In case you missed this beautiful goal. Here it is. Former Harvard Crimson and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Alex Killorn scored the first goal of the 2015 Stanley Cup Final. Time of the goal was 04:31 of the first period.
After scoring 15 goals in 71 games during the regular season, Killorn has now scored 8 goals during the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Second hour is where Parise talks to the hosts. [click to listen]
Zach Parise on defining success in Minnesota – “In New Jersey we hadn’t won a round… I think it was since 2006, we hadn’t won a playoff round for a long time, we missed the playoffs the year before going to the finals; the league is so even right now,” Parise said.
“If you look at the Stanley Cup Finals this year you have a sixth seed with us [Devils] and the eight seed with L.A. – it’s so even that you just want to get in. The team that seems to get hot for two months always does well.”
“I think when you through in a defenseman of the caliber of Ryan Suter and mix him in with the defensemen they already got and put him on any team, that immediately makes the team much better and the appeal of having him there with me… I was… I thought it was a great fit. Like you said, I know they haven’t won a playoff series in a while and that is a challenge that everyone is going to face and hopefully we can get into the post season this year and progress and develop and get to the ultimate thing.”
Put me down as being cynical that the players and the owners can work out a deal and avoid a work stoppage. The reason I am cynical is that the NHL Players Association executive director Donald Fehr has already been through one work stoppage with major league baseball, what makes us think that he will be able to get an agreement without having a work stoppage in the NHL.
CHICAGO -- The head of the NHL players' union said Monday that negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement will begin "very quickly" -- perhaps as early as this week.
New NHL Players Association executive director Donald Fehr said negotiations will begin after Wednesday's meeting of the NHLPA's executive board, though he did not specify a date.
Fehr was asked if a work stoppage was inevitable. He said nothing like that was coming from the union, and note that the NHLPA has not yet made a formal CBA proposal. He said the union had not yet "heard" a proposal from the league.
The NHL canceled the 2004-05 season before a labor deal was reached that included a salary cap for the first time. That agreement expires on Sept. 15.
Commissioner Garry Bettman said during the Stanley Cup finals last month that he believes the labor scene is different this time around. One big change is that the players are now being led by Fehr, the former head of the powerful baseball union.
Here is the New Jersey Devils beat writer’s perspective on Zach Parise’s game one of the Stanley Cup Finals – Parise like the rest of the Devils looked like they were a little flat and maybe they were holding their sticks a little tight as well.
Mike Vorkunov, The Star-Ledger --- There was Zach Parise sprawling around the Kings net, desperate for any chance to finally make his mark on the opening game of the Stanley Cup Finals.
The Devils’ captain had been quiet to that point, outplayed by Dustin Brown – his counterpart. Brown hadn’t scored but at least he threw his body around, setting the tone for a rough and rumbling Game 1. All Parise had done to that point was two shots on goal, one of which had accidentally slid off of his stick and to the goal.
But there he was, his opportunity waiting, as the puck stayed in front of Jonathan Quick. And all Parise could muster was to stick his glove out, from the outside of the net, and knock the puck in over the goal line. For a moment the Prudential Center erupted.
One thing that was evident last night was that the Devils didn’t bury their offensive opportunities when they had a chance. Devils forward David Clarkson had two grade “A” scoring opportunities early in the game from the slot, only to shoot the puck over the Kings net.
The possibility of the NHL having another lockout is looking more and more like a reality. I don’t believe we will see a season long lock out like we did during the 2004-05 season. There is also a possibility that if there is a lockout there are a half dozen teams that might not survive if there is a lockout.
This was one of several topics Bettman spoke about in his annual pre-Stanley Cup final state-of-the-union address. Fehr was in attendance to listen to Bettman speak in the bowels of the Prudential Center and afterwards the NHLPA boss held his own Q-and-A session with reporters.
It was ironic that Bettman announced in his session that the league enjoyed record revenues of $3.3-billion US this season. Yet, there is a strong possibility that the 2012-13 NHL season will not begin on time because of prolonged CBA fight.
