The NHL told me history would be made

Last night is why I watch hockey--why my love for the game hasn't waned in 25 years.

I often describe the NHL playoffs as a kind of holy season, where normal activities are briefly suspended for nightly devotions to hockey. In ritualistic fashion, like Christmas or Hanukkah, gifts are given, and no matter how much you shake the box, each game is a surprise. Only instead of one morning or eight nights, it lasts for eight weeks.

Two incredible first round games last night. The first, a must win for the Chicago Blackhawks who, down 3 games to none to the President's Trophy-winning Vancouver Canucks, could have seen the Stanley Cup evicted from the United Center. The second, an early rubber match for the lead in a series between #2 seed San Jose Sharks and the #7 Los Angeles Kings. Both perfect examples of why changing the channel, despite grotesque leads, is unwise.

Chicago will visit Canada for at least one more game. After a 7-2 win, they deserve it. The Hawks dripped swagger from the opening faceoff, exerting the attitude and physical dominance that led to series wins over Vancouver the previous two years. Forfeiting the Cup, tonight anyway, would be postponed. So supreme were the Hawks that no player on their roster finished with a negative plus/minus rating; Vancouver had none above even. And while Chicago's big guns finally fired--Patrick Sharp with two goals, Patrick Kane a pair of helpers, and Jonathon Toews and Marian Hossa each with an assist--success centered on two vital elements: the Hawks defense and the unexpected brilliance of Dave Bolland.

Game 4 was the Bolland's first appearance in the lineup since suffering a concussion on March 9th. On Tuesday he was without equal. The center-iceman wasn't expected to do much, besides shutdown the prolific Sedin brothers--a challenging enough task for players already in postseason rhythm. Not only did Bolland smother the Sedin twins, who combined for one goal and a -7, he added a goal and three assists. He was +4. His lousiest stat was that he lost five of 11 faceoffs. Bolland's play reminded Vancouver that his was the team that had won everything.

He had plenty of support too. Leading into the first round--which Chicago made only after the Dallas Stars dropped their last game of the season that would've leapfrogged them into a match-up with the Canucks--the Hawks relied precariously on their defense for offense. In their final three games (vs. St. Louis then Detroit, twice), the Hawks' defense factored into nine of 11 goals, posting five goals and seven assists. The spirit of Bobby Orr is alive in Chicago.

Brian Campbell, once expected to be the premier blueliner in the Windy City, smoked goalie Roberto Luongo in the second stanza. Seventeen seconds later, actual premier blueliner Duncan Keith did the same, taking a pass from Kane through the slot, winding up, and burying a slapshot. The characteristically reserved Keith exploded, screamed to the crowd, celebrated with a sliding windmill. His went down as the game-winner. Chris Campoli and Niklas Hjalmarsson found the scoresheet with assists. The absence of stalwart defenseman Brent Seabrook, who was leveled by the Canucks' Raffi Torres in game 3, impaired no one.

A game 5 encore by the Hawks in Vancouver is not guaranteed. But for one night, for one game, there was no question who still reigned as Lord Stanley's defenders.

The late game Tuesday evening was the third between San Jose and Los Angeles, having moved to southern California after splitting the first two in San Jose. Sharks coach Todd Mclellan was justifiably angered by his team's game 2 flop. Following a squeaker in the opening game that the Sharks took in overtime, the Kings abused them 4-0 to even the series. "I thought they were a much more competitive team than we were, " he told reporters. "We can talk about systems and what we did well or did not do well on the power play, penalty kill, faceoffs, but it has to start with the competitiveness."

Game 3 started no better, arousing thoughts of prior Sharks playoff collapses. The Kings took a 2-0 lead in the first five minutes and Michal Handzus scored a third with under two minutes left in the period. The Sharks were flat, off the mark; the Kings commanding and syncopated. Their gap widened to 4-0 early in the second period. Goalie Antti Niemi's night was over. (Niemi, who backstopped the Hawks' Cup victory last year, came to SJ in the off season.) Backup Antero Nittymaki filled the pipes with a change of fortune.

The Sharks soon scored one. A second. Then a third. Momentum had abandoned the Kings. The attack relented, briefly, when Ryan Smythe put the Kings up 5-3 on a quick feed from Jarret Stoll. So defensively brain dead on the play was Nic Wallin that the Sharks coaching staff may have wondered if the defenseman had, in fact, been playing in the NHL for the last decade. The shift was short-lived.

Ryan Clowe posted his second goal of the game for San Jose. Minutes later, game 1 overtime hero Joe Pavelski capped what was only the fourth comeback of such magnitude in the history of the NHL postseason. In a fit of cruel coincidence, the most recent had been by the Kings, who in 1982 rallied from a 5-0 deficit to beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-5.

Neither club found the back of the net in the third period. Momentum abandoned them both. To overtime they went.

