Scott Gomez is now one of the Habs.  The New York Rangers traded the centre to the Montreal Canadiens along with Tom Pyatt and Mike Busto in exchange for Chris Higgins, Doug Janik, Ryan McDonagh and Pavel Valentenko. 

Gomez didn’t have the greatest season last year (just 58 points) but Bob Gainey seems excited to add him to the roster: "We are extremely pleased to have acquired a player of the caliber of Scott Gomez. He is an outstanding playmaker and an excellent skater. Having won the Stanley Cup twice with the New Jersey Devils, he brings to our team a lot of playoff experience. Scott is an elite player who will certainly contribute to the success of our team for years to come."

The Habs have made all kinds of changes – the team was sold to the Molson brothers, they got a new coach and now they are updating their roster.  As with every team, the goal is to make it to the Stanley Cup finals and, clearly, it’s beneficial to have players on the team who have playoff experience.  Gomez won the Cup twice with the New Jersey Devils but he comes at a hefty price – he’s signed through 2013-2014, at a salary cap hit of more than $7.35-million.  Let’s hope it pays off.

image: TSN

At just 35 years of age, New York Rangers forward, Markus Naslund, has announced his retirement from the NHL after playing in the league for 15 seasons despite the fact that he still had a year left on his two-year, $8 million contract ($3 million was remaining).

"I would like to sincerely thank Glen Sather and the New York Rangers for giving me the opportunity this past season in New York," said Naslund in a statement.  "I would also like to thank the Vancouver Canucks and all of their fans for their support over the 11-plus seasons I was a part of their organization, as well as to the Pittsburgh Penguins where I began my NHL career."

Naslund was with the Vancouver Canucks (where he served as captain until the 2007-2008 season) for most of his impressive career during which time he amassed 395 goals and 869 points in 1,117 games.  I thought he had another year or two left in him but I guess the guy knows when he’s played enough professional hockey. 

Instead of buying out his contract, the Rangers have elected to save the money and have some room in their salary cap for the 2009-10 season.

image: TSN

The Washington Capitals have been in this position before.  They faced the the Philadelphia Flyers last year and, after forcing the series to go to Game 7, they were handed a crushing loss in overtime.  What a difference a year can make!

Last night, the Caps took on the New York Rangers, knowing it was their last chance to keep their playoff hopes alive and they did, overcoming about a million odds.  With just 4:59 left in the third period, Sergei Federov, put one in New York’s net.  Meanwhile, rookie goaltender, Simeon Varlamov, held off the Rangers allowing the team to celebrate a 2-1 victory.

This is one of those series that had me all worked up and I made some mistakes in judgment along the way.  The most important thing I need to take back are all of the inflammatory comments I’ve made about Bruce Boudreau as a coach.  I was furious with him for pulling Jose Theodore from the starting lineup because I really didn’t have a lot of faith in Varlamov.  I’m a big enough person to admit that I was wrong.  He’s been solid between the pipes and I think he played a HUGE role in helping the Capitals head to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in more than 10 years.

With the New York Rangers out of the playoffs, it will give the league some time to figure out what to do with Sean Avery and will allow coach John Tortorella time to go off and lick his wounds.  Who knows if either of them will be with the Rangers when next season starts.

Looking forward, I’m pretty excited about the showdown between Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby since the Capitals will face the Pittsburgh Penguins this Saturday in Game 1 of the semifinals.  Somewhere I swear I hear Gary Bettman drooling over how many viewers this series is going to attract.

image: TSN

The New York Rangers have sent a letter to the NHL asking the league to discipline the Washington Capitals.  It’s controversial and I know a lot of people won’t agree with it but I do.  I think the Capitals (and their fans) have gotten out of control and there comes a time when someone needs to step in and do something.

It’s been an intense series for the two teams but things have really escalated in the last two games.  The Caps fans were basically allowed to harrass the Rangers, the plexiglass behind their bench had to be replaced, they were spit on and someone poured beer on John Tortorella.  The Rangers allege that Washington’s security failed to intervene when they were asked to do something about the fans.

