2013-05-23T23:41:57-04:00 Brad Kurtzberg http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/author/index.php?author=brad-kurtzberg Copyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Brad Kurtzberg Good old fashioned elbow grease. tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.969094 2011-09-21T11:22:00-04:00 2011-11-21T05:12:02-05:00

Brad Kurtzberg http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-kurtzberg/ Guts and Glory: The Golden Age of American Football (Taschen Publishers).

The book covers the period from 1958 -- when Leifer started his prolific career on his 16th birthday by photographing the "Greatest Game Ever Played" (the overtime classic between the Giants and Colts) -- to 1978, when he stopped covering sports full-time to branch out to other photographic pursuits.

Leifer noted that the book covers a period of major transition in the history of the NFL. "It's when football went from being a sport with empty seats in all the stadiums to having long waiting lists for season tickets that take years to clear," he said.

Leifer worked for Sports Illustrated for most of that time period, so many of his images are in bold, brilliant color in a world where all newspapers were in black and white. So, here they are, just as they were back in the day: superstars like Jim Brown, Joe Namath, Bart Starr, Dick Butkus, Sam Huff and, yes, even O.J. Simpson; legendary coaches like Vince Lombardi, Tom Landry, Don Shula, John Madden and Paul Brown; and even average players who often made for extraordinary subjects.

"Guts and Glory will show you more picture in color from that particular time than you will probably see anywhere else," Leifer said.

The beauty of this book goes way beyond who is featured in the photographs. Leifer was always an innovator, taking photographs from unique vantage points to give fans a completely different perspective on the game. There are several photos, for example, taken from the gondola at the Houston Astrodome that show the Oilers and Jets doing battle in 1968, the Jets Super Bowl season.

"I wanted to photograph the game the way it looked on the chalkboard that a coach would use in a game," Leifer said.

In another photograph, Leifer puts us inside the Baltimore Colts huddle. Stars like John Mackey, Tom Matte, Jimmy Orr and Earl Morall stare down at us as we look up at them from the viewpoint of a blade of grass.

Some photos highlight how much the game has changed. Hall of Fame quarterback Bobby Layne is shown toward the end of his career in a Steelers uniform, playing without a face mask. We also see plenty of shots from classic venues like the old Yankee Stadium, Franklin Field in Philadelphia and Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, and games that were played on a dirt infield because the stadiums were used for both baseball and football.

Leifer also captures the way our society was during that time in our history. One photograph features a member of the Cowboys cheering squad proudly carrying the flag of the Confederacy, something that we would never see in 2011. We also notice how differently fans dressed when they went to sporting events in the days before NFL Properties made team-licensed clothing easy for fans to purchase. Another photo that looks odd to 21st-century eyes is the all-white bench of the last NFL team to integrate: the Washington Redskins. Sandwiching the bench photo are images of competing protests: one of uniformed members of the American Nazi party demanding that owner George Preston Marshall keep the team all white and another featuring African-Americans wearing suits, holding signs asking the Redskins: "We carry the rifle, why can't we carry the ball?"

Another strength of the book is Leifer's ability to capture the essence of various football personalities in portraits. One example is the sight of George Blanda, the oldest man to play in the NFL, photographed on the sideline during his final NFL game in January of 1976. The image captures every line on the 48-year-old's face. A series of close-ups speak volumes about stars like Gale Sayers, Ray Nitschke, Jim Brown, Terry Bradshaw and "Mean" Joe Greene.

Bad weather often provides classic moments in football; it also gives Leifer a chance to capture them. We see Bart Starr and the Packers taking on the Colts in the dense fog of Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Jim Taylor slogging through the mud against the Browns in the 1965 NFL Championship Game and a dejected Joe Namath slowly getting up from the snow-covered Shea Stadium turf.

"There is not a photographer in the world that wouldn't prefer a beautiful sunny day with the sun over your shoulder, because you want to be comfortable when you work," Leifer admitted. "However, without question, the most memorable pictures, when you finish, are in bad weather. Look at the picture of Joe Namath on the sidelines in the mud. Look at the picture of Jimmy Taylor running against Cleveland in the mud. Look at the two pictures of Sam Huff, in a driving freezing, raining snowstorm. They are the best pictures you'll ever get. If you look at a game today, even if you get a driving rain, the uniforms look exactly the same in the fourth quarter as they did in the first quarter. But the mud and the dirt looked great. It was so much more interesting."

Leifer already released a book featuring his baseball photographs while upcoming volumes from Taschen will feature boxing and horse racing. He is also working on his memoirs, which will be published by Sports Illustrated.

After 1978, Leifer moved beyond sports to take photographs of other subjects. Today he is making highly acclaimed documentary films about subjects as diverse as former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and three blind photographers, both of which were aired on HBO. His latest is called The ConVenTion, about a large gathering of ventriloquists, which has just finished shooting.

But this book captures the essence of Leifer's unparalleled eye for sports photography. It encapsulates pro football's golden era and some of its unique personalities, and is a must pickup for any fan of NFL history or sports photography.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.872813 2011-06-07T18:52:14-04:00 2011-08-07T05:12:02-04:00

Brad Kurtzberg http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-kurtzberg/
Keep in mind, this is coming from someone who thinks head shots should be addressed in a similar way to high sticks: if you deliver a head shot, you should be penalized for it (penalty and/or fine and/or suspension depending of the severity of it) whether there was intent or not.

Let me also say it was a horrible injury suffered by Bruins forward Nathan Horton. And yes, the hit by Rome was late, which is why he was assessed a major for interference and a game misconduct on the play.

But to go beyond that in these circumstances truly doesn't make sense, especially in light of some of the past decisions the NHL has rendered in similar cases. In fact, the four-game suspension handed down by the NHL is the longest in the history of the Stanley Cup Finals.

First off, the Rome hit on Horton was not a blind-sided head shot. Rome came at Horton "north-south" according to NHL officials on a play where the Bruins' forward had the puck, dished the puck off to a teammate on the rush and admired his pass after he made it. Had Horton kept his head up as all hockey players are taught to do, the hit would have been less severe or possibly averted altogether.

Another factor here is this: the injury to Horton occurred more from the impact of his head hitting the ice than it was directly from the blow delivered by Rome's hit. The bottom line is that had Horton gotten up and skated away on his own power after the hit, at most, we're looking at a 2:00 minor for interference here, not a four-game suspension that will cost Rome a chance to play in the rest of the Stanley Cup Finals.

NHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations Mike Murphy made it clear the case did not involve a head shot when he was interviewed about the decision to suspend Rome.

"This has nothing to do with Rule 48," Murphy said. "This is just an interference penalty, an interference hit. If it was immediate after he released the puck, it was be a legal hit. We have them all the time."

This was a bang-bang play so to speak. How quickly did the play go down? On the NHL Network's show On the Fly, hosts indicated it was just under one second after Horton let go of the puck that he was hit by Rome. This is not a premeditated situation like Todd Bertuzzi who was head-hunting and trying to deliberately hurt somebody back in 2004. This was a hockey play in which less than one second elapsed between the release of puck and contact being made between Rome and Horton. The league standard: one half a second. So the lateness we're talking about here is even less than one half second.

Two cases that come to mind when discussing this suspension are the Zdeno Chara hit on Max Pacioretty earlier this season and the Alex Burrows biting incident in game one of the series. Neither of them resulted in suspensions.

The Pacioretty incident in particular is illustrative here because it involved an interference play where the impact of the landing caused a severe injury not the hit itself. Both hits were late and involved players who no longer had the puck. Both involved situations where the victim of the hit was badly hurt and was forced to miss significant playing time. Chara was not suspended by the league. Rome, however, is being suspended despite the fact that the league admits that suspending someone for one playoff game is more serious than suspending a player for one regular season game.

The Burrows incident comes to mind because like the Rome hit, it took place during the Stanley Cup Finals. Unlike the Rome/Horton hit, however, Burrows biting Patrice Bergeron is not even part of a hockey play. It is part of the extracurricular pushing and shoving that often goes on after the whistle blows, but it was not part of the game itself and was clearly outside the rules.

The league's decision not to suspend Burrows was based on the fact that Murphy could "find no conclusive evidence that Alex Burrows intentionally bit the finger of Patrice Bergeron." The video of the incident seems to clearly show otherwise.

One gets the feeling if the Burrows biting incident had happened during the regular season, a suspension would have resulted, but because this was the Stanley Cup Finals, the league tried to find a way not to suspend Burrows.

By deciding not to suspend Burrows, the league was deciding games as much as they were by deciding to suspend him. Burrows scored twice and added an assist in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals. One of his goals was the overtime game winner.

The bottom line may simply be this: Zdeno Chara is a perennial all-star and Norris Trophy candidate. Alex Burrows is a top-six forward on the Canucks who scored more than 30 goals a year ago and more than 25 this season. But Aaron Rome is a sixth defenseman, a fringe player at best. He was expendable. Most fans wouldn't even notice that he wasn't in the lineup.

