Will The Mike Babcock Era End In Tampa? (kronwall)

kronwall

Will The Mike Babcock Era End In Tampa?

By GARTH'S CORNER

Apr 29, 2015 • 10:14 pm

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Buffalo Sabres fans have gotten over the initial sting of losing the NHL Draft Lottery. Connor McDavid will go to the Edmonton Oilers with the first overall pick in the NHL Draft. Jack Eichel will be Buffalo's choice with the second overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft.

Sabres fans continue to drive down I-9- top watch the Erie Otters/ play in the 2015 OHL Playoffs. On Tuesday night, a Buffalo Sabres top prospect stole the show from McDreamy and there were thousands of Sabres fans inside the arena to cheer him on.

Nick Baptiste is an x-factor that gets often over looked in Erie, PA. Connor McDavid and Dylan Strome get all the pub, and rightly so. McDavid will be selected first overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the NHL Draft in Sunrise, Florida in June. Strome will likely be selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs with the fourth overall pick in the draft. While his younger teammates are preparing to be drafted, Baptiste can just put his head down, listen to his beats on his headphones and visualize what he is going to do on the ice. On Tuesday night in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals against the Soo Greyhounds, Baptiste upstaged McDavid and Strome when he scored four of Erie's seven goals en route to a 7-5 win. The Otters now lead the OHL WCH three games to one and can close the show in the Soo on Thursday night. The Greyhounds hadn't lost three games in a row this season until Tuesday night in Erie. The Otters and Greyhounds entered the WCF as the top two scoring teams in the OHL and they have not disappointed in this series.

With his four goals on Tuesday night, Baptiste, the third round selection of the Buffalo Sabres in 2013, Baptiste now have 9 goals and 8 assists in 13 playoff games. He scored one goal in Game 3 vs. The Soo and potted four markers in Game 4. Talk about an unsung hero.

At this pace, Sabres GM might just jumped Baptiste directly from Erie to the Buffalo roster come September. Baptiste has the full suite of tools that he will need to be successful in the NHL. He's big, tough,fast, skilled, blocks shots and plays with an immense amount of swagger and self confidence.

Imagine a day in the near future that Baptiste lines up next to Same Reinhart and Evander Kane in the Buffalo lineup.

It can happen if Bapper can advance his team to a Memorial Cup win next month. First, the Otters have to dispatch the pesky Soo Greyhounds.

Game 4 was tied 3-3 after 40 minutes, then Erie exploded for four goals in the third period.

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Connor McDavid chipped in four assists on Tuesday night. McDavid currently leads all players in playoff scoring with 18 goals and 36 points in 13 games. Baptiste’s four-goal outing gives him nine goals and 17 points in 13 outings, which has him tied with Strome four fourth in OHL post-season production.

Thanks, Sportsnet

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Nik Kronwall has been toeing the line for years. He has a nasty reputation as a cruel dude due to the bone crushing body checks he dishes out on his opponents. Over the years, Kronwall has crossed the line by dummying guys with late and blindside hits. His biggest critics have been waiting patiently for a day like today. Kronwall will be brought to justice at the most inopportune time for his Detroit Red Wings team. He has been suspended for Game 7 for his crunching hit on Tampa forward Nikita Kucherov in Game 6 on Monday night.

The Department of Player Safety took exception to Kronwall’s hit on Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov, which the league felt was suspension worthy based on the level of forced used and “the significant head contact that resulted from Kronwall launching into it.…

The Department believes strongly that a legal hit can include some “unavoidable head contact,… however, Kronwall elevated “unacceptably.… Kronwall was airborne at the time of contact.

Red Wings GM Ken Holland told ESPN's Katie Starng that he is not in favor of the ruling against Kronwall. “My only comment is I disagree with the decision…

NHL Player Safety

Kronwall's loss will be sorely felt by his Red Wings teammates in the do or die game of Detroit's first round series with Tampa. Mike Babcock relies heavily on Kronwall to set the tone physically in games. He also relies on the veteran D to kill penalties and create chances on the power play. Babcock will have to turn to either Jakub Kindl or Alex Marchenko to fill the huge voided created by the loss of Kronwall.

Kronwall is Mike Babcock's number one defenseman. He has been averaging 23:35 TOI per game. He is on the ice at all key moments against Tampa's top lines. Kronwall has 10 hits and 7 blocked shots against Steven Stamkos and the Lightning. You have to think that Krownwall's absence from Game 7 will open up huge swaths of ice for the struggling Stamkos and the Lightning to set up shop and create in while occupying the Detroit zone.

