Some really interesting news today. Veteran referee Tim Peel was fired for an incident last night in the Nashville/Detroit game.

A hot mic picked him up talking to another referee and some players, and he admitted to giving Nashville a penalty for basically nothing.

Video here:

...

Apparently he was retiring at the end of April anyway so this is more damage control than anything but still a big deal. Fans have been screaming about game management being a thing for years and this is blatant proof that it is happening.

Mar 24, 2021 16:10:30 GMT RT said:

Some really interesting news today. Veteran referee Tim Peel was fired for an incident last night in the Nashville/Detroit game.

A hot mic picked him up talking to another referee and some players, and he admitted to giving Nashville a penalty for basically nothing.

Video here:

...

Apparently he was retiring at the end of April anyway so this is more damage control than anything but still a big deal. Fans have been screaming about game management being a thing for years and this is blatant proof that it is happening.

Let me be on the Peel side of this because it is more fun to be on the defense.  Was Peel fired because of what he said or because what he said was caught on a mic?  I thought the purpose of the microphone was to state penalties and decisions to the crowd (which is then repeated by the PA announcer), "sounds of the game", not to listen to private conversations.  If the latter is the case then should it apply to everyone?  You all hear "hot mics" throughout the game especially with limited attendance.  A lot of curses and what not, but it is played off as it never happened.  Another question: Does one bad mistake in a 22 year career warrant to be fired?  Was there intent or was it truly a mistake?  In other words is this a fireable offense?  Does Peel deserve any type of due process (He received none, the NHL was quick to make a decision).  Would this have been any different if Peel was not going to retire soon?  Do you think in your own job if you make one "bad" mistake you should be fired?  Are the Sabres ever going to win a game again?

www.thebeaverton.com/2021/03/nhl-finally-finds-the-one-bad-referee-causing-officiating-problems-in-all-games/

Mar 18, 2021 17:41:00 GMT RT said:

Mar 18, 2021 3:18:53 GMT @admin said:

You obviously can't put it all down to the coaches not being there because of COVID but it's clearly a pretty bad look for DQ how explosive they looked tonight.

Let's hope this is finally the night that gets Zibanejad going for the rest of the season. Crazy how he's been so below par and then comes out and ties the all time record with a six point period. Great to see the team spirit with everyone celebrating with him and Georgiev given their (recent) struggles.

Woah!

I was surprised to learn that the only other player to do that was Trottier and not Gretzky. Crazy stat, especially in the current NHL.

Embarrassed the Flyers for the second straight game tonight. Very enjoyable viewing. 

Zibanejad is Gretzky confirmed.

Can we just keep the current coaching staff? DQ and Co. can go to the taxi squad. Or just take a taxi and get the hell outta here.

Matthew's made an excellent defensive play in OT that led to the game winning goal. Stopped a cross ice pass that was a 3 on 1 into breakaway. Inexcusable for the Sens to be caught like that. No need to force that pass at your blueline.

Sens may not show the best record, but they certainly come to play every night and can hang with the big boys. It is a very important step in a rebuild.

I thought the game was over on that last OT play. Sens forward was free and clear and Matthews was struggling to get back because he played most of OT already. Then he blocked that pass and I was like 😲

He's unreal. I love him. Crazy deke on Chabot, doesn't bury it but Mitch is right there and makes a nice pass to Holl. What a finish.

Sabres trade Eric Staal to the Habs for some draft picks. I was hoping he would come to Toronto but adding yet another old guy to our 4th line would be kinda silly.

Staal always scores on the Leafs so that's something to watch for in the remaining Leafs/Habs games. Uggghhhhhh...

Anyway, literally the same day the quarantine restrictions are relaxed in Canada, a player crosses the border. Might be an interesting weekend!

Not happy that the Rangers let Lemieux go. I know they want to play Kratsov. But, based on performance,, there are more deserving players like Di Giuseppe and Howden. Despite Howden being a disappointment I understand that it is too early to give up on him.

Rangers need grit and sandpaper. Unfortunately, they are going to be way too soft on the ice again.

