Wings & Things

I would like to say that Brodeur got out-played by the Razor. That's not really the case, even though Emery got the shutout. Ray looked a little awkward and was fighting the puck early. He settled in fine, but Brodeur got the bulk of the work and scoring chances. About the 'controversial' interference with Fisher; it seemed to be a bit of gamesmanship by both players. Fisher was trying to get a little touch on Brodeur & in turn Marty was trying to sell an interference call. The refs didn't buy it. The scoreless 2 periods is more along the lines of what I was expecting. Senators generating an attack down low and Devils mostly counter-punching with turnovers.

Wings came out strong. Fish finished stronger. A fun game to watch. I think Homer is back for game #4.

Playoff Goat

Am getting plenty of comments, (not necessarily compliments), about the playoff beard. Well, first of all it's a natural goatee, since I don't have Grizzly Adams-type growth. And at longer lengths it gets an awesome stringy quality. People at work say it looks: 'interesting', 'you look meaner, like a biker-dude', or 'what is that?'. A guy on my roller team noticed tonight. He assumed it was my playoff beard. He tried to give me hell about it, but I know his team didn't make the playoffs and his rooting for the Penguins against me didn't work out. So, in the end, he was expressing his jealousy over my new look.

Roller = NHL

We lost our roller game this evening. 5-4. But it didn't feel very close. We came back from a 2-0 deficit and were trailing by 2 in the third. I ran out of gas. We had a roster of 6 skaters. Too long of shifts for me. I like to go really hard and take shorter shifts. I was really losing effectiveness near the end of the game. I had a ton of chances early. Had 3 solid tip-ins. One rang the post, one hit the crossbar and the other was just wide. I also nailed the goalie in the mask with a wrister and we nearly scored on the rebound. Not getting it done cost us the game.

I have a sinking feeling that this is truly the last season for this team. We lost our best skater to a back injury. That's a huge loss. It was caused by a nasty check in the playoffs at the end of last season. One of our girls backed out mid-season last year; and her replacement missed tonight's game with back spasms from a check into the boards. Yeah, I play goonie roller hockey, which is a step below the NHL. We've lost 2 players. If our girls are losing heart, there goes the skill line. I don't blame them, really. I'm about their height but have the luxury of 30-50 extra pounds. The taller and larger guys tend to cross-check me right across the upper-back. And I usually take a stick to the cage every other game. It's not really worth it for them. But I really like our team, and we have fun outside of the rink too. Maybe we should join a bowling league instead...

weekend games

Sens game was a nailbiter. I thought the Sens battled back well to tie the game late in the third. Jersey is fortunate that they did not drop two at home. It's now a 5 game series, Sens need to defend home ice.

Redwings scored late and pulled one out. Bert has used his big frame, but it is the Sharks that appear to be wearing down the smaller Wings. Was surprised that Vancouver has made it a series. Watching the parts of the games that I have. I thought Anaheim was dominating play. Rangers were running on pure home ice adrenaline. Made it a little interesting, well, until they go down 3-1 in the series. BTW. I think Ruff is a big whiner. Was doing it in the regular season too.

Brodeur blames his glove, for him getting worked on the glove side in game #1? Telecasters were having a field day with the news, that he debuted a new golve for game #2. I think it's funny timing. But in defense of Brodeur, he tends to play with equipment well beyond it's useful life. A floppy mitt isn't good.

5-4 & 2-0

Last night, one game was a 5-4 shooting gallery the other a 2-0 battle. I would never have matched the right teams, with each respective score. Sens came out blazing, 4-0. Several highlights. Emery had a circus save on the powerplay, which then lead to a shorthander for Ottawa. Heatley and Spezza came down on a two-on-one. Heater fires one in high on the glove side, then runs over Spezza while starting his goal celebration. I was surprised to hear the Jersey fans turn on their team at home early in the game. Game #2 should be different.

Didn't watch the full Red Wings game. But I did see the PPG with Lidstrom in the box and Grier's goal 30 seconds later. That lapse meant the game. A pretty good game in the first half (Didn't TIVO the whole game), about what I expected from this matchup.

