Okay, be forewarned: if the Senators win this game, this is going to be one hell of a cranky game diary. Yes, Gentle Reader, it’s been that kind of day at stately IPB Manor (read: the fridge is still not working, so we knocked ourselves out with a round of cable cars this afternoon).
We hoped for a pre-game show tonight, but who are we kidding? We instead got Billy Graham. Really, NBC?
Oh, yay! Bill Clement excitedly tells us there was “no way [he] would leave [his] buddies Brett Hull and Ray Ferraro at 30 Rock.” Come on, Bill, at least tell us you tried.
We go into commercial with the promise of a Prongsie/Pierre Maguire interview on the flip side. You know what we love about Pierre Maguire (yes, there is actually something we love about him…)? We love that, while writing game diaries of games on VS can be a lot of work, when he’s doing the NBC games these things write themselves.
Holy crap — NBC actually believes this theory that Americans can’t enjoy a sporting event if they can’t locate the city it’s being played in on a map and gives us, honest to God, a brief glimpse of a map of Canada. Seriously, NBC, no one in the States could tell you where Green Bay is, but no one has a problem watching games from Lambeau.
The promised Pronger/Maguire chat finally arrives, and we both kind of expect Pierre to be wearing one of Chris Simpson’s outfits. We are vastly grateful that he is not.
Eddie and Doc tell us that Chris Kunitz will be back in the lineup tonight… does this means Baby CrunchyPickles’ day in the sun has ended? (Oh, and as they cut away to commercial again we get to hear a little bit of a Doc call, “He SCORES!” and Pookie whimpers, “I miss the regular season”.)
The crowd is really, really loud, and we can’t hear a word of what Pierre and Dany Heatley say during an on-ice interview. That, or we’re talking over the interview laughing that Pierre is going to ask, “Would you be able to hear me better, Dany, if my lips were on your lips?”
Canada should get to host the Stanley Cup Final every year, because they just do the anthems right. We’re too drunk to correctly spell the anthem singer’s name, but he actually makes the Star Spangled Banner sound cool. We like the giant Canadian flag unfurling over the crowd, but we’d be more impressed with the fans singing the “God keep our land” part of O Canada if we hadn’t heard the Oilers fans last year singing both anthems. But seriously, we love when the anthems are treated like this — as a show of mutual respect. Nicely done.
FIRST PERIOD
Before the drop of the puck Pookie says, “With Bryan Murray’s whole ‘we can’t be too hyper’ crap, I really hope Neil comes out and takes a stupid penalty on the first shift.”
19:18 After our complaining about VS not telling us the lineups, we fail to note that NBC is actually giving them to us tonight. We have no idea about Baby CrunchyPickles.
18:19 Giggy makes the first big save of the night.
17:58 Emery tops Giggy’s save, as the Perry/Penner/Getzis gets a great chance on some smooth passing. Pierre reports from between the benches that Comrie, that little bitch, spent his warmups yapping at Nieder. Pookie: “WHAT does Mike Comrie think he can say to Scott Niedermayer?”
16:09 Just as we complain that Teemu’s line isn’t the same without Baby CrunchyPickles, Kunitz draws a penalty on Redden in front of the net. Any old time the Ducks want to remember how to score with the man advantage would be great.
15:08 Nieder turns the puck over lazily at his own blue line on the PP. Pookie: “See, that’s Scott fucking Niedermayer for you. I just spent two minutes passionately defending him and then he goes and does that.”
14:21 WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! Just as Doc, Pierre and Eddie tell us that the Ducks are going to be handcuffed by the unfamiliar boards here in Ottawa, Teemu finds McDonald all alone in the slot, and McDonald makes no mistake beating Emery, who is both way deep in his net and down on the ice far too early.
13:58 May gets called for pushing Schubert into Giggy. Just, you know, because we were all doubting, after a PP goal, if these guys really are the Anaheim Ducks.
