[skippy the wonder dog]

Gotta hand it to Boston... imagine your home playoff game going up against Sawx-Yankees, and thus having so many Hab fans in your home rink. OK, not the worst thing in the world, but it sucks all the same. But they pull it off in OT, and now the Habs have a series on their hands

Well, they already had a series on their hands. Game 1 looked like the Bruins were going to get creamed, but they've put together a good game plan to neutralize the Habs PP and their top scorers and they're playing their best hockey.

Still, it's gonna be Habs in 5, I think.

[cferneyh]

What a comeback! That first period was just brutal. I was shocked by how badly the Flames were stinking it up. But give 'em full credit for taking over the game and storming back the way they did. Cujo was awesome in relief of Kipper, and that monster hit by Sarich on Marleau was a thing of beauty. Gotta love playoff hockey.

Very impressive win by the Flames. When it was 3-0 I thought the series was over, let alone the game. It's gonna be tough for SJ to bounce back from that. Speaking of SJ, they are starting to remind me of the St. Louis Blues (pre-salary cap), in that they always put together impressive regular seasons, and then they just seem to fall apart in playoffs.

Loved Kelly Hrudey for calling out Brian Campbell for not paying the price on Nolan's winner. That's two GWGs that Campbell has been responsible for. Wonder how the Sharks are feeling about that trade now.

[The Darkest Canuck]

SOOOOOOOOOOOO Impressed by Calgary! That was the ebst playoff game yet this year! What an effort! Lookout Western Conference...THE FLAMES ARE BAAAAAAAACK! Yikes!

and Cujo, my my my, what a fantastic job he did, I couldn't believe when one of the dumbass comentators said he thought they should put Kipper back in for the 2nd period...why do half of the CBC's commentators say such STUPID things during games?

[opiated]

What a comeback! That first period was just brutal. I was shocked by how badly the Flames were stinking it up. But give 'em full credit for taking over the game and storming back the way they did. Cujo was awesome in relief of Kipper, and that monster hit by Sarich on Marleau was a thing of beauty. Gotta love playoff hockey.

Very impressive win by the Flames. When it was 3-0 I thought the series was over, let alone the game. It's gonna be tough for SJ to bounce back from that. Speaking of SJ, they are starting to remind me of the St. Louis Blues (pre-salary cap), in that they always put together impressive regular seasons, and then they just seem to fall apart in playoffs.

Loved Kelly Hrudey for calling out Brian Campbell for not paying the price on Nolan's winner. That's two GWGs that Campbell has been responsible for. Wonder how the Sharks are feeling about that trade now.

and once again Thornton disappears in the playoffs..if he was European, we'd hear about it all the time

[The Darkest Canuck]

Ya...not to mention Cheechoo got hurt last night...the Sharks might be in some serious trouble now...

I have to admit, i love watching the Flames...brings back memories of bandwagoning in '04, when they totally won the cup, but it didn't count.

[daylight]

Sean Avery's douchebaggery results in a rule change.

And rightly so, I say.

[skippy the wonder dog]

I liked the suggestion from HNIC, that no rule change was necessary.

Avery should have received a misconduct, plain and simple. He was clearly inciting. If he'd tried that with someone like Ron Hextall, he'd have been out for the rest of the playoffs.

[teemudog]

Even though I hate Brodeur, I thought that Avery's display was a disgrace.
:x
He makes a mockery of the game.

[The Darkest Canuck]

Well, at least the guy is out there trying to do everythign within his power to win, you've got to admire that...


he knows that his job is to get under the skin of his opponents, and goddamn does he ever do a phenomenal job of it! Seriously, he's a major part of the Raangers success this year, think about it: if the other team is all riled up and focused in on Avery, it allows JAgr, Shanny, Gomez, Drury and the rest of their players to go just a little bit more unoticed out there on the ice, and allows them to do their jobs a little bit better too, which makes all the difference in the world come playoff time.

Was what he was doing cheap? Yes...was it really against the rules? No, but it is now i suppose...people just love to hate this guy, but he's the best at what he does, and you can't argue with the results that he and his team have been putting up thus far.

[Drez7]

Nice to see the league change a rule after a playoff game. I think that happened once before in 1999 after the Cup (Brett Hull)

[Drez7]

I find the Unsportsmanlike Conduct Rule Interesting...

No joke, this is from the actual rule book!

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.nhl.com/hockeyu/rulebook/rule41.html">http://www.nhl.com/hockeyu/rulebook/rule41.html</a><!-- m -->

Rule 41

a. A minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct shall be imposed on any player who uses obscene, profane or abusive language to any person. If this conduct persists, he shall be assessed a misconduct penalty and if this conduct further persists, then a game misconduct penalty shall be imposed.

b. A minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct shall be assessed to any player who challenges or disputes the rulings of any Official during a game. If the player persists in such challenge or dispute, he shall be assessed a misconduct penalty and any further dispute will result in a game misconduct penalty being assessed to the offending player.

When is this ever enforced?? I don't believe that it should be, but why the heck is it in the rule book??

So, in recap, there is no swearing in the NHL! And...aren't 95% of calls disputed by the player getting the penalty?

[grimes]

I don't see what the big deal is - they didn't really change any rules here. They simply clarified that actions such as Avery's are a violation of the existing unsportsmanlike conduct rule.

[skippy the wonder dog]

I don't see what the big deal is - they didn't really change any rules here. They simply clarified that actions such as Avery's are a violation of the existing unsportsmanlike conduct rule.

That's right, they didn't change the rule. They simply clarified that their officials were incompetent.

[opiated]

brodeur should have kicked him in the nuts

[laliber]

Claude Lemieux, when he was with Les Canadiens once pissed of Ron Hextall by taking a drink out his water bottle during a scrum behind his net. Water bottle etiquette is not covered in the rule book, however, if I recall correctly (it has been awhile) the ref gave him a misconduct penalty on the spot and that was that.