Last night's 5-3 win over the Red Wings was a true classic, but for this morning, I wanted to focus on a few points which aren't getting addressed to much extent in the MSM coverage of the game.
1. Niklas Kronwall went head-hunting again, this time leaving his feet and leading with his elbow to nail Radek Bonk in the 2nd period. After all the noise the NHL made last fall about cracking down on head shots, it's amazing to me that Kronwall's been allowed to get away with this twice in three games. The guy's not generally a dirty player, but he's too amped up out there and he isn't going to stop until he gets suspended for it. Apparently, that requires a concussion or worse to be suffered by one of the Preds.
It's good to see that Colin Campbell has time to make up rules to address a situation when players are making no contact at all, however. Great priorities, there, guy.
2. Shea Weber looked awful on the Nashville power play, but even worse were the two occasions when the Preds took penalties that canceled out a man advantage. Their PP is bad enough already without giving away those precious chances.
3. Somebody needs to teach Ryan Suter that if he's carrying the puck in his own end, he needs to count in his head "1... 2... 3...", and by 3, that puck better on its way to a teammate. Especially against a puck-hounding defensive squad like Detroit, Suter can't afford to get his pocket picked back there.
4. The referees were generally awful, see-sawing between letting stuff go and then calling a ticky-tack penalty. I imagine the players were getting frustrated with the inconsistency.
5. Today is the day for the Sommet Center lease to be considered by the Metro Council once again. Please call your favorite Council member at 862-6780, or you can email them using this link.
6. David Legwand was simply outstanding in his return to action, logging more ice time as the game went on, including nearly seven minutes in the final period. What remains to be seen is how his foot recovers from last night, and whether this is something that will steadily improve over time, or linger.
1. Niklas Kronwall went head-hunting again, this time leaving his feet and leading with his elbow to nail Radek Bonk in the 2nd period. After all the noise the NHL made last fall about cracking down on head shots, it's amazing to me that Kronwall's been allowed to get away with this twice in three games. The guy's not generally a dirty player, but he's too amped up out there and he isn't going to stop until he gets suspended for it. Apparently, that requires a concussion or worse to be suffered by one of the Preds.
It's good to see that Colin Campbell has time to make up rules to address a situation when players are making no contact at all, however. Great priorities, there, guy.
2. Shea Weber looked awful on the Nashville power play, but even worse were the two occasions when the Preds took penalties that canceled out a man advantage. Their PP is bad enough already without giving away those precious chances.
3. Somebody needs to teach Ryan Suter that if he's carrying the puck in his own end, he needs to count in his head "1... 2... 3...", and by 3, that puck better on its way to a teammate. Especially against a puck-hounding defensive squad like Detroit, Suter can't afford to get his pocket picked back there.
4. The referees were generally awful, see-sawing between letting stuff go and then calling a ticky-tack penalty. I imagine the players were getting frustrated with the inconsistency.
5. Today is the day for the Sommet Center lease to be considered by the Metro Council once again. Please call your favorite Council member at 862-6780, or you can email them using this link.
6. David Legwand was simply outstanding in his return to action, logging more ice time as the game went on, including nearly seven minutes in the final period. What remains to be seen is how his foot recovers from last night, and whether this is something that will steadily improve over time, or linger.