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The Great One That Got Away

Lisa Olson — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:30:00 EST

Filed under: NHL

For the moment, Wayne Gretzky has chosen to walk away gracefully, with dignity. Of course he is concerned about his personal legacy -- The Great One's ego didn't melt from the Phoenix sun, no matter how ordinary he proved to be working in an environment that never felt as natural as his office behind the net. But the broader picture here -- beyond Gretzky's resignation as head coach and director of hockey operations of the Coyotes Thursday, beyond his bruised feelings and grumblings to friends about being treated unfairly -- still circles around one cold fact:

Wayne Gretzky is hockey.

And the NHL would be wise to do whatever it takes to assure its greatest ambassador remains a part of the game, somewhere, somehow.

More: Canada Next for Gretzky? | Coyotes Hire Tippett

Gretzky was nudged out of the desert, to be sure. Perhaps he should have applied some of the extrasensory skills that made him such a fine playmaker on the ice and noted he was no longer wanted in August, rather than forcing the team to use an assistant coach to run training camp. Perhaps some of the brainiacs in the home office should have realized the sport was again taking a PR smash against the boards by having the biggest star the game has ever known -- and No. 99 is arguably just that -- go MIA because of a three-ring circus involving the Coyotes, the courts and Gary Bettman's vision.

Gretzky went out saying all the right things, careful to not disturb the tug-of-war between folks in the Valley of the Sun and Hamilton, Ontario: Phoenix is a great sports city, Gretzky wrote on his Web site, "and deserves nothing but the best. I still believe that. As a young boy, I learned to play hockey in Southern Ontario, and I know what great fans they have there. It's my hope they too will have an NHL franchise in the not too distant future."

His public exit was vintage Gretzky, classy and filled with nods to the people surrounding him. But privately, Gretzky is said to be seething over events that preceded his departure -- specifically, the revelation in federal court that the NHL did not plan to honor his contract with the Coyotes if the league takes over the bankrupt franchise. The other bidder, Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie, also made it clear he had no intention of keeping Gretzky and his elephantine $8.5 million contract should the team eventually move to Hamilton.

"When that was made public, Wayne knew he wasn't wanted," a person close to Gretzky said. "He's given his heart and soul to the Coyotes and to the sport itself, so yeah, he was hurt and he was mad. As far as I know Wayne has no intention of making anybody look bad, but he could if he wanted. He knows where the bodies are buried."

The person went on to add he was "speaking for myself here, not Wayne. He's taking the high road." But the spin was similar throughout the Gretzky camp Thursday: their guy was wronged, and the messy tussle in bankruptcy court did more to tarnish Gretzky's second act in hockey than his mediocre coaching record over the last four seasons.

Never mind that he was 143-161-24 behind the bench, the Coyotes failing to make a playoff appearance during Gretzky's tenure. Other coaches with more muted playing credentials (Gretzky held forty regular-season records, fifteen playoff records, and six All-Star record when he retired after in 1999) would have been canned, and not rewarded. Upon signing a five-year extension in May 2006, Gretzky joked about the time it would take to build a championship team in the desert.

"It better not [take long]," Gretzky said, "or I won't be here in five years."

"As far as I know Wayne has no intention of making anybody look bad, but he could if he wanted. He knows where the bodies are buried."His prescience, honed to almost supernatural degrees during 21 seasons on the ice, wasn't always so sharp once he swapped jersey for coat and tie. As part-owner, Gretzky employed friends and former teammates, moves that highlighted loyalty in Wayne's world but came with a bite. In a scandal that netted Gretzky's wife Janet, Coyotes assistant coach and friend Rick Tocchet was arrested for running an illegal sports gambling ring. (Janet allegedly placed bets with Tocchet.) Gretzky's former player agent, Michael Barnett, was fired as general manager after the 2006-07 season. Grant Fuhr, Gretzky's friend and netminder during the glory days in Edmonton, was the Coyotes' goaltending coach before being replaced this week by Sean Burke. Keith Gretzky, Wayne's brother, is still the Coyotes' director of amateur scouting.

"Say what you want about the people who joined him, but everything Wayne did was with the good of the franchise in mind," said another Gretzky friend, who also asked to remain anonymous. "Besides his family, Wayne cares for nothing more than making hockey successful. He's more loyal to the game than anyone."

Gretzky was ripped by some in the Arizona media and large pockets of Coyotes fans for not joining the team during training camp, forcing assistant Ulf Samuelsson to serve as acting head coach. (Oh, if only Cam Neely would get the coaching bug.) It did seem petulant for Gretzky to go missing because of his indeterminate contractual status, but his camp insists the face of the Coyotes was ordered to stay mum and out of sight until the bankruptcy issue was resolved.

Whatever the truth, it made for an ugly divorce between Gretzky and the team that brought him on as managing partner in 2000. The Coyotes and the league hoped Gretzky would popularize hockey in the desert, maybe lure snow birds and captivate new converts the way he did in Los Angeles after being traded to the Kings from Edmonton in 1988. But hockey has since spiraled drastically in nontraditional markets like Phoenix -- and sadly, it's not exactly a hot ticket in markets like New York beyond the 20,000 passionately loyal fans who turn Rangers games at the Garden into a lovefest.

Gretzky's coaching acumen can be knocked, but if hockey wants to save itself, if it wants to compete against once-marginalized sports such as NASCAR and MMA, it better not alienate its greatest ambassador. That's one more fight the league will lose.

Bettman, the NHL commissioner, said in a statement: "We have nothing but admiration for all that Wayne has done for the game, and are extremely hopeful there will be a prominent role for Wayne with the Coyotes if the league's bid for the club is successful. We look forward to his continued involvement."

Bettman also praised Gretzky for placing "the welfare of the team ahead of his own in making this extremely difficult decision," an interesting turn of phrase considering Gretzky jumped before he was pushed after hearing both bidders had no interest in picking up his hefty contract.

Everyone's choosing their words carefully on both sides of the split. But make no mistake: with Gretzky out, an already ugly mess in the desert has the potential to turn as nasty as a den of disturbed rattlesnakes.

I'm reminded of a happier moment at the beginning of Gretzky's second act, when his managerial career carried nothing but promise. The Canadian Olympic men's hockey team had just won a gold medal at the Salt Lake City Games in 2002, and following a celebration 50 years in the making, a bunch of us circled around the team's rookie executive director outside the dressing room. Gretzky kept hugging anyone and everyone -- players, officials, crazy fans carrying the Canadian flag, reporters, cameramen, the Zamboni driver.

It was a giddy scene devoid of boundaries. It made you see why he was such a great teammate. "This is why I love this sport," Gretzky kept saying, in between hugs. It made you understand why The Great One will always be so valuable to hockey. Presumably, the admiration is still mutual.

The Great One That Got Away originally appeared on Lisa Olson FanHouse on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Elation, Agony as Penguins Win Classic

Lisa Olson — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 03:30:00 EST

Filed under: NHL

DETROIT -- Extraordinary. Wait, that word isn't grand enough to describe what happened here Friday night. Thrilling? Stunning? It was both, and so much more. It was babyface goalie Marc-Andre Fleury making a couple of huge saves in the final, throat-clutching seconds. It was Sidney Crosby lifting the silver chalice and kissing it once, twice, barely buckling under his twisted knee. It was heavy-handed Maxime Talbot scoring a pair of improbable goals, while Evgeni Malkin raised his game to an entirely different level.

It was Marian Hossa dropping to his knees in sorrow, the pain that accompanies having to watch another team celebrate on his home ice for the second straight season almost unbearable. It was Chris Osgood, dazzling in goal, but not dazzling enough. It was a wave of wing-wheeled, veteran Europeans pushing the reigning champions as hard as they could be pushed, and the young, energetic pups in black refusing to budge.

