from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

- Let me know when the NHL fires vice president and director of officiating Stephen Walkom instead of referee Tim Peel, and I’ll believe the league is onto something.

Peel, of course, was fired posthaste after a hot-mic clip caught the referee saying he “wanted to get” an “early” penalty against the Predators after he made a marginal tripping call 4:46 into the second period of their game against the Red Wings on Tuesday.

There’d been only one prior penalty assessed against Detroit, so the desire to even things up at that juncture seems odd, but then again, that’s Peel, who had long before announced his intention to retire at the end of the season.

The NHL, which acted shocked, shocked we’ll say, that such a thing would exist in its universe, though the league, both before and throughout Walkom’s tenure at the top of the officiating food chain, has countenanced its officials managing games for decades....

- No organization in pro sports would benefit from John Tortorella’s boot-camp mentality as much as the Sabres. And Tortorella, of course, does not have a contract that goes beyond this season in Columbus.

But though half the Sabres — and that probably includes management — might not survive Tortorella, the larger question is: At this stage of his life, would Tortorella survive the Sabres?

more on the first topic plus other notes...