Priceless/Vegas

If I name this the neutral zone I guess I should comment about the hot issues going on in the game.  I didn't see the Montreal game Saturday or any highlights.  I was only made aware of the Price injury when news broke that he was out for the series.  Soon after I saw that Chris Kreider's name started floating around.  Was it intentional or an accident?  By that night I had finally seen the video.

I love these plays.  If you root for New York it was a hockey play.  If you are a Montreal fan it was intentional.  Chris Kreider is the only person who knows.  We can all guess.  My initial reaction when I first heard Kreider ran into Price was that it was on purpose.  Kreider, as his career continues, is starting to get that reputation of being a bit reckless.  I'm usually surprised more players don't target opponents better players.  What's the worst that can happen?  You get suspended a game or two while the other team loses a star for the rest of the playoffs?  It's why the NHL never discloses injuries yet we should act surprised when something like this happens.  New York's chances of making it to the next round/Stanley Cup Finals increased immensely after this play regardless of if it was intentional or not.  Even if it was, Price isn't coming back.

To the actual play.  Kreider makes a good move to chip the puck past the defenseman then skates hard to get to it first.  The back checking Montreal player makes slight contact with Kreider right in front of Price.  Kreider falls and goes feet first into Price.  There are so many variables in the play that I'm not sure anybody can make a correct assumption.  Because of this I think Kreider used it to his advantage.  There was contact from behind so that could have caused him to stumble.  He did have a ton of speed coming head on at net.  He might have tried stopping and lost an edge.  I've also seen very few players fall feet first into a goalie.  Most players when falling also slide to the outside of the goal.

This play happened so fast I find it hard to believe Kreider had time to think about it.  I do believe he made up his mind he would crash the net and whatever happened happened.  That's where I leave it.  If you want to call that intentional then you can.

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Minor league hockey is a fickle beast.  San Francisco folded in the middle of the ECHL season.  That's bizarre.  Doors close and the season is over in one simple announcement.  Now Las Vegas finds themselves on the outside.  They announced today that they would not be playing next season.  The reason was simple.  They don't have a place to play.  Their lease was not renewed by the current facility, and they couldn't find another place.  Las Vegas has been playing since 2003 so it's not like they are new to hockey.  According to the team they will be back for 2015-2016.  Unfortunate for fans but at least a positive note that they do plan on coming back.  All the players become free agents.  I'm am Adam Huxley fan.  If he stays in the ECHL my guess is he stays on the west coast.  

My real question is what do they plan on doing for the playoffs.  When San Francisco folded it left 8 teams in the west.  Every team made the playoffs.  Now they lose another.  So I assume every team makes it again except they don't even have enough teams to fill the spots.  The only new team coming in next season will play in Indiana so I'm guessing they don't move to the west. 

First to Go

The Tampa Bay Lightning were eliminated in the quickest way possible last night in Montreal.  Was Montreal that good or Tampa that bad?

In the beginning of the season I didn't think Tampa would make the playoffs.  My concern was their goaltending.  It turned out to be their strength.  Ben Bishop came into the season having never been a number one NHL goalie.  Ottawa traded him to Tampa at the end of last season for Cory Conacher.  Bishop became the go to guy this season winning 37 games and posting a 2.23 goals against average.  Conacher was waived by Ottawa.

Outside of the large shoulders of Bishop Tampa saw the rise of rookie Andrej Palat who led the team in points and finished second in rookie scoring.  Not bad for the guy picked 208th.  Victor Hedman showed why he was the second overall pick in 2009.  Coming into the season he had scored 16 goals in over 250 NHL games.  He had 13 this season ending up 5th in defensive scoring.  Let's not forget Tyler Johnson.  He played in all 82 games scoring 24 goals as a rookie.  He was never drafted at all.  Both Palat and Johnson were named two of the three finalists for the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year.

They managed a successful season without the best pure goal scorer in hockey in Steven Stamkos who missed half the season with a broken leg.  They also lost long time Tampa star Martin St. Louis when he asked for a trade.  And biggest of all, lost their starting goalie for the playoffs with an injury.

Backup Anders Lindback did not have a very good series.  I hope his family in Sweden gets a Swedish feed of the game instead of the CBC broadcast.  The crew was not particularly fond of his play.  I doubt Lindback was very pleased either.  Couple that with an early Palat injury and a Stamkos at less than 100% and things quickly turned.  The good news for Tampa is the team is still young.  Not only that but they have more young players on the way like Jonathan Drouin who could have his name in the mix for the Calder next season.

The Answer:  Tampa played that bad.  No disrespect to Tampa or Detroit but the thought of a potential second round series of Boston against Montreal gives me great pleasure as a hockey fan.