12:52 After Pierre tells us Pronger “takes the temperature of the game” as well as any d-man in history, Pookie snarks, “Somewhere out there Bobby Orr is spinning in his grave.” Pause. “You don’t need to write that down.” (Yeah, BURN!)
11:08 The Senators fourth line gets some good pressure, and after a non-call on a highstick to Pronger’s face (go ahead and hit him there again, Neil!), Giggy deploys some incredibly mellow, fantastic lateral movement to make a huge save.
10:15 Nieder apparently feels sorry for Spezza and how craptacular he’s been in this series so far, because he kindly coughs the puck up in front to the young Sen. (Giggy just rolls his eyes and makes another staggeringly good save.)
9:31 Schnookie’s assessment so far of this game: “The Senators aren’t being dominated as much as the last two games. And that makes me sad.”
8:55 Eddie points out after a nice offensive sequence for the Senators that it was, by his estimation, the first time this series that Spezza was in front of the net. Because most of the time he’s been cowering in the corner crying after giving up the puck, we guess.
8:31 Moen and Fisher get called for coincidental minors, at the tail end of a sequence that involved Comrie’s pathetic attempts to bring some pain to Nieder. We can only hope Nieder skated away from the exchange obliviously saying to the little bitch, “I’m sorry kid, did you want an autograph?”
6:04 Marchant gets a tricky shot off through a screen that Emery shuts down. After the whistle the two teams jostle in front of the net and Pookie perks up, “I just thought our boyfriends were going to fight! But then I realized neither Preissing nor Getzlaf were on the ice.”
4:40 The crowd is losing their minds as the Senators fourth line has a prolonged, hard-fought shift deep in the Anaheim zone, but no good chances come of it.
3:50 After what seems like hours of offensive pressure and great skating by shift after shift after shift of Senators, stupid fucking Chris Neil manages to just beat Giggy on a really nice redirection to tie the game. That sucked. (We are underwhelmed by a report from Doc that Neil’s first kid was born yesterday. We still don’t like him.)
2:37 Baby Nieder is unable to score on a strangely-developing 2-on-1; this seems like the first time the Ducks have had the puck since they scored.
1:47 Penner blows. After Getzi deftly yoinks the puck from a Senator in the neutral zone, Penner promptly hands the puck right back over to the little bitch.
1:02 NBC gives us “Name That Squirt” and it’s Mario Lemieux. We are confused. He’s not playing in this game… why is he tonight’s squirt?
0:02 We get the vapors — NBC promises Himself, the one and only Sid Crosby, is on the set for intermission.
0:00 We hate, hate, hated this period. Hated. What was up with the Senators actually playing well? And the Ducks looking vastly overwhelmed? That bit.
FIRST INTERMISSION
It’s like all our dreams have been answered! We come back from commercial and Brett Hull has been replaced by His Sidness! His choice of tie is woeful. Our very favorite thing about how Sid does interviews is the way, while the question is being framed for him, he nods along, like “Uh huh, uh huh, uh huh,” then as soon as his answer starts he shakes his head and says, “No…” In this case it’s when he gives his pre-packaged response to Ray asking if there will be a difference between Cap’n Sid and Sid the “ordinary player”. We wish Sid had bristled and said, “Which part of what you’ve seen from me so far makes you think I’m ever an ordinary player?”
As much as we love Sid (and really, we do), if we were Ducks or Sens fans right now we’d be so pissed off that NBC is spending their intermission discussing the captaincy of the Penguins.
Sid’s commentary in the second segment of this intermission makes us miss Brett. (Can you believe it?) He is asked if he was surprised by how Ottawa went down early in this series and he looks panicky that he might have to criticize someone. Then he looks like he wants to slink off while no one’s paying attention as Bill and Ray laugh about Brett being on HNIC right now. (They ask Sid if he ever watched Coach’s Corner, and Sid chirps, “Oh for sure. It was like a religion. I used to stay up late, watch it, then go to bed.” We wish he had continued, “Then I would sleep, then wake up, then eat breakfast, then play hockey…”) We also admire Sid’s professionalism in saying nice things about Don Cherry (something we wouldn’t be able to do) despite Cherry’s history of unjustifiably attacking poor little Sid.