The bottom line remains that the league is just not consistent when it comes to suspensions. Making decisions on suspensions is a thankless job because somebody is always upset by the decision. Let's just hope Brendan Shanahan makes things better for the league when he takes over the role at the start of next season. Right now, there is no rhyme or reason to decisions and they just seem arbitrary. Just ask Aaron Rome or Max Pacioretty...]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.866575 2011-05-26T08:00:00-04:00 2011-07-26T05:12:01-04:00

Brad Kurtzberg http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-kurtzberg/
Hockey is Canada's game and the country has never gone this long without a cup winner. The previous drought was just seven years, from 1935 when the now defunct Montreal Maroons won their last Stanley Cup, until 1942 when the Maple Leafs brought the cup back home to Canada.

The Stanley Cup used to practically be the property of Canadian-based teams. Between 1956 and 1969, the cup was won by either the Maple Leafs (imagine that) or the Canadiens team 13 times in 14 seasons. Even after expansion, Canada still had a pretty good hold on the cup with the Canadiens, Oilers and Flames and keeping the symbol of hockey supremacy home in Canada 11 times in 15 seasons between 1976 and 1990.

There have been several near misses since 1993. The Canucks came within a game of giving Canada two straight cups in 1994 when they reached the finals before falling to Mark Messier and the New York Rangers in seven games. Two years later, the Colorado Avalanches won the cup just one season after relocating from Quebec City. In 2004, the Calgary Flames reached the finals and fell in seven games to a team from America's "Sunshine State," the Tampa Bay Lightning. Post lockout, two Canadian teams reached the finals in back-to-back seasons with the Edmonton Oilers making a Cinderella run in 2006 before falling to the Hurricanes and the Ottawa Senators losing to the Anaheim Ducks in five games in 2007.

The Vancouver Canucks have now reached the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1994. Unlike past Canadian-based teams to reach the Stanley Cup, the Canucks will be the favorite as they had the league's best record this year and have a very deep and talented team.

But some people in Vancouver have raised questions as to whether or not the rest of the country would support the Canucks the way they united to root on the Sens, Flames and Oilers in past years. Heck, Edmonton and Calgary have one of the most intense rivalries in the NHL and yet, people in Edmonton were seen wearing red and pulling for the Flames in their intense battle with the Lightning.

Some in the Vancouver media have said that since the Canucks play most of their games after so much of the country has gone to sleep, the team has been virtually ignored by Canadians who live in the eastern 2/3 of the country.

That almost certainly won't last in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Canucks represent Canada's best chance in 18 years to bring the cup home. The nation won't ignore that fact. Being out west didn't stop Canadians from rallying around Vancouver at the last Winter Olympics and won't stop them from rooting for a Canadian team from bringing Lord Stanley of Preston's Cup back home to Canada. Hockey fans in Canada have waited long enough...
]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.858409 2011-05-06T19:44:44-04:00 2011-07-06T05:12:01-04:00

Brad Kurtzberg http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-kurtzberg/
Fans have been treated to a steady diet of overtime hockey this year. With games scheduled every night, there has been only one day between April 19 and May 4 that did not include at least one contest that went to overtime.

Here are some insights and observations from each of the four second round playoff series:

Eastern Conference

Tampa Bay vs. Washington
The Capitals season again came to a premature end despite their change to a more defensive oriented system this year. Despite another early playoff exit and a disappointing sweep at the hands of division rival Tampa Bay, GM George McPhee has indicated that Bruce Boudreau should return behind the bench next season. "I expect him to be back. He's a good coach," McPhee said the day after his club was eliminated. "Someone said he's not a 'playoff coach.' There's no difference between a 'playoff coach' and a 'regular-season coach.' You're either a good coach or you're not. He's a good coach."

The Caps missed injured defenseman Mike Green against Tampa Bay but a bigger problem was the failure of some of stars like Niklas Backstrom (0 playoff goals) and Alexander Semin (1 goal vs. the Lightning) to produce offense when it counted.

The Capitals also failed to adjust to the Lightning's 1-3-1 trap during the series. A different breakout system from their own zone would have been helpful but Washington never seemed to make the necessary changes.

Defensively, the Caps could not stop the Lightning from crashing the net. While Michal Neuvirth played OK, he just didn't get enough support from his defense. Two or three Lightning players seemed to be in Neuvirth's face to screen him, give him a snow shower or try to pick up rebounds. It was effective and the result was a series sweep.

The Lightning got key contributions from a pair of ex-Islanders in the second round. Goalie Dwayne Roloson was stellar and gave the young players in front of him confidence that he could make up for their mistakes more often than not. Roloson also has extensive playoff experience and never seems to get rattled. He is 6-0 when his team is facing elimination over the course of his career.

The more surprising ex-Islander making a major contribution to the Bolts playoff run is winger Sean Bergenheim. He is tied for the league playoff lead with seven goals after scoring just 14 in 80 regular season games. Bergenheim has good speed and can hit. While with the Islanders, he was often uncertain of his role and often took foolish and ill-timed penalties. Now, he is playing smart and determined hockey and has come up big in the clutch for Tampa Bay.

Finally, Vincent Lecavalier has lifted his game in the postseason as well. The veteran has 12 points in 11 games with five of them coming on the potent Lightning power play. Three of his tallies have been game winners which ties him with Boston's David Krejci for the league lead.

Boston vs. Philadelphia

Everyone is talking about the Flyers goaltending woes and it certainly is an issue. In six of their 10 postseason games, Philadelphia used more than one goalie which is hardly a recipe for success. The bottom line is that none of the three goalies who have played for the Flyers this year have inspired much confidence, but the team's problems in the Boston series go beyond who is going to guard their net.

They really miss Chris Pronger on defense. Pronger has played in only three games in the playoffs and has been just a shell of his former self due to injuries. When healthy, Pronger plays at least half a game for the Flyers and that makes all of his fellow defensemen more effective because they play fewer minutes and aren't asked to do as much when they are on the ice. His size and toughness give the Flyers confidence, especially in their own zone. Without him, the Flyers just seem to be lacking something.

Pronger's absence aside, there have been too many times when it looks as if the Flyers are just standing still in their own zone. Their forwards don't seem to be making a consistent effort to help out on defense and as a team, the Flyers often seem a step slow and out of position in their own zone. This is not typical Flyers hockey.

It's been good news/bad news from defenseman Matt Carle. He leads all Philadelphia players with 29 blocked shots but he is also a minus-eight in 10 games.

Even if the Flyers win a few games and make a series of it, GM Paul Holmgren has to address his club's goaltending in the offseason. Trying to find a goalie on the cheap just won't cut it anymore.

It's amazing that it took the Bruins until their 10th playoff game to score their first power play goal of the postseason. If the B's power play ever got going, look out. Patrice Bergeron has had the hot hand as a set up man while Nathan Horton has reacted well to playoff pressure in his first year of Stanley Cup action with five goals, eight points and a pair of overtime game winners.

On defense, Zdeno Chara is tied for the team lead with a plus-nine rating and eats up minutes while Dennis Seidenberg has been sacrificing his body with 31 blocked shots in 10 playoff games.

But the best performance from Boston remains goalie Tim Thomas who has an impressive .935 save percentage and comes up with key saves at big moments. The 37-year-old veteran is taking full advantage of this opportunity and has continued his strong play from the regular season.

The remaining barrier right now for the Bruins is psychological. They are up 3-0 on the Flyers, just as they were a year ago before they collapsed and became just the third team in NHL history to lose a playoff series after capturing the first three games. Finishing off the Flyers quickly would go a long way towards putting those ghosts to rest.

Western Conference

Nashville vs. Vancouver

Roberto Luongo seems to have found his game for the Canucks after a shaky opening series against Chicago, but before we get too carried away, remember that the Predators don't have as many elite offensive weapons as the Blackhawks did. That is not to take anything away from Luongo's strong performance in this series which has been a key to Vancouver's 3-1 lead.

The amazing thing is that until Game 4 of this series, the Sedin twins have been relatively quiet yet the Canucks are finding ways to win anyway. Ryan Kesler continues to shine with 11 points in 11 games including a pair of game winners.

What is often overlooked with Vancouver is their very deep defense. Christian Erhoff, Kevin Bieksa, Sami Salo (when healthy) and Dan Hamhuis give the Canucks a strong presence in their own zone. While none of them may get the attention of a Lidstrom or a Pronger, they are steady, smart in their own end and make good outlet passes to transition the team from defense to offense.

The Predators are still giving an all-out effort but the talent gap between them and the Canucks is large. Nashville's team defense has been good. In fact, Game 4 was the first time either of these teams scored more than three goals in a game against the other in eight meetings during the regular season and playoffs and the fourth goal came with an empty net.

Goalie Pekka Rinne really has been the Preds best player. He has kept his team in every game in a series against the team with the best record in the league despite the fact that his club has scored only six goals in the first four games of the series. The problem is that Rinne really has very little margin for error.

The Preds really need to get some offense from Sergei Kostitsyn. He led the team in goals during the regular season with 23 but has yet to find the back of the net in 10 playoff games. Meanwhile, Joel Ward continues to shine for Nashville with five goals and a team leading nine points. Ward had only 10 goals in the regular season, but has been using his size and good hockey sense to find open areas and score goals in the playoffs.

