Prime Time Sports Summary - April 3, 2007

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Jim Kelley from Rogers Sportsnet
Uplink: Al Morganti from Comcast Sports and Eric Duhatschek from the Globe & Mail

Main NHL Story: As it was Tuesday, McCowan dedicates a 20 minute segment to the NHL with the “Hockey Pucks” Morganti and Duhatschek. Today’s topic was extended from yesterday and McCowan got the opinions of Morganti and Duhatschek on the Claude Juilien firing.

Facts and Analysis:
- More discussion was made around the fact that the team had over 100 points, had clinched the playoffs and was seeing the return of key players to the line up.
- Both Morganti and Duhatschek had no clear answer for why Lou did what he did.
- Duhatschek speculated that with the new arena coming to New Jersey next season and the Devils being a strong team, Lou decided that putting himself being the bench would be the best chance for the team to raise a Stanley Cup banner in the new arena for the 2007-2008 season.
- McCowan suggested there may be a playoff impact with a new coach coming in so late in the season; however Morganti and Duhatschek both agreed that there would be no impact as the key Devil players (Brodeur, Elias, Gionta and Gomez) played for Lou last year and the young players will simply follow the veterans lead.

Conclusion:
It appears that the only person who knows why Julien got fired is Lou Lamoriello and he doesn’t seem to want to discuss the issue any further. We’ll see in the next months how well this move pays off for Big Lou.

Bullets:
With Tuesday being a big night in the NHL for the 7 through 11 teams in the east, do any coaches have their neck on the line tonight?
- Morganti discussed the situation in Carolina and felt that head coach, Peter Laviolette, has simply had a tough year. Morganti reiterated that Laviolette should have no problem being the behind the bench next season, however there may be the slight possibility that the Hurricanes may go out a look for a new coach in the off-season.
- Also discussed was the situation in New York with the Islanders; overall it was agreed that the injury, late in the season to Rick DiPietro will ultimately save Ted Nolan’s job and Nolan should have no worries if his team misses the playoffs.
- Finally, Duhatschek talked about the late Colorado surge and the fact that if this team doesn’t make the playoffs this year, they certainly will in 2008 and have a good shot at leading the west next season
- Who will get the 8^th and final spot in the East?

- Morganti – Leafs

- Duhatschek – Leafs

- Kelley – Leafs

- McCown – Not the Leafs

Leaf Articles - April 3, 2007

The following articles I thought would interest Leaf fans. I know there are many more out there, but the Wellwood story is well written and really bleeds what a Canadian hockey player is. The Wharnsby article is more breaking news and a preview of tonight's match up.

Scott Burnside from ESPN writes about Kyle Wellwood and the struggles his family went through with his father's metal illness

Tim Wharnsby is reporting that Carlo Colaiacovo will not dress tonight against the Flyers

Cheers!

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 2, 2007

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Jim Kelley from Rogers Sportsnet and James Deacon from The Fan590

Main NHL Story: Near the bottom of the hour, the roundtable discussed the situation in New Jersey. McCown put forward the questions, was this the right move and why did it happen?

Facts and Analysis:
- The Devils had won 4 of their last 5 and were getting key players back from the IR - there is no clear statistical reason as to why the coach was to be fired.
- This is the 3rd time Lou Lamoriello has fired a coach that seemed to be doing a good job and the second time he has put himself behind the bench.
- Discussion around Eric Duhatschek's article in the Globe & Mail.
- The Power of Lou Lamoriello - is he really doing any coaching? Rumours have it that Devil's assistant coach John MacLean is actually the brains behind the Devils strong season and that Lou just plays the "I am watching you" role. This is what was said to occur when Lou was behind the bench last season for the playoff when Larry Robinson stepped down.

Conclusion:
Lou Lamoriello fired Claude Julien for losing presence within the locker room. Julien began to favour some players and began showing signs of weakness, hence Big Lou stepped in to set things straight. Combine Julien's favoritism and Lou's MO and ego and it creates the scenario which we saw unfold yesterday. James Deacon closed the discussion off with a simple "It's just Lou being Lou."

Bullets:
Later on in the segment, the roundtable discussed the situation of Jared Murray - the grand-nephew of Ottawa Senators coach Brian Murray. You can read the article here, if you haven't already. As the roundtable discussed, this situation is a National disgrace. How is it that in a nation devoted to hockey we must limit those with talent? This is the same thing that happened to Gretzky in Brantford - he was forced out the city and had to play in Toronto. I guess the reason for all this can be found at the other players on the team and their parents. These players don't get a chance to "shine" and their parents were sick of it. Now poor Jared, an 8-year old kid, has to sit out from the game he loves.

