Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 2.34

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So I thought to myself last night, with all the glee and jubilation coming from Ottawa after the Senators disposed of the Penguins in five games and opened their second round series with a win against the Devils, it’s time this segment be one that generates the bulk of its response from our friends to the northeast.

The big question: Is this Senators team any different than the ones that failed year after year in the past? Well they certainly looked to be a different playoff team throughout the first round against the Penguins. In reality though, everybody knows that should the Senators playoff run come to an end in the second round, the same changes will take place that would have had they bowed out after round one. So a first round victory over a largely playoff inexperienced bunch will be set aside for now. Its significance will depend future success the Senators may or may not have going forward.

In the Devils, the Senators get one of the most playoff savvy teams with one of the best money goalies of all time. So they win game 1 but it was hardly a textbook effort. Any game a team wins after going up four goals and then comes within a goal post of surrendering the lead is not one they leave the rink feeling confident. Instead it’s much more of a, “Boy did we get away with that one” feel. Game 2, the Sens go down two goals but showed good character fighting back against a stingy Devils team to tie the game and send it to extra time. In fact, the Senators were by far the better team after the first period, out shooting the Devils 40-17 from the second period onwards. This time, a game they probably deserved ended in a heartbreaking double OT loss.

So far the Sens have not looked the same against the Devils as they did in round one. Game 3 will answer a lot of questions. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.

Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 2.33

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So is it just me or is the drugs in professional sports situation becoming an awful lot like the internal strife at the NHL players association. An issue that just continues to hang around and everybody knows it but nobody wants to deal with it anymore. When Islanders defenseman Sean Hill was suspended 20 games for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substances program, that noise you heard was the collective groan of managers, coaches, players, broadcasters and fans alike realizing that this situation just opened up a whole new can of worms.

In the weeks ahead, the speculation over just how many players are, in fact, using performance enhancing substances will be reopened. Players and coaches will have to answer the same questions all over again, “Have you ever taken….Nooo”, “Have you ever seen anyone in your locker room…Nooo” and so on and so forth. On Saturday, World Anti Doping Agency Chairman Dick Pound suggested 20 games may not be enough of a suspension depending on what Hill tested positive for.

The fact is, the NHL is by far the cleanest professional sports league period. Over the past two seasons, 2800 tests, 1 positive result. For those of you who like math, that is .03%. Argue with the validity of the test all you want but if there is a serious drug problem in this league, even the most asinine testing format would yield a percentage great than .03%. In addition, the premiere players in this league participate in the Olympics every four years. There have been three such tournaments, ZERO positive drug results. Oh sure once every four years, easy enough to get it out of your system is your argument. Once you start relying on PED’s, it is impossible to get it out of your system for a two week period and still maintain your level of play.

People can say what they want. Dick Pound can say what he wants. The NHL is as clean a league as you will ever see. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.

Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 2.32

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The recently concluded regular season arguably contained the most parity of any NHL campaign in recent memory. In the Western Conference seven of the eight playoff teams recorded seasons of well over 100 points. Calgary, which locked up the eighth seed at the expense of the Colorado Avalanche’s playoff streak, also were on pace to reach the century mark until losses in their final two games put that milestone out of reach. The aforementioned Avalanche put together a late season surge that made a race out of the final playoff spot in the West when many thought it was all but decided with a month remaining in the regular season.

In the Eastern Conference, well, we all know just how long the tension for its final playoff spot was stretched out. Not evening mentioning the Maple Leafs, the teams that finished below them including Montreal, Carolina, and even the Florida Panthers who saw a strong finish, could arguably after provided some worthy playoff competition.

Naturally, much of the talk in the days leading up to the playoffs centered on another likely Senators collapse…ok well that was just us. In fact rather many people were suggesting that the NHL ought to consider expanding the playoffs to allow some of the playoff worthy teams that just missed to be included in future seasons. Commissioner Bettman was mum to the idea when it was presented to him this past week and suggested that by expanding the playoff format, the league would likely lose much of the excitement of the races down the stretch for the final playoff positions.

I don’t often see eye to eye with Mr. Bettman but in this case, I feel he is correct. Bet you didn’t expect that out of me when you consider the Maple Leafs fate this season. I do feel though that by expanding the number of teams granted playoff spots, it would further devalue the regular season. It is a long struggle played out over six months and for that it should mean something. Let the majority of the league in and to me, it makes the regular season seem like a waste of time. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.

Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 2.31

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Wow, what a ride that was. All that work, all that effort, all that tension, all for not. For those disappointed to not see the Maple Leafs competing in a playoff situation for what is now three calendar years, take solace in the fact really since the all star game, it has been playoff hockey for this team. Every game down the stretch was a playoff game, in an effort to prove everyone wrong. In the end, the naysayers and the pessimists again had the last laugh but you certainly can’t say this team didn’t give it all they had left.

If the Leafs had of snuck into the playoffs to meet the Buffalo Sabres, who knows what would have happened. In the last week or two, it became quite clear the Maple Leafs were running low in the gas tank when they came up flat twice in New York. Having to fight tooth and nail for two months for your playoff lives will do that to you. Unlikely they would have found a way to knock of the Presidents Trophy winners but I think there are many who would have liked to see them get the chance.

Coming into this season, the Maple Leafs were predicted to a team that would have to scrap and claw all year long for a shot at the playoffs. Eighty two games later, that prediction could not have been anymore accurate. Perhaps the fact that they even were in the fight until the bitter end is a credit to the personnel that constituted this year’s team. An already very average roster decimated by injuries to key players, several of those of the long term variety, should have been enough to finish this team off long ago. But somehow they hung around, outlasting Carolina, outlasting Boston, outlasting Montreal, the passion that does unite us all continuing to show through. To be frank, it was their own fault, their destiny was out of their control but let me ask you this. As a Leaf fan, have you ever cheered louder than when John Madden scored to keep this going just a little bit longer. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.

Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 2.30

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Tomas Kaberle. ‘Nuff said! But hey, all that was just rigamarole….Really what more needs to be said about what Tomas Kaberle brings to the Maple Leafs game in, game out. Everybody who considers themselves a Leaf fan, by now is well aware of Kaberle’s capabilities: his effortless skating stride, his superb puck handling, his ability to pass the puck with such accuracy, it’s as if he using a laser, his uncanny knack of being able to ward off forecheckers by seemingly just staring them down. On a nightly basis, Kaberle is a constant among so many other uncertainties.

Nobody worries Kaberle might make a bad choice with the puck, he never gives the puck away. Nobody worries he might take a bad penalty at an even worse time, he only has 18 penalty minutes all year.

Since returning from a three week layoff due to the concussion suffered at the beginning of the month, Kaberle has five points in five games, and is plus five. It could be argued he has returned stronger than before his injury as his game now boasts a bit of an edge and a heck of a lot of determination. Listening to Kaberle speak, it’s clear he cares about one thing: winning. Always looking ahead focused on team goals, Kaberle is never familiar with his own personal stats. This is the type of guy you want leading your team.

It’s been said the Leafs performed horribly at the Entry Draft through the 1990’s. While there were many questionable choices, perhaps picking up this gem in the 8th round 204th overall in 1996 makes up for just about everything. As Kaberle does every single game, he starts the same way he finishes: strong. So let’s take a page out of his book finish the same way we started. Tomas Kaberle. ‘Nuff said!!! But hey, all that was just rigamarole.