COMMENT ONE: Wild Raiders Appear For Once

-The Halifax locker room is no stranger to controversy and tabloid headlines, thats for sure. However, two of the main pieces of kindling in the drama fire stepped up today when the team needed 2 points. The first was Troy Reynolds, who got first star of the game thanks to a key first period goal, just 16 seconds after teammate Mikael Choybuk opened the scoring. Reynolds was also buzzing around the net all night with 5 shots and logged significant time on key penalty kills for the Raiders. The second was goalie Mike McKorsky, who stopped 27 of 29 and held the dangerous Nowes-Derisraka-Kennedy line to just a goal. The Raiders need players like these to step up, and provide a little more hockey and a little less post-game nightclub brawls.....

COMMENT TWO: Whalers Defense And Goaltending Left Shipwrecked

-Vancouver got a bad outing tonight from the defensive core and goaltender Casimir Stevens. While the statsheet could point the finger at the second pairing of Egor Kucherov and Tauras Karazija (who had a double minus-three night), the first two goals were created off turnovers by the forwards, one from a bodycheck and one from a bad pass. Clearly the Whalers bench boss felt Stevens was ultimately the culprit though, and pulled him after giving up the backbreaking 4th goal in the 3rd period to Rainbow Dash. Eddy Ask Jr came in and did his usual fine job to hold the fort and try to spur on a Whalers comeback but it was not to be. Although Stevens is still seen as the better talent overall, the statline has been rough for him this season, while Ask has shined in his spot starts. One has to wonder if the Whalers will give their backup more chances down the stretch.......

COMMENT THREE: Whalers Stars Can't Pick Up The Slack

-Although the defense and goaltending were off-putting, the Whalers still could've won this game. The Raiders were chippy tonight and took 6 penalties, but the Whalers did not cash in on any of those powerplays. With a top line like Nowes, Derisraka and Kennedy, backed up by creative defensemen in Karazija and Barret McCarthy, you have to expect more in games like these from your stars. Halifax has been near the bottom of the standings since just past the start of the year, and the Whalers may have blown 2 easy points that could help them in terms of playoff seeding. Hopefully that won't come back to bite them.....