Future

With the Draft coming up, I've been thinking about hockey again. The bitter Finals disappointment and consequent depression was hard to get over. But it's time to look forward.

Giggy re-signed, which means the Kings aren't getting him (thank God!). Kings will have to get a goalie somewhere. I am hoping LaBarbera gets another shot, maybe as the backup. He had a huge year in the AHL. But I hope that Garon is gone, and Cloutier is a buyout or demotion to Manchester.

Looking forward to Brian Boyle, Jack Johnson and another year of Kopitar. Hopefully, Brown, Camalleri, and Frolov take the next step in development. But it will probably be another long year.

Roenick probably retires. That's a good thing. I wish he could have netted his 500 goals, but JR just doesn't seen to have it anymore. He loves the game. But retirement should have happened last year. I tried watching the Coyotes last year, but the Kings are enough bottom feeding watching.

Sens have some work to do. Comrie and Preissing are on the way out. Kelly, McAmmond, Emery and Schubert need new contracts. Might be some trades to make cap room. Gerber, Corvo and Schaefer are rumored to be shopped. With the 29th pick, I'm not expecting too much draft wise. Beside, Ottawa's gems have come in the 4th round or later.

The End?

Not yet... I think the Sens have at least one more win in them. Pretty much lost the series on Monday though. Came out like the Sens I know, but playing for only 10 minutes doesn't get it done. I thought they were destined to win, since the Ducks came up with so many posts. I liked Poo's comment about the shaky brilliance of Emery. That's why he's fun to watch; maybe not the most technical goalie, but he's athletic, aggressive and a battler. I will give Alfie the benefit of the doubt about shooting the puck at Niedermayer. I don't think there was a vendetta, and it's not in his character. I don't doubt that he was frustrated, but it wasn't like the Sens were down and out at that point in the game. I think most people, refs included, were surprised and confused by the play. But a lot of things were out of character, like Emery's dive. What was that? Priessing and Redden had off nights and couldn't even make the simple D to D passes. Several guys ran into each other. When it's bad, it's really bad.

I almost wish the Sens didn't show flashes of their 'earlier 3 rounds self'. It just shows that they can bring their game together, but not consistently. There is a little hope, but playing 3 periods of Senators hockey out of 4 games isn't getting it done. Fisher seems like the only guy that remembers how they got to the Finals. Phillips and Volchenkov are still solid. Neil is his agitating self. But everyone else needs to be desperate, times two.

Hula Girl

Kalea had a hula performance this weekend. It was in Northridge. Quite a haul. Especially considering that her 'act' is a short song about the Hawaiian language, which lasts about 20 seconds, and it is just her and another little girl. We got lucky with traffic. Flew up there and back. I managed to still make my roller game. I would have blown-off my game, but I knew we were going to be short-handed. And I don't miss many games.
She did great. It was funny to see how nervous she was before the performance, but she did just fine on stage. It was held at a park with a small-scale fair/carnival going on. I would have loved to eat a ton of kalua pork or other soul food, but we only got shave ice and corn dogs on our way out.

Wrong

I was wrong. Sens didn't win big, but they at least played big. This series finally had a game with more evenly matched play. But it wasn't a one-goal game, as I predicted. The Sens didn't blow-out the Ducks, but battled back after three one-goal leads; that was pretty exciting.

Spezza proved me wrong. I actually saw him hit someone. He was scoreless, but had much improved play. He played hard, that's all I ask. I hate lazy skill players. Being a lesser-skilled grinder myself, lazy guys drive me nuts.

Refs were wrong. Well, maybe not wrong, but highly inconsistent. I figured the Alfredsson goal was to be disallowed and we move on with the game. Then my mouth dropped open. Disbelief & confusion were battling in the corner of my brain. Far lesser 'kicked' pucks were disallowed earlier this playoff.

Pronger was wrong. I like McAmmond. He brings it. Speed, forecheck, good PK. Sens will miss him. The suspension is a bummer. Because Pronger put one by Giggy too. It's like the Sens are losing two players from one head-shot.

I'm pretty stoked. More because of NOT having to go into a 0-3 series depression. And because Justin gets to go to game #5. I don't feel like the Sens have turned the corner. They got the beat down for games #1 & #2. And squeezed a high flying one out at home, with a disputed goal. It means nothing unless they tie up the series. At least each game has seen a better effort. Which is a good trend for Monday.

SENS WIN BIG!

You heard it here. Sens are winning big tomorrow. No more one goal games. This one's not going to be close.

Why? Because they have to. I have to see that the last two games were some sort of abberation. That the Sens can, and will, play like Cup Champions. It has to be this way. Anything less is unacceptable.

"C" in Crosby

Crosby is El Capitan in Pittsburgh. Not a big surprise. I thought that he showed his leadership in the playoffs this year and really blossomed. Already the face of Reebok/NHL/Pittsburgh & hockey in general. The captaincy is a formality as far as the team is concerned. It's incredible that he's met all the hype and expectations. I'm not a fan of hyped players in general, but he has won me over. I appreciate what he brings to the game, his skill level, toughness. Incredible maturity. But only a generational talent like him should be Captain at such an age.