Detroit vs. San Jose

The Sharks are up 3-0 in this series but every game has been close. Between last year and this season, San Jose has now won seven of their last eight playoff games against Detroit and all seven victories have come by just one goal.

Goalie Antti Niemi has really picked up his play in the second round after looking shaky at times against the Kings. Against Detroit, Niemi has made some incredible saves including a key one in the final seconds of regulation in Game 3 that gave his team a chance to win in overtime.

Sharks captain Joe Thornton has also looked like a different player out there in this year's playoffs. It's not just the fact that he's tied with Ryane Clowe for the team lead with nine points. Thornton has showed maturity and the ability to lift his game in the postseason, something he has been criticized for not doing throughout his career. Thornton's leadership qualities have been shining through and the fact that he has a pair of game winning goals certainly doesn't hurt.

While no one player on the Sharks has been on fire offensively this postseason, the Sharks are getting balanced scoring. In nine playoff games, 11 San Jose players have tallied five points or more.

The Red Wings just haven't looked as sharp offensively as they normally do come playoff time. Their passing has not been very crisp, especially in the attack zone.

Secondary scoring has been a big problem for Detroit in this series. The Wings have just gotten five points from players other than Nicklas Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg in this series. Todd Bertuzzi, Dan Cleary and Johan Franzen have all been shutout in all three games against the Sharks, something that has to change in a hurry if Detroit has any hope of getting back into the series.

One player you can't blame for the 3-0 deficit is goalie Jimmy Howard. His save percentage in the series is .934. Howard has been very good but Niemi has been just a little bit better.

The penalty kill also needs to be improved. Detroit has allowed at least one power play goal to the Sharks in all three games of the series and San Jose is 4-for-15 (26.7%) overall. In tight, one goal games, special teams make a big difference.
]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.857110 2011-05-05T16:48:33-04:00 2011-07-05T05:12:01-04:00

Brad Kurtzberg http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-kurtzberg/
With the return of Jason Bay to the lineup and some improved pitching, the Mets are playing better baseball and they are over .500 with Bay in the lineup.

Off the field, the Mets still have the support of the commissioner's office and an announcement is expected soon regarding a new minority owner who will add an infusion of funds that will help the franchise through these difficult times.

Furthermore, there seems to be a growing sense that the lawsuit filed by Irving Picard, the trustee in the Bernard Madoff case, against the Mets owners for up to $1 billion is largely without merit.

"I think Picard has abused his power," Congressman Peter King (R-N.Y.) said recently during an
interview on WFAN radio in New York.

King also told the New York Daily News that Picard's fees for the case are excessive as they already exceed $288 million and are expected to reach at least $1 billion before the matter is completed.

"I am concerned that the trustee may be driven by profit rather than the goal of ensuring that the defrauded investors are made whole," King said.

In his suit against the Mets owners (Fred Wilpon and Saul B. Katz), he is attempting to recover $700 million in "punitive" damages because he claims the owners knew and were complicit in, or should have known, that Madoff was involved in a massive fraud.

The evidence set forth so far makes it seem that Picard is reaching. As one person familiar with the case who did not wish to be named while commenting on pending litigation said, Picard was "abusive" and was really "acting more like a plaintiff's attorney than a trustee."

The burden of proof lies squarely on Picard in this matter. He has to prove that Wilpon and Katz were either in on the Ponzi scheme with Madoff (for which there is no evidence whatsoever) or reasonably should have known but ignored obvious facts available to them that Madoff was not on the level.

Thus far, the trustee has requested and received more than 700,000 pages of emails and documents dating back a total of 25 years from the Mets owners, and yet there is no smoking gun implicating the Wilpons or the Katzes.

A good portion of the complaint alleges that Katz and his son became "experts" in the brokerage business. However, Wilpon and Katz made their money in real estate through their primary business, Sterling Equities, which they built from the ground up over the course of more than 40 years. The fact that they were successful in real estate and have significant money to invest in no way makes them experts in the brokerage business.

Picard also alleges that the Mets owners were given repeated dire warnings about Madoff by a person close to them and therefore were on notice about potential problems concerning Madoff. However, a review of a lengthy deposition shows that these "warnings" merely consisted of concerns about the fact that Madoff worked alone and if something happened to him, there would be uncertainty regarding their investments. The fact that Madoff did not reveal his investment strategy was also a concern, but the same person also repeatedly indicated how respected and even revered Madoff was on Wall Street.

Throughout the 320-plus page deposition, lawyers for the trustee try to get the witness to say damaging things, but in the end, the testimony again fails to provide any documentation of wrongdoing by either Wilpon or Katz.

The complaint also alleges that the Mets owners failed to do "due diligence" on Madoff over the course of their 25-year relationship. However, in the early years, the Wilpons and Katzes took several steps to check on Madoff's legitimacy, which they documented in papers submitted to the court. Furthermore, the SEC investigated Madoff numerous times during the 25 years the Mets owners made investments with Madoff and each time declared him legitimate. It hardly seems fair to hold investors, in this case the Wilpons and the Katzes, to a higher standard than the SEC, whose job is to investigate securities fraud.

As for the allegation that the Wilpons and Katzes should have known about the Ponzi scheme Madoff was running, again, no smoking gun has been produced. In fact, the Mets owners actually invested additional funds with Madoff on the day he was arrested -- just hours after he was taken into custody but before his fraud was made public. Furthermore, the people the Wilpons and Katzes encouraged to invest with Madoff were all close friends and family members. This hardly appears to be the action of people who knew they were putting their money into a fraud.

The case is far from over, and former New York Governor Mario Cuomo is attempting to mediate the matter and bring it to a quicker conclusion. Negotiations may continue for months or even years, but right now, the lack of a smoking gun means that the Mets owners have a stronger position moving forward. It may not be as good as clinching a pennant or going on a long winning streak, but it's definitely something to build on.
]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.853647 2011-04-26T13:30:59-04:00 2011-06-26T05:12:01-04:00

Brad Kurtzberg http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-kurtzberg/
Eastern Conference

N.Y. Rangers vs. Washington

The Capitals showed that their transition to a defense-first team has truly taken hold. They won what became a tight-checking, low-scoring battle of a series with timely goals and superb team defense that limited the Rangers chances and prevented young goalie Michal Neuvirth from being tested very often. Washington's talented offensive players like Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin and Niklas Backstrom came through with big plays at key times without playing a run and gun style. This bodes well for Washington going forward in the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the Rangers failed in two critical areas. As the less talented team, the Rangers needed to be successful on the power play to keep things close, but they went only one for 20 with the man advantage in the series. It was no coincidence that their only power play goal came in their only win. The Rangers also failed to hold leads, which was very uncharacteristic of the team with the best regular season record when leading after two periods (29-0-0). The Rangers had a 1-0 lead with seven minutes left in Game 1 and lost the game 2-1 in OT. Then they held a 3-0 lead after two periods of Game 4 before falling 4-3, also in OT. The Rangers were in all five games. The chances were there, but the Rangers failed to take advantage of them.

Buffalo vs. Philadelphia

The Flyers goaltending problems have followed them into the playoffs with all three available netminders seeing playing time against Buffalo. Brian Boucher has been the best of a very mediocre bunch and looks like he will get the start in Game 7. But, one or two bad games by Boucher and somebody else will likely get another chance. Philadelphia has been resilient and has an opportunity to advance despite their goaltending problems, which is a testament to their character, talent and depth. But right now, they are winning despite their goaltending, not because of it.

The strength of the Sabres remains goaltender Ryan Miller, who has a pair of 1-0 shutout wins out of the three Buffalo victories thus far. Even in some of the games they've lost, Miller has helped keep his team close when the Flyers had an advantage in play. The Sabres are doing their best to overcome numerous key injuries including the latest to Tim Connolly, who left Game 6 after being slammed head first into the boards by Mike Richards. Derek Roy may be back for Game 7, but you get the feeling Game 6 was the Sabres best chance to pull off an upset in this series.

Boston vs. Montreal

This has been a very entertaining series between two bitter rivals. The Bruins have gotten stellar goaltending from Tim Thomas and some timely scoring from unexpected sources like Michael Ryder, Chris Kelly and Brad Marchand. Meanwhile, Patrice Bergeron has become the team's top offensive producer in this series and has come up big in the clutch. The Bruins power play has yet to score in the series and that is something that needs to change if the B's are to make a long playoff run.

The Canadiens still rely heavily on Carey Price, who has a spectacular .940 save percentage through five games. Even a strong goalie like Price needs some support but beyond Michael Cammalleri, the Habs have not produced enough offense, scoring just 12 goals in five games. Tomas Plakanec has just one goal and one assist in the series thus far and Montreal needs him to step up and return to his regular season form, where he led the team in assists and scoring.

Tampa Bay vs. Pittsburgh

The Lightning have gotten consistent offensive production from Martin St. Louis and Simon Gagne thus far in the playoffs, while Steve Downie has come through when the team needs him most. St. Louis is always productive, to the point where fans may sometimes take his excellence for granted. Gagne finds a way to step things up in the postseason. The Bolts have to hope that sniper Steven Stamkos, whose production fell off down the stretch of the regular season, has found his scoring touch again. Stamkos scored twice and added an assist in Game 5 and the Lightning need production from him if they hope to complete their comeback and win the series. Dwayne Roloson has played well enough to give his team a chance to advance and has a career record of 5-0 in elimination games during his career.

