Desert Dogs-a-Howlin - Stanley Cup Western Conference Semi Finals

After advancing to the Stanley Cup second round for the first time since moving to Phoenix the Coyotes had a second round matchup against the Nashville Predators. The Pred's dealt with the Wings easily in round one and would present a very tough opposition for the Coyotes. But, in this post season or surprises, you'd be a fool to bet against the Desert Dogs!

v Predators (W-OT)
In keeping with the Yotes progress thus far the first game of round two had it all at the Jobing.com! The Coyotes held three one goal leads throughout the game, were massively out shot in the final period 16-1 and yet still were able to dig deep and grind out the win in another OT! The misfiring Phoenix top line also turned up, having struggled in round one the top line had two goals in this game. With the game going to overtime, the Coyotes set an NHL record of their first 7 post season games, 6 of them went to the extra session. This shows the ability of this team to keep going and get the win no matter what. The saviour this time was Ray Whitney who got his second goal of the playoffs.

v Predators (W)
Having made the best start to round two, it was up to the Coyotes to do it again! In doing so they proved they needed to be taken seriously, many had tipped the Predators to do the job over the Yotes, game two showed it would be tougher than they thought. Mike Smith put in another stellar performance and the Phoenix big guns all contributed to record a fine 5-3 victory. This time, no overtime was needed! Vermette, Vrbata, Hanzal and Doan each got a goal and an assist and the Coyotes out shot the Predators to record an all round victory.

@ Predators (L)
The Predators, back in the comfort of Bridgestone Arena, finally woke up and decided to play in game three. Two goals in 76 seconds and a return to form for Rinne was enough to blank the Coyotes by a score of 2-0. The Predators showing some of the form that got them 107 points from the regular season. With Rinne in great form and, the Coyotes inability to score on a 5 on 3 powerplay, it is hard to begrudge the Predators this win. Game four will be a real test!

@ Predators (W)
Both Phoenix and Nashville were know, throughout the regular season, as tough defensive teams that were hard to breakdown. Game four in Nashville was an example of that tenacity! Where as in game three and four the Coyotes didn't make many big plays, the difference was, in game four they made fewer mistakes! Mike Smith, who must be putting in  a great shout for a league MVP this season, gave the Coyotes a 25 save shutout performance and captain Shane Doan scored the games only goal. The win giving the Coyotes series advantage and a chance to seal it up at the Jobing arena. Hopefully this time, unlike in the first round, they can get it done in front of the home faithful!

v Predators (W)
All back to the desert for, potentially, the biggest game of the Coyotes history! Not only had this season seen the Coyotes advance past the first round for the first time. Win this game and the Coyotes could reach the conference final for the first time! Beating teams like St Louis and Vancouver to this particular dance this season! Mike Smith again stepped up and had a great game and the Coyotes were able to frustrate the Predators in front of their net limiting the chances available. The Coyotes leapt to a two goal lead in the second period through Morris and Hanzal and, despite conceding a goal in the third to Colin Wilson, were able to close-out the biggest win of the Coyotes history so far.  

So the unfancied Coyotes dealt with the Predators winning the series 4-1 and advancing to a conference finals match up with the LA Kings. The win built upon the great news that, the NHL had signed the potential deal with the Jamieson group which would keep the Coyotes in the desert. The Coyotes head into the finals with home ice advantage, the underdog tag and a potential new ownership situation sorted, this summer is turning out to be a great one for the Phoenix Coyotes!

Atlanta Thrashoff!

Over the past week or so True North Sports and Entertainment have concluded a deal to purchase the Atlanta Thrashers with the stated aim of moving them to the MTS Centre in Winnepeg.

So my hockey twitter feed has been filled with Thrasher fans bemoaning the immanent move of their team. It is a very sad time for a fan, and one I was expecting as a Yotes fan only a month ago! However it also struck me that, isn't all this passion a bit late in the day? Are all these people active Thrasher fans? Or are they only coming out the woodwork now as it looks like the team is gone? Pulling figures from the ESPN website the Thrashers are home one of the smallest fan bases in the NHL. Over the past few years only the Yotes and Islanders see fewer fans in their building. In fact, over the past 4 years the Thrashers have seen their average attendance drop from 15,381 to 13,469, a 12.4% drop. Despite the drop the performance on the ice actually improved, going from 14th in the East to 12th in the East over the same time frame. That would suggest the fans are not turning out for the club, despite the on-ice results getting better.

So why are the Yotes staying put and the Thrashers are on the move?

