MOL is in Connecticut visiting our new nephew, leaving me at home by myself to watch the Bruins. Not a bad deal really. I saw the little guy yesterday, and he’s super cute. He does a lot of baby things like sleep, and look around like he’s lost. It’s pretty cool. MOL gets to hang with him tonight, so I have done all my laundry, ate left over Chinese and yelled at Shawn Thornton for having a crappy fight with Toronto’s Jamal Mayers. Like I said, not a bad deal. I’ve been super busy over the last few weeks. I’ll spare you the gory details, but I have made three observations in this young NHL season. They are, in no particular order.

1. I grossly under estimated how good the Bruins are. I mean, when I wrote the piece about the sneaking suspicion I had about their suckatude, I couldn’t have been more off base. Milan Lucic has turned his game around so drastically it’s hard to explain. He’s gone from zero to hero in no time, and I am pretty sure if he ran for Governor of the Commonwealth he’d win in a land slide. Not only is he responsible for a hit that will be played on every jumbotron in every arena in the NHL (well, maybe except for Toronto) for the next 20 years, he’s started scoring and piling up assists at a furious pace. Oh, and don’t forget his first fight of the year last Thursday. In a battle that had Jack Edwards near a stroke, he beat Mike Komisarek like he stole something in a 6-1 thrashing at Boston last Thursday.

On top of Lucic’s improved play, they have the ability to roll four very solid lines. In fact, one could argue the line of Shawn Thornton, Stephan Yelle, and Chuck Kobasew (now that he’s back. The real loser in all of this is Petteri Nokelainen who finds himself the odd man out since Koba’s return) has been the Bruins best and most consistent line. They have been super fun to watch all year, and I have been having the time of my life as a season ticket holder so far.

2. Someone is going to get killed if something isn’t done about the hitting from behind problem. Forget the headshots, I think the biggest disciplinary issue facing the NHL, is guys hitting each other from behind. Tom Kostopoulos’s hit on poor Mike Van Ryan, best known this year as the guy that Milan Lucic almost put into the second row in Boston with his glass shattering hit, and the guy that almost got paralyzed by some asshole with no respect for the other guys on the ice, should have been suspended for at least 5 games. The first thing you are taught when learning how to body check, is don’t hit someone when you can see their numbers. I have heard all the rational that Van Ryan turned at the last minute and the like, but it’s bull shit. Van Ryan fully had his back to Kostopoulos, and the only thing he turns is his head from looking right at the glass, to looking left over his shoulder to see if TK is going to slow up. Guess what? He’s not. Ding Dong. I’ll get it. Oh, and to the announcers out there. All of them. Can we stop defending people that are doing these heinous things on the ice please? Why is there any blame being laid on Mike Van Ryan? Tom Kostopoulos could have pulled up, and shouldn’t have hit him. Sorry or not about it, he had a choice on the ice, and he made the wrong one.

3. This game needs policing. This is NOT your father’s NHL. If it were, they’d still be trying to break up the fight that would have erupted after Tom Kostopoulos hit Mike Van Ryan. There seems to be a lot more punks in the league than ever before. Jarkko Ruutu was running around like a punk earlier tonight against New York, and wouldn’t fight when Aaron Voros tried to fight him. Steve Ott was ringing the bell all over the ice in Boston a few weeks ago, and never would answer the bell. When he slew footed Nokelainen at the end of the first, he should have been held accountable as soon as the second period started, but he never was made to answer the bell. If something isn’t done soon, i.e. removal of the instigator penalty, and guys having more respect for one another on the ice someone is going to get really hurt out there.

So, that’s what I’ve been seeing. Right now I’m watching the third period of the Sharks and Nashville. Jody Shelley just had a nice go with Greg De Vries. Shelley landed a wicked upper cut to win the fight. It was the last of three fights in a row. Nice to see Brad Staubitz get in a dust up with Jordin Tootoo as well. Big Joe Thornton was in the first one. Not much of a fight really. I love the Center Ice Package for this very reason. Anyway, I’d love to hear your opinions on the first quarter of the season so far. Don’t leave me out to dry here goons and goonettes. You know what to do, and as Dave says “Stay Gooney!”

In my first prediction, well, wish for blood. There was none. There was a little pushing and shoving. As Doc would say, there was a snarl. But no blood. Fighting in the playoffs doesn’t happen a lot anymore. The Habs and Flyers pushed and shoved a little, and eventually the game ended without a fight. That series is now over with the Flyers beating the hated Canadiens last night. They awaited their fate today, and found out in exciting fashion, it would be the hated in state rival Pittsburgh Penguins that stood between them and a trip to the Cup Finals. I have to say, I’m as giddy as a little girl thinking about this series. Or maybe it’s because I am typing this dressed as Little Bo Peep. Either way.

I do not need to tell the hockey fans out there how much these two teams hate each other. Really, it needs no words. They are like cats and dogs. They just do not get along. One of the best games I saw all year was a penalty filled affair on Versus that featured the worst acting job since Elizabeth Berkley in Showgirls. Georges Laraque “lost an edge” and did the worst “oops I fell over into the goalie” routine EVER at the end of the game. They kicked him out for it, probably so there could be no more fights. Truly a great sight. This kind of thing is always bubbling right below the surface when these two teams collide, and I for one will be glued to my television.

I guess I will have to make a new prediction for a cup winner since Montreal lost out last night. I am very excited by that by the by. Fuck them, and Carey Price’s new stupid glove. Their game went to hell in a hand basket, and Price was the reason why. Like I said before, for a guy that is supposed to be unflappable, he looked totally flapped. Pretty sure I made up a word there, but you get the picture. Lapses in judgment, and a weak glove hand from the 20 year old was Montreal’s undoing. In time, this kid is going to be something else, but I think he’s gonna need a few more seasons before anointing him the next Pat Roy up in Montreal. So that leaves Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Detroit, and either San Jose, or Dallas. I think Dallas ends it tonight, and I get to watch because I am totally unsupervised for the next week….hence the Little Bo Peep outfit. MOL is in Texas visiting her mother, and I am left to my own devices. Killer, I will need a wellness check every other day please. She showed me how to use the stove before she left, so I should be OK for food. Mostly I’ve been using it to slightly melt my green Army guys that have run afoul of the flame thrower guy. What? I am a 33 year old man; I haven’t been playing war in my living room since my wife left. That’s what crazy people do. Where was I? Oh yeah. I think it’ll be Dallas and Detroit with the winner being Detroit, and I am up in the air about the Battle of Pennsylvania.

Philadelphia is getting timely scoring from RJ Umberger, and superb goaltending from Martin Biron. Pittsburgh has so many weapons they can hurt you with it’s hard to pick how they get it done. Crosby has been good, not great in the second series, while Geno Malkin has been superb. Jordan Staal found his game in the back of his closet, and Fluery has made saves when they need it. If the series gets rough, I like the Pens in it. Laraque is a presence, and Jarkko Ruutu is an Uber pest. I think it’ll be a tight, rough and tumble affair with Pittsburgh winning in seven. In the final, I just don’t see anyone stopping Detroit right now. They look like they are firing on all cylinders, and I think it will be them raising Lord Stanley’s Cup next month. Either way, I think the Eastern Conference Finals will be the kind of series us Goonblog fans love. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think the Northern Army is trying to advance on the couch, and they must be stopped.