Saturday, January 1, 2011

NHL Happenings



Maple Leafs 5, Senators 1
James Reimer in his first NHL start kicked out 32 of 33 Ottawa shots as the Toronto Maple Leafs embarrassed the Senators 5-1. Ottawa goalie Brian Elliott allowed 3 goals on 7 shots and was replaced after the first sixteen minutes of play by Mike Brodeur, who made 12 saves. Tyler Bozak scored twice for the Maple Leafs, while Joey Crabb, Tomas Kaberle, and Phil Kessel each registered two assists. Sergei Gonchar tallied the only goal for Ottawa.

Hurricanes 6, Devils 3
Martin Brodeur
was ineffective yet again, and was pulled in the first period after allowing 3 goals on ten Carolina shots. Devil backup Johan Hedberg played in relief the rest of the way. Rookie Jeff Skinner and Sergei Samsonov scored two goals apiece for the 'Canes. Tuomo Ruutu had a goal and three assists, and rookie Zac Dalpe netted his first NHL goal after being called up from Charlotte, Carolina's AHL affiliate yesterday. Carolina netminder Cam Ward earned the win blocking 25 of 28 shots. Patrick Elias had a goal and an assist, Matt Corrente registered two assists, and Rod Pelley and Travis Zajac each scored a goal for New Jersey.

Sabres 7, Bruins 6, SO
Tyler Ennis scored the decisive shootout goal, and Drew Stafford registered his second hat trick in two weeks as the Buffalo Sabres defeated the Boston Bruins 7-6. Jason Pominville had two goals and two assists, and Thomas Vanek registered a goal and an assist for Buffalo. Boston goalie Tuuka Rask was pulled after allowing 3 goals on 16 shots. He was relieved by Tim Thomas who also allowed 3 goals. Zdeno Chara and Tyer Seguin each had a goal and an assist, while Steven Kamfer, Dennis Seidenberg, Brad Marchand and Andrew Ferrence each netted goals for the Bruins. Ryan Miller was far from his best. He kicked out only 34 of 40 shots but was able to get the win for Buffalo.

Lightning 2, Rangers, OT

Nate Thompson scored on a pass from Dana Tyrell in overtime as the Tampa Bay Lightning out-dueled the New York Rangers 2-1. In the first period, Tyrell scored on an assist from Thompson. Marion Gaborik forced the overtime for the Rangers when he slipped the puck by Tampa Bay goalie Cedrick Desjardins with 45.6 seconds left in overtime. Desjardins won his second consecutive start after being recalled from Norfolk in the AHL on December 20th. Henrik Lundqvist played well, stopping 31 of 32 shots in the Ranger loss.

Capitals 3, Penguins 1, The Winter Classic
Eric Fehr
netted a pair of goals for Washington and Mike Knuble scored once as the Capitals beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Winter Classic played outdoors in a makeshift arena in Pittsburgh. Superstars Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin went scoreless. Evgeni Malkin scored the only goal for the Pens. Semyon Varlamov, who earned the first star honors, stopped 32 shots for the victory. Marc-Andre Fleury was the hard luck loser for Pittsburgh, stopping 29 of 32 Capital shots.

Flames 2, Oilers 1
Mark Giordano
tipped in an Alex Tanguay wrist shot for the winning goal as Calgary beat Edmonton 2-1. Tim Jackman also scored for the Flames. Mikka Kiprusoff was brilliant again kicking out 16 of 17 shots. Oiler goalie Nikolai Khabibulin was also outstanding stopping 28 shots. Edmonton rookie Jordan Eberle was forced to leave the game in the second period when he injured his ankle slamming into the boards. His status is unknown at this time.

Sharks 1, Kings 0
Devin Setoguchi
scored the only goal of the game on his 24th birthday as the San Jose Sharks nipped the Los Angeles Kings 1-0. Kent Huskins and Marc-Edouard Vlasic each registered assists on the play. Antti Niemi earned his ninth NHL shutout stopping all 29 shots. Jonathan Quick stopped 18 of 19 San Jose shots but took the loss.

Injuries
Marek Zidlicky
will be out "long term" according to Minnesota coach Todd Richards. Zidlicky's timetable to return is likely to measured in months, not weeks.
Boston center Gregory Campbell missed tonight's game because of the flu.
Atlanta defenseman Zach Bogosian missed yesterday's game due to a knee injury. He is considered day-to-day.
The Hurricanes called up defenseman Brett Carson from Charlotte to take the place of injured Joni Pitkanen. Zac Dalpe was also called up to fill in for Jussi Jokinen.

Puck Pugilists
Colton Orr
of Toronto 24 PIM
Chris Neil of Ottowa 17 PIM









Chi-Sox Conundrum


ESPN's Buster Olney and MLB.com's Scott Merkin both believe that Chris Sale is the likely favorite to become the Chicago White Sox closer in 2011. Bobby Jenks, the team's primary closer since 2006, recently signed a two-year contract with the Boston Red Sox. J.J.Putz, who may have been considered for the job, signed a free agent deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

When Jenks was benched at the end of last year's season because of injury, and which some claim ineffectiveness, the closing chores were shared between Sales and Matt Thornton. Both southpaws were effective, with Thornton picking up eight saves and Sale four. So who deserves to be the closer heading into the 2011 season?

The 22 year old Sale made his major league debut last season in the same year he was drafted. He was immediately regarded as Chicago's number one prospect. A starter in college, he pitched only 10.1 innings in the minors, all in relief, before being called up to the majors. With the White Sox he was dominant (12.34 K/9) while showing decent control (3.86 BB/9) in 23.1 innings, also in relief. He posted a 51GB/12LD/37FB line and ended with a stellar 1.93 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and 2.74 FIP. These numbers all indicate an excellent skill set. There are, however, some questions. Will he be able to maintain his unusually high 87% strand rate, or .278 BABIP? And most of all, will he be able to maintain his 51% ground ball rate. If not, this can be a cause of concern, especially in the cozy confines of U.S. Cellular Field. He doesn't pitch low in the zone and his arsenal is one that is not conducive to producing many ground balls. He possesses a good fast ball that reaches 96MPH, a good slider, and a decent changeup. Sale does not have a smooth delivery, and some scouts believe his motion will cause undue stress on his elbow.

Matt Thornton turned 34 years of age in September. He is known for having only one pitch, an unbelievable fastball with great lateral movement that he throws 90% of the time. Thornton pounds the upper half of the zone with it, which jams right-hand batters up and in, and moves away from lefties. He throws it with such velocity (96.2 MPH) that it is almost impossible to hit, let alone get a good swing on. From 2008-10 he averaged 10.78 K/9, 3.23 BB/9, 4.15 K/BB all indicating superb dominance, control, and command. He also averaged a 2.69 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 2.45 FIP. However, his GB% has decreased from 53% in 2008 to 40% in 2010, although he was able to reduce his hr/f from 11% to 6%. He also had five blown saves in each of the past two years.

The question that Ozzie Guillen faces is whether he will trust the young Sale's lack of experience, or the elder Thornton's ability to maintain his heater's effectiveness. Who do you think will be the Chi-Sox closer in 2011?