And just 3:09 into the extra frame, Patrick Marleau, tearing down the left wing, bodies descending upon the net, fed Devon Setoguchi, who ripped a wrist shot past Kings goalie Jonathan Quick. The comeback was complete. The secondary assist that set up the game winning breakout left the stick of Nic Wallin--a fitting reparation.

Two games, two teams, illustrating that things are truly different in the playoffs. That cliches originate from reality. That parity lives. That the intangibles of the game--momentum, desire, urgency, luck--are as hard to quantify as they are to overstate. But they are exactly the reason none of these teams will depend on their last game as an indicator of what's to come. Because it is, after all, still the playoffs.

Big League Tweeting

Freelance work is inherently unstable. I'm experiencing this now as my two-year stint at a travel magazine is about to conclude this month. In my job hunt, I came across a position for a social media editor for MLB.com that, as part of the application, provided a list of eight sample headlines (not pertaining to baseball) and asked applicants to provide the responses they'd write if they were posting on Twitter for MLB.com.

While I've been on Twitter Since October '09 (@J_DiNunz) I only ever posted links to my published stories, like the weekly clips I write for ESPN.com. But last week, I decided to have some fun, donating my unsolicited commentary to the NHL Playoffs tweet-a-thon. My sorry number of followers has increased modestly since Wednesday.

I unfortunately just found this job last night, although it's been on MLB.com for nearly two weeks. So, despite the minimal likelihood that I'll get called about this job, I felt in good enough tweeting-form to at least catch eye. I could be absolutely wrong. Still, I gave it a go--and below are the headlines with my replies underneath.
---

TWITTER HEADLINES

Handle: @J_DiNunz

1. Carlos Beltran exits game with bruised knee

Late inning injury sends Mets’ Beltran to DL, knee brace to minors

2. Charlie Sheen is arrested for jaywalking

Charlie Sheen found guilty, is sentenced to another season of 2 & a ½ men

3. Yankees, Zack Greinke agree to four-year deal

4-yr deal for lovable Greinke ensures slightly less Evil Empire

4. Kate Plus Eight is will run for another season

Kate plus 8 minus Jon eye return to your living room

5. Baseball celebrates Jackie Robinson Day

MLB players wearing #42 in warm-ups to honor integration legend; Mo Rivera forgets to change jersey

6. NFL lockout ends

NFLPA & owners reach deal to remain wealthy

7. 10% off all MLB.com shop items.

Tough economy no match for 10% discount on MLB.com shop items

8. Donald Trump officially running for president

Trump makes 2012 bid official as casting begins for ‘Congressional Apprentice’

First takes

One of the more interesting, entertaining, and at times frustrating aspects of freelance writing is the unique approach in which editors shape your work. Some nail it right off, not changing your words as much as their arrangement--and including you in the process to ensure it retains both (a) an authentic tone (which is key when restructuring quotes) and (b) accuracy. Others, not so much.

I've been a news contributor for ESPN.com since late 2010, and writing for them generally since 2009, after I didn't get an editor job. Lemonade, friends. I cover action sports--surf, skate, skow, motoX, etc. Now, while I'm a sports fan at large, my particular well of insight is filled with hockey. Learning to skate at age 5, I laced up the skates for my first team at age 6. Twenty-four years later, you'll still find me on the ice at an admittedly unimpressive caliber. So, I began writing about the NHL for a two tiny Web sites a few years ago, even hammering out a short piece about the shocking durability of the Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin for the Washington Post when I lived in DC. (Guy is consistently tops in offense and hits.)

So, when I got my first hockey assignment for the NY Times in March, after several rejected pitches, I was--albeit characteristically subdued--amped. (Future stories w/NYT likely, I think.) My editor did a solid job structuring my clearly non-newspaper style into something resembling a soundly reported Times story. But seeing as it's playoff season in these parts, figured I'd post the first take here.
---

The American Hockey League is not where Jonathan Cheechoo was supposed to be. But the expectations that come with winning the Maurice Richard Trophy as the National Hockey League’s top goal scorer are not easy to meet.

Following the NHL lockout, and with several rule changes in place to boost offense, Cheechoo’s 56 goals for the San Jose Sharks in 2005-2006 was tops in the league and double his career-best.

But Cheechoo’s success was short-lived. He led San Jose in goals the next year, yet his production sank in each subsequent season. Injuries mounted, his 140-game streak ended, and Cheechoo’s scoring touch vanished. In summer of 2008, “he underwent a double sports hernia procedure,” said San Jose general manager Doug Wilson. “That takes a while to come back from. And that set him back.”

Cheechoo had trouble keeping up, Wilson said, and because the rehab slowed him, couldn’t match the performance that became expected of him.

Cheechoo’s body is frailer than his optimism. He came to the Worcester Sharks bent on an NHL comeback. “The last couple of years weren’t very fun,” Cheechoo said. In Worcester he’s regrouping and remembering to enjoy playing. “The game is still the game of hockey. I always want to play at a high level.”