Mar 28, 2021 18:41:28 GMT Zappy said:

Not happy that the Rangers let Lemieux go. I know they want to play Kratsov. But, based on performance,, there are more deserving players like Di Giuseppe and Howden. Despite Howden being a disappointment I understand that it is too early to give up on him.

Rangers need grit and sandpaper. Unfortunately, they are going to be way too soft on the ice again.

I agree. The Leafs went through this during their rebuild and it's the main reason they got bounced in the first round every year. Dubas finally woke up and nabbed some vets and some grit and look at them now.

I will die on the hill that if the Leafs had one tough guy in their series against Washington they would have won. And Kadri doesn't count because he's Marchand tough, not Muzzin and Simmonds tough. Doesn't count, especially because he kept getting suspended.

I don't think you want to keep playing a guy who isn't very good just because he's prepared to get in a fight or two. His analytics are pretty bad. Howden is terrible too but the center depth is a lot less than on the wings. The 4th line had a pretty decent game today with PDG back in with Blackwell who scored twice and fulfilled the "stand up for your teammate" role by taking Oshie down after he cleaned up Rooney.

The way I was reading the post was that letting Lemieux go didn't make sense because there wasn't anyone better to replace him, so they might as well have kept the tough guy. Maybe I'm wrong.

It's hard to say what is right these days. The Lightning won the cup last year and who was their tough guy? Bogosian? He barely played. And I'm watching him on the Leafs this year and I'd take Muzzin or Simmonds or even Hyman over him to step up and defend their teammates any day.

The Lightning won because they had fast, insanely good goal scorers and one of the best goalies in the league. That was all it took. The Leafs would be right there with them this year if Andersen didn't suck.

Not once did I mention anything about fighting. Rangers have a ton of finesse, but lack toughness, grit, sandpaper, and grinders especially now without Lemieux. And by toughness I don't mean fight. Standing up for your teammates, and again I don't necessarily mean fight everyone, get a good hit, have the other team run around in their own zone, grind down their defensemen, that plays a role into success, which is not measured by analytics. I'm worried that other teams are going to take advantage. Opponents will not have to worry as much while retrieving the puck or making a pass while in their zone.

I heard the Rangers have Lindgren, Smith (who fans wanted out, but lets just forget about it), and Kreider so the Rangers will be fine. So is it better to play with 5 defensemen on an already weak blueline? Is it better for Kreider to play like Lemieux instead of be an offensive powerhouse?

Blackwell has been fantastic. That just happened to be his first two goal game in his career. Don't expect it every game. Previous six, pointless. But, you are not looking for big numbers from your bottom six. He has certainly earned a spot on this team. Like I said before Howden has been horrible, and he would be my first to go because he has been so bad, but I understand that it is too early to give up on him. Di Giuseppe would be my choice. Unlike Lemieux he has never been a regular on the team. Just 2 goals in his career in NY.

Why are the Rangers even rushing Kravtsov in the first place? Because he previously refused to play in the AHL? Why did Lafraniere only get 8 minutes of ice time against Washington?

The Flyers making public comments about Hart is a joke. Blaming one guy for almost double digit games is extremely unfair. Their defense by the entire team, forwards and defenseman, is awful. Both Hart and Elliott were in net for the football games. Not just one.

Sabres were on their way to their first win in forever, but fell apart. Ullmark returned after a lengthy absence. He was one of the few bright spots on the team before he got hurt. He looked a little shaky. Awkward positioning on a couple of goals.

Rangers were fantastic in the third period today. Shesterkin, Fox and Kakko were all excellent. Great speed and aggression showed by basically everyone after the bad start.

I thought it was interesting that Panarin and Chytil both beat Vanacek on their breakaways in exactly the same spot. Considering how many games they were beaten by goalies playing out of their minds earlier in the season it was nice to get one back.

Pretty substantial COVID outbreak happening in the Canucks organization. Their game last night got postponed and they won't play again until at least April 9th. Something like a dozen players and staff tested positive since yesterday, probably more to come.

Not great!

Yo RT , I did a hockey parlay today!