So as we watch the Stanley Cup Finals between the New Jersey Devils and the Los Angeles Kings – there is a possibility that this could be the only NHL hockey we have for a long time.
From time to time I check out the Orland Kurtenblog because I find his posts to be interesting and thought provoking. Seems like Vancouver media just can't get over losing to the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup finals, not only did Brand Marchand get under the skin of the Vancouver Canucks, it appears that Brad Marchand also got under the skin of the Vancouver media as well. Hell I think that makes Marchand even more valuable.
Orland Kurtenblog --- The $5 mil total also proves that, if you want to make some serious money in the league, you should try speedbagging a Sedin.
I mean, let’s be real here. Marchand is a good player and you can’t downplay his postseason effectiveness — but everyone knows how he made a name for himself, and it wasn’t for relentless back-checking. Marchand whaled on the Art Ross trophy winner, bragged about it, and everybody ate it up. Fans, media and television talking heads were tripping over each other to anoint him the rodent du jour, taking the “next Ken Linesman” label away from Dave Bolland (who, to be fair, took it away from Steve Ott. I think the point here is the “rat king” label frequently changes holders.) This wasn’t necessarily wrong, just overblown. On the list of things that prevented Vancouver from winning, Marchand’s agitation skills were somewhere in the middle
Brad Marchand plays on the edge all the time and during the Stanley Cup finals Marchand was up in Daniel Sedin's grill for most of the series... Just a little reminder in case anyone forgot, how about this move by Brad Marchand as he showed Daniel Sedin if you going to keep skating after the whistle Marchand is going to protect himself. [Click to view video] Again, did people expect Marchand to just let Sedin run him?
The 2010-2011 NHL hockey season is officially over after the NHL awards were handed out in Las Vegas. Two Boston Bruins won awards, no surprise to anyone that Tim Thomas won his second Vezina Trophy in three seasons. Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara won the Messier Award. Former Fighting Sioux forward Jonathan Toews finished second in the voting for the Selke Trophy. I do have a question; how's Peter Chiarelli General Manager of the Boston Bruins not a Candidate for the GM award?
Norris (Outstanding Defenseman): Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings
Art Ross (Regular-Season Scoring Leader): Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks
Mark Messier Leadership Award: Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins
Selke (Outstanding Defensive Forward): Ryan Kesler, Vancouver Canucks
Jack Adams (Coach of the Year): Dan Bylsma, Pittsburgh Penguins
Calder (Top Rookie): Jeff Skinner, Carolina Hurricanes
Jennings (Fewest Goals Allowed): Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider, Vancouver Canucks
General Manager: Mike Gillis, Vancouver Canucks
Rocket Richard (Most Regular-Season Goals): Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks
Ted Lindsay (MVP as Voted by Players): Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks
Masterton (Perseverance and Dedication to Hockey): Ian Laperriere, Philadelphia Flyers
King Clancy (Leadership and Humanitarian Contributions): Doug Weight, New York Islanders
Lady Byng (Skillful and Gentlemanly Play): Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning
Vezina (Top Goaltender): Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins
First off I don't understand why "we need expunge the media images from one of the nastiest Stanley Cup finals in recent memory." I found the Stanley Cup finals to be very entertaining in my opinion an instant classic and the Stanley Cup Finals got pretty decent T.V. rating as well in the USA. What did the media expect when two teams play each other for 7 games, there are going to be some hurt feelings. It's a shame the two teams don't play more. The Stanley Cup Finals were awesome; the riot in the streets of Vancouver after game 7 not so much.
Second we still have people in Canada more specifically from Montreal, that are still whining about Canadians' punk P.K. Subban being picked on. The problem I see with Subban; while a great NHL talent he is a show boat but he is also a diver as well. In my opinion, Subban would be an awesome Vancouver Canuck the way he embellishes and flails on the ice when he is tapped. It has nothing to do with his ethnic back ground I believe that many people just don't like his antics. Again there are some in hockey that are turning a great sport into European soccer with their embellishment and antics.
