Iron Crotch

I need the Preds to win Game 7 against Winnipeg... If so I'll be in Nashville for the Vegas series (have tickets to games 1 and 2).

If Evander Kane signs in San Jose we get their 1st rounder... I'd trade THAT first round pick for Karlsson. ;)

Johanssen, Bonino, Turris, Jarnkrok, Sissons, Watson all came into the league as Centers or have played Center at the NHL level. ...the complete opposite of the end of Darcy Regier's reign where we had almost no natural centers on the roster (which we all know didn't work too well)! OMFG... that was stoopid by Forsberg. :blink: :w00t:

Phil Forsberg is really good.

Good for Washington. Barry Trotz is a class act.

Seemed pretty obvious it was below the crossbar. I wonder why it took Toronto so long to confirm it.

We were marginally better the past two seasons then got worse once he left (this season)... I don't our kids were ready to play without adult supervision.

Having had season tickets in Nashville for the past 8 season (before this season), Pekka is very up-and-down. When he plays calm and controlled, he is fantastic. When he is over-excited, he dives all over the place and missed relatively easy stops... and all too often this happens in the playoffs. IMHO, Juuuse Saros is a better goaltender. He is undersized but fundamentally sound.

I think this team missed Brian Gionta more than people realized. He was captain of multiple franchises for a reason. Veteran leadership is definitely something Botterill can and should look for in the offseason.

I miss Kyuss

I can't keep track of today's rules as to what is and is not allowed for hits, but it seems Wilson leaves his feet in the process of making the hit.

Don't know what did or didn't happen behind the scenes. Don't really care. I just think given how inept the Bills (and Sabres) have been over the years, it's time for Brandon to go.

Off to watch my new rooting interest... the New Orleans Pelicans. I'm not an NBA fan, but we have no hockey team here in New Orleans, so.... ;)

The last two, yes. The Fiala call is the sort of thing that didn't get called most of the game.

Penalties every five seconds ruins an otherwise free flowing, fun game.

DRIVE! 3-0 Preds after one period in Winnipeg. Rinne looks sharp for once... and Hellebuyck looks shaky for once...

Clutch, The Bronx, Red Fang and Fireball Ministry at House of Blues in New Orleans tomorrow. (It's Jazz Fest down here BTW)

I think they did a great job of scouting talent, but I also think the new expansion draft rules made it relatively easy for them to put together a good team out of the gate (although no one expected them to be this good). Most teams protected one goalie, so basically Vegas could choose any two backup goalies in the league. Teams like Nashville with good defensemen could protect four defensemen and then only four forwards. If you protect your top line (Johanssen, Arvidsson, Forsberg) that leaves only one other forward on the entire roster you can protect. That's how a guy like perennial 30-goal scorer James Neal couldn't be protected and ended up on Vegas. More-or-less every team in the league had to expose a second line forward or a second pair defenseman. McPhee could pick and choose the best of these. In the 2000 expansion draft, every existing team could protect more players (9 forwards, 5 d-men, 1 goalie). And, the two new teams (Blue Jackets & Wild) split that talent, further watering down their rosters. I don't think anyone wants an expansion teams to totally suck... but I'm not a fan of loading them up so much they can win the Cup year 1 (although I still think they aren't as good as Nashville or Winnipeg - the Central is really good).

Hertl with the late equalizer (2 minutes left) to tie it at three. Another good game, although I don't think these two teams are as skilled as Nashville and Winnipeg in the West.

Big goal by Evander Kane to cut Vegas' lead in half. His 4th of the playoffs.

For no real reason I watched some archery on Saturday. ...then I quickly realized what a fantastically boring spectator sport archery is. ;)

There are so many Dahlin threads I don't know which one to post in. #firstworldproblems

Kevin Fiala in double-OT! That was a heck of a game. I need the Preds to make it to the next round so that I can reclaim my seats in Nashville for Round 3.

Goaltending. Pekka hasn't been great, especially in Game 1.