I'm always looking for ways to bring down the Sabres, but I never expected this from the NHL. It's legitimate, but is it even something you can penalize? I guess after the investigations and Ruff admitting that he told them to "Go out and run 'em" it seems pretty obvious, but I still can't imagine explaining this to someone who knows nothing about hockey. You could show them something like the Ovechkin hit on Briere (blown out of proportion, in my opinion) and they'd immediately understand why it's bad, but this is too strategically specific for them to get without an explanation. That being said, I'm impressed that the NHL took action on something that's more of an unwritten law. I also have a newfound respect for Ray Emery, as he seems like a complete psychopath and I appreciate that in a player, and especially in a goalie.
In other news, the Bruins re-signed Marco Sturm to a "multi-year contract extension". As Marco's been hot lately (7 goals in the last 7 games), this should please Bruins fans. I like Marco, and when he's put with good players he can really score. I just hope they didn't overspend on him.
In the five games that Patrice Bergeron has been out...
The Bruins lost one game and won the next four.
They've scored 20 goals.
Marc Savard has 10 points.
Tim Thomas has let in 11 goals on 165 shots for a .933 SV%.
The playoff picture in the Eastern Conference is making me extremely nervous. There's 7 teams within 8 points of each other. Including this afternoon's game in which the Islanders beat the Canadiens, this is how it looks:
6) Atlanta- 63 GP, 72 PTS
7) Islanders- 62 GP, 70 PTS
8) Montreal- 64 GP, 70 PTS
9) Carolina- 63 GP, 69 PTS
10) Toronto- 61 GP, 67 PTS
11) Boston- 60 GP, 64 PTS
12) Rangers- 61 GP, 64 PTS
The problem with the Bruins' situation right now is that, as well as they're playing, they have to overcome a lot of teams to get that last playoff spot. Carolina has a pretty tough schedule over the next few games, playing Atlanta and Ottawa twice and Pittsburgh once, so the Bruins can probably pass them. But the Islanders get to play Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Washington before they play the Rangers. The Bruins have a slightly easier schedule than Montreal and Toronto, but maybe not easy enough to move into a playoff spot in the next few games. Even still, things are looking up for the B's right now. Montreal should drop, the Bruins should get some wins in the next few games, and by the time the two meet on March 6, there could be some shaking up happening in the standings. If Toronto and the Rangers have trouble, then with the games in hand that they have, the Bruins just might be able to sneak into a playoff spot. I'm going to the game against the Thrashers on Monday with Liz, Paula, and Liz's friend, who is on the Berklee hockey team (coached by Pie McKenzie) and being interviewed by Versus. He's from Atlanta and is, according to Liz, the only other person she's met who's as obsessed with hockey as I am. I warned her that right now that's not a good combination, as this playoff push is very nerve-racking, and when I get nervous about things like this I look up statistics. At the moment I know way too much about the Bruins situation for anyone's good. But whatever. Since I also have front-row tickets to the game against the Avs (right next to the benches, too), I'll be at both remaining Bruins games that were going to be on Versus, successfully avoiding having to watch them. I got the Avs tickets for Christmas, despite asking only for a Ryan Smyth jersey. But who am I to complain about a gift like that?
Now that I've said good things about the Bruins, they're going to fall off a cliff again. So for good measure:
Bruins, you suck. Go to hell.
It was for their own good.
The Ed Norton Movie Marathon got pushed back to tonight, so off I go.
No comments:
Post a Comment