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#402 - Emery Leads Habs to First Turbo Cup! |
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[b] “I wont say I told you so, but.. I TOLD YOU SO” goaltender Ray Emery shouted while spraying champagne at reporters following the Habs 5-4 defeat of the Anaheim Ducks to capture the Turbo Cup. The win solidified Emery’s claim at the start of the year that the Habs were a team not to be taken lightly. After a struggle all season long due to injury and poor effort the Canadiens rallied at the end of the season to claim the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. In the first series the Habs struggled but completed an upset over the first place and returning champions Atlanta Thrashers taking the series 4-3. The second series was a breeze with Gagne, and Sedin leading the way for the Habs and taking the Buffalo Sabres without trouble in 4 straight games. Pominville and Comrie answered the call of reporters with regards to their weak play in the first two series, and led the Habs to a 4-2 series win over Roberto Luongo and the New Jersey Devils. [/b]
[b] The third round win over the Devils left the Habs who have struggled to even stay out of the basement in the eastern conference in an unfamiliar territory—The Turbo Cup Championship. With stellar play from Ray Emery and the new and improved defensive core acquired in the off-season the Habs the much needed stability on the back end. In the finals the Habs faced off against the Anaheim Ducks who spent the entire season in the top two spots in the Western conference and ending in third with 102 points, just one behind leading Colorado Avalanche. The Habs and Ducks split their home and homes with the series tied after the first 4 games, but after holding the Ducks off for 7 consecutive periods the tides were turning in Montreal’s favour. The Habs took game 4 of the series and never looked back from then on in. Ray Emery stood on his head in game 5 stopping all 23 shots he faced. In game 6 Simon Gagne did exactly what he had done all season long and led the Habs by example potting 2 goals and one assist and took home the games first star and raised the long awaited Turbo Cup. [/b]
[b] “It was a team effort all playoffs long. Emery stood on his head for us, our defence stood their ground, our veterans led by example, and our roll players played their rolls, I’ve never been more proud or happy of a team in my career ” coach Brent Sutter said. Sutter went from leading the Canadian jr. team to the World Junior Championship two years ago to leading the Canadiens to their first playoffs in Turbo history. “These are my boys, these are the guys who showed heart all the way until the last buzzer, and that’s the reason we are all heading to DISNEY LAND BABY!” Captain Jason Pominville stated in his post game press conference. Pominville is set to be a restricted free agent this offseason and when asked about his status with regards to the future of the club he simply stated “well I’m the captain of a championship team, who is young and only getting better, why in my right mind would I leave. Montreal has the best fans in the league, the best ownership, and you couldn’t find a better more determined team. You think now that we have a cup we are going to sit back and relax? No we will be back next year to reclaim the cup, mark my word”. [/b]
[b] With their first cup victory the Habs aren’t expected to stop there. What is set to be an extremely busy off-season for the club leaves many names in question. The habs have 20 restricted free agents needing new contracts this offseason, so with many who are presumed to sign, there are also a few who are believed to be finding new homes come next season. “We will be busy to say the least” GM Aucoin said, “we have the core of our team exactly where we want them, those players love being here, and they will stay. As for a lot of the youth coming up they might have to take some lower salaries to stay in this organization, if not rest a sure they will be moved and we will get stronger. This is a dynasty on the rise, nothing will stop us from getting better, and some sacrifice are needed for that. We will be back next year, stronger then ever.” [/b]
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Posted by aucoin [ Montreal ] on 2008-11-18 |
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#401 - Atlanta looking to mix it up! |
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After a very disappointing first round exit, GM Tom Levitt has stated last night that big changes are going to occur this offseason.
To what extent is currently unclear but Levitt suggested in a recent interview some of Atlanta’s key players maybe traded. Players such as Patrick Marleau, Kyle Calder, Darcy Tucker and Petr Prucha are the probable guys to be leaving, however the idea of trading sniper Rick Nash is not totally out of the question depending on the return.
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Posted by mutski [ Atlanta ] on 2008-10-27 |
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#400 - Desert Dogs get first taste of cold tonight in Colorado. |
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The Coyotes stroll into colorado tonight for game 1 of the playoff series.Carey Price will more than likely be matched up against his former mentor Christobal Huet.Tonight we will find out if the student becomes the teacher or if old huet still has a few tricks he didn't teach.But the big story will be the play of Alex Ovechkin and Peter Forsberg,Mike Ryder together.These 3 will have to be amazing for the Coyotes to have a chance at up setting the western conference leaders.Gm Hogan says"I have confidence in our players,win or lose i know they will give it 100%,and I know Alex has the Energy to ignite the crowd and our team."
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Posted by hogan67 [ Phoenix ] on 2008-10-10 |
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#399 - Phoenix sneak in to final playoff spot.!! |
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The Coyotes have done it,they have stolen the last playoff spot in the west from the Wild.They defeated San Jose in the final game of the season and ended the Wild's playoff hopes.Captain Alex Ovechkin led the team all season long and ended the year with 46 goals and 109 points.Coyotes managment hope he will continue his strong play into the playoffs and hopefully Carey price will step up as he did at the beggining of the season and help lead the defence.Coyotes are taking it round by round and are ready for the avalanche in rd 1.
