Sunday, March 29, 2009
HOCKEY DAY IN
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PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
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WEDNESDAY PENGUINS vs. DEVILS 7:30 P.M.
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SATURDAY PENGUINS at HURRICANES 7 P.M.
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SUNDAY PENGUINS vs. PANTHERS 50 P.M.
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THURSDAY · 9:30 P.M. SHARKS AT OILERS
GAME OF THE WEEK >>>
This possible first-round playoff preview in the West could silence San Jose critics — or keep them talking.
“FACEOFF” “FAN VOICE”
SOUNDING OFF ON THE NHL COLUMNIST JOE STARKEY & BEAT WRITER ROB ROSSI ARE IN THE CIRCLE & READY TO DEBATE ...
Other than Evgeni Malkin or Sidney Crosby, who is the Penguins MVP?
ROSSI RANTS STARKEY SAYS
This is kind of a silly question. Glad I thought of it. My first thought is Ryan Whitney, since he fetched Chris Kunitz, who has been very good. My second thought is Dan Bylsma. But he isn’t a player. My third thought is Rob Scuderi, who carried a plus-17 rating into the weekend. But I’ll go with Marc-Andre Fleury, even if he did endure a long, ineffective stretch. Fact is, Fleury was a key behind the team’s hot start and has been mostly terrific in its recent playoff push under Bylsma.
markDELANEY
Pittsburgh
GOT HOCKEY THOUGHTS? E-MAIL HOCKEYDAY@TRIBWEB.COM
“Hart Trophy talk should include more players than just the Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin and Washington’s Alexander Ovechkin. What about Pavel Datsyuk in Detroit? I know he plays with talented players, but Henrik Zetterberg and Marian Hossa have missed games, and both are not exactly having career years. The Red Wings continue to win. Also, what about goalie Tim Thomas of the Bruins? He has been one of the best goalies in the league this season. I would also throw into the discussion wingers Zach Parise of the Devils and Jarome Iginla of the Flames. In my opinion, the race should look like this: Malkin, Datsyuk, Ovechkin and Thomas.”
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“The Flower” has power, but “Sarge” is in charge. INCLUDING Malkin or Crosby, no player is more valuable to the Penguins than defenseman Sergei Gonchar. This was clear through four games to start the season when, without Gonchar, the power play went 4-for-24 without its quarterback. The power play is only now starting to recover. Also, the defense corps, at best only OK in Gonchar’s absence, suddenly looks sound again. The Penguins are 13-3-3 since Gonchar returned Feb. 14 after missing 56 games because of a left-shoulder injury.
WILL DO YOU GOOD
“VERSUS theWORLD”
A LOOK AT THE NHL FROM A VERSUS HOCKEY ANALYST
CHANGE
replacement, Cory Clouston, started out 15-7-3. I The Carolina Hurricanes, who were plodding along at 12-11-2 under Peter Laviolette. His replacement, Paul Maurice, was 29-17-5 going into the weekend. Two other clubs that made in-season changes — Tampa Bay and the New York Rangers — also could argue things have gotten better, even if the numbers aren’t glaring. And while the Montreal Canadiens were just 3-3-2 in their first eight games under Bob Gainey, they remained in playoff position. Penguins general manager Ray Shero believes one reason teams change coaches inseason is because of the salary cap, instituted in 2005. “Pre-salary cap, there were more trades, more ways to improve your club,” Shero said. “With the cap, there’s more parity, and expectations go with that. With those expectations, there can be a sentiment that something needs to be changed.” It wasn’t easy for Shero to fire Therrien. “I still think Mike is a good coach,” Shero said. “Hopefully, he’ll get a chance to coach again.”
NHL’S COACHING CAROUSEL WORKING OUT FOR SOME TEAMS
BY JOE STARKEY
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
THIS WEEK:
KEITH JONES
ON FLORIDA’S PANTHERS “I am very interested to see if the Panthers will make the playoffs. They decided to keep defenseman Jay Bouwmeester at the trade deadline, even though he is going to leave as an unrestricted free agent on July 1. In my opinion, that was a mistake, and it will really have been a mistake if they miss the playoffs. They could possibly win a couple of games in the playoffs, but that’s it. Up front, they have some problems. They could steal some games with defense and goaltending. They have the best defense in the East, but with the exception of that, there is not a lot to love about Florida as a Cup contender. That’s why I think Bouwmeester was expendable. Trading him could have made them more of Cup contender down the road.”
VERSUS VISION
A look ahead to the Versus Game of the Week: DEVILS AT RANGERS 7 p.m. Monday “What winger Sean Avery doest best for the Rangers is draw penalties, not take penalties. That’s a fine line, and so far he’s walked it well since returning to New York. When it comes to bringing former players back, New Jersey is always at the top of its game. The Devils made some smart moves last summer to bring back players that were in the Devils’ fold — Brian Rolston and Bobby Holik — and they added Brendan Shanahan at midseason. New Jersey GM Lou Lamoriello knows good players, but more important, he knows good Devils.”
