Winnipeg Free Press Newspaper Archives May 1 2015, Page 38

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 1, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE C2 C2 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FRIDAY, MAY 1, 2015 winnipegfreepress. com NHL PLAYOFF REPORT At a glance SECOND ROUND Division Finals EASTERN CONFERENCE Metropolitan Division N. Y. Rangers( 1) vs. Washington ( 2) ( Capitals lead best- of- seven series 1- 0) Thursday Result Washington 2 N. Y. Rangers 1 . Game 2: Saturday at Rangers, 11: 30 a. m., Sportsnet . Game 3: Monday at Washington, 6: 30 p. m., CBC . Game 4: Wednesday at Washington, 6: 30 p. m., Sportsnet Metropolitan Division Montreal ( 1) vs. Tampa Bay ( 2) . Game 1: Today at Montreal , 6 p. m., CBC . Game 2: Sunday at Montreal, 5 p. m., CBC . Game 3: Wednesday at Tampa, 6 p. m., CBC . Game 4: Thursday at Tampa, 6 p. m., CBC WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division Anaheim ( 1) vs. Calgary ( 3) Thursday Result Calgary at Anaheim ( late) . Game 2: Sunday at Anaheim, 9 p. m., CBC, Sportsnet . Game 3: Tuesday at Calgary, 8: 30 p. m., Sportsnet . Game 4: Friday, May 8 at Calgary, 8: 30 p. m., Sportsnet Central Division Chicago ( 3) vs. Minnesota ( WC) . Game 1: Today at Chicago, 8: 30 p. m., Sportsnet . Game 2: Sunday at Chicago, 7: 30 p. m., CBC, Sportsnet360 . Game 3: Tuesday at Minnesota, 7 p. m., CBC . Game 4: Thursday at Minnesota, 8: 30 p. m., Sportsnet . All times Central THURSDAY SUMMARY Capitals 2 at Rangers 1 First Period 1. Washington, Ovechkin 3 ( Carlson, Holtby) 18: 13 ( pp). Penalties — Orpik Wash ( holding) 13: 30, Moore NYR ( holding) 17: 26, Kreider NYR ( high- sticking) 19: 39. Second Period No Scoring. Penalties — Carlson Wash ( interference) 0: 54. Third Period 2. NY Rangers, Fast 1 ( Hayes, Hagelin) 15: 21. 3. Washington, Ward 2 ( Ovechkin, Backstrom) 19: 58. Penalties — Wilson Wash ( roughing) 20: 00, Glass NYR ( roughing) 20: 00. Shots on goal by Washington 7 10 12— 29 NY Rangers 12 9 11— 32 Goal — Washington: Holtby ( W, 4- 3- 0); NY Rangers: Lundqvist ( L, 4- 2- 0). Power plays ( goal- chances) — Washington: 1- 2; NY Rangers: 0- 2. Referees — Chris Rooney, Kelly Sutherland. Linesmen — Jay Sharrers, Brian Murphy. Attendance — 18,006. F OR most players, a trip to the Stanley Cup final is the goal. A career- defining moment to be treasured. Dale Weise is hoping he can also mix a little revenge into a championship chase. We caught up with the Winnipeg native just after a practice in Montreal earlier this week as his Canadiens were preparing for a second- round opponent, now revealed to be the Tampa Bay Lightning. Weise grew up in North Kildonan and played his minor hockey out of Gateway Recreation Centre. A brilliant time, he said, but for one impediment — Jonathan Toews. “ I played against Jonathan Toews growing up, and I’ve lost a lot of championships to him when we were younger,” said Weise. “ He’s still winning championships. He’s a pretty good guy to play against. He had the upper hand growing up and he’s still got the upper hand with two Cups. So I’m still chasing him. “ It would be nice to join him this year in the final. I think Chicago has got a great team in the West, so I think that would be pretty cool.” The 26- year- old Weise had his best NHL season to date this year with 10 goals and 19 assists in the first year of a two- year contract paying him $ 1 million per season. He’d be an unrestricted free agent next July and, if the Habs let him walk away, he’ll be in demand as a bottomsix forward with speed, scoring punch and lots of edge. “ Weise is a good skater, a guy who has to play with a certain level of intensity and, with that intensity, creates some space for his teammates,” Canadiens coach Michel Therrien told the Montreal Gazette this season after promoting him to the top line in a successful mid- season attempt to spark Max Pacioretty and Tomas Plekanec. Weise moved up and scored three goals and three assists in six games before shuttling back to the third line. Known as the both the Dutch Gretzky ( he had 48 points in 19 games with the Tilburg Trappers during the lockout in 2012- 13) and as the guy Boston Bruins winger Milan Lucic menaced with the following line: “ I’m going to ( bleeping) kill you next year,” during a post- playoff series handshake session, Weise is becoming known as a clutch playoff performer. In 28 career playoff games, he has scored five goals and four assists, including the tying and overtimewinning goals in Game 3 of Montreal’s opening- round series with the Ottawa Senators. Four of Weise’s playoff goals have been game- winners. Weise was exuberant on the phone, asking questions about Winnipeg and wondering aloud if this is the year for the Habs. “ There’s so much to the playoffs that I love. I think every building is so excited, there’s so much hype in every game, everything means something and every shift is important,” he said. “ Every level I’ve played at, I think I’ve always scored at a higher rate in the playoffs than I have in the regular season. I love the pressure, I want to be out there when the game is on the line and I feel I can make a difference at those times.” Weise is married to Winnipegger Lauren Raban and he returns home to spend the summers near his parents, Miles and Barb, as well as his brother, Derrick. Weise