The New NHL

Alot of oldtimers have been burning on the state of hockey all year long.I've done it myself.But,I gotta tell ya,watching stretch games over the last two weeks,its back and more alive than ever(unless you live in Edmonton or Philly- R.I.P. boys).I haven't been checking out Habs games per say but if you are watching ( or listening ) to games from Tampa,Buffalo,New York and even Nashville-the fans are loud and proud.REAL LOUD!Too bad a good playoff fight is being marred by fighting and highsticking.Both the Chris Simon incident and the Fedoruk punch(you couldn't really call that a fight)were notably followed by very long silences.People are not paying $100 and up to watch some EMTs carry a gorilla off the ice.They can go see it for free on Saturday afternoons when the Freeman brothers get ripped while fishing on Lake Champlain and fall in the hole.The good thing is the game looks like it has made it through the strike era and come out fully intact.Long live the good ol hockey game.
P.S. Montreal are still going to miss the Playoffs.
P.S.S. Go ISLES!!!