thornton in the lineup helped the younger group gain confidence. Since his return in Game 3, Thornton acted as a voal leader for the rest of the series, taking a good deal of interviews after the game and showing his love for the city of Boston. These two in addition to seasoned veterans like the captain Chara gave this team a winning direction and identity.

These grouling playoffs are over. Congratulations to the 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins. You guys earned it and should be ready to defend that title in a few months.

By David Strehle
NHL Hot Stove Creative Editor

The Philadelphia Flyers today took the first step in rectifying their revolving door of goaltenders by acquiring the negotiating rights to pending unrestricted free agent Ilya Bryzgalov.

In exchange, Philadelphia sent minor league left-winger Matt Clackson, a 3rd-round pick in the 2012 draft, and an additional conditional pick to the Phoenix Coyotes.

“You can make the argument that he’s among the top 10 goalies in the league, if not higher,” said GM Paul Holmgren via conference call.  ”We’re happy to get this opportunity to talk to him early and we’re going to try our best to get him signed.”

Kevin Coloton / Icon SMI

Bryzgalov is the most sought-after netminder in this summers free agent crop, and Holmgren knew he had to make a move in order to secure the 30-year-old Russian’s services.

“We’re going to give it our best shot,” Holmgren said about his chances of signing Bryzgalov.  ”Obviously we gave up an asset to get a chance to get in early so we have every intention of trying our best to get a deal done.”

“You never know what’s going to happen,” he later added.  ”You gamble and wait till July 1, you don’t know who else is involved.  This gives us negotiating rights, which nobody else has.  Is it an advantage?  At least we get first crack at it, and we’ll see what we can do.”

As is the case each season, the Flyers are up against the upper limits of the NHL salary cap, and chances are they would not be able to compete if Bryzgalov went on the market on July 1st.

“He’s certainly not an old goaltender,” said Holmgren when it was mentioned that agent Rich Winter will likely seek a four or five year pact.  ”He’s 30 or 31 years old.  I feel like he’s got a lot of good years left in him.  We’ll see how it goes.  When you get into a negotiation like this, you’re dealing with a salary cap, you try to get a number you can live with.”

When the subject of re-signing pending free agent winger Ville Leino in addition to Bryzgalov, Holmgren said “Obviously we still have the intention of trying to sign Ville.  With the salary cap, you can only do so much.  We’re trying to get the best team we can get to get ready for the 2011 season.”

Comcast-Spectacor Chairman Ed Snider vowed after the playoffs, in which head coach Peter Laviolette was forced to juggle his goaltending trio of rookie Sergei Bobrovsky, Brian Boucher, and Michael Leighton, that this would be the last time Philadelphia would see such a debacle in net.

If they are able to sign Bryzgalov to a long-term deal, Snider’s words will have come to fruition in the form of one of the best goalies in the entire league – thus solidifying one of the Flyers’ achilles heels for the better part of two decades.

“We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to field a good team,” Holmgren said of his work behind the scenes with Snider.  ”We want to win a Stanley Cup. We’re trying to make ourselves better in all areas.”

Additionally if Bryzgalov is signed, they will likely need to make another deal to dump salary to remain cap compliant.  Forward Jeff Carter’s name has repeatedly come up as a candidate to be moved.

“(We have some) good pieces that you need to win a Stanley Cup,” Holmgren said of his club.  ”In acquiring Ilya, we have an opportunity here to negotiate a contract and get him signed sort of ahead of other teams that might have had those same ideas in mind.  So we’ll see what we can do.  If we can agree to a deal, and then necessary adjustments in order to get him in the salary cap, I think we’ll still have a good team – if not better.”

If you would like to read my post-playoff (from May 11th) assessment of the Flyers goaltending woes and possible remedies, click here.  There is also a poll attached, in which 61% of the 136 voters chose Bryzgalov as the answer to Philly’s maladies between the pipes.

Holmgren has had good luck with making deals for pending free agents – with the Nashville Predators, for Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell – and getting the players signed.  He also had an unsuccessful foray last summer with defenseman Dan Hamhuis, acquiring his rights, but was unable to strike a deal.

There was another player that Holmgren acquired the rights to last June, but he found the Flyers’ best offer unacceptable.  As a matter of fact, Evgeni Nabokov, also a Russian netminder, found Philly’s offer so underwhelming that he chose instead to play in the KHL.

