Chris Pronger: Goon or enforcer?

Well, we are all allowed to make mistakes now and then. I will admit I made one with Chris Pronger. A while back, I acknowledged his committment to the Ducks organization by stepping in as an assistant coach while head coach Randy Carlyle was absent and Pronger was recovering from a jaw contusion. But after last night's atrocious stomp on the calf of Vancouver Canucks forward Ryan Kesler, I will retract my previous statement.

For those of you who didn't see this incident, during the second period of last night's game between the Ducks and Canucks, two Canucks players went in to check Pronger along the boards behind the Ducks goaltender. One of those Canucks was Kesler, who fell to the ice after the check. As soon as he hit the ice, Pronger appeared to blatantly stomp on Kesler's leg. Keep in mind, Pronger was wearing a skate and the blades are razor sharp. Kesler was not injured on the play, but both he and Pronger are very fortunate that nothing extreme resulted from this. Nevertheless, I am shocked at how the NHL decided today that no disciplinary action is needed for Pronger.

Earlier this season, Chris Simon was suspended 30 games for his stomp on Pittsburgh's Jarko Ruutu. In that situation, Ruutu did not receive any damage to his leg, but the NHL felt it was necessary to suspend Simon, a repeat offender. Yet, with Pronger, the NHL for some reason felt there was no clear evidence to say he meant to "stomp" on Kesler. From video replays, it shows Pronger doing one of two things: either he was trying to gain momentum to head down the other side of the rink by 'revving' up his right foot OR he was stomping Kesler's leg like a raw piece of meat.

Chris Pronger is a great defenceman, no question about that. He can score, hit and block shots effectively. But with all his foolish acts in the last two seasons with the Ducks, it's becoming clear Pronger plays with a massive chip on his shoulder. Whether it was the cheap elbow shot on Dean Mccammond in last season's Stanley Cup Final or last night's stomp, Pronger is quickly becoming a major pest to teams across the NHL.

As bitter as I am in the way Chris Pronger left Edmonton, I am starting to see the benefit of not having him play for the 'Copper and Blue' anymore.

Curtain Call: Yankee Stadium playing host to the Rangers?

The New York Yankees will be playing their final season in historic Yankee Stadium during the 2008-09 MLB season. Usually, when such a storied stadium closes its doors, you would expect a baseball game to be the last sporting event to take place. But just this past week, it appears the NHL is close to finalizing a deal to host the final sporting event at Yankee stadium with an outdoor NHL game featuring the New York Rangers.

An opponent has yet to be determined, but it makes sense to have the Rangers square off against their subway rivals, the New York Islanders. It would be a ratings bonanza for the NHL, especially in America, to have both New York franchises go head-to-head in the final event at Yankee Stadium.

But does staging on outdoor hockey game do justice for one of the greatest landmarks in the history of sports? Now, I do not watch baseball, nor care much about the sport. However, it is hard for me to imagine seeing Yankee Stadium close its doors to the sounds of bodychecks and slapshots over the more common sounds of fans singing along to "Take me out to a ball game!" during the 7th inning stretch. Obviously, the NHL is mainly using this opportunity to bring in more American viewers. I can't see how they could fail at doing so, since they will not only attract hockey fans, but fans across the sporting world.

But you have to feel for the Yankee faithful, who are used to seeing the likes of Jeter, Ruth, Jackson, Mantle, and Dimaggio create history. Now, instead of picturing the "Bronx Zoo" close down to America's favorite pastime, they will have to witness Canada's game invade their beloved holy ground. I sympathize for them. If the last event to be held at Rexall Place (home of my Edmonton Oilers) were to go to an indoor CFL game, I would be pretty upset. There is a ton of hockey history in Rexall Place, and to see it all washed away with an event that most of Canada pays no attention to is like a kick in the balls. This is very similar to what will take place in New York all for the sake of ratings and increased revenues.

Eastern Conference: Who will make the cut?

With playoff season slowly approaching, teams are competing hard to either push for a playoff spot or get home ice advantage. When looking at the standings, there some teams we know for sure that will make a trip to the postseason, but how about those teams who are sitting on the borderline?

In the Eastern conference, there are 7 points separating 6th place from 11th place. Currently, the Bruins, Rangers, Flyers, Sabres, Islanders and Capitals occupy those spots respectively. I guess you could throw the Hurricanes in that mix since they are leading the weak Southeast Division and are only 3 points ahead of the Caps. So only 4 of these seven teams will make the playoffs, but determining which four is a bit of a mystery.

Making the playoffs at this point in the season has a lot to do with momentum, which some of these teams possess. One in particular are the Buffalo Sabres. They have been playing great hockey as of late and have won some key matchups, most recently against the 8th place Flyers. There has been a rebirth of offense from the Sabres, led by Thomas Vanek, Derek Roy and Jason Pominville. Although their goaltending and defence haven't been spectacular, for them points are key, so a win is a win. So they are definitely a team I see taking a jump in the standings over some of the teams.

One of those teams I see the Sabres leaping over are the Philadelphia Flyers, who have been absolutely horrendous for the second half of the season and have just recently come out of a 10-game losing streak. I do have to give them some credit since they have been battling injuries to a lot of their key players (i.e. Lupul, Richards, Gagne). But they have also been struggling with getting consistent goaltending and stable defense. I just don't see this team keeping their playoff hopes alive, especially with the other teams they are competing with.

