Some hockey talk.....

What?  No food?  No makeup?  No pictures?  Sorry to disappoint but I need to get a few things off my chest.  First on the list is P.K. Subban.  He may have the makings of a superstar one day, but there are some things about this kid that irritate me.  When Martin decided to bench him last year for foolish and reckless play, I didn't like the vibe that was coming off of him.  Sometimes the camera would flash to him in the press box and the facial expressions said it all for me.  He was rolling his eyes, not watching the game at all and he had this "I have no idea what I'm doing up here" look on his face.  Andy Bennett was still with the Team 990 last year when she reported running into him in the Bell Center.  She commented on what he was wearing and the first thing he said was "it certainly wasn't my idea that I'm banished to the press box."  Well to me that translates to HE has no idea why he was in the press box. Yesterday Dave Stubbs tweeted that P.K. was so embarrassed walking through the airport in Winnipeg because he was benched.  What?  If that's his biggest concern he CLEARLY doesn't get it.

 Now in his defense Ken Hitchcock was on the radio the other day and he said the hardest thing about coaching young players is they come into the NHL with a sense of entitlement.  He said they are extremely well coached and know a lot more than the players of yesteryear.  They ask a lot more questions and don't just do what they're told because the coach says so.  They require a reasonable and logical explanation for what they are being asked to do.  Okay, fair enough.  I hope Randy can get through to PK about what he needs to do in order to be successful.  He needs to leave the cutsy moves by the wayside and focus on playing a team game.  Tonight will be interesting to see if anything has sunk in, because if not he'll be ingesting a few more hot dogs before the season ends.  I also think the return of Markov will help this kid a lot, not only with his development but the media focus will be re-directed as well.

Second thing, Mitch Melnick was talking to Scotty Bowman last week and Scotty had this to say about the current state of our beloveds.  He saw them play Boston and thought they looked solid for the first two periods before falling apart in the third.  He also watched them playing the Hawks and saw the same pattern.  According to Scotty, their biggest problem is losing focus.  No rants and raves about firing the GM or trading away the whole team except Carey Price.  When Scotty speaks, I listen.  He also said that players tend to use crutches when things aren't going their way.   He said the job of a coach is to get rid of those crutches.  Let's hope Cunnyworth can convince  this Tiny Tim team to focus, take baby steps and then sprint all the way to the playoffs.

Third thing, there are a lot of media and bloggers feeling bad for Randy Cunnyworth because they feel that Gauthier has hung him out to dry.  If I am Cunnyworth I would celebrate and seize the day.  Who cares about the circumstances?  This is a fantastic opportunity for him to prove his mettle as a head NHL coach.  I'm sure the word pity has never entered his head.  And I expect nothing less from the team I've supported for over forty years to regain some of it's pride and professionalism and gives this guy a chance.  Show some class boys, get behind him and give him your best effort.  You owe it to him, your fans and most of all yourselves.