It was Pittsburgh 2, Detroit 1, the Stanley Cup changing hands in spectacular fashion.

Penguins 2, Red Wings 1: Recap | Box Score
Pens Dynasty? | Malkin Wins Conn Smythe | Fleury Delivers

Imagine, Mr. Stanley and Mr. Lombardi, landing in Steel City in the same calendar year. Imagine, the Penguins, so far behind the pack just a few months earlier, taking a Game 7, in the building that houses hockey's premiere franchise, and doing it without the services of Crosby, the franchise, for much of the evening.

"I'm a little surprised how quickly they got it but I'm not surprised how good they became," said Dan Bylsma, the rookie coach who took over on Feb. 15 for the fired Michel Therrien, when the Penguins languished in 10th place in the Eastern Conference. Behind Bylsma, the Penguins finished the regular season on an 18-7 tear, erased two 2-0 playoff series deficits, won a pair of Game 7s on the road and proved peach fuzz doesn't buckle.

The Penguins wore T-shirts that read "The Pen's in Your Hand" under their jerseys, a slogan coined by their coach after he implored his players to write their own stories, their own astonishing ending. The final chapter was a cliffhanger, a faceoff in front of the Pittsburgh net with six seconds remaining, the teams separated only by a skinny goal. The puck worked around Detroit sticks, until a shot by Brian Rafalski rebounded and found Nicklas Lidstrom, who closed in from the left side.

With the blood red crowd on its feet and screaming for overtime, for the Wings to continue their magic ride, Fleury dove across the crease and blocked Lidstrom's bid, authoring a brilliant ending to another climatic finish. Fleury was supposedly spooked by Joe Louis Arena, his 5-0 loss in Game 5 here a memory some wondered if he'd ever escape. But it was his 25-save performance Tuesday in Game 6 at home that forced a return trip to Detroit, and after he turned back the final Detroit wave Friday, after he had time to digest his 23 saves and close calls, he choked back a few words and blinked away a few tears.

"There wasn't much time left. I had to get my body out there and hope the puck hit me. It did, in the ribs. It's just really emotional right now," said Fleury, the soft-spoken netminder they call Flower. His demeanor and his nickname belie his true self, because this is a goalie whose toughness and staying power proved to be the tipping point of the series.

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Sammi Swanger, Sasha Killian and Courtney Korber watch the end of the Stanley Cup final at Diesel night club June 12, 2009 in Pittsburgh.(AP Photo/Don Wright)

Pittsburgh Penguins fans celebrate at Mulligan's Irish Pub in Pittsburgh after the Penguins defeated the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 to win NHL hockey's Stanley Cup Final Friday, June 12, 2009 in Detroit. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Penguins fan Shannon Joyner celebrates with fans on Carson Street after the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup Friday June 12, 2009 in Pittsburgh.(AP Photo/Don Wright)

Pittsburgh Penguins players pose with the Stanley Cup after they beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 to win Game 7 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup finals in Detroit, Friday, June 12, 2009. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Pittsburgh Penguins' Evgeni Malkin, of Russia, is congratulated by Petr Sykora (17), of the Czech Republic, after Malkin was presented the Conn Smythe trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs after the Penguins beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 to win Game 7 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup finals in Detroit, Friday, June 12, 2009. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Pittsburgh Penguins' Evgeni Malkin, of Russia, right, is presented the Conn Smythe trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman after the Penguins beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 to win Game 7 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup finals in Detroit, Friday, June 12, 2009. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

DETROIT - JUNE 12: Maxime Talbot #29 of the Pittsburgh Penguins makes a save against the Detroit Red Wings during Game Seven of the 2009 NHL Stanley Cup Finals at Joe Louis Arena on June 12, 2009 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Maxime Talbot

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DETROIT - JUNE 12: Pascal Dupuis #9 of the Pittsburgh Penguins raises the Stanley Cup after defeating the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 during Game Seven of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals at Joe Louis Arena on June 12, 2009 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Pascal Dupuis

NHLI via Getty Images

DETROIT - JUNE 12: Bill Guerin #13 of the Pittsburgh Penguins raises the Stanley Cup after defeating the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 during Game Seven of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals at Joe Louis Arena on June 12, 2009 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Bill Guerin

NHLI via Getty Images

There were tears and emotional gut-checks on both benches, the toil of seven super-intense, physical games finally hitting home. The Red Wings' season was rife with injuries and hardship, and now they were playing with an added weight of a city struggling under record unemployment rates and economic despair. While coach Mike Babcock never exactly implored his players to win it for the people, he alluded many times during the series to the city's hardship, and how another title could inspire joy.

"Well, we got beat by a very good team. There shouldn't be any shame in that," said Babcock, the Wings' bid for their fifth championship in 12 seasons falling just short.

A surprisingly large contingent of Pittsburgh fans showed up at The Joe, hoping to see Penguins win their first Cup since 1992. They fell hush in the second period when Crosby, the captain and heir apparent to (soon-to-be) Sir Lemieux, was crunched along the left-wing boards by Johan Franzen. Crosby's knee appeared twisted, and he half limped, half glided into the trainer's room. He returned in the third period, took one shift, and spent the final interminable minutes on the bench, gritting his teeth.

"It was so painful, being a captain and seeing what the guys are doing out there blocking shots," Crosby said. "You get to the point where you've got to ask yourself whether you're going to be hurting your team by being out there. They gave me as much Novocain as they could, but I couldn't go."

But when it came time for Commissioner Gary Bettman to present Lord Stanley to Crosby, at 21 the youngest captain to win the Cup, The Kid's aches miraculously disappeared. There is no elixir quite like lifting hockey's most sacred prize. He kissed it, kissed it again, skated on air for a few seconds, then handed the Cup off to Bill Guerin, the old goat who won his first title 14 years ago and still somehow manages to keep pace with the frenetic Penguins.

Eventually it was Malkin's turn to hoist the gleaming hardware. Malkin is the yang to Crosby's yin, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs' most valuable player. The Penguins' energy, speed and savvy all flow from the irrepressible Malkin, who never stopped imploring his teammates to jump on the slow-starting Wings and wear them down with strong forechecking and early goals. He led the playoffs with 36 points, including an assist on the first tally Friday.

"Best day of my life," Malkin kept saying, through tears and hugs and primal screams.

And yet, even with Sid and Geno, superstuds 1A and 1B, it made perfect sense that Pittsburgh's two goals came from the 25-year-old Talbot, whose hands are made for thumping, not scoring. After making a fine read on Detroit defenseman Brad Stuart, who was attempting to move the puck into the middle of the ice, Talbot forced the puck loose and fired it under Osgood's pads at 1:13 of the second period.

Another Stuart mistake led to Talbot's second goal at the 10-minute mark. Talbot trapped Stuart trying to pinch along the boards, the puck sprung loose, and Talbot broke in on a two-on-one rush. He fired a perfectly angled shot from the middle of the left circle, the puck finding the tiny open space on Osgood's glove side.

"I still have bad hands," Talbot said. "These two goals don't improve my stick handling skills. Like Geno said, I still have to work on it during the summer."

Detroit made it a one-goal game with 6:07 remaining in the third, Jonathan Ericsson one-timing a bullet past Fleury. With two minutes and change left in the season, Niklas Kronwall hit the crossbar, luck not on the side of the Red Wings.

"We nipped them last year and they nipped us this year," Osgood said. "It is hard for people to believe. We don't take winning for granted. We know how hard it is. We do have a good team but it's very, very difficult to win in this league. We were pushed every series."

