Off Wing Opinion

Patrick Lalime's brief stay in Peoria has been nothing short of a nightmare. Going into tonight's play, the former Ottawa goaltender is 1-3 in five games with a hideous 4.60 GAA.

Friday night's performance was by far the worst of them all:

Lalime, the former NHL All-Star, gave up goals on the first two shots he saw and turned over a 2-2 tie to Beckford-Tseu at 14:35 of the first period.

Beckford-Tseu, the No. 1 goaltender in the ECHL - and tonight's designated Rivermen starter - gave up six goals in the second period.

Lalime returned and all told stopped eight of 13, while Beckford-Tseu stopped 7 of 13.

I think Patrick is looking forward to 2006.

The Islanders blew a 3-1 second period lead last night in Ottawa. Normally, there wouldn't be any shame in losing a game on the road to the best team in hockey, but last night's game was particularly egregious -- especially when the blame for the loss can be pinned directly on the team captain and your team's most highly paid player, Alexi Yashin:

Yashin was caught on a long shift and had been battered by 6-9 defenseman Zdeno Chara along the wall when he made an ill-advised hook to stop a rush the other way. Schaefer scored on the ensuing power play at 4:06 of the third to tie it at 3. Yashin's night was over, though in his mind he felt he was trying to stop a scoring chance.

"I tried to stop him; that's why I took the penalty," he said. "It's not like I wanted to take a penalty or do something stupid, like I don't care at all . . . I'm very upset. It's not because I got benched. It's because the situation was I tried to stop the play.

"It's my team," Yashin then said. "I will take the blame anytime."

As a result of his blunder, Islanders head coach Steve Stirling benched Yashin for the final 16:11 of the game. Mind you, he did this after trying his best to get through to Yashin by demoting him and Miroslav Satan to the fourth line.

It wasn't all that long ago that the Islanders were known as one of the teams in the NHL that were able to hold onto a lead in the third period. But that was a reputation that was established when Kenny Jonsson, Adrian Aucoin and Roman Hamrlik patrolled the Long Island blueline.

For more on this issue, check out Steve Ovadia:

[W]hile skill and speed is important, these moves seem to indicate that maybe other skills are still important in modern hockey. Things like strength on the puck and the ability to read the play. And maybe, just a general awareness of how to bend the rules of hockey without invoking a whistle.

With the loss, the Islanders dropped below .500 for the first time since November 12. As for me, the time for excuses ought to be over.

Before the season, I was intrigued with the way that Islanders GM Mike Milbury had changed the makeup of the team coming out of the lockout. But the complete reconstruction of the defense, along with the rebuilding of the forward lines to play to Yashin's strengths can only be considered a partial success at best.

On defense, Alexi Zhitnik has proven to be a stalwart. Rookie Chris Campoli has been a revelation. And as Jes Golbez has pointed out, Mike York has turned out to be more than an adequate replacement for the departed Michael Peca -- and at a fraction of the cost.

Some might find it ironic that Yashin committed his mistake last night while going toe to toe with one of the players he was traded for -- Zdeno Chara, who has only developed into one of the top defensemen in the league since leaving Long Island -- I think it's all too indicative of Milbury's time with the Isles.

Earlier on in his tenure, as Milbury was forced to cope with an ownership situation that could charitably be called "unstable", but the last few years under former Computer Associates exec Charles Wang have been a different story. And since that time, Milbury has continued to jettision talent that always seems to develop elsewhere (including former head coach Peter Laviolette), while the team on Long Island has only been enjoying the busienss end of the law of diminishing returns (3 playoff appearances and no series wins).

This is not a team that is one or two players away from contening for the Stanley Cup, this is a team a full forward line, a defenseman and perhaps even a goaltender away from being a serious threat in their division, never mind the Eastern Conference.

There's only one person who can be held responsible for this situation. And to turn things around, the first step is going to require giving Milbury his walking papers. After 10 years behind the bench and in the front office, the time for excuses has run out.

And don't worry, Yashin will be the next to follow him out the door.

From Something Awful. Thanks to Chris Lynch for the pointer.

I've written before that I don't think that HDTV is going to be a magic bullet to revive the league's fortune's on television, and Gary Bettman has admitted as much as well.

Then again, after watching just a few minutes of hockey in HD this afternoon, I'm wondering if I might have to move up my purchase date for a new television set.

I was doing one of my regular loops around Best Buy earlier today when I stopped about six feet in front of a 50" Sony Widescreen HDTV that was showing a QMJHL game between Rimouski and Gitaneau on the inHD network.

In short, the improvement in the picture over standard television was marked. It didn't hurt that it seemed that the crew knew how to shoot a hockey game, and that the cameras were positioned far closer to the ice than usual.

Even at home on my 32" Sony Wega Flat Panel Television, following the puck can at times become a chore. Not so on the 50" Sony, where the puck was always easily in view, down to being able to see individual rotations as it skidded across the ice. And on one camera shot in the corner, I could clearly see a slick of water on the surface of the rink.

