When I wrote this on Friday…

“A side note to NHL discipline guy Colin Campbell… If you suspend Dan Carcillo for a game and fine the Flyers for breaking stupid at the end of game one of the Pens - Flyers series, you have to do the same thing for Lapierre’s gutless move at the end of last night’s game… prove there is no bias in your decisions.”

… I really thought that there would be a suspension to ensure that these two teams would stay under control. If you allow the kind of play that happened after an empty net goal then you just invite more trouble. Then if you don’t address it, and come out with a lame excuse as to why, well… you invite more trouble.

Welcome to more trouble… another stupid play… another call… and now the NHL decides to suspend Milan Lucic for a game. How interesting, the quote from Colin Campbell is every bit as obtuse as his explanation for his lack of action after game two… “It is unclear whether Lucic's glove or stick makes contact with Lapierre.....but what is clear is that he delivered a reckless and forceful blow to the head of his opponent."

Wow… and everyone wonders why the officiating in the NHL is inconsistent… and there’s Lapierre in the middle of another one… Is anyone else thinking that if the NHL would’ve been consistent this would not have happened as Lapierre would’ve been suspended instead of stirring it up again?

It a shame that a potentially great series is being interferred with in this way.

------------------------------

The first round is shaking out, with some surprises… the Western Conference…

New coach... no different results? The Sharks dropping two at home? Wow… the pressure will really amp up on San Jose now as their expectations from a great regular season mount. I didn’t see this team falling until round two… but it does show you that “they” were right… no one wanted to see Anaheim in the first round.

I knew that the Red Wings got the right draw… Columbus isn’t even putting up a fight. Game three tomorrow night should be a little different as the Jackets should feed of their first playoff home game crowd but they have not been in either of the first two games.

I really thought that St. Louis would win yesterday… great comeback for the Canucks and major props to Roberto Luongo. Paul Kariya teased a possible comeback, skating with the team and being very coy in an intermission interview yesterday… he better get there soon, or he’ll be waiting until October.

The Chicago/Calgary series is shaking out the way I saw it… Tonight, the Red Mile will be nuts for game three, puck drops at 8:30pm. We’ll go in depth on this one on HockeyBuzz Radio with Al Cimaglia from ESPNChicago.com.

Heading east…

If the NHL head office could get out of the way, the Bruins/Habs series has all the makings of a classic, intensity, grit, enough dirt to make it interesting… but that isn’t the case. The pressure on Montreal, down 0-2 coming into tonight’s game will be intense.

The surprise of the playoffs is the New York Rangers. I expected them to win this series, but even I didn’t expect them to come home with a 2-0 lead on the Capitals. Game three tonight at MSG should be a fun one to watch.

The NJ Devils regained home ice advantage after yesterday’s overtime win in Carolina. We’re talking to hockeybuzz blogger Roger Mussa tonight on HockeyBuzz Radio to get the inside look at this series and the east.

The Penguins/Flyers series became a series last night as the Flyers won a shootout 6-3 to bring their series to 2-1. Home ice appears to be the key in this series so far… which makes the Flyers uninspiring performance in their last regular season game even more important.

-----------------------------

Three games tonight… all times CDT

Game Three - 6pm – Boston @ Montreal - Coverage on CBC, RDS, NESN
Game Three - 6pm – Washington @ NY Rangers - Coverage on Versus, TSN
Game Three - 8:30pm – Chicago @ Calgary – Coverage on Versus, TSN

------------------------------

The Milwaukee Admirals are now up 3-0 in their series with Rockford… all three games were won with a 3-1 score… Game four is tomorrow night in Rockford.

------------------------------

Join Brandon Felder and me for the fastest hour in radio… HockeyBuzz Radio, the show has moved to Wednesday nights for the playoffs... except for tonight, due to scheduling conflicts, we will be back in our normal Monday 6pm time slot for tonight only...

Tonight’s show will feature ESPNChicago.com's Al Cimaglia... We'll get his take on the Blackhawks/Flames series ... we'll also be talking to HockeyBuzz Devils blogger Roger Mussa for his take on the Devils/Canes and the east. Start time is 6pm on SportsRadio 560 WNSR, you can listen online at www.wnsr.com or you can download the podcast of the show at www.hockeybuzzradio.com

Also... don't forget to check out www.hockeybuzzradio.com for playoff schedules, playoff standings, updates, links to more hockey and Predators information.

The site has been revamped, featuring a new section called HBRCares, dedicated to fundraising and community activities that HBR and the Preds are involved in.

"Our House" is chock full of pictures from recent games... some on the ice, but mostly of the fans... only at hockeybuzzradio.com.

Join the Discussion: » Comments » Post New Comment

» The time has come

» Whining through Game 3

» Playoff Picks

» Waiting for he playoffs

» A special night in Smashville