LOS ANGELES – As he entered training camp, Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick was feeling pressure from day one. With Kings high draft pick Jonathan Bernier coming to camp and showing he was NHL ready, Quick had to show Terry Murray and Dean Lombardi that last season was not a fluke.

On Tuesday night he might have just convinced the team that he truly is the #1 goaltender. Quick made 31 saves, including a flurry of 4 saves in a row late in the 3rd period, to preserve a 3-1 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers. This start marks the second quality start of the season for Quick, who was the games #1 star.

The first period was very quiet for both teams. Brayden Schenn had the closest chance to score when he hit the right goal post late in the period. In the second period, Kings forward Wayne Simmonds hit the post early, and, a few minutes later, Atlanta’s Chris Thorburn opened the scoring after stealing an errant pass by Kings forward Brad Richardson. He split between two King defenders and beat Quick 5-hole after recovering his own rebound. The Kings were finally able to get on the board in the 3rd period when Ryan Smyth knocked in a loose puck in the crease to tie the game at one. Three minutes later, Kings forward Jarret Stoll’s shot deflected off Atlanta’s Ron Hainsey’s stick and beat goaltender Chris Mason to give the Kings the lead.

Late in the 3rd period, Quick made 4 saves in a flurry of shots to preserve the lead. The best of which, came with a beautiful glove save on a bid from Evander Kane. With 5 minutes remaining, Thrasher Bryan Little had a great chance to tie the game, but his one-timer attempt was foiled when he broke his stick on a 2 on 1. Ryan Smyth added an empty net goal with 30 seconds remaining to put the game away and send a sellout crowd of 18,774 home happy.

Some things about this game worth noting:

• Ryan Smith had his 39th 3-point game of his career and is 11 games short of 1,000 total games for his career.
• The Kings did not have a full 2 minute power play the entire game.
• Atlanta was 0 for 5 on the power play.
• Kings Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Miller celebrated his 72nd birthday to a standing ovation from the fans.
• The game was interrupted in the second period to show CNN’s coverage of the first of the Chilean miners coming to the surface.
• The Kings will next see action at home vs. the Vancouver Canucks the team that knocked them out of the post season last year.

Mike Murangi
NHLHS Los Angeles Kings Correspondent
@draft_mike

Heading into the weekend, the Philadelphia Flyers had to feel pretty good about things.  They had just beaten the Dallas Stars 3-2 Thursday night and held their destiny in their own hands.  They had tied the Ottawa Senators for fifth place and had a game in hand on both Ottawa and the Montreal Canadiens, the team that had been nipping at their heels.

But after being swept in a home-and-home series with the Atlanta Thrashers, things are looking a bit more complicated for the Orange and Black.

On Saturday night in Atlanta, the Thrashers jumped to 2-0 and 3-1 leads, but each time the Flyers answered with a goal to cut the lead to one.  But when Atlanta went up 4-2, they would not allow Philly to get any closer as they beat the Flyers 5-2 behind goaltender Johan Hedberg.  Colby Armstrong, a player that Philadelphia GM Paul Holmgren reportedly inquired about at the NHL trade deadline with Thrashers’ GM Don Waddell, scored 2 goals for Atlanta in the victory.  The players that the Thrashers’ acquired in the Ilya Kovalchuk deal, Niclas Bergfors (goal and an assist) and defenseman Johnny Oduya (+1 and 7 blocked shots) were also big for Atlanta.

This made Sunday night’s game in Philadelphia a big one for both teams.  Tonight’s tilt with the Thrashers was the game in hand that the Flyers had on Montreal, so coming up with the two points, or even one, would be crucial.  Philly had to feel fairly confident, since they had won 6 of their last 7 home games heading into Sunday.

Once again it was Atlanta grabbing a 2-0 lead.  Defenseman Ron Hainsey scored on a slapshot just two minutes in, and Todd White wristed a shot through Philadelphia starting goaltender Brian Boucher from the left circle midway through the first frame.

Despite outshooting the Thrashers 35-21 after two periods, the Flyers found themselves still trailing 2-0.  Starting goaltender Ondrej Pavelec was spectacular, but he had a bit of luck in the last 10 seconds of the second period.  Philly defenseman Braydon Coburn blasted a slapshot that beat Pavelec, but hit squarely off of the right post and bounced back into the crease.  With a mad scramble and Pavelec lying flat on his back, Jeff Carter’s whack at the puck was going into the net, only to hit Flyer forward Danny Briere’s skate and slide back under Pavelec’s arm for the stoppage of play.

The third period was much of the same, but Mike Richards was finally able to get Philly on the board midway through the stanza.  Defenseman Matt Carle carried the puck down the right wing boards and as he went behind the net, feathered a perfect pass to Richards at the right side of the net, who beat Pavelec high to the glove side to draw the Orange and Black to within one at 2-1.  It was Philadelphia’s 40th shot on goal of the game, and the Flyers were now buzzing to get the game tied.

