Lots going on in the shortened season. Here's a look at a few key headlines.
We don't need no Rules: Ryan Clowe was given a two game suspension for coming off the bench and starting a fight with Andrew Shaw of the Chicago Blackhawks the other night, with about 9 seconds left in the game. The only problem: The NHL rule book calls for a ten game suspension in such cases, an attempt to eliminate the old bench clearing brawls of the 70's &80's. Brendan Shannahan, perhaps coerced by the league, deemed it a legal line change and thus no punishment was coming. Really? With that much time left? In that situation? With Joel Pavelski one of their leading scorers getting hit? I think the league and sheriff Shanny got this wrong and that they need to start taking suspensions more seriously. I also think they realized that Shaw should have been tossed for the cheap shot hit on Pavelski which lead to this and that perhaps was taken into account because the refs screwed up.
Head Hunting: Charlie Croyle of the Minnesota Wild will likely, and should, face discipline for launching himself at Matt Stajan of the Calgary Flames the other night. He targeted the head and came in high, the exact kind of hit the league as repeatedly said it's trying to get rid of. Stajan was able to return which, one can only hope will not have much impact on discipline but we shall see.
Isn't it Ironic: For the better part of a decade at the beginning of the 2000's the Ottawa Senators were a legitimate Stanley Cup contender and had a continuous run of very strong teams. Their downfall was very often, their lack of goaltending. Now when the team is without a number of star players and the season was pretty much written off, it is their goaltending that has kept them in a playoff spot. whether this continues for the next 28 games remains to be seen but it is almost laughable anyway. What Bryan Murray and John Muckler and Jacques Martin wouldn't have given for this problem back in the day.
Big Problems in Big Apple? The New York Rangers continue to struggle out of the gate and their high priced talent is underachieving. Captain Ryan Callahan has been good but Marian Gaborik, Brad Richards, Mark Stall and others haven't really produced. Rick Nash has been average and is out along with Ryan Mcdonough with injury and Henrik Lundqvist hasn't played particularly well. There is a lot of talent on this team but in a shortened season they need to pull it together quickly.
Flightless Penguin: Evgeni Malkin is out with a concussion. Not surprisingly after seeing his head whip into the boards like a rag doll. The Penguins have dealt with concussions to a super star before and can take solace in knowing that they have the right information and appropriate medical people to deal with this situation. There is no time table at present nor should there be any rush to get him back. Pittsburgh has the talent to make a run no matter where they place going into the post season.
Blackhawks Still Streaking: 19 games and counting. To say the Chicago Blackhawks have had an impressive start is like saying the Beatles were a decent band. They have look impressive grinding out close wins and getting better goaltending than many, myself included, figured they would. They have a ton of skill both upfront and on the back end and will certainly be a force to be reckoned with come playoff time.
Just Ducky: The Anaheim Ducks, much like the Montreal Canadiens last year, had an off year. To say they were a sleeper coming into this season was largely based on the fact that they didn't play well last year but on look at their roster should tell you they should have and now are playing up to and probably above expectations. This is a well rounded team still getting huge contributions from wily veterans Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu and will be a threat in the playoffs as long as Jonas Hiller can carry the load in goal.
What caught your attention this week?
No comments:
Post a Comment