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Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune offers up his take on the NHL playoffs to this point and he does it right here.
“The league should be ashamed,” he writes. “But the NHL, like MMA and our old, punch-drunk friend boxing, seems to be beyond shame.”
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:
In Edmonton, the Oil Kings won their 20th straight game as they beat the Moose Jaw Warriors, 6-1. . . . It was Game 1 of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final. Game 2 will be played in Edmonton on Sunday. . . . The Warriors went in having won eight straight playoff games. . . . F Stephane Legault had two goals, giving him three in these playoffs, and an assist for Edmonton, while F Henrik Samuelsson had three assists. . . . F Klarc Wilson opened the scoring for Edmonton; he also drew two assists. He hadn’t played since March 25 — he got into Edmonton’s first two playoff games with Samuelsson suspended — and was a healthy scratch through the second round victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Wilson was in the lineup because F Dylan Wruck (shoulder) was not. . . . Edmonton G Laurent Brossoit stopped 29 shots, losing his shutut bid at 14:30 of the second when F Jordan Wyton scored. . . . Moose Jaw G Luke Siemens stopped 19 of 24 shots through two periods. Spencer Tremblay came on to stop five of six shots in the third period. . . . The Warriors were 0-6 on the PP; the Oil Kings were 1-2. . . . The Oil Kings went into this playoff season with an 0-8 all-time record. They now are 9-8. . . . Edmonton F Kristians Pelss left in the second period with an apparent leg injury and didn’t return, while D Keegan Lowe didn’t play again after blocking a shot late in the third period. . . . The Warriors had Wyton and D Morgan Rielly back from injuries, and scratched D Shayne Gwinner, F Carter Hansen and F Torrin White. . . . Rielly, who will be an early first-round selection in the NHL’s 2012 draft, hadn’t played since Nov. 6 when he suffered a knee injury that later required surgery. He played about 15 minutes. . . .
In Kennewick, Wash., F Marcel Noebels scored at 7:52 of OT to give the Portland Winterhawks a 4-3 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . Portland leads the best-of-seven Western Conference final 1-0 with Game 2 in Kennewick tonight. . . . Noebels scored his third goal of these playoffs on the Winterhawks’ only shot of the free period. . . . Tri-City had seven shots in OT. . . . Noebels scored the winning goal 61 seconds into the game on Wednesday when the Winterhawks beat the visiting Kamloops Blazers 2-0 in Game 7 of a conference semifinal series. . . . Portland had just finished killing off a Tri-City PP opportunity when Noebels scored. Portland G Mac Carruth was penalized for playing the puck outside the trapezoid. Yes, it’s the worst rule in hockey. . . . Tri-City D Mitch Topping forced OT with a goal at 15:09 of the third. . . . The Winterhawks took a 3-1 lead on F Cam Reid’s goal at 15:48 of the second. . . . Tri-City tied the game on two PP goals by F Patrick Holland, at 18:39 of the second and 9:07 of the third. . . . D Joe Morrow’s PP goal at 10:56 of the third put Portland back out front. . . . The Americans came close to winning it early in OT when Morrow took away a gaping net from Tri-City F Connor Rankin. As Tri-City radio voice Craig West put it: “Connor Rankin had about a four-foot putt right there and Joe Morrow saved the day.” . . . Later, West sent me a note to let me know that it wasn't Morrow; it was Cam Reid. As West noted, he doesn't have the benefit of replays in his spot in the rafters. . . . Portland F Sven Baertschi had a goal and two assists, while linemate Ty Rattie had one assist. They now are tied for the WHL playoff scoring lead, each with 24 points. . . . Portland D Troy Rutkowski had two assists and was plus-4. . . . Tri-City F Brendan Shinnimin scored his side’s first goal, running his point streak to 35 games. . . . That goal gave him a franchise-record 60 playoff points, one more than former Americans F Daymond Langkow. . . . Shinnimin also ended up minus-3. . . . Earlier in the day, Shinnimin was named the Western Conference’s nominee for the player-of-the-year award. He’s up against F Emerson Etem of the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Tri-City F Adam Hughesman had two assists, giving him 400 WHL points, including regular season and playoffs. He has 50 career playoff points. . . . The Americans were 3-5 on the PP; Portland was 1-4. There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.
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