As for a timetable on when he would like to have Bryzgalov signed, Holmgren says he isn’t worried.

“Ideally before you get to the Draft, you’d like to know if you have a deal in place, and then we’ll see what we can do at the draft in order to – if we need to make some adjustments or whatever,” the GM said.  ”As long as we sense over a period of time that we’re making some progress, I don’t feel uncomfortable going late into June.”

Plus Holmgren said that until the official salary cap limit for the 2011-12 season is announced, a deal cannot be signed due to tagging rules.

The prospect of an all-Russian tandem in net of Bryzgalov and Bobrovsky should definitely excite fans of the Orange-and-Black.  Bryzgalov has been one of the most-consistent netminders in the NHL over the past two seasons, and should give the 22-year-old Bobrovsky time to develop while Bryzgalov handles the starting duties.

“Just from talking to some of our guys…when Chris Pronger and Sean O’Donnell played with him, he was a young kid behind (Jean-Sebastien) Giguere,” Holmgren said.  ”He’s a team guy, and he must have gotten along pretty well with the guy who was playing behind him in Phoenix.  I don’t see an issue with that.  I think the fact that they’re both Russians probably would help.”

With regards to how many games he envisions Bryzgalov would play if signed, the GM said the team would play it by ear.

“If we can sign Ilya, he’s a guy that is used to the workload,” Holmgren said.  ”So there’s a little bit of give and take there.  He played 70 in Phoenix… maybe he can play 65 here with I assume easier travel than they have in Phoenix, maybe he can play more than 70.  We’ll just play that as it goes if we can accomplish what we need to accomplish and get him signed.  First things first right now – we’ll deal with that later.”

Here is the Flyers’ official press release:

FLYERS ACQUIRE RIGHTS TO G ILYA BRYZGALOV FROM PHOENIX

The Philadelphia Flyers announced today that they have acquired the rights to goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov (breez-GAH-lahf, IHL-yah) from the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for LW Matt Clackson, the Flyers’ 3rd round draft choice in 2012 and a conditional draft choice, according to general manager Paul Holmgren.

Bryzgalov, 30 (6/22/80), appeared in 68 games for the Coyotes last season, his fourth with the club.  He posted a 36-20-10 record, a 2.48 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage while recording seven shutouts.  He was also a runner-up for the Vezina Trophy following the 2009-10 season.  Bryzgalov was acquired by Phoenix off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks on November 17, 2007.

Bryzgalov was a member of Anaheim’s 2007 Stanley Cup championship squad along with current Flyers defensemen Chris Pronger and Sean O’Donnell. He appeared in 27 games that season, posting a 10-8-6-1 record with a 2.47 GAA and .907 save percentage, and was 3-1 with a 2.24 GAA and .922 save percentage in five Stanley Cup Playoff appearances en route to the championship.

Bryzgalov was selected by Anaheim in the second round (44^th overall) of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft.  Over parts of nine NHL seasons with Anaheim (2001-07) and Phoenix (2007-10), Bryzgalov has posted a record of 156-116-35 in 326 appearances along with a 2.53 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage.  He has appeared in 27 career Stanley Cup Playoff games, posting a record of 12-13 with a 2.55 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage. 

A native of Togliatti, Russia, Bryzgalov has represented his home country in three Olympic Games (2002, 2006, 2010), winning a bronze medal at Salt Lake City in 2002.  He also won a gold medal with Russia at the 2009 World Championships and a silver medal at the 2000 World Junior Championships.

Clackson, 26 (4/26/85), was selected by the Flyers in the seventh round (215^th overall) of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft and joined the club’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Philadelphia/Adirondack Phantoms, at the end of the 2007-08 season.  Over that time and the next three full seasons with the Phantoms, Clackson scored six goals and added 13 assists in 204 games, while accruing 574 penalty minutes.

If you have any comments or questions, you can email the author at dstrehle@nhlhotstove.com.  You can also follow him on Twitter – @David_Strehle

Photo Credit: Orlandkurtenbach

In this case, the NHL made the absolutely correct call in suspending Vancouver Canucks defenseman Aaron Rome for the remainder of the playoffs following his vicious blindside hit on Boston Bruins right wing Nathan Horton. At this point we can only assume Keith Ballard draws back into the lineup for the Canucks unless by some miracle Dan Hamhuis can play. As earlier reported, Tyler Seguin gets back into the lineup after missing one game as a healthy scratch.