If the Penguins hope to go deep into the post season, their special teams need to improve. The Pens PK has not been good enough while the power play has just scored once in the first six games of the series. Offensively, Arron Asham is leading the team with three goals. While offense from Asham is a bonus, Jordan Staal, Kris Letang and Pascal Dupuis have not provided enough offense in the absence of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The Pens also have to hope that Tampa Bay's eight-goal outburst in Game 5 was just a fluke occurrence. Their team defense has been much better than that over the course of the year. They need to rebound from two straight losses to take Game 7 at home. Look for Marc-Andre Fleury to bounce back in the clutch, something he has often done for the Pens in past playoff years.

Western Conference

Chicago vs. Vancouver

The Canucks and Roberto Luongo are facing a moment of truth in Game 7. For all their talent, it would be devastating to the franchise and their fans if they were to blow a 3-0 series lead and fall to the Blackhawks at home. Luongo's reputation for not rising to the occasion in the postseason would be taken to another level if they lose. His numbers in this series are pedestrian so far with a 3.45 GAA and a save percentage of just .890. He was benched for Game 6 when Coach Alain Vigneault went with a "gut feeling" but replaced an injured Corey Schneider and took the loss when he gave up a late goal. If Luongo bounces back to lead the Canucks deep into the playoffs, his future in Vancouver would be solidified. But a first round exit after a President's Trophy season and a 3-0 series lead? That could that mean the end of the franchise's confidence in their franchise goalie.

The big turnaround for the Blackhawks began with the return of Dave Bolland. Chicago has won all three games it played with Bolland in the lineup. The third liner has two goals and is tied for the team lead with six points despite playing in only half of his club's games. Bolland adds some of the grit and depth that the Hawks lost from last year's Stanley Cup-winning team due to salary cap constraints. Getting defenseman Brent Seabrook back into the lineup is also a big plus for Chicago, which heads into Game 7 with very little pressure despite having a chance to make history.

Los Angeles vs. San Jose

Of all the eight opening round match-ups, this one has felt the least like a playoff series. The Sharks have had some spectacular comebacks but on two occasions, starting goalie Antti Niemi has been pulled after a poor start. In both cases, Antero Nittymaki came in and played well although San Jose returned to Niemi as the starter in Game 6 and he was more effective. The Sharks top line, featuring Dany Heatley and Joe Thornton, has not produced as expected, yet the Sharks have still gotten plenty of offense thanks to Ryane Clowe, rookie Logan Couture and defenseman Ian White, who has five assists in five games. San Jose has to hope that Thornton's big OT winner in Game 6 will help him raise his level of play in the second round. The Sharks got past the kings but unless the goaltending and team defense pick up, the Sharks may have a lot more trouble with future playoff opponents.

The Kings have been one of the biggest surprises of this postseason. They were a team without their leading scorer in Anze Kopitar and with a good young defense, yet they have not played good team defense while scoring plenty of goals. Jonathan Quick literally bailed his club out in Game 5, making more than 50 saves to gain an improbable victory. The lack of team defense is a big shock on a Terry Murray-coached team as Murray stresses defensive discipline. Simply put, the Kings are not consistently playing playoff style hockey although they did play a stronger defensively in Game 6. This young team has to learn from this year's disappointment if they are to make a long postseason run in the near future. The talent is there.

Coyotes vs. Red Wings

It was a big advantage for a veteran team like the Red Wings to sweep their first round series. Detroit's older players will now get a helpful rest as they prepare for their second round opponent. The Wings were simply a better team across the board than the Coyotes. Detroit has players who always seem to take their game to another level in the playoffs like Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen and Tomas Holmstrom. A player like Brad Stuart rarely shows up on the score sheet but his value increases in the playoffs because he provides a lot of minutes of smart, steady hockey from the blue line. Jimmy Howard has been solid so far, which is all the Wings usually need from their netminder.

The Coyotes seemed to lack the edge they had a year ago when they took Detroit to seven games in the opening round. They played just good enough to lose in each of their four games and did not get the heroic goaltending they needed from Ilya Bryzgalov, although he was not given a lot of support by his defense. The biggest question facing the Desert Dogs is whether or not they will remain in Arizona or be departing Phoenix for a new (or old, if it's Winnipeg) home. The league has run the team for two seasons and certainly doesn't want that to continue for a third.

Nashville vs. Anaheim

The Ducks went pretty much according to form. They got plenty of scoring from their top two lines but not enough from their depth players. The power play excelled and produced eight of the team's 20 goals. In net, they missed Jonas Hiller. Dan Ellis wasn't the answer while Ray Emery had some stellar moments but lacked the sustained excellence to carry his team to victory against a hard working Preds club that kept grinding away. In the end, it was a lack of depth and the absence of their top goalie that brought Anaheim's season to an early end.

For the first time in franchise history, the Predators won a playoff round. Kudos to GM David Poile and Coach Barry Trotz, who have been there since the beginning of the franchise and have managed to keep them competitive despite losing so many good players to free agency due to their limited budget. The Preds won in their own typical fashion -- with their depth and Pekke Rinne's goaltending. While Nashville lacks the star power of Ryan Getzlaf, Teemu Selanne or Bobby Ryan, they got 22 goals in six games with a balanced attack. Only one skater on the Predators postseason roster failed to score a point in the series while 13 different players scored at least three points in six games. Nashville rolls four lines which are nearly interchangeable and never stops grinding. While they may not win their second round series, no team in their right mind wants to face Nashville as they will not be an easy opponent to beat.
]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.848453 2011-04-13T12:01:59-04:00 2011-06-13T05:12:01-04:00

Brad Kurtzberg http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-kurtzberg/
Eastern Conference

(1) Washington Capitals: This is what the Capitals have been gearing up for all season long. After years of regular season success coupled with spectacular playoff failures, Coach Bruce Boudreau changed his team's style from a run and gun offensive team to a more conservative defensive team. While the team's scoring was down this season and there was a lengthy December slump while they adjusted, in the end, the Caps finished strong and captured first place overall in the Eastern Conference. Now it seems that Washington is mentally and physically ready for playoff-style hockey. Will the change in style pay off? Can the Capitals remain patient against a Rangers team in round one that specializes in blocking shots and aggressive forechecking? Round one will be a good indicator. If it doesn't and Washington makes an early playoff exit, this could be it for Boudreau as coach.

(2) Philadelphia Flyers: The Flyers made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals last season after finishing eighth in the conference. The big question in Philadelphia remains goaltending. Last year, unheralded Michael Leighton and veteran journeyman Brian Boucher led the Flyers charge to the finals. This year, rookie Sergei Bobrovsky started the majority of games and did a solid if unspectacular job. He finished with a 28-13-8 record and a .910 save percentage, but there was inconsistency to his game and he seemed shaky at times down the stretch. They play fewer games in Europe so the question is can Bobrovsky handle the physical and mental grind of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Boucher and Leighton are there in case Bobrovsky falters but one goalie is going to have to take control for the Flyers and be consistently good and occasionally great if the Flyers are going to make another long playoff run. No Flyers goalie recorded a shutout this season. Goaltending has been a question in Philadelphia since Ron Hextall left town and this year is no exception.

(3) Boston Bruins: The biggest issue facing the Bruins may be psychological. Last season, the Bruins had a 3 games to 0 lead on the Flyers and became the first team since 1975 and only the third team ever to lose a playoff series after winning the first three games. Will that be a motivating factor that propels the B's to new heights or a specter that hangs over the team's head and fills them with self doubt every time they lose a game or two in row? The team has had plenty of turnover since last year's playoff elimination and has enough experienced players like Zdeno Chara and Mike Recchi, to lead the team past the psychological hump. If they don't get past it, it could be a short spring in Beantown. If they do, this team has enough depth and balance to make a long postseason run.

(4) Pittsburgh Penguins: Much like the Capitals, the Penguins had to change their style this season, although in the Pens case, it was mid-season and due to injuries to star players like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Suddenly, Pittsburgh went from a team that beats you with skill to a team that checks hard and outworks you. More pressure will be placed on Marc-Andre Fleury since goal scoring will be down, but Fleury has won a Cup and reached a final so he has proven clutch credentials. Grinders like Chris Kunitz and Kris Letang will have to contribute on offense, as will Jordan Staal who did a good job stepping into the number one center's role after Crosby was lost due to post concussion syndrome. Veterans like Alex Kovalev will have to rise to the occasion as well if the Pens hope to score enough goals to be successful this spring.

(5) Tampa Bay Lightning: While some may question the goaltending in Tampa Bay, Dwayne Roloson has already taken one team to the Stanley Cup Finals (Edmonton) and is less a question than secondary scoring is for the Bolts. Sure, superstars like Steven Stamkos, Martin St-Louis and Vincent Lecavalier can put the puck in the net, but can the Lightning get scoring from their third and fourth lines. Other than the three players mentioned previously, no Tampa Bay player topped the 20 goal mark for the season. Also, no Tampa Bay defenseman scored 10 goals on the season or more than 31 points. In the playoffs, teams will concentrate on closing down the Bolts top scorers. Unless other players can add some offensive punch, the Lightning will struggle this postseason.

