For crying out loud: Hartford postgame

These games are just weird.

Another tough night for David Leggio. (Turns into a tough-luck loss for Kent Simpson; welcome back to the AHL, kid.) A mere 16 power plays, eight goals on special teams, one empty-netter to tie a record in a similar kind of game — well, I guess it’d have to be.

How, coming back from the break, does a jaw-dropper like this sit, at the end of the night?

I probably asked the wrong guy, but…

“I hate losing. I hate losing more than anything,” Brent Thompson said. “Our team, we don’t like that feeling in the locker room. In the pit of your stomach, until you learn to hate it, things don’t change.”

The goals against come on two breakaways — one in alone from the red line, one from the top of the circles or so — two odd-man rushes, three power-play goals and one empty-net goal.

The goals for included a rebound off a faceoff win, a wacky ricochet with the goalie dumped through the agency of his own guy, a power-play goal from the bottom of the circle, a goal where a bad pass basically created a rebound for a guy all alone, a short-handed two-on-one, a power-play goal through a screen… is that it? Man.

“Some teams would’ve folded their tent,” Thompson said. “We didn’t fold our tent. We responded well in the third, even the second.”

…..

Thompson said Kevin Poulin’s MRI came back negative. Poulin will be reevaluated during the week to come. Simpson didn’t face a shot for over 10 minutes after he came in. Only allowed one goal, but since it was the seventh in an 8-6 loss, he takes the L. Tough luck.

The power play was 0-for-12, tying a season long, before it scored on its first chance tonight on that wacky C.J. Stretch goal, after Conor Allen had dumped John Persson into Yann Danis. “I think our power play got us back in the game,” Thompson said. “It gave us a chance. The power play’s been good all year. You talk up-and-down, if you look at the stats, the power play’s going.” It’s back up to 23 percent after tonight’s 3-for-8, still leading the AHL.

Prescout. The Manchester Monarchs today became members of the ECHL, which is just weird.

Hershey has scored 20,000 regular-season goals.

A neat piece: Puck Daddy’s Greg Wyshynski meets up with Tim Peel, “NHL ref and object of scorn.” True, though: Like most people in hockey, the AHL officials I’ve gotten to know are pretty good dudes working hard.

Good wishes to the legendary Stan Mikita and his family.

And RIP, Charlie Williams and Rod McKuen.

Michael Fornabaio