5/10 Quick Links - Kronwall Edition
Due to the number of recent Niklas Kronwall articles and the fact that he is the BTJ favorite, here are some quick links to these articles. Be sure to come back to BTJ later today as Joe will be live blogging Game #2, which starts at 7pm!
Kronwall of pain - A Bob Wojnowski column [Detroit News]
“Any time a team comes into your building, you want them to know it’s gonna be tough to beat you,” Kronwall said Friday as the Wings prepared for Game 2 tonight. “I’ve always enjoyed the physical part of the game. It gets the adrenaline rushing a little bit. After that one (on Miettinen), it took a couple minutes to settle down and go back to work.” …
“He’s an intelligent, intelligent player,” Babcock said. “He sees when a guy is vulnerable and he’s got that ability to hunt you down. It’s important that he and Stuart are always on the hunt because it makes (the other team) nervous.”
Punisher! Wings’ Niklas Kronwall delights in crunching opponents - A Helene St. James article [Detroit Free Press]
“It gives us so much more energy,” forward Henrik Zetterberg said. “It’s unbelievable to see Kronner do it night in and night out. It’s nice to see him healthy and playing good in all situations. He makes huge hits and nice plays, so he’s a pretty complete package.” …
Kronwall denies he’s cursed and said his past doesn’t affect how he plays. But teammates are just a little cautious: Kris Draper held off on his usual towel-full-of-shaving-cream-in-the-face birthday surprise last January when Kronwall turned 27 for fear such action might cause Kronwall to lose an eye.
Kronwall sparks Red Wings to win against Dallas - Ansar Khan article [MLive.com]
“Last year people don’t realize how much we missed him,” Red Wings goaltender Chris Osgood said. “He plays great, not only defensively, blocking shots, but offensively he makes great passes and good plays. He’s a threat for us (physically), like Vladdy (former defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov) was, he makes that big hit, makes players aware he’s out there.” …
“I love to watch the videos of (former hard-hitting New Jersey defenseman Scott Stevens) and guys like that,” Kronwall said. “It’s just a matter of timing, sometimes it’s there and sometimes it’s not. I’ve always enjoyed that part of the game.”
Scott Burnside - ESPN.com
The playoffs are where careers are made or broken. Thursday’s Red Wings’ victory provided another showcase for the emergence of Niklas Kronwall as an impact defenseman. And we use that term both literally and figuratively. Once again Kronwall was in the thick of things for the Wings all night. His open-ice hit on Antti Miettinen was a classic in the Scott Stevens mold. He also added a fine break-out pass to Mikael Samuelsson that led directly to the Wings’ third goal by Valtteri Filppula. That was after adding a power-play assist on the second Wings goal and nearly scoring on a 2-on-1 as he stepped from the penalty box. Kronwall now has 10 assists in the postseason and leads all defensemen in postseason scoring.
Dan Rosen - NHL.com
It’s not surprising Kronwall is making this postseason, and this series in particular, his personal crusade. He missed the playoffs last season with a broken bone (sacrum) in his lower back, an injury he suffered March 30 against the Stars.
“When we lost him,” Babcock told the Detroit News, “I was sick to my stomach.”
Kronwall is doing well in making up for his one lost spring.
His 10 points on 10 assists is tops among the League’s blue-liners – not an easy thing to do when Lidstrom is your teammate and plays more minutes. Kronwall is averaging 22:30 ice time per game, is a plus-4, and has a team-leading 25 hits.
And his last name IS Kronwall and not Kronvall as the NHL would suggest.
The Red Wings defenceman with the 55 on his back is Niklas Kronwall, and not Niklas Kronvall as the NHL indicates.
The league uses Kronvall in its printed stats and on game scorescheets.
“In my passport, it’s with a ‘V,”‘ he explains. “We never bothered to change it (because) you have to go through paperwork and all that, but our family has been using a ‘W’ for four generations now.
“We just never bothered changing the passport. All my papers and bank accounts back home, it’s all with a ‘W.’ I guess the NHL goes by the passport.”
It’s Kronwall over his dressing room stall and in printed team material.
“It doesn’t really matter to me,” says the hard-hitting Swede.
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