SB Nation - Jakub Voracek

POLL: Which Peter Laviolette Fist Pump Wins?

Travis Hughes — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 22:50:46 -0000

Peter Laviolette is many things.

Professional hockey coach
Stanley Cup winner
Intimidating
Post-game fist pumper extraordinaire

The only remaining question: Which Peter Laviolette fist pump is superior?

Here's Laviolette on the bench in Pittsburgh after Jakub Voracek defeated the Penguins with an overtime goal in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals:

And here's Laviolette on Sunday, doing the same after Danny Briere's overtime win in Game 1 of the Eastern Semifinals:

Poll

VOTE! Which fist pump wins?

The one after Voracek's goal

552 votes

The one after Briere's goal

243 votes

795 votes | Poll has closed

VIDEO: Dmitry Orlov's Misconduct Penalty And Jeff Skinner's Slewfoot

Samuel Chamberlain — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 15:39:04 -0000

UPDATE: Well, that was quick. The NHL has determined that Skinner's action was a trip, not a slewfoot. We respectfully disagree.

In recent months, much of the NHL's law enforcement emphasis has been on getting headshots out of the game, with good reason. However, all hits to the head are not created equal. Some, like this hit by Detroit's Niklas Kronwall on Philadelphia's Jakub Voracek, are the unfortunate result of a collision with a player who puts himself in a dangerous position.(Seriously, son, keep your head up.)

Slewfoots, on the other hand, are unambiguous. They're just as likely to cause significant damage to a player's playing career as a hit to the head and are generally regarded as one of the most low-down dirty things a player can do.

That's why it's hard to blame Dmitry Orlov for going bananas during Tuesday night's Capitals-Hurricanes game after what Jeff Skinner did to him. The relevant piece of video is after the jump and starts at the :55 mark.

Let's see if George McPhee can convince Bredan Shanahan to take a look at this. Considering that Orlov is facing a three-game suspension for abuse of an official, it would be nice to see Skinner have to sit for that same amount of time.

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PHOTO: Flyers Coach Peter Laviolette Gives Referee Middle Finger?

Travis Hughes — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 01:59:28 -0000

It's safe to say that Philadelphia Flyers head coach wasn't happy during the second period of Tuesday night's game against the Detroit Red Wings.

An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was called after Flyers pest Zac Rinaldo gave a member of the Wings a bit of a love tap behind the play, and Laviolette voiced his displeasure in a way that doesn't require words.

Via @brianbrown25, the image picked up by Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia:

This all came following a huge hit from Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall on Flyers forward Jakub Voracek. The Flyers clearly thought the hit was high and to Voracek's head, while the officials contended that it was a clean check. That didn't make Philadelphia all that happy, and after Kronwall denied a challenge by Brayden Schenn, Rinaldo decided to take matters into his own hands by stirring the pot after a later whistle.

UPDATE: Kyle Scott of Philly sports blog Crossing Broad chimes in with some analysis of the video.Maybe it wasn't a middle finger after all.

@TravisSBN watching back the video, it was pretty clear he had gum in index finger and was pointing at his chin, not intent, I thought.
— Kyle Scott (@CrossingBroad) March 7, 2012

You be the judge.

For more on the Flyers, check in with Broad Street Hockey. For more on the Red Wings, Winging It In Motown has you covered.

Claude Giroux Says Flyers Were Insulted By Bruins' Excessive Celebration

JasonB — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 14:57:43 -0000

If you missed last night's banner raising ceremony in Boston, first off, congratulations. It was kind of ridiculous. You expect the Bruins to make a big deal and that's fine, but they actually skated around with the cup as a team as if they'd just won it moments about. The move was pretty much panned by the hockey community because frankly that's what you do at your parade or after the game. To skate around with the cup before the first game of the next season? A lot of people felt it was overboard and apparently Claude Giroux was one of them.

"It's pretty much a slap in the face and it's a motivation for a little payback even it's the first game of the season it's good for our ego and everyone was just really ready to go tonight." said Giroux.

The Flyers of course won 2-1 thanks to goals from Giroux and Jakub Voracek.

h/t 700 Level

Coyotes Week In Review: Heating Up At The Midway Point

Jordan Ellel — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 20:31:15 -0000

The Phoenix Coyotes still reside in the vast middle of the Western Conference where a mere four points separate the teams in the 4th through 12th spot. A strong week saw the Desert Dogs go 3-0-1 and move up to the 7th spot in the West, just a single point out of 4th (the Coyotes hold games in hand on almost every team ahead of them in the standings currently). With an overall record of 20-13-9, the Coyotes have 49 points and will look to firmly entrench themselves in a playoff spot with 3 more big games this week.

Firstly, congratulations to Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson on his selection to the NHL All Star SuperSkills squad. OEL will be the Coyotes lone representative for All Star weekend and the only real snub is defenseman Keith Yandle who should be a fixture in this game in the future if his game improves.

