🏒 Have the NHL’s referees lost control of the Tampa Bay–Montreal playoff series? Yep. Absolutely. Is there a solution? Yep. A simple one: stop giving the pushy-shovey, face-washers matching penalties. Give the initiator an extra minor penalty and tack on a 10-minute misconduct as well—not just for the first pairing, but for every pairing that engages after a whistle. Problem solved. The fact that the NHL doesn’t do this can only mean they think these never-ending pretend fights are somehow entertaining.
🏒 Equally problematic is how long it takes NHL referees to sort out all the slap-on-the-wrist minors when all 10 skaters decide it’s WrestleMania time. Surely, in the era of AI and computer programming, the penalties can be entered into a penalty box laptop, and the software can sort out when each player is eligible to leave the sin bin and rejoin the action.
🏒 Is it just us, or is anyone else still struggling to accept the fact that there’s actually an NHL team from Utah participating in the 2026 playoffs? Utah? Utah?
🏒 Has Elliotte Friedman’s passed his best-before date? His “maybe-this-happened, maybe-it-didn’t” reports are overly superficial and often just plain boring. While most of the NHL’s fake “insiders” tend to protect themselves from uttering a false story by preceding it with the “I’m hearing” qualifier, Friedman goes with the softer “someone told me.”
🏒 The NHL’s video reviews for possible “millimeter offside” plays could be reduced with one simple rule change: rescind the offside if play continues for 10 seconds after an offensive zone entry—or sooner if the defending team gains possession, even briefly. But that makes too much sense…so forget it. The NHL has never embraced sensibility.
🏒 I hear various NHL talking heads and podcasters suggesting that when the playoffs arrive each spring, some NHL fan bases are louder than others—that their fans are more boisterous, more engaged, and never even sit down. To which we say: bullshit. Arena acoustics may vary, but two things are true everywhere: When the home team struggles, a nervous vibe takes over and the building quiets. You can cut the angst with a knife. When that same team erupts, so do the fans. So far, the home team is 9-6 in these playoffs. Hardly a dominating “our fans are louder” statistic.
🏒 Someone in Montreal should inform Juraj Slafkovský that coming inches away from an opponent’s face and smirking isn’t all that intimidating, nor does it leave anyone shaking in their boots. Especially after the diminutive Brandon Hagel introduced Slafkovský to his “down goes Frazier” right hook. Of course, engaging with Hagel has proven to be a mistake for others as well. Just ask the Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk, who is 0-for-2 when engaging with the smallest opponent he could find.
