Blues assistant Mellanby won't be back next season (The Associated Press)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 19:06:19 PDT)
ST. LOUIS (AP) The St. Louis Blues say assistant coach Scott Mellanby won't be back next season.

Eulogy: Remembering the 2011-12 Phoenix Coyotes (Puck Daddy)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 13:58:32 PDT)
(Ed. Note: As the Stanley Cup Playoffs continue, we're bound to lose some friends along the journey. We've asked for these losers, gone but not forgotten, to be eulogized by the people who knew the teams best: The fans who hated them the most . Here are Sam Fels and Matt McClure of Second City Hockey fondly recalling the 2011-12 Phoenix Coyotes. Again, this was not written by us ... OK, by all of us. Also: This is a roast and you will be offended by it , so don't take it so seriously.) By Sam Fels and Matt McClure of Second City Hockey Ladies and gentlemen, we've come here today to bury the Pho….wait a sec, are we sure they're dead? Sure they're not just lying about for effect? This is Mike Smith's and Michal Rozsival's team after all. Do we want to bring the doctors and trainers out, just to make a big show of it for effect? You're sure? Guess the game misconducts for losing classlessly indicate no pulse. What's funny about the fact that we've been brought here to eulogize the Phoenix Coyotes is that we were asked. Bloggers for a team that up until recently regarded the Yotes as nothing more than something to fill out the schedule four times a year, and will feel that way again next year. We have it on good authority that bloggers from all four division opponents on Phoenix were asked to do this, and they all responded with "Sure Wysh, we'd love to. Wait, for who? Sorry, doesn't ring a bell." But it all came to an end, as the Homer Simpson boxing approach to hockey finally ran out of luck when the Coyotes came up against the Drederick Tatum of the Western Conference in the Kings. The extra fluid padding the brain -- known as Mike Smith -- that let the rest of the Yotes pretty much get pummeled for large portions of the playoffs without a knockout finally succumbed. It was fascinating hockey for all. Or no one. Take your pick.

From coach throwing to fan celebrations, Russia seems fairly pleased with gold at IIHF Worlds (VIDEO) (Puck Daddy)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 09:31:12 PDT)
Here is Russian national team head coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov at his Bar Mitzvah. No, check that: This is Russian national team head coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov being thrown in the air by his players after they defeated Slovakia and captured the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship on Sunday. Is hip-hip-hooray people tossing a staple of Russian celebrations? Frankly, we wouldn't mind seeing this after a team wins the Stanley Cup. Preferably the New York Rangers ("Enough with the [expletive] [expletive] [expletive] tossing, you [expletives]") or the St. Louis Blues, a Herculean test of strength. Here's are the Russians, throwing the old man: Dude caught some air on that. Luckily for the coach, that went better than when Semyon Varlamov attempt to raise the IIHF trophy at center ice: ( s/t Marat Ryndin ) Best save of the tournament. Coming up, celebrations of the Russian ice hockey victory from back home and in Helsinki, as well as the scene from Slovakia.

What We Learned: Embarrassing LA sports media moments while covering Kings playoff run (Puck Daddy)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 06:58:22 PDT)
Hello, this is a feature that will run through the entire season and aims to recap the weekend's events and boils those events down to one admittedly superficial fact or stupid opinion about each team. Feel free to complain about it. It's possibly the greatest bit of investigative journalism conducted since Woodward and Bernstein brought down Richard Nixon. This exemplary, collective effort of sleuth work is currently ongoing in Los Angeles, Calif., where an entire media market has unearthed the NHL's shocking secret: The city has a professional hockey team. Over the past week or so here at Puck Daddy, we've tried to document every startling discovery made by the intrepid Los Angeles media, like how to properly pronounce Anze Kopitar's name (it's hard because he's from Bosnia or something), the real name of this Drew Doughty character ( it's actually Brad !) and that hockey is in fact not played with a ball, but rather a little piece of rubber known as a "puck." That last one makes me pretty uncomfortable because of the word it rhymes with. ("Duck" — sorry, I just don't trust 'em; they have weird beaks). Just how villainous is this team, operating as a sort of sporting sleeper cell? They got all the way to the Western Conference Finals without one local noticing. That takes real criminal talent. And not only that, but, the NHL had the diabolical idea to hide it right under the Los Angelinos' noses, by having their home games played at the Staples Center. You know, where the Lakers play. Further, they named the team the Kings to intentionally confuse even the savviest media organization into thinking they are the NBA's Sacramento Kings. Astonishingly devious stuff. More twists and turns than the Da Vinci Code, which I've read three times just to make sure I understood it all. The best bit of this journalism on this pressing issue comes, of course, from the city's paper of record, the Los Angeles Times, winner of 44 Pulitzer Prizes since 1942, including three in 2012. It was for that towering beacon of journalistic excellence that columnist Chris Erskine successfully scruted several of the team and sport's most inscrutable mysteries . For instance, that thing I said earlier about the puck (again, yuck… oh and that's another gross word it rhymes with), I learned it from Erskine. Apparently they even freeze the thing. And that's a huge point of concern, because, "The hardest shots can reach 110 mph and tear flesh, crush bone, even kill you if you're not careful." Yikes, you guys! ( Coming Up: Rick Nash to Boston?; Tororella defends Prust; Ryan Suter faces his future; Evegni Malkin is having a pretty good season; why Lundqvist is King; why the Capitals can't win with Ovechkin; the Islanders know how to party; Canucks might keep Luongo; Ryan Miller on the CBA; Flames and Oilers coaching news; and are the Kings in trouble?)