At the start of the 2010-2011 campaign, only the Dallas Stars invited Cheechoo to training camp. He made it through two preseason games. “I was hoping someone would take a chance on me,” Cheechoo said. “It just didn’t work out.”

Word of Cheechoo’s availability moved quickly. Worcester head coach Roy Sommer called him. “With his talent, at this level, he should be able to get things done here,” said Sommer. “We got a hold of him. He was in here the next day.”

To each other, Cheechoo and Sommer were known entities. San Jose drafted Cheechoo 29^th overall in 1998 as a teenager in the Ontario Hockey League. Two years later, he made his professional debut with the AHL’s Kentucky Thoroughblades under Sommer’s eye.

“I always respect what he did,” Cheechoo said. “He got me playing [in the NHL] and helped me make the transition to pro hockey.”

Cheechoo skated in 66 games for San Jose in 2002. The next season he remained for good, scoring 28 times. But Cheechoo and Sommer kept in touch and visited occasionally as their careers progressed. Seeing Cheechoo without an NHL deal, Sommer sought a mutually beneficial arrangement.

“He’s a special kid, when you look where he’s come from and the long road that he’s taken to get to the NHL. Then he kind of fell out of favor…had a rough year last year. I just thought this would be a good opportunity for him to get back in NHL if he did well here,” Sommer said.

Cheechoo currently leads Worcester in points (18 goals, 29 assists) despite missing over a week due to an upper body injury. The team sits one position away from a playoff spot and preserving Cheechoo is a priority down the stretch.

Cheechoo’s route back to the minors began last year, after San Jose traded him—along with Milan Michalek and a draft pick—to the Ottawa Senators for discontented winger Dany Heatley. Cheechoo only appeared in 61 games for Ottawa, amassing an non-prolific five goals, nine assists, and a -13 rating before being demoted to its AHL affiliate in Binghamton.

2009-2010 was by far Cheechoo’s worst in the NHL. Pucks stopped going in and he began second-guessing his decisions on the ice. “I hit a lot of posts. Goalies made some nice saves on me too. It’s one of those things where you’re gripping your stick a lot tighter. I wasn’t really relaxed and playing my type of game,” said Cheechoo.

At first, Cheechoo welcomed the change. “It was an exciting time in Ottawa, probably the closest place you’re going to get to my hometown,” said Cheechoo, whose family lives in Moose Factory, Ontario. “There were people at every game. It was nice to have that kind of support.”

He was unable to replicate his lone stellar season. “I lost a little confidence in myself,” said Cheechoo. “One or two stop going in, you start trying to get a little closer to the net, you’re easier to check and you take less shots. I think I tried to get too fine.”

The Senators released Cheechoo in the offseason. And as NHL training camps neared, uncertainty enveloped Cheechoo’s career. Then the chance to play hockey in Russia or Europe emerged—an option Cheechoo had no interest in pursuing. Playing in the NHL “was a goal of mine when I was a young kid and that hasn’t changed,” said Cheechoo.

Making it back to an NHL rink meant staying visible. “When you’re overseas you’re more out of sight. It’s harder for anyone to see you and pick you up. I wanted to take a chance here,” Cheechoo said.

Cheechoo is playing to be seen. During games he finds open ice with a composure not always found in the minors. Sommer praised Cheechoo’s experience of knowing how to position himself to score. “He just has a lot of poise when he gets the puck,” said Sommer. Adding that one problem is that teammates often aren’t ready for Cheechoo. “You think he’s going to shoot, he’ll pull the goalie, then he’ll slide it to a guy who has his hands up.”

Cheechoo has focused on improving what scouts have cited as is his primary weakness: speed. “He’s been working on foot explosiveness using ladders and hoops. Quick stop runs, with cones, for ten yards,” said Worcester head trainer Matt White, who’s monitored Cheechoo’s progress with strength and conditioning assistant Jaime Rodriguez. “His work ethic is second to none.”

Off the ice, Cheechoo provides valued experience to a team on the bubble. “He comes to the rink and if anything’s bothering him you’d never know it,” said Sommer. Cheechoo is “the first one here and last one to leave” the rink and the younger players notice that, Sommer added.

Cheechoo needs NHL scouts and general managers to notice too. “It takes a lot of work,” said Cheechoo. But, he said, “I know when I get the puck I can score.” Cheechoo and his agent are researching speed-training regimens for the off-season to help him return to NHL caliber.

For now, Cheechoo must settle for more sentimental honors. Cheechoo is from the Cree population in Ontario and will be inducted into the Little Native Hockey League’s hall of fame on March 12^th. “[He] has the skill, competitiveness, and dedication. The kids look up to him as a hero,” said Lloyd McGregor of the LNHL.

Cheechoo can’t attend the ceremony. He’ll be shooting for the playoffs—and, he hopes, the NHL. If Cheechoo’s fitness level reaches its best, said San Jose’s Wilson, “I would not count Jonathan Cheechoo out from playing in the league again.”

Sommer agrees. “You don’t score 56 goals in the NHL and not know what you’re doing.”