Well, there is obviously many things that are considered when moving a franchise, not only the level of fan support. Things like the ownership, the city where the team is based, the NHL and other prospective ownership groups and cities. As a UK based NHL fan, looking at average attendances, Atlanta would be the third choice for a move, behind the Isles and Yotes. Here's why I think those two are not moving:

The Islanders
Bottom of the pile in terms of average attendance, the men from Long Island have had the smallest average attendance for 4 out of the 6 years since the lockout. Their 2010-11 season average being 11,059, that alone a 13% drop from the season before. Despite making the post season four times over the past 10 years the Islanders support has never broke 15,000 on average. This to me has them as prime candidates for a move. The difference with the Islanders is, their ownership seems commited to the area, and the NHL too. In fact during all the questions about Winnepeg getting a franchise, the Isles have never been linked. The Isles also have the advantage of having the Rangers/Devils/Flyers and Bruins on their doorstep, whereas the Thrashers have few close rivals. The Islanders also have the prospect of a new rink to look forward too, while that is no given for larger attendances it will help the team bring in extra revenue from things like corporate boxes and hospitality. Something the Nassau Coliseum lacks.

The Coyotes
Since moving to the desert the Coyotes have always had one of the smallest fan bases in the NHL, so it was no surprise that questions about its future were raised. The Coyotes ownership has also not been a steady rock, and the current issues have been going for more than a year. The NHL at a time ran the Yotes, and a new deal is in place to put the team back into private hands. With the possibility of stable ownership and a young team, the Yotes look to have a good future ahead. In fact the past two seasons have seen the Yotes make it to the post season, only to fall to Detroit on both occasions. The Yotes moved from their downtown Phoenix home to the purpose built Jobing.com arena during the 2003-04 season and while they never consistently sell out, having a new building must help bring in revenue. Crucially for the Coyotes, the city of Glendale has been active in wanting to keep the Yotes in the desert. Having the city backing must be a big factor in the Yotes staying put.

All of the above could well be utter rubbish, but it's the impression I get this side of the pond from various announcements and press releases. Now i'll give you a few thoughts as to why I think the Thrashers are moving:

The Thrashers
The first, and most obvious to me is, the level of support. While the Thrashers average crowd is bigger, just, than that enjoyed by the Yotes and Isles, it is still small. The Thrashers peak attendances came when the reached the conference quarter finals back in 2007. Ever since then crowd numbers have been in decline, falling from over 16,000 to 13,500 in the season just gone. Obviously crowds were not helped when the Thrashers dealt away their biggest star in Kovalchuk but crowd numbers are merely returning to their pre lockout levels. Atlanta is a big city, bigger than Glendale and bigger than Long Island, it has the biggest airport in the world and, much like many an NHL city, has other major league clubs too. So there are plenty of reasons why the Thrashers should enjoy better support but, for what ever reason, they don't. Sport is more often than not, a results business and its possibly due to their lack of success that the Thrashers are not a bigger box office draw. Over the past ten seasons the Thrashers have made the post season once, while the Yotes have made it 3 times and the Isles 4 times! The ownership has been strangely silent during all this speculation about the future of the franchise and, judging by some tweets, could well be partially at fault. Then you have the city itself, as I said above Glendale have been activly involved in the Coyotes and working hard to retain their NHL franchise. You couldnt say the same about the city of Atlanta. It seems, to this un-educated fan, that the ownership and city have done little to prevent this move.

So, it looks like the move is going to happen. Will it be a success? Maybe! The team in Winnepeg looks like it is moving into a 15,000 seat AHL arena which is a little small for an NHL arena. They can be sure of a sold debut season certainly! I do feel sorry for Thrasher fans, being a Phoenix (Manchester) fan I can relate to losing your team, but I also think Winnepeg can be a success. There is hockey tradition in Winnepeg, and I truly believe there should be more Canadian teams in the NHL.

So there's my ramblings, its good to download stuff from the brain to the blog!

Goodby Atlanta, hello Winnepeg!

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs - Game Seven

So it was to be, the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs would go the distance! After the Pens win in Game 6 at the Mellon it was back to the Joe and, in front of 20,000+ fans Lord Stanleys Mug would be won!

You would expect the Wings to win on home ice and retain the cup, but as you all will know Playoff Hockey changes everything!

