Hoserdome 2009: Day 12ish

1. The fall comes in the same manner that led to the rise, that's the definition of hubris, right? The Flyers were rolling in a must-win game vs. the Penguins. Daniel Carcillo picked a fight with Maxime Talbot, the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied and the Flyers were toast. Fighting still has a purpose in hockey: Waking up a more talented team. Maxime Talbot knew as much when he shushed Philly fans.
   
   
2. There is irony to the fact Jim Schoenfeld is suspended New York coach John Tortorella's replacement for Game 6 of the Rangers-Capitals series, since he's the only other coach to be suspended for a playoff game. Don't pretend Schoenfeld's past behaviour is a factor in the series. The "have another donut, you fat pig" incident was 21 years ago; he was 35 when it happened and 56 now.
   
   
3. Capitals tough guy Donald Brashear's high hit on Blair Betts is a major off-day story now that Washington has forced a Game 7 vs. the Rangers. (And Shaone Morrisonn is accused of biting a dude?)
   
   
4. Hockey commentators like to emphasis the importance of winning faceoffs. It turns out that advantage, on average, only lasts for about 11 seconds. Obviously, it's still important with 30 seconds left in a one-goal game.

New York Rangers, Washington tied 3-3 — The Rangers looked ready to go home once the Capitals went up by two in an eventual 5-3 win. Really, from a fan's point of view, that's not such a bad thing since their whole game was to ride their goaltender and wait for the other team to make a mistake. It can work, but not if Henrik Lundqvist is going to be human after bailing out the Rangers so often.

Again, the Brashear hit. NBC showed footage from the pregame warmup that showed the winger cross the centre-ice red line before chirping Rangers winger Colton Orr. Crossing the red line during warmup is an automatic misconduct penalty in many amateur leagues.

Washington's top defenceman Mike Green seems to have found his form. It should be a cakewalk for the Capitals.

New Jersey, Carolina headed to Game 7 — A quality series is likely to be affected by the ice conditions, which is the reality but also regrettable. The forecast high for Newark on Tuesday is 31C, which could cause havoc.

Who's playing Monday

Chicago leads Calgary 3-2 (9:30, TSN) — The Blackhawks have been able to played their game, smart and fast, more often than not since about the midway point of Game 4. Giving Miikka Kiprusoff a mercy pull was a classic Mike Keenan move; make the guy play better by making him hate you. Historians differ, but this a management technique was supposedly invented by Joseph Stalin.

Anaheim leads San Jose 3-2 (10:30, CBC) — One sentiment is that San Jose would not have needed overtime if they were truly intent on coming back in the series. It's just a gut feeling.

Credit the NBA commentators for pointing out Carcillo didn't pick his spot. The beauty of still having fighting in hockey is that allow an idiotic player to screw up his team's season.