With this ruling the NHL once again opens itself up to strong criticism regarding its inconsistent officiating on the 2015 NHL playoffs. For example, Montreal's P.K. Subban earned a five and a game for busting the wrist of Ottawa forward Mark Stone. The Sens management team and their fans wanted Subban suspended for his two handed stick swing foul on Stone. The please fell on deaf ears. Alex Ovechkin smoked Islanders D Thomas Hickey from behind in their Game 7 on Monday night. No penalty for Ovechkin.

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Detroit's Mike Babcock era will likely end in Tampa on Wednesday night with a Red Wings loss. Babcock is set to become an unrestricted free agent head coach at the end of his team's season. Babcock will be approached by the Buffalo Sabres, Toronto Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks, Philadelphia Flyers and Edmonton Oilers. The Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins and St. Louis Blues may also enter the Babcock courtship process in the days and weeks to come.

Babcock will get paid handsomely. Tim Murray and the Buffalo Sabres can and will prepare a multi-year contract offer to the tune of $5.5 million to $6 million per year. Money is no object to Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula. Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment can also get into a bidding war for Babcock's services.

In his ten seasons in Detroit, Babcock has won a Stanley Cup championship and has qualified for the playoffs ten straight times.

In 786 regular season games, Babcock has won 458 games and has lost 223. That's a .649 win percentage. 122 playoff games, Babcock has won 67 and lost 55. That's .549 win percentage.

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Four different U.S. players scored, while goaltenders Connor Hellebuyck and Alex Lyon (Yale University) combined to make 28 saves as the U.S. Men's National Team skated past Austria, 4-1, in a friendly.

The contest served as Team USA's only pre-tournament outing ahead of the 2015 International Ice Hockey Federation Men's World Championship, which starts Friday (May 1) and runs through May 17 in Ostrava, Czech Republic.

"It was our first game together and I liked a lot of the things I saw out there tonight," said Todd Richards, head coach of the 2015 U.S. Men's National Team and also the head coach of the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets. "We certainly have some things to work on, but it was a really good test for us and gives us an idea of where we're at as a group."

The U.S. opened the scoring just 2:08 into the game when Mike Reilly (/University of Minnesota) found the back of the net with a one-timer from the point. The play started when Dylan Larkin (University of Michigan) dropped the puck for Dan Sexton in the left corner. Sexton grabbed the pass, moved up the wall and fed Reilly at the blue line, who muscled a shot past the blocker of Austrian goaltender Rene Swette. Team Austria answered with a goal four minutes later to even the score at 1-1 after one period.

Neither team cracked the scoreboard in the middle period, but the U.S. scored three times in the third frame to secure a 4-1 victory. Steve Moses converted on a power play 18 seconds into the third stanza to give the U.S. a 2-1 lead. After Team USA gained possession, Tory Krug (Boston Bruins) skated through the left circle in the offensive zone and threaded a cross-ice pass to Moses, who redirected the puck into the top corner from the edge of the crease. Auston Matthews (U.S. National Under-18 Team) doubled the U.S. advantage when he collected a rebound at the side of the net and calmly put it home at 11:30. Trevor Lewis (Los Angeles Kings) wheeled into the zone around an Austrian defender and hit Matthews just inside the blue line. Matthews deked and lost the puck, but Lewis quickly passed it back to Matthews. Then, with Team USA skating on a late man-advantage, Jeremy Morin (Columbus Blue Jackets) closed the scoring with a quick shot from the left circle. Zach Redmond (Colorado Avalanche) fed the puck through traffic to Morin, who sent a one-timer into the top corner.

Team USA will travel to Ostrava, Czech Republic, and play Finland on Friday (May 1) in its first preliminary-round game of the 2015 IIHF Men's World Championship. The contest, which is slated to begin at 10:15 a.m. ET, can be seen live on NBCSN or via NBC Sports Live Extra.

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Auston Matthews is heading back to the U.S. in the morning after playing in tonight's contest. Matthews came from Switzerland where led the U.S. National Under-18 Team to gold and was named the MVP of the 2015 IIHF U18 Men's World Championship ... Nick Bonino arrived here in Vienna today, but did not play. Seth Jones is expected to join Team USA tomorrow.

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FYI, Jack Eichel wore his trademark jersey #9.

Thanks USA Hockey

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