Wednesday . . .

It would seem that the next move is up to the WHL.
Prior to the start of the season, the WHL implemented a helmet rule, prohibiting a player from taking off his own helmet before engaging in fisticuffs.
Recently, some players have incorporated new moves into their prefight routine. Each player will undo his own chinstrap, then they come together, with each player knocking off the other player’s helmet before any punches are thrown.
This all is very interesting and apparently within the rules as they presently are written.
But I have a feeling that it won’t be long before that rule is rewritten, or the league comes up with a new one.
Still, let us give the players credit for originality.
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THE PLAYOFF CHASE
Teams in the running for playoff spots, showing games remaining (d — denotes division leaders, who are seeded one-two):
EASTERN CONFERENCE
(top eight advance)
dx-Brandon (11) 41-16-1-3-86
d-Calgary (12) 41-17-1-1-84
x-Saskatoon (13) 40-13-3-3-86
Kootenay (12) 37-18-3-2-79
Medicine Hat (10) 33-21-3-5-74
Red Deer (12) 34-22-0-4-72
Swift Current (10) 31-27-0-4-66
Moose Jaw (13) 28-23-4-4-64
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Prince Albert (12) 28-27-3-2-61
Regina (12) 25-28-3-4-57
Wednesday: Prince George 1 at Calgary 5; Swift Current 4 at Lethbridge 1; Red Deer 1 at Saskatoon 8.
Thursday: No games scheduled.
Friday: Regina at Brandon; Calgary at Kelowna; Spokane at Kootenay; Prince George at Red Deer; Vancouver at Saskatoon; Chilliwack at Swift Current.
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
(top eight advance)
dx-Tri-City (14) 41-15-1-2-85
dx-Vancouver (12) 36-20-1-3-76
x-Everett (12) 37-19-3-1-78
x-Portland (10) 37-22-2-1-77
x-Spokane (12) 36-20-3-1-76
Kelowna (12) 29-26-2-3-63
Kamloops (10) 27-29-2-4-60
Chilliwack (12) 26-28-1-5-58
x — clinched playoff spot.
Wednesday: Portland 2 at Everett 5; Spokane 7 at Kamloops 0.
Thursday: No games scheduled.
Friday: Seattle at Kamloops; Calgary at Kelowna; Spokane at Kootenay; Vancouver at Saskatoon; Chilliwack at Swift Current; Everett at Tri-City.
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WEDNESDAY:
In Everett, C Zack Dailey set up three goals to lead the Silvertips to a 5-2 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . With the victory, Everett moved past Portland and into third place in the Western Conference. . . . The Silvertips are 21-9-1-1 at home. . . . Everett has won five of nine games in the season series. . . . Everett F Shane Harper scored twice, giving him 36. He opened and closed the scoring, the latter into an empty net. . . . F Tyler Maxwell got his 30th of the season for Everett, which was 1-for-4 on the PP. . . . Portland was 2-for-4. . . . F Spencer Bennett, with his 18th, got Portland to within one, at 3-2, at 10:56 of the third. . . . F Scott MacDonald, with his fourth, gave Everett some insurance at 17:51. . . . Everett G Kent Simpson stopped 28 shots. . . . Portland starter Ian Curtis stopped 25 shots through two periods. Mac Carruth played the third, stopping seven of eight. . . . Attendance was 4,742.
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In Saskatoon, the Blades scored five first-period goals and went on to an
8-1 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . The Blades, who won their 40th game, broke open a scoreless game with four goals in a span 3:49. . . . Saskatoon F Josh Nicholls scored the game’s first and last goals, giving him 14 on the season. . . . F Derek Hulak and F Marek Viedensky each had a goal and two assists for Saskatoon. . . . Viedensky and Nicholls each ended up at plus-5. . . . Saskatoon G Steven Stanford stopped 19 shots. . . . Red Deer starter Darcy Kuemper left with the score 4-0 after stopping seven of 11 shots. Kraymer Barnstable came on to turn aside eight of 12. . . . Attendance was 3,935. . . . Each team was 0-for-3 on the PP. . . . The Rebels had won four in a row. . . . The teams appear to have engaged in one of those multi-fight situations at 9:49 of the third period.
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In Calgary, the Hitmen scored on each of their first three shots en route to a 5-1 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . F Tyler Shattock scored his 26th goal, shorthanded, and drew an assist on F Joel Broda’s 30th goal in that early barrage. . . . Calgary F Martin Jones stopped 23 shots, losing his shutout when F Taylor Makin scored his 10th goal at 7:12 of the second period. . . . The Hitmen have won nine of 10. . . . Prince George G Hudson Stremmel left while trailing 3-0 without stopping a shot. Kyle Jahraus came on to stop 15 of 17. . . . The Hitmen were 1-for-7 on the PP; Prince George was 0-for-7. . . . Attendance was 6,841. . . . Calgary was without D Michael Stone (foot) and F Jimmy Bubnick (upper body).
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In Kamloops, F Kyle Beach scored three times to lead the Spokane Chiefs to a 7-0 victory over the Blazers. . . . Beach leads the WHL with 45 goals. He has scored eight times in his last three games. . . . Beach also had an assist. . . . Mitch Wahl, who centres Beach and Blake Gal, had two goals and an assist. . . . G James Reid stopped 26 shots for his fourth shutout of the season and the eight of his career. . . . Reid had four shutouts in 18 appearances last season and has four in 49 games this season. . . . The Blazers have lost four of five, while Spokane has won five straight and nine of 11. . . . Attendance was 3,874, the second-smallest crowd in Kamloops this season. . . . This was the worst home-ice loss by shutout in Blazers’ franchise history. They have been beaten three times at home by 5-0 scores. The goaltenders were Jacob De Serres (Seattle Thunderbirds, Dec. 10, 2006), Aaron Baker (Tri-City Americans, Dec. 20, 1995) and Mike Vernon (Calgary Wranglers, Jan. 20, 1983). The latter game was the first time Kamloops had been blanked at home. At that point, the Kamloops franchise, then the Junior Oilers, was in its second season.
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In Lethbridge, F Stephan Novotny scored twice to lead the Swift Current Broncos to a 4-1 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . F Dustin Donaghy, who hadn’t scored in 54 games, scored for Lethbridge and now has three goals in his last three games. . . . Novotny, who was acquired from the Kelowna Rockets earlier in the season, has 24 goals. . . . F Justin Dowling also scored for Swift Current — he has 27 — and added two assists. . . . D Derek Claffey had the game’s first goal, his seventh, and also had two helpers for the visitors. . . . Swift Current G Mark Friesen stopped 15 shots, while Lethbridge’s Linden Rowat stopped 26. . . . Attendance was 3,438. . . . The Hurricanes have lost 12 of 13, while the Broncos have won three in a row. . . . Lethbridge lost F Carter Bancks, its captain, in the first period. He blocked a shot with an arm, left for X-rays and didn’t return. He will be re-evaluated on Thursday.