Playoffs Round One

Last year in the playoffs, the TSN panel were counting the number of Too many men calls, it seemed to be a problem at the time were coaches we're matching lines and in the thick of it, threw an extra attacker in. As this still is a problem, the focus has shifted towards the fighting, rough stuff and suspensions. At the begging of the season when Brendan Shannahan was appointed chief of discipline, it became apparent that things would be different. The NHL was having problems with hits to to head and unnecessary contact. In the pre season there were 11 suspensions handed out. It was a firm reminder that hits to the head would not be tolerated, Brandon Shanahan also put out short videos explaining the reasons for the suspension. They were meant to be tools for the teams to understand what is good and what is bad. During the playoffs this year the story has been the amount of fighting during the game and after the whistle. As it is apparent mostly in the Pittsburgh/Philly series, it has been happening in every series. just tonight Hossa sustained an injury that happened when Raffi Torres delivered a hit on Hossa. From what I remember it has been the most violent opening round I've seen. Not very often do you see a head to head fight, scrums after every whistle and at least one suspension handed out each night. Despite the amount of suspensions throughout the season and this far in the playoffs, it doesn't seem the be getting better, and why is that? You would think that guys would start getting tired of being fined, missing games and being riddled by the media. Well the thing is, is that the players are playing in a game that is so high speed and with such a high intensity that they are being forced to go into those rough areas, it is especially bad in the playoffs because every game matters and every little shift matters and they are being forced to work even harder. The guys are not thinking about how they might get suspended, they all want the cup and they are going to do whatever it takes to win it "because it's the cup"- NHL

I'm back!!!!!

The last time I made a post to this blog, it was the pre-season and I made my power rankings. Looking at it now, boy was I wrong, but that is alright. I'm back to making posts to the blog now and will try and update on a regular basis now. There are a few things that I will get to talk about now that we are in the playoffs and man it is quite a crazy first round. I don't think I have ever seen this many fights or rough up line brawls in the first round of the playoffs before but it is turning out to be very entertaining. The Pittsburgh, Philladelphia series was supposed to be the most entertains of the first round matchups and it has turned out to be just that. The favourite going in was Pittsburgh, but I had my eyes on the Flyers. In the very early minutes of the first game it seemed as though Pittsburgh was the clear cut better team and it showed by the early 3-0 lead. It took a while for Philadelphia to get adjusted to the Penguin croud and get their legs back. It didn't take long for Philly to come back tie it up and take the first game in OT. For the second game it almost seemed as if Dan Bylsma gave the Penguins a good speech before going out on the ice because they came out with a 3-0 lead in the first once again. Once the broad street was thrown back in the mix, the game quickly got tied up and then Philly took it out of control. In game 3 Pittsburgh's frustration clearly shown by the stupid penalties they got and the many fights and cheep shots that ensued. It has shown to be very entertaining thus far but the other series' have not disappointed. Nashville is pushing Detroit, New York and Ottawa are battling it out hard and T.J Oshie's assist to Backes was by far the best play of the playoffs so far. Before the playoffs I made the prediction of both Semi final matchups which are Philadelphia and New York on one side while Detroit and St.Louis on the other side. I will say St.Louis and New York in Finals. New York to win thier first since 1996.