I don’t want to talk about it too much right now, because I will start ranting, but the United States has been rocked yet again by two mass shootings. The attack on the Jewish community in Pittsburgh was disgusting, but it’s proven something. For every action, there will always be an opposite reaction of equal force. The NHL has come together to raise money and send donations to those affected, and it came to a crescendo on Wednesday as a Washington Capitals fan donated all 38,570 dollars won in a raffle to the Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh.
That’s life-changing money, in my opinion. And not only did someone act responsibly after coming into that money, they acted in a way that makes me proud to a part of this species. Send a prayer or a thought for this good Samaritan, and let’s all try to act in a similar manner.
1. Joe Thornton Plays Game 1500
So this thought is mostly for me. Joe Thornton was, is, and forever shall be my favorite player of all time. Thornton represents a lot of things to me and the NHL. He’s the best passer since Gretzky hung up his skates, played a sublime 200-foot game, played with physicality and never shied away from anyone.
I have no idea how many games Thornton has left, but we should all take a night to watch him in what could be his farewell tour. The future hall of famer isn’t someone we should forget any time soon.
2. Uber-Gate
Another week, another firestorm for the Ottawa Senators. A few players were recorded being brutally honest and making jokes about their coaches during an Uber drive. The whole video is here.
The rumor going around is that the Uber driver leaked the video because the Senators failed to leave a tip of any kind, and before we go any further, yes it’s ironic that a team who’s notoriously cheap has more issues because their players failed to spend an extra dollar or two.
I’m not here to talk about tipping and its place in our culture, but I just thought how on the nose it was for the entire organization. All in all, the driver is a bit of a jerk for leaking the video, but it was legal and therefore there’s not much the Senators can do.
God help me, this tire fire is just so entertaining.
3. Regression
Remember a few weeks ago when P.K. Subban was somewhat bad on defense? Those were fun times eh? According to Corsica.hockey, Subban’s expected goals against has finally caught up to his actual goals against and all is right with the world. I, for one, am ready for the franchise’s best player to resume his reign of terror on the NHL’s premier talent.
4. Play Saros
Pekka Rinne is back and seemingly hasn’t missed a beat. I’m glad he’s back to his old tricks, but his return has sent Juuse Saros to the bench. Rinne has played three of three games since returning from injury which begs the question, why? Saros proved he was good enough to win during Rinne’s absence, so give him more starts. He’s clearly the goalie of the future and the only way he’ll continue to develop is through consistent minutes against competitive talent.
I’m not saying to play Saros over Rinne, but for every two games that Rinne starts, let Saros start one. That’s a nice way to give Saros real minutes while not throwing him to the wolves.
5. Empty Net Goals
The Nashville Predators are leading the league in a somewhat weird stat. They currently have eight empty net goals, although this easily explained. The Predators have the best record in the NHL and tend to lead with a few minutes left in the game, which then leads the other team to pull their goalie in an effort to tie up the game.
All this to say, when you’re consistently in the lead, the other team will pull their goalie more often. It just stuck out to me as a weird stat.
