Shanahan's Reign Begins

I was not a fan of how the NHL has conducted its disciplinary system the last few seasons.  It was arbitrary, mysterious, and lived up to the fan's mocking moniker "wheel of justice."  Perhaps the biggest indictment of the system was that it was wholly unpredictable, and lack of transparency and clarity are one of the worst criticisms you can level at an institutional system of justice.

When Colin Campbell left the office as head disciplinarian, things could only get better.  In steps Brendan Shanahan, a respected and well-liked former player who has been actively involved in rule tweaks the last few seasons.

Shanahan got things off to a good start, and even regaled those of us who lack the patience and interest to read a press release with a video;

Wow.  Transparent, clear, tough.  What a difference.

Jody Shelley has also found himself in the crosshairs;

I don't think Shelley's hit was as bad as LeBlond's, so Shelley's multiple suspensions last year and his "repeat offender" status obviously counts for a lot.

Given this positive start, the question still remained about the trickier case of illegal checks to the head.  Those incidents are much touchier, and there is still some resistance in the league to harsh penalties for such plays.  Also, late last season the GMs passed rule changes to toughen up boarding enforcement.  This included the language quoted in the videos about how the onus is the on the player applying the check to ensure the target is not in a defenseless position.  This language is not illegal check to the head rule.

It didn't take long to get a preview of how Shanahan will handle headshots;

Two games isn't very much, but that is explained by the lack of injury, intent, and previous suspension history of Boyes.  What IS noteworthy about this video is that Shanahan states that the onus was on the player delivering the check to minimize contact to the head, even though the onus language is not written into the headshot rule, as it is for boarding.

I think these rulings forebode very well for NHL disciplinary action this season.  Administratively, they are clear and transparent.  Substantively, they are tough penalties that place the onus on the checking player not to prey on the other player.  While the target still bears some responsibility for his position, it's a softening on the old school "keep your head up" attitude, which I think is the most important piece in reducing head injuries in the long run.

Bruins Series Game 2 Review

My standing prediction for the game tonight was 3-2, but I wasn't sure who would be on right side of that scoreline. Apparently it was the Bruins.

Total gutpunch of a loss.  Great start, thrown away by flat-footed defense and soft second goal in the span of a minute and a half.  Bruins were good in the second period, but the Flyers onslaught was relentless in the third, setting franchise playoff records for most shots in a period and most shots in a game.  The longer the 3rd period carried on without a goal to show for it however, you knew the chances that the game would slip away from the Flyers would increase.

I'd like to say "wow, the Flyers played great, obviously they can come back on the Bruins."  More likely though, is that the Flyers were facing a must-win game, gave the Bruins their best shot, and still lost.

It's pretty indisputable that at least tonight, the chasm in goaltending between the teams cost the Flyers.  The Bruins put out one of the league's best, the Flyers a streaky career backup.  Good goaltending isn't often going to win or lose a series on its own, but when you have two good teams playing each other, which is essentially always the case in advanced round of the playoffs, it will decide series.

Even if goaltending incompetence does not directly cause a Flyers loss (like tonight), the simple fact is that the Flyers are have been vastly overmatched at the position and it makes the job that much harder for the rest of the team to win. You can't expect the Flyers to score 4 goals every night against good teams.

Still clinging to some hope, but things look pretty bleak from where I sit.

Notes and other deep thoughts:
-Great game for Thomas (52 saves!!  22 in the 3rd period!), but you can't ignore how much more effective the Bruins defense was at preventing rebound chances---something the Flyers have done pitifully this series.

-Was there any doubt the JVR was the best player on the ice?  The guy was everywhere.  They flashed a stat on the broadcast, that after 9 playoff game JVR has the 2nd most all-time shots, only trailing Alex Ovechkin in 2009.  Oh yeah, he has 7 goals too, though at some points it looked like he might get 7 tonight alone.  He's doing the same power move over and over, but with his combination of size and skating, no defensemen seems to be able to do damn thing to stop him in one-on-one situations.

-No Pronger.  Bad back?  Bad hamstring?  Who knows.  Neither of those injuries are ones that tend to get better overnight.

-Carter is nowhere to be found at practices.  Do the Flyers try to rush him back now?

-The Flyers continue to have trouble rounding out the 4th line.  Shelley only played a few minutes and took a foolish penalty.  Who knows who we'll see in the lineup for game 3 in that slot.

-Do the Flyers change goalies again?  Not that Boucher was remarkably bad, but do you give the team another kick in the butt?  Probably not, but who knows with this squad.

Unsolved Mysteries of NHL Suspensions

By popular demand, a look at Ben Eager getting a 4 game suspension for a sucker punch. I need to keep my fan(s?) happy, and I can hardly pass up on an opportunity to bash the NHL discipline system.

Video:

After the game, Armstrong called Eager a meathead. Eager said Armstrong's a phony who gives it out but won't fight when challenged. I can't disagree with either assessment.

Don't get me wrong, this was a sucker punch that clearly deserved a penalty, and maybe a suspension. But 4 games? That seems totally unexpected. Without doing more serious review of comparable incidents, two recent plays:

33 seconds in:

2 game suspension.

30 seconds in:

No games

The NHL wheel of justice is mysterious. Fans can't shake the feeling that player reputations and popularity, the teams involved, the visibility of the incident, and the resulting injury take on more importance in the review process than the actual action.

Eager got carried away and crossed a line, and got called for a deserved penalty. Is 4 games really necessary? More importantly, is 4 games even logical? Of those three recent incidents, seems to me Lucic's punch was arguably the most reprehensible, taking a shot at a guy who delivered a legal hit when the opposing player is restrained by officials and not looking.

The only sense I can make is that Eager's punch was basically during live play, rather than in a post-whistle scrum.

Or alternatively, the NHL simply doesn't have an issue with potshots on restrained players (see this Downie punch a few seasons ago);

Frankly, who the hell knows. Apparently NHL suspensions are more art than science.

The Flyers hate Andrew Alberts

I don't know what it is, but something about Andrew Alberts must piss off the Flyers. For the second time in the last few seasons, a Flyer will be suspended two games for going after Alberts. I will have to get to the bottom of this.

Sideshow Shel

The signing of Jody Shelley caused much consternation among Flyers fans this offseason. Setting aside the question of whether or not he should've been signed in the first place, whether or not he should actually play is a separate question.

Frankly, I am kind of amazed Laviolette keeps putting this guy in the lineup night after night. I guess some could claim upper management is leaning on him to play Shelley, but I don't buy that.

Shelley can't skate, can't pass, can't kill penalties, can't shoot...pretty much all he can do is fight and throw a check or two a game. Is it really worth having a guy like this in the lineup in this day and age?

I'm hardly a big fighting proponent, but I can see it's place in the game. Hockey is a fast-paced physical game, where the play keeps flowing. It's not like football where there's an army of coaches and officials and play stops every 8 seconds. The skaters are out there on their own and have to keep battling as play carries on. As a result, the players have largely policed themselves in hockey about untoward physical play.

That to me says a scrap among two real hockey players is fine--it's part of the game. What I don't understand is why teams dress designated goons to skate in circles 4 minutes a game. It's one thing if a physical player is out there intimidating and thereby creating time and space for his teammates. What I can't believe is that the possibly of a fight between each team's designated goon who hardly play otherwise will have any effect on how the rest of the players play the rest of the game. Such fighting is purely "sideshow."

Of course it's not a coincidence I'm getting on the high horse on the topic after Shelley does something mindless like this. Dangerously shoving a player into the boards on an icing call and putting his team down a man for 5 minutes for no good reason at all.