Day-31 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs:
INKTIME on RINKTIME Observations and Random thoughts by Chris Madsen:
I HATE TO SAY “I TOLD YOU SO”…BUT, I TOLD YOU SO: Every Wednesday night in South Orange County, California, I lace ’em up with several of my long-standing friends for what has become a pretty competitive game of pick-up hockey. But many times the banter inside the locker room gets even more competitive as we have guys that grew up in Original-6 hockey towns like Detroit, New York, Boston, Toronto, Montreal and Chicago. You know, deep-rooted affinity for their respective clubs. And considering that all six teams qualified for the Post-Season this year…well…you can imagine how “spirited” the conversations have been over the last 4-1/2 weeks!
Anyway, a week ago Wednesday, one Red Wing enthusiast peered over his shoulder at me while he was exiting the locker room and said, “A little nervous, are we?”…knowing full well that my fanaticism for the Blackhawks dates back to a time when I was just starting to walk–and his Wings were on the verge of taking what many would consider an insurmountable 3-games-to-1 series lead.
“Nervous? Why should I be nervous?” I replied. “Besides, last I heard, it takes 4-games to win a series.”
Now you are probably wondering, “Would he be writing about this exchange if the Blachakws had lost in Overtime?”
Yes…but from a completely different angle.
But considering Detroit didn’t win, the moral of this long-winded story is that Playoff hockey is unpredictable…take nothing for granted, because nothing is over–till it’s over…and man, did my post-game plate of fried calamari taste extra sweet last night!
Oh, and pass the cocktail sauce, please!
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IT’S UP TO YOU…NEW YORK…NEEEEW YOOOORK!
A topic we brought-up for conversation earlier this week has played out in New York. With a year remaining on his contract, John Tortorella was relieved of his duties by the Rangers.
Tortorella’s fate may have been sealed when star Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist (who BTW is entering the final year of his contract and the Rangers wish to sign him long term) publicly said this about his club’s season: “It is a step back. We were in the conference finals last year, we had high expectations on ourselves this year. It didn’t go our way, so yeah it is a step back. It’s tough to make it there, though. You can’t just expect it to happen.”
Tortorella saw things differently: “I know the surrounding feeling here is that it was a negative season, a disappointing season. I don’t buy it and I won’t. There are some good things that happened. I don’t think we took a step backward. I think
this is a sideways step in our lineup and how things worked out.”
So who’s available out there to coach one of the most beloved teams in professional sports, while under the bright lights and scrutiny of the top media market in the land? Two names immediately come to mind…Lindy Ruff–who I believe has the resume’ and approach to get stars Rick Nash and Brad Richards (if, they are going to keep him around) back on the same page…or…Ron Wilson–who could certainly handled the media in NY, while connecting with players young and old.
But tell me–WHO DO YOU THINK SHOULD BE THE NEXT HEAD COACH OF THE RANGERS? Share your thoughts in the COMMENTS box below.
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OH HONEY, PLEASE TELL ME WE DON’T HAVE ANYTHING PLANNED FOR SATURDAY NIGHT???!!!: Here are your Conference Finals days, times and outlets…ENJOY! UNTIL THE NEXT TIME WE LACE ‘EM UP AND HIT THE ICE!
–Chris Madsen
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| 2013 EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS | |||
| SERIES M | TIME (ET) | #1  vs.  #4 |
Networks/Results |
| SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 2013 | 8 p.m. | BOSTON AT PITTSBURGH | NBC, CBC, RDS |
| MONDAY, JUNE 3, 2013 | 8 p.m. | BOSTON AT PITTSBURGH | NBCSN, CBC, RDS |
| WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2013 | 8 p.m. | PITTSBURGH at BOSTON | NBCSN, CBC, RDS |
| FRIDAY, JUNE 7, 2013 | 8 p.m. | PITTSBURGH at BOSTON | NBCSN, CBC, RDS |
| *SUNDAY, JUNE 9, 2013 | 8 p.m. | BOSTON AT PITTSBURGH | NBCSN, CBC, RDS |
| *TUESDAY, JUNE 11, 2013 | TBD | PITTSBURGH at BOSTON | NBCSN, CBC, RDS |
| *WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2013 | TBD | BOSTON AT PITTSBURGH | NBCSN, CBC, RDS |
| 2013 WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS | |||
| SERIES N | TIME (ET) | #1  vs.  #5 |
Networks/Results |
| SATURDAY, June 1, 2013 | 5 p.m. | LOS ANGELES at Chicago | NBCSN, TSN, RDS |
| SUNDAY, JUne 2, 2013 | 8 p.m. | LOS ANGELES at Chicago | NBCSN, TSN, RDS |
| TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2013 | 9 p.m. | Chicago at LOS ANGELES | NBCSN, TSN, RDS |
| THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2013 | 9 p.m. | Chicago at LOS ANGELES | NBCSN, CBC, RDS |
| *SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2013 | 8 p.m. | LOS ANGELES at Chicago | NBC, CBC, RDS |
| *MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013 | 9 p.m. | Chicago at LOS ANGELES | NBCSN, CBC, RDS |
| *WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2013 | TBD | LOS ANGELES at Chicago | NBCSN, CBC, RDS |
Not that he’s presently available, but if the San Jose Sharks were to let go of Todd McLellan (who I personally consider to be one of the best coaches in the game) as a sacrificial lamb for falling short this year, I think he’d be a great fit anywhere, albeit Vancouver comes to mind first for me.