Sens at Land's End

Last night I watched this new sitcom, The Return of Jezebel James, because I really like Lauren Ambrose and I was hoping it’d be good. Having seen it, I am not really sure how they got good actors to be involved with it. Maybe I just don’t get traditional sitcoms anymore. Actually, that might be it. I was watching it and thinking it seemed hopelessly out of date. Parker Posey also is not in her element. Dianne Wiest is on it. Why? I don’t know.

But I mention it because there was a scene where the main character was wearing a New York Islanders jersey with Brendan Witt’s name on it and talking about how satisfying watching hockey was. Random! She’s right, though — it is satisfying.

Now we must update the Pronger stomp situation: the NHL “found a new camera angle” (riiiight) that showed the stomp more clearly, so they had another look at it and today suspended him for eight games. I am conflicted about this. While I am glad he’s being punished, there are a few things that still bother me:

1. They “found a new angle.” My ass they did. We are supposed to believe that the NHL doesn’t have access to every possible bit of footage right away? I am 100% convinced that the only reason a suspension was considered was that there was enough outrage among hockey fans, sports media, and other hockey players that the league had to do damage control.

2. Eight games. Chris Simon got 30 games for his stomp. I don’t think the two situations are exactly comparable — for one thing, Simon was coming off a recent 25 game suspension and Pronger was not (although, he has been previously suspended twice for one game each time in the last twelve months, and it isn’t a big stretch to argue that either of those suspensions could/should have been longer). Additionally, Simon’s stomp was a bit more vicious than Pronger’s, in my opinion. However, I still think eight games is a bit short for what he did. 15 would have seemed reasonable.

3. I also think that, given the fact that the Ducks have nine regular season games left — yeah, he’s going to miss eight of nine (why not just go with nine and say he’s suspended for the rest of the season? I have no idea) — this suspension comes off looking a hell of a lot like a nice vacation handed to dear old Prongs by his buddies in the league head office so he can be good and refreshed before the playoffs start. It seems to me he should at the very least be missing a couple of playoff games for this one, and if he weren’t a star player on a team in a market where the league is desperate to build its audience I bet he would be. I hate the fact that you can basically predict the course “justice” is going to take in the NHL based on where a player plays and how famous he is. I would love to see what would happen if a little-known player laid a similar bit of violence on someone like Sidney Crosby. He’d probably be banned for life.

It is complete bull, and the NHL rates a big thumbs down from me for the way they handled the entire situation.

Sens 3, Habs 0. The Habs are bewildered.

I can’t believe the Sens have got a goalie who has actually been playing well. Martin Gerber, I no longer hate you. Spezza scored two goals and took a stick to the face, but apparently his beauty will not be affected. Now he has 30 goals, and the Sens are the only team in the league with three 30-goal scorers (Spezza, Alfie, and Heater).

I do not wish to be overly optimistic at this point, but I think les boys may, just possibly, be on the road to getting a good portion of their mojo back.

I was so happy that I almost forgot Lost was on tonight!

Last night, Chris Pronger stomped on the leg of Vancouver’s Ryan Kesler. He stepped on his leg. During a game. With skates on. Earlier this season, Chris Simon was given a 30-game suspension — the longest in the history of the NHL — for stepping on the leg of Pittsburgh’s Jarkko Ruutu during a game. I will just take a moment to compare Pronger and Simon:

• Simon: has been suspended 8 times, for 65 games total (that includes one 30 gamer and one 25 gamer — take those away and it’s 6 suspensions, 10 games), during his 15-year career.
• Pronger: has been suspended 7 times, for 14 games total, during his 12-year career, including twice in last year’s playoffs (the most recent suspension being 1 game during the Stanley Cup Final for elbowing Dean McAmmond in the head).

So, logically, one would assume that Pronger, who is, like Simon, a repeat offender and a notoriously dirty player, might receive similar disciplinary action for this incident. Unless one follows the NHL closely, in which case one would be NOT AT ALL FUCKING SURPRISED to see that Pronger is not going to be punished at all.

How does this guy get away with this stuff? He and his whole damn team piss me off so much, it’s going to give me an ulcer. I wish they would just disappear. If I turned on SportsCentre one day and heard the words “Chris Pronger was delivered a potentially career-ending injury today,” I would only feel it’s proof that karma exists. And the one positive thing I do have to say about the guy is that I think he accepts that. So, fine. At least he’s not a hypocrite. A douchebag and a goon, but not a hypocrite. Go Pronger.

This whole thing would be blatantly stupid in any circumstance, but it seems especially so now, so soon after Richard Zednik having his neck cut, when you would have to think the league would be especially conscious of the bad things that can happen when skate blades are involved.

I feel like starting a petition to Hockey Canada to keep Pronger off the Canadian Olympic team in 2010. I don’t care how good he is; I don’t want him anywhere near it.

Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba got the Sens/Coyotes game on TV today. BC got the Leafs! Apparently they were going to show the Sens but then last night decided to go with the Leafs because they are making this late run at the playoffs. But for some reason every other western province still got the Sens, even though the Canucks are the only western team likely to be affected by the Coyotes.

AAAAAAAAARGH.

Why me? Seriously. Why does the CBC hate me?

But:

I … what just happened? I feel so confused.

Well, Sens, I have to say you have about drained me.

Today’s game: shut out 2-0 by the team with the worst record in the NHL (though since January 1, in fact the Sens are the proud owners of that distinction). They actually get good goaltending, and now they can’t score. With about two minutes to go in the third period, they were down 1-0 and apparently scored a goal only to have it waved off because the referees didn’t see it and there was no replay angle that clearly showed the puck having crossed the line.

Yep, that’s the way things are going.

The sad thing is, I expected them to lose this game and it’s only the goal being waved off that has me feeling disappointed about it. I just don’t have anything left for them right now. I looked at the standings and I see the Rangers now only two points back, which means by Sunday they’ll probably by in 6th place and in real danger of missing the playoffs entirely. This is the first time I’ve thought that was actually a possibility. That goal not counting … I felt like if it had counted, that might have turned things around. But having it not count seems like it might be the last nail in the coffin.

I want to know what happened to my team. It makes me sad.