We will be hosting a chat for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Bruins and Blackhawks.
The game and the chat are scheduled to start at approximately 8 p.m. Click here to join the fun or use the chat box down below:
(Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Penguins-Former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins goaltender Scott Munroe has joined the Växjö Lakers of Sweden's Elitserien.
-"That’s why I’m skating extra at night: There’s no goalie, so I know I can put some pucks in the net. That’s all the reason; I know what I’m doing.” - Bruins forward and former Penguins captain Jaromir Jagr (right) on being held without a goal thus far this postseason.
-The Blackhawks are 0-3 in Game 3s this postseason.
-Maybe it wasn't just the Penguins. The Blackhawks are 0 for 6 on the power play this series.
-The Bruins and Blackhawks have done their "hockey cards" segment for Hockey Night in Canada. The Bruins (wait for Jaromir Jagr at the 2:43 mark):
-The Blackhawks:
(Photo: Post-Gazette archives)
Some items that fell off my laptop
Pitt plays Florida State in the football season opener Labor Day. It looks like Pitt also might have to battle Florida State to land a top recruit from Western Pennsylvania.
Washington running back Shai McKenzie (pictured) had scholarship offers from colleges across the country. He has narrowed his list of favorites to five and they are - Pitt, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and Arkansas. However, McKenzie and both Washington coach Mike Bosnic said Florida State is the top choice - right now. Pitt is next in line.
McKenzie has visted Florida State. It's not often that Florida State is heavily involved with WPIAL players. In fact, I'm having trouble thinking of the last WPIAL player to sign with Florida State. But the Seminoles already have one recruit from the WPIAL class of 2014 - quarterback J.J. Cosentino of Central Catholic.
Kincade to Akron
Blackhawk quarterback Chandler Kincade has decided to attend Akron.
"I'll be playing for a great staff who is putting the program in the right drection," Kincade said in a text message.
Kincade (pictured) originally made a verbal commitment to Pitt during his sophomore year when Todd Graham was coach. After Graham left and Paul Chryst became coach, Kincade stayed committed to Pitt until the two parties mutually parted ways this spring.
Kincade had scholarship offers from Rutgers, Temple and a few Mid-American Conference schools. Other Division I colleges were showing interest. I think the MAC is a good fit for him. Remember, the MAC has produced some NFL quarterbacks (Big Ben).
Where does Pitt's recruiting stand now with quarterbacks? Well, the No. 1 target is undoubtedly Keller Chryst of Palo Alto, Calif. Chryst, a highly-touted pro-style quarterback, is ranked the No. 31 player in the country by Rivals.com. He also is the nephew of Paul Chryst.
Keller Chryst has said his top four choices are Pitt, Alabama, Stanford and USC. It would be gigantic if Pitt were able to land Keller Chryst, but beating out the like of Alabama and West Coast schools for Chryst will be tough.
Cedar Cliff (Pa.) QB Andrew Ford also was considering Pitt but he recently committed to Virginia Tech.
Other notes and thoughts
***** The Post-Gazette will publish its male and female high school athletes of the year in a few weeks. I won't reveal them, but it seems like easy choices this year. Care to take any guesses?
***** After seeing New Castle's Malik Hooker play basketball again yesterday, seeing his body and athletic ability, I say he could be one terrific college player. With those wide shoulders and skinny legs below the knees, and with excellent football-basketball ability, he reminds me so much of Darrelle Revis in high school. Don't get me wrong. I'm not predicting NFL stardom for Hooker. I'm just saying he looks like Revis in high school. And honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if Hooker goes awfully far in football. His athletic ability is that good. I think he might make for an excellent defensive back, although he also plays receiver.
Hooker just doesn't have a lot of experience in football. He didn't play high school football until last year, his junior year. But with his athletic ability, that doesn't matter.
You want to see what I mean of Hooker's athletic ability? Check out this dunk he had this season. It made ESPN's top plays that day.
***** North Allegheny standout receiver-defensive back Elijah Zeise might be ready to make his college decision next month. He is at Duke's camp this weekend. Pitt, West Virginia and Arizona have offered. No word yet if Duke offered. Zeise might also look at a few Ivy League schools that are recruiting him.
