By Allan Muir

Hockey is a game of mistakes. Passes through the middle of the defensive zone, missed assignments, lazy penalties…stuff like that happens all the time.

But it’s not often you’ll see one like this.

With the Oilers and Predators locked up at one midway through the third and the puck in Edmonton’s zone, Nashville’s Sergei Kostitsyn has a pass bounce over his stick above the circles. He races Sam Gagner to the loose puck, but the Oiler beats him to it in the neutral zone.

Kostitsyn pursues for a moment…and then pulls up and goes to the bench, allowing Lennart Petrell to join and create a two-on-one rush that he finished to give Edmonton a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

There are mistakes. There are bad mistakes. And then there are, “Would you mind telling me what the hell you were thinking?” mistakes.

Read More…

During his 40 years at BU, Jack Parker came to own the NCAA career record for wins by a coach. (Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

A notated guide to this morning’s must-read hockey stories:

• There were plenty of glowing tributes written in the wake of Jack Parker’s retirement announcement. But the legacy of the legendary Boston University coach is complicated by a series of off-ice transgressions by his players in recent years. For a balanced look into Parker and his history, I highly recommend these pieces by Arielle Aronson and Ryan Lambert.

• The hottest team in the NHL? Of course you knew it was Columbus, right? The Jackets put their five-game winning streak on the line tonight against Vancouver.

• Did the Philadelphia Flyers trade the wrong goalie when they sent Sergei Bobrovsky to the Jackets?

• Elliotte Friednman’s 30 Thoughts column touches on Corey Perry, Evgeni Malkin and Viktor Fasth. And about 27 other things.

• Sam Gagner’s strong season may force the Oilers to hang up the For Sale sign ahead of the trade deadline. Makes sense from a financial perspective…but does anyone in Edmonton feel good about Steve Tambellini being the one to make the deal?

• It took Montreal 45 games to win their 17th last season. This year, it took just 26. The turnaround of the Canadiens is one of the year’s best stories. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, a vibrant franchise in Montreal makes this game a whole lot better.

• Sidney Crosby likes the idea of expansion. He especially likes the idea of Quebec City because, hey, he’s single and has eyes.

• The Predators have suffered a league-worst five losses in the shootout. The main reason? Pekka Rinne’s .556 save percentage. He’s clearly feeling uncomfortable in the situation. It can’t help knowing that the team’s shooters don’t allow him much of a margin for error.

• The Sharks start their second half tonight knowing they need to convert shootout and OT losses to wins if they want to stay in the playoff hunt. A little run support for Antti Niemi would be a good place to start. Only Nashville in the West has scored fewer than San Jose’s 56 goals.

• The Canucks have used statistics to play the long game, but with the team unraveling, it might be time to make a bold move to shore up the team’s scoring for the short run.

• Here’s the video for TSN’s mid-season review of all 30 teams. Don’t have 48 minutes? Here’s the print synopsis.

• Among the many salient points made in Ken Campbell’s latest column: Not enough is being made of Eric Staal and his amazing season.

Read More…