February 25, 2004
NHL Roundup
Coaches get fired in the NHL all the time, perhaps more often than any other league in professional sports. But it still doesn't happen often enough that seeing two coaches fired in one day doesn't make you sit up and take notice.
Seeing Bobby Francis get the boot in Phoenix isn't terribly surprising. Sure, he was NHL Coach of the Year only two seasons ago, but since when is that good for guaranteeing your job any longer than just one more season? The fact remains that Phoenix, despite moving into a new arena, and boasting a pretty good young lineup, gradually came apart in the immediate aftermath of Brian Boucher's shutout streak. Once it was over, Phoenix's season was essentially over as well. Losing Ladislav Nagy was definitely a blow, but the die had been cast long before then. Expect to see Francis again soon at another NHL franchise near you (barring the little CBA problem that is).
Plenty of folks are saying that Joel Quenneville's firing in St. Louis is horribly unfair, but I'm having trouble seeing what the problem is. Sure, losing Al MacInnis and Barret Jackman hamstrung the Blues defense, but this was still a team that boasted Chris Pronger, Doug Weight, Pavol Demitra and Keith Tkachuk. They won 20 of their first 30 games and were within striking distance of Detroit, and now they might not even make the playoffs.
For a couple of seasons now, fans of the NHL have been waiting to see something spectacular from the Sedin twins, Henrik and Daniel. And while I've always thought some of those expectations were a bit unrealistic, Daniel is starting to look like an NHL player to be reckoned with. Last night against the visiting Detroit Red Wings, he scored four goals, including one into an empty net to salt away a 4-2 Vancouver win over the Red Wings.
It was a game that had an authentic playoff feel, and I felt sad when I realized we're still more than a full month away from this year's dance. Chris Chelios left the game in the second period with a bruised shoulder, after a collision with Vancouver's Todd Bertuzzi.
We had plenty of playoff atmosphere elsewhere last night, especially in Montreal and on Long Island. At the Molson Center, the Canadiens gutted out another victory, beating Northeast Division-leading Ottawa, 4-2. Michael Ryder had a pair of goals for the Habs. Elsewhere in Montreal, Montreal's team president told the Montreal Board of Trade that the Canadiens were going to have to make the third round of the playoffs this year in order to break even.
As if Bob Gainey's job in Montreal wasn't hard enough already?
Back on Long Island, the Islanders and Bruins tied 0-0, in a game that was delayed for over an hour when the Zamboni shaved the ice inside one of the goal creases too deeply. Despite going ahead with play, the ice was so rough, that Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro clearly had trouble moving laterally more than once during the game.
In Philadelphia, the Flyers vaulted back to the top of the league with a 3-1 win over the (need I say hapless?) Blackhawks. Claude Lapointe scored an empty net goal for Philly, his first since returning from the NHL's substance abuse program. Congratulations, Claude.
And finally, in Colorado, the Flames shutout the Avalanche, 2-0. Colorado is 0-3-1-1 in its last five games at home, scoring only four goals over that stretch. In addition, the Flames acquired forward Ville Nieminen from the Chicago Blackhawks for Jason Morgan and a conditional draft pick. It's good to see Calgary on the market as a buyer, instead of a seller as the season winds down. It's been too long. And in Washington, sources tell the Washington Post that the Caps continue to talk to the Avalanche about acquiring former Vezina winner, Olie Kolzig.
In off-ice news, Eric Lindros has been cleared to begin light workouts as part of his concussion rehab plan. I know Lindros as a mind of his own, but more and more I keep hoping to hear a retirement announcement. In Columbus, the arbitration hearing that will decide whether or not Nikolai Zherdev is a free man or the property of Victor Tikhonov has been set.
All I can say is that if Zherdev loses, I hope the U.S. government plans to give him political asylum. It's clear Vladimir Putin's government is a thoroughly corrupt joke, and that former Soviet hockey czar Tikhonov gets what he wants from him -- including conveniently created induction papers into the Russian Army. Here's hoping the arbitrator sees through their transparent attempt to essentially ransom Zherdev.
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.ericmcerlain.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/2982
Hi Eric,
The Islanders/Bruins game ended 0-0, not 1-1. The ice was terrible, delaying start of the game some 90 minutes.
Posted by:
at February 25, 2004 08:51 AM
Change made. You'd figure I would have gotten that one right, especially since I watched the game!
I think I need more sleep.
Posted by:
at February 25, 2004 09:36 AM
Zherdev has made it clear that win or lose the arbitration, he's staying here in Columbus. If he loses, he'll sit out the remainder of the year, or maybe play in Syracuse, which I guess means the AHL is not affected by the agreement of the international organization and Russia. In addition, Zherdev is Ukrainian, so the Russian claim appears even more ludicrous.
Posted by:
at February 25, 2004 09:49 AM
D.Sedin could've had five. Late in the third, he snapped this beauty backhand off the top corner pipe that clearly beat Legace.
Posted by:
at February 25, 2004 10:43 AM
Every time the Wings play the Canucks they lose a player! Hatcher…Zetterberg…Chelios. Sheesh.
Posted by:
at February 25, 2004 11:23 AM
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in,
.
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)
07:28 AM