Wrigley Field to host New Year's Day game

From Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:

According to a knowledgeable source, it’s official. The NHL’s second outdoor Winter Classic will take place New Year’s Day at the storied Wrigley Field when the Blackhawks take on the Stanley Cup-champion Detroit Red Wings.

An announcement is expected next week in the days leading up to the three-day inaugural “Blackhawks Convention” at the Chicago Hilton.

Read the entire entry from Russo's Rants here.

Should be a fun New Year's day game. The fact that Wrigley Field is hosting the game makes it much more intriguing than watching a game at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Having Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Nicklas Lidstrom, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane playing doesn't hurt either.

NHL Morning Papers: Stanley Cup Finals Edition (Saturday)

Here are the morning papers for the Stanley Cup Finals which resume tonight at the Mellon Arena...

Detroit Red Wings (1) versus Pittsburgh Penguins (2):

• The Red Wings had a fun day off on Friday, writes Helene St. James. Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg will be looking to improve on their average Game 3 performances, writes Bob Wojnowski. Detroit isn't much concerned with the Penguins' unbeaten record at home. The Wings think Tomas Holmstrom will probably suit up tonight. If Holmstrom cannot go tonight, Darren McCarty will take his place in the line-up.
• Petr Sykora of the Penguins believes tonight's Game 4 is a must-win for his club. Forget everything else, the Pens need Marc-Andre Fleury as much as they need anyone. Shelly Anderson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette warns readers not to overlook the Wings' Brian Rafalski. Here is a Q & A with Jordan Staal.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Email any thoughts, ideas or suggestions to illegalcuve@gmail.com

NHL Morning Papers: Stanley Cup Finals Edition (Friday)

Here are the NHL morning papers for the Stanley Cup Finals which resume tomorrow night...

Detroit Red Wings (1) versus Pittsburgh Penguins (2):

• The Red Wings certainly are not feeling down after losing Game 3 on Wednesday night. If Mike Babcock has a question about something, he just asks Scotty Bowman. The Wings need better performances from Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, writes Damien Cox of the Toronto Star. One thing is forsure, Chris Osgood is a real bargain between the pipes for the Red Wings organization. In injury news, Tomas Holmstrom does not feel so good, however, he is still expected to suit up for Game 4 on Saturday night.
• The Penguins believe they can improve on their Game 3 performance, writes Dave Molinari. Brooks Orpik is sure raising his off-season contract expectations with his play in the playoffs. Not only does Sidney Crosby score, but he does the little things too. Detroit coach Mike Babcock wants his top line to lower their average time per shift.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Email any thoughts, ideas or suggestions to illegalcurve@gmail.com

NHL Morning Papers: Stanley Cup Finals Edition (Wednesday)

Here are the morning papers for the Stanley Cup Finals which continue tonight at 8pm EST:

Detroit Red Wings (1) versus Pittsburgh Penguins (2):

• In Detroit, it all starts with defense, writes John Niyo of the Detroit News. Did you know Pavel Datsyuk leads the Red Wings with 46 hits during the post-season. In contract news, Brad Stuart would like to stay in Detroit after this season and it sounds like the Red Wings would like to have him. Here are the five favorites for the Conn Smythe Trophy if the Red Wings continue their winning ways. Finally, the Wings' Cup run has been good for Detroit's struggling economy.
• Dave Molinari from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette lists his three keys to the game tonight. Penguins coach Michel Therien thinks the Wings get away with a little too much obstruction. When playing against the Red Wings, you always feel like you are chasing the puck, says Pens winger Gary Roberts. Here is a Q & A with Kris Letang. For Game 3 tonight, Mike Babcock says he won't be matching forward lines as closely as he did in Games 1 and 2.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Email any thoughts, ideas or suggestions to illegalcurve@gmail.com

NHL Morning Papers: Stanley Cup Finals Edition (Sunday)

Here are the NHL morning papers for the Stanley Cup Finals which began last night:

Detroit Red Wings (1) versus Pittsburgh Penguins (2):

