Listen, our game needed a serious lube job. And by creating a new standard of enforcement on the puck carrier and his attacking linemates, the NHL lubricated the game. And I know attempting to regulate the behavior of 10 grown men skating around the ice at 20 miles an hour after downing six Red Bulls is a daunting task. But, too many times this postseason, players have been playing tentatively because of the nature of the penalties called. The statistics may only show a couple more penalties per game, but the aftermath of those penalties, at times, left the first round of the playoffs looking a lot like a regular-season game. And that's not good. The e-mails I have received and the players I have talked to share similar sentiments.