Game #1, Round 2

Both Round 2 games were kind of duds after the second period. Sabres were held in check for a period, then it was over. Ducks came out flat. Neidermayer made two uncharacteristic mistakes. Ducks took back to back penalties. But, the Canucks couldn't capitalize. 8 & 1/2 game series with Dallas probably taking it's toll. And not having Bieska and Salo hurt them. Giggy made the big saves early to keep them in the game, then the top line took over.

Tonight might be have tighter/better games. I think the Wings are missing Homer and Lebda to injuries tonight. Homer plays a simple game, but will be missed. I play a pretty similar game, so I like watching him. Those scrappy plays in front of the net are huge in the playoffs. And making the goalie uncomfortable is a good thing.

June 17 = Star Wars

Just heard that the Star Wars special that Justin worked on will actually be airing. June 17, 10:00PM Adult Swim, Cartoon Network. It was originally supposed to be during Super Bowl halftime? Will be kewl to see the work.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070425/tv_nm/starwars_dc

RIP - Ice Dogs

I heard on the AM radio band that the Long Beach Ice Dogs are no more. It was a matter of time. I was shocked that they could have a 1/8 full arena for season after season. I figured that operating the team in Long Beach was some sort of tax write-off. It wasn't bad hockey, but way too pricey for the area, arena, and considering other entertainment options. Sad to see them go, but not the least bit surprised. Long live the Falcons.

Predictions Round 2

Well, Poo called it for Vancouver. I wanted Dallas to win for personal match-up reasons.

So, it's Wings/Sharks & Anaheim/Vancouver. I've only called 50% of the West in round #1. But I like the Wings in 7 and Anaheim in 6. Vancouver seems to have issues right now and the Ducks look good. Ducks will probably lose game 1, since they always do after a long layoff & Vancouver might squeeze a game out at home. Wings/Sharks series could be fun to watch. Nabakov was really good against the Preds. Zetterberg got going late in the series. It could come down to home ice. Detroit demolished the Flames at home. I think this one goes the distance.

East is Sabres/Rangers & Sens/Devils. I did better in the East, calling all the winners. I would like to say that the Rangers are playing inspired hockey. Jagr line is heating up. Avery & Shanny bring gritty scoring and Lundqvist will take care of the rest. But that's not going to happen. Barring a meltdown by Miller, the Sabres will have too much speed and depth for New York. Sabres in 5. I am far too much of a fan to objectively call any Senators series beyond round #1. But, Senators in 6. They are playing well. Emery starting to play well late in the series (unfortunately, so did Brodeur). Senators have depth and are showing improved discipline. Not to say they have anything close to the Devils that follow their system to a tee. It will be a chess match. But the Senators talent and depth on offense will be the difference, along with the toughness of lines #2 & #4. Brodeur will probably steal a game, Madden will come up big somewhere. The rest is all Senators.

Plasma

FYI. My current plan is to buy a bigger TV, for when the Senators make the Eastern Conference Finals. Here is a diagram of my current 32" TV, and the picture area with widescreen viewing. For the last few years, I wanted a 42" plasma. But the prices have dropped to where the 50" plasma is within my budget. And I am considering going for last year's model, but at 58". That's twice as wide and 3 times the area of my current TV!

Poopier than Thou

I am continuing my efforts to annoy Poo. Here's my new playoff hat... Isn't it shweet!
But on to round two. I am assuming that the Sabres are closing out the Isles. That leaves Jersey/Bolts. Jersey wins, they play the Sens. Bolts win, the Sens get the Rangers. I'm not sure which team I'd rather face. The battles with Jersey this year were chess matches. Rangers couldn't match the Sens. But that was the regular season, which is now meaningless. I can't tell how good the Rangers are actually playing. I have no strong feelings either way.

Playoff Goatee

My playoff 'beard' is getting really itchy. At longer lengths, the hair by the sides of my mouth starts to get really irritating. People at work are starting to notice that it's more than my twice-weekly shave scruff look. I am receiving comments about looking 'meaner'. Isn't that the point? Tough and manly playoff watcher. That's me. Picture coming at the start of round two.

Sens Advance

First the bad news. Volchenkov takes a hit from Roberts where Anton's arm/elbow or maybe shoulder got smashed. Left the game late in the third. He's key to any Ottawa success and must return. Hopefully, the Sens are getting a few extra days of repair time.

