The Wait for the Finals is too long
The first game of the Stanely Cup Finals starts next Monday?? What the hell am I supposed to do until then?
Answer: mow the lawn, weed the garden, spend more quality time with my wife, and play NHL '07!
Yeah, I really am that addicted to hockey. Ever since the Canucks were eliminated, I never quit watching. I almost should be taking the next 5 days off from this site while awaiting the Finals, but...NAH! F**K IT!
Early thoughts about the Finals
It may take a great team to reach the final series, but I am not very impressed with the play of the Ducks. Detroit was within a goal of putting Game 6 into OT, and the Ducks were definitely not the better team in Game 5 in a win. In my opinion, the Ducks are starting to remind me of the Sabres. They have all that talent and depth but are not kicking it into high gear at this stage of the post season and are inconsistent.
The Senators are the opposite. They have defeated every opponent in 5 games and looked pretty damned good doing it. They are 'bringing it.'
This is why I am thinking that the Sens are going to walk over the Ducks in 5 games. It doesn't even matter that the Ducks have home-ice advantage. I'll give my final prediction on the eve of the first game.
It will be entertaining hockey though.
I had not even given it much thought that Bryan Murray's fingerprints are all over the Ducks squad, both directly and indirectly. Murray drafted some of the fine young talent in Anaheim and he also had acquired the likes of Steve Thomas, Adam Oates, Sandis Ozolinsh, Rob Niedermayer, and Peter Sykora. Those players were instrumental in the Ducks last run to the Finals in 2003.
How Lowe you can go
"It's been an interesting spring, trying to convince people that after all the fallout (from the Pronger deal) we needed to be cheering for Anaheim up until now," Lowe told The Canadian Press on Wednesday.I really doubt that any Oiler fan shares Lowe's enthusiasm. I also think that only Oilers' management was cheering for Pronger.
"It's official, we can start cheering for Ottawa as of last night."
Best case scenario is that the Ducks fall further in the standings next season to make the pick higher up. Don't count on it. And really, for Pronger, they need a high pick to make up for the worst part of that deal....Joffrey Lupus, I mean Lupul.
T Tags: Ducks Senators Preview Oilers Kevin+Lowe First+round+pick
7 Comments:
Aw, Zanstorm, you are betraying your blog name, aren't you all about waiting for Stanley?
As for projections, I'm not sure how you stack these teams up--the east and west are such separate universes this year. Who knows how Ottawa would have fared against MIN / VAN / DET (combined 694 GF, 572 GA) or how Anaheim would have fared against PIT / NJD / BUF (combined 770 GF, 647 GA)?
It's going to be all academic until G1.
I'm just saying that I don't like Anaheim's effort recently. It's definitely not a 60-minute effort and as well, they are taking way too many damned penalties! Ottawa will bury them if they do that.
Just think, Anaheim's win in Game 6 was less to do with their strong play than it was Detroit's inability to show up! I mean, 13 shots after 2 periods in an elimination game? Pathetic!!
Hey, if the Ducks put out better efforts in the Finals, then I stand corrected.
I don't like your regular season stats because the playoffs are a whole different picture. Sorry, dude.
If the Ducks do win the Cup, I won't even mind much. I like that team. And if it angers Oiler fans that Pronger hoists the Cup, well...that's even better!
Aside from that though, I do want the Cup to land on canadian soild for once, and not in the damned Hockey Hall of Fame either!
By the way, Waiting For Stanley refers to Canucks and Leafs fans waiting 37 and 40 years for a Cup win. It's true. Oh yes, it's true.
I have been reading some pieces by Detroit writers and most miss the point, defending the Wings too much and praising the Ducks too much.
I think Lidstrom capped Detroit's inability the best post game when he said:
“For whatever reason, we got too rattled. We were getting too rattled out there. We wanted to do a whole lot, but instead of just doing our jobs we were trying to do too much, and that backfired on us. We were trying to do each other’s jobs out there, instead of just focusing on what we have to do individually. We were running around too much.”
Mike Babcock called it "inability to execute".
I've heard a couple of reasons for the long wait, that NBC wanted to put it on the holiday monday or that the ice capades have the building booked in anaheim (??).
NHL's relationship to NBC (or any major US network) seems pretty dysfunctional..
NHL: "You said you'd spend time with me this Saturday! I didn't go out all afternoon just to be with you!"
NBC: "Sorry baby, gotta cut you off and show some horse race action!"
NHL: "Bastard! *sob*"
It wouldn't suprise me if that was the case, James. Fucking Yanks.....
:)
Hey careful with the racist comments towards Americans. Clarify that with 'Fucking Yank TV Executives!'
I love your banner photo this week...beautiful. I notice even in your photo that Bertuzzi is nowhere near the front of the net, either. Typical.
Some of the Detroit press is suggesting he could stay with the Wings but I just can't see how they'd be impressed with him. Besides a few moments of brilliance, he was invisible, or visibly floating around the ice like he used to do in Vancouver.
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