In the Tent with Clement
What's up Mikey B! We got ourselves a game of the night this evening on Versus.
Another edition of In the Tent with Bill Clement. Old Playoff Chest himself brings us the only the game on the NHL schedule tonight, and it should be a good one. New York Rangers welcome their cross town rivals the New York Islanders to the Garden this evening. The Islanders have defeated the Rangers in the previous matches (i believe four meetings), and in most cases, very handily. The Islanders are also thundering towards the playoffs while currently holding the 7th spot in the East with 75 points. Rather than move their unrestricted free agents at the deadline last week, the Islanders appear to be going for it, after acquiring forward Ryan Smyth from Edmonton. The Rangers on the other hand, are watching their season on life support. Squeaking out a win over St. Louis on Saturday afternoon, the Rangers are tied for 11 with the Boston Bruins and 4 points out of the 8th and final spot owned by the Carolina Hurricanes.
Tonight's matchup is the first of a home and home. The Rangers will visit the Islanders on the Thursday night to complete the series. A huge 4 points is on the board, and important to both clubs.... look for playoff hockey tonight.
Quick Shave:
The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 last night. The win was the 8th of the season, and it marked the first time they have swept the season series from the Flyers. What a miserable year it's been for the Flyers and their fans...... believe me I know your pain. The Atlanta Thrashers appear to be working to save GM Don Waddell's job, and more importantly hockey in their city. The Thrashers won their 3rd game since the trade deadline defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 last night. The Thrashers moved into a tie with the Tampa Bay Lightning for first place in the Southeast Division. Keith Tkachuk acquired from the St. Louis Blues (for 85 first round picks) last week recorded his first point as a Thrasher by setting up a Kovalchuk power play goal. The Hurricanes are in danger of joining the exclusive club whose membership requires missing the playoffs the year after winning a Stanley Cup. They would be only the third team in NHL history to pull off such a feat. I believe the Devils were the last to join. The Anaheim Ducks are starting to look like the club that dominated earlier this season. Taking out an injury depleted Nashville Predators (Forsberg sat out hurt.....man who saw that coming) 3-2 by way of shootout, the Ducks moved within 4 points of the Western leading Predators. The Boston Bruins who are currently tied with the Rangers in the East, are making a push for the playoffs as well. They made a big statement last night knocking off the New Jersey Devils 4-1 last night. The Devils will also be without the services of forward Cam Janssen for 3 games after his hit on the Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Tomas Kaberle. Janssen hit Kaberle high (and apparently late, although thats up for debate) and sent the defenceman pin-wheeling into the boards where he lay unconcious for minutes. Evgeni Nabovkov stopped all 26 shots the Dallas Stars sent his way to record the 4-0 shutout win for the San Jose Sharks. It was the 32nd shutout victory for the netminder.
Game of the Night:
See above. Enjoy the game! You too Mike!
Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh
Comments
I've got to say...hearing that Foresberg is hurt warms me heart and soul. Not that the wings particularly NEED to win any more...they could probably just not play the rest of the season and still make the playoffs.
But it's just nice to have something to play FOR. Not like last year, which was just "Okay, we won. that was easy. What now?" And then they go down in the first round of the playoffs.
Oh, and did anybody else see the dual "300"/NHL Playoffs commercial on NBC? That was, in all senses of the word, hot.
Posted by: Jeff | March 5, 2007 11:22 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOLEvbJvCX0
Posted by: jeff | March 5, 2007 11:27 AM
Here's an interesting comparison. Watch the Janssen hit from the Toronto feed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4ryCz0RS1Y
And then from the Jersey feed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0J3TGyNUgE
Never thought I'd say this, but I'm agreeing with the Toronto dudes: that was a late hit. The puck was passed, there was no threat of Kaberle doing anything whatsoever that would result in an advantageous offensive moment for his team, and Janssen just leveled him. Furthermore, I think the fact that Kaberle was so obviously not expecting the hit (despite Janssen's close proximity) speaks volumes for it being a late one. Three game suspension isn't enough - should've been more. What a douche...
As for the Wings, they didn't seem into it against the Avs yesterday. Maybe they miss Zetter too much.
Great game of the night tonight. Isles are hot but I'd love for the Rangers to cool them off a bit. I'm on your side tonight, Cap'n. Not sure if that's a good thing or not, but there it is!
Posted by: Stache | March 5, 2007 01:05 PM
That commercial is awesome! Can Brind'Amour actually snap a stick in half with his knee? I'm more impressed with that than the actual battle footage.
There is still nothing hotter than the Sedin Twins dancing at a bachelor party.
Posted by: Cap | March 5, 2007 01:07 PM
Yeah, this is absolutly a late hit but I don't think that Kaberle got a shoulder or an elbow to the head, though. It looks to me like he got it in the side and got spun into the boards.
But even with that, I think the main reason Kaberle got injured was because his helmet isn't on right. You see how far up on his head it is when he's on the ground? His entire forhead is exposed. It ought to be snug to his head.
This is yet another example of people wearing their helmets improperly. If Kaberle had tightend his chin strap, he probably would have broken his helmet, but not his face, on the boards.
You gotta wonder when the NHL is going to start mandating people wearing equipment properly.
I know nobody wants to hear this, but if Kaberle had been wearing a cage he probably wouldn't have more than a headache.
Posted by: jeff | March 5, 2007 02:38 PM
I didn't think the hit was late either, and I agree that hit was just a solid body check. The point it is, Kaberle is a name, and Janssen isn't. Had Elias, or Gomez hit him, guarantee there wouldn't have been a suspension. Double standard in effect big time, but in fairness, the NHL does have to protect it's (ass)ets.
Posted by: Cap | March 5, 2007 02:48 PM