In N.H.L., Changing Coaches Yields Mixed Results
When the Canadiens struggled on home ice in recent games, the fans at Montreal’s Bell Centre chanted: “Carbo! Carbo!” — a sardonic tribute to the deposed coach Guy Carbonneau. The Canadiens were No. 1 in the Eastern Conference last season, and Carbonneau was a finalist for coach of the year. But a bad stretch caused General Manager Bob Gainey to take over two weeks ago.
Gainey has won only the first of his six games at the helm.
By contrast, no one in Pittsburgh chants for Dan Bylsma’s predecessor, Michel Therrien, even though he led the Penguins to the Stanley Cup finals last spring. Bylsma was summoned from coaching the Penguins’ American Hockey League club five weeks ago and, preaching a more wide-open attack, has won 12 of 16 games, vaulting Pittsburgh back into the playoff picture.
N.H.L. teams have replaced seven coaches this season, four more than last season, and the Penguins have been the most successful so far. The other firings produced mixed results.
Joining Bylsma on the plus side is Ottawa’s Cory Clouston. The Senators fired Craig Hartsburg after winning only 17 of their first 48 games and replaced him with the Clouston, their A.H.L. coach. Under the offensive-minded Clouston, Ottawa has won 14 of 21.
Chicago replaced DENIS SAVARD with Joel Quenneville after only four games and seems headed to the postseason despite a recent swoon. And the Rangers let Tom Renney go and brought in John Tortorella, who installed a more aggressive forechecking style. They have won seven of Tortorella’s first 11 games.
Other coaching changes have brought little relief. Tampa Bay dismissed Barry Melrose after four wins in 16 games, but his replacement, Rich Tocchet, has not been able to turn around the poorly built Lightning.
Carolina replaced Peter Laviolette with the man he replaced, Paul Maurice. But the Hurricanes are still hovering around the bottom of the playoff pack. And, of course, there is the situation in Montreal.
The Bylsma and Clouston moves are the most successful this season. They followed the pattern of last season’s most notable in-season coaching switch, when Washington fired Glen Hanlon and promoted Bruce Boudreau from its A.H.L. team.
The Capitals made the playoffs and are now among the East’s top teams. Like the Montreal fans, the Washington fans chant for their coach (“Bruuuce!”). But unlike Carbonneau, Boudreau is still employed.
Ovechkin’s Fusillade
Alexander Ovechkin, the N.H.L’s leading goal scorer, picked up his 50th goal Thursday during the Capitals’ 5-2 win at Tampa Bay. But more remarkable is the lead he has in total shots.
Through Thursday, Ovechkin had taken 461 shots, 131 more than the No. 2 shooter, Eric Staal of Carolina. He has led the N.H.L. in shots in each of his four seasons. Last year, Ovechkin outpaced the runner-up by 88 shots; by 41 the year before; and by 57 in his rookie season, 2005-6.
Fatso No More
Sean Avery, the Rangers’ top provocateur, referred to Martin Brodeur as Fatso after the Rangers eliminated the Devils in the playoff last spring, They may meet in the playoffs again this year, but there is no way Brodeur can be called Fatso now.
Brodeur, though never close to fat, is notably trimmer this season, even with a 16-week layoff for a torn biceps tendon. At 37, he is having one of his finest seasons.
“Marty has lost a bit of body fat since last season, maybe 3 percent, but he added about as much lean muscle mass,” said Eric Falstrault, the Montreal-based personal trainer Brodeur has worked with since last summer. “So even though he weighs about the same, it gives him a much leaner shape.”
Falstrault said he worked to improve Brodeur’s trunk flexibility and lower-body strength, starting with a daily regimen over the summer and continuing with a specially designed program during the season. He also changed Brodeur’s nutritional habits to reduce his sugar intake.
“He was healthy before, eating bananas and watermelon, but I switched him to berries, which causes less of a glycemic spike,” Falstrault said. “Over all, he’s actually eating more now than he used to.”
“Marty said he wanted to become more powerful, and his strength has improved incredibly,” said Falstrault, who stays in touch with Brodeur. “This summer, I’m going to work a bit more on his strength and make sure his arm is good.”
Is Brodeur, who last week became the winningest goalie in N.H.L. history, in better shape now than he used to be?
“Oh yes,” Falstrault said. “He should be fine for the next three years of his contract, for sure.” Brodeur is signed with the Devils through the 2011-12 season.
The Forgotten Man
With the league’s promotional efforts so concentrated on Sidney Crosby, it is easy to forget that Crosby is not the best player on the Penguins this season. That distinction goes to Evgeni Malkin, the N.H.L.’s top scorer.
Malkin, who has played five more games than Crosby, had scored 10 more points through Friday. He was plus 20 — by far the best on the team — to Crosby’s plus 8. And he had been rewarded for his effectiveness by getting 29 seconds more ice time a game than Crosby.
Malkin even led the league in the arcane but telling category of takeaways. After Friday’s games, he had an 86-85 lead over the top takeaway artist of the last two seasons, Pavel Datsyuk of Detroit.
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