Goalie Interference

Agree completely with this *except* I expect them to fall down a LOT--every chance they get to draw a penalty.

I think McDavid's slash was a mitigating factor in Soucy's suspension. If there's no slash before the cross-check, it's probably 3 games for Soucy. So no fine for McDavid *but* a shorter suspension for Soucy. Also, $5K is the max fine, and I'll bet you can find that in loose hundreds between the seats of McDavid's Tesla. He wouldn't miss it ...

Not a bad idea, but Aman was really good on the penalty kill last night, and we need all the help we can get there.

One of the things I really admire about Allvin and Tocchet is that they don't gripe about officiating. I read somewhere that PA has said that he didn't want the Canucks to be a team that whinges about adversity--injuries, officiating, schedules, etc. As fans we can bitch and moan, but I really like the fact our coach and management don't get involved in that. Have faith in our depth and our system; we'll be okay.

Absolutely this. If you knew your only goals were going to come on the powerplay, you'd be doing everything possible to draw penalties.

By the way, if anyone's interested in the local Toronto media angle, it goes like this: it's incumbent on the league to protect McDavid so he's not damaged goods when he inevitably signs with the Leafs.

I hope you're right. But I think the headshot rule comes down to a difference between a legal hit to the body v an illegal (but unintentional) hit to the head: whereas this comes down to the difference between an illegal cross-check to the body v a more seriously illegal cross-check to the head. And the fact McDavid's the victim undoubtedly plays into it; if it was Kane, the league would be cheering ...

I've been impressed with Juulsen all year and don't mind seeing him in. He looked overmatched in his game against Nashville, and I hope he's learned from that. I also suspect refs will be watching him carefully, and we can't afford to have him take reckless penalties.

Great analysis! I think the league has said that 1 playoff game equals 2 regular-season games, so you can probably halve this: 1 or 2 games is more likely.

You're absolutely right. The trouble is, a cross-check is already an illegal act (he received a penalty for it). You can't say claim innocence on the grounds you only meant to cross-check him in the chest: the league will say you shouldn't have been cross-checking him at all, and so you're responsible for the consequences. Unfortunately ...

For the PK alone that was a great coaching decision

Like, first place in the division unsuccessful?

It's frustrating to watch, but they've got a 2-goal lead on the road. They're going to play this the way they played with 3rd period leads since January--pretty cautious, pretty successful

For all the talk of Edmonton's indomitable power play, both teams are now 2/3. Refs can put the whistles away now ...