This Jonathan Quick sex joke is our favorite ad of 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs (PHOTO) (Puck Daddy)
(Sun, 20 May 2012 12:58:34 PDT)
You've got your stick in hand and all you want to do is score, but someone is denying you that moment of euphoria. Husbands of the world, the Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues and the Phoenix Coyotes feel your frustration … and this display ad outside of Staples Center around LA Live during Game 4 of the Western Conference final is hilarious. Over the last two years, the Boston Bruins offered some hilarious (and hilariously offensive, to some parties) display advertisements. For example: "Never, Ever Date A Flyers Fan. Even If She Shaves Her Moustache." Whoever put this Jonathan Quick tribute up — the Los Angeles Kings? Reebok? Some mysterious goalie-loving benefactor? — is giving those Boston ads a run for comedic genius in playoff display advertising. Although, a word of advice for that frustrated husband: Try shooting from center ice. s/t @bloodyeyeballs, via @hockeydoc21 and @tonybova Related NHL news from Yahoo! Sports:

On brink of Stanley Cup Final, LA Kings not looking ahead (Puck Daddy)
(Sun, 20 May 2012 08:30:37 PDT)
The Staples Center in Los Angeles has been busy this weekend with six playoff games in four days between the Clippers, Kings and Lakers with Sunday featuring a day/night hockey/basketball doubleheader. And while arena workers change the surface from ice to a basketball court sometime Sunday afternoon, at the same time, there could be some celebrating going on in the home locker room. The Stanley Cup Final awaits the Kings with a win Sunday over the Phoenix Coyotes. It's been 19 years since they've been at this point in the postseason, but there are plenty of players on the roster that have played this late in a season before. Despite that experience, there will be nerves and likely some minds looking ahead before the puck drops on Game 4. "Everyone talks about getting to the Stanley Cup Final, but I can only speak really for myself, playing in that game tomorrow [Sunday] night is pretty fun, as well," said Kings captain Dustin Brown on Saturday. "It's one of the things where you gotta really enjoy the journey. We're one game away from the Cup Final. But it's one game we have to win." It's only human nature for Brown and his teammates to picture what a celebration might be like in front of the home crowd after another series sweep. And, in Brown's case, he may have taken a moment to ponder whether or not he touches the Clarence Campbell Bowl out of superstition. Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty, however, were a bit more cautious.

Kings beat Coyotes, edge closer to Cup finals
(Fri, 18 May 2012 00:03:12 PDT)
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The giant-killing Los Angeles Kings extended their magical playoff run, moving to just one win from their first Stanley Cup finals appearance since 1993 with a 2-1 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday.

Ex-Flyer Carter Leads Kings Halfway to Stanley Cup Finals: A Fan's Perspective (Yahoo! Contributor Network)
(Wed, 16 May 2012 06:37:00 PDT)
The Philadelphia Flyers are having their failure rubbed in their face through these Stanley Cup playoffs. Not only do Flyers fans like myself have to see the New Jersey Devils face the New York Rangers in the Eastern finals, we have seen Ilya Bryzgalov's old team and Mike Richards and Jeff Carter's new team steamroll through the West.

Kings-Coyotes Preview (The Associated Press)
(Tue, 15 May 2012 09:03:22 PDT)
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) The Phoenix Coyotes survived stretches of playing on their heels in the playoffs' first two rounds, absorbing everything the opponent threw at them before counterpunching with a winning goal.

Kings dominate opener of West final (The Associated Press)
(Mon, 14 May 2012 15:46:32 PDT)
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) The Phoenix Coyotes survived stretches of playing on their heels in the playoffs' first two rounds, absorbing everything the opponent threw at them before counterpunching with a winning goal.