(6) Montreal Canadiens: Sure there will be pressure on Carey Price to be as strong in goal as Jaroslav Halak was last season, but the biggest question facing the Habs is goal scoring, specifically scoring at even strength. Montreal was 21st in the league in goals scored but relied heavily on their power play for scoring. The Canadiens will have to get some scoring at even strength to do well in the playoffs. Also, the Montreal defense relies heavily on rookie P.K. Subban, who has become much more consistent as the season went on. Subban showed a knack for coming up with big goals later in the season, but made too many errors earlier in the year to the point where he was a healthy scratch. The Canadiens need Subban to be ready for the rigors of the postseason where a premium is placed on not making mistakes.

(7) Buffalo Sabres: Ironically, the one thing nobody has questioned about the Sabres the past several years has become their top question mark as the playoffs begin: goalie Ryan Miller. Miller played in only parts of two games during the final two weeks of the season due to injury. While rookie Jhonas Enroth played well enough down the stretch to help the Sabres qualify for the postseason, the only way the Sabres upset the Flyers is if Miller is in Olympic form.

(8) New York Rangers: The Rangers biggest issue is goal scoring. Henrik Lundqvist provides stellar goaltending and keeps the Broadway Blueshirts in games they often have no business being in, but with Ryan Callahan out of the lineup with an ankle injury, who will score for the Rangers? Marian Gaborik has been a non-factor in too many games this season. Players like Artem Anisimov, Derek Stepan and Wojtek Wolski play well for a few games and then go into extended droughts. The Rangers will have to win a lot of low scoring games but who will get them the two or three goals they need to win?

Western Conference

(1) Vancouver Canucks: The Canucks have the deepest roster in the Western Conference if not in the entire league and it's no shock that they won the President's Trophy. The loss of third line center Manny Malhotra will hurt, but the biggest question facing the Canucks may be goaltending. Despite his exceptional regular season performances, Roberto Luongo has never taken a team past the second round of the playoffs. If Luongo falters again, his playoff failure will become an albatross around his neck, and not just a coincidence, especially with a team as good as this year's Vancouver squad. Cory Schneider played well as Luongo's backup, but it's unlikely he could carry the Canucks deep into the playoffs. That burden will fall squarely on Luongo's shoulders. If he's equal to the challenge, the Canucks may just win the first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

(2) San Jose Sharks: The Sharks finally reached the Conference Finals last season after years of early postseason exits. They have been a bit overlooked this year, with the media focused on Vancouver and Detroit. The Sharks biggest issue is the penalty kill which can be dangerous in the playoffs where checking is tighter and power plays increase in importance. The Sharks PK ranked 24th in the league with only Phoenix and Chicago finishing below them among the 16 teams that qualified for the playoffs. A series of ill-timed power-play goals allowed could be momentum changers in a tight series, something the Sharks need to avoid if they are to advance a step further in this year's playoffs than they did last season.

(3) Detroit Red Wings: The Red Wings are a very experienced team and age may be a question for them, with eight players over the age of 35. But the bigger question remains goaltending. The Wings ranked 19th in the league in save percentage and 23rd in goals against average. Jimmy Howard is the starter and he was very inconsistent over the course of the season. His only playoff experience came last season where he was anything but special. The Wings have won Stanley Cups with backup Chris Osgood in net and they rarely needed their goalie to be super, just reliable. Has Howard even reached that status? If he fails to establish himself as a bona fide playoff goalie this season, he may not get another chance anytime soon, at least not with Detroit.

(4) Anaheim Ducks: The Ducks have two excellent scoring lines, including a top line that may be the best in the league with Ryan Getzlaf, Bobby Ryan and Corey Perry. But can the third or fourth lines produce enough offense to help against top teams? The bigger question remains the absence of starting goalie Jonas Hiller who has been suffering from some form of vertigo. Ray Emery is also banged up and probably won't be ready to start the playoffs, which leaves ex-Predators and Lightning goalie Dan Ellis as the starter. Can Ellis play well enough until Hiller or Emery return? Or can he backstop this team deep into the playoffs if neither of them can make it back? History suggests he cannot do it over the long haul but the Ducks may be relying on just that this spring.

(5) Nashville Predators: The Preds had only two players with more than 20 goals this season, although nine players scored more than 10. They have balanced scoring, but no real "go-to guy." Nashville ranked 21st in the league in goals scored and may struggle even more to score in the playoffs where checking is tighter and players are even more willing to sacrifice their bodies to block shots. Look for the Predators to be involved in a lot of low scoring games because they won't win too many 6-5 shootouts.

(6) Phoenix Coyotes: The team's history may be the biggest obstacle facing the Coyotes. The franchise has not won a playoff series since 1987 when they were the Winnipeg Jets. In addition to the organization's lack of playoff success, the players on the team don't have much playoff experience either, although two Coyotes have Stanley Cup rings. Facing Detroit, a team with a ton of playoff experience in the first round, won't be easy, but then again, Phoenix gave the Wings all they could handle last season before losing in seven games. Even winning one series may help build up the fan base in the desert.

(7) Los Angeles Kings: The Kings have to proceed in the postseason without their top scorer, Anze Kopitar. They have played without Justin Williams during the latter part of the season, although Williams may be back during round one. Players like Dustin Brown and Ryan Smyth will have to pick up the slack and the Kings also need offensive production from their blue line corps, which is young, talented and deep. Nobody on the roster approaches Kopitar's pure offensive talent, but somebody will have to replace his production if the Kings hope to reign this spring.

(8) Chicago Blackhawks: The Hawks are the defending Stanley Cup champions, but this is not the same team that hoisted Lord Stanley's silver chalice last June. Corey Crawford is now the goalie and he lacks playoff experience, but the bigger question is can the new third and fourth line players replace key cogs in last year's Cup run like Dustin Byfuglien, John Madden and Kris Versteeg. Supplemental scoring and strong defense from the third and fourth lines are more important in the postseason. Now we see if the salary cap moves the Hawks had to make last summer will really hurt the team.


]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.616596 2010-06-17T18:59:40-04:00 2011-05-25T16:50:20-04:00

Brad Kurtzberg http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-kurtzberg/
Today, Halak is an ex-Canadien. Gauthier shipped the rights to Halak to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for two prospects, 21-year-old Lars Eller, a former first round pick of the Blues (13th overall) who spent most of this season in the AHL and RW Ian Schultz, 20.

The trade certainly changes expectations in St. Louis for John Davidson's club. The Blues, who missed the playoffs last season, will certainly be expected to qualify this year with Halak between the pipes and their rebuilding program probably took a large step forward with the acquisition of Halak who is just entering his prime at 25.

Canadiens' management was faced with a difficult dilemma in goal: both Halak and Carey Price were restricted free agents and since the team had very little room to maneuver under the salary cap, Gauthier had to trade one of them.

The gamble the Canadiens are taking is this: that Price, who will turn 23 this summer, has more long term upside than Halak. Gauthier appears to believe that Halak is probably as good as he's going to get while Price still has the potential to grow and will develop into an elite NHL netminder. This also means that Halak's trade value may never be higher, so Gauthier moved him while the market was hot.

Price has long been considered the Golden Boy of the Montreal organization. He was selected fifth overall in the 2005 Entry Draft and it's very rare for a goalie to be selected that high. He made his NHL debut in 2007-08 and made an immediate impact, going 24-12-3 with a solid 2.56 GAA and a .920 save percentage. He played pretty well in Montreal's opening round playoff win over Boston that year, but fell apart in the second round when the Flyers easily got past the Habs.

In 2008-09, Price really floundered in the playoffs, going 0-4 with an .878 save percentage and an ugly 4.11 GAA as the Bruins easily swept the Habs in four straight.
Questions began to arise as to whether Price could handle the pressure of being a goalie in Montreal, where there is very close scrutiny on all players, especially goaltenders. Some off-ice incidents also led to questions about his dedication.

While Price was struggling to find himself this season, Halak really came on and took over the starting goaltending position based on his superior play. Price finished with a 13-20-5 record for Montreal this season while Halak went 26-13-5. Halak's save percentage was better (.924 to .912) and his GAA was as well (2.40 to 2.77). Halak had five shutouts while Price had none.

But it was in the playoffs where Halak really set himself apart. The Canadiens were the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference and Halak took them past the team with the league's best record, the Washington Capitals, and the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. That means he faced three of the NHL's most talented offensive weapons in Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and sent them all home for the summer.

Halak's play in the opening round against Washington was particularly impressive. Three times, the Caps took more than 40 shots in a game against the Canadiens and in large part due to Halak's heroics; the Habs won all three games. His play led to comparisons with Hall of Famers Patrick Roy and Ken Dryden and pictures of stop signs with the word "HALAK" where "STOP" would usually be seemed to flood the Bell Centre and the profiles of Canadiens' fans throughout the Internet.

But now, Halak heads to St. Louis. At least Gauthier had the good sense to send Halak not only out of the Northeast Division but out of the Eastern Conference. Assuming he stays in St. Louis, the only time Halak could face his ex-teammates in the playoffs would be in the Stanley Cup Finals.