NEGATIVE IMAGES
As the NHL hands out its awards in Las Vegas Tuesday, it’ll be looking to expunge the media images from one of the nastiest Stanley Cup finals in recent memory. Most depressing was the image of thousands of young men in Vancouver who seem to have mistaken a riot for a South Park episode. The other was the sight of Boston Bruins rookie Brad Marchand using the head of Hart Trophy finalist Daniel Sedin as a speed bag – to the approval of hockey’s blood culture.
The league can’t do much for the street rioting but it could do something about the latter. Imagine an NBA rookie speed-bagging Dirk Nowitzki’s head going into a timeout or a first-year NFL player hitting Tom Brady in the head repeatedly after the play. What do you think the response would be from those leagues? They’d hammer the kid.
But the NHL stands by as useless as a Vancouver city cop watching his cruiser burn. Better yet, media types – some of whom piously decry fighting – blame Sedin for bruising Marchand’s knuckles and tell Vancouver to wise up and get some tough guys. Hope all the parents with kids in hockey are following this.
DOUBLE STANDARD
One final thought on rookie Marchand: How come when he abuses a superstar he’s applauded by Hockey Night in Canada and the media as a savvy kid who gets under the skin to win. But when Montreal Canadiens rookie P.K. Subban did the same, we were told by the same voices that he was a punk with no respect who needed to be taken down a notch? Is it because Marchand is a Bruin, a sacred squad on Hockey Night, because Sedin is a European or because Marchand is white while Subban is black, or all of the above. Take all the time you need to answer.
Is there a double standard when it comes to P.K. Subban? I don't believe so. What do you think?
Wow! Someone needs to remind these hooligans that it's only a game. They say a few bad apples ruin the whole barrel. The sad part is that this is one thing that will be remembered from the Stanley Cup Finals how a bunch of the Vancouver Canucks entitlement fans and bad seeds ruined a cities image.
The Boston Bruins and the Vancouver Canucks kicked the crap out of each other for 7 games during the Stanley Cup Finals; there is going to be some hurt feelings. I don't think it's an understatement to say that there is probably a lot of animosity between the two teams. This is what I like about the NHL, when the final horn sounds they line up and shake hands and congratulate each other.
Tonight is game seven for all of the marbles. Winner takes all; the prize is Lord Stanley’s Cup… Tonight is the last game of hockey for the summer until next October. Game seven the Boston Bruins against the Whiny Vancouver Canucks. I have been accused of hating the Vancouver Canucks, you got me… I think have been pretty consistent in saying that the Canucks are a bunch of diving frauds but also a bunch of poor sports that are disrespectful to the game of hockey.
Why I hate them...
Don’t get me wrong I will give credit where credit is due; sure the Sedin Twins are very talented, I would be an idiot if I didn’t acknowledge their talents, however, their blatant diving and on the ice antics takes away from their offensive numbers and talents, all I see is a couple of Swedes dragging down NHL hockey to level of European soccer, we don’t need to see the game of hockey cheapened. If you want to watch that type of hockey, go watch the NHL Swedish Ice Hockey Federation where you can watch a bunch of Jofa wearing stick swinging, diving Swedes.
Frick and Frack…
Onto the other two the biggest frauds and hacks in the NHL; Maxim Lapierre and Alex Burrows are also two of the biggest frauds and hacks to ever play the game of hockey… Honestly, I am being serious... If you had any question what-so-ever all you had to do was look at the video from the last 6 games, if you’re still confused go to youtube.com and run both of these two clowns names, there is more than enough material to back up my claims. If I had been playing against these two buffoons I would have had a hard time not punching either of them in the chops.
I also applaud Tim Thomas for his response to Alex Burrows, it should have happened during game one, when Thomas had seen enough he decided to educate Mr. Burrows about the violating his crease… To the clown that suggested that Bruins goalie Tim Thomas deserved a 10-15 game suspension for Tim smacking Burrows with his carbon fiber stick, get a grip… Alex Burrows is very lucky he didn’t hack some one of Ron Hextall’s ilk, we would still be picking pieces of Burrows out of the ice if he had. But I digress.