Osgood shrugged, for what more could he say? A nip there, an inch here, and this Game 7 bout might have ended differently. It was a fitting omen when Muhammad Ali appeared in the first period, wearing a Red Wings' jersey. He stood slowly, waving weakly to the adoring crowd. Players from both teams banged their sticks on the boards, honoring the boxing champ. Then they resumed their heavyweight battle, fighting until the very last second.

Detroit's loss stung especially hard for Hossa, who ditched the Penguins after last year's Cup loss and signed a free-agent deal with Detroit, for less money, because he thought the Wings gave him a better shot at finally winning a championship. Hossa, who had no goals in the series, said he hadn't any regrets, because one bounce of the puck might have changed everything.

"Sometimes you make choices," he said. "I still had a great year in this organization. If you score one more, you can celebrate, but if not, they're celebrating. That's life. You just have to move on."

You wonder, as he moved through the line shaking his old teammates' hands, what Hossa was thinking of these peach-fuzzed wunderkinds. You wonder, as the sweat dried on this extraordinary, thrilling, stunning game, if the Penguins truly believed they would reach these heights back in February, when their season was so bleak.

"Oh, but we did," said Malkin. "We just had to do lots of things to get to this moment."

Crosby had made a point of never getting near the fabled Cup before Friday night. He wouldn't touch it, wouldn't have his picture taken next to it, wouldn't go to parties if the Cup was going to be on display. He'd sometimes look at the picture, taken on June 1, 1992, of Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr smiling wide as they hoisted the Cup together, and he'd wonder if maybe there would someday be a snapshot of him and Malkin doing the same. But until then, said Crosby, it would be wrong to touch the precious Cup.

The Penguins had plenty of superstitions: they kept changing hotels in Detroit, hoping to find one with lucky beds; Crosby altered his pre-game habit Friday, deciding to address the media after the morning skate from the podium, rather than near his locker; and of course Bylsma, who started the season coaching the AHL's Wilkes-Barre, brought his pre-game meal from Pittsburgh, a burrito with hot sauce and cheese, packed on ice.

"Dream come true," said Crosby, after hoisting the Cup and handing it off on a procession that will last throughout the summer. "It just feels so good. This is exactly how you picture it, what you play for."

Extraordinary. It really was.

Elation, Agony as Penguins Win Classic originally appeared on Lisa Olson FanHouse on Sat, 13 Jun 2009 03:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Game 7 in Hockeytown Is Hockey Heaven

Lisa Olson — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 23:45:00 EST

Filed under: NHL

DETROIT - Sure, the flying octopi help. So do the throngs of rabid fans wearing jerseys ringed in the color of blood, and a no-nonsense building that doesn't require fancy bells and whistles in order to rock, and old-school rituals that get passed down like success.

As Red Wings coach Mike Babcock was saying Thursday, on the eve of one of the grandest, coolest spectacles in sports, this city is a part "of Canada that just got lost ... and these people love hockey, absolutely love hockey."

Former great Ted Lindsay, born on the cusp of the Great Depression, makes a point of stopping by for team meetings before each round, plopping down in his stall in the dressing room. Legends roam the halls, from Gordie Howe to Steve Yzerman. Players here retire, or maybe they get traded, or go elsewhere for a salary bump, but few ever really shed the thrill that comes with lacing it up for Hockeytown, USA.

There is no exact reason why Detroit is so invincible at Joe Louis Arena, especially come crunch time in the spring. It's all the above - the tradition instilled in players and fans combine to turn The Joe into something akin to the old Yankee Stadium, ice replacing the interlocking NY - and it sure doesn't hurt that the Wings have excellent management, scouting and coaching.

But lately another reason has popped into the conversation. This season, the Wings are 11-2 at the Joe in the playoffs, hardly a statistical anomaly. This season, goalie Chris Osgood has picked a fine time to hit an extraordinary peak, hardly a vision his many detractors thought they'd ever witness.

There might not be a more scrutinized position in Detroit sports than netminder for the Red Wings. Playing quarterback for the Lions is right up there on the list of things that drive Detroit batty, but the Lions are so wretched, failure is mostly expected. The Wings are such a consistently ominous force, when they hit a rough patch much of the blame lands at the goalie's pads.

"It's true. It's not fair, but it's true," said Steve Yzerman, a man who understands the city's sporting soul. He spent 23 seasons here on the front lines, amassing Stanley Cup rings, and now he's a Detroit executive forming the link to greatness. "The thing is, this is a team that seems to always have great nerves of steel. We need our goalie to have as strong a will to win as anyone, and Chris has that. He's been criticized a lot, but as far as I've seen he rarely lets the criticism really get to him."

Osgood already has three championship rings (two earned as the starting goalie), but Friday's Game 7 of the Finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins might be the moment that truly defines him. The NHL couldn't have scripted a finer postseason, and now we have a repeat of last year's title series, two blue collar cities playing a final game for the oldest trophy in North America. Both clubs represent hard-nosed, lunch-pail hockey, complemented by the requisite flash.

More than anyone, Osgood knows there's little room to flinch.

The Penguins' flying circus is a floundering1-5 at The Joe the past two postseasons, but Osgood thinks that's another one of those stats to be thrown out with the bath water. Pittsburgh's two young stars haven't done much again him, just another sidebar Osgood would rather ignore. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have combined to score only three goals in the Finals, and the last time the Penguins skated at The Joe they were knocked down like tomato cans. These are more facts that cause Osgood to yawn.

"None of that matters. It might be good for the fans to talk about or you to write about, but we're not thinking like that," he said. "That's the great thing about Game 7s. All the nonsense gets wiped away. It's win or go home, pretty simple."

The best player on the best team in the hockey since the regular season closed up shop hasn't always been so sanguine. Osgood was one of the few Red Wings to play with desperation in Tuesday's Game 6 loss to Pittsburgh, performing on a level as high as he ever has for the reigning Stanley Cup champs. There are plenty of hockey people who think Osgood is the lone reason the young guns from Pittsburgh haven't already swiped the silver chalice .

This, for the goalie who was discarded by the New York Islanders - the Islanders! - and the St. Louis Blues. Around those indignities, Osgood sandwiched stints with the Wings, first as a draft pick in 1991, later as a free agent hoping a return to the mother ship would strengthen his commitment to reinventing himself. Everything began to click last postseason after Osgood replaced a struggling Dominik Hasek in Game 4 of the first-round series against Nashville. Osgood righted the ship, the Red Wings rattled off nine straight playoff wins, and Osgood was only brilliant the rest of the way.

But minding the net has its tedious moments, those long stretches of time when the puck can't stop bouncing around the opposite end. That's Detroit's flaw: sometimes its forwards are so good at their jobs, Osgood's pads grow cobwebs. He gave up a few soft goals during the regular season, got razzed more than once by a home crowd nursed on excellence, and was finally ordered by management to take a temporary, mid-February break and get his head on straight.

"Very unusual," said Yzerman. "It's not like he did something illegal or even wrong. He just needed to get back mentally in the game. He's admitted the playoffs last year took a lot out of him -- they took a lot out of everybody -- and maybe there were some games in the middle of this winter when he let his mind drift."

It might be a coincidence that Babcock, in his fourth season behind the Wings' bench, calls this the "hardest year I've ever had in coaching." It might be a coincidence that Osgood can be doing something mundane -- standing in the grocery checkout line, watching the Tigers on TV, sleeping -- and he hears his coach's voice barking out instructions.

But probably not.

"I guess we needed to put each other through some rough times," Osgood said with a chuckle, "to get where we are now."

The Red Wings need one more win to collect their fifth Cup in a dozen years, to etch their place in sports' pantheon of greatness. They can do it in throwback temple called The Joe, for a city struggling to rise above economic despair.