But any Flyer hopes were deflated with just over 3 minutes left in regulation.  Rich Peverley took a long feed from Hainsey and skating in on a 2-on-1 with Armstrong, wristed a shot from the top of the left circle through Boucher to put the game out of reach at 3-1.  It was the second weak goal of the night for Boucher, who now stands at 1-2-1 since being named Philadelphia’s starter when Michael Leighton went down with a high ankle sprain.

Pavelec finished the night with 44 saves and Hainsey had a goal and 2 assists.  Atlanta remains just 1 point behind the Boston Bruins for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference standings, and are now only 4 points behind Ottawa, Philadelphia and Montreal.

There are exactly three weeks left in the NHL season and the Flyers still can be in control of their own destiny.  They play the Senators in Ottawa on Tuesday night and Montreal on Good Friday.  Down the stretch Philly will also play the Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders and close the season with a home-and-home series against their hated arch-rival New York Rangers.

If the season were to end right now, the Flyers would open in Buffalo against the Sabres for the first round of the playoffs.  But if Philadelphia doesn’t get better goaltending performances and some more offensive support, they may not have to worry about what team they play in the first round at all.

Ugly Incident Goes Unpenalized

Not sure if anything will come out of this, but defenseman Chris Pronger was involved in a bit of an ugly incident with Atlanta winger Evgeny Artyukhin in the Sunday night game in Philadelphia.  The two went heavily into the boards and fell to the ice early in the third period behind the Flyers’ net.  Artyukhin got up and cross-checked Pronger, who was still down on the ice, across the head and onto the back of the net.  A referee was near the two as the play moved up ice and moved in to separate the combatants but didn’t make a call.

As play continued, the puck came back into the Flyers’ zone.  Pronger got the puck and noticed that Artyukhin was directly in front of him.  He wound up with a slapshot that glanced off of Artyukhin’s leg.  The two players again went after each other as the play was called for an offsides.  After a near melee, there were surprisingly no penalties called on either player.

No word yet from league officials if any disciplinary action will be taken against Pronger or Artyukhin.

My 3 Stars for Sunday:

#1 Ondrej Pavelec Thrashers – 44 saves, many spectacular.  Incredible performance.

#2 Ron Hainsey Thrashers – A goal, 2 assists, in on all three Atlanta goals.

#3 Rich Peverley Thrashers – A goal and assist, put the final nail in the Flyers’ coffin with insurance goal late in third.

David Strehle
NHLHS Flyers Correspondent / NHL Writer
dstrehle@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @PhilaDAVEia

Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Washington are all Stanley Cup favorites this year. What do these teams have in common? How did they build their successful teams? Through the draft, specifically through obtaining high draft picks for multiple years. Teams like New Jersey, San Jose, and Detroit, prove that a team can win consistently and still build a solid team from within. But the common thread within all these teams is that they have all drafted well.

The last nine years of Montreal Canadiens hockey have been at best mediocre. The historic franchise, known for its winning tradition, has fallen from grace. This fall is akin to the career of Robert DeNiro, a great actor, who due to poor choices in films to star in is no longer putting up the great results of the past. Like DeNiro’s poor film choices, the Canadiens’ lack of success can be attributed to their poor drafting. I have taken a look back at the Canadiens’ last ten years of drafting, highlighting their first round picks, to show their mediocre drafting has led to mediocre hockey.

In 2000 the Canadiens were blessed with two first round draft picks. With the #13 overall pick the Habs chose Ron Hainsey. Hainsey, who has found success after leaving the team, only played 32 games with the Habs before the Habs gave up on him, and released him on waivers in 2005 to be claimed by the Atlanta Thrashers. In his short career with the Habs, Hainsey put up 1 goal and 1 assist with a plus-2 rating.  With San Jose’s #16 overall pick acquired in exchange for Vincent Damphousse), the Canadiens drafted Marcel Hossa, otherwise known as Marian’s little brother. After putting up good numbers in the American league, Hossa never seemed to catch on in the NHL. In 59 games played for the Canadiens, Hossa managed to score 10 goals, with 9 assists, and a plus-2. Hossa was traded prior to the 2005-06 season to the New York Rangers in exchange for Garth Murray. Hossa is currently playing for Dinamo Riga in the KHL.

In 2001 the Habs continued to draft American born defenseman when the picked Mike Komisarek with the #7 pick. Komisarek proved to be one of the few successful 1^st round draft picks this decade, playing 361 games for the Habs, putting up 12 goals, 46 assists, +13, and sitting in the penalty box for 496 minutes. Komisarek’s success on the Habs can be attributed to his slow development within the American league, as well as benefitting from being paired with top-notch defense partner Andrei Markov. Komisarek went Benedict Arnold in 2009 when he signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs for 22.5 million over 5 years.