It's all about winning for controversial Rangers coach John Tortorella
(Mon, 14 May 2012 10:47:56 PDT)
Tortorella often comes off as cantankerous and arrogant, but there's more to the New York Rangers coach than meets the eye.

What We Learned: What to make of this Washington Capitals season? (Puck Daddy)
(Mon, 14 May 2012 05:28:10 PDT)
Hello, this is a feature that will run through the entire season and aims to recap the weekend's events and boils those events down to one admittedly superficial fact or stupid opinion about each team. Feel free to complain about it. There's been a lot of talk about what this season has meant for the Washington Capitals in the hours leading up to, and then immediately following, their final game of the remarkably eventful 2011-12 season. Wysh had a pretty good recap of the reasons the Capitals felt this little run to a pair of one-goal Game 7s against the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds in the Eastern Conference — both having been heavy favorites — vindicated the Dale Hunter system of everyone playing defense and collapsing to within three inches of the crease, and it's perfectly reasonable for people to feel that way. Certainly, no one expected these Capitals to do much damage in the postseason given that they frittered away a division they were picked to dominate. But the thing that everyone seems to forget is that, again, they were picked to dominate the Southeast, be a superpower in the East and the League at large. If the team tuned out Bruce Boudreau, and it appears they did, then wasn't his replacement, whoever it happened to be, more or less expected to get this far? Therefore, it becomes a question about what changed, and really, what didn't. Let's not forget, Boudreau came in originally and let guys like Alex Semin, Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green have their run of the rink. Two-minute shifts? Sure! Goals aplenty? You bet. But in the end, what did it get them? Bounce-outs, and if you believe the talk, disappointing ones at that. So Boudreau changed the style, focusing more on defense, tethering Ovechkin and Co. to an extent, and … getting the same amount of success. Under each of the two clearly definable Boudreau regimes, the team lost in the conference quarter- and semi-finals. Which is of course notable because the latter is exactly how far Hunter got in his first chance at the tiller, despite doing everything in his power not to: like limiting Ovechkin to fewer than 20 minutes a night in every game in this series save for Saturday's Game 7 and the three-overtime Game 3, in which he played 35:14 — or, if you prefer 17:37 per three periods of play. This therefore vindicates Hunter only as far as it vindicated Boudreau; which, with a roster like this, and given the "choker" label being hung liberally on the former Caps coach this time last year. The philosophy changed radically under Hunter, and worked only as far as it did for Boudreau. Why? ( Coming Up: Team USA, international ass-kickers; getting stupid about Patrick Kane's drinking; Parise's future; Could Brad Stuart return to the Sharks?; Kevin Lowe says Ryan Murray is the top player in this year's draft class; Suter/Weber questions; Pancakes Penner's revenge; Bruins pumped for Dougie Hamilton; Alfredsson retirement watch; Leafs/Penguins trade?; Lundqvist is King; Alex Burrows runs and hugs a goalie; and Winnipeg Jets fans are burning Coyotes jerseys.)

Dustin Brown again saves Kings from a potential momentum-killing defeat in Game 1
(Sun, 13 May 2012 23:09:59 PDT)
L.A. is still undefeated on the road in the NHL playoffs, and that's in large part due to the play of Brown.

King of Kings scores twice as LA beat Phoenix
(Sun, 13 May 2012 22:18:16 PDT)
(Reuters) - The Los Angeles Kings produced more Stanley Cup playoffs magic on Sunday with a 4-2 win over the Phoenix Coyotes in their Western Conference Finals opener. Dustin Brown and Dwight King scored third-period goals to clinch the Game One victory, with the second game of the best-of-seven series set for Tuesday, again in Phoenix. The win continued a fairytale post-season run for the West's eighth seeds, who have won nine of 10 playoff games to eliminate top seeds Vancouver in the opening round then swept the second-seeded St. Louis Blues in the second. ...

Kings beat Coyotes to win NHL series opener
(Sun, 13 May 2012 20:56:27 PDT)
Dustin Brown scored the game winner in the third period to lift the Los Angeles Kings to a 4-2 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes in the opening game of their Western Conference playoff series.

