The beauty of the playoffs

The beauty of hockey playoffs is that you never know who might be the hero but most of the time it turns out it's the last person you would've considered as in the case yet again for New York Islander prospect Mitchell Theoret (NYI 2011 7th) of the Niagara IceDogs.

With the IceDogs coming off a disappointing home loss on Sunday, the team really needed a boost and that the boost came from Mitchell Theoret. Theoret had two goals including his second game-winner of the series as Niagara bounced back to win game three of their series with the Ottawa 67's 5-2 to take a 2-1 series lead.

Ottawa has struck first scoring the only goal in the first period and it was really the only period when Ottawa had an edge in play. It took Theoret and the IceDogs all of 20 seconds into the second period to tie the score when Theoret following his teammates to the net cash in on a rebound for his second goal of the playoffs and a 1-1 ties.

However Ottawa would retake the lead just under 4 minutes later when Niagara botched a rush up the ice that Ottawa was night and just fired at the goal while Niagara goalie Mark Visentin was out of position. Still Niagara tied the game to end the second tied at 2-2 as Ryan Strome (NYI 2011 1st) set up Dougie Hamilton.

In the third it was Theoret again, only this time Theoret scored off the rush as he fired a shot from about 25 feet which beat the Ottawa goalie for a 3-2 that Niagara would not give back. This goal took only 13 seconds after the start of the period.

Sorry we don't have ny highlights because most everybodyhighlight packages down to this one goal scored by Niagara goalie Mark Visentin.



The goalie scoring a shorthanded empty net goal is interesting but they should have also shown his gaffe as well as how Niagara bounced back from losing 7-4 in game two.

Theoret also earned his second "first star of the game" is now 3-3-6 for the playoffs while his teammate Strome 6-14-20 (third in OHL).

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Really to me happy was I to see Chris Kreider scoring off a feed from Derek Stepan and was I mad that it took Tortorella so long to put the two together?

First I am not going to sit here and lie to you guys that I didn't enjoy seeing Kreider get a goal. Of course I did as you cover somebody for three years like I have Chris Kreider then sure it means something when they make it.

There is one thing needs to be corrected and that is Chris Kreider technically did not scored his first career NHL goal but rather he scored his first career playoff goal..

If you wish to say it is Kreider's first goal at the NHL level that is correct but it is not his first NHL career goal. Don't ask me why the NHL wants to do that but it's there puck instead they didn't make the rules.

But what this is really not about I being right and John Tortorella being wrong. Is it frustrating? Yes it is very frustrating because you have to wonder if there is some sort of a communications breakdown.

I can't answer why it took Tortorella so long to finally put Kreider with Stepan and Callahan. Only John Tortorella knows the true answer to that but I do wonder if there is a communications breakdown between the staff and coach.

I wonder if it's just another one of John Tortorella's control issues but here's the one thing I do know. The Rangers won and forced a game seven on Thursday and the lesson we will not know if it's been learned until we see the same trio used as a unit again.

I also am disappointed that none of the team leaders pulled Henrik Lundqvist away from the referees after the game. Yes it's understandable that Lundqvist was upset over blown calls or as our favorite Ranger announcer Dave Maloney was calling them "bogus calls by bogus officials ".

Somebody needed to push Henrik to the locker room rather than take a chance that someone would've filed a complaint with the NHL about Lundqvist abusing an official. I cannot trust the NHL to do the right thing anymore.

But you know what? Everything happens for a reason and is much as people wanted to see Chris Neil suspended; don't you think that Neil getting a dose of his own medicine by the Rangers was not worth watching?

Is Neil was suspended then we would've missed out on seeing some LEGAL payback. That would work for me every time.

(Theoret- Terry Wilson OHL images, Kreider New York Rangers)