After a couple of early chances it was the Pens who came closest to scoring in the opening period. With Kennedy picking up a loose puck in the neutral zone, he skated in on Osgood only for the puck to hit the side of the net, this didn't deter Kennedy who rounded the net and slid the puck to Staal. Osgood once again came up big to keep the score at 0-0. Then at 8mins ish, the sweetest mid ice hit you will see, Talbot is breaking into the neutral zone with the puck and head down (big no no!) and Kronwall comes across and absolutely levels Talbot!

Into the second and Pittsburgh got the early break, unfortunately Brad Stewart will want that back. Rounding the net he attempts to clear the puck up the middle of the ice (another no no!) only for his pass to be intercepted by Talbot who slides it through the 5 hole! Both teams continued to trade chances through the second period, with both goalies standing tall. Then with 10 minutes on the clock Talbot and Kennedy advancing on Osgood, what followed was a shot of the highest accuracy and Talbot shot the Pens into a 2-0 lead. Game on!

As you would expect the Wings would come at the Pens at the beginning of the third, with the Wings laying siege to Fleurey's goal. The Wings would have to wait until 6mins left on the clock before they scored. The puck was down low and worked to the point, a quick pass across the blue line saw Ericsson unleash an absolute howitzer into Fleurey's net! Needless to say its nearly all Detroit at this stage, then with 2min 12 seconds on the board, Kronwall released a short wrister and, the crowd went silent.........Ding.......it hits the crossbar! A Ding so loud the whole of Detroit must have heard! The last chances fell to the Wings with 6 seconds to go and with an empty net, but the Pens stood firm and won the Stanley Cup!

Cue elation on one bench and utter misery on the other, this is what Playoff hockey is all about!

Conn Smythe Tropy went to: Evgeni Malkin

Then the moment every player dreams of, Sidney Crosby becomes the youngest captain to lift the Stanley Cup!



Pittsburgh Celebrations:



So that's it for hockey's 2008/09 season, roll on September when it all starts again!

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs - Game Six

Well after the 5-0 drubbing in game five it was up to the Pens to save the playoffs and come up with a win and force a game seven back in Detroit. Thankfully they did, so lets recap game six!

(some of you may well have noticed im posting this late, my excuse is being at the Download Festival all weekend!)

The Wings rolled into the Mellon with the chance to win the cup, coming off the back of annihilating the Pens in Game 5 confidence must have been high in the Detroit camp. Im sure most of the players would have preferred to be on the verge of lifting the cup in the Joe, but hey a Stanley Cup win is sweet no matter where it happens!

The first clear cut chance came to the Wings with Zetterberg free on in the hashmarks only to come up against an inspired Fleurey in the Pens net. with just a minute and a half left on the period Zetterberg was, once again, found on his own in front of the Pens net, and once again Fleurey came up big and denied the him!

Early in the second Staal managed to poke check the puck round a rushing Detroit defence man and rush 2 on 1 to Osgood's net, with his fellow attacker Staal was able to take one shot, get the rebound and put the puck in the back of the net. Advantage Pittsburgh! To give themselves a chance of forcing a game seven the Penguins upped the ante and started laying waste to some Detroit bodies! The Detroit attack seemed no existent in the second period, then with less than two minutes to go, that man Zetterberg is homing in on Fleurey only to hit the post. Then a minute later Fedetenko is found in front of Osgood only for Chirs to come up big to deny the Pens extending their lead!

Into the third, and the Wings know what they need to do to win the cup! Things got even tougher when, after 5 minutes, the Mellon explodes as the Pens go 2-0 up! Kennedy on the post hacking away forces the puck into Osgood's net. Then, its as if the Wings knew, with 12mins on the clock Sir Stanley's mug arrives in the arena and the Wings finally get on the board. With the puck in the Pens zone, the Detroit defence cycles the puck from one point to the other and after a big shot from Ericksson, Chris draper is on hand to put away the rebound. At around 9mins 50seconds im sure every Pens fan had his/her heart in their mouth. Fleurey unsighted, doesn't know where the puck is as it dribbles across the goal, a Detroit player closing in then.........and fine clearance from the Penguins defence! A championship saving moment?......possibly!
All the Pens needed was to hold on, and the last chance for Detroit came with 20 seconds left, and with an extra skater the puck is put on net. Cue an insane scramble on net the Pens hold on for the win!

So that's it the Pens forced a game 7, the holy grail of the Stanley Cup playoffs!

Game seven will get posted tomorrow, followed by The Angry Budgie on Tour - Download Special!

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs - Game Five

Game 5, tied 2 a piece, the Joe. Everyone settled in for a cracker? Oh who forgot to tell the Penguins to turn up? As a neutral I was hoping for a good close game, but the 5-0 scoreline to Detroit rather tells a different story!

