Thoughts from the bus

No, this is not a guest post from Jerome Bettis.

So I've got a laptop for the week and I'm writing from all over the place (hence the live blogging last night). Right now, I'm on the bus to work and I'm thinking about the first few days of the 2006 playoffs. Here are some random thoughts...

After a full year without playoff hockey and a "revamped" NHL, most fans were both excited and apprehensive at the start of the second season. Nobody knew exactly what to expect. Would the game still be called as it was during the regular season or would we get the "old school" playoff refereeing back? Would the new upstart teams, like Carolina, show themselves to be the real deal or would the old school champions like Detroit and Dallas rule the roost? Will the trap make an appearance? A lot of pundits were asking a lot of questions late last week.

So, how's it going so far?

Well, the refereeing has been more or less like the regular season. Since the big guy, Gary Bettman, essentially said that if any official put away their whistles, they would be put away, some have noticed a trend: In games where Bettman has been in attendance, the number of penalties called has been noticeably higher. Coincidence? Maybe, but we'll keep an eye out for that one.

In any case, the refereeing has been good and I have yet to hear any complaints. I have, however, completely avoided Don Cherry thus far and I hope to do so for as long as possible. If he hasn't said it already, he will surely use the utterly idiotic, but often used, "let the players decide the outcome" line.

As for the upstarts, well it seems Carolina is having a slow start. It's still early and there is still a lot of hockey to be played. Of course, I'm rooting for Montreal in this series, so I hope Carolina keeps letting in 6 goals a game. Dallas, who suffered the same fate as the Canes last night (in an eerily similar game), is down to the surprisingly energized Avalanche. Again, it's still early in the first week and Theodore has succeeded in controlling his rebounds, somewhat.

In any case, things are definitely interesting and it's great to have playoff hockey back. Here are a few things that I've noticed that I really missed last year:

- Playoff overtime or real overtime. Not the made up regular season kind of overtime.
- Potential upsets.
- The sea of Red in Calgary. How impressive is that?
- "Upper" and "lower" body injuries.
- Unsung heroes and players that step it up in the post-season.