SECOND PERIOD
19:10 We are beginning to think Carlyle can’t handle the matchups tonight. Is it just us or has Brad May been on the ice for 90% of this game?
19:00 What is being managed well tonight? NBC’s use of Pierre “between the glass”. They are keeping his mic pretty well unplugged most of the time, and for that we give great thanks.
18:31 We get “Sounds Of The Game” and Pookie hopes it’s Sid weeping in the crowd. It’s actually Chris Kelly, a player who elicits this response from Pookie every time she hears his name, “There’s a guy in this game named Chris Kelly?” His mic’d up is devoid of anything of interest, other than that it runs long and makes us miss the set-up for Moen, that choking dog, shanking on a wide open net and ringing the puck off the pipe.
17:56 Spezza and Pahlsson get matching minors after having a spanking match at the benches that exposed Spezza’s tear-away stripper sweater.
16:35 We scream at Getzi to rip a huge shot as the Senators D completely backs off, giving him a wide-open look at the net. He decides instead to try to dandle around everyone dragging the puck with him… and nothing comes of it. Pierre chides our SCF boyfriend for not passing to Beauchemin as we watch the replay. Meanwhile, Spezza is allowed to sit in the penalty box in Eaves’ #44 sweater. Is that legal? Can this game be forfeited because of these shenanigans?
15:48 As Spezza returns to the bench, still wearing his illegal sweater, Doc, Eddie and Pierre all agree they’ve only ever seen this in the ECHL. Nice and bush-league, that’s the Senators. (And seriously, they don’t have a spare Spezza sweater? They pay their equipment trainers for this kind of shoddy work?)
14:40 WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Perry/Penner/Getzi line actually gets some contributions from Penner, who forces Phillips to turn the puck over, then Perry walks out from the corner and scores what can only be described as a “softie” on a completely unsuspecting Emery. (In Emery’s defense — yes, we’ll come to his defense — his D was standing around with their heads up their asses and he was really expecting a pass. Or some help from his D. Or he sucks. One of those things.)
14:13 BOOOOOO!!!!!!! Volchenkov scores from the point on a clean face-off win… and it turns out Getzi wasn’t even on the ice for the drop of that puck. Uh, does he not want to be our SCF boyfriend anymore? (Pookie: “I am going to assume that was a miscommunication by the coaching staff, and not Getzi’s fault.”)
12:40 Coming back from commercial, Eddie points out that Moen was the guy missing from his regular line on the Volchenkov goal, and Getzi was trying to be a hero by jumping on the ice, all heads-up. So there.
12:22 WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Redemption for our SCF boyfriend! Gorgeous puck control and passing by Perry, nice quick shot by Penner, typical craptastic rebound by Emery, and delicious follow-through by Getzi. Getzi doesn’t, it seems, like to be singled out as the goat, even if it wasn’t his fault.
10:21 Alfredsson and Heatley suddenly find themselves on a 2-on-1, and Giggy very calmly puts on a rebound-control clinic for Emery.
8:11 Moen deigns to get out on the ice with his linemates, and they find themselves pinned in by Schaefer hogging the puck behind the net.
7:18 Teemu’s line gets some nifty shots off, and we applaud that they are just tossing the puck at Emery whenever they get the chance.
6:16 Nieder gets called for, uh, skating near a Senator? (It is technically identified by the officials as “hooking”.) Neil is allowed to hit McDonald in the head with a flying crosscheck, and that puts the Ducks down a man?
5:31 Pierre: “When Pronger’s on the ice you never have the sense that Anaheim’s in trouble.” We think he just outdid himself there.
4:21 Giggy makes a great save on the near post on a delayed penalty for crosschecking by — say it with us, people — O’Donnell.
