Good clear, bad clear

The Islanders just announced the Bouchard re-signing. One-year deal.

Also, the AHL announced a rules change: If a skater shoots a puck directly into the stands from his own D-zone, his team cannot make a line change (unless the ref deems it deliberate and gives him a delay of game penalty). It’s the same as what happened last year after icings. And it’s a lot better than the automatic (and brutal) delay penalty the AHL assessed in 2002-03 and the NHL assessed last year.

The playoffs work the same as they’ve been, top four in each division qualify, except W5 can cross over to the North if it has a better record than N4.

Mini-update: Manitoba’s new coach is Scott Arniel.

Michael Fornabaio