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Summer Solstice and the Semi Finals |
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As the year’s longest day winds down, let’s shed some light on the league in the midst of two intriguing semifinals series....
Head hits and the NHL: Braydon McNabb’s hit on Nick Suzuki last Friday night was the type of high-speed, violent collision that was pretty much trademarked by former New Jersey Devil Scott Stevens twenty years ago. It is also strictly illegal under current NHL rules. While McNabb kept his arms down and elbows in, the replay of Suzuki’s head snapping back leaves no doubt that head was a major point of contact. While not quite as violent, McNabb’s hit on Auturi Lehkonen later in Game 3 was even more blatant as he left his feet prior to impact, driving his upper body directly into Lehkonen’s head while also driving him into the boards.
These hits have been declared illegal by the NHL for the past decade and have been the league’s prime defense against potential concussion and brain-trauma lawsuits. To let both of these hits go without so much as a two minute penalty or supplemental fine calls into question the validity of the entire NHL rule book. If the resilient Suzuki was 31years old instead of 21, he might still not know where he was… and shouldn’t a concussion spotter have required him to be given a baseline test, given the violent whiplash suffered? Yes… playoff hockey means letting the cross checks and the slashes go — but how can you let these devastating hits — specifically outlawed by the rulebook — go unpenalized just because it’s the playoffs? The NHL is leaving themselves open for a billion dollar lawsuit or a permanent devastating injury to a player by absolutely ignoring its own edicts.
Vegas: Yes, Fleury’s gaff is making all the headlines, but really, the more significant development is how Vegas’ Achilles’ heel is the center ice position. For all their strength and depth throughout the rest of their lineup, the Golden Knights are quite possibly the weakest of all 16 of the playoff teams at center ice. As Chandler Stephenson (an effective player but hardly a star) goes out, they have run through Kolesar, Roy, Tuch, and Noesek as top-line centermen to no good effect. Unless Stephenson returns, it appears that Karlsson is the only center on the roster who can effectively distribute the puck. Could Mark Stone at center and Tuch on the wing with Pacioretty be the answer? We shall see tonight.
Montreal: While Cole Caufield’s playoff debut for Montreal is not the equal of Ken Dryden’s, I'm sure there's a few Quebecois of a certain age that will wax nostalgic as the Hab’s playoff run deepens. The Canadiens appear to be the kind of team that has caught magic in a bottle and has the right mix at the key positions to be an ideal playoff machine. Bending and not breaking, withstanding long stretches of being outplayed without being overwhelmed, developing a team synergy that oozes resilience, and almost always coming up with the goods at crunch time. Winnipeg and Toronto were maybe not as bad as we thought? Montreal probably can't win the cup, but they can come close; their storybook run harkens back to the Anaheim Ducks of 2003 or the Edmonton Oilers of 2008.
Tampa Bay: Yes, they are in a dogfight, and their energy level in these playoffs have seen a few dips, but the Lightning are the team of our time. Harking to great teams like the Islanders, Oilers, and Canadiens, they have the (arguably) the best forward in the league, the best goaltender in the league, and the best goalie in the league, and a great fit of complementary pieces. If the constraints of the hard cap see them broken up over the next year or two, it will be to the detriment of the sport and neutral fans everywhere. Among the major sports leagues, the NHL is the only one which goes through such due diligence to water down its product.
New York Islanders: After playing in the most thrilling and intense series of round 2 with the Bruins, their Tampa gameplan has conspired to make their series the duller semi-final so far. But with the champ’s title on the line, and the Isles half-century history at Uniondale coming to a close, the final three games should be must-see TV. Meanwhile, at the top of the lineup card, the combo of grit and skill that Matt Barzal has shown these past two series has put him definitively into the uppermost echelon of hockey’s elite talents. On just about any other team in the league, Barzal would be a point per game player with ease.
NBC: With Forslund-McGuire-Micheletti and Albert-Olczyk-Boucher, NBC has compiled two great announcing teams who combine insight, humor, knowledge and camaraderie to guide the viewers into the Cup finals. As NBC exits the stage... viewers can only hope that ESPN/TNT can come close to replicating their quality and chemistry.
Gilles Moncour
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