3:46 The puck bounces around the zone off a bunch of guys, and ends up in the net when it goes in off Alfredsson’s foot. It is immediately waved off. This, of course, launches the “distinct kicking motion” debate, and we have to say, there was definitely a follow-through kicking movement by Alfie. Furthermore, if Sid’s goal in the first round was waved off, this should be waved off. We hope Sid’s absolutely apoplectic somewhere in the building right now.
You have got to be fucking kidding us. This is called a goal. Mind you, we would love to see the stupid “no kicking” rule taken off the books, but this postseason has seen a vulgar inconsistency with the way the NHL has called this. Sid should be furious right now, and so should Rangers fans after whichever guy in whichever game that was against the Sabres had his goal called off. Oh, and it should be said here, “Thanks, O’Donnell. Are you happy now?”
3:12 Pahlsson just barely can’t reach another bad rebound by Emery off a Baby Nieder shot. While Pierre has assured us the Ducks are unfazed by the no-goal/goal reversal, we’re still fuming.
2:04 We’re informed (by Eddie, strangely, and not Mr. “I’m On The Benches! Hey Guys, I’m Right Here On The Benches!” Maguire) that Kunitz is not on the Ducks bench. We bet Carlyle’s sorry he didn’t dress Baby CrunchyPickles tonight.
1:26 We are vomiting in our own mouths as McAmmond gives the Senators the lead. You know, Pierre was right: when you’ve got Pronger on the ice the Ducks are never in trouble… except when he shoots the puck straight into his own net.
1:04 The Senators are apparently pissy that they got called for an icing they felt should have been waved off. Well, considering how you guys got a goal that shouldn’t have counted, perhaps you should cut your losses, assholes.
0:00 Well, as much as we hate, hate, hate that the Senators are winning, this continues to be some top-notch entertainment. You know, if you like teams that spent the first two games of the series bitching baselessly that they were getting shafted by the officiating getting a goal that shouldn’t have counted. If you’re into that, it’s been a great game.
SECOND INTERMISSION
Okay, it’s pretty funny to have Brett Hull of all people chastising the league for not enforcing their own rules during the Stanley Cup Final. But he and Ray are admirably and eloquently disgusted at the call on the Alfredsson goal. And we’ll just go on record again saying it’s bullshit. In case, Gentle Reader, you were still wondering. We are especially puzzled that the on-ice call was overturned on that one — why, then, have the official on the ice even making a call in the first place?
Oh, burn! Brett and Ray excoriate the Ducks for the bad change on the Volchenkov goal, and seem to absolve Getzi while laying the blame, respectively, on “the entire team” and Pahlsson.
We get an “isn’t the Stanley Cup great?” commercial featuring shots of captains kissing the Cup set to Bon Jovi music. Seriously, folks, we feel like Bon Jovi and the Stanley Cup go together like peas and carrots. What can we say? We’re from Jersey.
THIRD PERIOD
Hey, wait a minute. They were supposed to talk about “Penner’s awakening” during the intermission. What gives?
19:43 Still no Kunitz on the bench. Why, oh why, do injured guys try to come back early in Stanley Cup Final series in which their team is playing really well without them?
19:24 The crowd is ready to blow the roof off the building as Schaefer gets a breakaway on Giggy, but Nieder, falling over, is still faster than Schaefer and manages to force the suddenly panicking Sen to settle for an easily-stopped shot.
19:00 Brad May is mic’d up and we get to hear him getting the cold shoulder from Getzi after Getzi’s goal.
17:57 McAmmond is knocked out by a Pronger elbow straight to his face. For some bizarre reason, there is nothing called on this. After lying motionless at the boards for a few moments, McAmmond gets up and skates, with some help, off the ice.
What, exactly, does Chris Pronger have to do to stop getting praised to high heaven all the time by the hockey media guys? Pierre is still slurping him, despite his putting the puck in his own net in a tie game, and now this.
Klassy move by Murray putting Neil out on the ice right after that.
17:05 A melee breaks out in front of the benches after Getzi hits Neil gently from behind. Fisher goes after him, and some little scrums break out all over the place. The long and short of this is that the extra minor goes to the Ducks, and seriously, that’s a penalty, but Neil leaving his feet to crosscheck McDonald in the head, and Pronger knocking McAmmond out with an elbow to the face aren’t?
