Prime Time Sports Summary - April 27, 2007

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

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Stephen Brunt from the Globe & Mail, Gord Kirke, a sports lawyer, James Deacon from the Fan590

Main NHL Story: McCown started off with bringing up the issue that some people are not overly thrilling with the CBC's broadcasting team for the 2007 NHL Playoffs. The discussion was rooted in that people grow up watching hockey and listening to "one voice." For McCown's era it was the Hewitt's. Now, when HNIC broadcasts with someone such as Jim Hughson instead of their go to guys "Bob Cole, Harry Neale, etc" people feel it takes away from the game. However, the show must go on and people will have to get use to a variety of different voices. The roundtable agreed that Hughson would be next in line for Bob Cole's position. The roundtable discussed what made a "good" broadcaster. Deacon also mentioned that fact that CBC doesn't seem to have a team lined up to take over their "common" broadcasters. The roundtable continued to discuss who could possibly fill in for the Bob Cole's and the Harry Neale's. The final question was: Is this Bob Cole's last year? No one would really say either way "on the record," but they did conclude that it wouldn't be them, it would be the 25-35 year old market that should decide the fate of Bob Cole. McCown then asked about TSN's Pierre McGuire. The roundtable agreed that he works hard to understand the game, however is sometimes afraid to deeply critique a team - he's simply too nice of a guy.

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 26, 2007

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

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Stephen Brunt from the Globe & Mail,
NHL Phone In: Eric Duhatschek from the Globe & Mail

Main NHL Story: Duthatschek was live at Joe Louis Arena. The main reason for talking to Duhatschek is that McCown feels this will be the best series of round 2. Duhatschek gave a run down of each team and the injuries facing both teams (mainly the Red Wings). Duhatschek talked about the injury to Detroit's Holstrom and the Sharks' Cheechoo. Hat said that Holstrom is out indefinately and Cheechoo seems to be getting back to 100%. Brunt brought up the fact that Detroit isn't selling out the games. Hat replied that simply the prices at Joe Louis are too expensive and the views aren't that good. Mix that with the weak economy in Detroit and Windsor and you get the situation facing the Red Wings. McCown moved on to the fact that San Jose's powerplay has been lacking in the playoffs (2 for 30). Duhatschek feels that the Sharks aren't too worried about the powerplay and it Ron Wilson says it will fix itself. Brunt moved the discussion to the "age" of the Detroit team - can they withstand a run to the cup? Duhatschek replied that the Detroit's better players are more on the young side (Lidstrom, Zetterburg, Datsyuk) and the only real issue lies with Hasek - who seems to be "fresh" and showing no signs of wear. The one thing that may cause a problem is travel. Detroit having to travel out to the west coast constantly will tire them out - it has tired out Duhatschek.

Round 2 Begins

Here are your Round 2 match ups:

Eastern Conference

Buffalo Sabres vs. New York Rangers

New Jersey Devils vs. Ottawa Senators

Western Conference

Detroit Red Wings vs. San Jose Sharks

Anaheim Ducks vs. Vancouver Canucks

Games start tomorrow!

Last Night In The Playoffs

3 games last night and 2 eliminations.

The Sabres got rid of the Islanders by a score of 4-3. The Isles staged a strong comeback in the third, but it wasn't enough. Also, Islanders defenceman Sean Hill was suspended by the NHL for 20 games just hours before the game for violating the NHL Drug Policy.

The Sharks got rid of the Predators 3-2, with a late goal by Patrick Marleau. It is sad that one of these teams had to exit the playoffs in the first round.

New Jersey took the series lead with a win over the Lightning. The Devils won 3-0, looks like Broudeur found his playoff form.

Last Night In The Playoffs

A couple more teams can finally book their tee times...

Ottawa beat the Penguins 3-0, to send Sid and friends home for the season. This series was a real let down overall, but I am positive this is not the last we have seen of the Penguins and the playoffs.

Minnesota was also sent packing, as they lost to Anaheim 4-1. Not much surprise here, Anaheim is a tough team to beat.

Vancouver lost 1-0 to the Stars. Somehow Dallas is hanging in there.

Calgary beat the Wings 3-2 at home - go figure. I think this was more Hasek's fault than the home ice.

Last Night In The Playoffs

We are starting to see the end of the Round 1 with one elimination last night and few more, possibly, tonight.

The NY Rangers ended the playoffs for the Thrashers, by beating them 4-2. How big of an impact has Sean Avery been for the Rangers?

The Sabres and Chris Drury took care of the Islanders, reassuring us all that Sabres are a Cup contending team, by a score of 4-2.

New Jersey, with the help of a Scott Gomez OT goal, put the Devils back into the series with the Lightning. The Devils won 4-3 to tie the series up at 2 games a piece.

San Jose edged over the Predators 3-2. I am going to miss the play of this series when someone eventually wins - I bet the Sharks.

Last Night In The Playoffs

There were 5 great games last night and some big turns for a majority of the teams.

The Penguins lose to the Senators 2-1. The Penguins are trying, but the playoff experience of the Sens is starting to show. One more Senators win and they are in Round 2.

The NY Rangers completely destroyed the Thrashers 7-0 last night. Looks like the Rangers star players are coming out of their shells.

Vancouver edged passed the Stars 2-1 and surprisingly this game was over in 60 minutes!

Minnesota finally found their scoring touch as they were able to beat the Ducks 4-1 and keep the series alive.

