Is this series now a saga of when empires collide, because the Caps now have "the Czar" (Simeon Varlamov) versus "the King" (Lundqvist)? The good guys will need a white knight, or at least a few foot soldiers to smite the Czar, the Cossack, and other assorted Huns.
Did Stan 'The Maven' Fischler's trash talking after the game one win make it on to the Caps Bulletin Board?
Bragging is not The Maven's forte...So, was Ovechkin visiting the Rangers during their practice on Monday no big deal? Yes.
the Capitals may very well be a paper tiger and not necessarily a playoff scoring machine...
the Caps are so weak in goal and so deficient on defense that all the Ovechkins and Semins and Greens cannot compensate...
Al Ovechkin is a multi-talented player. That's a given. But even he has limitations. He is not as good as the press clipping tonnage given to him. Nor can he play defense or goal. Nor did he score even one goal...
I said it before and I'll conclude with it now: John Tortorella is a better playoff coach than Bruce Boudreau...
Will we have a 100% Captain Clutch tonight? I'll take 85%
ICINGS:
Not many outside the Garden State are shedding a tear for Marty Brodeur letting a game winner in with 0.2 seconds remaining. Some reactions to Mmaarrtty's hissy fit after the Canes score and even their series.
Scotty Hockey:
Mmmaaaaarrrrrrtttttyyyyyyyyy --
What a stunningly awesome scene in NASCAR nation. Mmmmaaarrrtttyyy comes out of his crease too far, gets bumped, doesn't get back into position quickly, punches the guy who bumped him and the game-winning goal sails into the net with 0.2 seconds left on the clock. Carolina wins 4-3 to tie the series at two. He chases down the ref and throws a tantrum, slamming his stick at the ice as souvenir towels rain down around him. Check it out...
The Manic Ranger:
Maaaarrrrrttttyyy Throws A Temper Tantrum --
The Devils lost with 0.02 seconds left in the game on a deflection by Jussi Jokinen. Aside from the fact that gaining satisfaction from a Devil's loss is embedded in every Ranger fan's DNA...Puck Daddy:
Major penalty: Who does Martin Brodeur think he is? Dwayne Roloson? Dan Cloutier? Ron Hextall? Talk about losing your … well, you know what we mean if you saw his reaction on the way to his ungracious exit from the ice, complete with stick toss and pirouette after nearly screwing himself into the ice. So much for Masterton consideration...Bangin Panger:
Jussi Jokinen Evokes His Inner Drury --
.2 seconds left? To tie up the series? Against the be-all-end-all Marty Brodeur? That's the stuff that makes up Little League World Series Champions, not shootout specialists...
[Rule] 69.4 Contact Outside the Goal Crease - If an attacking player initiates any contact with a goalkeeper, other than incidental contact, while the goalkeeper is outside his goal crease, and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed.
A goalkeeper is not “fair game” just because he is outside the goal crease. The appropriate penalty should be assessed in every case where an attacking player makes unnecessary contact with the goalkeeper. However, incidental contact will be permitted when the goalkeeper is in the act of playing the puck outside his goal crease provided the attacking player has made a reasonable effort to avoid such unnecessary contact.
When a goalkeeper has played the puck outside of his crease and is then prevented from returning to his crease area due to the deliberate actions of an attacking player, such player may be penalized for goalkeeper interference. Similarly, the goalkeeper may be penalized, if by his actions outside of his crease he deliberately interferes with an attacking player who is attempting to play the puck or an opponent
Update: Oh this warrants a post from the "Situation Room" (what a joke) and they, imagine that, agreed with the ruling on the ice.
Interpretation of goalie interference rule: New Jersey at Carolina - 19:59 of the third period
The NHL's goalie interference rule sets a mandate to protect the goalie in the blue ice – to let the goalie do his job. In the white ice, it is a more delicate matter, including who moved into whom. The referee has one split-second look at it and it is a judgment call. NHL Hockey Operations has no video review capacity in this instance. Hockey Operations officials agreed with the call on the ice, that it looked like the goalie, Martin Brodeur, moved out toward the skater...
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I am not a Devils fan - and that is an understatement of huge proportions. That said, that was clearly interference. Brodeur would have been set and stopped the shot if he were not bumped hard.
Fatass was out of his crease. He's fair game.
For all that is good and holy, I ask the Rags, send TeamOvie back to the golf course.
Martha may have a point, but I'll defend the refs right to screw him. An informal review of comments on various blogs etc seems to run 60-40 in favor of an interference call.
These two seemed to refect those sentiments:
In Lou We Trust:
Rule 69: An Explanation & A Concern --
However, the key is a reasonable effort to avoid contact. Even if it is a judgment call, it seems pretty clear to me. The attacking player has to show that he tried to avoid contact. If he did, you could argue that's enough effort and so any play that resulted from it is acceptable.
Did the attacking player - Jussi Jokinen - try to avoid contact from being made? Let's take a look at this video of the FS Carolinas feed uploaded from Youtube. Pay attention to seconds 0:44 through 0:49. That's the incident in question.
From what I see, Brodeur is out (maybe 1-2 feet at the most, but that doesn't matter) to playing an angle for a possible shot at the point - a common tactic for goaltenders. Jokinen, being the smart forward that he is, goes to the slot. In doing so, he hits Brodeur as he comes across sideways, Brodeur stumbles, and Jokinen does not - continuing to glide to the left side of the crease. The referee may disagree, but I do not believe Jokinen attempted to avoid the contact. If anything, he benefits as he gets to his position quicker than Brodeur.
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the ref admitted that it was interference. listen to the post game interview...
broduer was told that the call was not made because they thought he had enough time to re-set himself...when soemone can find in the rule book that penalties can be called based on if it affects the play or not ill shutup... atm i believe the rule is that if theres a penalty its supposed to be called, but i guess not...
related:
NJ.com:
Angry New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur wanted interference call on Jussi JokinenFire & Ice:
Calmer Brodeur still thinks call was wrong