Horton will miss the rest of playoffs as announced earlier and now so will Rome. Do you think the punishment matches the crime? (Vote below)

Furthermore, if Rome was not suspended, how would the Bruins have reacted? Approximately 41 percent of voters in our prior poll indicated Rome should be suspended for the remainder of the playoffs. The fans got it right and luckily so did the NHL.

As Shawn Thornton candidly explained to Chad Finn of Boston.com, “That’s the [expletive] we need to get out of the game.”

All the ice has settled now and we can now go back to focusing on the actual games to be played. Feel free to voice your opinion below in the comments section.

By Alexander Monaghan
President

During last night’s battle between the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins, forward Rich Peverley took the liberty of spearing defenseman Kevin Bieksa. Peverley reached his stick up to the midsection of Bieksa, giving him a whack in an area with no protection. Despite the pain, Bieksa would finish with 23:13 of ice time, second amongst Canucks’ defensemen. With his partner Dan Hamhuis already held out of the game, the team could not afford another injury — especially to such a vital defenseman.

Considering Alex Burrows was not suspended following his now infamous bite, Peverley will likely not be suspended. After all, this is the Stanley Cup Finals, so let them play. Burrows would go on to score two goals, including the original go-ahead marker and the game winner 11 seconds into overtime making his ability to play that much more difficult to watch for Bruins fans / Burrows opposers.

By David Strehle
NHL Hot Stove Creative Editor

Alex Burrows scored just 11 seconds into overtime Saturday night to give the Vancouver Canucks a 3-2 win, and a 2-0 series lead over the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Andy Clark, Reuters

Burrows was in on all three Vancouver goals, as he scored two and assisted on the other.  Many felt that Burrows shouldn’t have been in Game 2, but the winger escaped NHL discipline after a finger-biting incident in Game 1 involving Boston’s Patrice Bergeron.

As for the 0-2 deficit, it could be a bad omen for the Bruins.  Of the last 27 times that teams have won the first two games in the Stanley Cup Finals, those clubs have gone on to win the series 25 times.

Vancouver was given a huge boost before the game, as center Manny Malholtra was able to play for the first time since March 16th after sustaining a serious eye injury.  Chants of “Manny!  Manny!” filled Rogers Arena just prior to the singing of the national anthems.

Boston fell behind on a Burrows goal at the 12:12 mark of the first period.  With defenseman Zdeno Chara in the penalty box for interfering with Ryan Kesler, the Bruins had a chance to clear their defensive zone.  But Andrew Ference’s attempted clear up the boards was kept in, and the puck was worked down low to Burrows.  He snapped off a quick shot that surprised Boston goaltender Tim Thomas, who appeared to not be set for the shot.  The puck squirted between Thomas’ left arm and body and went into the net for a power play goal to give the Canucks a 1-0 lead.

Vancouver netminder Roberto Luongo, who stopped all 36 Bruins shots in Game 1, was spectacular in keeping Boston off the board, making tough stops on Mark Recchi and David Krejci early in the middle frame.

But Milan Lucic was finally able to tie the game with the Bruins’ first goal of the series, tucking the puck under Luongo’s right pad at the nine minute mark of the second period.

It was the first goal that Luongo had allowed since the 24 second mark of the third period of Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals (Devin Setoguchi of the San Jose Sharks).

Lucic’s goal snapped a scoreless streak of 138:54 for Luongo.

After Aaron Rome took a holding penalty at 10:26 of the second period, Recchi was able to give Boston its first lead of the Finals.

Chara took a shot from the point that Recchi was able to deflect past Luongo and under the crossbar, and the rare Bruins power play tally gave them a 2-1 lead heading into the third period.

That was a good omen for Boston, as they had been perfect in all six postseason contests with closing out games when they had leads after two.

In this case, the law of averages were about to catch up with the Bruins.

Just past the midway point of the third, Burrows was able to get the puck to Daniel Sedin at the left faceoff circle.  With Thomas sprawled on his stomach along the ice, Sedin barely got the shot over him and into the far corner to tie the game at 2-2 with just 10:23 left in regulation time.