"This is where we work. This is where we live. It's our fans, it's our city," said Babcock, elucidating Detroit's home-ice advantage with a few short sentences. He might have added "and this is our goalie," toeing the crease with all the other legends.

Game 7 in Hockeytown Is Hockey Heaven originally appeared on Lisa Olson FanHouse on Thu, 11 Jun 2009 23:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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All Eyes on Marian Hossa, Win or Lose

Lisa Olson — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 08:30:00 EST

Filed under: NHL

PITTSBURGH -- Marian Hossa must know how he'll be perceived. The cameras will zoom in close, searching his face for elation or tears. Outsiders might mock or pity him, possibly both. Hockey insiders will again debate the repercussions of his professional and personal choices. Was he a fool to bolt the Penguins, leaving all those millions on the table? Does he regret signing with Detroit, a team he thought had the best chance of winning it all?

No matter how Hossa's controversial, admirable journey ends Friday night in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, he deserves a tap of the stick for following his heart rather than the dollar. In Hossa's perfect world, he'll live out every rink rat's childhood fantasy and score the goal that gives the Red Wings their second consecutive Stanley Cup, allowing Detroit to party in front of a home crowd that's grown accustoming to feting Lord Stanley. Hossa's decision to swap Penguin black for Detroit red will be justified, perhaps even lauded as a fine example of the satisfaction that follows when rejoicing collectively trumps profiting individually.

In Hossa's recurring nightmare, he'll be forced to relive those final, excruciating seconds from the decisive game of 2008, when his frantic attempt to force overtime and stave off a Detroit celebration in Pittsburgh's Igloo died on the goal line. What a cruel déjà vu it will be if Hossa's dream is again snatched from him, this time by the team he spurned. What a compelling human drama it will be if Hossa is again forced to skate off home ice as the visitors tote the Cup around the boards.

Hossa must know how his narrative arc hangs over both teams. He refuses to address it in full, because that would be akin to slicing a vein and watching the blood flow. Besides, there are a few more pertinent issues at hand, such as how his scoring touch picked a curious time to disappear. Snipers aren't meant to suffer such droughts, to go seven straight games without a goal. Leaders aren't meant to freeze up during June, especially against the team they know so well.

Hossa managed only one shot Tuesday night in Pittsburgh, and if he isn't pressing, if he isn't listing because of nerves or struggling under the weight of his situation coming full-circle, then what, exactly, is the problem? Hossa leaned against a chalkboard in the visitor's dressing room following the Penguins' giddy 2-1 Game 6 win over Detroit and skillfully navigated around the questions.

"Definitely, when you haven't scored for several games, you try to do maybe too much instead of relax more. And maybe I should do it more, forget about everything and play," said the winger who scored 40 goals during the regular season but could barely sniff the net over 18 minutes of ice time Tuesday.

Someone wanted to know if, in his wildest moments, he ever envisioned the Finals coming down to one game, winner-takes-the-Cup, between the team he rejected and the team he selected. "Who would, right?" Hossa said, smiling wearily. "Would you?"

Only if you can't resist sport's ability to tantalize us with passion plays and moral dilemmas.

Latest NHL Images

Detroit Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock talks about the Red Wings' loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals during a press conference on Wednesday, June 10, 2009, at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. (William Archie/Detroit Free Press/MCT)

MCT

Detroit Red Wing Kris Draper talks about the upcoming Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals during a press conference on Wednesday, June 10, 2009, at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. (William Archie/Detroit Free Press/MCT)

MCT

Goalie Ray Emery smiles during a news conference as the Philadelphia Flyers announce they have agreed to terms with him on a one-year contract, Wednesday, June 10, 2009 at Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees, New Jersey. (Tom Gralish/Philadelphia Inquirer/MCT)

MCT

Goalie Ray Emery tries on his team jersey following a news conference after the Philadelphia Flyers announced they have agreed to terms with him on a one-year contract, Wednesday, June 10, 2009 at Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees, New Jersey. (Tom Gralish/Philadelphia Inquirer/MCT)

MCT

Philadelphia Flyers' general manager Paul Holmgren, right, listens to Ray Emery answer questions during a news conference on Wednesday, June 10, 2009, in Voorhees N.J. The Philadelphia Flyers announced Wednesday that they agreed to terms on a one-year contract with Emery. (AP Photo/ Joseph Kaczmarek)

Goaltender Ray Emery smiles while responding to questions during a news conference on Wednesday, June 10, 2009, in Voorhees N.J. The Philadelphia Flyers announced Wednesday that they agreed to terms on a one-year contract with Emery. (AP Photo/ Joseph Kaczmarek)

Not long after his 2008 season expired at the skilled sticks of the Red Wings, Hossa rebuffed long-term offers approaching $80 million from Pittsburgh and other clubs to sign with Detroit. His reason for taking a one-year, $7.5 million deal with the Red Wings was simple: Detroit, with its four titles in 11 years, presented the best chance of winning a Stanley Cup. What a chump, right? The loser should be mocked and vilified for setting such an awful, team-first precedent. As a sign with Hossa's mug on it outside Mellon Arena noted, "Karma is a B*tch."

Huh? Sure, Hossa willingly skated into this tangled web, and sure, Penguin fans might take some joy from Hossa's inability to find the net, but he is hardly a villain. No matter how many times he's prodded, Hossa refuses to knock his former team or the fans who now treat him like he slashed Mario Lemieux' tires. Boos in Slovak mean 'Go Marian, go,' he joked of the Mellon Arena serenade that follows him on most every shift.

"You can only control what you can control, so why bother worrying about what some people might say?" Hossa said Monday. "You're never going to make everybody happy, so you have to be happy with the decision that you made. Coming here has been a great learning experience for me."

Hossa was one of Detroit's hardest hitters in Game 5 at Joe Louis Arena, physical and all over the puck as the Red Wings routed Pittsburgh, 5-0. He retreated like a turtle into its shell one game later, on a rink so familiar, in front of a crowd not exactly imploring him to go. Hossa's fade is Detroit's biggest concern, but coach Mike Babcock is treating it as if it's a momentary lapse.

"I don't think it's pressing. I think in their building he hasn't been as good. I think he's way better at home than he's been in their building, for whatever reason," Babcock said.

Babcock skillfully flipped the concern over Hossa on its side, bringing the focus back to the magic of Game 7s. Everything could hinge on one bounce, one quirky ricochet, one bad call or non-call. Out of 14 Game 7s in the history of the Finals, the home team is 12-2. Out of six games in these Finals, the home team has won every game.

Joe Louis Arena hasn't been kind to the Penguins, but they did thump Washington in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, on the road. This Pittsburgh team is more talented and determined than the one Hossa bid adieu. It has superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, born-again goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and, as Rod Scuderi clumsily noted, plenty of extra pieces that complete the broader picture. The team Hossa left proved in desperate, inspiring shifts Tuesday that it, too, has a drive that goes far beyond individual glory.

Sometimes sports stories really do write themselves.

"What an opportunity for him," Babcock said of Hossa. "This is why he came here. Here's an opportunity. You have Game 7. You've got a chance, and that's when you ask the question about fear. I don't understand that thinking at all. To me this is all about [how] you spend your whole life when you're a kid, at least in Canada, when you don't even have a net, you've got little snow piles on the street. You're dreaming of scoring the game-winning goal of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. You've been doing that your whole life. Now you've got it. Play and have some fun."

Hossa was the final player to touch the live puck in 2008, firing a last-second shot for the Penguins in Game 6. It would have been a miracle goal, the kind of goal kids from the Alleghenies to the small village of Stara Lubovna see when their heads meet pillow, but the puck danced across the line as time expired on the season. Hossa melted to the ice, ducking so the cameras couldn't catch the pain on his face, then left the rink quickly, refusing to peek at Detroit's mad celebration.

