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| Kabanov- Moncton Wildcats |
Surprise, surprise somebody forgot to tell the Cataractes that they were supposed to roll over and take a beating. The Cataractes delivered a 6-2 beating to the Knights turning this year's tournament into it now very wide open event.
Kabanov I just don't understand why he still gets looked upon as the wild child from a couple years ago. Sometimes I wonder if those in the media/fans were so perfect when they were 18, 19 years of age that they can understand what it's like to live under the microscope.
Even better when was the last time any of his critics took the time to talk to are the more personable young men out there? I know this much, Kabanov is perfect for the New York Islander franchise as he will be a player that the fans can embrace and Kabanov's personality will help the image of the franchise.
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| Kabanov- courtesy Kirill Kabanov |
Kabanov owned up to his mistakes and didn't run from them rather he accepted them, he apologized for them, and I do believe him when he says that he learned from them. The recent rumors about Kabanov playing in the KHL turned out to be false but yet it opened the door again for Kabanov to be trashed.
Enough of the soapbox, Kabanov had a very rough opening game against Edmonton where he wound up taking a puck off his face. As you can see in this picture we have him to the left.
Sunday was a different story as Kabanov wound up with two assists (secondary, primary) with a +2 on 3 shots to help the Cataractes earn their first win of the Memorial Cup. The first assist of the game happened just 57 seconds into the second period which gave Cataractes a 2-1 lead that they never gave back.
The second assist was the finishing touches on a night for the Cataractes when Kabanov set up Michael Chaput for an empty net goal that made the score 6-2 and even Shawinigan's record in the Memorial Cup at 1-1. Without meaning to Shawinigan's victory puts a ton of pressure on fellow QMJHL team Saint John to defeat Edmonton on Monday.
An Edmonton win would leave Saint John with an 0-2 record and set up a monster of a matchup Wednesday night where Shawinigan could eliminate the defending champions. Do not think for a second that Shawinigan would love to be the ones to send Saint John packing especially considering how Shawinigan was royally trashed for being awarded this year's Memorial Cup.
Monday features Saint John taking on WHL champ Edmonton with Ranger prospect Michael St. Croix. Thank you Direct TV for the double play which will allow me to watch both events and not miss a second of the action. a
Really if you are stuck with cable you have no idea what you are missing (remember Direct you promised me serious perks for staying with you when I move)
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Brandon Prust
By now everybody is heard that the NHL has suspended New York Rangers forward Brandon Prust for one game for his elbowing Devils defenseman Anton Volchenkov in the second period of Game 3. And also by now you have heard everybody's opinion, criticism, trashing, unjustified, etc. etc. etc. regarding the suspension as well as the back-and-forth between the two coaches.
My own 0.02 on the matter is that I don't have a problem with a suspension for a hit like that had the NHL showed some kind of consistency when it came to crime and punishment. The trouble is that I don't even think anyone involved with NHL discipline even knows how to spell the word "consistency."
I also wonder if this had happened while the game was not being televised over NBC but rather MSG would it have even wound up with a hearing? After watching a playoff season where people don't even get a slap on the wrist for trying to put somebody's head through the ice, then this suspension is just another in a long line of failures.
I lasted about 40 seconds watching Brendan Shanahan's video response
I decided that I needed to offer up a video response of my own regarding not only the suspension but basically my heartfelt feelings about the job that the NHL has done with their current system of discipline.
The characters you are about to see may resemble current NHL employees but I but I will leave it to you to determine which person is playing which role. You will get double points if you can clearly define the meaning of my video response.
(With apologies to Warner Bros)
(tiny toons- courtesy Warner Bros.)
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