With Washington’s #25 overall pick in 2001  (acquired in a trade where the Habs acquired Richard Zednik , Jan Bulis, and said pick in exchange for Trevor Linden, Danius Zubrus, and New Jersey’s 2^nd round pick in ’01) the Canadiens drafted Alexander Perezhogin. After briefly becoming the hope of Habs fans (playing in 128 games putting up 15 goals 19 assists and +16), Perezhogin fled to the KHL where he is currently playing for Salavat Yulaev UFA. If Perezhogin decides to return to the NHL, the Canadiens retain his rights. Montreal struck gold in the 3^rd round of the ’01 draft when they drafted current number one center Tomas Plekanec #71 overall, arguably Montreal’s best pick of the decade.

Montreal was so high on Christopher Higgins in 2002 that they traded up one spot to #14 overall to insure that they drafted him. Higgins played in 282 games for the Canadiens, never managing to find the offense that the organization and fans expected out of him (84 goals, 67 assists, -13). Higgins was traded to the New York Rangers in the summer of 2009 in exchange for Scott Gomez. Unable to produce the numbers the Rangers expected out of him, Higgins was traded this week to the Calgary Flames.

Habs fans were told that Andrei Kostitsyn would have been drafted higher than #10 overall if it weren’t for his health condition. Although he hasn’t been slowed down by the seizures that complicated his early life, Kostitsyn has yet to put up the numbers expected out of him (226 games played, 64 goals, 69 assists, +15). Habs fans can name off players who the Canadiens passed over to draft Kostitsyn, but Andrei’s game has been improving year after year, as he slowly develops into the 30 goal scorer that all Habs fans want him to become. 2003 was a fruitful year for this year’s edition of the Canadiens. In later rounds the Habs drafted Maxim Lapierre (#61 overall), Ryan O’Byrne (#79), and Jaroslav Halak (stealing him with the #271 pick).

2004 brought upon another disappointing draft for Habs fans. With the #18 pick Montreal selected Kyle Chipchura. The organization had high hopes for Chipchura, hoping he would replace long time captain Saku Koivu when he left the team as the new leader. After a disappointing 68 games as a Canadien (4 goals, 10 assists, -17) and taking way too many bus trips between Hamilton and Montreal, Chipchura was traded to the Anaheim Ducks in December 2009 in exchange for a 4^th round draft pick in 2011.

With one ball in the 2005 draft lottery Montreal won the #5 overall pick. At the surprise to most Habs fans the Canadiens selected goaltender Carey Price, just one short season after Jose Theodore’s Hart and Vezina season. After posting an incredible career in junior hockey, and leading the Hamilton Bulldogs to the Calder Cup, Price became the great hope for all Canadiens fans. Price has had an up and down career in Montreal. Price currently has a 58-45-17 record with a 2.72 GAA and a .912 save percentage. The Carey Price bandwagon is constantly being jumped on and off after every Habs game. While Price’s game needs improvement, it is too early in his career to call this pick a flop. In 2005, the Canadiens also drafted Matt D’Agostini with the 190^th pick and Sergei Kostitsyn with the 200^th pick.

With the exception Max Pacioretty, the #22 pick in 2007, (86 games played, 6 goals, 19 assists, -8), the Canadiens have yet to see a draft pick from 2006-2009 play a game in the NHL. Pacioretty, who the organization is hoping becomes the power forward that the team is missing, underperformed with the Canadiens, earning him a demotion to Hamilton to give him time to improve his game.

2006 pick David Fischer (#20) is finishing his senior year at the University of Minnesota. Fischer is projected to be a stay-at-home defenseman, but he will not be skating at the Bell Centre for at least another year, while he transitions to the professional game in the AHL. Highly touted defenseman Ryan McDonagh, the #12 pick in 2007, was traded in the summer of 2009 to the New York Rangers as part of the Gomez deal. The Canadiens traded away their #25 pick on draft day 2008 in exchange for Alex Tanguay. Tanguay would go on to play one injury plagued season in Montreal before signing with the Tampa Bay Lighting.

In front of a hometown crowd the Montreal Canadiens selected Louis LeBlanc with the #18 pick in 2009. LeBlanc represents the hope of Habs fans to become the power forward that the team has been lacking for a long time. LeBlanc is currently playing his freshman year at Harvard. The constant hope beaming out of Habs fans eyes with every new draft pick has brought upon nothing but mediocre hockey in Montreal. If the Canadiens are to succeed in the NHL they will need to start developing their drafted players into quality NHL players.

Ben Ostroff
bostroff@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @bensucks