The majority of our membership are going to be happy with the scores tonight. Two are not.
Here are the scores that matter:
1. Boston beat Atlanta 4-1. While Boston is a Conference rival, I rooted for them to win, if only to give an ass-kicking to Atlanta who beat my Leafs their last game out. Plus, my friend is a fan and this win gives him an early Christmas present.
2. Montreal beat Carolina 3-2. The turning point was the 5-minute major given to Cole as Montreal scored their second and third goals on that PP. I did not see the game so I can't agree or disagree with his comments, but here is what Paul Maurice(Carolina head coach) had to say about the penalty:
"And Carolina coach Paul Maurice compared the call to "arresting a telephone pole after a drunk driver hits it."
"I understand why there's an issue here, but there's no way Spacek doesn't know that hit's coming because Cole's chasing him up the ice," Maurice said. "They aren't going in opposite directions. They're going in the same direction. So he's finishing his hit.
"There's no way Erik Cole knows he's going to turn his face to the glass at the very last second," he added. "There's no invitation, 'Dear sir, I'm going to hit you. Would you mind keeping your shoulders square to me so that I don't get a five-minute penalty?"'
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Sour grapes or legitimate beef? Ila, what is your take on the penalty(although you could be considered biased due to your rooting of the Habs, I find you to be a fair-minded sort so I can trust your opinion on this.
3. The Islanders beat the Devils 5-1. New Jersey outshot New York 35-14 yet were on the losing end of a 5-1 score? Either Brodeur drank too much spiked eggnog or the Islanders took advantage of some breaks.
4. Calgary beat Dallas 3-2 in the shootout. Our Dallas fans will not be happy about that, especially with them losing against a crappy team like Calgary(it would be like them losing against Toronto...yes, I said it!
).
A couple of games are still ongoing. San Jose currently holds a 2-1 lead over Phoenix while Edmonton and LA are tied at 1.