The NHL is trying to kill me

Another night, another double overtime west coast game. At this point, I'm surviving on Red Bull, coffee, and the occasional scrap of food. I might have a heart attack before lunch.

And you know what? I wish the whole year could be like this.

In light of what's happened in the past week, I'm going out on a limb and making what some folks might call a ludicrous assessment (especially after the series ending goal last night in Anaheim).

The sun has set on the Martin Brodeur era. Roberto Luongo is now the best goaltender in the NHL.

Assessing goaltenders is a difficult thing in the regular season. There are a plethora of talented players at the position, many of whom could stake a claim to the Vezina trophy as the league's best goaltender in the regular season at their position. That's what makes the playoffs so great. The playoffs reveal truth, plain and simple.

In the playoffs, the measure of a goaltender is simple. Can you put your team on your back and carry them in games they have no business competing in. And this year, in his first Stanley Cup playoffs, Roberto Luongo may as well have been Atlas, carrying the weight of the entire world on his shoulders and not just that of a mid-sized west coast Canadian city.

Vancouver should have been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Heck, without Luongo they may not have even been there to begin with. They had neither the talent nor the temperament to compete with Dallas or Anaheim. And yet every game Luongo gave them a puncher's chance. All they had to do was play the game as best they could and the man between the pipes gave them a shot at glory. And the load that he carried was absolutely unbelievable.

In 2 rounds of playoff action totalling 12 games, Luongo played a total of 847 minutes. That's more than 2 FULL GAMES of extra time. And he was stellar throughout. He sits 3rd in save percentage, with only JS Giguere (who no one can dispute has the best defensive corps in the game in front of him) and Marty Turco, the man Luongo outduelled to knock out of the playoffs above him.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, we may be witnessing the beginning of the end for one of the best goaltenders of all time. It's something that had to happen sooner or later, but has been shocking to witness nonetheless. Martin Broduer has gone to the well so many times, carried so many teams to the promised land, and broken so many opposing players' hearts that we expect nothing short of greatness from him every game. Until this playoff year, he's never come up empty. And yet it's happening.

This year, Brodeur sits 11th in playoff goals against average and save percentage.

Let that sink it for a little while.

And it's not just the numbers that tell the story. Brodeur has been beaten by several average shots in both of the Devils series, and even a couple of even lower quality. He has been stellar at times, but has lacked the consistency that has been a hallmark of his hall of fame career. It seems that the heavy workload and father time may finally be catching up to Brodeur. He may yet have a stellar performance or two left in him, but the days of Brodeur as a dominant force in the NHL playoffs look to be over.

I always expected Roberto Luongo to be the heir to the throne once occupied by Martin Brodeur, and Patrick Roy before him. I just didn't expect it to happen so soon.

So the All-Star game was... well... an All-Star game.

Lots of goals, lots of flubbed pass attempts, a few pretty plays, and even more goals. Alex Ovechkin scored once during the game and apparently scored a ton of merchandise beforehand as well. Well, I'm glad he enjoyed the experience.

And was it just me that took a sick sort of pleasure in seeing Marty Brodeur lit up like the sky on the Fourth of July in the second period? Tell me it wasn't just me. I mean, I know it was an exhibition and all, but still, he got positively SMOKED out there. Good times... if you're not a Devils fan (and why the hell would you be?).

Well, now that the fun and games are over with, it's time for the Caps to get back to work, with a crucial home-and-home series against the 'Canes this weekend. The team needs to win at least one of the games to keep their playoff pulse strong. Otherwise we'll be in near-flatline territory.

First game of the set is tomorrow at 7 in Carolina (North or South? Does it even matter? Is there a discernible difference, other than the license plate?).

The Gas Tank Reads E... Is That Bad?

Thank goodness the Caps have today off. You could plainly see last night the effects of so many games in such a short stretch. Generally simple tasks such as taking a line change on time or moving the center in position to deflect 2 line pass attempts looked achingly difficult, and often resulted in strong scoring chances for the Habs. The defense looked spread too wide, another result of the legs not keeping up with the mind. And you know Ovechkin is exhausted when he only manages one shot through two periods of play. The result: a 4-1 loss to Montreal.

The Caps get a well-deserved day off before the bus ride up to hell, er... New Jersey to face the Devils, then board the bus for a quick 15 minute hop to MSG against the Rangers. We're all clear on what not to do tomorrow, right? Good.

And Glen, if you can hear me out there, take it easy on the boys today. Maybe even a voluntary practice? Before someone's legs fall off?

Devils put Caps to sleep

Is it just me, or should the Devils be sponsored by ambien?

Led by a rock solid defense and the standard brilliant game by Marty Brodeur, the Devils sat on a 2-1 lead and cruised to a 4-1 victory. The league's attempts to limit goaltender's stick use certainly hasn't slowed Brodeur, who effectively used the poke check from his crease last night more often than the rest of the goaltenders in the league combined this year. That gave his defense the ability to play tighter coverage on their men in front, knowing that Brodeur would slap away any quick passes or wraparound attempts.

The Capitals offense looked frustrated from the get go, with their only tally coming from Captain Clark in a scrum around the net. Their early inability to put pressure on seemed to frustrate the team, resulting in some ticky tack penalties, which they could ill afford. The team simply didn't put enough pressure on in either end to come away with the victory. Also, the line shakeup that put Ovechkin on the second line while teaming Semin with Zubrus and Clark didn't exactly spark great play out of any of those players. Don't expect to see too much of it in the future.

Notes on tonight's game:

1) NEVER taunt Marty Brodeur. He plays big in big games, and I can't imagine the whole mirrored glasses taunts didn't get him just a little geared up to play. So lets add him to the short list of players not to piss off before gametime.

2) There is a substantial difference in the way referees are calling penalties on the Super Sophomore class. If Crosby caught a high stick like Ovie did in the first, the offending player would have been taken out back and shot by league officials. As it was, no penalty was called against the offending Devils player. The referees in this league have always had this problem. The more physical the player (and I don't think anyone would dispute that The Russian Machine plays with more of a physical edge than Diver Down Crosby) the more liberties the refs allow opposing players to take with them. I've never understood this. A high stick is an easy call to make, and should be made uniformly by every referee, regardless of the players involved.

3) If you ever have trouble sleeping, I recommend getting the NHL Center Ice package and watching every Devils game. Insomnia cured.