Boston appeared to be tiring, and Vancouver began getting odd-man rushes late in the third.  Ference was able to get back to break up a pass with the Sedins on a two-on-one break, and just moments later the Canucks nearly had a four-on-one.

Vancouver outshot the Bruins 11-5 in the third, and the momentum had definitely swung in the home team’s favor.

And it wouldn’t take long for them to claim the Game 2 triumph in the extra stanza.

Before many had taken their seats, Burrows pulled away from Chara behind the Boston net, swept around the goal and with Thomas out of position, tucked the puck into the Bruins’ cage.  Only 11 seconds of overtime, it was the second-fastest ending ever to an NHL playoff overtime tilt.  Brian Skrudland of the Montreal Canadiens netted an OT winner against the Calgary Flames at the nine-second mark in the 1986 Finals.

The Canucks are now only two victories away from the first Stanley Cup win in franchise history.

Instead of heading back home to New England with a split, Boston now faces the prospect of desperately needing to win both of their contests at TD Garden in an attempt to stay in this series before it slips away.

The Cup Runneth Over:  With two goals and an assist, Burrows was appropriately named the Star of the Game.  Luongo, with 28 saves, was #2, and Thomas, who made 30 saves, was #3…Chara once again was the leader in ice time, as he logged 28:12.  Head coach Claude Julien may be wearing him out, as he was on for both the game-tying and game-winning Vancouver tallies…Defenseman Andrew Alberts dressed for Alain Vigneault’s Canucks in place of the injured Dan Hamhuis.  Alberts saw 11:40 of TOI, one shot on goal, a -1, and most-importantly, a game-high six hits…Bergeron was a -2…Defenseman Kevin Bieksa was down on the ice early in the third after taking a nasty slash from Boston forward Rich Peverley.  Bieksa was able to come back and take a regular shift the rest of the way…Malholtra won six-of-seven faceoffs (857 %).  Other notable players taking draws:  Bergeron 10-15 (66.7%), Peverley 4-5 (80%), and Henrik Sedin 4-13 (30.8%)…Raffi Torres won Game 1 with 14 seconds left in regulation, and Burrows’ heroics were provided at 11 seconds of OT in Game 2.  This has been a tight series and the margin for error has been tremendously small.  The late game-winning goals, speed, and physicality have made the first two contests highly entertaining.

If you have any comments or questions, you can email the author at dstrehle@nhlhotstove.com.  You can also follow him on Twitter – @David_Strehle

By Alexander Monaghan
President

Photo Credit: Cheryl Lemanski

Every year the formula changes.

After last season, general managers around the League believed they could cut costs with their netminder since rookie Antti Niemi and journeyman Michael Leighton backstopped their respective teams into the Finals. The season before that, we thought every championship team needed two elite centers (still valid) and the year before that the League emphasized skill and puck possession.

The winning formula changes every season whether it be a high-tempo offense with a blue line full of puck movers (Carolina Hurricanes) or a gritty team from the back end out full of high-end skill (Anaheim Ducks).

Once again, the formula will change.

Take this year’s combatants — the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks.  Both teams have strong depth up front and on D. Each team also has an elite-level goaltender in Roberto Luongo and Tim Thomas. However, the Canucks and Bruins play a completely different style as Head Coach Alain Vigneault features highly skilled offensive players who are defensively responsible and Claude Julien is more comfortable keeping the games tight and relying on his Vezina Trophy winner and a couple of All-Star defensemen and elite two-way forwards.

Of the two, only the Canucks really compare to the Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks when you consider their sheer top-to-bottom depth. Considering after their salary cap purge the current Blackhawks team almost defeated the heavily favored Canucks, they could be the most dominant team to win a Cup in the post-lockout era.

But how do the two compare?

How they got there:

The Canucks almost blew a 3-0 series lead, allowing the Blackhawks to force a Game 7, and then force an overtime within the game. Less dramatically, they would defeat the Nashville Predators in six games (but could have clinched in five) and made short work of the San Jose Sharks in five. Now, against the Bruins they hold a 1-0 lead in the series with hopes of going back to Boston with a two-game lead.