Senators finish-off the Pens. I think the 0-12 powerplay over the last two games is what did them in. Senators were dominant at even strength. I am not a fan of Fleury, thought he was way too inconsistent during the regular season meetings. But he was solid in this series. Game 5 was not his fault. Fleury gave up: a powerplay goal with Heatley uncovered on the doorstep, Vermette breakaway, and a Kelly shot where Scuderi interfered with him while acting as a second goalie. Not really his fault on any of those. And he had to make quality saves, since it could have easily been 6-0.

The Pens got a bunch of help from the Sens too. Dumb penalties: 3 x delay of game (over the glass), too many men, closing hand over puck. Ottawa gave up a 3-on-5 in the first minutes of the game. Actually, the Penguins were on the powerplay for the first 5 minutes of the game. I had a sinking feeling, but Emery was solid for that barrage. But that was about all the attack the Pens had. Pens didn't show up. Well, everyone but Crosby. And he was wearing a #4 sweater all night, and often double teamed. Apparently, they didn't want to get beat by him.

Headcase

Well. I guess the Hasek factor was slightly overlooked by my part. Hasek tried to oversell getting a slight bump when he was at the top of he crease. Doesn't get anything but laughs from the refs, then waves his stick in a mock two-hander at Iginla. Calgary scores on his unsportsmanlike call powerplay. Bertuzzi was a factor for two Detroit goals (which I found shocking, thought he was useless for the time being) But Hasek lets in a long (easy?) shot and later a powerplay goal. Hasek made some good stops in the game, but I couldn't help and think about a JR commentary that the Flames needed to jostle Hasek and get him out of his game to win the series. I stereotype czech hockey players as extremely selfish and self-centered to an extreme, bordering on wacky, with insane logic to justify their behavior. That is the downside of Hasek.

Energy (Part II)

Was at a crash test today. Had to get up early. Thanks to Poo's database, I just realized that I had my daily caffeine intake by 8:30. 6:30 Monster Energy drink. 8:30 Starbucks coffee. = 512 mg, which is "climbing the walls" on the energyfiend scale.

Energy

Poo went over his early morning caffeine intake. I was impressed. I am more of a sustained release kind of guy.

Early AM - travel mug of coffee from the house.
Arrive @ work - Small (8oz) vending machine coffee
10:00 AM - Another small coffee
Lunch - Minimum 3 refills of diet soda.
3:00 - vendo diet soda 16 oz. bottle. If tired, diet monster instead.
Dinner - Generally diet soda (can).
Evening - Another diet soda watching TV or playing Wii. If on the computer late at night, another diet soda.

If you can't beat 'em, beat 'em.

Heard about the late game carnage in the Wild game. Sucker punching Kim Johnsson? He's a good puck moving, mobile defenseman, hardly a dirty player or agitator. If May gets suspended, it is still a pretty good trade in the favor of the 'mighty' ones. Losing Johnsson hurts the Wild a lot more, and there are direct replacements for May. Thornton jumping in late was weak too.

Taunting

What do you think of this hat? I think the camo/trucker combination is hard to beat. Time to grow the mullet again!

3rd Win

Sens got the critical 3rd win! It was a close one. By far the tightest game all series. Emery and Fleury were pretty stingy. One was a fluky goal for Ottawa. Emery was victim to a bad rebound and lack of backchecking by Spezza. Way to stand there and watch, superstar. Shot totals were down, and both under 30. Ottawa took more penalties and the 0-5 powerplay stat for Pittsburgh was the killer. They are a powerplay team.

Penguins finally "out second period-ed" the Senators. Senators have had huge second periods up until this game and were stopped, while the pens tied the game. But, I think it may be a case of to little too late. Even if the next three games are this tight, I think Ottawa will win one of them.

Rangers totally stomped the Thrash. Evey time I flipped over during a commercial, the Rangers were scoring. It was uncanny. Rangers have given a stiffer beat down in each of the 3 games.

Vancouver got their 3rd in a tight one with Dallas. Like the Ottawa game, this one was not the track meet of previous games.

Flames finally showed-up. But they are delaying the inevitable. Gutsy performance, probably the "home ice" in effect for once. Same thing goes for the Wild.

