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NHL Playoff Observations -- Opening Night

Just a few things that caught my eye:

  • I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK. Let's be honest, P.K. Subban -- that slash was premeditated. Why else would your hands be THAT close together??? Stop whining and accept your punishment.
  • Patrick Kane is an absolute beast. But man, that mullet has to go -- no man with a hair line like that should grow out the hair on the back of his head. Next thing you know, he'll be out Donalding Donald Trump.

  • Yo, Leafs -- check out the Isles-Caps box score. All New York goals were scored by first-round draft picks who just happened to have been nurtured within a solid system. Josh Bailey (2008), Brock Nelson (2010) and Ryan Strome (2011). What's that? I'm rubbing salt in a wound? Too bad, so sad.
  • Speaking of beasts, Seth Jones is going to be an absolute monster. Cripes -- he already is. He's big, but skates like a small man. And he can play in his own zone. Damn, Nashville knows how to develop defenders.
  • Has there been a worse deadline deal than healthy scratch Antoine Vermette? He just does not fit in Chicago. That first-rounder is going to hurt come June.
  • Corey Crawford's hairball was Scott Darling's treasure. But man, what's with that non-glove, glove hand? He looks like a four-year old who can't close his baseball glove fast enough, letting the ball spit back out. Maybe it just looks awful compared to the excellence that is Pekka Rinne's left paw.
  • Bo Horvat became the Orca's best center when he was just 19. Is that about his skill set or is it a condemnation of the rest of that team's pivots? Just saying.
  • Is it just me or were you surprised by James Neal's speed? I thought he was just a Dany Heatley-like finisher (stand and shoot; stand and shoot) when he played in Pittsburgh. Man, was I wrong.
  • Along that same vein -- is it just me or did Andrew Hammond look like his pre-game hamburger was repeating on him more than once? It just felt like there were a few cracks there, especially on that Lars Eller shortie.
  • I don't think I've ever heard Bonnie Tyler played in a hockey arena, especially one in Music City, USA. Then again, maybe I've led a sheltered life. I just figured they'd play songs that became hits after the guys on their team were born (or conceived, for that matter.)
  • Now that I've watched Mark Stone play a bit more, I don't think Filip Forsberg deserves a Calder nomination. He's good, but he didn't adjust his game enough as the season progressed. Stone, on the other hand? He and Hamburglar should be co-MVPs from February forward. Stone is sneaky good.
  • Brian Flynn, where have you been all my life? Wow. No points in nine regular season games and then three points in less than 40 minutes. Who needs Max Pacioretty, anyway?
  • Braden Holtby cannot win games by himself. Just saying.