But the issue remains can Price handle the intense pressure that goes along with being the number one goalie in Montreal, where they take hockey only slightly less seriously than life or death (usually, anyway)?

Gauthier is counting on the answer being yes. If he's right, the Habs will be set in goal for the foreseeable future with Price. If he's wrong, both he and Price could be looking for a job in a short time.
]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.536570 2010-04-13T21:29:14-04:00 2011-05-25T16:10:21-04:00

Brad Kurtzberg http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-kurtzberg/

At first glance, the San Jose Sharks should be consensus favorites to defeat the Colorado Avalanche and advance to the second round of the NHL playoffs.

After all, the Sharks are the top seed in the Western Conference and the Avalanche are the eighth seed. San Jose finished the regular season with 18 more points in the standings than their opponents. They scored 20 more goals than Colorado while allowing 18 fewer and they won the season series against the Avs as well.

But it isn't that simple, not by a long shot. Unlike most teams, the Sharks are facing two opponents in the first round: the scrappy young Avs and the need to overcome the ghosts of their recent playoff failures.

The story is a familiar one to Sharks fans:

2005-06 Regular Season: 99 points. Playoffs: Lost, 2nd round to the Edmonton Oilers

2006-07 Regular Season: 107 points. Playoffs: Lost, 2nd round to the Detroit Red Wings

2007-08 Regular Season: 108 points. Playoffs: Lost, 2nd round to the Dallas Stars

2008-09 Regular Season: 117 points. Playoffs: Lost, 1st round to the Anaheim Ducks

2009-10 Regular Season: 113 points. Playoffs: Begin Wednesday night when the Sharks host Colorado

Even with the addition of the point for overtime and shootout losses, finishing with more than 100 points for four straight seasons is an impressive accomplishment. But every spring, when the weather warms up, the Sharks cool off. Despite their regular season dominance, San Jose has yet to reach even the Western Conference Finals.

No team has had similar regular season success coupled with playoff frustration since the New York Rangers of the early '70s. That team had a lot of talent, led by Hall of Famers like Rod Gilbert, Jean Ratelle, Brad Park and goalie Ed Giacomin. For seven consecutive seasons, those Rangers clubs, led by Coach/GM Emile Francis, finished with more than 90 points. Like the modern-day Sharks, they were as deep and talented as any team in the league. They even defeated the defending Stanley Cup champions for three straight seasons in the playoffs from 1972-74, but the Rangers failed to win the Stanley Cup during that era.

"In the early '70s, it was unfortunate the Rangers didn't win the Stanley Cup," explained Hall of Fame Coach Scotty Bowman in the series "Legends of Hockey." "They had some real bad luck...They were one of the better team in the NHL for a three-or-four year span."

The Rangers went 54 years without a Stanley Cup before Mark Messier ended that drought in 1994. While the Sharks haven't been around that long, with each passing year, the pressure to succeed grows and the window for victory grows smaller and smaller.

The Sharks are facing a million questions that recur every year at this time and probably only serve to reinforce the nagging doubt that lingers around the team. Is Joe Thornton really a leader? Can Evgeni Nabokov raise his game to another level for the playoffs or is he just another good regular season goalie who can't come through in the clutch? What's wrong with the Sharks? And on and on...

In a conference call with the media, broadcaster Mike Milbury explained the issues facing the Sharks. "The character question is on the line yet again in San Jose," Milbury said. "I think Thornton and Marleau and Heatley and Nabokov all understand that they need to find a way to dial it up at a time when all the eyes are on them. And they've been close in the past. They've got a pretty good team there. Obviously, they've kind of run through the regular season. But the questions will be answered now. And if they're not answered in a positive fashion, I can't in any way fathom that this team wouldn't be severely altered."

The Sharks have done their best to deflect the pressure. Coach Todd McLellan has tried to take the focus away from his present team. "We keep talking about last year. We keep going back to last year. I've been asked that question a hundred times," McLellan pleaded. "This is a different team. Half the faces in there weren't involved in the playoffs last year with our club. The organization failed last year, the group of players who were here last year didn't succeed. This is a different group. We're moving forward. We're not talking about last year."

Defenseman Rob Blake, one of four Sharks players with Stanley Cup rings (Dan Boyle, Niclas Wallin and Kent Huskins are the others), added, "The franchise itself hasn't done what it needed to do in the playoffs the past couple years. This team, we don't know. We wanted to get in this position, we wanted to be in the playoffs and set that record straight. This is a new team, a new adventure for us coming into the playoffs this year."

The Sharks recent playoff failures are not really behind them. They act as a shadow now, following the team wherever they go. The talk will not end unless the Sharks make a long playoff run this year, one worthy of their recent regular season success. Until then, San Jose will be viewed as front runners or chokers.

Win a Cup, and this team will be together forever. Another early exit and the team will look very different by the time training camp opens in September. The Sharks have the talent to win it all, but in each game throughout the playoffs, they will have to overcome two opponents, one on the ice and the other in their heads.
]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.490850 2010-03-08T18:33:18-05:00 2011-05-25T15:45:22-04:00

Brad Kurtzberg http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-kurtzberg/
According to press reports from the last NHL GM meetings, the league had appointed a committee of general managers to study the problem of head shots and make recommendations at this week's meetings. Hopefully, the dirty hit by Cooke will provide additional momentum for some kind of clear-cut change in the rules to specifically address hits to the head.

The latest incident took place Sunday afternoon in a game between the Penguins and Bruins. Savard came into the Pittsburgh zone and let go of the puck about a split second before he was leveled by either an elbow or a shoulder hit by Cooke. Savard suffered a concussion and had to be removed on a stretcher. He briefly lost consciousness and there has been no official word on when he will return to action.

To see the hit, go here.

You will never be able to eliminate head shots from hockey altogether. The game is too physical and moves too quickly for that to happen. But that shouldn't prevent the league from trying to minimize the damage from head shots and reduce the number of blows to the head and the severity of them.

The players themselves appear ready to accept some kind of rule regarding blows to the head. Sidney Crosby, arguably the games biggest star, seemed very open to a rule change and almost asked for guidance on the matter. "At some point there's got to be a clear indication from the league, because we've seen this so many times now," Crosby said after Sunday's game. "You don't like to see anyone, their own teammate or an opposing player, lay on the ice like that. That was scary."

No penalty was called on the play. The fact is, if Cooke hit Savard with a shoulder and not an elbow, he did not violate any rule in the current NHL rule book.

As of Monday, the NHL had not ruled on any suspension arising from the incident, but expect Cooke to get at least four or five games because he is considered a repeat offender by the NHL for past hits that resulted in suspensions.

Here are five changes the league can and should make right now to help limit blows to the head:

1) Make blows to the head illegal and punishable by a penalty on the ice and either a suspension and/or fine off the ice. This follows the NFL model with hits to the head. Even on plays where no penalty was called on the ice, the league should review blows to the head and issue fines and/or suspensions when appropriate and referees should be graded on their calls.

The NHL already does this for stick infractions. It has declared that players are responsible for their sticks, and if a stick hits the face of an opposing player -- whether done intentionally or not -- there is a penalty. The hope is that this will make players more conscious of avoiding hitting players in the head and reduce the overall number of head shots once players adjust to the rules. Again, the league will never be able to eliminate head shots, but they can reduce them.

All fines collected as a result of head shots should go toward research on the long-term effects of concussions on hockey players and toward advancing the treatment and prevention of blows to the head.

2) The league must educate players on head shots early and often. Once the rule is changed, the league should have officials visit every training camp and explain the new rule to all players. In addition, the NHL should work with college, major junior and youth teams in the U.S. and Canada to educate players from a young age about the dangers of head shots.

3) Hall of Famer Mark Messier has invented a new hockey helmet that is designed to minimize the impact of hits to the head. The league should work with Messier and other manufacturers to maximize the protection helmets can provide for hockey players so that when their heads do hit the ice or get hit by another player, there is less damage to the brain.

4) The shoulder and elbow pads used by NHL players today is harder than what was used in the past. Some pads can be used to hurt an opposing player, not just protect the wearer. The league should mandate the use of softer pads that will do less damage to opposing players while still offering solid protection to the player wearing them.

5) The league, the NHLPA and the NHL Alumni should create a panel to further study the long-term health effects of concussions and should work together to help formulate future league policy.

Concussions have already prematurely ended the careers of players like Pat Lafontaine, Jeff Beukeboom, Nick Kypreos and Eric Lindros. Former NHL player Reg Fleming was recently found to be suffering from head traumas related to concussions that were the likely cause of his dementia and reduced mental state later in life. Let's hope the NHL acts now before something more serious happens to a player on or off the ice. ]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.433423 2010-01-22T15:25:42-05:00 2011-05-25T15:15:20-04:00

Brad Kurtzberg http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-kurtzberg/
Like any sport, there are "rules" to hockey fights, which are now commonly referred to as "The Code". "The Code" includes guidelines like don't sucker punch someone when they aren't looking and that players who make their living fighting (known as "enforcers") don't fight superstar skilled players who rarely or never drop the gloves. That's the hockey equivalent of a 10th grader beating up a 5th grader in the school yard.

