On The Brink

The Nashville Predators put on a gutsy performance Saturday evening, winning 3-1 over the Ducks in Anaheim.  They were without their top 2 centres.  We already knew on Friday that Ryan Johansen's season was done, having injured his leg in game 4, that required surgery.
He suffered an acute compartment syndrome of the left thigh.

Mike Fisher was also hurt in game 4.  The Predators' captain was struck in the jaw by an errant knee from Ducks defenceman, Josh Manson, jumped in an attempt to bat a puck that was in the air.

The Ducks had their own injury woes, as the team's second leading scorer in the playoffs, Rickard Rakell, with a lower body injury.  He won't be ready to play in game 6, nor Patrick Eaves, who also has a lower body injury.

Of even greater concern would be the status of the team's starting netminder.  John Gibson left after the first period in game 5.  No reason was given, but it was suggested that he might have injured his right knee when video replay showed he might have stretched out his right leg awkwardly against the post.  He commented that he would be ready to go for game 6 following the game, though head coach, Randy Carlyle, was non-committal until Gibson was evaluated by team doctors.

Nashville now have the chance to punch their ticket to their very first Stanley Cup Final appearance at home.  There shouldn't be an empty seat in the building, with every single fan decked out in yellow.

Not to jinx them or anything, but when the regular season started way back in October, the Nashville Predators were predicted by EA Sports to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup.  They were once game predicted to win before the playoffs began using the 16 teams that made the post season.  Five more wins and those predictions become true.

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Part of the story line during the Eastern Conference Final were all the injuries to key players in which the Pittsburgh Penguins were having to deal with.  They've gotten some of them back as the series went on, while others went on the IR.  

Now, it's the other way around.  Three very important players for the Senators left the game early.  Erick Karlsson, Cody Ceci, and Derick Brassard were all done after the second period.  It's would be a huge blow for Ottawa if any of them, let alone all three, were unavailable for game 6, as they face elimination.  Even with them, they would be in tough as the Penguins have finally figured them out.

More than Matt Murray providing the Penguins' solid netminding as he took over for Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh were able to finally break through Ottawa's frustrating defence, mainly by taking the lead in game 4, forcing Ottawa to open things up, which played right into the more skillful Penguins.  Ottawa eventually scored twice in the third period, but were unable to tie the game up, losing 3-2.

In game 5, Ottawa did themselves in.  Turnovers, turnovers, and more turnovers lead to goals by Pittsburgh.  They had 4 before the 1st period was over, chasing Sens' goalie, Craig Anderson, twice.  Once after the Penguins took a 3-0 at the sixteen minute mark, then for good after the 1st intermission.

Before we go on saying the Senators' Cinderella run will be coming to an end, we should remember how resilient the team has been through this years playoffs.  They have come back in games to win in overtime.  People thought they were done after being embarrassed by the New York Rangers in games 3 and 4 of the second round.  They bounced back to reach the Eastern Conference Final.

It will be tough.  Tougher if the team loses any of its top players.  But, it's not entirely impossible that there will be a game 7 back in Pittsburgh.  Know this: Ottawa will bring it at home on Tuesday.

Old Habits Die Hard

There was a time when a homophobic slur was no big think in sports.  It was part of the language used by players in their trash talk.  If one player uttered such a word, the other player would probably scream it back, and after more jawing, the players would move along.
Even if said words were caught on camera, chances are, nothing would happen to them.
No suspension, no fine, no apologizes either.

Today, times are very different, and that is a good thing.  Society, for the most part, have become more accepting of people of different backgrounds, religions, colour, and their sexual preferences.  As long as people are good, why does it matter if they are different?

It would seem, though, that is sports, athletes are somewhat slow to change.  Anaheim Ducks captain, Ryan Getzlaf, has been fined $10,000 (the maximum allowed) by the NHL for uttering a homophobic slur during game 4, which was caught on camera, though there was no audio.

Just a couple of days ago, Toronto Blue Jays outfielder, Kevin Pillar, was suspended for 2 games by the team for screaming a homophobic slur at an opposing pitcher.  He was immediately contrite following the game and issued an apology.

Andrew Shaw, while still with the Chicago Blackhawks was suspended for a game and fined $5000 for directing a homophobic slur towards an official.  It is no surprise that the NHL did not suspend Getzlaf, as this is the way the league operates.

