Well, things just got a whole hell of a lot more interesting in the Eastern Conference playoff race following last night's action, and hockey fans are in for a white knuckle ride over the final month of the NHL season.

The Montreal Canadiens, fresh off of doing absolutely nothing at the NHL trade deadline, lost their second game in a row to the lowly Atlanta Thrashers. The Thrashers, currently sitting 14th in the conference with a mere 54 points, stifled the Montreal attack, and held on for a 2-0 win over an increasingly desperate Habs team.

Meanwhile, while the Habs were blowing a golden opportunity those in the rearview mirror were taking advantage. The Carolina Hurricanes brought their A game and shocked visiting Calgary, snuffing out the Flames with a 6-1 drubbing. Up north the Buffalo Sabres were doing likewise to the young Phoenix Coyotes, piling on the offense while Patrick Lalime continued to impress with his strong play in net, stopping 29 of the 30 shots he faced to help his team cruise to a 5-1 victory.

The Habs loss, coupled with the victories of Carolina and Buffalo make things very interesting heading into the final month of the NHL schedule. Montreal currently sits 5th with 75 points. However, they could tumble a long way in a hurry, as the 10th place Carolina Hurricanes only trail them by two points. 5 teams currently trail the Habs by two points or less, including the streaking Pittsburgh Penguins, and the New York Rangers, who have looked strong ever since John Tortorella took over the head coaching duties.

Yes, it is an exciting time to be a hockey fan, and this final month of the NHL regular season might produce hockey as, or even more, exciting than what we'll see in the playoffs. NHL team owners, desperate for playoff gate revenue in this depressed economy will be cracking the whip like never before, and you can bet that GMs, coaches and players alike will all be feeling the heat. Grab some beer and some popcorn and prepare to put a dent in your favorite easy chair over the next 30 days or so. The show is just getting good.

 

written by admin \\ tags: Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, Montreal Canadiens, NHL playoffs

There have been some strange incidents in the NHL in the past few days. First we see Sidney Crosby jump Brett McLean, then we witness Alexander Semin try and play the bongos on Marc Staal's face. However, not to be outdone, superpest Jarkko Ruutu was involved in an even more bizarre incident tonight as his Senators faced the Sabres. Ruutu apparently took exception to Andrew Peters giving him a facewash, so he chomped down on Peters' hand. Peters still had his glove on, but apparently Jarkko bit down hard because you can see the surprise and pain on Peters' face, and he immediately drops the glove and wrings his hand.

Peters was interviewed about the biting incident after the game, and was justifiably irked, stating that he hadn't seen anything like that since the Tyson Holyfield fight, and that the league would be looking at the incident.

As for Ruutu, who knows what was going on in his head. Was the bite purely reactionary, or is he trying to fill the shoes of Sean Avery as the NHL's new most hated player? At least Ruutu keeps his shenanigans on the ice, but if he keeps pulling stunts like this one it won't be long before the NHL's disciplinarians straighten him out.

Here is the video of Jarkko Ruutu biting Andrew Peters:

 

written by admin \\ tags: Andrew Peters, Buffalo Sabres, hockey bloopers, Jarkko Ruutu, Ottawa Senators