About Last Night

First things first, I need to correct the record I gave the Bucks in my game story that came out today. Obviously, last night's 4-3 shootout loss goes in the OTL column, but I distractedly chalked it up as a plain old loss, even after noting that it got them a point. My apologies.

The Bucks are currently 31-19-5 (67 points) with nine games left in their regular season schedule. The Texas Brahmas (37-13-5, 79 pts.) seem to have been deemed out of reach by the Bucks, as all Coach Ruskowski wanted to talk about yesterday was making sure they get the No. 3 spot ahead of the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees (28-22-5, 61 pts.).

With only six points keeping them ahead of the Killer Bees and 18 possible points remaining in both team's schedules, the Bucks' magic number to clinch should be 12, meaning they need to secure 12 points of their own or hope the Killer Bees can lose enough to take 12 point chances away from themselves.

The Brahmas have a 12-point lead in the division with 18 possible points left, so their magic number is six, meaning that if they win their next three games, they'll clinch the title by Tuesday, even if the Bucks can string together some victories.

That might be a more difficult task than one might think, especially considering Ruskowski told me last night he can't see them winning a single other game if they keep playing the way they have been. Having the Odessa Jackalopes up next (and again later, along with three against the Brahmas) doesn't really make him any more confident.

In the past couple conversations I've had with him, Ruskowski has focused very heavily on the fact that there are players he cannot wait to get rid of when Rick Kozak and Bobby Russell come off the injured reserve. Considering Mike Gooch is also there, and the fact that he said a couple defensemen were the only ones who put in solid efforts last night, I have to assume that the players who will go are forwards.

Kozak had his cast taken off yesterday, and if all goes according to plan, may be able to play next weekend. Russell is still a bit further back in his recovery but could be back by the last game of the regular season or so.

Obviously, Ruskowski also mentioned bringing in some amateurs, like Josh Patterson last year, to help get rid of more dead weight. Speaking of Patterson, he was suspended the other day for a hit in this game that I'm told was pretty vicious.

But back to last night, I guess I really didn't think too much about the IceRays' final regulation goal until other people started to ask me about it because it seemed to be a classic case of the ref blowing the whistle before anyone realized the puck was in...but not before it actually was.

Adam Powell was eventually given credit for the goal and confirmed to Greg Rajan that he had indeed poked it under Andrew Martin to score.

Ruskowski did yell a bit about it at the time, but didn't even mention the possibility of it not being a legitimate goal when I spoke to him, so I'm guessing the complaints against it aren't very strong.

If you'll remember, Erick Lizon's goal in the second period was pretty similar, except that the puck worked its way across the goal line instead of being poked in. Neither goalie had managed to freeze either shot, though.

In Greg's blog post about last night's game, he has this to say about the goal:

Speaking of the tying goal, why exactly was Laredo so upset? The whistle didn't blow and the puck was loose underneath Martin when Powell knocked it in, with the red light coming on. Cruickshank was right there and quickly signaled goal, prompting Rosco to stand at the bench door and vent at the ref.

And in the comments, this conversation ensues:

Greg, on the Powell goal. In all seriousness, I was very close to the play and I was facing right at Cruickshank. He blew the whistle which in my limited understanding of the game, means that play is dead. After he blows the whistle the puck goes in and he signals goal. How was that possible?
---
[From high up in the press box, I couldn't hear the whistle, so I'll defer to you on that since you were closer. But on the Nifty replay, it looked like Powell, from the right post, knocked the puck in when it was loose under Martin. I guess Laredo's argument was that the puck should've been frozen. -- GR]

Honestly, I can understand that emotions are running high at a time like that, and if you hear a whistle blow before you see the light, you're going to be upset. But I really do believe that the puck crossed the goal line before the whistle, whether Steve Cruickshank noticed it or not.

I am technically off today, so I'm going to go focus all of my intention on listening to this game and smiling about Sid being back in the lineup. I'll post all the scores I've missed the past few days during the first intermission.

Sunday's NHL Scores: Devils 3, Flyers 0; Panthers 6, Capitals 2; Blackhawks 4, Kings 2; Penguins 4, Stars 1; Canucks 3, Blue Jackets 1; Lightning 8, Flames 6.

Monday's NHL Score: Islanders 4, Avalanche 2.

Tuesday's CHL Scores: RiverKings 4, Mudbugs 1; Oilers 4, Blazers 1; Rush 6, Gorillas 0; Eagles 4, Scorpions 1.

Tuesday's NHL Scores: Blue Jackets 5, Kings 4; Hurricanes 5, Capitals 2; Flyers 4, Bruins 2; Panthers 4, Thrashers 3; Flames 6, Senators 3; Devils 3, Maple Leafs 2 (OT); Penguins 3, Lightning 1; Predators 6, Oilers 5 (OT); Blackhawks 3, Ducks 2 (OT); Red Wings 5, Blues 0; Canucks 4, Wild 2; Stars 4, Sharks 1.

Last Night's Other CHL Scores: Killer Bees 7, Sundogs 3; Rush 6, Gorillas 3.

Last Night's NHL Scores: Sabres 5, Canadiens 1; Red Wings 3, Avalanche 2.

Tonight's CHL Scores: Blazers 3, Thunder 1; Rage 4, Eagles 3.

Tonight's NHL Scores: Coyotes 2, Bruins 1; Rangers 4, Islanders 2; Flames 5, Flyers 1; Maple Leafs 2, Capitals 1; Senators 4, Oilers 2; Penguins 4, Panthers 1; Predators 4, Blue Jackets 2; Kings 5, Stars 4 (OT); Wild 4, Sharks 3 (OT).