I've joked in the past that the league spins a wheel with various suspensions, fines, and even nothing on it, to determine what punishment a player will receive.  That would explain  of the head scratching decisions the league has made in the past.  If it was still the regular season or if Getzlaf wasn't one of the top players on the Ducks, it would not be surprising if he would have received the same penalty that Shaw received last year.  If the league wanted to send a message, they would have suspended Getzlaf for a game.  Make the punishment harsh so that players think twice and can't use the "in the heat of the moment" argument.

To the NHL's credit, they have partnered with You Can Play since 2012.  The group's goal is to eradicate homophobia in sports.  Teams have taken steps in the last few years to be more inclusion, participating in pride parades.

There has never been a NHL player, past or present, who has come out as gay.  There have few in sports in general, but the feeling of acceptance of a gay teammate has risen in most sports, at least that is what some have said.

So why then in the year 2017, athletes are still using homophobic slurs?

Well, because for so many years it was normal to use a homophobic slur as part of trash talk.  Even for somebody like Getzlaf, who is 32, it was considered no big deal.  I don't think Getzlaf is homophobic or a bad person at all, though I don't know him personally, so I couldn't be 100% about that.

For future generation of players, using homophobic slurs, or even calling male athletes 'girls' or other female terms which is supposed to be an insult, should become non-existent as the times change.

Life Of A Goalie

There's a reason moms don't want their babies to be goalies.  Not only do they have to wear all that equipment, but when things go wrong, they get the blame, even if its not really their fault.  They are pretty much the only star on the team that can be replaced the next game.
There were plenty of Penguins who didn't have a great night, but only Marc-Andre Fluery will be watching from the bench, replaced by...well his replacement, Matt Murray, who took over as the team's number one goalie this season.  Yes, that comes with the position, but it's still not exactly fair.

Fleury has been good, not great, and he's had a couple of bad games.  But, without him, the Penguins might not even be in the conference final in the first place.  As much as the Washington Capitals didn't show up in game 7 last round, Fleury still needed to be sharp in the 2-0 win.

While Fleury gave up 4 goals on just 9 shots in the first 13 minutes of game 3, he didn't exactly have a lot of help.  A couple of those goals were fluky and hard to completely fault Fleury.  Based on that, he should get another shot, but he won't be.  It will be Murray in net for game 4.

It's not that shocking of a move for a couple of reasons.  One, Murray is the present and the future for the Penguins after leading the team to the Stanley Cup last year.  He got hurt in the warm up before the very first playoff game and as a result, Fleury was given the opportunity to be the starter again.  It must have been a great feeling for the French-Canadian to be once again playing every game.

Second, Penguins' head coach, Mike Sullivan, did this last year.  He switched goalies in the middle of the conference final against Tampa Bay when the series was tied up at two. Sullivan went back to the veteran Fleury for game 5, which they lost, before going back to Murray, with the younger goalie coming through in the next game.  It's possible Sullivan could pull the same move.

By going with Murray, Sullivan made it clear it wasn't about Fleury, but looking for something that could give his team a jolt of life.  They have scored just two goals in three games.
Some of that is on the tight defensive play of the Senators, but some of that is also on the Penguins themselves failing to generate enough offence.  Changing the goaltender isn't exactly going to change that.

Mr. Overtime

Corey Perry is one of only two players remaining from the Anaheim Ducks' 2007 Stanley Cup win.  Ryan Getzlaf is the other player and he's been doing everything in his power to get the Ducks back to the final for the first time since then.

Perry, on the other hand, has been mostly quiet in this years post season.  Except, out of the four goals he has scored, three of them have come in overtime.  The latest, last night in Nashville, evening up the Western Conference Final at two.  The goal was very similar to the overtime winner he scored in game 3 against Calgary, from the side boards and deflecting off something in front of the net.  In the case of last night, it was P.K. Subban's stick, who was trying to tip the puck away, not into his own goal.

Every since being reunited with Getzlaf in game 3 against Edmonton, Perry has played much better.  He's found his way to fourth in team scoring with those 4 goals and 7 assists. Yet, he still seems like a shadow of his former self, at least from an offensive perspective. Thankfully for the Ducks, other players like Jakob Silfverberg and Rickard Rakell have stepped up.