15:51 Emery makes a great save on a fantastic, hustling short-handed chance by Marchant.
14:17 The Ducks are coming completely unraveled, and May stupidtastically slew-foots a Senator in the offensive zone.
12:17 Wow. That was a pretty emphatic penalty kill.
11:38 Ugh. The Ottawa fourth line again dominates the Ducks, and Volchenkov scores on a nice feed from behind the net from Vermette. Pierre just explodes with delight at the contributions by Neil on that goal, prompting Pookie to grouse, “God, I feel like I’m watching the Pittsburgh series again, wondering why I’m supposed to be all excited about someone like Chris Neil.” (Pronger, clearly trying to keep a low profile for the rest of this game, helped Ottawa quite a bit on that shift with the way he was tiptoeing around his own zone.)
9:19 Schaefer interferes with Thornton, but could have been called for any number of things.
8:55 Getzi takes his team off the power play by pushing Kelly over while the two of them skate for a loose puck. That’s a penalty? Really? And elbowing a guy in the face isn’t? This game has really been unpleasant to watch, and not just because the Senators aren’t losing.
7:12 We get an excited Pierre feeding us some slurping highlights of the great Chris Neil. He overpraises his penchant for “getting physical” with various Ducks throughout the course of this game, including, hilariously, the call that he “got physical” with Getzlaf on a sequence where Getzi hit him from behind. Does it really count as hard hitting when you’re the guy getting hit? Apparently, back home on Planet Crack where Pierre lives, it does.
6:41 Doc assures us NBC is working valiantly to get word on McAmmond’s injury. Boomer: “Just tell us he has a broken foot.”
5:25 Giggy decides to pretend for a moment to be Emery and bobbles a rebound, but Alfredsson can’t get to it.
4:31 McDonald gets held coming out from behind the net, then Alfredsson slew-foots Nieder at the point, and McDonald gets called for goaltender interference after jostling Emery in the crease. To be fair, though, it’s a legit call against McDonald.
3:33 In a discussion about the likelihood of Pronger getting suspended (outlook: very likely), Pierre posits that perhaps Prongsie should get some leeway for being so much taller than McAmmond. Pookie: “Well, he’s only had his entire life to figure out how to compensate for that and not elbow guys in the face.”
1:43 Eddie and Pierre discuss how Carlyle would like to pull Giggy now, but the Ducks can’t get the puck in deep. We once attended a Ducks practice (don’t ask), and we can vouch for that. Giggy is a lot of things, but a fast skater is really not one of them.
0:18 We hope nothing interesting happens because we can’t see anything thanks to some asshole waving a Senators flag in front of the camera.
0:00 Well, that absolutely sucked. The part that is so maddening about this game (besides the whole “what in the fuck is the officiating crew even doing out there?” element) is that we had gotten very comfortable with cheering for the Ducks, and then they went and, led by one of the league’s most loathable players, reminded us of all the reasons why they’re really not that much of a feel-good story. But yeah, the Senators played much better, the Ducks looked like they had no idea how to comport themselves like a professional hockey team, and when the final buzzer sounded we just felt kind of dirty for having watched this. And the worst part is, this series was going so well. Games 1 and 2 were all about what is great about hockey, and today was all about everything that’s wrong with it.
I was furiuos that Mario was the Name That Squirt! How was I supposed to guess a guy who has nothing whatsoever to do with this series?! Mr. B. said I was overreacting but I still think it’s an outrage.
I’m at home watching tonight but if the Sens win it might be worth making sure I’m at work for the next game.
I’ll take a tie after one, but that last seven or ten minutes was kind of scary. Dammit, who said anything about this being a competitive series?!
Heather, if the Sens win tonight, I am going up to Buffalo and I will personally make sure you’re at work for G4. And I demand a new Name That Squirt — that was truly an outrage.