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Posted by hogan67 [ Phoenix ] on 2008-10-08 |
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#398 - What the Hell went wrong in Washington. |
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Washington made all the right moves this season, adding in big names like Anze Kopitar, Karel Rachunek, Johan Holmqvist and several others players that were supposed to equal a strong an deep playoff run of the Washington Capitals. Owners all across the league growled over the trade with Los Angeles earlier this year when the Caps shelled out several draft picks for some top player, well that's blasting them in the face right now after the Capitals finished second to last in the entire league.
So what the hell happened in Washington? First off Holmqvist was a total bust in the net and Semen Varlamov was no better. The defense who was expected to be much better with Eric Brewer and Karel Rachunek going with Eminger and Morrisonn, and that was a total flop. With a highly talented offense of Kovalchuk, Jussi, Backstrom, Anze and Semin the team flopped offensively scoring near the bottom of the league in terms of goals and nobody put up over a point per game.
Washington Fans can only chalk this up to some messed up chemistry inside of the locker room and no true leader on the ice for the Washington Capitals. Expect that to be corrected this off-season with Coach Melrose on the chopping block this year and big names like Semin and Anze possibly on the move several big changes could occur.
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Posted by Jonesy [ Washington ] on 2008-10-07 |
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#397 - Coyotes on the fence!! |
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Phoenix has put itself in a awkward situation. from being first in the west earlier in the season to fighting for playoff life.Gm Hogan says"We recently added sami salo to the mix to help our disgraceful powerplay.The guys have to pick it up,carey is not playing well,and the defense is sloppy,we are one point ahead of the wild with a game in hand,we need wins from here on out."The phoenix team has alex ovechkin with over 100 points,but they also have lots of other guys stepping up,like mike nylander with 95 points,and young claude giroux has suprised as a second line winger with over 60 points.With Anthony stewart gone,Jacob voracek will assume the 3rd line r/w duties.
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Posted by hogan67 [ Phoenix ] on 2008-10-01 |
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#396 - San Jose Sharks - Continue to get younger, deal with CBJ |
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San Jose, CALIFORNIA - In an effort to shed more age from the struggling franchise and kick start the re-building process, the Sharks dealt forward Petr Cajanek and defensemen Henrik Tallinder and Chris Chelios to the Columbus Blue Jackets. In return the Sharks received young phenom Geoff Platt and Carl Sneep, a quick 21 year old defenseman. Platt is having a career year with 18 g and 47 a for 65 pts in just 67 games, and he should click well next year on the first line with David Bolland and Steven Reinprecht (if he, too, doesn't get dealt). With impending free agents Ian Lapperiere and Mike Grier set to be traded, walk, or be resigned at smaller contracts, the Sharks only have 26,299,999 committed to next year's salary, with another 20 mil or so available in cap room to net a goalie and perhaps another forward should they not be content with Hudler-Carcillo-Cherepenov as a second line.
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Posted by SJSharks [ SanJose ] on 2008-09-22 |
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#395 - San Jose Sharks - Offense hits their stride, goaltending sux |
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San Jose, CALIFORNIA - After a 5 game winless streak, the Sharks have finally put together a pair of wins. San Jose has the next three days off to prepare for their home game against the New Jersey Devils and, while not mathematically removed from the playoffs with 11 games left, would probably need to extend their streak to close out the season to have any real hope of a playoff birth. The Sharks' first victory against Nashville came off of a deflection with Ethan Moreau's stick early in the third period to hold off a career day from Mike Modano who had 2 goals and an assist off of just 4 shots on goal. The team's second victory came in the middle of the second period against Calgary from Daniel Carcillo. The team was powered by Steven Reinprecht, however, who had two goals and an assist of his own to bring his tally with the team to 5 g, 5a, 10p in just 9 games played. Tomas Pospisil (lost to a bruised muscle in the third period of their 7-5 win over Calgary) is probable to return for their next game along with defensive stalwart Steve Begin (lost to a broken nose from a puck to the face in the 2nd period of the team's 5-3 win over Nashville). With little left to look forward to in this season, the Sharks have hope for next year with their second line of Jiri Hudler, Daniel Carcillo, and Alexei Cherepenov; in the nine games that they have been together, Hudler has three goals and five assists for eight points, Carcillo has four goals and two assists for six points, and Cherepenov has one goal and six assists for seven points. Johan Hedberg, however, has been an enigma since filling in for Mathieu Garon after he was traded to the Nashville Predators. One game, Hedberg will post around 90% save percentage, then the next, hover around 50%. In his 29 games played (some in relief), he has a 4.76 GAA, and a pathetic .825 save percentage. Greiss has not been much better. The Sharks will need to either upgrade through trade or free agency to improve this position and have any shot at the playoffs next year.
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Posted by SJSharks [ SanJose ] on 2008-09-18 |
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