The World Hockey Championships concluded today. The preliminary round was summarized here and the quarterfinals here. These are medal round results. We start in the semi-finals with Finland playing Russia and Czech Republic meeting Slovakia.
World Hockey Championships: Medal Round
May 20th, 2012VanCanucks: Following @MCMemorialCup? Congrats to #Canucks prospect Pierre-Olivier Morin who scored for Shawinigan in their 6-2 win over the London.
May 20th, 2012VanCanucks: Following @MCMemorialCup? Congrats to #Canucks prospect Pierre-Olivier Morin who scored for Shawinigan in their 6-2 win over the London.
Brandon Prust Suspended One Game
May 20th, 2012Almost 1 1/2 hours ago reports surfaced Prust was getting suspended for one game.
As of this moment, still nothing official from Brendan Shanahan but I am sure the reports are accurate.
Update: Here’s confirmation via video…
And here’s the NHL’s press release:
RANGERS’ PRUST SUSPENDED FOR ONE GAME
NEW YORK (May 20, 2012) – New York Rangers forward Brandon Prust has been suspended for one game for elbowing New Jersey Devils defenseman Anton Volchenkov during the teams’ Eastern Conference Final game in New Jersey on Saturday, May 19, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.
The incident occurred at 2:31 of the second period.
Prust Suspended for Game 4
May 20th, 2012From NHL.com:
It appears as though the New York Rangers will be without Brandon Prust on Monday night.
Multiple media outlets are reporting that the rugged forward has been suspended for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final against the New Jersey Devils after his hit on Anton Volchenkov during the second period of Saturday’s 3-0 win at the Prudential Center.
Volchenkov was carrying the puck along the boards and chipped it out of the zone when Prust landed an elbow to the back of Volchenkov’s helmet. Volchenkov, was down on the ice for almost a minute afterward, but was able to continue playing.
Click here for more.
Coyotes’ Winning Formula
May 20th, 2012from Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail,
All of L.A.’s loyal supporters – including that new hardcore puck daddy, David Beckham, who his children in tow – were at Staples Centre in anticipation of a coronation. Even that much-sought-after trophy, the Clarence Campbell Bowl, was in the building, along with NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly, who generally presides over these ceremonies.
But the Coyotes, using a formula that coach Dave Tippett describes on a daily basis as “hanging around the game” hung around this one long enough to put the Kings to sleep. It was their usual classic formula, opportunistic on offence, steady on defence, Smith there to bail them out as needed. It would still take a comeback of epic proportions for Phoenix’s victory to be more than an historical footnote, but the Coyotes now live to play another day – and L.A.’s path to their first Stanley Cup final in 19 years is on hold, for the moment anyway.
“A loss is a loss,” assessed Kings’ forward Justin Williams. “We’ve had a good run, but the next game, Game 5, we’re going to have to come back with a lot of spunk, because they pushed us tonight.”
Doan, for one, appeared unwilling to have the Coyotes’ season end, on the road, in four quick easy steps, which is how it was looking. He elevated his game, as did his centre Antoine Vermette, who had a strong day in the face-off circle and won the most important draw of the night, cleanly and precisely, from Mike Richards to set up Doan’s second, insurance goal.
Phoenix Coyotes Force A Game Five, LA Kings Now Lead Series 3-1
May 20th, 2012Just when you think the Phoenix Coyotes are running on fumes, they play their best game of the series and defeat the LA Kings 2-0.
Game 5 will be in Phoenix on Tuesday night and if the Coyotes can pull out another win, anything can happen.
Shane Doan had both goals today and here is the game winner and enjoy Bob Cole of HNIC with the call…
Dale Hunter Offers Advice To Patrick Roy
May 20th, 2012from Bill Beacon of the CP at the Globe and Mail,
Patrick Roy should weigh what he would give up against what he would gain if he decides to leave a sweet set-up in junior hockey to become an NHL coach, according to Dale Hunter, a man who knows both ends of that situation.
For Roy, it would mean leaving a club he has built into a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League power since retiring from a Hall of Fame goaltending career.
“To coach in the NHL is a privilege,” Hunter said Sunday at the Bionest Centre, where his London Knights are competing in the Mastercard Memorial Cup. “But Patrick has to do what’s best for him and his family.
“It’s a challenge, but it’s a lot of fun. It’s the top league in the world. It’s fun coaching elite players. If you’re ready to make the commitment, you should go.”
read on from more from Hunter on a few topics…
Red Wings at the Worlds, medal round: Pavel Datsyuk’s Russians steamroll Slovakia
May 20th, 2012Updated 6x with video and more Datsyuk quotes at 7:19 PM: Today’s bronze medal game between Finland and the victorious Czechs was a tightly-contested contest by comparison to the gold medal game.
Pavel Datsyuk registered 2 assists—on two goals by Alexander Semin, including a glorious takeaway on the 4-1 goal—and a goal of his own via an assist from Semin to salt the game away…
As the tournament-unbeaten Russians slowly stirred to life after a Zdeno Chara goal, and when the Big Russian Machine got rolling, it just steamrolled Wings prospect Tomas Tatar’s Slovaks, capturing the gold medal by a 6-2 tally.
Continue reading “Red Wings at the Worlds, medal round: Pavel Datsyuk’s Russians steamroll Slovakia”
Open Post- Game 4 WCF, Will The Kings Sweep The Coyotes Today?
May 20th, 2012Game time is just after 3:00pm ET and can be viewed on NBC, CBC and RDS.
Is this it today, will the LA Kings be the Western Conference representative in the Stanley Cup Final?
I can’t see Phoenix winning so the Kings will sweep the series with a 3-2 win today.
Let the on-ice celebration begin, but not too long, remember there is an NBA game to be played in the evening.
Tortorella Responds To The “Headhunter” Quote From DeBoer
May 20th, 2012from Dave Lozo of NHL.com,
On Saturday, Devils coach Peter DeBoer referred to the Rangers’ Brandon Prust as a “headhunter” after his blow to the back of the head of defenseman Anton Volchenkov.
On Sunday, Rangers coach John Tortorella responded to that comment by defending Prust and accusing the Devils of embellishing calls and setting illegal picks during their power plays.
“He’s probably one of the most honest players,” Tortorella said, before launching into a a big chunk of gamesmanship. “I look at (Dainius Zubrus’) elbow to (Anton) Stralman. I look at (Zach) Parise launching himself at (Michael) Del Zotto. Maybe if our players stay down on the ice, we’ll get something. We tell our players don’t stay down on the ice, get up.
“The picking on the power play. If we want to start discussing officials with the media, I’ve got a long list here. That’s a set play by Jersey—picking so we can’t get to (Ilya) Kovalchuk to block his shot. There’s some gamesmanship right there, huh?”