cut off a question about who he is as a player and a person. “ I give all the credit to my parents. I watched my brother, who is two years older than me, play hockey and that drove me into it. But my mom and dad are very blue- collar people and very hard working,” he said. “ I got my hard work from them. The main thing they drilled into me was, ‘ If you’re not going to be the most skilled guy out there, make sure you’re working as hard as you can’ and I’ve used that my whole career. The summers and the off- seasons, I train as hard as I can and that’s where I made a lot of leaps as a younger guy. To this day I try to work as hard as I can every day.” Weise found himself near a TV during the last week of the regular season, watching what was happening in his hometown. “ I saw the moment when the Jets clinched the playoff spot and everyone was on Portage and Main. When we were on the road, I made the boys watch the Jets games with me. I pump Winnipeg’s tires all the time, when I’m not pumping our own. “ I love the team, they’ve got a great team and I was very proud of the fans in the city.” Not every player can be Jonathan Toews and Weise simply isn’t in that stratosophere. The one thing they have in common is they get the most out of what they have. Not a bad trait for a superstar and an even more important one for a grinder. gary. lawless@ freepress. mb. ca Twitter: @ garylawless GRAHAM HUGHES / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Montreal’s Dale Weise ( 22) would relish an opportunity to battle a longtime nemisis, Chicago’s Jonathan Toews, in a Stanley Cup final. Settling an old grudge GARY LAWLESS BROSSARD, Que. — The Montreal Canadiens got together for dinner to watch the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 2- 0 victory over the Detroit Red Wings in Game 7 of their first- round playoff series. The team meal ahead of a playoff series is a tradition for head coach Michel Therrien, although this time, what he saw on the screen may not have gone down well. Instead of facing the Red Wings, who the Canadiens owned in the regular season, they will be up against the Lightning, who won all five meetings with Montreal, outscoring them 21- 8. So, of course, the message on Friday was what happens in the regular season doesn’t really count come playoff time. “ Playoff matchups are way different,” said forward Max Pacioretty. “ Every game is different. “ Everyone’s talking how we play such good defence and they play such good offence, but we’re trying to score and they’re trying to play tight defence as well. Every game writes its own story. The only thing we can control is how hard we play; and being ready to face a team with that much skill.” Pacioretty pointed to last season, when Montreal lost three of four games against Tampa Bay but then swept them in the first round. Of course, Lightning goalie Ben Bishop missed that series with an injury and his backup, Anders Lindback, gave up 14 goals in four games. Bishop got his first playoff experience in the first round and, while he was shaky early on, ended the series with a shutout. The 6- 7 goalie has dominated Montreal in his career, posting a 10- 1- 2 record with a 1.53 goals- against average. If that isn’t enough challenge for a low- scoring team like Montreal, the Bolts offence also gives them fits. Superstar Steven Stamkos had five goals and seven points against the Canadiens, and the Triplets line of Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat combined for another five goals. Pacioretty said a key to stopping them will be spending more time playing in the Lightning’s end. His fellow alternate captain Tomas Plekanec, who tends to play against the opponent’s top centres, said the Canadiens can’t get caught up choosing one poison over another. “ I don’t think we’ll focus on Johnson or Stamkos,” said Plekanec. “ We’ll focus on ourselves and playing our game. “ If we do that, we’ll make it hard on those guys, or whoever’s on the ice, to score. You ( media) talk about individual players but for us, it’s all about team effort, team system, team game.” The Canadiens counter with Carey Price, a Hart Trophy candidate for his spectacular play in goal, and a team that excels at grinding out wins. Therrien smiled when asked about the Lightning’s dominance this season. “ We may be the only team with home- ice advantage that is the underdog,” he said. “ We’re up against an offensive power. It’s a big challenge but, from experience, we know the playoffs is a different season.” Therrien said his team has been considered an underdog from the first day of training camp but managed to win 50 games and finish first in the Atlantic Division, two points ahead of Tampa Bay. “ Our team took a lot of criticism this year, but it’s a group that always responds, that perseveres,” he said. “ Inside our group, it’s a good source of motivation.” One area he hopes to improve is the power play, which went one for 20 in six first- round games against Ottawa. — The Canadian Press Canadiens must solve Bishop to beat Bolts By Bill Beacon After years of losing to Toews, Weise would welcome Hawks- Habs final DIRK SHADD / TAMPA BAY TIMES / TNS Ben Bishop has been stellar against the Habs, going 10- 1- 2 with a 1.53 goals- against average in his career. C_ 02_ May- 01- 15_ FP_ 01. indd C2 4/ 30/ 15 9: 26: 49 PM