By comparison, the Blackhawks took the Predators in six, Canucks in six, swept the Sharks and then took the Cup in six games against the Philadelphia Flyers. While the Predators and Canucks both proved to be worthy adversaries, they never pushed the team to the brink of elimination — something the ‘Nucks came face-to-face with in the Western Conference Quarterfinals. They seemed to be the most dominant team in the playoffs, which is something both this year’s tournament lacked as the Bruins faced Game 7 twice as well.

In terms of ease, the Blackhawks take this round.

Photo Credit: Matt Boulton from Vancouver, Canada

Head Coach:

Prior to last season, Joel Quenneville never won a Stanley Cup. After successful campaigns with the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche, the grizzled Head Coach made his way to Chicago in order to push them over the top. His success in the postseason gave him appeal to a young, up-and-coming team as he captured the game’s greatest trophy after only two seasons with the Blackhawks organization. His lowest winning percentage for any full season he coached was over 53 percent, making him a highly regarded bench boss.

Vigneault now enters his fifth season in charge of the Canucks and has won the Northwest Division four out of those five years. Unlike Quenneville, four of his nine years he missed the playoffs and he came to Vancouver after four relatively poor seasons in Montreal (missed playoffs three of four seasons). He was nominated for the Jack Adams Trophy while with the Canadiens but was fired the season after since the team once again missed the tournament.

Considering both coaches never won the Cup prior to their current teams, neither typically has an advantage. However, Quenneville held more past success which gives him the slight nod here again.

Photo Credit: Iwona Erskine-Kellie from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Forwards:

Depth, depth and more depth. Not the kind traded for at the deadline like stopgaps Maxim Lapierre or Christopher Higgins.  This Blackhawks team had the high-end talent in Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews and the complementary players in Kris Versteeg, Dustin Byfuglien, Troy Brouwer, Dave Bolland and Andrew Ladd. Couple them with gritty defensive forwards like John Madden, Tomas Kopecky, Adam Burish and Ben Eager and we can determine that this could be one of the strongest groups of forwards assembled in the post-lockout era. Even with an implosion which severed ties with Versteeg, Byfuglien, Ladd, Madden, Burish and Eager the Blackhawks still clawed their way back into the playoffs which emphasizes just how good this team was last year.

Similarly, the Canucks have elite talent in The Sedin Twins and Ryan Kesler. Alex Burrows might even be able to force his way into that equation considering just how affective he has been in this year’s show. They also boast some tough defensive forwards like Jannik Hansen, Raffi Torres, Tanner Glass and Lapierre. Their calvary has been adequate in Higgins, the now-injured Mikael Samuelsson and regular season whipping boy Mason Raymond but the bottom end is one of uncertainty and inconsistency. Vigneault has rotated Victor Oreskovich, Jeff Tambellini, Alex Bolduc and Cody Hodgson in an attempt to find a perfect medium. Perhaps the return of Manny Malhotra could alleviate this issue.

Regardless, the Blackhawks take this by a mile as the top-end talent is there but the depth is simply not comparable.

Defensemen:

Photo Credit: CANUCKS HOCKEY BLOG

Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith set the tempo as a perfect combination of ying and yang last season. Both mobile defenders, Seabrook’s intelligence allowed Keith to pick his spots in the offensive zone. Their stability allowed the second pairing of Niklas Hjalmarsson and Brian Campbell to flourish and make up for the third pairing of Nick Boynton, Brent Sopel and Jordan Hendry. When all of these guys were on their game, they had Keith at over 28 minutes, Seabrook 24 and Hjalmarsson 21 with no other blue liner surpassing 20 minutes.

This may be where the Canucks first hold an advantage as they boast six quality defenders and three others capable of playing decent minutes. Their top pairing of Christian Ehrhoff and Alexander Edler fits very well with the Sedins while Dan Hamhuis and Kevin Bieksa have formed a formidable shutdown pairing. The bottom set features some combination of Sami Salo and either Keith Ballard or Aaron Rome with mean d-man Andrew Alberts waiting to get into games. If Vigneault opts for a more mobile substitute, rookie Chris Tanev seemed up for the challenge in his limited playing time.

While the Blackhawks arguably have a higher end, the Canucks feature a more well rounded attack with the option of choosing mobility or snarl. Nobody has a more established top six in the League at this moment which gives the Canucks their first edge in the comparison.

