Eklund went after one of the most underused rules in the NHL Thursday night, and Tage Thompson's stick was the reason.
The Buffalo Sabres forward owns one of the most pronounced blade curves in the league. The kind of curve that used to draw a stick measurement back when the league actually enforced the rule.
"Not saying this is illegal, but when was the last time we've seen a stick measurement in the NHL?" That was Eklund's opening shot on X.
He followed it up with a second post pointing out the obvious. "It's still in the rulebook." The rule exists. Nobody calls it anymore.
That's the part Habs fans are running with this morning. If Martin St-Louis wants to make a strategic play, the stick measurement gambit is sitting on his clipboard ready to be used.
Thompson has been the most dangerous Sabres forward all series. The 28-year-old sits at 7 points across 8 playoff games at plus-2 with a 7.14 million cap hit.
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St-Louis has a forgotten rule sitting in his back pocket
The stick measurement call is a coach's request to the on-ice officials. If the curve exceeds the legal limit, the offending player gets a minor penalty and the stick gets confiscated.
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If the curve is legal, the team that called the measurement gets the minor instead. That's the part that keeps modern coaches away from it.
The risk is real. The reward is bigger. A 2-minute power play in a tight series can swing a game, and Thompson's blade is the kind of artistic project that invites the call.
His 40 goals in 81 regular season games suggest the stick is doing its job. The question is whether it's doing its job legally.
The Sabres-Canadiens series has produced more controversies than any second-round matchup in recent memory. The no-goal call on Phillip Danault. The Norris and Xhekaj scrum. The Josh Doan faking debate.
Adding a stick measurement to the list would fit the energy of this round perfectly.
Lindy Ruff isn't sweating it publicly. The Sabres head coach has bigger problems. Sam Carrick is out of the lineup. Jason Zucker took a block injury. The roster is patched together.
The last thing Buffalo needs is its best forward sitting in the box on a technicality from 1995.
What this clip becomes by Game 6 depends on whether St-Louis is willing to take the gamble. Most coaches won't pull that trigger. The ones who do remember the rule exists for a reason.
The Habs are leading this series and have a chance to close it out. If they need an edge, the Thompson stick is sitting right there.
The rulebook doesn't care if nobody has used it recently. It still works the same way it did in 1980.
Should Martin St-Louis call for a stick measurement on Tage Thompson?
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