A couple of early chances to each side, with the best coming to Detroit after a determined run up the wing left a Dteroit player on Fleury but the big Pens goalie stoof firm. Then the sustained Wings pressure finally resulted in a goal. Pavel Datsyuk went 2 on 2 with Clearey, and Cleary with a fairly weak shot slotted the puck home. This will be a hard goal for Pittsburgh to have conceded as they had plenty of men back to defend it!

Thins went from bad to worse in the second for Pittsburgh, following another poor line change, Chris Osgood found Hossa who stepped over the blue line to find Filppula in the centre who scored! Pittsburgh......try harder! The Detroit pressure was immense and continuous, the third goal not a surprise. If anything Kronwall should not have been allowed to skate from the corner, in front of Fleurey to score! Detroits 3rd of the period and 4th overall came courtesy of a stunning wrister from the point. Rafalski taking a couple of steps and sending the puck high to Fleurey's blocker side. A loud 'ching' and then the horn! Must admit Fleurey was unsighted by a fair few bodies in front of him! More misery was to come, Hutler received the puck on the blue line, wound up for a shot and cleverly passed to the front of the net to a grateful Zetterberg who roofed the puck! An absolute demolition in the second - game over! This would also see the end of Fleurey in this game, he was replaced for the last few minutes by Garon.

Into the third and its a case of damage limitation for the Pens! Not much else happening in the third and Osgood held on for, what could be, the most important sht out of these finals!

So a devastating game for Detroit, and one wonders what effect this will have had on the Pens and more importantly on Fleurey. All back to the Mellon for the deciding game, will it be a Detroit win, or will Pittsburgh send it back to the Joe for game 7?

Who knows!

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs - Game Four

So last thursday night saw game 4 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals in Pittsburgh, such an important game in deciding where Sir Stanley's mug will go. A Detroit win and its back to the Joe with the Wings 4-1 up in the series with a chance to lift the cup. A Pittsburgh win and the series is tied, and that game 5 at the Joe becomes a whole new ball park.

As a fan of the NHL and of both teams, my hope was for a Pittsburgh win in game 4. Makes the series interesting for the neutral and leads, hopefully, to the holy grail of all hockey games - a game 7!

So the puck drops and Pittsburgh really need the first goal if they want to tie the series. They duly got it too, after a couple of minutes, and on the powerplay, Malkin backhands the 3rd attempt on Osgood's net and the Pens fans go wild. Both teams then traded some pretty good chances, with the Wings laying seige to Felurey's goal at one point. But the big man stacked the pads and repelled every advance. The Wings did make it onto the board before the hooter, after a poor clearing pass from inside the Pens zone, Helm picked up on the pick and wristed a perfect short over Fleurey's glove.

Things got even better for the Wings, no less than 46 seconds into the re-start, Zetterberg makes the zone rounds the net and passes to Stuart on the point, who then shoots through 3 or 4 bodies into the net. This prompted a made scoring rush in the second period. Then, on the penalty kill Staal picks the puck up on his own blue line, passes the Wings defence and with one hand fending of the Wings D man, lifts the puck sweetly over Osgood. Easily one of the best goals you will see in the Finals! The Pens would go one better when Sidney Crosby was found on the back post all alone, something you really should not let happen! Then, in addition to Staal's earlier goal, the Pens fourth was a thing of beauty! Kennedy picks up the puck in the Detroit zone and passes cross ice to Crosby who then passes back across the ice to Kennedy who slots home! Two fantastic goals worthy of a Stanley Cup Final! Scores now 4-2 Pittburgh in the second!

The third period really couldn't live up to the Second, and neither team were able to breach the defences. A little bit of frustration creeping in for the Wings throughout the period ensure the Pens would hold on to win.

So two games a piece, it seems obvious but the key really will be for the away team to become more effective. Both home pairs have been dominated by the home team, so the key to win will be for the away team to get the early goal and nullify the home support. Either way this will turn out to be a memorable final series!

2-2 and all back to the Joe for tonights game 5!

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs - Game Three

Wings 2-0 up it was down to the first game in the Mellon for the Pens to finally get going and ensure the finals don't end before they should! In most final series you would expect to win your home games, so its not too much of a surprise that the Wings did just that, and went 2-0 up in the final. So naturally you would think the Pens can make the most of the Mellon support and win their two home games to make things interesting.

Thankfully they did, winning game three by a score of 4-2, here's my take on what happened!

