Tuesday . . .

More than two days after watching the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 in a shootout in a Sunday morning/afternoon NHL game, I am still asking myself: Is this what the game has come to? Is this what we want?
To set the stage . . .
The game was being played in Detroit, and it was entertaining. The Red Wings trailed 2-0 early but fought back to tie it 3-3 on Patrick Eaves’ goal at 10:10 of the third period (more on that later).
The teams played through an exciting but scoreless overtime period, which brought us to the shootout.
We need only discuss two of the shooters and both of them are Red Wings.
Pavel Datsyuk, who is an absolute magician with the puck, was Detroit’s first shooter. He skated in slowly -- as slow as slo-motion, surely -- before, in what was almost sleight of hand, getting goaltender Antti Niemi to go down and then lifting the puck slowly over him and into the net.
Artistic, yes. But something a shooter would try on a penalty shot or a breakaway in regulation time? No.
Detroit’s second shooter was Todd Bertuzzi. He swung wide to the right boards as he skated across the blue line. Upon reaching the crease, he braked, sending Niemi sliding to the other side of the net, did a 360-degree move and backhanded the puck into the gaping net.
Again, it was artistic. But, no, it’s not something that Bertuzzi would try with the clock running.
In the end, the Blackhawks won the shootout, 3-2, getting more conventional goals from Jonathan Toews, who knows something about shootouts, Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp.
But, geez, if the NHL really is recognized as the best hockey league in the world, does it really need this kind of gimmickry to maintain its stature?
Is this kind of junk not best left for those skills competitions hold for the benefit of their fans?
———
The aforementioned game was televised nationally in the United States by NBC. That meant Doc Emrick and Ed Olczyk in the booth and Pierre (Old Yeller) McGuire between the player benches.
With Chicago leading 3-2 in the third period, the Red Wings began pressing and were carrying the play. With a faceoff set for inside the Chicago zone with about 10 minutes to play, NBC broke for a commercial.
When the network came back, it immediately went to a short piece, with McGuire providing the words, on Niemi and how well he had been playing.
As the piece neared its end, Emrick broke into a “HE SCORED” of some sort and the noise of a cheering crowd could be heard.
Yes, NBC had blown it big time. It had missed Patrick Eaves’ tying goal which was scored off a set play from the faceoff. And it hadn’t missed it because it was paying the bills; rather, it was showing something inconsequential while the game, in essence, was being decided.
Jay Leno. Conan O’Brien. Now this. These are tough times, indeed, for NBC.
———
THE MacBETH REPORT: F Ryan Bonni (Saskatoon, Red Deer, 1995-99) has been released at his request by Pontebba (Italy Serie A). He had two goals and 11 assists in 26 games this season. . . .
F Jay Henderson (Red Deer, Edmonton Ice, 1994-98) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with the Nottingham Panthers (UK Elite). He had no points in two games with the Victoria Salmon Kings (ECHL) and one goal and three assists in 16 games with the Wichita Thunder (CHL) this season.
———
There was a coaching change in the BCHL over the weekend. The Burnaby Express dumped head coach Dave McLellan, with Darcy Rota, the club’s president and general manager, taking over on an interim basis. McLellan also was director of hockey operations. . . . The move came a couple of days after the franchise got the OK from the BCHL board of governors to move back to Coquitlam next season. . . . Burnaby is eighth in the eight-team Coastal Division, with a 13-29-0-5 record.
———
Scott Sepich, a freelance writer who sometimes covers the Portland Winterhawks for The Oregonian, takes a look right here at goaltenders Ian Curtis and Kurtis Mucha. A couple of months ago, they were competing for the Portland starting job. Now they are likely to face each other Wednesday when Mucha and the Kamloops Blazers visit Portland.
By the way, the Winterhawks have brought up D Derrick Pouliot, 15, the first overall selection in the 2009 bantam draft, for Wednesday’s game. He was pointless in two earlier appearances with the Winterhawks. He has 30 points in 30 games with the midget AAA Moose Jaw Warriors.
———
Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald chats with Russian G Alexander Pechurskiy about his Saturday stint with the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins. That story is right here.
———
Another Sutter appears headed for the WHL. The Saskatoon Blades have signed C Lukas Sutter, 16, to a contract. Sutter, who is from Lethbridge, was the 42nd pick in the 2008 bantam draft. An injury has limited him to just one game this season with the midget AAA Lethbridge Y’s Men Titans. Last season, he had 11 points and 83 penalty minutes in 33 games. His father, Rich, played for seven NHL teams during a career that lasted 14 seasons. . . . The Blades also signed F Levi Bews, 15, a second-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft. He plays for the midget AAA UFA Bisons who are based in Strathmore, Alta. . . . It’s interesting that Sutter had been pondering going to the U of North Dakota and playing for the Fighting Sioux, while Bews was thinking about Ivy League schools.