It was a heck of an exhibition, unfortunately, you could only see it on that particular set. Just about every other television in the store was running an NFL Sunday Ticket promo on a continuous loop. I wonder what it's going to take to get the league to hook up with an HD provider to get more televised hockey into retail stores like Best Buy to see if it can help move television sets.

Could this be a preview of the Olympic games?

Canadian Hockey president Bob Nicholson said the game actually lasted two hours and 48 minutes, which might seem reasonable to a fan of the NHL circa 2004, but is considered a mind-numbing marathon in international hockey. Unlike Wednesday night against Switzerland, when the delay could be blamed on a broken pane of glass, last night's eye-glazing experience was prompted by a parade to the penalty box courtesy of Russian referee Rafail Kadyrov.

All told, Kadyrov called 45 penalties totalling 160 minutes, a WJC record for both teams in a game involving Canada. In Kadyrov's defence, 86 of those minutes came in the final six minutes of the game when the Canadians took exception to Stian Hoygard of Norway running Canadian goalie Justin Pogge after he'd made a stop.

Even if you discount the late penalty minutes, there were over 30 minor penalties called beforehand. Let

From John Buccigross's year-ending e-mail bag column:

John,

With the new NHL returning to a more freewheeling style from the '80s, can we also start a campaign to get the old-time division names returned? I long for the Campbell, Wales, Smythe, Patrick, Norris and Adams.

Jason Lamb
Irvine, Calif.

The first year the NHL used those division names was 1974-75. The last year was 1992-93. Fewer than 20 years, yet it's talked about as though it was around forever. I do the same thing.

There's a reason for that, and that's because it's right and proper that we acknowledge the heritage of the game and those who contributed to its establishment and growth. If I were voting, I'd go back to the old 4-division, 2-conference format with the old names. And if the suits in Manhattan and Toronto wanted to keep six divisions, then it's simply time to name the Pacific after Wayne Gretzky and the Southeast after Gordie Howe.

It's time to stop copying the NBA. It's simply the right thing to do.

John Tortorella is angry. After watching John Grahame give up a goal from a bad angle that led to a loss against Montreal last night, the Lightning head coach went to town on his goaltender:

"You're telling me you want (the team) to get up there and get aggressive, but when a goal is scored like that, they're going to be tentative," Tortorella said. "And that has to stop for us to get any type of consistency here. Or we're done.

His simmer turned into a boil when he was asked if the Lightning needed to consider options outside the organization for goaltending help.

"Absolutely, but in today's game, where are we going to go with the (salary) cap?" Tortorella said. "I am (upset) at what is happening there because I thought our team played very well tonight. And this has gone on for quite a while. Is there other options out there? We can't do (anything)."

That's when Tortorella announced Sean Burke would start in goal Friday against Boston.

"And I hope he plays well," Tortorella said. "And if he plays well, he's going to go again. This is what we have. And I'm not up here trying to rip anybody apart, but let's be (expletive) honest about what's going on here. And it's getting old. We're going nowhere, nowhere until that situation is straightened out."

I wonder if Don Waddell reads the Tampa papers.

Looks like Howard Baldwin isn

I don't normally pay much attention to Italian ice hockey (who does?), but I thought this news deserved some attention. Here's the story from the AP:

A hockey player was banned for life from Italy's national team after repeatedly shouting racist slurs at an opponent during a league game. The punishment was largely symbolic since Daniele Veggiato hasn't played with the national team since 2003 and is not on Italy's roster for the Turin Olympics.

Veggiato, a forward for the Alleghe team, was barred from "all future activities" of the national team for insulting Cortina defenseman Luca Zandonella on Monday, the Italian Federation of Ice Sports said. Zandonella's father is Italian and his mother is from Mauritius.

Veggiato was expelled from the rink and will serve a five-game suspension for upcoming league games. He apologized to Zandonella after the game but the punishment will not be withdrawn, said Franz Sinn, head of the federation's hockey section.

"We have already seen this kind of escalation in soccer and we cannot accept it," Sinn said.

Here's hoping Paolo Di Canio is paying attention.

If you think the situation is dire in New Jersey these days, then you

Dubi Silverstein took note of a particularly perplexing quote from Tom Renney prior to last night

Sure, it might be the day after Xmas, but there's still plenty of time to enjoy Hakan-Hanukkah with John Buccigross.

BTW -- Hakan Loob was absolutely killer in the 1987-88 version of Strat-O-Matic hockey.

You might want to read Colby Cosh's tale of a severed finger tip. It reminded me why I always felt just a little bit of terror every time I put myself in front of a puck, even though I never played anything more hair raising than beer league hockey.

Or do they? From the team's Web site:

The NHL

Todd Simpson is not a convert:

I even think the new standard of enforcement on hooking and holding is fine. But ONLY between the hash marks. Let us play in the corners and in front of the net! The game has become so soft. There are rarely any good battles anymore, and you cannot punish anyone in front of the net. I've seen guys in front of the net this year that never came there before.

Heart and soul, character and grit, isn't needed anymore. Only talent is required. The NHL is the biggest and best hockey league there is. Why are we trying to make it like the European leagues? At this rate, fighting will be completely out of hockey in five years and the game will resemble ringette.

