In the past week, the NHL news around here has been excessive violence, more excessive violence, and the latest crazy turn in the league's attempt to make fetch happen in Arizona.
The city manager of Glendale called bullshit on Friday on the excuse for the bills.
Is the thing that is really irksome? One of the most amazing goals you have ever seen is the one where Sonny Milano scored after a feint to a Michigan move.
If you are John Tortorella, the former master of "Safe Is Death" who every year just gets a little more Abe Simpson, you are annoyed.
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It wasn't like Tortorella brought it up himself, he was asked about the Zegras-to-Milano play on an ESPN panel. As is his job now, he said. His opinion is the reason he is better off on that panel.
"I'm not trying to be a fool, but I'm not sure it's great for the game." You would get your head taken off if you did that in 2000.
It was great to have your head taken off. It's not noteworthy if you score awesome goals in a game between the Anaheim Ducks and Buffalo Sabres.
The thing is, other people are thinking this as well. Hockey has a culture of retribution for anyone who dares to show a bit of personality. It is one of the starkest examples we have seen, with almost nothing external attached to it.
The Rangers practice rink is a stone's throw from the Westchester home of Zegras, who was a Boston University student. Milano is a Long Island kid who played for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Their bios are friendly to the coach, but they are not a late-round draft pick goalie from Europe.
That is how much of a dislike Tortorella had for this play. It was not about the celebration. This isn't the hockey version of a bat flip debate, or the furor over Nail Yakupov's ice-long slide. The first goal of the game was scored early in the second period, and it wasn't like the Ducks were running up the score.
They did it the wrong way after scoring a goal. Not breaking any rules, but just being too showoff-y. There were only four penalties in the entire game, and nobody was punished for it.
Is the argument that the Sabres could have gotten back in the game if they had taken out their frustration over the goal by being violent? The result of such nonsense would be Anaheim power plays and a harsher final score.
Maybe the game would be better if more players could do sick moves.