***** This was no surprise but not one player at a WPIAL school was taken in this year's Major League Baseball draft.
-"I think I had the best year I possibly could. Alex had a great second half. I got hurt and was missing some time." - Sidney Crosby (above) on losing the Hart Trophy to Washington captain/forward Alex Ovehckin.
-The voting totals for the awards given out yesterday.
-Happy 67th birthday to former Penguins forward Derek Sanderson. A star with the Bruins during their Stanley Cup days in the early 1970s, Sanderson capped off his 13-year NHL career by signing with the Penguins late in the the 1977-78 season and and appearing in 13 games while scoring four points. "Turk" retired in the 1978 offseason.
-An overtime goal and an assist by Daniel Paille gave the Bruins a 2-1 win against the Blackhawks in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. Tuukka Rask made 33 saves in the victory which tied the series, 1-1.
-A key point in the game came in the first period when the Blackhawks had a possible goal waved off which could have given them a 2-0 lead:
-Paille's goal was a real laser:
-A few good looks at the goal:
-Happy times for the Bruins:
-Rask gloved this puck:
-Happy times for the Bruins. Not so much for the Blackhawks:
-Chicago's Patrick Sharp being popular:
-The Blackhawks' being popular:
-A good look at Rask's lid:
-And his counterpart with the Blackhawks, Corey Crawford:
-Bright times in Chicago:
-The Michael Jordan statue oustide the United Center is dressed for the Stanley Cup Final:
-"No one said it was going to be easy. No one said everything was going to go our way. Some moments, you feel pretty darn good, like when we won Game 1 in triple overtime, and tonight it doesn’t feel good. You’ve got to find a way to get over it.” - Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews.
-The Bruins' new third line of Paille, Tyler Seguin and Chris Kelly generated all of Boston's offense.
-Bruins forward Nathan Horton returned to the lineup after leaving Game 1 due to a suspected left shoulder injury.
-Hockey Night in Canada's pregame montage was sharp:
-The pregame festivities in Chicago:
The Rangers are expected to hire former Canucks/Canadiens head coach Alain Vigneault as their next head coach. In parts of 11 seasons with Montreal and Vancouver, Vigneault has coached 806 regular season games and has a record of 422-288-96.
-“These types of awards you have to give a lot of credit to your teammates because at the end of the day those are the guys that are helping you and playing with you on the ice. And I owe them a lot, especially coming into the season late. My teammates were amazing for me and we’ve been great all year.” - Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban on winning the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the league's top defenseman.
-Subban with the trophy:
-“This one certainly means more to him than the first two. The first two he was expecting it. This one may have caught him off guard, but it means a lot to him because of what he’s been through. He’s been criticized a lot the last year and a half and unnecessarily. To accept switching positions and having been a two-time MVP to switch positions and win a third at the new position is pretty remarkable.” - Capitals general manager George McPhee on Ovechkin winning the Hart Trophy for the third tme.
-“I think he’s a great player. He’s a great young player with a lot of skill. He seemed to adjust pretty quickly.’’ - Crosby on Panthers forward Jonathan Huberdeau who won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league's top rookie. Huberdeau was the first player in franchise history to claim the honor.
-Huberdeau with the trophy:
-It didn't take long for Huberdeau to get comfortable with his replica of the Calder Trophy quickly:
Getting ready for bed with my Calder trophy pic.twitter.com/Sw2fo9AtCd
— Jonathan Huberdeau (@JonnyHuby11) June 16, 2013
-“This is a tremendous moment for Sergei Bobrovsky, and similarly a big moment for our franchise. He was outstanding for us this season. Just outstanding." - Blue Jackets president John Davidson on Bobrovsky winning the Vezina Trophy. It is the first time a Columbus player has won the award.
-Bobrovsky (in an adorable tuxedo) holding the trophy:
-Oilers forward prospect Kristians Pelss, 20, drowned after jumping into the Daugava River in Riga, Latvia Tuesday. Pelss was a seventh round pick in 2010 and split last season with Oklahoma City of the AHL and Stockton of the ECHL.