And Calgary was able to silence the brooms, by winning 3-2 over the Wings at home.

Monday In The Playoffs

There were 3 games last night in the Stanley Cup Tournament:

The Sabres won back their home ice advantage with a 3-2 win over the Islanders.

Vincent Lacavalier strikes again - this time he puts his team in the series lead with a 3-2 win over the Devils.

San Jose came out flying in last night's only Western Conference game with a 3-1 win over Nashville.

Last Night In The Playoffs

NHL Playoff Summaries for April 14, 2007.

Sid the Kid was able to tie the series up heading back to Pittsburgh, as the Penguins got a 4-3 win over the Senators.

Zach Parise still continues to light it up for the Devils, however last night his performance was strong enough, as the Lightning tied up the series on a goal by Vincent Lacavalier. Lightning won 3-2.

With DiPietro, the Isles were able to steal one from the Sabres at home, the Islanders beat the Sabres 3-2. The series now heads to the Island.

Finally, the Rangers took a 2-0 series lead with a 2-1 win over the Thrashers, in what was a battle of goaltending.

Last Night In The Playoffs

Playoff Summaries for Friday April 13th, 2007:

San Jose wasn't able to pull out the win, but they get revenge for Hartnell's hit on Cheechoo. Nashville won the game 5-2.

Dallas tied up the series with a 2-0 win over a tired Canucks team.

The Ducks go up 2-0 in the series with a 3-2 win over the Wild.

Last Night In The Playoffs

Four more Game 1's last night. In my opinion, Wednesday night was a bit better for quality of Hockey, but given that two of last night's games were 1 vs. 8's, it should be expected.

Buffalo's offense was just too much for the Islanders slow moving defense, Buffalo wins Game 1 by a score of 4-1.

New Jersey and Tampa Bay played a tight game right into the 3rd period, however the Devils were able to pull off a 5-3 victory.

Detroit completely dominated the 8th place Flames - and this was predicted to be the upset series! Detroit wins 4-1

Another tight Eastern match-up, has the Rangers squeeze out a victory over the Thrashers by a score of 4-3.

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 11, 2007

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

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Stephen Brunt from the Globe & Mail
Uplink: Al Morganti from Comcast Sports and Eric Duhatschek from the Globe & Mail, Scott Moore from CBC Sports

Main NHL Story: McCown talked about 3 NHL topics with the Hockey Pucks." 1) The CBC snub by the NHL; 2) The Phoenix Coyotes firings; and 3) The Playoffs. He talked to Moore about the CBC snub as well.

The CBC Snub: Both analysts believe this was stupid on Gary Bettman's part. Morganti brought up the fact that NBC is not paying a cent to broadcast the NHL in the US and the CBC is paying a lot (even more starting in 2008). Morganti point is that in any other business/profession, money talks - why not in the NHL? Duhatschek mentioned that even though CBC is still under their old agreement with the NHL, they are still paying the NHL to broadcast games. He also did not understand why Bettman thought, that one game would save hockey in the US. McCown responded to that saying that 90% of Americans don't even know the NHL is in the playoffs and even less would know to turn on NBC on Saturday to watch the Pens and the Sens.

The Firings in Phoenix: Basically, the Coyotes had no choice, something had to be done. Wayne Gretzky had been sticking up for GM Mike Barnett for too long and this time, upper management had had enough. Duhatschek brought out the fact of the new CEO and new silent partner in Phoenix, which are forcing Gretzky to get on his horse and do something with the team. The Coyotes have said that they will put in a thorough search for a new GM, which is promising. Possible candidates are Pat Quinn and Dave Taylor. The roundtable moved to the discussion of Gretzky and how the organization is so focussed on one guy, it will be difficult to try and change things around him. Whatever they have to do, it has to be big and long term, because the team has done worse in 2007 than it did in 2006 and they are out of excuses in Phoenix.

Stanley Cup Playoffs: McCown brought up the statistics about 8 vs. 1's and 7 vs. 2's. These statistics show that once a team makes the playoffs, they have a legitimate chance of winning it all. Morganti cited the fact that so much goes into hockey and the game itself that anything can happen and no one team has a dominate presence. The roundtable also talked about the East vs. the West. Duhatschek still stands by that the West is a better division, however the East is more exciting to watch. The reason why the East has one the past three cup? The West simply beat each other up in the regular season/playoffs and are just too gassed to all the way to get the Cup.
Predictions for Cup Winner:
Morganti - Penguins
Duhatschek - Sharks
Brunt - Sabres
McCown - Sharks

Scott Moore Interview: Scott Moore, head of CBC Sports, called in during the last segment of the program to discuss the NHL's decision to play the Pens and Sens game on NBC. Basically, Moore stated his case to Bettman, and Gary just wouldn't listen. The interview was cut short due to time, however, the Globe & Mail article is the best reproduction of the effects on CBC and Moore's thoughts.

Last Night In The Playoffs

The 2007 Stanley Cup Tournament kicked off last night.

In the East:
Ottawa's defense clearly out-muscled Pittsburgh's offense and won the game 6-3.

In the West:
San Jose blew a 4-2 to lead to Nashville, but got the 5-4 win in the second period of OT.

Anaheim beat Minnesota 2-1 in probably the most uneventful game last night.

Vancouver beat Dallas 5-4 in the 6th longest NHL Playoff game in league history.