- WASHINGTON ML over NJD
- YOUR TORONTO ML over Winnipeg
- COLORADO ML over STL
- EDMONTON ML over CALGARY
- LA ML over SJ
- ANAHEIM +1.5 against ARIZONA
- TB ML over DET

I didn't realize Tampa's game was tomorrow when I picked it so I'll have to wait until then to find out, but all these Canadian teams facing each other better go the way I predicted it!

Really fun game tonight between the Penguins and Rangers. Lots of goals and many more good scoring opportunities. Rangers have really improved their power play in the last month or so, they went 3/3 tonight when they couldn't buy a PP goal earlier in the season. Great to see Kakko and Laffy take advantage of getting more ice time than usual (probably because of the big early lead) and register a goal each.

Adam Fox is now tied with Victor Hedman for most points by a defender in the league. His vision and slight of hand is such a joy to watch.

William Nylander pulled from the lineup because of a possible covid exposure. Game tonight is going ahead and Barabanov is slotting in so it sounds like the contact happened after morning skate.

This comes after it's been confirmed that literally everyone in the Canucks organization has the P1 variant.

Hooraaaayyyyy

I couldn't find anyone writing about it but Vancouver being down for so long is going to play havoc with the schedule isn't it? They've already had six games postponed and with basically the whole team sick they're hardly going to be playing next week either. Maybe they figure out a way to get all the games played but it's probably fortunate that they were already unlikely to make the playoffs.

The Islanders have pulled off a pretty big coup by trading for Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac for a first round draft pick. Palmieri's had a fairly quiet season but he kinda feels like someone that could be pretty huge for them down the stretch. I'm pretty jealous of NYI's center depth.

Zajac has been with the Devils his entire career. He is an ok bottom six center at this point in his career. The big prize of the deal is Palmieri who I think is the type of player the Islanders were looking for to replace the injured Anders Lee. They play similar styles. I can see Palmieri going right to the front of the net on the powerplay, Lee's usual spot. Don't know any of those prospects/minor leaguers going back. First round pick is not a big deal since the Islanders are looking to go deep. Not too bad at all for rentals.

Glad the Islanders stayed away from Taylor Hall. He has been awful this season, and being on a last place team is not a good enough excuse. Sabres had one of their best games this season when Hall was a healthy scratch.

Jack Campbell sets a Leafs record for most wins in a row by a goalie (10) and ties Carey Price for the all-time record.

Jack Campbell just set the NHL record for most wins in a row to start a season (11), passing Carey Price.

Auston Matthews hatty. Almost hit Ottawa with the 4 AGAIN.

This team is special. Please show up in the playoffs. Please.

Like father, like son.

Nick Foligno is a Maple Leaf.

Frustrating the Rangers couldn't pull off the comeback and do the double over the Islanders but tonight was a pretty exciting night as far as the young guns were concerned. The Chytil-Kakko-Laffy line is producing and Lafreniere was skating with as much confidence tonight as I think I've seen from him all season, while Kravtsov was the best Ranger on the ice. Again it was the big guns not firing that let the side down - Kreider was a complete dog, Zappy you have my full backing to rinse him after tonight's performance.

With four games in a row against the Devils while Boston crater the next week is really a chance to get closer to the fourth playoff spot - but the inability to string wins together has been a problem all season.

Apr 12, 2021 0:56:25 GMT CM Punk'd said:

Like father, like son.

Nick Foligno is a Maple Leaf.

And they just picked up Big Save Dave from Calgary for a 3rd round pick.

We might have seen Andersen's last game as a Leaf.

If Dubas picks up a defenceman before tomorrow I'm writing Kyle Dubas erotic fan fiction.

1/4 against NJ down even if the Rangers weren't particularly good tonight. Shesty came up big in the second period when the team was playing like complete trash and got his first ever shutout.

Fun story I heard during the Leafs game last night: the Leafs traded for Dave Rittich (Calgary's backup goalie) and since Calgary was playing Toronto last night, Rittich flew with the Flames to Toronto then played against them for Toronto.

Can only imagine how that plan ride was lol

Back to back shutouts for Shesterkin! Let's continue grinding the Devils into dust over the weekend for having the nerve to challenge Kravtsov's first goal in a blowout.