Broader Storylines For A Shortened Season

With the NHL season about to start, other people are doing previews or rehashing the ones that they did in September for the impending NHL season then. However, with a whole new element of a short season being brought into the mix, what can you as a fan look forward to?? For me, here's the underlying factors that could play a big role into the short season.

-Other Work Paying Off: The teams that had their players play either overseas or in the North American minor leagues will have a nice little jump start. They actually had game experience and have their legs about them. While the training camps will give them some rest and maybe slow them down for a short time, the fact they have had the game pace experience rather than informal practices-- those guys will have a jump; which will result in some interesting scoring leaders.

-Injuries Akimbo: Expect the injury reports to have a lot of "Groin" explanations next to it. We've seen it already from some players-- Jarome Iginla and Brooks Laich-- which will definitely make some guys stretch out more or even play with a little less reckless abandon. It could also let the players who had playing time expose those with less experience.

-More Urgency: Teams will not be able to have a down-swing in their game. Any kind of losing streak could mean the playoffs for these teams, which may expand the whole "parity" thing that the NHL has wanted from the 2004-05 lockout. You will probably a lot of more mix-up in lines or changes in game plans from the coaches if something needs to change, which could spark the team or throw them off their game completely.

-Less Urgency: If nothing else, we could see a lot more overtime/shootout games this season. As my buddy Dearen of Mr. Mikes in Airdrie said to me this past weekend, if there's a tie game in the third, you can see a lot of teams playing to preserve the point. That could happen in the front end of the season, but since it's all Conference play, later in the season-- you could probably see more risk from teams outside of the playoffs-- but expect some boring hockey in the third for teams not wanting to give up any points that are available.

That's four of probably many broad storylines out there I can see. I'm sure there's a lot more and people will expose the more intricate ones, but I'm not about being intricate. Plus, most importantly-- these will now not happen because I've put them out there.

Friday Five: Injury Bug and Relief

It's the end of another week and time for the F5. First off, thanks to those who enjoyed the story of Matt Mitchell's pads and the goalie himself, as it blew up big time. Sadly, it won't get better than that, I'm afraid-- but hey, I won't stop trying.

1. With Zach Parise and Martin Brodeur hurting, will the bad luck end in Jersey??

At least the Brodeur injury doesn't seem that serious-- though if it is, there's going to be issue, moreso. The Parise injury hurts on the actual team side in terms of scoring, but for the salary-wise, it's quite the relief. Unless there's a drastic change in attitude, I don't know if there's anything that can save this teams right now. It's almost like this is the mulligan year for the Devils after the years of success; which happens every now and again to even the most elite of teams. The ebbs and flows of parity is showing right now.

2. What's Bobby Holik's deal and why does he have such an axe to grind with the Devils??

The thing you have to appreciate is Holik coming out and being the outspoken guy he's become on the NHL Network and beyond. That said, there has to be some kind of underlying issue which makes him more critical of the Devils, a team he has two Cup rings with. Granted, everyone and their mother have been critical of the Devils, but Holik has been beyond that and it's a bit refreshing at one end of it and a bit "enough already" at the other end. We all know the Kovalchuk deal was bad, we're seeing the result on the ice-- but there's a point where it just stops being a topic because it's widely known as a bad move for everyone.

3. Staying in the Tri-State area, are we seeing the true New York Islanders or is it a bump in the road??

This is more than just a bump in the road, but it's not something they can't get out of. The issue I have is that they left Rick DiPietro in for two games in a row after he let up more than four goals. While I know they want to get the most out of his contract and out of his body while he's healthy-- there's a point where you have to switch it up and put Dwayne Roloson in there to help stop the bleeding and give the team a chance to win. The injury issues are a bit much, but at the same time-- guys have to step up and not use it as an excuse. If they don't improve in another month, all is definitely lost.

4. Daniel Briere has been suspended and Joe Thronton has a hearing Friday afternoon-- will this send a message to star players that they aren't infallible??

It's definitely a good message if they actually receive it as something they need to tone down. You look at this week also having fights with Jarome Iginla and Sidney Crosby, which is the way it should be done if star players feel like throwing their weight around-- drop the gloves and settle it the way you can within the perimeter of the rules. If you're cheapshotting guys when you're an elite player, it's silly when you actually have a rule allowing you to settle stuff without resorting to cheapshots.

5. The SPHL has a rule where their overtime is immediately a 3-on-3 situation. Is this the way to go or is there another way??

You have to give the SPHL props for going to this drastic of a measure, skipping over 4-on-4 altogether. However, I'm with JonnyP and other guys saying they should extend the 4-on-4 to a ten minute segment and seeing how that goes before reducing the players or going right to the shootout. The NHL coming out of the lockout was supposed to be about creating chances and while 3-on-3 does create chances in overtime, the 4-on-4 for a longer period of time would do just the same, but closer to the spirit of the game rather than gimmicks.....though I love me some gimmicks

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Another week in the books, and if you have a topic that you'd want to be tackled, you can get in touch with me via electronic mail. Scotty.Wazz@Gmail.com is the place to contact me and you can just get your question answered by me.....isn't that thrilling??

Overtime Love

If you hadn't heard by now, the Philadelphia Phantoms defeated the Albany River Rats in Game Five of the AHL Eastern Semis. That may not sound like much, but when I tell you that it was in the 5th overtime on the 101st Phantoms' shot-- it gets a little more impressive. The game was the longest in AHL History, surpassing the May 30, 2003 contest between the Houston Aeros and Hamilton Bulldogs by eight minutes and two seconds (82:58 to 74:56).

The highlights of the game include Albany's Michael Leighton saving 98 shots and Ryan Potulny scoring in dramtic fashion five hours and 38 minutes after the opening face-off.

There's something about overtimes in the playoffs that are fantastic. Maybe it's because you never know when it's going to end or you never know who could be the unlikely hero. You have your long marathon games like the Caps and Flyers had for Game Four of last round, then you have your quick and dirty finishes like the Habs and Flyers had during Game One of this round which took under a minute.

Granted, it wasn't a pro game that has had the longest overtime this season.

The Michigan Division I High School final between Marquette Senior High School and Orchard Lake St. Mary's went to 8 OTs at 1-1, before determining that it's best to call it a draw and have co-state champions. For kids who are not even 18, that's exhausting. Though this brought about the "why do we need everyone to be a winner" debate, but it is what it is.

It's hard not to love overtime. It's the most nerve-wracking, high-tempo, high-drama event in sports today. When your team wins, it's the biggest sigh of relief and greatest joy when it's over. If your team loses, then you have the worst taste in your mouth and biggest heartbreak in the world after the fact.

We've had 11 overtime games in the 52 games, which for you math-a-magicians is 21% of the games, which means every fifth game goes into overtime. That should create all kinds of drama for this year's playoffs, especially as the rounds go on. To compare to last year, this year's playoffs only need six more to match the 17 of the 2007 Cup playoffs.

So whether it's the NHL playoffs, AHL playoffs, the Michigan State Championships or whatever hockey it is....enjoy the overtime periods and respect the drama that comes with it.