Earl, Boomer just bemoaned how much less interesting this crowd is without a certain special drunk in a green shirt down by the penalty box.
Ack, I don’t know whether or not to be happy that the Ducks came out of that period with a tie, or to be really worried that the Senators seem to have waken up from their crappy play.
On a random note, when Doc starts each game with the plug for that on-time luggage delivery service, and he reels off the number, does anyone else think he says 1-800-SH*T-BAGS? I suppose he’s really saying “ship,” but it always makes me laugh.
Canada should get to host the Stanley Cup Final every year, because they just do the anthems right.
Their anthem singer is so awesome. I’m totally annoyed that Alanis Morissette is singing the anthems next game instead of him.
Pookie snarks, “Somewhere out there Bobby Orr is spinning in his grave.” Pause. “You don’t need to write that down.”
He could be spinning in his La-Z-Boy…that’s actually a kind of entertaining image. Everyone’s the best in history at something in Pierre’s world. It must be nice.
Ack, I don’t know whether or not to be happy that the Ducks came out of that period with a tie, or to be really worried that the Senators seem to have waken up from their crappy play.
On the road, you’re always happy for the tie, even if you got shot in the foot “earning” it.
Tell Boomer I do make personal apperances sitting by the bottom corner of your television set, but it is pretty pricy.
I don’t care if these become multiple comments (I’m drinking).
So Spezza starts wearing EAVES 44 or something, and my brother’s friend says, “I’ve NEVER seen that before!”
and I say, “What? You never saw Mighty Ducks 2?”
Oh, by the way, PPPPPPPEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYY!!!!!!
See what happens when five guys come out on the faceoff?!!!!
GEEEEETTTTTTZZZZZZZLAF!
Brother’s friend again: “Too bad Chris Neil didn’t have another kid today.”
Earl, this is like dueling game diaries! You’re doing a secondary liveblog in our comments (that is actually live). If we had a payroll, we’d add you to it. In fact, we’ll give you back those 100 IPB Bucks (IPBucks?) for it.
Grace, we think Doc’s saying 1-800-SHIT-BAGS every single time, and are pleased that someone actually found us by searching that term in google once.
Meg, Alanis is doing the anthems next? Alanis used to be our lucky Devils music. In that they only won the Cup after we stopped listening to her on our drives up to the arena…
I’ve never really liveblogged before (I usually watch live or delayed), so at least you’re going against an amateur!
Also, I’m probably too drunk to notice most things in this game. Who’s this “Kunitz” fellow?
We don’t know who this “Kunitz” is, other than that he’s no Motzko.
What the?! Scott Niedermayer, 2 minutes for PLAYING DEFENSE!!!!
And why is Ottawa playing the Sabres Dance song? That’s our song, bitches!!!
Per my insider source, Motzko is absolutely plastered drunk in the Ducks pressbox right now. He keeps engraving his name on coffee cups.
I think it’s kind of strange that Daniel Alfredsson’s skate has more of a scoring touch than Daniel Alfredsson’s hands have.
Well, the call is bullshit, but the comment still stands.
All right, seriously, can we just do away with the kicking motion rule? Clearly no one knows what it is and there’s no consistency whatsoever in the calls. I think it’s a stupid rule, but if that wasn’t a kicking motion, what the hell is? He turned his skate to the net!
PRONNNNNNGGGGGER!!!! (oh wait, wrong net!)
if that wasn’t a kicking motion, what the hell is? He turned his skate to the net!
Looked like a kick to me too.
We can only hope Nieder skated away from the exchange obliviously saying to the little bitch, “I’m sorry kid, did you want an autograph?”
Now that is just one of the multitude of reasons to read this blog. Priceless.
He could be spinning in his La-Z-Boy…that’s actually a kind of entertaining image. Everyone’s the best in history at something in Pierre’s world. It must be nice.
Meg’s insightful commentary is just one of the multitude of reasons to read the comments of this blog.
He keeps engraving his name on coffee cups.