(Photos: Crosby-Justin K. Aller/Getty Images; Bruins/Blackhawks-Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press, Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images, Harry How/Getty Images, Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images, Gregory Shamus/Getty Images and Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press; Subban and Huberdeau-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Bobrovsky-Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby (above) won the Ted Linsday Award tonight. The honor goes to be the most oustanding player as voted on by members of the National Hockey League Players Association. It is the second time Crosby has won the award. He previously won it in 2007 when it was known as the Lester B. Pearson Award. Is it the ninth time a member of the Penguins has won the award. In addition to Crosby in 2007, Mario Lemieux (1986, 1988, 1993 and 1996), Jaromir Jagr (1999 and 2000) and Evgeni Malkin (2012) have also won it.
Crosby did not sweep the awards however. Captain/forward Alex Ovechkin of the rival Capitals claimed the Hart Memorial Trophy which goes"to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team" as selected by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. The voting breakdown:
Pts (1st-2nd-3rd-4th-5th)
1. Alex Ovechkin, Capitals 1,090 (50-43-40-27-8)
2. Sidney Crosby, Penguins 1,058 (46-42-41-29-12)
3. John Tavares, Islanders 919 (38-38-33-29-21)
4. Jonathan Toews, Blackhawks 886 (39-35-29-29-19)
5. Sergei Bobrovsky, Blue Jackets 311 (4-12-13-25-47)
6. Patrick Kane, Blackhawks 157 (2-6-9-14-8)
7. Ryan Getzlaf, Ducks 96 (0-0-8-11-23)
8. Steven Stamkos, Lightning 28 (0-1-2-2-5)
9. Martin St. Louis, Lightning 20 (0-1-0-2-7)
10. Pavel Datsyuk, Red Wings 18 (0-0-1-2-7)
11. Antti Niemi, Sharks 11 (0-0-0-1-8)
12. Craig Anderson, Senators 10 (0-1-0-1-0)
13. P.K. Subban, Canadiens 10 (0-0-1-1-2)
14. Evgeni Nabokov, Islanders 5 (0-0-1-0-0)
Henrik Sedin, Canucks 5 (0-0-1-0-0)
16. Chris Kunitz, Penguins 5 (0-0-0-1-2)
17. Niklas Backstrom, Wild 3 (0-0-0-1-0)
Patrice Bergeron, Bruins 3 (0-0-0-1-0)
Ilya Kovalchuk, Devils 3 (0-0-0-1-0)
Carey Price, Canadiens 3 (0-0-0-1-0)
Ryan Suter, Wild 3 (0-0-0-1-0)
22. Henrik Zetterberg, Red Wings 3 (0-0-0-0-3)
23. Francois Beauchemin, Ducks 1 (0-0-0-0-1)
Jeff Carter, Kings 1 (0-0-0-0-1)
Pascal Dupuis, Penguins 1 (0-0-0-0-1)
Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers 1 (0-0-0-0-1)
Zach Parise, Wild 1 (0-0-0-0-1)
James Reimer, Maple Leafs 1 (0-0-0-0-1)
Eric Staal, Hurricanes 1 (0-0-0-0-1)
The Canadiens' P.K. Subban (above) won the James Norris Memorial Trophy awarded to the defenseman demonstrating "the greatest all-around ability in the position," as selected by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. The Penguins' Kris Letang finished third in the voting. The voting breakdown:
Pts. (1st-2nd-3rd-4th-5th)
1. P.K. Subban, Canadiens 1,266 (66-56-35-12-3)
2. Ryan Suter, Wild 1,230 (65-54-34-8-8)