Coyotes’ Derek Morris beats Jonathan Quick from center ice in Game 1 (VIDEO) (Puck Daddy)
(Sun, 13 May 2012 17:51:16 PDT)
Early in the first period of Game 1, Keith Yandle of the Phoenix Coyotes dumped the puck in on Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick, who dropped his stick attempting to play the puck. Maybe the Coyotes noticed something from that play. Maybe they didn't. But later in the period, Coyotes defenseman Derek Morris decided against dumping the puck in and chose to fire it on net and ended up succeeding to tie the game: As @Fel0096 points out, Quick allowed this center ice blast from Alex Pietrangelo of the St. Louis Blues last season. Somewhere, Dan Cloutier is sympathizing . Not much has beaten Quick this season and in these playoffs, so he's allowed one goof. And while he's made many highlight-reel saves this season, everyone joins the blooper reel at some point. Fortunately for Quick, this one didn't come in a loss. The Kings took Game 1, 4-2. Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

Puck Daddy’s 2012 Stanley Cup Playoff Conference Final Staff Prognostications (Puck Daddy)
(Sun, 13 May 2012 10:28:48 PDT)
In which your friends from Puck Daddy and Marek Vs. Wyshynski select the winners for Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Our terrible, terrible Cup picks are here. Greg Wyshynski, Editor Devils in 6 Coyotes in 6 The Rangers have played two grueling 7-game series after a grueling regular season that featured the "24/7" plus Winter Classic taxation. They've played, in the words of my radio partner Jeff Marek, a lot of "heavy hockey." They gutted out a victory against a Capitals team that believed the best defense was no offense, and now face a Devils team that's as offensive as they've had in the playoffs. Historically, the Rangers have handled the Devils in the postseason, and Henrik Lundqvist has been particularly difficult to solve for the Devils. But if New Jersey exhibits the same kind of offensive depth they had in previous rounds, and Marty Brodeur continues not to be a liability, the Devils will advance to the Stanley Cup Final in six games — 18 years after the Rangers prevented it from happening. The Coyotes will continue to be the story of the postseason, using Dave Tippett's system and Mike Smith's swagger between the pipes to eliminate the Kings in six. Jonathan Quick will be tested by Phoenix's underrated offense (2.64 GFA), and the Kings' power play problems will haunt them vs. the Coyotes. Watch out for Radim Vrbata, who had five goals in six games vs. the Kings. The Kings have been outstanding, no question. They've also had the benefit of playing two teams hit with significant injuries — Daniel Sedin, Alex Pietrangelo — at the wrong time. If the Coyotes can avoid the same misfortune, they advance to the Cup Final. Devils vs. Coyotes for the Stanley Cup. Yes, I may be picking this just to hear the collective heads of television executives, the NHL and the hockey media explode. Also because at this point, there's really no salvaging my prognostication record for 2012. Might as well go all-in.

Phoenix Coyotes (3) vs. Los Angeles Kings (8): 10 things to know about the West final (Preview) (Puck Daddy)
(Sun, 13 May 2012 07:39:49 PDT)
The No. 3 seed Phoenix Coyotes and the No. 8 seed Los Angeles Kings will clash in the Western Conference Final beginning Sunday night in Phoenix. It will be the largest clash of coyotes and kings since Coyote Kings of the Space-Age Bachelor Pad . Here are 10 items for your consideration about this matchup. 10. The Kings are killing Division champions The Phoenix Coyotes enter this series the reigning Pacific Division champions, and if the Kings' recent history is any indication, this could prove problematic. LA made short work of the Northwest Division champion Vancouver Canucks, knocking them off in 5 games. They followed that act by sweeping the Central Division champion St. Louis Blues. They eat Division champions for breakfast right now. 9. The Kings are money shorthanded LA has a +1 goal differential when shorthanded, having allowed three power play goals and scored four shorthanded goals in the postseason thus far. There's simply no margin for error against their forecheck on the penalty kill. They cause neutral zone turnovers, disrupt zone entries, and make it Hell for the oppponent to set up. That frustration tends to lead to sloppiness, and that sloppiness tends to lead to shorthanded opportunities. It's an endless cycle. Both the Blues and the Canucks fell victim to the Kings' fabulous penalty-killing. Will the Coyotes do the same?

Unlikely Final Four set battle for chance at Stanley Cup
(Sat, 12 May 2012 21:00:52 PDT)
(Reuters) - A wildly unpredictable Stanley Cup playoffs have been reduced to an unlikely Final Four with the eighth seeded Los Angeles Kings and the Phoenix Coyotes, a team in search of an owner meeting in the Western conference final. In the East, the New Jersey Devils, led by netminder Martin Brodeur will meet the New York Rangers, who completed the conference finals lineup with a Game Seven win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday. ...

NHL Roundup: Stars bring back Gainey as consultant (The SportsXchange)
(Thu, 10 May 2012 16:00:27 PDT)
Former Dallas Stars general manager Bob Gainey has rejoined the organization as a consultant, the team announced Thursday.