The goal salvaged a win for Anaheim, who led 2-0 late into the third period before the Predators mounted a furious comeback.  Subban got things rolling with a shot from the point that found its way past John Gibson.

Anaheim would then do pretty much everything it could to help the Predators tie the game up.  They took back to back penalties, giving Nashville a 5 on 3 man advantage, which they managed to kill off.

Defenceman Josh Manson unnecessarily iced the puck which lead to the tying goal.  A weird play in its own right, the puck had deflected straight up into the air and dropped behind the goal line, having stayed in play.  Eventually, Filip Forsberg banged the puck past Gibson to send the game to overtime.  Had Manson looked up, he would have noticed that he had time and space to move the puck out.

An exciting overtime following, with both teams trading chances, ending on Perry's goal.  It was relief for Anaheim who didn't have to go home facing elimination.

You Wants Goals? You Get Goals!

The Ottawa Senators answered their critics very quickly, and emphatically, in game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final, scoring 4 goals in the first 13 minutes.  They came out with plenty of energy, going hard on the forecheck.

Mike Hoffman banked the puck off of Pittsburgh goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury, just 48 seconds after the opening face off.  Ottawa got another lucky bounce on their second goal 10 minutes later.  Marc Methot, a stay at home defencemen, was stopped by Fleury, but the rebound bounced off Ian Cole, before Fluery ended up kicking the puck back into his own goal.  Two more quick goals by Derick Brassard and Zack Smith a couple of minutes later spelled the end of Fleury's night.  Kyle Turris would score in the second period on Fluery's replacement, Matt Murray, while Sidney Crosby scored the lone goal for the Penguins in a 5-1 loss.

Playing in front of a packed house, Ottawa realized they needed to press the Penguins.  They couldn't quite sit back like they did in the last game and wait for a mistake that never came.  You can't win a game if you can't score, after all.  The only problem area was the power-play, which might have explained as to why Senators' head coach, Guy Boucher, still had his regular power-play units out there at the end.

As much as the Senators system has shut down the Penguins, the injury bug hasn't helped, either.  The team got back Trevor Daley, no doubt at less than 100 percent, but was without Justin Schultz, who was hurt early in game 2.  As a result, the defence wasn't very good in front of Fleury.

Up front, Patric Hornqvist's absence is hurting the Pittsburgh offence.  Without him, Mike Sullivan doesn't have the ability to shake up his lines.  Malkin and Kessel continue to struggle, while Sidney Crosby simply does not seem to be the same player as he was before getting cross checked in the face in the last series by Washington's Matt Niskanen. Jake Guentzel leads the playoffs with 9 goals, but hasn't been much of a threat so far. Conor Sheary hasn't scored at all.

There will be much discussions, outside and within the coaches room, as to who should start in the next game for the Pittsburgh Penguins.  In a role reversal from a year ago, Fluery took over for Matt Murray after Murray hurt himself during the warm ups in the very first playoff game.  There will be some who will suggest he should start game 4, giving the Penguins a change.

By no means was Fleury the reason the team lost.  He's had his ups and downs in the playoffs, but replacing him would unfairly put everything on him.  He deserves another chance to go back into the net.  The Penguins might not even be here without him.

That being said, if we hop in Doc Brown's time traveling DeLorean and go back to last years' conference final, Penguins head coach, Mike Sullivan, tabbed Fleury to start game 5 with the series tied.  Sullivan felt Murray needed the breather.  The Penguins lost and Murray was back in between the pipes for game 6 and 7, which they won.  Could Sullivan do the same thing this year?

No Style Points Given

The Ottawa Senators played two, almost, perfect road games in the Eastern Conference Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins.  I say almost perfect because while they won game 1 in overtime, they lost game 2 on a single goal by angry Phil Kessel.

Their style of play leaves a lot to desire.  It is a no nonsense, defence first system that leaves fans, wanting goals and exciting play, yawning at the lack of action.  While we all like to see goals galore, in the playoffs, style points don't mean anything, especially in the playoffs.  You do what you have to do and ignore the critics.

Against the favourite and much more talented team, that features Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Phil Kessel, the Senators need to do whatever it takes to win. That means trying to win 1-0 every game.