Hossa couldn't have predicted this quirky turn of fate, of course. But here it is, Game 7 and all its spine-tingling glory, sport's ultimate delight. He either embraces it, or succumbs to it.

All Eyes on Marian Hossa, Win or Lose originally appeared on Lisa Olson FanHouse on Thu, 11 Jun 2009 08:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pens Deliver Perfect Script: Game 7

Lisa Olson — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 01:58:00 EST

Filed under: NHL

PITTSBURGH -- What a shame hockey didn't own this night. Americans from Florida to California should have been glued to the extraordinary image of Marc-Andre Fleury doing somersaults in front of the net to save the Penguins' season, of Rob Scuderi using the edge of his skate to stop what surely would have been a dagger to the gut, of scruffy-faced athletes pushing the sport to a transcendent, desperate finish.

When it was over, when the last frantic second expired on Pittsburgh's 2-1 Game 6 win over the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup finals, the 17,132 lucky souls who witnessed this gem in person managed to dislodge their hearts from their throats and turn The Igloo into something that sounded pretty close to a rapturous revival. It was tough to decide where they should genuflect first.

Penguins 2, Red Wings 1: Recap | Box Score
Game 7 on Tap! | Videos: Thrilling Saves for Pens

At Fleury, the goaltender who was pulled from Game 5 after he and the Pittsburgh Penguins were just awful in Detroit, giving up five goals and looking as if they couldn't wait to break out the golf clubs? Fleury did everything Tuesday night but score -- third-line teammates Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy handled that part for the Penguins -- and the goalie's brilliant act deep in the third period, against a maddening Red Wing rush, will someday be cemented in Steel City sporting lore.

Or how about Scuderi, just one of the Pittsburgh defensemen happy to use skates, body parts, whatever it took to make sure Detroit didn't fashion a repeat celebration? Scuderi's souvenirs from the game included a bloody gash above his eye, and a blade that ought to be bronzed.

And how can anyone ignore the two-thirds of the trilogy that gleams from the poster outside the new arena rising down the block? Fleury is one, but the other two, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, hadn't done much to hold up their ends of superstar status in these Finals until Tuesday night. Neither had a point but Crosby played on both ends with fire in his eyes, steam oozing from his pores. Malkin rediscovered his early-spring flair, though what really stood out was the fearless, joyful way he threw himself in front of the puck, as if he never wanted the fun to end.

It won't, at least for three more periods, as the Stanley Cup finals head back to Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, for Friday's Game 7.

The good news: the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic have scheduled only practices for Friday; presumably they will not be televised. The bad news: the NHL managed to trip over itself again by agreeing to air Game 6 against the NBA's Game 3 Tuesday night, basically assuring that hockey would be only seen by pockets of die-hards and viewers with broken remote controllers. This, after rushing to get the first two games of the Stanley Cup finals on NBC, to avoid conflicting with Conan O'Brien's first week as Tonight Show host.

But knocking NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is like jabbing a balloon with a pin; even 4-year-olds eventually tire of the simplicity. So let's instead take a page out of Crosby's playbook and focus not on disasters and what might have been, but on the positive delights of what's still to come.

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Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (29) makes a stop against the Detroit Red Wings in the second period of Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup finals in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, June 9, 2009. Fleury blocked 25 shots in the Penguins' 2-1 win that evened the series 3-3. From left are Red Wings center Henrik Zetterberg (40), of Sweden, Penguins defenseman Hal Gill (2), Fleury, Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk (13), of Russia, and Penguins defenseman Rob Scuderi (4). (AP Photo/Jim McIsaac, Pool)

Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury makes a stop against the Detroit Red Wings in the second period of Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup finals in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, June 9, 2009. Fleury blocked 25 shots in the Penguins' 2-1 win that evened the series 3-3.(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Referee Marc Joannette, top, tries to maintain order as Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins players scuffle in the third period of Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup finals in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, June 9, 2009. The Penguins won 2-1 to even the series at 3-3. In front are Red Wings players Pavel Datsyuk (13), of Russia, Henrik Zetterberg (40), of Sweden, and Marian Hossa (81), of Slovakia. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Detroit Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom, of Sweden, left, ties up the stick of Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) as Red Wings' goalie Chris Osgood watches in the third period of Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup finals in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, June 9, 2009. The Penguins won 2-1 to even the series at 3-3. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, right, makes a save as Detroit Red Wings left wing Tomas Holmstrom (96), of Sweden, tries to deflect the shot in the third period of Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup finals in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, June 9, 2009. At left is Penguins defenseman Rob Scuderi. The Penguins won 2-1 to even the series at 3-3. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (29) loses his stick and defenseman Rob Scuderi (4) drops to the ice to block a shot against the Detroit Red Wings in the third period of Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup finals in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, June 9, 2009. The Penguins won 2-1 to even the series at 3-3. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Detroit Red Wings huddle around the bench during a time out late in the third period of Game 6 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final hockey series against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh, June 9, 2009. The Penguins won the game 2-1 to tie the series 3-3. REUTERS/David Denoma (UNITED STATES SPORT ICE HOCKEY)

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Pittsburgh Penguins' Evgeni Malkin, right, of Russia, jumps into the celebration with teammates after they beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup finals in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, June 9, 2009. The win evened the series at 3-3. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Detroit Red Wings' Brett Lebda (front) flys off his skates on check by Pittsburgh Penguins' Matt Cooke (back) during action in the second period in Game 6 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final hockey series in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania June 9, 2009. The Penguins won the game 2-1 to tie the series 3-3. REUTERS/Mark Blinch (UNITED STATES SPORT ICE HOCKEY)

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Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury makes a save on Detroit Red Wings Dan Cleary during the third period in Game 6 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final hockey series in Pittsburgh, June 9, 2009. REUTERS/Jason Cohn (UNITED STATES SPORT ICE HOCKEY)

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There will be a Game 7. The best thing in sports.

"We found a way to survive. That's what we had to do and we did it. Now it's anyone's game," Crosby was saying, once he finally extricated Detroit's pesky Henrik Zetterberg from his back. "Anything can happen in a Game 7."

Detroit is a Red Machine working on its second consecutive Stanley Cup and fifth in 12 seasons, a bona fide 21st century dynasty carved out of the Original Six. Loaded with talent and energy, speed and smarts, the Wings don't really have any stand-alone studs or preening prima donnas. Individuals come to Detroit and get lost within the team, which could at least partly explain the disappearance of Marian Hossa.

Isn't that why Hossa turned down piles of money from Pittsburgh during the offseason and bolted the Penguins for Detroit? So he could hoist the Cup, a sight he refused to watch this time last year on this very sheet of ice, when the Red Wings beat Hossa's team and celebrated in front of fans whose faces had turned as white as their shirts? Hossa is still without a goal in this series, and the next time he drives hard to the net might just be the first.

Pittsburgh is top heavy with young stars prepped to be the sport's premier faces, Sid the Kid and Geno, the Penguins' Id and Ego. Crosby, especially, still burns from the memory of the Red Wings parading Lord Stanley around Mellon Arena. The 5-0 Game 6 loss Saturday, and the uncharacteristic petulance it wrought, only pushed the weight deeper into his shoulders. He'd never admit it, but losing the Cup for a second straight year to the same team would be about as palatable as swallowing arsenic.

Mario Lemieux, selected in the entry draft by Pittsburgh 25 years ago Tuesday, gave a pregame speech to the Penguins, his presence providing a cooling balm to a club feeling the heat. But it was The Kid who pushed the home team into the zone, as the Penguins set the tone with an intense, frantic first period. They outshot the Wings, 12-3, and had the Igloo shaking with forechecks.