Starting Goalies:

Niemi won the backup job from now-current starter Corey Crawford and then overtook Cristobal Huet for the starting gig in late March. As a veritable unknown, the Finnish rookie managed to get the job done despite what was considered a sub-par performance in the Finals. His success was questioned after winning as his arbitration reward earned him a ticket out of Chicago and into San Jose, where he would once again flourish. Due to his rookie status, the Blackhawks were able to win with a very tight budget which spawned the “don’t pay for goalies theory.” With two Vezina Trophy finalists vying for a championship, that theory has been debunked.

Luongo happens to be one of those finalists as he attempts to prove he can be the best goalie in the world. After toiling on the awful New York Islanders and Florida Panthers, Luongo was expected to win quickly and often in Vancouver. So far he somewhat disappointed fans after losing consistently to the Blackhawks in the playoffs but his ability to step up in big games like Game 7 of this year’s first round and in the Olympics last year has given him the confidence to try and take Lord Stanley’s Cup.

Elite netminder vs. raw rookie? Luongo and the Canucks take this one.

Photo Credit: Matt Boulton from Vancouver, Canada

Special Teams:

The Blackhawks got the job done with a 22.5 percent success rate on the powerplay and a 83.3 percent penalty kill. Their PP ranked fifth in the League but only second in the Western Conference while the PK ranked fourth but first amongst their Conference peers. While not necessarily dominating, the special teams was not a problem on either end which allowed them to continue their winning ways.

On the other hand, the Canucks PP has been a strength as they rank third in the League with a 25.8 percent success rate. The powerplay has been able to adapt from the hard-working Predators to the shot-blocking Sharks with ease making it a force to be reckoned with. Their penalty kill, however, has been a bit worse, succeeding at a 82.3 rate. Considering they lack actual shutdown forwards, players like Kesler and Burrows are forced to take on even more minutes.

The Canucks hold a better PP but the Blackhawks could shut them down better. Push.

The Bottom Line:

As both Jeff Quirin and Dave Strehle predicted, the Canucks should wrap up this series. Of course, we likely counted the Bruins out of the playoffs against the Montreal Canadiens, the Flyers and the Tampa Bay Lightning so anything can happen. As far as comparability to last year’s formula, the ‘Nucks are the closest thing to last year’s Blackhawks but the latter takes the small edge due to depth up front, more experience behind the bench and ease in getting to where they need to go.

Feel free to post in the comments your thoughts on the matter as this article is merely the tip of the iceberg, not a definitive conclusion.

In last night’s 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues, the Canucks lost defensemen Andrew Alberts to a broken wrist.  Alberts was playing in his 4th game since returning from a shoulder injury.

Injured Canucks defensemen:

1. Andrew Alberts – broken wrist vs. St. Louis 2/14/11. His injury could provide the Canucks with salary cap room since it’s likely he’ll be on LTIR.
2. Dan Hamhuis – concussion vs. Ananheim 2/9/11. Still unknown how long he’ll be out. Sydney Crosby is a perfect example of how concussions and their symptoms can linger.
3. Keith Ballard – knee vs. Ottawa 2/7/11. He may be back sooner than the 10 games/24 days minimum required for LTIR, which would be great news.
4. Lee Sweatt – broken foot during Canucks practice. He’s apparently progressing in his recovery and given the current injury situation may find himself back in the lineup instead of heading to Manitoba.
5. Alexandre Edler – back vs. Dallas 1/24/11.  Expect to miss 4-6 weeks which should see him return at the start of the playoffs.

Luckily after Edler went down Sami Salo was able to return to the Canucks lineup for the first time this season, although one has to wonder if the d-corps would’ve stayed healthy would he have rejoined the team so soon. And Chris Tanev has been a pleasant surprise eating up bottom 6 minutes and looking like a player with potential to crack the regular season roster next year.

The Canucks called up Yann Sauvé for tonight’s game. Even though Ryan Parent has NHL experience, he’d have to clear waivers and the Canucks don’t want to chance losing him.

For most teams in the league, and for Canucks teams of the past, losing 4 regular d-men in a span of 3 weeks would be devastating. But this team is different. They have managed to keep things rolling along.

The question is will they continue to bend or will they eventually break?

I-5 Canucks – Will & Valerie Wittstruck
NHLHS Vancouver Canucks Correspondents
I-5Canucks@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @Hipcheck44 and @WCE71944