farce poobah

I think its fun to imagine what kind of changes he might make. 1. All arenas shall install step-stools behind all player benches. Step-stools shall be at least 18 inches high. 2. All arenas shall install extra-grip coating on top of dasher boards. 3. Immediate prohibition on all signs saying "you must be THIS TALL to be NCHC Commissioner". 4. Denver University gets 2 points for wins, and everyone else gets 3 points. ... so much fodder for the offseason ...

What. A. Terrific. Series. Hockey at its finest.

Agree. There's no punishment for the divers - either professional or lower levels. In the NHL, Brendan Shanahan can and should start reviewing and handing out punishments, starting with fines and leading to suspensions. Its worked remarkably well in cutting down on head shots, or at least getting the riff-Raffi off the ice. Diving should have the same structure, with commensurately lower penalties. This isn't about those questionable things, but the despicable phantom acting. The same concept could be applied in the NCHC ... and if they modernize their discipline for head shots, dangerous plays, and fighting, then I hope they add embellishment to the list of punishable incidents. Its taken years to get fighting out of the game, and its nearly gone, but a determined effort has paid dividends. A determined effort is getting head shots out of the NHL. And a determined effort could get rid of embellishment.

Much as I'd like to say I'm freaking magic ... At NHL.com, the SCORES tab has boxscores for all the games, and in the upper right corner there's detailed reports such as TOI, faceoffs, playbyplay, etc...

The other Dakota schools will also be without a paddle when Omaha leaves for the MVC ... perhaps as early as the end of their probationary period. With UNO hockey moving out of the Qwest Center, that leaves room for Creighton and UNO to share it for basketball.

http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20122013/TH030144.HTM

Minnesota worked harder than Chicago today. Happy for Zach; what a beautiful backhand.

Yeah, no kidding. If that's the standard, they need to call 500 of those each game.

Yeo rolling the dice again this afternoon ... loading up on his top 2 D and playing 2.5 lines. Hawks rolling 4. Its 1-1 after one, but this game has "Hawks 3rd period rally" written all over it.

Chicago has a very talented rookie on their top line as well. The Wild problem is not with their top 6 players. I agree with your point that the problem is lack of depth and lack of production from the rest of the roster. Brodziak -18 Heatley -12 Gilbert -11 Falk -9 Mitchell -8 The fact these guys are in the lineup every night is tribute to how thin the NHL-ready talent pool is for the Wild. As a result of a thin roster, Yeo has over-played his top guys. Game 1 was such a gamble - put 41 minutes in Suter's legs! - that was worth trying, but as the series goes on the Wild top players will get even more leg-weary. This reminds me of Chicago last 2 years, but this year Quenneville has really spread out the playing time. For example Game 1 Roszival (!) with 27 minutes led the Hawks. Lack of depth is not Yeo's fault. That's with the General Manager. I think he deserves another year.

My point on Crosby, poorly worded, was that the extra offense he provides is more than offset by all the other factors Toews brings. If I were a GM, and had my pick of the forwards, I'd pick Toews as well. (And if you had already drafted him, I'd be hard pressed to decide between Datysuk and Crosby.)

