Thoughts From The Tire Barn: Game 1 vs The Seattle Kraken | On the Forecheck
ICYMI: The Nashville Predators’ home opener could have been better.
Previewing the 2021-22 Milwaukee Admirals with Karl Taylor | On the Forecheck
ICYMI, Eric interviewed Milwaukee Admirals head coach Karl Taylor about the upcoming AHL season.
The Ultimate Stanley Cup | ESPN
A fun visual thing to start your morning off. I think they made the right call not leaving all the rings on, personally.
Alex Ovechkin scores 731st and 732nd career goals, passes Marcel Dionne for fifth all time in goals | RMNB
I know I say this every time, but the fact that he’s doing this in the current era is absolutely remarkable.
Premier Hockey Federation updates participation policy for transgender and non-binary athletes | ESPN
I mentioned at the time of the rebrand that the former National Women’s Hockey League changing their name could be a positive sign about their plans for inclusivity; it’s great to see them doing more than just changing the name.
Senators place goaltender Matt Murray on injured reserve | Sportsnet.ca
The last couple of years have not been kind to Murray. Here’s hoping this isn’t serious.
The Takeaway: Season opening ups and downs | The Ice Garden
GOALIE GOAL ALERT!
Fighting is on its way out, but Kassian knows the risks — and won’t stop now | Sportsnet.ca
So…it’s openly acknowledged that Zack Kassian lost consciousness when his unprotected head bounced off the ice–Kassian himself says he knew it–but we’re still not saying “concussion” about it, huh.
Look. I don’t like to diagnose strangers over the internet, but the way loss of consciousness after head injuries is presented as just a normal thing is a problem. It would be one thing if it were one of those action-adventure tropes that everyone knows is fiction, like never addressing when the movie heroes go to the bathroom, but the sports reporting is all like this too.
I also have to raise an eyebrow at Spector uncritically presenting a) Kassian’s statement that he chooses to fight and doesn’t think it should be removed from the game shortly before b) Kassian’s statement that he doesn’t think he would have made it to the NHL without fighting, but that’s almost a secondary issue here.
Colorado Avalanche’s Gabriel Landeskog given two-game suspension for boarding | ESPN
Speaking of which, if the NHL actually intends to crack down on head contact, that’d be great.
CHAISSON: Vancouver Canucks misspell Alex Chiasson’s name on his jersey | RMNB
Canucks season off to a great start, I see.
Blue Jackets, Merzlikins honour Kivlenieks with dominant win over Coyotes | Sportsnet.ca
It’s not as if they would have cared about him any less, or missed him any less, if they hadn’t curbstomped the Coyotes, but I’m glad they were able to say they got that win.