I’d give my two cents on the game last night, but I couldn't watch it. The score says the Sharks did what they were expected to do: beat a terrible team and keep the playoff dreams alive. The playoff chances percentage are at a cool 9% this morning, up from 6.7%.
Let’s talk other stuff today.
Matt O’Connor
Everyone in need of a goaltender is after the 23 year-old Toronto native playing for Boston University. O’Connor is 20-3-4 with a .928 save percentage this year for BU – certainly great numbers. The more media attention he gets the bigger super-hero status he gains from fans. Let’s call it…the Justin Schultz effect.
Came across this Edmonton Sun story from two years ago. Yes, this is the actual headline. #oilers pic.twitter.com/wuMXVL4ifm
— Peter (@petermoreliver) March 13, 2015Now, O’Connor’s save percentage has steadily ascended since 2009-2010 with the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL, but I find it hard to have any hype over him as a savior in goal for the Sharks. The college hockey program is growing in competition and talent level but it’s still nowhere near the level of the three major junior leagues in Canada.
Teams are after this goaltender like he’s the next big thing. Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t. The Sharks focus, though, should be on a goaltender that can help them win games in 2015-2016 – not an undrafted college goaltender to sign as a project for the baby Sharks.
The fact the Oilers are after this goaltender also makes me wonder about his actual NHL projection as well.
Coaches Challenge’s
I think the coaches challenge idea is fantastic. I love it in the NFL and I’ll love it in the NHL. It’s a chance for teams to shove the bad calls and pride of the zebra’s down their throats. The challenge on goaltender interference is going to force goalies to avoid flopping – because they are the biggest divers in the league. Sometimes I think my two year old could knock an NHL goalie over with a single breath.
The coaches challenge in the NHL is long overdue. The referee’s aren’t perfect and there should be a means to have as much transparency and honesty in the game. At the end of the day everyone just wants the right call made. If that means taking a second, third and fourth look and deciding that, yeah, the right call was already made or ‘hey, we got this one wrong’ then, to me, that’s satisfying. I can live with that way more than waiting for Kerry Fraser to right the wrong on TSN in his next article.
3 on 3 OT
This is going to be extremely entertaining. It’s like eliminating all of the less talented players in the league for a few minutes and just letting the stars do battle. What’s not to like? I can’t wait to see 3 on 3 action between NHL players.
One thought I have, though, is if the league execs don’t like the shootout then why is it still around? That’s the whole point of 3 on 3 – to minimize the amount of games that get decided by the league’s biggest sideshow.
I’m not against ties, I think they can be just as entertaining as any other finish to a game. They’re definitely a more honest ending to a game than watching some trick-shot artist score an imaginary goal while everyone leaves early to beat traffic. I was at Maple Leaf Gardens for a 6-6 tie between Wayne Gretzky and the Rangers and Mats Sundin and the Leafs. All real goals, honest ending. I don’t like a team being rewarded an extra point because they have a better skills competition than the other.
Thanks for reading.
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