FTS - 2/16/09

TOP STORY

THERRIEN GETS THE COLD SHOULDER

Michel Therrien, not even one year after leading the Penguins to the Stanely Cup Finals, is out in Steeltown

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=3909857.

This is a typical "You can't fire the team, so we have to fire the coach to shake the team up" firing. Pittsburgh () has grossly underachieved this year, but I'm not sure if it's Therrien's fault. I've said it a couple of times over the course of FTS, but the Penguins lost their toughness up front when they lost Ryan Malone and George Laraques. They replaced those guys with Ruslan Fedotenko (hasn't been able to stay healthy) and Miroslav Satan (underachieving this season). Erik Goddard is a good fighter and D Brooks Orpik is a scary person to go in to a corner with, but the Pens just aren't tough enough, and that is where their problems lie. Dan Bylsma was a good coach at the AHL level and we have yet to see what he can do as an NHL coach, but is he really going to a be a difference maker in Pittsburgh? With the amount of talent on the Penguins roster, you can't count them out of the playoffs this early, but the clock starts ticking in March, and we're only two weeks away from 3/1.
Also, the past four Eastern Conference Champion coaches have now been fired (Therrien - Pittsburgh, Bryan Murray-Ottawa, Peter Laviolette-Carolina, John Tortorella-Tampa Bay)

ACTION FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE...

-The Philadelphia Flyers (30-16-9) put the clamps on the Rangers (30-21-6) midway through the 2nd period with a five goal lead and never looked back for a 5-2 win. Winger Claude Giroux had a goal and two assists and Mike Richards added a shorthanded goal. Flyers G Martin Biron made 35 saves in the win. The Rangers have been held to two or less goals in seven of their last eight games while the Flyers earned their first regulation win over the Rangers in their last seven meetings.

-In a seesaw battle of high scoring vs. low scoring, the low scoring Devils (37-17-3) beat the high scoring Sharks (37-8-9) at their own game 6-5. Devils RW David Clarkson had two goals (1 on the PP) and Patrik Elias and Jaime Langenbrunner each had a goal and an assist (each had their goals on the PP) to lead the Devils to their 13th win in their last 15 games. The Sharks ended their five game road trip 1-1-3.

-The Colorado Avalanche (26-30-1) won their third straight game over the Detroit Red Wings (37-12-8) with a 6-5 shootout win in Detroit. The Avs got goals from five different players and D Jordan Leopold scored the shootout winner. Dan Cleary and Marian Hossa each had two goals in the loss while Colorado G Andrew Raycroft turned away 40 shots in the win.

-Alexander Oveckin's hat trick (goals 39, 40, 41 on the season) proved to be the difference in a Capitals (36-16-5) 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers (28-20-8). RW Eric Fehr had the other Capitals goal while Jose Theodore made 29 saves to lead Washington to a 9-2-2 record in their last 13 games. Mike Green failed to score for the first time in nine games, capping his NHL record for consecutive games with a goal by a defenseman.

-Hurricanes (28-24-5) G Cam Ward made 36 saves to shutout the Buffalo Sabres (29-22-6) 3-0. Center and captain Eric Staal had a goal and two assists while Chad LaRose and Sergei Samsonov scored the other two goals for Carolina.

-Thrashers (20-32-5) RW Ilya Kovalchuk netted a hat trick in a 6:51 span of the 2nd period to lead Atlanta past the Anaheim Ducks (28-25-5) 8-4. Colin Stuart and Bryan Little each had a goal and an assist in the win while Teemu Selanne had two goals and an assist in the loss.

-The Vancouver Canucks (27-21-8) controlled the game from midway through the 1st period and never looked back in a 4-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens (30-21-6). The Sedin twins each had a goal and an assist while Alexander Edler and Ryan Kesler had the other goals for Vancouver. Roberto Luongo made 25 saves in the win.

OTHER HEADLINES

-Pittsburgh Penguins D Philippe Boucher is out indefinitely after undergoing left foot surgery on Saturday. The Penguins acquired Boucher from Dallas for defenceman Darryl Sydor on Nov. 16, but Boucher has been limited to two goals and two assists in 23 games with Pittsburgh. He has not played since Jan. 30. Boucher's operation came on the same day defenceman Sergei Gonchar returned to the Penguins' lineup after being out all season with a dislocated left shoulder.

-Four-time Vezina Trophy winner Martin Brodeur practiced with the New Jersey Devils for the first time since having elbow surgery in November, and hopes to play in a game within 10 days. The 36-year-old Brodeur even quipped that if fellow goaltenders Scott Clemmensen and Kevin Weekes either got lost or fell ill over the next 24 hours, he would tell coach Brent Sutter to put him in on Sunday against the San Jose Sharks. "I know I am not ready, shooting the puck and there are a couple of little things in my game," Brodeur said after the short practice. "But if everybody goes down, OK, I'll go." "Wishful thinking," Sutter said when told Brodeur's offer, adding he probably would not use him until after the team finishes an upcoming three-game road trip. Brodeur will make the trip with the team. The first game after that would be here against Colorado on Feb. 26.

-Rangers D Paul Mara injured his right shoulder Sunday during a third-period fight with Philadelphia's Arron Asham and stayed home from New York's trip to St. Louis after the game. Mara had a brief examination of his shoulder at Madison Square Garden, but swelling prevented a closer look. He was immediately ruled out of Monday's road game against the Blues and left the arena with his right arm in a sling. The fight was stopped when Mara was injured 6:14 into the third period of Philadelphia's 5-2 victory. "The first two punches I was swinging and I could feel something in there and I stopped," Mara said. "Give Arron a lot of credit. The respectful player that he is, he stopped. It was a very good character thing on his part." Mara, who conveyed that sentiment in a conversation with Asham, said he has never had a shoulder injury and held out hope he could return quickly from this one. The six-foot-four Mara has been one of the Rangers' most consistent defencemen this season and has played with an added measure of snarl throughout his 56 games. "We'll take it day by day and see how it feels in the next couple of days," the 29-year-old veteran of 10 NHL seasons said. "Right now it's pretty painful so they'll wait a couple of days, wait for the swelling to go down and assess it." Mara has five goals and 11 assists this season with a minus-2 rating. He had been a plus until Sunday, when he was on the ice for three Flyers goals.

RUMOR MILL

-With Michel Therrien out in Pittsburgh, even though Dan Bylsma has taken over, plenty of names will start swirling for a long term replacement. The first one out of the gate is Pat Quinn.

TONIGHTS ACTION:
Pittsburgh @ NY Islanders - 2PM
NY Rangers @ St. Louis - 7PM
%Dallas @ Columbus - 7PM
Ottawa @ Nashville - 8PM
Edmonton @ Phoenix - 9:30PM
Atlanta @ Los Angeles - 10:30PM

% = Game of the Night
^All Times are Eastern

*My weekly power rankings comes out tomorrow this week

~Dropping the Gloves with Andrew Bogusch comes out on Thursdays

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HAPPY PRESIDENTS DAY TO ALL WHO HAD OFF FROM WORK (MYSELF NOT INCLUDED)