That brings us to Thursday night's game between the Flyers and Rangers in Philadelphia. The Flyers Daniel Carcillo, one of the game's better known enforcers, attacked New York's Marian Gaborik, one of the league's leading goal scorers.

Last year, Carcillo was ranked fourth in the league with 22 fights according to hockeyfights.com. Gaborik had one prior fight in his nine-season 551-game NHL career.

After the game, Carcillo had the nerve to claim that Gaborik dropped his gloves first. "I didn't really expect to fight who I fought, but it kind of worked out," Carcillo said. "I don't know who on that line would have been able to help him though. I wasn't expecting him to drop his gloves, but when he did, I pretty much was licking my chops."

The replay does not clearly show who dropped their gloves first. But it does show that during a scrum, Carcillo grabbed Gaborik around his neck, rubbed his gloved hand in his face and then punched Gaborik in the face while his gloves were still on. Then both players dropped their gloves and Carcillo proceeded to pummel Gaborik in a one-sided "fight". Carcillo landed at least seven punches, Gaborik didn't land any and ended up on the ice.

You can view the incident here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Prk2Lojjmbw

It is to the Rangers detriment that nobody on their team came to the defense of their superstar when the incident occurred although Sean Avery came after Carcillo later in the game. You aren't supposed to let your best player get picked on. But Carcillo had no business attacking Gaborik. It was, in hockey terms, a cowardly act.

Rangers' Coach John Tortorella was livid after the incident and after the game. "There's no honor in that," Tortorella explained. "I don't play the game, I don't wear the uniform, I don't want to say too much but there's simply no honor in it at all. It's pretty embarrassing."

When a reporter added that Carcillo said he was "licking his chops" at the prospect of fighting Gaborik, the Rangers' coach added sarcastically, "Wonderful, he's a brave guy, a brave guy."

In the end, Carcillo won the fight and the Flyers won the game 2-0. Rest assured the incident will be revisited when the two teams meet again March 14th at Madison Square Garden. But along the way, Carcillo showed one thing. He may be a tough guy, but he can also be a punk.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2009:/theblog//3.393609 2009-12-16T11:24:36-05:00 2011-05-25T14:55:21-04:00

Brad Kurtzberg http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-kurtzberg/
Let's face facts: a playoff is logical, necessary and would provide for plenty of exciting football. Major college football remains the only sport I know of that doesn't legitimately settle matters on the field of play with a playoff. If there's a high school sport out there that nobody has ever even heard of, rest assured there's a playoff to determine a league, county or state champion. But college football avoids a legitimate playoff. The sport allows a relatively anonymous group of "experts" to determine which two teams have a chance at the mythical national championship. In reality, there should be no "C" in "BCS".

No other sport would tolerate such a system. Imagine if after each NFL team played 16 games, a group of team owners and/or writers got together and picked one NFC team and one AFC team to play in the Super Bowl. What if the Saints and Vikings both finished with 14-2 records and didn't play each other during the regular season, but the pollsters decided New Orleans was a better team because they played in a tougher division. Sorry, Vikings fans, you have no chance of winning a championship.

In baseball, what if the Yankees and Angels had the same record after playing 162 games, won their respective divisions and split their season series? According to the BCS, pollsters are the best way to determine who plays the National League champion in the World Series. Let's face facts: having "experts" decide which team goes to the World Series is even less logical than having the winner of the All Star Game determine home field advantage in the Fall Classic.

People rightly argue that Congress has plenty of bigger issues to deal with than how the NCAA determines who the best college football team in the country is. We have ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, double digit unemployment, a health care crisis, the budget deficit and the ongoing battle against radical Islamic terrorists.

But the opponents overlook one important thing. Sometimes the threat of government intervention is the only way to get the parties to move on an issue and reach a workable solution. The biggest motivator is actually fear. Sports owners and players are afraid that the government will impose a solution on them that is unfavorable to their side in a negotiation or even one that they feel they cannot live with.

Some recent examples include baseball's owners and players finally agreeing on a stricter policy on performance enhancing drugs and the NFL taking more action on the long term problems associated with concussions and other brain injuries. Before Congress threatened to get involved, the baseball owners and players couldn't agree on what color a blue bird is. But when the government threatened to re-examine baseball's anti-trust exemption and impose a solution on the parties, they quickly joined hands and sang Kumbaya.

While the new policy on PEDs is not perfect, it was a major improvement over the original policy which provided only a minor slap on the wrist for cheating players. The changes were also implemented in between normal collective bargaining sessions so the agreement got done years before it would have without the threat of government action.

College football has several arguments against a playoff system but all of them are flawed and full of empty excuses. It's time for the champion of college football to be determined on the football field by a legitimate playoff system. If it takes the threat of Congressional intervention to make that a reality, so be it. The big winner in the long run will be college football fans. Imagine if the champion of college football was no longer mythical. Maybe, with a little "encouragement" from Congress, we can restore the "C" to "BCS".
]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2009:/theblog//3.386166 2009-12-10T14:38:41-05:00 2011-05-25T14:55:21-04:00

Brad Kurtzberg http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-kurtzberg/
The big dilemma facing GM Garth Snow was whether to use the first pick on sniper John Tavares, big Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman or all around center Matt Duchene. The Isles chose Tavares. While the final verdict on all three players won't be in for many years, here's a look at all three roughly 30 games into their NHL careers:

John Tavares

The new face of the New York Islanders is off to a solid start to his NHL career. The 19-year-old leads all rookies with 13 goals and 24 points on the season. While he has not been a dominant player, he has played consistently well during the course of the season. He already has two multiple goal games and a game winning goal to his credit. Six of his scores have come on the power play and he is averaging nearly 19 minutes of ice time per game.

Other top players have taken notice of Tavares' ability. "From what I've seen, even from the first game, he's looked pretty comfortable out there," Sidney Crosby said after the last time the Islanders and Penguins met. "It's a confidence thing. You have to believe the things you do will work."

Tavares is a natural goal scorer. He has shown good hockey sense, isn't afraid to go to the net and has established a favorite area near the right circle where he likes to establish himself on the power play.

In addition to his own strong play, Tavares has shown the tendency to do what only truly elite players can do: make the players around him better. Line mate Matt Moulson has really blossomed in part due to the outstanding chemistry he has with Tavares. Prior to this season, Moulson scored six goals and ten points in 29 career NHL games. Even in the AHL, Moulson had never tallied more than 28 goals in a single campaign. This year, playing with Tavares, Moulson already has 14 goals and 23 points in just 30 games. Clearly playing with Tavares is a major factor in Moulson's career-best start.

Isles' Coach Scott Gordon is also pleased with the way Tavares plays in his own zone, noting that he is "committed to the defensive side of the game." The Isles' rookie also works hard to learn from his mistakes and to improve all aspects of his play.

While Tavares does not appear to be as dominant as Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin or Evgeni Malkin, his future looks very bright and he has the potential to be one of the league's top ten scorers for years to come. This year, he has already helped the Islanders go from the worst record in the league to a team right around the .500 mark.

Victor Hedman

A defenseman with size, mobility and offensive talent comes along only once every decade or so. Scouts touted Victor Hedman as one of those rare players. The Tampa Bay Lightning were only too happy to gobble him up with the second pick in the draft after the Islanders took Tavares first overall.

Thus far, Hedman has one goal and eight points in 28 games with an even plus-minus ranking. His first NHL goal ironically came against the Islanders on December 5 in a 4-0 Tampa Bay win.

Hedman leads all rookies with 22:23 of ice time per game and is seeing significant time on both the power play and the penalty killing units.

His teammates have been impressed with the way he has handled himself on and off the ice thus far. "As good as these young guys have been coming into the league lately, you're always a little skeptical of an 18-year old," explained Lightning center Jeff Halpern earlier this season. "But he hasn't just stepped in, he's stepped in and contributed in games and has been someone we can rely on. Off the ice, he just does everything that he's supposed to ... He stays quiet and just blends in. He looks like he wants to learn, he's humble and he understands he's got to put his time in. It's amazing he's been able to do that from day one. He's a professional at 18."

Defensemen typically take longer to reach their potential than forwards do and blueliners typically have less margin for error. But Hedman has already played two seasons in the Swedish Elite League against adults while Tavares and Duchene were playing against teenagers in Canada. This accelerated his development and maturity and helped make him more effective from day one in the NHL.

"Victor is an excellent player," Lightning Head Coach Rick Tocchet said. "He makes mistakes like everybody, and we'll work with him. But the poise of his is something you don't teach."
At 6'6" and 220, Hedman also has the size and raw physical ability to excel. If he continues to work hard, there is little doubt he can fulfill his potential and develop into an elite NHL defenseman.

Matt Duchene

The Colorado Avalanche had the third overall pick in the draft which meant they were going to take the member of the "Big Three" that the two teams drafting ahead of them passed on. That meant that Matt Duchene was heading to Denver.

In 32 games this season, Duchene has nine goals and 19 points. Four of his goals have come on the power play and one while the Avs were shorthanded. He has been a part of the rejuvenation of the Avalanche this season. Colorado remains in first place in the Northwest Division this season after finishing last overall in the Western Conference a year ago.

