Crosby Doesn't Play Nice

I wouldn’t say I am a big New York Islanders fan, but I am a big fan of Ted Nolan. Let me set the scene: Penguins versus Islanders in OT, Sid “the Kid” Crosby slashes (it was quite obvious too) Alexei Yashin on the hand. When Yashin grimaces but plays through the pain and Crosby turns after successfully stripping the puck by then, Yashin reaches up and gives a one-handed hook. Yashin sits for two minutes and Penguins win the game on a power play goal by Sergei Gonchar.

Ted Nolan had this to say:

"I think for a world class player, for a guy of his caliber, he's diving every time someone touches him," Islanders coach Ted Nolan said. "No question in my mind, he should have been called for a slash before Yashin had a chance to hook him.

"I'm not saying Yashin's wasn't a penalty, I'm just saying there should have been a penalty before. If Yashin maybe acted like Crosby and dove, maybe he would have gotten that call."

Many coaches would have let it pass, but not Nolan. Go get ‘em Ted.

In other NHL News

• More Penguin woes. Russian club Metallurg Magnitogorsk filed suit in U.S. District Court to stop Evgeni Malkin from playing for the Penguins. No one is saying anything about the filed complaint which makes it hard to gauge how much merit this lawsuit has. I don’t think Malkin is going anywhere.



• Brian Sutherby is featured in a story about grit and determination on NHL.com. This just reaffirms my love of Sutherby’s play of late. He has been the hardest working Capital playing against top lines in the NHL, and killing penalties with reckless abandon.



• Speaking of the NHL, they have added two more “Game On” ads featuring Sid “the Kid” and Marty Turco. The ads are a bit of dry humor and are okay. It was much better than the pointless Warrior story ads of a year ago.



• New York Mets played spectacular, but in the end, a dazzling catch couldn’t keep the St. Louis Cardinals from going to the World Series. If this sentence is news to you, you’re just too hard core of a Hockey Fan like me because it was news to me this morning when I just happen to overhear it on the Today Show. I didn’t even know that it went to a game seven. I need to get out more.



• It’s not really news but I forgot to post this in the Caps/Panthers recap. While I was watching the game with my wife (which we have made this sort of celebration dance after the Caps score so she would be more excited about watching hockey games with me) the Capitals just scored the fifth goal of the first period and my wife looks to me and says, “Too bad we don’t know anyone in Florida that we could call and rub it in their face.” Well if you’re from Florida and your reading this, consider yourself heckled.

That is all I got.