The Final Three

Morning Leafs Fans,

Well there are only three games left in the regular season for the Leafs, and all of these games are must win to attempt a run at the Cup. Tonight at 7:30pm EST the Leafs face the Flyers at the ACC, as well there are 12 other games around the league. Some games of note are:

Carolina at Tampa Bay - 7:30pm EST
The key scenario here is that if the Leafs lose and Tampa wins, the Lightning will clinch a playoff birth. The Hurricanes could enter 8th place in the East or be eliminated from playoff contention depending on the outcome of the Montreal vs. Boston game.

Boston at Montreal - 7:30pm EST
The Habs are going to be the door the Leafs have to go through to get into the playoffs. Basically, as a Leafs fan, we need to cheer for the Bruins here.

New York Rangers at New York Islanders - 7:30pm EST
The Islanders are all but done in the Eastern playoff race and with a Ranger win, the Rangers will clinch the playoffs. Leafs fans, however, should keep an eye on this game, as the Boys head to the Island on Thursday night, and depending on the intensity of this game, it could foreshadow what the Leafs have to prepare for on Thursday.

We should be hoping tonight for a Leafs win, Bruins win, Ranger win and a Lightning win - but I wouldn't put any sum of money on all four of these teams winning tonight.

Cheers!

Monday Hot Stove

With only one game in the NHL this evening (Blues and Stars), one big NHL story, which everyone already knows about, and a weekend without Prime Time Sports, Leaf's Lunch and HockeyCentral at Noon, I figured I would post some interesting stories from around the league. As this will most likely be common on Monday's, I will entitle my Monday posts as the "Monday Hot Stove." Basically, a NHL wrap up of the weekend and other NHL news that I would consider to be of interest to the readers.

John Buccigross of ESPN.com gives those common NHL fans a review of the season as well as his thoughts on the 2007 NHL playoffs.

Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail talks about the playoffs and where the Canadian teams sit relative to the "Quest for the Cup."

Pierre LeBrun of the Canadian Press writes about the final week in the regular season.

That's all for tonight...and for those that missed it I have posted the Tucker v. Avery fight from last night - I had to put some Leafs stuff on here somewhere!

Tucker vs Avery Apr 1, 2007

Out Like A Lion, In Like A Lamb

Welcome Back!

I figured I would start by doing a short write-up about the Leafs' two-game weekend . As I am not a professional writer, these types of things will only occur when I have some extra time on my hands. However, tomorrow I will start getting this website in shape for a more stable routine and begin accumulating Leafs stories and opinions from around the web.

-----------------

Well Leafs fans, I assume that this weekend you were glued to your TV set, in anticipation that the Boys would come through and you could start saving your wages for playoff tickets.
On Saturday night, the Leafs faced Sidney Crosby and the Penguins, which brought their four-game win streak to the Big Smoke. The game looked promising right off the bat as Chad Kilger netted a pass from Kyle Wellwood to put the Leafs up 1-0 only 5 minutes into the first period. The game continued to go in favour of the Leafs as they were up 4-1 with just under 30 minutes to go in the game. However, the surging Penguins scored 3 unanswered goals, including the tying goal which came at 19:56 of the 3rd period, to send the game into extra minutes. Thankfully, Thomas Kaberle was able to seal the 2 points for the win with an overtime goal set up by Kyle Wellwood again.
Sunday night, the Leafs traveled to New York, to face the Rangers. The Rangers were coming off a 6-4 win against the Flyers in Philadelphia. Although the Philly game wasn't as intense as what the Leafs were faced in the Penguins, both teams would have to find their legs this contest. On a side note, this was the first Sunday game for the Maple Leafs this season (good or bad sign?). This game was (again) of utmost importance to the Leafs, as a loss would mean playoff destiny would no longer be in their hands - as Carolina beat the Panthers in OT during an afternoon match up. The first period did not look good for the Leafs. Although they escaped the first 20 minutes with tie, there was obvious signs of tire throughout the Leafs bench. The next 40 minutes belonged to the Rangers. After Andrew Raycroft got the pull in the second with the score 4-2, JS Aubin proved to be no better letting in 3 goals on 9 shots. The final score was 7-2 and with 5 minutes left to play the Rangers fans began signing "Hey, Hey, Hey Goodbye." How fitting.