Annoyances

As we await the start of game 6, I offer these minor observances.

Pierre Macguire is the guy stuck in the glass box between the benches during NBC coverage of Bruins games.

Here are the top four reasons Pierre Macguire is Annoying:
 
4. He thinks there is a Bruin named "Greg Kelly" 

3. He makes too much of line match-ups. While it is useful to know that Chara isn't out there against Ovechkin, his histrionics when this happens are over the top.

2. He continues to pronounce Chara as "Chaira." Just stop already. Maybe Big Z should skate by, "accidentally" with his elbow out...

1. He goes off on some wild unsupported theory and then never let's go even after it has become obvious to everyone else that he's off his rocker. Example: Lucic loses his temper too easily and the Caps are getting the best of him.

Other annoyances:

Now that NBC has the rights to every playoff game, NHL Center Ice can no longer carry a single one. They used to be able to carry local broadcasts for the first two rounds. That means no Jack and Brick for the playoffs, which takes a lot of the fun away. I'd call that more tragic than annoying, however. What I find annoying is that I am paying more than ever for Center Ice!

I have not seen a simple tag on the calf called as a slash since the lockout. Since that time it has been about getting the stick up on the hands or arm. So what the hell was that penalty about against the B's at the end of game 5?

How can I be the only person on the planet who sees the Caps constantly grabbing hold of Bruins sticks near their net? Is that not supposed to be a penalty? A Bruin with the puck drives along the wing, passing to the center who is crashing the net. The pass bounces past. Ok, so the defenseman did a great job tying him up. But look more closely and you will often find a hand pulling the Bruin's stick away from the puck. Since when are you allowed to do that? There have been similar instances during rebounds when Bruins are scrambling in front of the net. I think this is the main reason the Bruins haven't scored more goals. I know they allow players to get away with more in front of the net, but this looks like a return to the kind of "clutching and grabbing" we saw prior to the lockout. I for one don't like it.