It was Detroit's Chris Osgood, perched atop the crease, who kept the Wings alive. It was Detroit's double mistakes, getting caught in a pinch and on a line change, that allowed Staal to finish off a two-on-one down the right wing for a 1-0 Penguin lead at :51 of the second. Kennedy, on another goal that required more sheer will than grace, put Pittsburgh up, 2-0, with less than six minutes into the third period.

But less than three minutes later, Kris Draper, an old hand at lugging around the Stanley Cup, pushed a rebound past Fleury, and it was pure coincidence that the Stanley Cup was undergoing a spit-shine in the arena bowels.

Could it happen again? The Igloo quickly melted into a fingernail-chewing bundle of nerves. Pittsburgh hadn't been whistled for a penalty all night but now it was called for two in the space of a few minutes. Conspiracy theorists scratched their heads. Didn't the NHL want a Game 7, with a national TV audience all its own?

The Penguins killed both penalties, and the goalie known as Flower and the defense that had fallen down one game earlier took over. With less than two minutes left, Detroit's Dan Cleary snared a pass on a breakaway, pulling Fleury out of the net, but he lunged forward and made another clutch stop with his left pad. The remaining minute was a whirl of Penguins dropping to their knees to block the puck and a furious scrum in front of the home net and bodies everywhere -- it was six on five, Osgood on the bench, but Pitt's determination made it seem like there were 20 men in black floating atop skates -- and then there was Fleury, stretching his body one way, his stick the other, and stopping the puck with a sliver of an inch, and then came Scuderi, sending away another attempt with his skate. Rookie coach Dan Bylsma must have been wondering if he should maybe change his pregame lucky burrito.

He's now 21-1 after devouring the same meal from the Qdoba Mexican Grille three blocks away from Mellon Arena. It's Chile pork BBQ, with a dollop of hot and mild salsa plus cheese. The rookie coach wasn't around last June, when the Red Wings partied hard at the Igloo. He's not averse to starting his own traditions, heartburn far more desirable than heartache.

"What a night," Bylsma said as he stood outside the Penguins' locker room, clutching his chest. "I wouldn't mind another one exactly like it." Lucky for the NHL, and a sporting audience that won't be forced to chose, we get one more.

Pens Deliver Perfect Script: Game 7 originally appeared on Lisa Olson FanHouse on Wed, 10 Jun 2009 01:58:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Series Goes to Game 7, but It's Over

Lisa Olson — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 22:13:00 EST

Filed under: NHL

NEW YORK -- As the clock wound down on a weak, pitiful showing by the New York Rangers, as Brandon Dubinsky prepared for a tetanus shot after allegedly being bitten by a Washington Capital and Blair Betts was undergoing tests for concussion after being fore-armed in the head by another Capital, Alex Ovechkin skated nonchalantly past the Ranger bench.

And he smiled.

And the Rangers turned away.

Capitals 5, Rangers 3: Recap | Box Score | Sunday's Scores

And you knew right then the Rangers were done, that the decisive Game 7 Tuesday in Washington is just a formality, that New York's season will end softly, with nothing but a whimper.

It's stunning how dramatically the Rangers have raveled apart at their blue seams in the last few days, after taking a 3-1 lead in the first-round playoff series against the Capitals. Maybe the Rangers can send another note to the league, complaining everyone's picking on them; maybe coach John Tortorella has learned it's best to aim his water bottle at his tepid players and not potty-mouth fans. They'll have all summer to figure it out -- if Torts is even invited back as Ranger coach -- while Ovechkin and the Capitals see how far they can stretch now that they've found the right groove.

Jim Schoenfeld, subbing for the banished Tortorella Sunday, cut right to the bone after Washington skated over and through the Rangers for a 5-3 win in Game 6 at Madison Square Garden. "We had some guys who were locked in and ready to go and we had some other guys who wanted to test the water," said the assistant coach, offering a keen indictment on the Rangers' lack of heart and readiness for what could have been the clinching game, at home, in front of a packed crowd ready to celebrate.

This is not to ignore the obvious: the Capitals are the better team, faster, more skilled, tougher on the blue line, and if all that fails, they can still jump on the back of Ovechkin and watch him dominate. One game from elimination, the Capitals have since outscored the Rangers, 9-3, and twice caused goalie Henrik Lundqvist to get the early hook. There's no shame in losing to Washington, especially since their star weapon is half man-half cyborg.

No, the disgrace is in how quickly the Rangers fell apart, beginning when Tortorella, Mr. Law and Order, tossed a water bottle at unruly fans behind the visitor's bench in Washington Friday night, thus earning a one-game suspension. Banished to a Garden sky box Sunday, Tortorella witnessed calamities at every end: there were pucks sailing past Lundqvist's glove side, until finally he was pulled after 40 minutes, the Rangers down, 5-1; there were costly turnovers in the Rangers' defensive zone; there were forwards doing very little against Caps goalie Simeon Varlamov, the rookie who had 29 saves but was barely tested.

Mostly, there was the sight of Washington goon Donald Brashear poking the bear, and the bear responding by taking a nap.

In pregame warmups, Brashear and Colton Orr nearly came to blows, the Rangers later claiming Brashear should have been ejected from the game before the puck dropped. But then midway through the first period, with the game knotted at 1-1 and the Rangers in the middle of a line change, Brashear skated away from the puck and toward Blair Betts, one of the few Ranger playing with fire in his belly. Brashear viciously leveled Betts with an elbow to the head, causing Betts to crumple to the ice. Neither of the referees saw the play, instead handing out minor roughing penalties to Brashear and the Rangers' Paul Mara after Mara jumped to Betts' defense.

Wobbly and dazed, Betts had to be helped off the ice, and spent the rest of the game in the trainer's room being examined for concussion. The hit, brutal and illegal, changed the game's tone. The Garden crowd, frothing more than it has all season, waited for Sean Avery to channel his inner demons, for Chris Drury to act like a captain, for someone to wrestle back control.

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Carolina Hurricanes players Erik Cole (L) and Eric Staal (C) congratulate goaltender Cam Ward after their win over the New Jersey Devils in Game 6 of their NHL Eastern Conference quarter-final hockey series in Raleigh, North Carolina April 26, 2009. REUTERS/Ellen Ozier (UNITED STATES SPORT ICE HOCKEY)

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Carolina Hurricanes' Eric Staal (R) and teammate Chad LaRose (L) celebrate after Staal scored against New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur and Johnny Oduya during the second period of Game 6 of their NHL Eastern Conference quarter-final hockey series in Raleigh, North Carolina April 26, 2009. REUTERS/Ellen Ozier (UNITED STATES SPORT ICE HOCKEY IMAGES OF THE DAY)

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Carolina Hurricanes' Jussi Jokinen, right, of Finland, scores a goal on New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur as Colin White (5) looks on during the third period of an NHL first-round hockey playoff game in Raleigh, N.C., Sunday, April 26, 2009. Carolina won 4-0. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Carolina Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward (30) is congratulated by Joe Corvo (77) following the Hurricanes' 4-0 win over the New Jersey Devils in an NHL first-round hockey playoff game in Raleigh, N.C., Sunday, April 26, 2009. Ward made 28 saves in his third career playoff shutout. The series is tied at 3 games each. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Carolina Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward (30) is congratulated as the Hurricanes celebrate their 4-0 win over the New Jersey Devils in an NHL first-round hockey playoff game in Raleigh, N.C., Sunday, April 26, 2009. The series is tied at 3 games each. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Carolina Hurricanes' Ray Whitney (L) celebrates after scoring against New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur (R) during the first period of Game 6 of their NHL Eastern Conference quarter-final hockey series in Raleigh, North Carolina April 26, 2009. REUTERS/Ellen Ozier (UNITED STATES SPORT ICE HOCKEY)