Thanks for pointing that out .... I think this almost rises to the level of a thread of its own, but since we're here, let's keep going. 1. As Captain, his role is to get his team ready to play the game. Nobody was more ready to start the season than the Blackhawks. Think about it. In the uncertain period, 30 teams and 700-odd players were working out (some playing elsewhere, Europe, AHL, etc). Of those doing plain basic conditioning, who would be taking this "serious"? Yes, of course - Captain Serious. When the puck finally dropped on January 19th, the Blackhawks started by getting a point in their first 24 games. - which is the proof that the Blackhawks were more serious during the uncertain period than anyone else. 2. An NHL-record start to the season: 21-0-3. In the era of the salary cap, and in an era where one bounce decides games more often than say 1979, this is tribute to the day-in day-out consistency. That starts in the locker room, and that starts with the Captain. 3. Puck possession, and winning faceoffs is key. Especially on special teams, where faceoffs drive possession and possession drives opportunities. Toews PP faceoff percentage was over 72% (93 of 129). And on shorthanded situations, Toews was 65% (35 of 54). 4. Puck pursuit, which is key to the Blackhawks game. Leaders set the example, and Toews led the league with 56 takeaways. (Datysuk also had 56.) Relentless pursuit of the puck drives opportunities in Chicago's system, and Hossa, Frolik and Kane were also in the league's top 20. 5. He makes the players around him better. During the 2010 Olympics, Mike Babcock (head coach of the Canadian Olympic Team) was asked "who are your best players right now?" His reply: "whoever I put out with Jonathan Toews". That's been the case with unheralded 20-year old rookie Brandon Saad, who's played on a line with Toews most of the season. Saad finished +17, and Hossa +20, but Toews (their linemate most of the time) was +28. 5. Night in, night out shift-in, shift-out 100% effort. As you note, he's 5th in the league in goals. But he led the league (tied) in Even Strength Goals. Only 7 times during the 47 games he played this season was Toews a "minus". In NONE of them was he worse than -1. I can't find a statistic for penalties drawn, but it would not surprise me if he's in the top 20in that category too. Lots of nights you'll see him draw a hook or a trip because of sheer effort. 6. He elevates during the big games and at crunch time. At 50% career in shootouts, he's about 15% over the league average of around 35%. During 23 games against playoff-bound opponents, he was +17 (a minus only 3 games). 7. Leadership financially. At $6 million per year, Toews costs the Blackhawks less than other teams' leaders (see: Minnesota, where 4 players make more than Toews this year). This gives the Blackhawks cap space to keep strong depth in the lineup, including perhaps the league's best 6-man defensive corps. 8. How good are the Blackhawks without Toews? Thankfully, he's been healthy all season. But last year and previously, when he's out of the lineup the Hawks struggle to get to .500. (They were .000 this year ... 0 for 1. haha) By contrast, say, Pittsburgh thrived without Crosby in their lineup. This is the manifestation of "Toews makes the guys around him more effective" argument. The Bottom Line I hope voters for the Hart consider more than just offensive play. (That's the Richard Trophy and Ovechkin deserves it 100%.) The top contenders this year appear to be top-line centers. But comparing what a topcenter is supposed to contribute to his team - which includes defensive responsibilities, leadership, and making the guys around him better - I maintain the Hart should go to Toews. Stamkos scores more, but doesn't kill penalties (averaging just 9 seconds a game shorthanded) and finishing the season -4. Crosby would be the toughest competition, and I can't argue too hard with those who vote for Crosby. BUT I would ask them to consider that Crosby's offensive production is greater mostly because that's HIS role as an offensive specialist and not as much an all-around two-way player. Time on ice shows this: SH: Crosby 0:41 per game and Toews 1:25, while PP time is Crosby 4:30, Toews 2:40. All that extra time should result in a greater points differential for Crosby, but it doesn't. Last, I'd note that Crosby has already been recognized for the award, whereas Toews hasn't. I'll stop now.

And not surprisingly, .... newsmax misses the biggest one of all.

If the other team doesn't score, you can't lose.

Today's Blues-Blackhawks game is pretty intense, compelling old-style NHL hockey. NBC's first intermission report: "Jonathan Toews: The Perfect Captain."

If you believe that, I have a big bridge to sell you.

Nahhh .... Wisconsin is kind of Forget U.

He is a great coach and a master manipulator. Which made him good enough to hate. If he gets a B1G Conference job, he will walk all over them. And their blue lines.

Yale continuing to run a shorter bench. I think we dominate the last 10 minutes. Here's hoping we get there with a lead.

Excellent push there ... the breaks are now officially even.

I also have the sense that Yale is playing a short bench, but don't have Time On Ice to prove it.

We're also seeing the downside of putting Rocco with Kristo and Knight ... Time to balance out the lines?

Yale's good hard 3-man forecheck is creating chances. We need to be better with the puck, moving it faster, and consistently clearing the zone. We've seen this before; the question is whether we adapt.

For the first time since the Panzer era, I see a UND team in the NCAA's with jump and great legs. We've won most of the little battles and gotten to loose pucks first all weekend. This is a good omen.

LOL at this entire thread. Awesome.