It's that time of year again, time for my yearly blog post mentioning my NHL playoff predictions. Here goes. And of course, as with previous years my wife's predictions are given as well (we have a completely not elaborate scoring system and the winner at the end of the playoffs gets bragging rights).
Eastern Conference
NY Rangers vs Ottawa Senators
My Prediction: NYR in 4
Wife's Prediction: Sens in 7
Boston Bruins vs Washington Capitals
I'm biased on this series, as I hate the Bruins, but I really think this one has the making of an upset. Caps won't go far past round 1, but I really think they have the potential to surprise an overachieving B's club.
My Prediction: Caps in 7
Wife's Prediction: Caps in 7
Florida Panthers vs NJ Devils
My Prediction: NJ in 6
Wife's Prediction:NJ in 6
Pittsburgh Penguins vs Philadelphia Flyers
Man, this one is just going to be a war.
My Prediction: Pens in 7
Wife's Prediction: Pens in 5
Western Conference
St Louis Blues vs SJ Sharks
My Prediction: Blues in 5
Wife's Prediction: Sharks in 5
Phoenix Coyotes vs Chicago Blackhawks
Chicago worries me. They are definitely my dark horse for the west, I wouldn't be surprised to see them surprise people and go far.
My Prediction: Chicago in 6
Wife's Prediction: Phoenix in 6
Nashville Predators vs Detroit Red Wings
Back around Jan/early Feb Detroit was my pick to win it all this year. I dunno what's going on there, but they've really stumbled of late. And I know what Nashville is capable of in the playoffs, there's a definite risk here of having a goalie steal a series. I hope Detroit wins, but don't be surprised if Nashville makes it through.
My Prediction: Preds in 7
Wife's Prediction: Preds in 7
Vancouver Canucks vs LA Kings
This is the year. See you all in June when Hank raises the cup.
My Prediction: Canucks in 5
Wife's Prediction: Canucks in 5
Showing posts with label nhl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nhl. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
The Rome Hit & Suspension
NHL fan-friends, make me understand the Rome suspension.
How is the Rome hit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUYqTE3cnuQ
different from say, this classic hit by Scott Stevens that was largely hailed as one of the great plays of that series:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8up-tkxZ4r8
Okay the NHL is different now. New rules have been put in place (this season) to try and curtail concussions. But this means that in only 8 years a play that would've been the highlight of the night, and put you into the hall of fame, is now something that will get you kicked out of the NHL finals, and vilified as being one of the dirtiest players to hit the ice.
I agree, Rome's hit was late. According to the NHL rulebook, interference is called when a player is: "Moving laterally and without establishing body position, then making contact with the non-puck carrier is not permitted and will be penalized as interference". Okay, I buy that. Rome did move laterally into Horton, he didn't have established body position. Having said that however, watch the Rome replay, he's actually moving in for the hit as Horton is making the pass, it just took that extra second for the contact to be made.
But, why a match penalty?
Again, according to the rulebook "A match penalty shall be imposed on any player who deliberately attempts to injure or who deliberately injures an opponent in any manner." So presumably the reasoning is that Rome *intended to injure* Horton. I don't buy this. Rome's hit was late, but he didn't raise his elbow. His feet left the ice, but only after the hit (he didn't "jump into" Horton). I guess the referees saw it differently.
So then, why the suspension?
Historically the NHL has had one of the worst reputations for being completely inconsistent with suspensions. Sometimes players will get no suspension, others will get several games for similar plays. Some of the common variables that reportedly are involved include whether or not there was intent to injure, whether the infraction was premeditated, and the big one -- whether or not the player is a repeat offender. Going down the list, I already commented that it did not seem to be an intent to injure. Given the play transpired in the span of a couple seconds it's difficult to see how this could have been premeditated. And finally, Rome has never been suspended in his NHL career.
But apparently the play was "dirty" enough to warrant being suspended for the duration of the Stanley Cup finals. I'm hard pressed to think of any instance of this happening in the entire history of the NHL. The last time a player was suspended in the finals was when Pronger clotheslined Dean McAmmond. This was a play where there was clear intent to injure, and Pronger was most definitely a repeat offender. His suspension? 1 game. So extrapolating: a split second play with no premeditation, by a player who's never been suspended before was 4 times as bad as a clear hit to the head by a player who's been suspended and had run-ins with NHL disciplinarians throughout his career. Huh?
Please, make me understand.
Edit: Some interesting links
How is the Rome hit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUYqTE3cnuQ
different from say, this classic hit by Scott Stevens that was largely hailed as one of the great plays of that series:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8up-tkxZ4r8
Okay the NHL is different now. New rules have been put in place (this season) to try and curtail concussions. But this means that in only 8 years a play that would've been the highlight of the night, and put you into the hall of fame, is now something that will get you kicked out of the NHL finals, and vilified as being one of the dirtiest players to hit the ice.
