Must See Hockey

Sometimes, what the league wants, the league doesn’t get.

The league palpably yearns for a long, compelling Pittsburgh/Ottawa series that would ultimately be won by Pittsburgh, the more to see Sidney Crosby.

Sorry…the most compelling first round series might be unfolding in Nashville, where the Predators and the San Jose Sharks have developed a healthy amount of bile for each other based on the first two games.

The revealing statistics pertain to penalty minutes. For the season, San Jose ranked 26^th in total PIMs, Nashville 16^th. These are not, by and large, teams that skirt outside the rules.

That was before Scott Hartnell and Jonathan Cheechoo collided knee-on-knee, leaving Cheechoo injured and out for the remainder of the contest.

photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Predictably, the clubs had different takes on the matter. Sharks coach Ron Wilson…

"It could be serious. It was like a two-part attack. It was an elbow to the mouth that knocked a tooth out and the knee-on-knee contact, which you've got two of the worst things that we have in hockey ... If that's not trying to hurt somebody, I don't know what is."

Predators coach Barry Trotz saw a different scene…

"It's unfortunate when anybody gets hurt in the game. But looking at it, I thought it was a pretty clean hit. I mean they did collide knee on knee. But there was no sticking out of the knee."

Whatever, the clubs have taken to evening the ledger on the ice. In the 119 minutes of hockey played since that incident, the clubs have totaled 174 minutes in penalties, 141 of that in last night’s 5-2 win by the Predators to even the series. The 84 minutes piled up by Nashville – including two game misconducts to the aforementioned Scott Hartnell – represents more than seven percent of their entire regular season total. For Hartnell, that’s a kneeing, a fighting, and three game misconducts in the series thus far. Add in tripping and unsportsmanlike conduct minors, at it’s clear Mr. Hartnell has been busy – 44 minutes worth of penalties busy. He has only 23:29 in total ice time in the two games. He might be asked to take a breather, courtesy of the league.

In addition to Mr. Hartnell’s antics, we have Alexander Radulov – he of the 26 minutes in 64 games this year – taking a run at Steve Bernier from behind, checking him face first into the boards to earn 15 minutes of his own quiet time, perhaps to contemplate the importance of that play when he’d already scored three goals in this series.

photo: AP Photo/Neil Brake

The rumble of thunder yet to come came in a comment by Shark’s center Joe Thornton . . .

"I think Colin Campbell has a job, and his job is to review these plays. I'm sure if he wants us to play this way, we can play this way. It's in his hands, and we'll see what happens."

This series has gotten personal. It is at the moment the most compelling story in the first round.