Daniel Alfredsson’s skate has more of a scoring touch than Daniel Alfredsson’s hands have.
Earl, wow. Excuse me. Mr. Sleek, wow. Whatever you’re drinking…
As much as we love Sid (and really, we do), if we were Ducks or Sens fans right now we’d be so pissed off that NBC is spending their intermission discussing the captaincy of the Penguins.
I’m not pissed. Really. I’ve really become used to the notion of bending over and letting eastern viewers manhandle me for pleasure.
But I’ll tell ya, that kicky thing? Quite an emotional play by the league, if you ask me. They definitely were looking at the scoreboard (and more importantly, the series score) when they made that call.
The comments tonight have been the main attraction. We completely can’t keep up with you all! Seriously, each and every one of you, you’re hired.
Earl, we don’t want to go on the record in our official game diary (because we don’t want to ruin our good standing with The Suits) with this, but we’ll add it in the comments — we agree 100% that the Alfredsson call was made with an eye on the scoreboard and series. Gah.
Whatever you’re drinking…
It has vodka and lots of crushed friut in it, whatever it is I’m drinking. Blame my sister–she’s somewhat of an “Iron Chef”, and this was her gameday concoction.
Her recipe:
Take some pineapple, lemon, kiwifruit, and tangerine, and crush it in a cup (or mortar and pestle, if available)
Add ice.
Fill with as much vodka as you would like to drink.
Add the mystery syrup to the drink (no more than one tablespoon, let me assure you).
Add tonic water or sparkling water or whatever is left on the bar table.
(Sleek’s additional steps, use as needed: I’ve added such components as mango juice and cranberry juice with similar effects.)
Stir and drink as necessary.
Sleek, that sounds truly excellent.
In other news, I really didn’t like that hit. Not one bit. God I hate Pronger.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH! Pronger’s elbow for Conn Smythe!
I know I should feel bad about this, but I don’t.
17:05 left in the 3rd: NBC decides to cut away from the Stanley Cup Finals to show the highlights from its 2006-07 World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) season.
I’m sorry, the Senators stood up for each other during the Buffalo game? The Buffalo game where Chris Neil completely blindsided Chris Drury who, through no fault of his own, doesn’t have eyes in the back of his head? The Buffalo game where they all turtled and cried that the big mean Sabres came after them? The Buffalo game where everyone in an Ottawa jersey watched an enforcer fight their goalie? That game? Interesting interpretation, that one.
Well, you know it’s real hard to stand up to a team as large and intimidating as the Sabres. I’m sure the Senators stood up for each other just as much as they could.
Seriously, I’m glad that annoyed you as much as it did me, Heather.
damndamndamndamndamn!
Damn, couldn’t you have just written me a Hasek book instead about telling me about his crappy game?!
Ooh, now I can watch a power play with interest.
Okay what the hell! I finally have cable and I don’t get to see the littler Crunchy? Not fair at all.
Meanwhile I’m reminded just how much I don’t miss Pronger. At all. Ever.
It is a miserable night in IPBNation, isn’t it?
Heather and Meg, thanks for putting so well into words what pisses us off about the way NBC seems to think that Sabres game was so good for Ottawa. Sheesh.
Kick it in, Ducks!
Good thinking Earl!
So… I think there’s some suspension talk going on. Let me get this straight. The NHL is willing (stupid) enough to give two suspentions to the same player for two non-called penalties?!!
Only because it’s Pronger is it even near-stomachable.
and I boviously tmean to selpl “suspentions” corretcly.
Heather and Meg, thanks for putting so well into words what pisses us off about the way NBC seems to think that Sabres game was so good for Ottawa. Sheesh.
Oh, and two nights later the Sens fought back to beat Buffalo. Congratulations, you just beat a line-up consisting of FIVE AHLers. Geez.
There’s no arguing that Ottawa really picked things up after that game and maybe all the controversy swirling around it helped them in some way. But can we please not pretend that Ottawa was treated unfairly, fought back physically, and had each other’s backs? Because no. Just no.
