Bizzare Game!

1) Excellent hockey game indeed this evening in Kanata. There were several notable firsts for us at Fauxrumors. During the contest after the weird 5 on 4 , even strength goal by the Senators we at FAUXRUMORS had a conference call amongst all our members. Not one of us(collectively comprising over 2 century's worth of hockey) could remember such a mistake, ever!

2) There were SO many levels of non/miscommunication/lack of attention from SO many folks to lead to that result that its almost incomprehensible how it could EVER happen, let alone during a Stanley Cup Finals game! This is something you might see during a peewee game not at this level.

3) To summarize; The Ducks had a face off deep in their end. They completed(or so they thought) a player change and got ready to take the draw. Trouble is, Moen, the other forward didn't make it to the ice, leaving the Ducks with 4 players to the Senators 5. How Carlyle, and all the assistant coaches, the goalie, and the 4 players on the ice could collectively NOT see this is, as we said, unbelievable!

4) Next, we have another crazy 'kicking the puck in' call. We also can NOT understand this rule. It has been called and interpreted differently from one game to the next. It appears even the officials on and off the ice are confused as to what the rule IS concerning such calls. To add to the confusion was that the referee emphatically whitewashed Alfredsson's goal. You'd have to believe that it would take irrefutable evidence on replay to overturn the call on the ice. The replays were inconclusive and open to interpretation. Which usually means the on ice call would prevail. Not tonight. Now, we're not against players using skates to score. We believe that the rule should allow ANY amount of skates usage to be legal, but until the rule is changed, we are all in the dark as to what in fact the rule, IS!

5) The next bizarre play involved the usage of another players sweater during play. Apparently Ottawa forward Jason Spezza had his jersey significantly damaged to the point that it couldn't be used, and needed repair. Well, instead of finding another 'Spezza' jersey(do they only have one?) he dons Patrick Eaves' (who wasn't dressed tonight) sweater and goes on to play several shifts as 'Eaves'. Another first for all of us at FAUXRUMORS.

6) None of us could recall this ever happening, and didn't think it could/should be legal. Did they get a special dispensation from the officials or is it allowed in general? If there are no specific rules, what's to stop coaches from being coy and sending out guys with different jerseys to throw off an opponent, even if its just a momentary distraction?

7) The game itself was very exciting. Chris Neil was the game MVP, he was all over the place throwing his body and also contributing offensively. Ray Emery showed why many thought he was the Achilles heel of the team. Giving up weak goals and juicy rebounds all evening.

8) Also, can someone please tell us how 4 officials missed Pronger's obvious elbow to the head of McAmmond. The Senator had just gotten a shot off from the slot, and was skating past Pronger when he appeared to stumble. Pronger then struck McAmmond across the cheek with a forearm, sending the player to the ice and into the end boards. McAmmond was knocked cold and required assistance to leave the ice. NO PENALTY?!? A suspension is almost a lock here. If McAmmond is concussed Pronger needs to get 3-5 games(done for the series) That's unlikely and the league will probably wimp out again and give the Duck backliner a 1 game, again. The only good thing was that Pronger put the Senators winning goal into his own cage.

9) All this sets up a very exciting scenario for Game 4! As we always say, we at FAUXRUMORS have no rooting interest for any team, but in the case of the playoffs we want the games to mean something and be exciting. So to that end we were happy to see the Sens win/make a series of the Finals. Hopefully we'll see a continuation of the exciting hockey Monday night!