Poo-strodamus

Not a good night for Poo-dicitions.
"I dont see putting Bertuzzi out on the ice tonight." He played.
"Predicted score 3-2." Correct score, wrong winner.
"Kipper will face (50-40 shots)." 30 shots.
"Ducks will finish the Wild tonight." Wild 4-1 winners.
"Gotta back my Penguins against all adversity." Adversity = 2-1 loss, 3-1 series.

To his credit, Jarome got 5 shots and the Vancouver/Dallas game was another close one.

Sens/Pens Update

Senators had two fights so far. McAmmond and Comrie. Both are of the 5'10", 180 lb variety. At least the smallest/newest guys on the team are standing up for their teammates. Emery continues mediocre play. He can be better. Eaves got knocked out of game #3. It has been a series where skating with your head down can lead to leaving the game on a stretcher, with a neck brace on. Schubert has been a solid hitter, but tweaked his neck. I think Saprykin may get in the series on replacement duty. He didn't exactly light it up since coming to the Sens. But can play a fiesty 4th line role and has good hands.

The press has been all about Crosby. He has shown flashes of brilliance. But I am most surprised that he tends to be on the ice when the Senators score. Is he a defensive liability, or just on the ice all the time, or both? I like his feisty-ness. Senators are hitting him at every opportunity and he doesn't back down. The press has been down on Malkin. I thought he was using his big frame pretty well at times, despite not posting numbers. The smaller Senators players can't handle the size mis-match. Staal has used his size well, too. Armstrong has caused havoc with physical play.

Alfie has been very good. Heatley has been rather quiet, but his backchecking is superb, so i don't have any complaints. Spezza has kept the fancy play (turnovers) to a minimum. I think the Comrie, Fisher, Schaefer line has been the tougher matchup for Pittsburgh.

I like that Recchi has not seen much daylight. They knock him down all game. The veterans can be damgerous and Recchi has been eliminated so far. Roberts has done some damage, but he also cost his team a goal when trying to play tough guy with Spezza.

Predictions

Some things are definitely not going according to plan. My Buffalo series sweep isn't going to happen. DiPietro's surprise return, along with Yashin's reduced minutes, lead to an Islanders win. 'Bolts are scoring on Jersey. Wild cannot contain the Ducks. Most of the games were close in score, but Wild aren't playing up to par.

Otherwise, Rangers have jumped on the Thrash. Senators look stronger than Penguins. Wings are peppering Kipper with rubber. Sharks/Nashville series is nasty, hope it goes 7 games.

Poo's favorite player, Sean Avery, has been solid in the playoffs. Feisty and contributing. The goal off the plexi was pure luck, but he's been someone you don't want to play against.

Wild Wild West

Not surprising that the West had all tight games. Featuring double OT and quadruple OT! I think that's what makes playoff hockey great. And these were not yawners either, 9 goals scored in each 5-4 score. Dallas/Vancouver was see-saw scoring. I saw Cheechoo take a knee-on-knee type injury that might limit his action. Luongo had 62 saves, but did let in a soft 4th goal. Bryzgalov gets the win, despite a solid game from Backstrom. My theory of the playoffs is that a multiple OT loss is very hard to come back from, which is bad news for Dallas & Nashville.

Game #1

Senators dominated game #1. Emery wasn't great, but fortunately, he didn't have to be. But, he better get his game into more solid form by Saturday. Too many high sticks by Ottawa. Didn't think that the Crosby goal was going to be disallowed.

Old New NHL?

Seems to me that last year's interpretation of the 'new' rules was in effect for the first day of playoff action. LOTS of penalties in the Sens/Pens game. Some of the cheesy variety. Some obvious (double minor high stick w blood). But a ton of calls made. Several 3-on-5's. So I looked at the scoresheets from other games, and the penalty count was high. The Ducks game wasn't too bad. I don't care as long as it is consistent.

Coyotes Purge

Read that Barry Smith left the Coyotes to coach in Russia, that was yesterday. I guess he was just the first one off of the sinking boat. Coyotes fired the top management, but kept Gretzky as coach. I liked Mike Barnett as an agent, but don't think the Coyotes did much with him as GM. He was given a chance to prove himself, but it is definitely time to try something new.