3. Kris Letang, Penguins 914 (31-37-42-39-18)
4. Francois Beauchemin, Ducks 290 (1-6-20-33-39)
5. Zdeno Chara, Bruins 289 (10-9-16-8-22)
6. Duncan Keith, Blackhawks 281 (1-8-16-36-27)
7. Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Coyotes 79 (3-1-2-8-8)
8. Shea Weber, Predators 49 (0-1-4-5-7)
9. Drew Doughty, Kings 43 (0-1-2-7-5)
10. Niklas Kronwall, Red Wings 33 (0-2-1-3-5)
11. Dion Phaneuf, Maple Leafs 28 (0-1-1-4-4)
12. Keith Yandle, Coyotes 27 (0-0-0-6-9)
13. Andrei Markov, Canadiens 23 (1-0-1-1-5)
14. Alex Pietrangelo, Blues 23 (0-2-0-2-3)
15. Dustin Byfuglien, Jets 13 (0-0-1-2-2)
16. Dan Hamhuis, Canucks 9 (0-0-1-1-1)
17. Mike Green, Capitals 6 (0-0-0-1-3)
18. Erik Karlsson, Senators 5 (0-0-1-0-0)
Brooks Orpik, Penguins 5 (0-0-1-0-0)
20. Kimmo Timonen, Flyers 5 (0-0-0-1-2)
21. Dennis Seidenberg, Bruins 4 (0-0-0-1-1)
22. Dan Girardi, Rangers 2 (0-0-0-0-2)
23. Paul Martin, Penguins 1 (0-0-0-0-1)
Sheldon Souray, Ducks 1 (0-0-0-0-1)
Lubomir Visnovsky, Islanders 1 (0-0-0-0-1)
The Blue Jackets' Segei Bobrovsky (above) won the Vezina Trophy which is awarded to the "goalkeeper adjudged to be the best at his position," as selected by NHL general managers. The voting breakdown:
Pts. (1st-2nd-3rd)
1. Sergei Bobrovsky, Blue Jackets 110 (17-8-1)
2. Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers 55 (3-12-4)
3. Antti Niemi, Sharks 46 (6-4-4)
4. Craig Anderson, Senators 22 (3-1-4)
5. Tuukka Rask, Bruins 12 (0-3-3)
6. Jimmy Howard, Red Wings 9 (0-0-9)
7. Ray Emery, Blackhawks 6 (1-0-1)
8. Corey Crawford, Blackhawks 5 (0-1-2)
9. Jonas Hiller, Ducks 3 (0-1-0)
10. Niklas Backstrom, Wild 1 (0-0-1)
Carey Price, Canadiens 1 (0-0-1)
Panthers forward Jonathan Huberdeau won the Calder Memorial Trophy whcih goes to the league's top rookie as voted by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. Blackhawks forward Brandon Saad, a native of Gibsonia, finished third in voting. The voting breakdown:
Pts. (1st-2nd-3rd-4th-5th)
1. Jonathan Huberdeau Panthers 1,141 (54-55-26-26-8)
2. Brendan Gallagher, Canadiens 1,048 (54-44-23-24-13)
3. Brandon Saad, Blackhawks 730 (30-24-26-34-30)
4. Jonas Brodin, Wild 621 (24-21-32-20-14)
5. Nail Yakupov, Oilers 521 (11-19-29-35-28)
6. Cory Conacher, Senators 232 (4-6-16-15-25)
7. Justin Schultz, Oilers 115 (2-2-7-9-19)
8. Jake Muzzin, Kings 88 (0-2-8-6-16)
9. Alex Galchenyuk, Canadiens 69 (0-4-4-5-6)
10. Brenden Dillon, Stars 22 (0-1-1-2-4)
11. Dougie Hamilton, Bruins 20 (0-1-2-0-3)
12. Vladimir Tarasenko, Blues 12 (0-0-1-2-1)
13. Robin Lehner, Senators 8 (0-0-1-1-0)
14. Jacob Markstrom Panthers 7 (0-0-1-0-2)
15. Jakob Silfverberg, Senators 6 (0-0-1-0-1)
Patrick Wiercioch, Senators 6 (0-0-1-0-1)
17. Jake Allen, Blues 2 (0-0-0-0-2)
Charlie Coyle, Wild 2 (0-0-0-0-2)
19. Matt Irwin, Sharks 1 (0-0-0-0-1)
Alex Killorn, Lightning 1 (0-0-0-0-1)
Drew Shore Panthers 1 (0-0-0-0-1)
(Photos: Crosby and Subban-Claus Andersen/Getty Images; Bobrovsky-Kirk Irwin/Getty Images; Huberdeau-Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)