The Penguins were clearly frustrated, in particular Phil Kessel.  The winger, in a rare show of emotion, vented his frustrations at linemate, Evgeni Malkin, for not moving the puck quick enough.  He eventually balled up all that anger and scored the only goal of game 2 as the Penguins evened up the series at one a piece.



That isn't to say the Senators aren't capable of playing a more uptempo style.  Every team in the league can play at a fast pace.  It's just a matter of if they can win that way.  The thing is, the Senators have been involved some exciting games in these playoffs, including a couple of come from behind overtime wins, where there were goals and more goals.

The fear, of course, is that if the Senators end up winning the Stanley Cup playing a more defence first style, more teams will follow, much like how teams copied the New Jersey Devils when they won their Cup in 1995.  It took quite a while before the league recovered from the dead puck era as it was known.  So, while I hope the Sens can bring home the Cup, I wouldn't want to see the league, already struggling for goals, to come back to that dark period.

'Ad' Nauseum

In a time long, long ago, a NHL rink was devoid of any advertisements.  There weren't any beer or car logos soiling the white ice or the rink boards.  Those times have changed and then some.  Starting in the 1980s, teams began to sell advertisements on the boards, then the ice.  Over time, the ads have evolved.  Now, thanks to technology, they can be digitally projected onto the glass for the viewers at home.  During the 2016 World Cup of Hockey (more on that later), digital ads were injected into the television broadcasts, while the fans at the Air Canada Centre saw old fashion banners on the boards.  Today, if a game was played without any advertisements, it would actually be a shock, as fans have become completely use to them.

It could be worse.

It could be like in Europe, where ads litter the ice completely, as well as the players.

NHL Commissioner, Gary Bettman, has gone on record as saying the NHL has no plans on ads on jerseys...for now.  But, as NBA teams take to the floor with a small ad patch on the left chest on their jerseys, beginning in 2017-18, how long will NHL owners continue to sit on the bench and watch as money slips through their hands.  Its not like ads don't already appear on NHL jerseys, after all, albeit on practice jerseys.

When the NHL and Reebok were set to introduce an entirely new uniform system, which Reebok had dubbed RBK Edge, a rumour swirling around was that goalies would wear a different colour jersey, much like they do in soccer, and would feature advertising.  Thankfully, it didn't happen, along with the players having to tuck in their jerseys into their hockey pants.  So, the idea of ads on jerseys have been kicking around for some time, it's just that the NHL wasn't willing to be the first.

Back to the World Cup of Hockey.  The NHL tested the waters of how well ads on jerseys might be received by fans by placing tech company SAP's logo on the shoulder of all eight World Cup jerseys.  No financial terms were released.  Fans, suffice to say, do not like the idea of any advertisement on the jerseys.  It should be noted that the retail jerseys fans can buy didn't feature the ads.  But, that might only have been because the SAP sponsorship was announced after the the jerseys were already on sale.  Don't be surprised if the all-star game jerseys are next to be tested out.

The Cleveland Cavaliers became the latest team to sign an ad deal just a couple of days ago, signing with Goodyear.  They are the sixth team to do so.  The deal is reportedly for $10 million over the next 3 years, as the NBA test the waters and whether or not to continue with ads after those 3 years.  Goodyear's winged foot logo will even appear on hats and t-shirts.  Admittedly, the logo which is in Cleveland's colours, didn't look out of place on the hats and t-shirts, and if one didn't know it was Goodyear, might think it was just part of the design.

NHL teams won't command $10 million a year.  Other NBA teams won't even get that much.  Even the big market NHL teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs or Chicago Blackhawks would be unlikely to be able to charge that much.  But, they should still get a premium over what lesser teams like the Arizona Coyotes and Florida Panthers might be able to ask for.  It has been suggested that the league could generate an extra $120 million in ad revenue.  

My opinion on the ads is that the NHL should stay away from them.  The jersey is sacred and shouldn't be sullied by an advertisement for McDonald's or Molson or anything else.  It would a kin to selling one's soul.  And for what?  The price of a third liner or fifth defencemen?  Sure, some teams could use that extra revenue, but if you are already losing millions every year, then you've got some bigger problems. 

Will it happen?  Unfortunately , probably.  It is unlikely to happen until for another few years as the NHL studies how it goes down with the NBA.  In the end, ads on jerseys may become as normal as ads on the boards and ice.