While I admit that I am a self confessed Canucks hater, so what? I didn’t know that I was required to like the Vancouver Canucks. I have been very consistent in my previous posts leading up to this game I have also seen the main stream sports writers saying the same things. I will stand by the charge that “I believe that the Canucks are one of the most unlikable teams in recent history.” I think on could make the argument that the Vancouver Canucks could be deemed the Habs of the west. You probably know how most Boston Bruins fans feel about the Les Habitants.
Tale of three goaltenders.
Lastly between the pipes it’s Tim Thomas versus the tales of two Roberto Luongos; one version of Roberto Luongo has an impressive 1.70 GAA, .943 save percentage at Rogers arena during the Stanley Cup Finals and the other Roberto Luongo has a woeful .773 save percentage and a GAA of 8.00 + giving up a horrid 15 goals in the three games in Boston. I am wondering which version of Roberto Luongo the Boston Bruins will see tonight in game seven?
First off, I hope that former UMD Bulldog Mason Raymond is okay. Raymond was transported to the hospital after being on the recieving end of a rough, hard, Johnny Boychuk check.
The Boston Bruins have evened their series with the Vancouver Canucks, winning by a score of 5-2 victory tonight in Boston. The Boston Bruins outscored the Vancouver Canucks 17-3 in three games in the TD North Garden. On the flip side, the Canucks won all three games in Vancouver 1-0, 3-2 and 1-0... That being said, the Vancouver Canucks have only lead for 32.32 through 6 games during the Stanley Cup Finals. The Bruins also scored two more power play goals tonight.
The Boston Bruins won tonight for just third time in 20 games when facing playoff elimination in a Game 6 while improving to 4-10 in finals elimination games. Ironically the Bruins have won two game sevens in this years Stanley Cup Playoffs. No team has ever won three game sevens in the same Stanley Cup playoffs...
Image by Getty Images via @daylifeAs a Boston Bruins fans I must admit that I have been critical of Claude Julien in the past... I think with his teams efforts on the ice this spring I believe he has vindicated himself with advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals against the Vancouver Canucks, there were rumblings that if Claude Julien's team didn't get out of the second round Claude might get relieved of his coaching duties.
So if you look at it from another unexamined angle; while Claude Julien's Bruins teams have beaten the Montreal Canadians two out of the three times his Bruins have played them in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Bruins also have faced some adversity... Last season after having a three games to none lead and a three goal lead in game seven the Bruins ended up chocking and losing to the Philadelphia Flyers in game seven. This season his team rebounded to beat the Flyers in four games to exercise the demons from last season. Finally tonight; Julien's team advanced to the Stanley Cup Playoffs by beating a very good Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team... How do I like him now?
Chad Finn --- Boston Globe ---- If there was a concern among fans that that Roloson's ability to keep the Bruins off the board would lead to Tampa Bay stealing it on a fluky goal, it might have been justified. But the Bruins themselves never thought that way, maintaining their resolve even when frustration could have seeped in.
The evidence that the Bruins always kept their faith even as Roloson stymied them time and again became clear to Julien in the second intermission.
"When I walked into the locker room before the third period, I didn't have much to say," said Julien. "When I was outside, I could hear the points they were making, and they were bang-on. The attitude was that eventually we will get rewarded. And that's exactly what happened. I couldn't be prouder of the approach we took all throughout this game. We never let up once."
The victory also was a vindication of sorts for the coach, who as recently as the first-round series with Montreal -- in which the Bruins lost the first two games before winning in seven -- was perceived to be coaching for his job in some corners. Julien said that talk never gets to him.
"I say this all the time, but I don't care what anyone says. It doesn't bother me, and I don't really hear it," he said. "What matters to me is what happens in that dressing room. And as much as I'm getting criticism from some people, I'm getting pats on the back from others."
After the Bruins victory tonight, Julien can expect many more of the latter.
