-So NHL officiating seems worse than usual this year. I understand that's like a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay saying, "Gee, the waterboarding seems less pleasant than usual just lately" but I feel it's true. Whatever discipline process the NHL has for its refs isn't working. It might be time to look at a coaches challenge on calls. The refs and linesmen are missing too much and it's affecting the game. Enough is enough. Every year we're left talking about bad reffing, and every year I wonder why nothing is done about it. The NHL watches the same games I do, don't they? Time to start taking power away from the refs.
-It's like the Avs know when I'm about to blog. "Uh, oh," they must be saying, "that weirdo in Winnipeg is blogging about us again, better pull out a win tonight." They walloped the Dallas Stars last night, and even outshot them (I know right?) by a wide margin. Seriously though, last night didn't have the ring of an anomaly the way the other big wins of the year have, mainly because the Avs have been winning more lately. It's not much, but it's a step forward. The big guns are all firing, though perhaps less so than they should be. Duchene and MacKinnon finally seem to be kicking into high gear. So can the Avs dig themselves out of the hole they sunk into during October and most of November? Only time will tell.
-Whatever else happens to the Avs, however the season ends, it's been a banner year for Tyson Barrie. He has eighteen points through just 24 games, unreal numbers for a defenseman, leaving him tied for fifth among scoring by defensemen. I knew watching him as a junior player for Canada at the WJC that he was going to be something special, but this surpasses even those expectations. Barrie is the ultimate power play defenseman. He can rush it himself, he can play set up man or trigger man, he can distribute the puck with intelligence, and he can get his shot through traffic. He's on the small side, but the physical side of the game doesn't seem to bother him any. You don't see him get out muscled often either. He's a more complete version of former Av John-Michael Liles, with possibly an even higher offensive upside.
-Speaking of defensive scorers, guess who sits number one and two in that category. If you guessed Mark Giordano and TJ Brodie, in that order, congratulations, way to keep an eye on things. If you guessed that at the start of the year... no you didn't. Even fans of the Flames have been shocked by the surprise team of the Western Conference, battling it out with the New York Islanders for surprise team of the NHL.
-On the other end of the Alberta surprise spectrum, the Oilers have surprised me in all the wrong ways. Call me naive but I really think they have to turn a corner one of these days, don't they? At this rate, all the promising young players the Oilers fans are so excited about will be on the verge of retirement before they turn that corner. Goaltending is an issue, but so is... everything else. I really hope they don't finish last. I don't wish that sinkhole of an organization on a prospect like Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel. Buffalo, if it's not too much to ask, could you maybe start losing games again?
-Buffalo has been on a tear recently. They were on a short win streak, halted by the Winnipeg Jets, and then swept top-ranked Montreal on back to back games over the weekend. Hands up who saw that coming. Put your hand down, Gerald, you're so full of crap!
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