Briere To Be a Big Target In The Playoffs

How many of you are shaking your heads? "UH, DUH!"
Of course he's going to be a target for the other team. But the target he is now isn't the same one you were thinking of.

Daniel Briere, the Co-Captain of our own Buffalo Sabres, has been called for Diving twice this year.

Diving is a new penalty instituted in the NHL rulebook after the 2004-05 season strike. It was one of the penalties that was supposed to help open up the game to create more revenue. Scoring brings fans and fans bring money.

Anyways, the stipulations of the Diving call are as follows, per NHL.com:

Rule 52 Diving (NEW for 2005-06)

A minor penalty shall be imposed on a player who attempts to draw a penalty by his actions ("diving"). Regardless if a minor penalty for diving is called, Hockey Operations will review game videos and assess fines to players who dive or embellish a fall or a reaction, or who feign injury. (See also Rule 33A -- Supplementary Discipline.) The first such incident will result in a warning letter being sent to the player, the second such incident will result in a $1,000 fine, the third such incident will result in a $2,000 fine and the fourth such incident will result in a one-game suspension. (See also Rule 33A -- Supplementary Discipline.)

Briere was called for his second Diving offense in the second Toronto game last Saturday.

Obviously, Briere with his small stature is more prone to fall than others. Players have turned diving into an art form- they use it to help their team gain momentum by getting on a powerplay.

But Briere is now going to be agitated and poked and pushed and anything else that may get him to fall.

Think of the effect on the Buffalo Sabres organization if one of the Buffalo Captains was suspended for an offense such as diving. The psychological effect of the Captain taking the easy way out- and not even just the Captain, the Buffalo points leader.

Teams will be doing everything they can throughout the entire Stanley Cup playoffs to try and take Buffalo's biggest scoring threat out for game or so. This could also prove to be a two way swing- what team wouldn't get a lift knowing the other's number one guy wasn't playing?