New Playoff Rules Suggested by Bruins

A source close to NHL has confirmed that several GMs have approached the board of governors about some mid-season rules adjustments. In particular, the Boston Bruins are advocating for the removal of sudden death overtimes in favor of immediately calling the game a tie foregoing the extra overtime sessions.

Peter Chiarelli, GM of the Bruins, is apparently defended this position saying that sudden death hockey is "bad for the game". Chiarelli points to the thrill of the long foregotten "kissing your sister" ending from regular season games and has taken it a step beyond by applying it to the playoffs. "It's a long-proven fact that overtimes are terrible for TV ratings and besides they're...er... boring. Yeah, they're boring."

When it was pointed out to Mr. Chiarelli that his team has a terrible overtime record and has gained more points than any other team in the league by playing for a tie with increasingly mundane and maddingly wearisome hockey, Chiarelli feigned a heart attack and actually stabbed himself in the thigh with a Bic pen. When pressed on the issue futher, Chiarelli mumbled something about how good Theo Epstein has it, then took out a crumpled picture of Tom Brady's supermodel girlfriend, gave a leering grin to the press corps, and turned the conference over to head coach Claude Julien.

The press conference lost most of its momentum at this point as Julien expoused the merits of "solid neutral zone gap control" and then fell asleep leaning against Zdeno Chara.

Julien woke up and quipped, "My goodness, did you see that second and third period against Buffalo over the weekend? We clogged up the neutral zone real good and even got off 6 shots. That's playoff hockey."

Caption: Claude Julien's reacts to

the prediction that his dynamic

Bruins will sweep the field with

an inspirational Stanley Cup

run for the ages.

Refs Swallow...

the whistle. The Boston game was a ridiculous display of refs not giving the more talented team a greater number of power plays than the other team. It was like the Caps reached their quota of power plays, got their single goal on the 5-on-3, and were not allowed any more. The refs made up the calls and watched Boston catch up. After that, they were afraid to make any more calls. I have no problem with the defense-first style rope-a-dope but when you cannot execute a trap and interfere with the counterattack, you should be penalized. This style of play should be anathema to the NHL and therefore watched carefully. Gary, how 'bout a memo? Maybe a phone call to Stephen Walkom.

"Yo. Stevie. It's me, Betts. What the fuck was that?"

The Caps got the 2 points but the 1 point given to the B's was just as important. For those keeping score, that's 3 points given to Boston in the last week at the Caps' expense because of very "subjective" refereeing. Regardless, it will be interesting.

Important Goalie Weekend - B's and Pen's

I must first by eating some crow about Olie's game in Buffalo. My first reaction was "Damn, Olie's the man and I feel bad for saying/writing bad things." However, once I dissected the game with the sound off at half speed, I realized I was incorrect.

He played really well. He was positionally strong and consistent. However, there were several rebounds right into the slot that made me scream for more lithium. Fortunately the Dmen collapsed and shuffled the juicy ones into the corners or up the boards. The Forechecker found out some pretty disturbing data that has confirmed group observations all year. And in case you're wondering, I didn't really watched the game a second time with the sound off at half speed. Had I done that, I would have gladly taken my wife's Baker Act recommendation.

All in all, it was a very good road game by the Caps but one that relied to heavy on the counter-attack and defensive positioning. I don't believe these games are our strongest suit but may have been what was needed for Kolzig to have a positive game against a team that has made him look less than stellar in the last couple of seasons.

This weekend, the goaltending will be front and center in the debate once again.

Game 1: On Saturday, we walk into the wolf den that is the TD Banknorth/Fleet/Shawmut Garden Thingie where there will surely be a call for a blood sacrifice as the game commences. I expect them to dress Terry O'Reilly, Chris Nilan, and the corpse of Eddie Shore. So you pose the question, "how do we handle what will surely be a full onslaught for 20-30 minutes to start the game?"

Answer: With an acrobatic netminder that will make the first save and absorb rebounds when things get hairy: Huet.


Game 2: On Sunday, the Caps will host the Pens in what will surely be an emotional, highly contested affair as egos and skill clash in a North American Hockey Schmooze Bowl. The team that takes this game will take momentum and will solidify themselves as the media darling of the week. The loser, on the other hand, will feel the scorn of the local press, national press, and fans, like spectators standing too close to the poo tossing monkeys at the zoo. So the question here is, "which goaltender gives us the best chance to take the Schmooze Bowl?"

Answer: Huet

If both games are "must wins" (as they all seem to be in March), the real question is, "Can Huet start both games?" If not, the secondary question becomes, "Which game is more important?"