Penguins/Bruins Suspensions

Well, in another battle against the Bruins and Penguins, there was some brutal injuries in this game. With Loui Eriksson having a third degree concussion, Chris Kelly with a broken fibula, and Brooks Orpik suffering from memory loss, the game couldn't have been more violent. James Neal was also suspended 5 games for kneeing Brad Marchand in the head, and Shawn Thornton, who completely smashed Brooks Oprik's head into the ground is waiting to hear how many games his suspension will be. He will find out about the news tomorrow. The Bruins are now incredibly short on players, and the Penguins have lost two of their key players for a while. On the upside of this predicament, this game was the final time the penguins and bruins meet for the regular season. The video below shows the highlights from the game, especially the injuries given. Pascal Dupuis was the one who gave Kelly the broken fibula with a devastating slash.

After the game, Shawn Thornton looked completely sick to his stomach. He supposedly was good friends with Orpik, so it makes someone wonder why he would do such a thing to Orpik. Thornton had previously tried to fight Orpik, right after he hit Eriksson, but Orpik declined. Thornton then dragged Orpik down from behind, during a stoppage of play, and bashed his head into the ice several times. It looked like Orpik was unconscious. The video below shows Shawn Thornton's reaction to the incident.

Finally, I would like to post a video on Sydney Crosby's reaction to the bruins/penguins incident. It's always good to get a different perspective on something. Everyone seemed to notice that Shawn Thornton deeply regretted his actions, and had no intention on knocking Brooks Orpik out. The video below is Sydney Crosby's interview after the game and his reaction to the incident.

Stay tuned for tomorrow to find out how many games Thornton's suspension will be. In the meantime, enjoy the hockey season, and get ready for the Winter Classic!

Why Is The Western Conference Playing so Well?

The Western Conference is dominating the Eastern Conference.

The Western Conference is completely dominating the NHL right now. There is many debating on why Western conference teams are playing so well, and the main arguments are that all the teams are just flat out better. This could be a possibility, but no one has mentioned one major factor: Time zones. 5 of the 8 top western conference teams have pacific time zones. When Eastern Conference teams come over to play games at 7pm pacific time, it is actually 10pm eastern time. Games will be getting over at around 12 to 1am eastern time!  Players are going to be tired!

The Chicago Blackhawks have the best record in the NHL

When Western conference teams travel to the east to play games at 7pm, it is only 4pm their time. Games won't get over until 10pm, which is still pretty late, but it will only be 7pm west coast time. No matter where the Western Conference hockey teams with pacific time zones play, they are going to have the time zone advantage. You hear all of these NHL analysts say, "the Western conference is just more talented than the Eastern conferenc," or "the Eastern conference just can't keep up with the fast pace Western conference style of play." This could very well be true, but I believe the real answer to why Western conference teams are better than Eastern conference teams is because of TIME ZONES. Now, there are some purely talented Western conference teams, whose times zones are only a bit different from the Eastern conference teams, like the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks, but the San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, Phoenix Coyotes, LA Kings, and Colorado Avalanche all are in the top 8 of Western Conference teams, and all happen to have pacific time Zones. Don't get me wrong, all teams have great talent, but the time zones have to go into consideration when wondering why the Western conference appears to be better than the Eastern Conference.

Alex Ovechkin leads the talent of the Washington Capitals

There are some teams, like the Washington Capitals, who have more talent than some of the teams I just listed, but only have a mediocre record. They compete in a tough Eastern conference, and it doesn't help that they have to travel across the country to play the west coast teams. There has to be some way NHL officials can work around this problem. I am almost positive that I am not the only one who believes time zones are the real issue. Until then, Eastern conference teams are just going to have to deal with the frustration of Pacific time.