The rookie from Haliburton, Ontario, has picked up his play lately, scoring six goals and nine points in his last seven games including back-to-back two-goal games during the Avs' recent road trip to Florida.

Duchene has admitted he was a bit frustrated during his first few games. "At the beginning of the season I had a ton of opportunities and I don't think I was used to shooting on NHL goalies," Duchene admitted.

Now he is learning what he needs to do to score dirty goals in the NHL: go to the net.
The more he plays, the more confident Duchene becomes. "Things are starting to open up and the game is starting to slow down for me," Duchene explained. "It's starting to become easier, so I just have to keep it going. The points are good, but it's just a start. More importantly we want to get the team back on track."

Scouts said Duchene had the best all-around game of the big three, with excellent vision, hockey sense and passing skills. Thus far, he has shown why scouts were so high on him last summer.

The Islanders faced a very difficult decision last summer choosing between Tavares, Hedman and Duchene. Thus far, all three look like they will be making a big impact on the NHL for years to come.
]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2009:/theblog//3.362656 2009-11-23T09:40:00-05:00 2011-05-25T14:40:23-04:00

Brad Kurtzberg http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-kurtzberg/
The Cowboys are presently in first place, just one game ahead of both the Eagles and Giants. The Giants have beaten the Cowboys in their only meeting so far this season while Dallas defeated the Eagles. They face both teams once more in critical games late in the season.

Dallas is led by 29-year-old quarterback Tony Romo. Romo has been the starter in "Big D" since 2006 and his career statistics are impressive. He has thrown 95 touchdowns against only 52 interceptions and has a career quarterback rating of 94.5 which puts him ahead of greats like Tom Brady, Dan Marino and Joe Montana.

But there's one problem that has haunted Romo throughout his career: his play falls off significantly when it matters most: in December and January. When the weather cools off and the games mean more, Romo has failed to deliver.

The numbers don't lie. The Cowboys' have an overall record of 29-10 in games started by Romo and played in September, October and November. He has thrown 81 touchdowns and just 33 interceptions in those contests. In games played in December and January, Romo has a record of 5-10 as a starter, including 0-2 in the playoffs. He has also thrown 20 interceptions while tossing only 16 touchdowns.

Romo has had a good career thus far statistically. He has appeared in multiple Pro Bowls and put up great numbers. But the NFL is the ultimate team game and quarterbacks are judged more by championships won than by raw statistics. Yards and touchdowns are nice, but wins, especially wins in big games, matter most.

Romo has had his moments. He led the Cowboys to a dramatic overtime win over the Chiefs earlier this season but clutch regular season overtime performances (especially those in October against terrible teams) fade from memory. Big performances in playoff games or the Super Bowl, however, are forever etched into the public's consciousness.

Here's a fact few football fans may be aware of: Danny White, who quarterbacked the Cowboys in the early-to-mid-'80s, has a higher career quarterback rating than Troy Aikman. Aikman is in the Hall of Fame. Taking nothing away from a good NFL career, very few experts would say White belongs there. The reason: Aikman led the Cowboys to three Super Bowl titles. White never even got to the big game.

The NFL's QB efficiency rating is an overrated statistic. It shows just that: who is more efficient. But efficiency does not always result in championships. More efficient is not necessarily better. Want proof? Chad Pennington entered the 2009 NFL season as the 6th highest rated quarterback of all time among passers who had 1,500 career attempts or more. Anybody think Pennington is a better quarterback than Brett Favre, Roger Staubach, John Elway or Len Dawson? All four of those quarterbacks have won Super Bowls and were consistently excellent over the course of their careers. Pennington has been good, very good at times, but is he the 6th best quarterback of all time? Not even close.

It is possible for quarterbacks to make the Hall of Fame without winning a championship but it usually takes unsurpassed career numbers like Fran Tarkenton put up, or a period of dominance like Dan Fouts had with the Chargers in the early '80s or Dan Marino in the late '80s and '90s.

While both of those players are in the Hall of Fame, anytime fans discuss the greatest quarterbacks of all time, the fact that they never won a championship is always held against them. It was also held against greats like Elway, Peyton Manning and Steve Young until they finally broke through and won championships later in their careers. Football is the ultimate team sport and quarterbacks are judged more by the success of their teams than by simple statistics.

So now Romo enters the home stretch in 2009 with another chance to prove he can get the job done when it counts. The two indelible images of Romo in the playoffs are throwing an interception to end the Cowboys' chances of beating the Giants in 2007 and bobbling the hold of a potentially game-winning 19-yard field goal against the Seahawks in 2006. To change that, he needs to first lead Dallas to the playoffs this year and then win some games once he gets there.

Ex-Cowboys' Coach Jimmy Johnson has watched Romo extensively as an analyst for Fox's NFL pre-game show and he remains confident in Romo. "Yes, I think Romo can." Johnson said. "I like his flair, his intelligence, the type of football player he is. Just at times he needs to pull back the reins. He needs to protect the ball in the clutch part of the game."

If he manages to come through in the playoffs, Romo can join the ranks of the NFL's elite quarterbacks if he continues to put up numbers like he has thus far in his career. If he fails, he may go down as another tease -- a good quarterback who couldn't get the job done when it mattered most. Who he dated will be remembered more than how well he played on the field.

The clock is ticking ... How will Tony Romo be remembered?
]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2009:/theblog//3.351742 2009-11-10T17:58:32-05:00 2011-05-25T14:35:20-04:00

Brad Kurtzberg http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-kurtzberg/ did something about it.

You don't have to dig very deep into the headlines to see the effect these high hits are having on the NHL. Monday the league suspended Calgary's Curtis Glencross three games for a shoulder blow to the head of New York Rangers center Chris Drury in Saturday's game between the Rangers and Flames. Drury is out indefinitely and will almost certainly miss a lot more than three games. No penalty was called on the play.

The time has come for the league to act. In the future, all blows to the head should result in a penalty and a suspension and/or a fine.

Traditionalists argue that if we penalize head shots, we will be further compromising the physical aspect of hockey, which has already been reduced by the recent rule changes enacted after the lockout. The game moves too quickly, they say, and there just isn't time for players to think about preventing blows to the head.

Other sports have already proved that this argument is not true. The NFL has enacted similar legislation banning blows to the head. In fact, the powers that be in the NFL have gradually increased the number of banned actions. They started with head-to-head hits and have since made it a penalty to hit an opposing player in the head with your shoulders or forearms.

In football, the action also moves quickly. Wide receivers, for example, are very vulnerable when they go up to catch a pass, especially over the middle of the field. Defensive players have only a split second to determine whether a player caught the ball and how they should make a tackle.

Few people would argue that the NFL is not a tough league anymore because they have attempted to reduce blows to the head. The NHL would also not be any less tough if it passed similar measures.

The main concern here has to be the health of the players. Today's hockey players are bigger, heavier and skate faster than their counterparts of 20 or 30 years ago. The impact of collisions is therefore greater than it was in the old days.

Back then, little was known about the effect of concussions. But many recent studies, including one by Dr. Bennet Omalu of the University of Pittsburgh, have demonstrated a strong link between repeated concussions and significant problems later in life ranging from severe headaches and depression to early dementia and other Alzheimer's-like symptoms. Research has found that concussions are cumulative. Each successive occurrence is usually worse than the one before and leads to more and more significant damage to the brain.

Many fine NHL careers have already been shortened by concussions. Eric Lindros never had the superb career he was expected to because he was slowed by repeated concussions. He went from superstar to role player and was forced to retire early. His brother Brett, a first round pick of the Islanders in 1994, played in only 51 NHL games and was finished playing at the age of 21 due to the effects of blows to his head. Players like Nick Kypreos and Jeff Beukeboom also retired prematurely because of post-concussion syndrome.

The NHL has always been slow to take actions to protect players. Historically, it goes against the culture of the sport. Taking precautions and adding protection was initially considered un-manly in hockey circles. Eventually, however, changes arrived and were accepted.

Most goalies didn't wear masks during games until the late 60s. Now, if a goalie's mask falls off, the whistle is blown immediately and play stops.

Helmets for skaters weren't made mandatory until 1979 and even then the rule was grandfathered so that players who had signed a pro contract prior to then could continue not wearing head gear. The rule was not changed until 11 years after Minnesota's Bill Masterton died a few days after hitting his head hard on the ice in a game back in 1968.

Now, players wouldn't imagine playing without a goalie mask or a helmet, but there was resistance from the old guard when these changes first took place.

The NHL has already passed a rule saying players are responsible for their sticks. If a player's stick hits another player in the face, a penalty is assessed whether the hit was deliberate or completely accidental. This is done to protect of the players' eyes and faces. A similar standard needs to be put in place for blows to the head.

There are other things players and owners can agree on to reduce the number of concussions suffered by NHL players. Making shoulder pads softer is one thing and using improving technology in mouth guards and helmets are another. But none of that should prevent a change in the rules and the way the league hands out suspensions and fines for blows to the head.

This is a workplace-safety issue. A serious and potentially life-changing injury can be prevented, but only if the NHL's powers that be act now. ]]>