RIP Warren Strelow

Very sad news. Strelow was the mastermind behind the Sharks' superior goaltending depth. I read the article below, and didn't realize he was sick for a few years. It is probably no coincidence that Nabby and Toskala had off seasons in those years (combined with the 'new NHL')

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=203737&hubname=nhl

Camping

I will be camping this Thursday and Friday. So, don't expect any posts on any playoff series, until Sunday or most likely Monday. The Senators should be up 3-0 by then. I'm not ignoring any good trash from Poo, just no online access for a few days.

Free Hat!

Poo is giving away Ottawa Senators hats. I am thinking of a really obnoxious camoflaged trucker hat with the Senators logo.

Draft

For the non-playoff teams, the draft lottery is one of the only things left to look forward to. Guess the 'Hawks beat the odds and won the first pick. The Kings will still have the #4 pick. They loaded up on draft picks during this season's fire sale. In only 3-4 years, we will see the fruits of Lombardi's drafting savvy. Until then, don't hold your breath

Playoff Eve

I'm pretty excited, like a kid before Chirstmas. Well, not that excited, but more than ready for the playoffs to start. And the first game is Sens/Pens! That's the way to start of the '07 Playoffs. I have yet to recieve a challenge from Poo yet. I'm thinking a hat or jersey.

Poo-dictions

Here are my requisite comments on Poo's Picks:

We are in general alignment, especially in the West. I tend to be more aggressive wrt the number of games. But, I am surprised at the agreement in the Preds. I thought the Sacto guy would be more of a Sharks homer. Which beings me to my Wild pick. 1.) You have to pick an upset and this is mine. 2.) I just can't root for the Ducks out of LA rivalry reasons. 3.) Boogaard could single handedly beat any and all takers from Anaheim (too bad he's a playoff liability and won't play). 4.) Giggy can be Giggy. Ranger in 6 vs. Thrash in 6. But, I have to agree with Poo's commentary, "Who cares?"

Match-ups

EAST:
Sabres/Isles: Sabres sweep 4-0. I would love to see an upset, but not happening.
Devils/Bolts: Devils 4-1. Brodeur is at the top of his game & scary. Devils can eliminate a one-line team.
Rangers/Thrash: Rangers upset 4-2. Lundqvist will be the difference. Thrash get playoff experience the hard way.
Sens/Pens: Sens 4-2. Crosby and Malkin steal a few games. But Ottawa has too much scoring depth and defense.

WEST:
Wings/Flames: Wings 4-1. Kipper may get out played. Wings have too much game in all areas. Calgary has one line.
Wild/Ducks: Wild upset 4-3. Backstrom is en fuego. Jaq Lame-air will slow the games down to a crawl.
Canucks/Stars: Canucks 4-2. Loungo stellar his first year in the West. He's dying to prove himself in second breakfast. Wonder twin powers.... activate!
Preds/Sharks: Preds 4-3. Solid goaltending tandem & Forsberg make the difference.

Regular Season

Well, that was a disappointing game. Sens lose with seconds left. My only consolation is that it was just regular season. The dust-ups and penalties were a good preview of things to come. The series will be pretty fun to watch.

Montreal/Toronto game will determine 8th place. Sens can still claim home ice by beating Boston. Southeast, Northwest & Pacific Division titles are still up for grabs. Calgary needs to lose to the horrible Oilers, Colorado has to beat Nashville to create a Avs/Flames winner goes to the playoffs game.

Taunting

Some other blog was recently bashing my Senators. I have no argument against their reputation as playoff chokers. I have even won a fair amount of money betting against them, before jumping on the bandwagon. But as with the 'New NHL', I am a 'New Senators' fan for the last two seasons. Seveal things have lead to this change: the LA Kings totally suck, JR can't play anymore and following an Eastern Conference team allows Tivo'd one-hour speed watching of games. The team no longer has Yashin or Daigle. They have toughness and guys that can hit. (Spezza doesn't count) They are fun to watch. Their goalie once ate a cockroach for a $500 bet and got a new tattoo.

Besides, the Sens will win and get home ice advantage for the first round of Playoffs.

Deep Thoughts April 4

I think that my thoughts are more important than average. Thus, a blog.