———
The word is in from the weekend and a coach and two organizations are writing cheques. . . . Marc Habscheid, the Chilliwack Bruins’ general manager and head coach, will contribute $500 to the WHL relief fund after incurring a game misconduct during a game in Everett on Jan. 16. Habscheid got tossed after apparently expressing his displeasure with the way officials handled a fight. . . . Meanwhile, in Prince George, the Cougars and Vancouver Giants staged a multi-player dance on the same night. The Cougars were dinged $500 because it was their second such incident. The Giants will pay $1,000 because it was their third. As well, Vancouver head coach Don Hay was suspended for a game because of it being brawl No. 3 for the Giants.
———
Former WHL G Tyler Love, who was named Monday as the St. Louis Blues’ goaltending consultant, will continue to work with the Portland Winter Hawks and their goaltenders. Love, who is a co-owner and instructor at the World Pro Goaltending School in Calgary, is in his first season with the Winterhawks. He works with goaltenders in the organization and also scouts goaltenders for them. . . . Love will work primarily with Blues goaltenders Chris Mason and Ty Conklin. Love and Mason once were teammates with the Prince George Cougars.
———
F Sam Lawson, who was selected by the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the seventh round of the 2008 bantam draft, has committed to the U of Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks beginning with the 2012-13 season. Lawson, 16, has 13 points in 42 games with the AJHL’s Drumheller Dragons.
———
Wondering what happened with the SJHL and the tampering charge against the Flin Flon Bombers? Ian Hamilton of the Regina Leader-Post has the story right here.
———
D Nick Bell, who has missed 34 games with an ankle injury, is expected to return to the Red Deer Rebels’ lineup on Saturday when they play host to the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Red Deer G Darcy Kuemper, who suffered a groin injury during last week’s B.C. Division tour, is expected to start on Saturday.
———
Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reports that D Luke Fenske of the Giants will miss Wednesday’s game against the host Everett Silvertips with a wrist injury. According to Ewen, the Giants have brought in D Wes Vannieuwenhuizen from the BCHL's Surrey Eagles.
———
TUESDAY:
In Kennewick, Wash., the Tri-City Americans scored three power-play goals and beat the Kamloops Blazers, 6-2. . . . The Americans (35-11-0-1) have won five straight and are 21-4-0-0 at home. They also are alone atop the WHL’s overall standings. . . . The Blazers (22-21-2-3) had their season-high five-game winning streak snapped. . . . The Americans are 3-0 against Kamloops and have outscored the Blazers 21-5 in the process. . . . Tri-City F Brendan Shinnimin scored twice, giving him 24 on the season. The first one came on a first-period penalty shot that was awarded while he was killing a penalty. . . . Tri-City F Patrick Holland had two assists and now has seven points in his last four games. On the season, he has 18 points in 34 games. . . . F Brendan Ranford had a goal, his 18th, and an assist for Kamloops. . . . Kamloops started G Jon Groenheyde, but he was gone after one, giving up four goals on 18 shots. Kurtis Mucha came on in relief and stopped 20 of 22. . . . Mucha is expected to start Wednesday against his former teammates in Portland. The Winterhawks will honour him prior to the game for his four-plus seasons with them. . . . Tri-City G Alexander Pechurskiy stopped 25 shots in his first appearance since coming on in relief for the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 6-2 NHL loss to the Canucks on Vancouver on Saturday.
———
In Calgary, F Del Cowan scored two goals, one of them shorthanded, to help the Hitmen to a 7-5 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The visitors led this one 3-1 before the game was 11 minutes old. . . .. But the Hitmen took a 5-4 lead into the third period. . . . Cowan upped that to 6-4 with his 10th goal of the season at 7:26. . . . .F Mitch Maxwell, with his third of the game and 22nd of the season, got Lethbridge to within one, but Calgary F Kris Foucault put it away at 14:10 with his 13th of the season. He also had two assists. . . . Calgary F Brandon Kozun had a goal and two assists. He now has 70 points, one behind Vancouver Giants F Craig Cunningham, who leads the WHL. . . . Lethbridge F Carter Bancks had three helpers. . . . Lethbridge G Linden Rowat stopped 30 shots, 13 more than Calgary’s Martin Jones. . . . Calgary was 2-for-5 on the PP; Lethbridge was 2-for-6. . . . The Hitmen (30-15-1-1) had lost three of four. . . . Lethbridge (15-26-3-2) have lost three in a row. . . . Attendance was 6,752. . . . The Hitmen continue to play without F Joel Broda (concussion). He led the WHL in goals last season.