CHEAP SEATS
Capitals defenceman Niskanen steps up after going down ... Two great games to choose from, but why should you have to choose? ... Jets fans ride Predators’ Fisher ... Some enlightening information on Oshie
Playoffs are all about guys summoning every bit of their inner strength and playing through injury.
Heroic stuff.
At the end of every team’s run, there is a list of surgeries that need to be scheduled. It never fails. You’re left shaking your head and saying “He was able to do all that with that?”
It goes back 55 years to Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Bobby Baun scoring an overtime-winning goal with an ankle broke earlier in the same game.
A more modern example was delivered by Washington Capitals defenceman Matt
Niskanen at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night.
Niskanen blocked a shot with his ankle and left the game for about eight minutes. When he came back, it was in the nick of time.
An Evgeni Malkin point shot found its way through
Braden Holtby and was rolling toward the goal line when Niskanen stepped in to swipe it away.
Then in the third period, Niskanen scored the goal that tied the game 3-3.
It won’t be revealed until the Capitals are eliminated or crowned champions, but Niskanen was probably playing on one leg. He may have even had a Baun ankle.
STARTS AND STOPS
How do you watch two great playoff games that are on at the same time? Better question — why are they on at the same time? They can’t schedule one a night or the playoffs will run into July, but the starts should be staggered, even when they’re in the same time zone. Have one begin at 5 p.m., the other at 8 p.m. What about the people who work until dinner time? The Toronto Raptors don’t worry about them — with Game 2 in their series with the Cavs slated for a 6 p.m. tip off — so why should the NHL? ... This time, Tom
Wilson is going to get called to the carpet. And, we’re guessing, a suspension. Wilson left his feet to crush Zach
Aston-Reese with a hit, and caught him in the face, leaving him bloody. The league isn’t going to turn the other cheek this time ... The level of hatred the Penguins and Capitals have for each other is reaching new and exciting levels. There’s going to be a lot more ugliness before this one is over . ... Jamie Oleksiak and Wilson keep coming together, but winding up laughing at each other more than anything else. Just drop the gloves and get it over with already.
BETWEEN PERIODS
So the Winnipeg fans ride Mike Fisher by chanting “Mr. Underwood” and he scores. They boo P.K. Subban whenever he touches the puck and
he scores. Maybe the should stop chirping and focus in cheering for the Jets .... Why are they booing Subban, anyway? Was there an incident or do they just need a target for their wrath? ... Fisher had gone 29 playoff games without a goal before putting the Predators ahead 1-0 ... Best save of the first period in Pittsburgh? A leg stop by Bryan Rust on an Alex Ovechkin shot ... Phil Kessel must be playing hurt. He has to be dealing with something that bothers him when he fires the puck. Entering Tuesday he had 12 shots in eight playoff games for an average of 1.5 per outing. During the season he averaged 3.18 shots per game, which was slightly down from his career 3.33 average. Kessel’s passfirst mentality isn’t a playoff thing, either. In 79 career post-season games, he averaged 3.27 shots.
CHANGING LINES
A thank you to NBC’s Mike (Doc) Ermrik —Iwas one of those people who didn’t know that the T.J. in Oshie’s name stood for Timothy Jr . ... Justin Schultz appeared to be a more dangerous Penguins defenceman than Kris Letang. And don’t Oilers fans love hearing that .... Jake Guentzel extends his points streak to a playoff-leading seven games when he makes another great deflection for his eighth post-season goal. Then he outdoes himself with a highlight reel setup of Sidney Crosby’s goal that put the Penguins ahead by one after two periods and had Dmitry Orlov looking for his jockstrap.
BACK TO THE POINT
They already have a good young nucleus of star players in guys like Aaron Ekblad, Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov, Vincent Trocheck and Nick Bjugstad, and now Florida Panthers GM Dale Tallon tells the Sun-Sentinnel that the team has the budget and the desire to pursue high-priced players at free agency. By adding a couple of Johns, as in Tavares and Carlson, who knows, the Panthers might even start to draw some fans ... With a 10-1 record in playoff games following a Penguins loss, Matt Murray looked a little leaky in the scoreless first period. First an easy Lars Eller shot slips through him and trickles by the post. Then a little harder Ovechkin shot does the same ... Speaking of leaky, Subban put the Predators ahead 2-0 with power play blast from the point that squeezed through Connor Hellebuyck.
It was the second Nashville goal on seven shots .... Subban is the little guy who cried wolf, but it appeared he actually hurt his jaw when he was slammed into the boards ... A few minutes later, Subban returned to action. Maybe fans hate him because they think he’s a faker?
This time, Tom Wilson is going to get called to the carpet. And, we’re guessing, a suspension. Wilson left his feet to crush Zach Aston-Reese with a hit, and caught him in the face, leaving him bloody.