They also allege that obscene comments were made: “According to Rangers trainer Jim Ramsay, one patron was screaming at the team, in graphic language, about whether defencemen Dan Girardi and Marc Staal have a sexual relationship,” New York general manager Glen Sather wrote in a letter to Bettman that the team released Sunday.  “This was within earshot of several children seated nearby.  Several other fans also made repeated homophobic remarks.”

People came to the defense of John Tortorella, who was banned from one game after he threw a water bottle at fans (among other things).  “I know the heart of the guy and I know the thing that triggered him,” interim assistant coach Jim Schoenfeld said. “It wasn’t any sling to him, and there were many. It was what was said about one of his players. It’s easy to say you’ve got to be in control, you’ve got to keep it in check, you’ve got to turn the other way. There are rules… You can say what you want to Torts … call him whatever you want. He’ll tell you what to do with your horse, but he’s OK with that. Don’t get down on the people he cares about. He will fight for them, and that’s what he did.”

The Rangers feel that they were not properly protected during Game 5 (the league has since increased the security at their games) and they feel that Washington should be penalized for allowing it to happen since it eventually led to the suspension of Tortorella.  “We will follow up on the Rangers’ request, as appropriate,” NHL spokesman Frank Brown said. “We had already implemented additional security procedures for Games 6 and 7 and we don’t anticipate any further problems.”

As if that wasn’t enough, the league is now looking into the behavior of Donald Brashear (Washington) who has a hearing today regarding his actions during Game 6.  He not only got into an altercation with Colton Orr during the warm-up but he also delivered a hit on Blair Betts, who suffered a broken orbital bone.

I hate when a playoff series gets ugly.  It just ruins it for both teams.  It’s a privilege to play in the postseason and I hope the Caps wake up and realize that.

images: TSN

After yesterday’s action, the last two undecided series in the Western Conference are both tied up and I honestly couldn’t tell you which way this is going to go.  So far, I’ve been surprised so I’m not going to make any guesses.

The New York Rangers had an opportunity to eliminate the Washington Capitals but, with Sean Avery back in the lineup and coach John Tortorella suspended for one game, it looked like they were a bit lost.  The Caps took full advantage of the situation, winning the game 5-3.

It’s not that the Rangers didn’t try hard (32 shots on goal) but they just got outplayed.  The Caps really showed that they want to stay in the playoffs and they came out strong, scoring three goals in just the first period.

Similarly, the Carolina Hurricanes were eager to hold off the New Jersey Devils and they did it in a big way.  Yesterday’s 4-0 win was the biggest victory the Hurricanes have had this series and I’m stunned that they not only continued to beat goaltender, Martin Brodeur, but I’m also disappointed that the Devils didn’t try harder (28 shots on net).  It was a game filled with penalties for both teams but the Devils really outdid themselves, spending more than 30 minutes in the box.  I hope their coach has a long talk with them because it was pretty ridiculous.

Tuesday, April 28 is going to be a big night in hockey with these four teams battling to advance to the second round.  I hope they bring the intensity because there will be no more chances.  Leave it all out on the ice, boys!

images: TSN

I have never been a fan of NHL coach John Tortorella but I went from feeling sorry for the man to being shocked when his New York Rangers suffered a devastating 4-0 loss against the Washington Capitals. 

During the game, the Capitals fans right behind the Rangers bench got so out of control that the glass had to be replaced.  One guy, who had clearly had too much to drink, allegedly dumped his bottle of beer on Tortorella.  After enduring this and trying to keep his players focused on the game, Torty grabbed a hockey stick and turned to fight with the fan.

As if that wasn’t enough, people who were at the game are claiming that Tortorella was squirting water at the fans through the space between the panes of glass and then got so fed up that he actually hauled off and threw the water bottle at them.  Some people feel that he should be suspended and I’m the last person to defend him but when does taunting and abuse from the fans become intolerable?  If they were pushing on the glass so much that it had to be replaced, isn’t that a bit ridiculous?

Watch Tortorella wave the stick at the fan who would definitely fail a breathalyzer:

Watch the water bottle-throwing incident where it looks like Tortorella climbs up on the bench and takes aim at the Capitals fans:

*UPDATE* Tortorella was suspended for one game by the NHL.  What do you make of that?

image: TSN

The Washington Capitals shut out the New York Rangers last night in Game 5 to skate away with a 4-0 victory.  The Rangers are now just holding on to the series lead (3-2) heading into Game 6.  I get the feeling this is going to end up going to Game 7 and it’s going to be a tough battle.

