What an awesome ending to Game 2 of the Hurricanes-Devils series! I was just about as deflated as could be when NJ scored with 20 seconds left, as was most of the RBC Center crowd in Raleigh apparently, after starting to get psyched up about the pending overtime, and planning my escape from work, depending on when the intermissions fell. (Rule #1 about watching the NHL Playoffs… if it goes to one overtime, have plans for many overtimes. Know which bars would have the game within a 20 minute driving radius if you must leave during an intermission, and if you’re at home, make sure the beer supply will last through another full period. Rule 1A includes having a copy of Blazing Saddles on hand, but that’s another story.)

Anyway, what an exciting finish, but I couldn’t help wondering a few things during the game.

1) I like Mike Emrick calling the game for the most part. He’s pretty even through most parts, but man does the Devil in him shine through in close games or after goals. Also, he lost points for, as far as I noticed, not dropping some BG love on Ken Klee during the game. (Both guys are BG grads.)

2) A major point of emphasis in the new rules of the NHL involved icing. The team that ices the puck cannot make a line change before the ensuing faceoff. Yet I noticed at least three times tonight where OLN went to commercial after an icing call. I know they need to “pay the bills”, but it seems like giving the offending team that 2-3 minutes to rest and regroup after an icing defeats the “no line change” purpose. I don’t think the rule was meant to specifically punish teams as much as it was to eliminate unnecessary icings, but the punishing factor is there, and now it’s being largely ignored.