Patrick Kane’s drunken weekend; Jaromir Jagr’s future with Flyers; conference final times (Puck Headlines) (Puck Daddy)
(Thu, 10 May 2012 12:53:10 PDT)
Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media. • Deadspin has pieced together the drunken weekend of Patrick Kane in Madison, Wis., including anonymous tales of choking a girl and getting involved with the police because there was almost a fight sparked by Kane's alleged anti-Semitic comments. Meanwhile, Jonathan Toews read a book. [ Deadspin ] • Jaromir Jagr done with the Philadelphia Flyers? "Jaromir Jagr was given several chances to say he wanted to return to the Flyers. He did not bite. It appears he will test the FA market." [ Broad Street Bull ] • In hindsight, how did Paul Holmgren actually do as Philadelphia Flyers GM? [ TPSH ] • The conference final times are set for Games 1 and 2: "The Western Conference Final opens Sunday, May 13 in Glendale, Arizona, where the Phoenix Coyotes will host the Los Angeles Kings at Jobing.com Arena (8 p.m., ET, NBC Sports Network, TSN, RDS). Game 2 of the series will be played in Glendale on Tuesday, May 15, beginning at 9 p.m., ET.  Games 1 and 2 of the Eastern Conference Final will be played on Monday, May 14 and Wednesday, May 16, respectively, and pit the New Jersey Devils against the winner of the Conference Semifinal series between the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals. That series currently is deadlocked at 3-3, with Game 7 set for Saturday night in New York (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, CBC, RDS)." [ NHL ] • Among the owners in Tom Stillman's group for the St. Louis Blues: John Danforth, former U.S. Senators, and Thomas Schiafly, the founder of the St. Louis Brewery. [ Blues ] • John Fontana on the NHL vs. the NHLPA: "With posturing in the media by the Commissioner and a lack of tangible movement on the labor front, the noxious bane's potency becomes more lethal, and an interruption to the 2012-13 NHL season becomes more possible." [ Raw Charge ] • What's the off-the-ice impact of the Nashville Predators' playoff disappointment? [ Tennessean ] • Injured defensemen Marek Zidlicky and Anton Volchenkov are expected to be ready by Game 1 of the conference final for the Devils. [ Fire & Ice ] • Marty Brodeur on getting taunted with "Matteau! Matteau!" at MSG: "It stopped not long ago," Brodeur said Thursday. "Same guy. Same spot. He would yell it at me over and over at the Garden. Since '94 they've been living off it for a long time, some of these fans. They have a great hockey club now. I expect if we do play them it will be somewhat similar." [ NJ ]

Bettman: Blues status brighter with new ownership (The Associated Press)
(Thu, 10 May 2012 11:21:36 PDT)
ST. LOUIS (AP) NHL commissioner Gary Bettman gave his stamp of approval to new St. Louis Blues ownership, saying the franchise's financial picture is much improved.

The great Dead Puck Era panic of 2012 (Puck Daddy)
(Thu, 10 May 2012 08:00:18 PDT)
If the Washington Capitals win Game 7 on Saturday night and advance to the Eastern Conference Final, it will provide the NHL with one of its most Bizarro World moments in recent memory: The defense-first, sit-on-a-lead, at times monotonous system of the Washington Capitals against the up-tempo, offensively aggressive New Jersey Devils. Just three years ago, this characterization of the respective teams would have earned you a straightjacket and a padded room. Or at least a spot in the Coyotes' new ownership group. The Devils are averaging 3.00 goals per game, while Washington is at 2.15. The New York Rangers are scoring only 2.08 goals per game, and yielding 1.92. The Los Angeles Kings are also averaging 3.00 goals per game, but have been used as an example of boring, conservative defensive hockey because they give up only 1.56 per game. But the real culprit in this alleged turn toward the defensive: The Phoenix Coyotes, who average 2.64 goals per game, give up only 1.91 and are last in the playoffs in shots per game (26.8). And, my god, they're all blocking shots too! Like, lots of them, courtesy of the Rangers and Dale Hunter hockey and fearless players with great padding. Alex Ovechkin is even blocking shots; in the past, the only way that happens is if his opponent accidentally hits him with the puck as Ovi's skating to the red line to cherry pick a pass. So scoring isn't where it should be, fans are complaining about the excitement level of playoff games, the term "Dead Puck Era" is being tossed around again and there's a clamor for rules changes in the next lockout, er, CBA. It's an overreaction, an unnecessary panic, and one that's easily remedied.

Quick is unlikely goalie star for LA Kings (The Associated Press)
(Wed, 09 May 2012 17:43:20 PDT)
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) Jonathan Quick's lateral movement is undeniably impressive. Just ask the reporters and team employees who approached his locker for an interview earlier this week, only to watch the Los Angeles Kings' All-Star goalie quickly pivot and back out of the room with remarkable agility.