• Detroit really seemed like Hockeytown again last night, writes Michael Rosenberg. If you did not know before, Mikael Samuelsson loves to score goals. Chris Osgood was terrific in the first period last night. Last night's game made one thing apparent, Tomas Holmstrom is a marked man. Here is the video of Marc-Andre Fleury's hilarious fall out of the Pittsburgh bench when coming onto the ice.
• Even after last night's game, Gene Collier of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette thinks the Red Wings are beatable. Last night's game would have been different had the Penguins capitalized on their first period power plays. The Penguins may have their hands full with Zetterberg and Datsyuk, but they are not going to let the media bother them. Apparently Gary Bettman is happy the Penguins stayed put in Pittsburgh.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Email any thoughts, ideas or suggestions to illegalcurve@gmail.com

NHL Morning Papers: Conference Finals (Wednesday Edition)

Here are the morning papers for the four remaining playoff teams:

Pittsburgh (2) versus Philadelphia (6):

• The Penguins easily defeated the Flyers 4-1 last night but still feel they have room for improvement, writes Dave Molinari. Philadelphia does not really have the answers for their poor play, writes Shelly Anderson. Meanwhile, a couple of Penguins had special fans in attendance last night. In other news, it appears Flyers coach John Stevens is not opposed to mandatory visors for entry-level players.


• Let's face it, the Penguins have been the best in the Eastern Conference by a large margin, writes Sam Donnellon. Steve Downie has cost the Flyers with his terrible turnovers. Home-ice advantage in hockey is a lot different than home-court advantage in basketball, writes John Smallwood. It is fair to say that Sidney Crosby has impressed Ed Barkowitz.

Detroit (1) versus Dallas (5):

• The Wings will be playing Game 4 tonight without the services of sniper Johan Franzen (concussion). They may get all their notoriety from the offensive side of the puck, but it is their defensive savvy that make Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg such special players. Meantime, former Wings coach Scotty Bowman thinks this year's version of the team is as dominant as a Wings team has ever been. The Wings are allowing a paltry 23.5 shots on net per game so far this playoffs.


• As Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News points out, Wings coach Mike Babcock takes advice from the aforementioned Bowman. The Stars' young defensemen have flourished all year, but have hit some speed bumps during their series with the Red Wings. If the Stars want to have any chance of coming back in this series, they have to hold their head up high. Tim Cowlishaw does not expect the Stars to pull a Shark-like mini-comeback.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Email any thoughts, ideas or suggestions to illegalcurve@gmail.com

Nightly Recap - Leaf Nation Needs to Go Away

Montreal 4 - Toronto 3 (SO) - Toronto loses for the fourth consecutive game and are now at the bottom of the Eastern conference. Fans and media have been calling for the head of John Ferguson Jr. Why now? Could they not have seen this coming before the season? It was clear that his team was not going to make the playoffs? Illegal Curve's Richard Pollock predicted that it would be a difficult road to the playoffs in the preseason. Leaf fans have finally come to the realization that the product on the ice is awful and that something needs to be done. I am sick and tired of hearing about it every time the Leafs lose. TSN, I don't need to see seven hours of coverage on what should be done to the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. Leaf Nation needs to go away.

Anyways, to the game. Jason Blake had two assists for the Leafs and Alex Kovalev had two goals for the Canadiens. Andrei Kostitsyn scored the shootout winner for the Habs. Super rookie Carey Price stopped 43 of 46 to improve his record to 6-2-1. I don't have any numbers on hand, but it seems to me more often than not a Leafs Habs game will go into a shootout.

Detroit 5 - Calgary 3 - Pavel Datsuyk scored two goals and added an assist for the Red Wings. Tomas Holmstrom scored his 13th of the year with a helper. Niklas Lidstrom posted two assists and Chris Osgood made 19 saves in the win. After allowing 3 goals on 15 shots, Flames goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff was pulled in favor of Curtis McElhinney who stopped 18 of 20. Jarome Iginla's three assists was not enough for the Flames who have four wins and nine losses in the month of November.

Vancouver 4 - Anaheim 0 - In the much overhyped return of Todd Bertuzzi to GM Place the Ducks lay a goose egg. After an abysmal season last year, Markus Naslund is returning to form scoring his 11th goal of the year and adding an assist. Ryan Kessler, Henrik Sedin, Mattias Ohlund and Matt Cooke all had two points for the Canucks. Roberto Luongo stopped 26 for his second straight shutout.

Tomorrow's Games
7:00pm STL@BUF, PHI@CAR, DAL@NJ, OTT@NYI, FLA@WSH
8:00pm PHX@MIN
8:30pm TB@CHI
9:30pm EDM@COL
10:30pm LA@SJ