This year’s playoffs have been an eye opener for some teams.  Torts said it best, “the first round is often the hardest.”  With the first round of the 2011-12 playoffs in the books, we have seen the last 4 Stanley Cup winners eliminated.  Boston, Chicago, Detroit and Pittsburgh have all been eliminated.  Boston and Washington played the lowest scoring series in playoff history, and the Chicago/Phoenix series had 5 consecutive OT games.  Pittsburgh and Philadelphia had one of the highest scoring series in recent history, and there were times when I thought that the teams should just hang a frying pan with a team logo on it off of the cross bar; it might have stopped more shots than Fleury or Bryzgalov.  New Jersey needed 2 overtimes in a game 7 to get past Florida, and Vancouver surprised me and actually won a game against Los Angeles.  I was confident when I told Sully that LA would sweep Vancouver.  Los Angeles has some key pieces in place for a strong few years, including Quick, Brown, Richards and Doughty.  They are going to be a threat for a few more years yet.

As a Boston fan, I could sit here and complain that the OT winner could have been called off for goalie interference, but that isn’t the point.  Boston did not play their best hockey against the Capitals.  Dale Hunter and the Capitals played well enough to a earn a first round win over the Boston Bruins.  Did I hear correctly when he told his players to skate away and not get involved in the skirmishes after the whistle?  Dale Hunter said that?  This Dale Hunter?

As a hockey fan, we shouldn’t really be too surprised.  After all, since Dale and Mark Hunter purchased the OHL London Knights in 2000, Dale Hunter has coached them to division titles in 03-04, 04-05, 05-06, 06-07, 08-09, and 09-10.  In the 2003-04 season, Dale Hunter coached the Knights to an OHL record 31 consecutive wins, going 29-0-2.  In London, Dale Hunter has coached John Taveres, Michael Del Zotto, Rick Nash and Corey Perry to name a few.  Dale Hunter can coach, that has been proven at the OHL level.  Now, George McPhee needs to give Hunter a full season as coach to really put his fingerprints on this team.

Joel Ward, who scored the OT winner in game 7 for the Capitals, has been the subject of numerous racial taunts and slurs over the past couple of days from disgruntled and ignorant Bruins fans.  As a Bruins fan, I am embarrassed by the actions of the few.  Shortly after the Capitals victory, a pathetic group of Bruins fans had taken to the social media platforms that are available, and began lobbing racial slurs towards Joel Ward.  Fans that take to social media or other public platforms just to display their ignorance are a disgrace.  Boston, as an original 6 team, has had its share of history and milestones.

Willie O’Ree broke the colour barrier in the NHL, and was the first black player in the NHL.  O’Ree has a display in the Sports Museum of New England, which is located in the TD Garden.  O’Ree is also a member of the New Brunswick Hall of Fame, and has been honoured with the Order of New Brunswick and the Order of Canada.  Boston fans that are making their dislike of Ward public are basically pissing on some of the Boston Bruins history.  

Little tidbit of info for everyone…if you are reading this and are thinking to yourself that words like colour, honoured, and neighbour are spelled incorrectly, just try to remember that some words are spelled differently in Canada.  I’m getting pissed with these red squiggly lines.

Hotchnuts had a chance to go and see one of my favourite (fuck you red squiggly line…) bands, Nashville Pussy.  Wow.  It was a great show, except for too many tequila shots.

Hell yeah, alright, keep on fucking, we’ll be too tired to fight.

Time for your Jordan Carver yoga pose of the week.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hotchnuts