I agree, Rome's hit was late. According to the NHL rulebook, interference is called when a player is: "Moving laterally and without establishing body position, then making contact with the non-puck carrier is not permitted and will be penalized as interference". Okay, I buy that. Rome did move laterally into Horton, he didn't have established body position. Having said that however, watch the Rome replay, he's actually moving in for the hit as Horton is making the pass, it just took that extra second for the contact to be made.
But, why a match penalty?
Again, according to the rulebook "A match penalty shall be imposed on any player who deliberately attempts to injure or who deliberately injures an opponent in any manner." So presumably the reasoning is that Rome *intended to injure* Horton. I don't buy this. Rome's hit was late, but he didn't raise his elbow. His feet left the ice, but only after the hit (he didn't "jump into" Horton). I guess the referees saw it differently.
So then, why the suspension?
Historically the NHL has had one of the worst reputations for being completely inconsistent with suspensions. Sometimes players will get no suspension, others will get several games for similar plays. Some of the common variables that reportedly are involved include whether or not there was intent to injure, whether the infraction was premeditated, and the big one -- whether or not the player is a repeat offender. Going down the list, I already commented that it did not seem to be an intent to injure. Given the play transpired in the span of a couple seconds it's difficult to see how this could have been premeditated. And finally, Rome has never been suspended in his NHL career.
But apparently the play was "dirty" enough to warrant being suspended for the duration of the Stanley Cup finals. I'm hard pressed to think of any instance of this happening in the entire history of the NHL. The last time a player was suspended in the finals was when Pronger clotheslined Dean McAmmond. This was a play where there was clear intent to injure, and Pronger was most definitely a repeat offender. His suspension? 1 game. So extrapolating: a split second play with no premeditation, by a player who's never been suspended before was 4 times as bad as a clear hit to the head by a player who's been suspended and had run-ins with NHL disciplinarians throughout his career. Huh?
Please, make me understand.
Edit: Some interesting links
- http://www.canuckz.com/2011/06/07/aaron-rome-suspended-4-games-nhl-lacks-consistency/ -- FTA: "A reminder to everyone who often forget this, but head shots that aren’t from the blind side are legal in the NHL, as long as it is with your shoulder." Which the Rome hit was (shoulder)
- http://www.torontosun.com/2011/06/07/rome-suspension-strong-statement-by-nhl
- http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourcommunity/2011/06/horton-hit-should-canucks-rome-be-suspended.html FTA: has a poll asking for people's thoughts on if the suspension was appropriate with four choices ranging from "too lenient" to "too strong", and at the time of this writing the poll is almost completely evenly split between all four choices.
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAKE27l7ZzA The McGinn hit on Rome in the SJ series. This was a hit from behind, with McGinn not recieving any suspension at all.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Round 3 Predictions
Boston vs Tampa Bay
My Prediction: Boston in 6
Wife's Prediction: Tampa in 6
Vancouver vs San Jose
My Prediction: Vancouver in 6
Wife's Prediction: Vancouver in 7
My Prediction: Boston in 6
Wife's Prediction: Tampa in 6
Vancouver vs San Jose
My Prediction: Vancouver in 6
Wife's Prediction: Vancouver in 7
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Round 2 Predictions
And round 2 is up:
Eastern Conference
Washington Capitals vs Tampa Bay Lightning
My Prediction: Tampa in 6
Wife's Prediction: Tampa in 7
Philadelphia Flyers vs Boston Bruins
My Prediction: Flyers in 7
Wife's Prediction: Flyers in 6
Western Conference
San Jose Sharks vs Detroit Red Wings
My Prediction: Wings in 6
Wife's Prediction: Sharks in 7
Vancouver Canucks vs Nashville Predators
My Prediction: Canucks in 5
Wife's Prediction: Canucks in 5
PS - round 1 predictions results were a little off from last year, but using the scoring system the wife & I usually use (2 points for predicting the winning team, 1 for the number of games) the scores are 12 for me, and 9 for her. :)
Eastern Conference
Washington Capitals vs Tampa Bay Lightning
My Prediction: Tampa in 6
Wife's Prediction: Tampa in 7
Philadelphia Flyers vs Boston Bruins
My Prediction: Flyers in 7
Wife's Prediction: Flyers in 6
Western Conference
San Jose Sharks vs Detroit Red Wings
My Prediction: Wings in 6
Wife's Prediction: Sharks in 7
Vancouver Canucks vs Nashville Predators
My Prediction: Canucks in 5
Wife's Prediction: Canucks in 5
PS - round 1 predictions results were a little off from last year, but using the scoring system the wife & I usually use (2 points for predicting the winning team, 1 for the number of games) the scores are 12 for me, and 9 for her. :)
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