Checking In With The NHL
Now that the the Stanley Cup finals are just around the corner, people may actually start paying attention to Canada’s obsession. Hockey doesn’t get a lot of love, but this final should be enough to please even the most skeptical fan. Both Pittsburgh and Detroit are very good teams that are poised to entertain. As I am getting ready for the series to start on Saturday there are a few things in the hockey world that are interesting and relevant:
- Johan Franzen is practicing with the Red Wings again, and he could be back in action soon. He’ll probably miss game one, but should be ready for the second game in Detroit. That’s big news for the team if he can capture his ridiculous form. The guy has been scary good - he is leading the playoffs in goals scored with 12 despite having missed the last five games of the series against Dallas. Unfortunately for the Wings, his successful return is far from a sure thing because he is struggling to overcome a concussion. Detroit would probably be okay without him, but the more they can score the better given Pittsburgh’s potential for potency.
- The Avalanche made a truly bizarre move on the coaching front today - they hired Tony Granato as their new coach. It’s not that he is a bad guy or a bad coach. It’s just that he was already their coach once before, and they dumped him when someone better came along. He coached for part of one season and all of the next, and he did quite well - 72-33-17-11. Despite that, the team dumped him when Joel Quenneville came along. The biggest knock against Granato at that time was that he couldn’t perform in the playoffs. He spent the last four years as Quenneville’s assistant, and he’s now the head man again. I’m sure he’ll do a decent job, but it’s sure not a move that inspires confidence.
- Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury is in his fourth year in the league, but the last couple of months are the first time I have really felt that he is an elite keeper. As strange as it sounds, it seems as if it was an injury that helped him turn the corner. He had a high ankle sprain at the start of the new year, and since he returned to action he has won 22 of the 27 games he has appeared in and tied another. His goals-against average over that stretch is just 1.62 and his save percentage is .942. Those are superhuman numbers, but he’s playing with incredible confidence and it is carrying over to his whole team. He won’t get the attention of the offensive stars, but I think that Fleury holds the fate of his team on his shoulders.
Tags: Johan Franzen, Marc-Andre Fleury, NHL, Stanley Cup playoffs, Tony Granato