So in front of a full house, the crowd wearing white the Pens needed the first goal. And thanks to the Wings not clearing the zone they duly scored first! A nice one time from Talbot at the hash marks seemed to go right through Osgood in the Detroit net. Not to be outdone the Wings got themselves on the board when Fleury gave up a rebound, which fell to Zetterberg on his own with Fleury on the floor, 1-1! The Wings would go on the powerplay and after some pretty sharp passing around the Pittsburgh zone, Franzen was found on the far post who lifted it high into the Pittsburgh net. The Pens certainly didn't want to go in to the period break down a goal and thanks to Letang, the didn't. A goal which Osgood will defiantly want back, on the power play the puck was worked to Letang on the point, and in clear view of Osgood and the Detroit net let fly a fairly tame shot that seemed to fool Osgood. Not that the Pen's fans really care!

For the most part in the second each team cancelled each other out, one of the better opportunities falling to the Wings Samuelson, picking up on a Pittsburgh error he rushed free clear on goal and managed to find the post! The 'ding' easily heard in Detroit!

On to the third and it was clear from the first few minutes that the Pens wanted this game, with Crosby and Cook going close. The Pens would get the go-ahead goal when a shot from the blue line from Gonchar somehow made it through about 4 or 5 bodies past the helpless Osgood. The Mellon exploded! The Pens nearly extended the lead when Talbot broke down the left wing and managed to find the right post. With a minute to go Osgood naturally came to the bench to give the Wings the extra skater. As is sometimes the way when you pull a goalie shortly after Osgood stepped off the ice, the puck broke for Talbot who took three steps into the neutral zone and fired home into the empty net!

At the end horn Pens fans inside and outside went mental, a good game with so many hard hits going in. Thankfully the Pens won and now comes game four tonight at the Mellon. Such an important game, if Detroit win they have the chance to win Sir Stanley's mug back at the Joe. If Pittsburgh win, we carry on!

As a neutral I sincerely hope the Pens win tonight!

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs - Game Two

After the Wings well and truly outplaying the Pens in game one, it was down to the Pens to turn up and make a game of it.

Well game two in Detroit saw the frenetic play pretty much carry on from game one! Some damn good chances for both teams finally saw the Pens take the lead. With a goal worthy of any seen at the Ice Dome. Scrappy and chippy in its excellence here! At least 3 Wings D men could not stop the shear persistence of Malkin to give the Pens the lead!

The Penguins defence must be shot for the wings first goal of the game. A face off in the Pens zone is lost to Detroit, puck back to the point and a shot in on goal. The Pens defence managed to leave Helm on his tod in front of Fleury. Excellent work by Helm on the other hand, he did what he needed to do! Make life difficult for Fleury! The Wings go-ahead goal was a bit fortunate, with Marian Hossa lucky to get away with a slashing call. Even so Holdstrom was again the man on net creating problems, and with Fleury on his chest it was a fairly simple goal for Filppula.

The Pens needed to get into the game, and what better start to the third period than having Sidney Crosby on the net all alone. Somehow Osgood came up big and denied the Pens captain. Now how big could that miss be, well pretty big as it turns out! As the Wings went up the other end, and with a bit of a weak shot from Abdelkader made it 3-1. Fleury will want that one back, a bouncing puck and a bit of a cricket bat attempt somehow finds its way above Fleury's glove hand and in to the net.

So ended the game with a bit of frustration, Malkin on the net in the face of Osgood resulted in a bit of fire from the Pens and a slight ruckus!

On to game 3, which for those who keep up to date will already know the score! Ill work on my post for tomorrow!

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs - Game One

As the domestic season is now at an end, eyes turn to North America for the annual battle for Sir Stanley's mug. The final show down after a mammoth regular season pits the 2008 finalists against each other one more time. Detroit v Pittsburgh a battle of two historic NHL franchises.

May 30th saw game one in Detroit, and what a cracker! Both teams flying from the first puck drop, no inch given no strength spared. Some frightening hits going in at the Joe! The game itself was played at a pace worthy of the final. Eventually Detroit would win game one by a score of 3-1. To be fair Detroit edged the game, however were very fortunate in at least two of the goals rebounding rather strangely, and favourably to a Detroit stick.

Despite all this the Pens did get on the board and were able to create there own offence to worry the Wings. A fantastic crowd of 20,066 at the Joe created an atmosphere only seen in Cup hockey.

I know game two happened sunday night, but ill work on that post in readiness for tomorrow. In the mean time head on over to NHL.com and check out the highlights!