The Boston Bruins and New York Rangers are two teams that will definitely make the postseason and of which one of these two teams could surprise a few teams. Boston has already surprised fans across the league with their new defensive style and steady play of goaltender Tim Thomas. While the Rangers may have finally found their offensive touch that was sorely lacking for the first half of the season. Scott Gomez and Chris Drury have made up for the lacklustre performance of captain Jaromir Jagr.

The only downside to both teams is consistency. The Bruins have sorely lacked in the scoring department for most parts of the season, they seriously can't rely on just Marc Savard and Zdeno Chara for all the offence, or can they? The Rangers, on the other hand, need to tighten up on defense and goaltending. The Rangers do not possess any elite talent on defense, which has resulted in unreliable play throughout the season. This has sorely affected the way Henrik Lundqvist has performed, who could also improve in his department. Nevertheless, both of these teams possess tremendous potential to advance in the playoffs and knock off some of the favorites. For me, I like the Bruins---defense and goaltending wins you games, regardless if you can only score one or two goals.

The New York Islanders are just way too inconsistent to make the postseason. They are a streaky team, who can win five straight but then go on a six game losing streak. You can blame most of this on their inability to score night in night out. Throw in the fact most of the defense they had at the beginning of the season are sitting up in the press box due to injury, can't convince anyone they have a chance to play in the postseason, let alone win a round.

The Washington Capitals really don't need to worry too much about the teams mentioned above as much as they should just focus on the performance of the Hurricanes. The Caps currently sit three points back of the 'Canes and have a great chance to take their division and claim the third seed in the playoffs. The team made some great depth transactions during the trade deadline (getting Matt Cooke was a very underrated move) and having the NHL leading scorer on your team can't hurt either. Washington faces the Canes two more times in the next month, where their playoff futures will most likely be determined. As long as the team can play consistent hockey and win those two matches against the Canes, I can see them making the postseason for the first time since the 2002-03 season.

Struggling Sens: Razor's Edge

If someone were to tell you back in early November, that the Sens would be struggling this badly late in the season, you would think this someone was an idiot. That Sens team through the first 25-30 games, were unstoppable. Experts across the NHL were comparing them to the legendary Montreal Canadiens of the mid-1970s. There was already talk that this Sens team was not feeling any ill effects of their Stanley Cup Finals loss to the Anaheim Ducks last season. It was clear at that point, that they were going to head back to the Finals and take what was theirs.

Oh, how things change ever so quickly.

Fast forward to the beginning of March, the Sens are no longer sitting atop the Eastern Conference standings. No longer do they look like the Goliath of the Eastern conference, but now just an average team struggling to find their path. Goaltending has been abysmal, their top 3 players have all struggled with injuries and just recently, their head coach was fired. It really couldn't get worse in Sens Nation right now.

But it will, since I just can't see this Senators team make another run to the Finals this season. Even though they will make the postseason, they just have not played with the character and drive they displayed for the first quarter of the season. I blame this a lot on Ray Emery, who has been the 'cancer' on this team. We all know his history and the distractions he has caused for the Senators. But, you have to think, the Senators organization has to know when to say "enough is enough". If I were Sens owner, Eugene Melnyk, I would be losing my cool right about now with Emery. After signing him to a large contract after last season, expectations were high for 'Razor'. But he struggled with off season wrist surgery and battling with Martin Gerber for the #1 position. Throw in all his late arrivals for practice, Emery has really done nothing positive for this team.

I would really be treating Emery as if this were his last season with the Senators. I would believe that the Sens are going to gauge Emery's performance from now until the end of the season to see where Emery fits into the team's future. Without a drastic change in his maturity and on ice performance, Emery's days in a Senators uniform are numbered. This is a team that could've dealt him at the trade deadline for a more reliable goaltender and shifted attention to more important matters (winning perhaps). But clearly, the Sens ownership does not want to admit they made a mistake with Emery.

Nevertheless, I predict the Senators will not make it past the second round of this year's playoffs. Unless, their goaltending improves tremendously, they receive more scoring from their depth players (where the heck did Mike Fisher go?) and their elite players can stay healthy. Otherwise you would have to assume Melnyk is going to have to make a few drastic changes in the makeup of this team, as it is starting to look a lot like the pre-trade deadline Tampa Bay Lightning

Anaheim Ducks: Character team

I was just reading on TSN.ca about the results of the game between the Flames and Ducks on Feb. 29. As much as I dislike Chris Pronger and the way he exited Edmonton, I give him marks for showing up for the game and assisting the coaches during the match. He suffered face lacerations and a jaw contusion the previous Sunday against the Blackhawks. He is expected to be out for at least a week. Most players use this as an excuse to either stay home or watch the game from the pressbox. But since Ducks head coach had the flu, and the team was one coach short, Pronger stepped up and served as an assistant coach.

I find that very admirable of Pronger, who is known as having a rough demeanor. But this displays how close and committed this Ducks team truly is. Clearly they have regained their form from their Stanley Cup win over the Senators last season. With this act of dedication by Pronger, and the way they appear almost unbeatable, you have to assume the NHL will have their first Cup repeater in the last 10 years.