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Carolina Hurricanes' Ray Whitney (L) scores against New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur during the first period of Game 6 of their NHL Eastern Conference quarter-final hockey series in Raleigh, North Carolina April 26, 2009. REUTERS/Ellen Ozier (UNITED STATES SPORT ICE HOCKEY IMAGES OF THE DAY)

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Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward (R) makes a save on a shot by the New Jersey Devils' Brendan Shanahan during the third period of Game 6 of their NHL Eastern Conference quarter-final hockey series in Raleigh, North Carolina April 26, 2009. REUTERS/Ellen Ozier (UNITED STATES SPORT ICE HOCKEY)

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Carolina Hurricanes' Tim Gleason (L) and New Jersey Devils' David Clarkson fight during the third period of Game 6 of their NHL Eastern Conference quarter-final hockey series in Raleigh, North Carolina April 26, 2009. REUTERS/Ellen Ozier (UNITED STATES SPORT ICE HOCKEY)

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Carolina Hurricanes' Eric Staal (12) celebrates his second goal of the game with teammates Ray Whitney (13) and Chad LaRose (59) against the New Jersey Devils during second period action in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Sunday April 26, 2009. (Chris Seward/Raleigh News & Observer/MCT)

MCT

Alas, Mark Messier is but a memory. Four minutes later, the Rangers again failed to clear the puck out of the zone, and Mike Green wristed a power-play goal for a 2-1 lead.

"He's hurting significantly," Schoenfeld said of Betts. Schoenfeld went on to say "it would have been nice" if Brashear had been punished for his pregame shenanigans and not been in the game "to eliminate one of our best players." Fine, but when they're done whining about the referees, can the Rangers admit they're at fault, for forgetting hockey isn't just ballet on skates?

Tortorella ought to be a bundle of joy after watching from on high as the Caps alternated between torturing and toying with New York. Washington took a 3-1 lead when Tom Poti, the former Ranger, burst out of the penalty box, snared a loose puck and began a three-on-one rush at Lundqvist. It ended with Poti lifting a puck into the back of the net, for another goal by a Washington defenseman.

"We were focused, we were ready, we just didn't have the effort, that's for sure," said the Rangers' Marc Staal, who was burned twice by his own mistakes.

"We had some guys who I could tell were physically gassed. I could just tell that they wanted to give, and they didn't have it to give," said Schoenfeld, who had no trouble summing up the mistakes, but offered little reason to think they'd be fixed by Tuesday.

The Rangers were far more adept at zinging subtle digs at the referees, who might have missed two key infractions but were nonetheless not responsible for the Blueshirts lying down like dogs in the midday sun. It was indeed madness that Dubinsky needed a tetanus shot after the Caps' Shaone Morrisonn allegedly bit him during a second period scrum -- the madness made doubly worse when Dubinsky was given an extra 10-minute misconduct atop a boarding penalty as he attempted to show officials the bite marks and blood on his hand.

While the Rangers fumed the Capitals pounced, Ovechkin tipping in Poti's drive for a power-play goal at 16:44 to put New York in a 5-1 hole and chase Lundqvist for the second straight game. Lundqvist, so brilliant in Game 4, hasn't had offensive support since the first game of the series, and though he rarely has three lousy performances in a row, the Rangers' problems go far beyond their goalie's heavy glove.

Of course, leave it to Ovechkin, speaking in a voice that echoes like the Terminator, to pound the hammer on the nail. "They play well, we play better," he said in the visitor's locker room. With looks that could turn the timid to stone, Ovechkin batted away questions about Brashear and bites, and sniffed at the notion that this season would mirror last year, when the Capitals trailed Philadelphia 3-1 in the first round, forced a Game 7 at home, and lost.

"Why would it be the same?" he asked. "Do you think this is anything like that? Then you don't know anything."

And so it is that the Rangers return to Washington to avenge bites and concussions and prove they haven't completely lost all guts. Tortorella will be behind the bench; the Rangers have asked the league to tighten up security around the visitor's area. The Rangers claim the coach was reacting to vile homophobic slurs from the crowd when he spiked a full water bottle over the glass Friday, then grabbed a player's stick and waved it as if he were about to attack.

Glen Sather, Rangers president, sent a letter to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman Saturday, the first paragraph reading:

Dear Gary:

In addition to your suspension of Coach Tortorella for his actions during last night's game, we respectfully request that you consider appropriate discipline in light of Washington's gross negligence in ensuring the safety of the personnel on the Rangers' bench, including Coach Tortorella, in the face of the Rangers' repeated requests for intervention against egregious fan misconduct during Game 5. As importantly, we would like the League's intervention to ensure that there are adequate security measures in place to protect our personnel in the event there is a Game 7 in Washington.

The Rangers are correct to demand their team be protected from misbehaving cretins, and any fans who spit through slats and scream offensive language at visiting players should be banished from the arena. Any coach who physically reacts to those cretins deserves his own banishment. That ought to be chapter one in the human being playbook.

We'll see if the Rangers have anything left in theirs.

Series Goes to Game 7, but It's Over originally appeared on Lisa Olson FanHouse on Sun, 26 Apr 2009 22:13:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rangers Revel in Playoff-Clinching Win

Lisa Olson — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 00:38:00 EST

Filed under: NHL

NEW YORK -- This wasn't the time to wonder where these New York Rangers have been hiding all season, or whether they'll soon suffer through another identity crisis. This wasn't the place to ask if the Rangers will be one-and-done wonders, justifying their owners' satisfaction with mediocrity.

No, this was an oh-happy-joy night to be savored by Rangers fans, because the Blueshirts have slipped into the NHL postseason for the fourth straight season. Even more delicious, the Rangers had to beat their bitter rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers, to clinch a spot, setting the scene for the perfect hockey vortex at Madison Square Garden.

NHL FanHouse: East Is Set | Ribeiro's Awesome Winner | Who Are 'Canes?

The Flyers sealed their playoff berth one night earlier, but they were no more inclined to coast and rest bodies than they were to take the ice without pads. The two teams did justice to their rich and often brutal history, stretching the outcome to the very last shift. When the horn finally sounded, when Ranger goalie Henrik Lundqvist had made his last incredible save and the New York forechecking had repelled wave after Philly wave, it was Rangers 2, Flyers 1, and the playoffs can't get here soon enough. The rivals will meet one more time with seeds at stake (the Flyers are in the hunt for the No. 4 spot, NY hopes to climb to No. 7), but the Rangers have already leaped one giant hurdle: If they lost to the Flyers at home, their playoff hopes would have rested on a win Sunday in Philadelphia and, as an exhausted Lundqvist later noted, "we really didn't want that."

And so they whooped and hollered a little louder in the stick-raising celebration at center ice, before literally giving the shirts off their backs to loyal fans. Unlike other sports teams, the Rangers aren't dissected to the last milligram in New York -- did you know the Yankees already are in danger of not making the playoffs? -- but the grumbling and dissatisfaction over their streaky play had reached a fairly loud crescendo.

"The last few weeks, it's been kind of hanging over us," Ranger defenseman Marc Staal said of the they're-not-worthy brigade. "We heard what they were saying, so to finally get it done, especially at home, is very gratifying."

The Rangers unveiled a streak of grit and determination in the frantic last few minutes. They had taken a 1-0 lead just 52 seconds into the game, when Markus Naslund deflected a shot past Philadelphia goalie Martin Biron, and went ahead 2-0 at 12:06 of the first period on Ryan Callahan's goal. Philadelphia's Danny Briere notched a power-play goal to make it 2-1, with 11 minutes left in the second period, and from that point on, it was hold your breath and beware of the forechecks.