Not if you have anything to say about it, right Todd?

POSTSCRIPT: Former defenseman Brent Severyn piggybacks on Simpson's comments:

Talking with general managers and players, there is a definite push to make sure we do not lose the physical components of hockey. We are not talking about re-instituting the Broadstreet Bullies of the 70

This morning's roundup starts well South of the Mason-Dixon line, this time in Atlanta, where the Caps took down the Thrashers 6-5 (SO). After taking a 5-3 lead into the 3rd period, Washington yielded goals to Andy Sutton and Marian Hossa to tie the sccore at 5. After a scoreless OT period, Alex Ovechkin, who had a goal and three assists in regulation, gave the Caps the only goal they needed in the shootout, as Brent Johnson stopped all three Atlanta shooters. Besides his third period goal, Hossa also had four assists for Atlanta.

In Manhattan, Tom Poti scored his first goal since the end of the 2003-04 season, helping the Rangers to a 4-2 win at home over Tampa Bay. Rookie Petr Prucha also scored for New York.

The Poti goal sent Bird into apoplexy:

Holy crap.....did you see that friggin shot from Tom Poti? Where the hell did that come from and where can I get a case of that...

Here's HDH on Poti and his game-winner:

That headline might have a literal and figurative meaning for Tom Poti. Instead of a monkey on his back, maybe he had a Duck. Terrible Tom has been the subject of trade rumors all season long. He was most recently one of the players mentioned as part of a deal to bring Petr Sykora from the Mighty Ducks to New York. Poti has also been the target of very loud "boos" from the Garden crowd for quite some time.

Last night (for the most part) he turned those "boos" into cheers as he scored his first goal since March of 2004, and it just happened to be a desperately needed game winner.

Truth be told, as the Rodent points out, he really didn't play the greatest game. He took a couple of minor penalties and was caught out of position a few times. But this team needs some scoring from the blueline in a very bad way, and right now he is the only hope they have on the point. I would love to see him turn his career around right now. It would be a wonderful story. Do I think it is going to happen? Not really . . . he has been too disappointing too many times. But I can hope, can't I?

For more from the losing side of the ledger, check out John Fontana.

In Philly, the Ottawa express train to the playoffs was derailed, at least for one night, as the Flyers beat the Sens, 4-3. Simon Gagne had a goal and an assist in his first game back from injury.

In Boston, the Bruins beat the Leaffs, 4-1. But what caught my eye was the fact that Marius Czerkawski scored again for the Leafs, his third since being pulled from the scrap heap last week.

A pair of streaks came to an end last night as Florida dumped Buffalo, 4-1. The loss snapped Buffalo's seven game winning streak and goalie Martin Biron's 13 game winning streak. Jozef Stumpel had a pair of goals for the hosts.

In Denver, rookie Marek Svatos scored again, as Colorado beat Minnesota, 4-3. And finally, in lovely Glendale, the Coyotes edged the Sharks, 2-1. Curtis Joseph stopped 20 shots and Mike Comrie scored the game winner for Phoenix in the third on a power play.

And be sure to read my radio partner Rob Visconti and his thoughts on the shootout.

Ever since Mario Lemieux came out and said the Penguins

Just think, when I woke up this morning, I figured I'd have nothing terribly exciting to write about Team Canada's Men's Olympic Hockey Roster. Sure, it's a shame that Eric Staal, Jason Spezza and Bryan McCabe didn't make the team, but those things happen when you're the preeminent ice hockey power on the planet, and the guys who are eligible for the national team wouldn't ever dream about asking out of playing without a reason (unlike certain superstars who might be eligible to play Olympic Basketball for their own country, for example).

But of course, that was before the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) got its undies all up in a bunch about Todd Bertuzzi's selection to the squad:

Mojo 730 in Vancouver reports that the COC held its regular conference call on Thursday and expressed concern over the Canucks forward being named to the team. The COC has also called an emergency meeting for 2pm et/11am pt to review the roster.

"I think it's ridiculous - I think this guy's been through enough," Team Canada and Canucks teammate Ed Jovanovski told the radio station Thursday.

"For the committee to come with that, I mean these are Canadian athletes. They're good, they've done good in the community and aside from some unfortunate incidents - we all do - these guys were selected for a reason. They're great hockey players, they're great people, and let's just leave it at that."

A 13-member selection committee will meet next week to consider the hockey team. A published report in the Globe and Mail said some COC members have already expressed concern about Bertuzzi being on the team.

I'm on record saying that the punishment that the league meted out to Bertuzzi wasn't severe enough. But even if the league had done what I thought was prudent -- giving Bertuzzi a 20-game suspension to start this season -- that suspension would be long over by now.

Bottom Line: This looks like a late hit from the COC. I wonder what they'll actually do.

For more on the rest of the star studded roster, visit Habs Blog, Brent's Place and David Lee.

UPDATE: Much to the disappoinment of hockey writers everywhere, Sidney Crosby didn't rise to the bait when asked about his feelings at not being selected for the Olympic squad. Tom Benjamin has some thoughts on why Crosby and Spezza are on the taxi squad.