Paul M. Banks and Peter Christian talk about the topics most important to Hawks fans everywhere
(PMB) Let’s say the Hawks reach the second round of the playoffs, I’d prefer to see San Jose procure that #1 seed ahead of Detroit, as the Dead Wings have had Chicago’s number this season and I wouldn’t like to meet them in the 2nd round.
Also, Chicago gave the Sharks one of their 3 home losses (just 3 home losses? Wow the Shark tank is a tough place to skate) back on Jan 31st, and also just beat them (granted the Sharks were a depleted unit that missed a few bodies from their legion of forwards) in a high-paced, extremely exciting contest in front of a high energy United Center crowd. I think they can skate well with the Sharks. But who knows, maybe Coach Joel Quenneville’s (or as I like to call him Dennis Farina) former team, the St. Louis Blues can upset the one seed? It sounds unlikely, but they won six in a row until Wednesday’s loss in Chicago.
And they’ve been especially hot considering how they were pretty much left for dead around the All-Star break and all the flak (deservedly so at the time, maybe not as much today) Chicago took for losing to the Blues at home right before the midwinter classic.
(PC) The Sharks have a pretty decent cushion, barring a massive collapse they will hold on to that top spot in the Western Conference. The Sharks are tough to figure out because it seems like they don’t always bring their “A” game. If they played up to their potential every night, they would probably be trying to break the points record in a season. If the Hawks bring any amount of momentum to a series against the Sharks, they could upset the best team in hockey. Detroit on the other hand is a play-off enigma. They always seem to have trouble in the opening rounds of the play-offs. However, I would look forward to a Chicago-Detroit play-off series just for the nostalgia.
(PC) I don’t want to come across as a guy that preaches about “The Code” like it is scripture. However, hockey CAN be a very dirty game. Every player holds a three foot long weapon and skates around on a set of deadly butcher knives. However, when it comes to punishment for dirty play the league’s official policy is “Show no spine and be more inconsistent than Fez’s accent on That 70s Show”. Top players get slaps on the wrist, no-names get the books thrown at them. The talk that the league is suddenly is going to grow a pair and crack down on fighting is just bull.
I would be extremely eager to see the proposed policy just for the fact that I know the league would specifically write the rule change with plenty of loop-holes and vague wording so that they can continue to pick and choose who they punish and who they give a “talking to” (yes, I’m talking about people like Sheldon Souray). The problem with creating rules to eliminate fighting only tackles half of the issue. The whole issue is that there are far too many players that make their careers in the gray areas of the rules. If those players are big names, they get free reign and it causes fights on the ice. Whereas players like Cal Clutterbuck (leads the NHL in hits and is actually one of the cleanest physical guys in the league) don’t get any benefit of the doubt.
The other issue is that the league and referees/linesmen aren’t necessarily on the same page. In short, I’m not opposed to removing fighting from the game, although I think there are multiple steps to take before they get to that point. 
The best way to describe it is with an elaborate analogy: Imagine a stretch of highly traveled road that ended in a bridge that brought you to the nice part of town. Everyone knows that the bridge needs to be repaired because it is old and dated so they don’t travel down that road that often. What people don’t remember is that the three miles before the bridge is so filled with potholes and cracked asphalt that it is really just as damaging to the cars that take the risk and go over the bridge. Fighting in the NHL is the bridge, the hits, hacks and jabs that currently go unnoticed or uncalled are the potholes and cracks.
Fixing that bridge will allow the NHL to get to the nice part of town (less violence), but the potholes and cracked asphalt are still kicking the crap out of your car and ruining the experience of being in a nicer part of town.
Realistically, you need to fix all the potholes and cracks in the road before you tackle the bridge. The NHL isn’t that smart and doesn’t have the foresight to comprehend that eliminating fighting will just make everyone notice the cheap crap that so many players get away with- is just as detrimental to the game. “Empty Netters” could also be a term referring to people who lack the intelligence to make logical decisions. Right now the league is being run by a gaggle of “Empty Netters.”