Recent evidence suggests the NHL gets a bad rap for firing coaches faster than other professional sports leagues. The NBA, for example, has topped the NHL’s seven inseason coaching changes with nine of its own, and no fewer than 11 NFL teams — more than a third of the league — have changed coaches since the beginning of the 2008 season (though a few of those were planned retirements). Major League Baseball teams have switched managers six times since the beginning of last season. Forget the numbers, though, and consider this: Change is working in the NHL, at least in the short-term. Of the seven teams that made a coaching switch after the start of the season, four have benefitted greatly. They are: I The Penguins, who were out of playoff position when they fired Michel Therrien on Feb. 15, then went on a 13-2-3 tear under interim coach Dan Bylsma. I The Chicago Blackhawks, who canned Denis Savard after a 1-21 start. Joel Quenneville proceeded to coax his talented young team to a 38-20-10 record and fourth place in the Western Conference. I The Ottawa Senators, who were 17-24-7 when they fired Craig Hartsburg. His
Therrien, who had two years and more than $2 million left on his contract, recently returned from a 10day vacation in Cuba. He said he sold his house in Montreal and will remain in Pittsburgh for the foreseeable future but declined comment for this story. It’s often hard to decipher why a coaching change suddenly sparks a team. In the Penguins’ case, players say there was a palpable lack of enthusiasm toward the end of the Therrien era. Defenseman Brooks Orpik linked that state of mind to the team’s style of play, which has become much more aggressive under Bylsma. “We weren’t dictating the play at all (earlier this season),” Orpik said. “I remember a game in Montreal, we were down, 2-0, toward the end of the third period and we still had the high trap going. They were sitting there behind the net. We were sitting there in our trap. Time was ticking off the clock, and it was kind of like, ‘What are we doing?’ “I think everyone is enjoying themselves a lot more now, just the attitude every day coming to the rink. It’s different, that’s for sure.” Therrien might counter that it must have helped to have a healthy Sergei Gonchar, plus two new wingers for Sidney Crosby. Whatever the case, something’s working for the Penguins — and for most of the other teams that changed coaches this season.
BLACKHAWKS Denis Savard
“THE FUTURE”
PENGUINS MINOR-LEAGUE REPORT
JONATHAN BOMBULIE · FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
OHL’s Belleville Bulls and scoring champ Casey Pierro-Zabotel of the WHL’s Vancouver Giants are on teams seeded first in their conferences. Offensive defenseman Alex Grant of Shawinigan and 6-foot-5 center Keven Veilleux of Rimouski play for QMJHL contenders. Any of the four could actually play and make an impact for the Baby Pens like Luca Caputi and Dustin Jeffrey did last season. “Pittsburgh’s staff really stays on top of all their draft picks from the scouting side of things,” Reirden said. Rapids Griffins on Wednesday, breaking the team mark of 31 shared by Toby Petersen and Michel Ouellet. Minard’s record might not last long, however. The red-hot Janne Pesonen has 13 goals in his past 15 games, giving him 29 for the season.
Joel Quenneville
A pair of unsigned draft picks joined the Baby Pens for their first taste of pro hockey this week. Nathan Moon, a stocky, right-handed scoring center picked in the fourth round in 2008, and Robert Bortuzzo, a lanky, right-handed defenseman picked in the third round in 2007, will practice with the team for a few weeks but aren’t expected to play in a game. “It’s an invaluable experience to go through,” Baby Pens coach Todd Reirden said. “Whether it’s next year’s rookie camp or next year’s training camp, this prepares them a little bit more for what’s expected of them.”
“STOCK UP”
joeVITALE
NORTHEASTERN (NCAA) · C 6-FOOT-1 · 196 POUNDS
NEW CAPTAIN
Because captain Dave Gove’s season might be over due to a disc problem, the Baby Pens gave the C to speedy winger Connor James on Wednesday. James, a 26-year-old University of Denver grad, is in his third season in the Penguins organization. “Well-deserved honor,” Reirden said. “He’s the engine that drives our bus in terms of work ethic and passion for the game and desire to get better.” James said he will gladly return the C if Gove recovers from his injury.
BROKEN RECORD
Chris Minard has been slumping since returning from the NHL on Feb. 27, managing just four goals in his past 14 games, but one of those set a team record. Minard scored his 32nd goal of the season in a 5-3 Baby Pens win over the Grand
KIDS ON THE VERGE
The organization’s top prospects could join the Baby Pens for a late-season look, but they’re currently busy with the playoffs in their junior leagues. Power forward Eric Tangradi of the
AFC MEDIA
A seventh-round pick in the 2005 NHL Draft, Vitale has sparked one of the most dramatic turnarounds in college hockey. Vitale captained Northeastern, a team that won just three games his freshman year, to its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1994 this season. Vitale is a modest scorer — 94 points in 141 career games — but is known as a feisty competitor who won Hockey East defensive forward of the year honors. He could join the Baby Pens for a late-season cup of coffee this year. JB
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Michel Therrien Dan Bylsma
PENGUINS