Of course, despite this being a tight series, too much attention was given to Sean Avery and his problems.  Coach John Tortorella refused to comment on the situation but Avery was a healthy scratch from the game.  I think that was an incredibly smart decision but the Rangers are starting to look distracted. 

They still lead the series 3-2 but Washington is not going down without a fight.  Also, Rangers goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist, was absolutely abysmal tonight, allowing 4 goals in 14 shots on net.  Meanwhile, the barely known Simeon Varlamov continues to be solid for the Capitals.

The Rangers will have an opportunity to win the series when they host the Capitals this Sunday.

image: TSN

The New York Rangers beat the Washington Capitals tonight and they really can thank Henrik Lundqvist for the victory.  The netminder was amazing in goal, turning away 38 shots, a career playoff high.

The Caps are now just one loss away from elimination but I’m not going to count them out just yet.  Don’t forget that, during the quarterfinals last year, they were able to come back from a 3-1 deficit in the series against the Philadelphia Flyers but ultimately loss during overtime in Game 7.

It was Sean Avery, however, who stole the show – again!  The Rangers were only up by one when he decided to start acting like an idiot in the third period.  First, he incurred a stupid penalty for roughing and then, with less than five minutes left in the game, he spent another 2 minutes in the box for hi-sticking.  He’s lucky because that last penalty was really unnecessary and deliberate. 

John Tortorella was visibly upset by Avery’s action and even had to bend over and scratch his head at one point.  Torty refused to even respond to questions about the situation saying that he was going to deal with that in the locker room.  I certainly hope so.  If a coach like Tortorella can’t control Avery, no one can which means it might be time for the league to look at what should be done with him.  It’s too bad because he’s actually an effective player but his personal problems continue to get in the way.

image: TSN

Sean Avery has been called many things but the only types of calls he heard last night were for penalties.  I know some people see him as an agitator who is just good at being a pest but I personally feel that he shouldn’t have the privilege of wearing an NHL jersey.  I certainly don’t think he deserves to be in the playoffs after missing so much of the season for being abusive.  The Dallas Stars dumped him for a reason and I’m so confused by the fact that the New York Rangers chose to pick him up.  Maybe after the crap he pulled during last night’s game, they will see the err of their ways.

image: TSN

New York was enjoying a 2-0 series lead over the Washington Capitals when a crazy thing happened – the Caps, with a majorly inexperienced goaltender between the pipes – shut out the Rangers with a final score of 4-0.

What was the catalyst for this huge turnaround?   I’m not going to take all the glory away from the Washington players.  They tried hard and Alexander Semin had a two-goal night.  The got some help, however, from Avery who just couldn’t seem to control himself at all.

Let’s take a look at the penalties drawn by Sean Avery alone:

• Roughing  - 2  min (03:07, 2nd period)
• Hi-sticking  - 2  min (07:13, 2nd period)
• Interference on goalkeeper  - 2  min (17:45, 2nd period)
• Roughing  - 2  min (17:12, 2nd Period. Served by Colton Orr)
• Misconduct (10 min)

The misconduct was for punching Caps goaltender, Simeon Varlamov.  I swear it looked like coach John Tortorella was ready to kill him.  Watch the misconduct:

This was not the result I was expecting from tonight’s game between the New York Rangers and the Washington Capitals.  Going into this third game in the series, the Rangers had a 2-0 lead but some dumb mistakes (and the ridiculous antics of Sean Avery – more on this later today) cost them the game in a big way.

image: TSN

The Capitals came roaring back and skated away with a 4-0 victory.  I was surprised that they elected to put Simeon Varlamov back in net despite the young goaltender’s inexperience but I’m guessing it was a good decision because the kid saved all 33 shots on goal and posted a shutout.

Alexander Oveckin also looked like a crazed man on a mission and seemed to be everywhere at once as he tried to give his team the edge.  Alexander Semin got the Caps on the board with two goals in the first and then Brooks Laich and Tom Poti scored on a power play in the last 40 minutes.