Also to note this week, the Coyotes made their first move of the season, trading disappointing forward Wojtek Wolski to the New York Rangers for veteran defenseman Michal Roszival. Roszival isn't flashy, but he eats minutes and is generally competent in his own zone - he will allow the coaches to back off the ice time being played by Ed Jovanovski, Adrian Aucoin, Derek Morris and Yandle, which should only help their performance. While Wolski has lots of potential, he never meshed with Tippett's defense-first style and eventually requested the trade. Best of luck dealing with crazy Rangers coach John Tortarella.

Tuesday, January 4 vs. Columbus, 4-2 Win

Facing a slumping Columbus team, the Coyotes jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second period on pretty goals from Scottie Upshall coming from behind the net and punching one through Mathieu Garon and defenseman Sami Lepisto potting a rebound opportunity following up a play. The 'Yotes allowed the Blue Jackets to get back in the game giving up a goal to R. J. Umberger midway through the second and then a game-tying tally on the power play on a point shot from Jakub Voracek. Shane Doan would break the tie on a beautiful deflection of a Keith Yandle shot and Vernon Fiddler scored his first goal in seemingly forever putting a rebound off the post past the sprawling Garon. The Blue Jackets will look to get revenge on the Coyotes tonight in Columbus.

Thursday, January 6 @ Colorado, 2-0 Win

Jason LaBarbera got the emergency start for Ilya Bryzgalov who was dealing with a family medical emergency (nothing too serious, thankfully) and recorded his second shutout of the season, stopping the league leading goal scorers in the league from the Avalanche. Taylor Pyatt was the offensive hero scoring both goals, the second into the empty net on an assist from Shane Doan that extended his point streak to eight games. With Colorado right ahead of the 'Yotes in the standings, a huge win for the team and another focused defensive effort which is what the team needs to focus on recreating every game.

Saturday, January 8 vs. Buffalo, 2-1 Loss (OT)

In a pre-game ceremony, the Coyotes honored alternate captain Ed Jovanovski on playing in his 1,000th career game (this was actually the game in Dallas last week). In the overtime, Jovo would inadvertently screen goalie Jason LaBarbera (making his first home start of the season after 12 road starts) allowing Drew Stafford to score the game winner on a sharp wrist shot. The Coyotes came out a bit flat and once again seemed unwilling to play a physical game against an Eastern Conference foe, but the team brought the pressure in the second and third periods, but could not solve Sabres goalie Ryan Miller who made 33 saves in the game. Scottie Upshall scored the lone Coyotes goal on a rebound of a Adrian Aucoin shot the kicked off to Uppie's stick. The building was packed with Sabres fans, Oregon and Auburn fans and the "Let's Go Buff-a-lo" chant signaled that these snowbirds had finally dethawed in the Phoenix heat. Their energy was commendable and it brought some life out of the Coyotes fans in attendance as well which was nice to see...unfortunately, they were partying at the end.

Monday, January 10 @ St. Louis, 4-3 Win

With Wojtek Wolski's forward slot being vacated, there is more ice time available for those forwards that want it, and Kyle Turris showed that he wants it. Flying around the ice all game, his line paired with Lauri Korpikoski and Taylor Pyatt accounted for three of the four Coyotes goals, including the game tying and game winning goals after the Coyotes squandered a 2-1 lead entering the third period. St. Louis came out buzzing in the third and scored two goals in a 20-second patch to take a 3-2 lead, but the Coyotes battled back after a well-needed Dave Tippett time out calmed the building a bit. The physicality in this game was tremendous as big hits were being thrown by both squads, including David Backes and Shane Doan hitting anything that moved for large swaths of the second and third periods. Paul Bissonnette and Cam Janssen mixed it up in a fairly even bout that helped further set the tone. These two teams are so similar that it would be a great match-up come playoff time, particularly in a later round when the nastiness could really develop.

A Look At The Week Ahead

Tonight, the Coyotes are in Columbus to finish off the back-to-back road trip. Columbus has been trending in the wrong direction and its imperative that the Coyotes get two points here. Thursday, the 'Yotes are back home to face the Toronto Maple Leafs. There will be tons of Leafs fans in attendance, so make sure to come out and bring your waffles! The Leafs have been on an offensive tear recently, so despite their disappointing record, the Coyotes should not look past this game (particularly considering their general difficulties playing Eastern Conference teams). Saturday night brings the Anaheim Ducks back to the Jobing.com Arena ice and the 'Yotes will look to avenge their most recent disappointment against the Ducks. Then on Monday, it's an MLK Matinee as the Coyotes will host a sort of "Kids Day" for their match-up with the slumping San Jose Sharks. The perennial President's Trophy contending Sharks have lost four straight and currently sit outside of a playoff position...just where we like them.