Domenichelli makes most of chances

Much has changed in the hockey playing life of Hnat Domenichelli since being acquired by the Calgary Flames from the Hartford Whalers a year ago. The 22-year-old was ticketed for a full season in the American League to develop and mature. The plan changed when former junior teammate, Jarome Iginla, broke his right hand, opening up a spot on one of the top two lines-and Domenichelli, called up Jan. 21, delivered. He produced a seven-game point streak from Jan. 29 to March 1, which tied him with Boston Bruins’ right winger Sergei Samsonov for the longest of the season by a rookie. “Last year, it was tough for me at the NHL level,” said Domenichelli, who had three goals and six points in 23 games for the Flames and Whalers. “I wasn’t…

INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE

Applause must be earned not demanded

There is nothing difficult to understand about the concept, but apparently NHL marketing directors and those in charge of arena game day theatrics have a tough time comprehending what is nothing more than basic civility and common sense, namely, applause is a fan’s to bestow, not management’s to command. We’ve been to most NHL arenas wherein we’re constantly dismayed by the synthetic spontaneity and fraudulent joy elicited from the audience by means of synthesized and phony cavalry charge calls and by Jumbotron signs reading “Noise” and “Cheer” or by videos showing a pair of disembodied hands applauding in cartoonish insistence that the audience do the same. Cheering and applause should be-and at one time were-the spontaneous expression of approval by a legitimately enthused audience. They should not be a contrived chorus solicited…

Tumbling Caps slip-slidin’ away as play hits unexpected depths

The Washington Capitals appeared to be moving into the rarified space known as home-ice advantage for the playoffs when they hit a little bump in the road. That little bump quickly started to look like an earthquake. Dating back to before the Olympic break, the Capitals were on an eight-game winless streak that included six straight losses and a scoreless streak of 160 minutes, 27 seconds. The only thing that kept the club relatively close was that other pretenders were also trying to swim upstream. All facets of the Capitals’ game vanished at the same time for no reason anybody could put a finger on. It was tough to put blame on the 17-day winter break for the Olympics because the slide started two weeks before the time off. There were team meetings,…