"Before we went out there for the third period, we said, 'Go out there and take it. Don't give it back to them,' " Staal said. "I think it just gave us the confidence to know we can shut a team down."

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Vancouver Canucks' Roberto Luongo gives his stick away after shutting out the Los Angeles Kings at the conclusion of their NHL hockey game in Vancouver British Columbia, April 9, 2009. REUTERS/Lyle Stafford (CANADA SPORT ICE HOCKEY)

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SAN JOSE, CA - APRIL 09: Todd Fedoruk #17 of the Phoenix Coyotes, mixes it up with Travis Moen #24 of the San Jose Sharks during a NHL game on April 9, 2009 at HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. (Photo by Don Smith/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Todd Fedoruk;Travis Moen

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SAN JOSE, CA - APRIL 09: The Phoenix Coyotes celebrate a second period goal during a NHL game vs the San Jose Sharks on April 9, 2009 at HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. (Photo by Don Smith/NHLI via Getty Images)

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SAN JOSE, CA - APRIL 09: Viktor Tikhonov #41 of the Phoenix Coyotes, watches a goal taken away by a diving Evgeni Nabokov #20 of the San Jose Sharks during a NHL game on April 9, 2009 at HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. (Photo by Don Smith/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Viktor Tikhonov;Evgeni Nabokov

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Phoenix Coyotes left wing Todd Fedoruk, top, fights with San Jose Sharks Left Wing Travis Moen during the second period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif. Thursday, April 9, 2009. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Los Angeles Kings' Peter Harrold, left, and Vancouver Canucks' Darcy Hordichuk collide during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Vancouver, B.C., on Thursday, April 9, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darryl Dyck)

Phoenix Coyotes goalie Al Montoya, left, stops a shot as San Jose Sharks left wing Milan Michalek, center, of the Czech Republic, and Coyotes defenseman Kurt Sauer battle during the second period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif. Thursday, April 9, 2009. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

SAN JOSE, CA - APRIL 09: Shane Doan #19 of the Phoenix Coyotes, holds back Jody Shelley #45 of the San Jose Sharks during a NHL game on April 9, 2009 at HP Pavilion at San Jose in San Jose, California. (Photo by Don Smith/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Shane Doan;Jody Shelley

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SAN JOSE, CA - APRIL 09: Brandon Prust #29 of the Phoenix Coyotes, is first to the puck with Douglas Murray #3 of the San Jose Sharks during a NHL game on April 9, 2009 at HP Pavilion at San Jose in San Jose, California. (Photo by Don Smith/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Brandon Prust;Douglas Murray

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Vancouver Canucks' Ryan Kesler (R) checks Los Angeles Kings' Michal Handzus during third period NHL hockey action in Vancouver, British Columbia, April 9, 2009. REUTERS/Lyle Stafford (CANADA SPORT ICE HOCKEY)

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Fittingly it was Lundqvist, the Rangers' MVP, holding off the storming Flyers. He finished with 37 saves, and it only felt like they all came in the last few minutes. As the sold-out Garden crowd refused to sit down, there was a heart-stopper save against Daniel Carcillo, another shot that clanged the cross bar, a swift glove save on Jeff Carter's attempt. The Broad Street Bullies were relentless, but Lundqvist wasn't about to budge.

"I don't want to say he stole a game, but he certainly stole a couple goals there when they looked like sure things," Flyers coach John Stevens said of Lundqvist. "He is one of the few guys that can play on the goal line because he's big, he has great reflexes, and he can make some big game savers and he did in the third."

The Flyers are peaking at just the right time. Last year they made it to the conference finals, before losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Stevens said he thought his team, "carried the better play for 60 minutes and that's what you want from your team this time of the year," and indeed, had the puck moved just an inch from Lundqvist's reach any number of times, the Flyers would have ruined the Rangers' Garden party. But inches only count in horseshoes and wild hockey scrums.

"This is a big one," admitted Lundqvist, as he stood in his corner of the locker room and tried to play down his role in what was thus far the Rangers' best win of the season. "Sometimes you get too emotional, too fired up and you can make mistakes. I think that was the biggest thing for us tonight, to stay focused and not get too pumped up and take penalties. You have to stay smart. I think we did."

The gap between a No. 1 seed and the eighth slot is not that wide, so it isn't totally insane to suggest the Rangers could shake up the playoffs. They are not blessed with guts and heart like the 1994 Stanley Cup team, nor are they that deep or tough. But if they have cured their mental fragility -- and it sure seemed so during the tense third period against the Flyers -- New York might have reason to hold off its obsession with baseball just a little while longer.

It may seem like the Rangers began to narrow their focus in February when Tom Renney, the gentlemanly coach, was fired and replaced by the gruff, not-so-nice John Tortorella. He did lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to championship nirvana in 2004 before getting canned four years later, so perhaps his no-nonsense approach has snapped the Rangers out of a funk that had fans sometimes wondering if players even cared. Tortorella has never been shy when it comes to giving lazy players a swift boot, but when he likes a player, and he sure does like his goalie, the coach beams like a proud father.

"He was just outstanding," Tortorella said of Lundqvist. "That is how you win games in the playoffs. It starts with your goalie and it usually ends with your goalie as far as if you want to be there in the end and if you want to succeed in the playoffs."

It may seem like the Rangers have developed more bite now that Sean Avery is back in the fold, agitating and frustrating anything that skates. A quick Avery recap, for those readers in India: he has played for many teams, including the Rangers, and even his teammates haven't always liked him, but they like him even less when he's on the other side. His mouth is as nasty as his stick, and it got him suspended and into anger management counseling earlier this season when he said offensive things about an ex-girlfriend, a suspension all of hockey applauded and one that prompted Tortorella, then a TV analyst, to say Avery had no business playing in the NHL. Soon after, Tortorella took over the Rangers and Avery was picked up on waivers. The team has been one big happy family even as Avery continues to drive everyone crazy.

While the addition of Tortorella and Avery shook up the Rangers, the team still spent the next couple of months confounding and frustrating fans. Ranger fans are some of the most passionate souls on the planet; the first words out of their kids' mouths often are "Potvin sucks." So it was understandable their emotions this season fluctuated wildly, from wanting the Blueshirts to make the playoffs to hoping the team fell flat so more change would occur. Failure to make the postseason, reasoned the fans, would force the ouster of Glen Sather, the general manager who guided the organization mostly nowhere over nine seasons.

The hard truth is Sather won't be going anywhere, unless he replaces himself. In a city that demands the firing of coaches and executives seemingly every other day, Sather continues to hang onto his job. The Dolans, owners of the Rangers and the Knicks, seem to love Sather, though they've never bothered to explain why.

But this is sour conversation best reserved for another day. The Rangers waited until the second-to-last game of the season to play for their lives, for a spot in the playoffs and a chance to undo all their maddening habits. Chris Drury, the captain who recently endured criticism for his perceived lack of leadership, has found his mojo and healed his reputation in the last week. He assisted on both goals against the Flyers, notching four points in the last two games. Lundqvist, the hulking goalie who is expected to do it all when the Rangers go through their scoring droughts, is at the top of his game, mentally and physically. But is it enough to lead the Rangers on a deep run through the playoffs and give New York's forgotten franchise a super boost?

Lundqvist admits even he gets confused by his team's infatuation with standing up in the roller coaster cars.

"We know we can beat anybody. We can also lose to anybody," he said, and he shrugged his broad shoulders, clearly a man ready for the ride.

Rangers Revel in Playoff-Clinching Win originally appeared on Lisa Olson FanHouse on Fri, 10 Apr 2009 00:38:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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