What the?! If a goalie is out of the frickin’ crease he should be hittable. Emery can trip people up out there but no one can touch him?
This game is pissing me off!
how long til someone says “you don’t have a series until both teams play at home?” or some variation…or have they already said it?
So… I think there’s some suspension talk going on. Let me get this straight. The NHL is willing (stupid) enough to give two suspentions to the same player for two non-called penalties?!!
Is this really that different from Neil leaving his feet on every fucking hit and hitting people in the back of the head? I agree that the Pronger hit was ugly but seriously, are you kidding me? Sabres fans are told to suck it up because Drury should’ve been looking in three directions at one time and all the talking heads tonight are going on and on about Pronger getting suspended? What the hell? I’m baffled and befuddled. And also pissed.
This game is pissing me off!
I think you should drink more–I’ve become a bit numb to it.
I think you should drink more–I’ve become a bit numb to it.
Oh, and sorry to quote myself, but I had a further thought: Ottawa’s scored 7 goals, and Anaheim’s scored 7. To be up 2-1 in this series is still fortunate, and thus I’ll take it.
One more fruit-vodka-mashy-drink, coming right up!
Is this really that different from Neil leaving his feet on every fucking hit and hitting people in the back of the head? I agree that the Pronger hit was ugly but seriously, are you kidding me?
Eh, I think Pronger should certainly have been penalized, and perhaps they’ll suspend him to make up for missing it. Certainly wouldn’t bother me. That said, some of these talking heads are being hypocrites (and I have no doubt there are many fans in the same boat). I, however, am basking in the warm glow of self-righteousness.
Ahhh, the warm glow of self-righteousness! It really is the best. And it’s a warm glow I try to keep myself basking in as much as humanly possible… :-)
I think you should drink more–I’ve become a bit numb to it.
Sadly, I’m a teetotaler. Another game like this might push me over the edge though.
Schnookie, I’m not scheduled to work Monday night. Do you think the boss will mind if I just show up and offer to bag groceries for the night? “Listen, game 4 is tonight. It’s imperative that I be here.”
Also, I don’t know if you guys heard, but Chris Neil’s wife had a baby!!!!!
Heather, I’ll send your boss a note explaining why you must work! Hey, would you be willing to come on down to New Jersey to work my night shift on the reference desk on Wednesday for Game 5?
The part that is so maddening about this game (besides the whole “what in the fuck is the officiating crew even doing out there?” element) is that we had gotten very comfortable with cheering for the Ducks, and then they went and, led by one of the league’s most loathable players, reminded us of all the reasons why they’re really not that much of a feel-good story.
See, this is my problem with this series. I simply can’t choose a team to cheer for because I hate them both SO MUCH at this point. And every time I make a decision, that team goes and reminds me of why I don’t like them. Can’t Anaheim stop it with the dirty hits and endless stupid penalties and losing so I can just cheer for them like a good little Sens-hater. It seems not.
What?! Chris Neil’s wife had a baby? Hey… I wonder if Chris Drury ever won a Little League World Series… and if Sidney Crosby lives at Mario’s house… Do they think we’re not listening? Hey wait, maybe we should stop listening. A little less Pierre McGuire in my life wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
A little less Pierre McGuire in my life wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
A LITTLE less??? A LITTLE LESS????
I’m aghast.
OK, OK, a lot less would be nice! I was actually a little sad that he’s toned down his over-pronounciation of non-English names in this series. His attempt at adding his interpretation of an authentic Finnish pronounciation to “Jarko Ruutu” earlier this year was actually a highlight of the season for me. It was priceless.
And Meg, I’ve been trying to come up with some response to the troubling issue of finding someone to cheer for in this series, but I just keep getting hung up on Pronger. And I just can’t put into words all hate that’s fluttering through my poor, defensless brain right now. I just want him to go away.
A little less Pierre McGuire in my life wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
But Pookie! Without Pierre how would you know that the Ottawa bench was upset about the no-call on Pronger? Or that the Anaheim bench was encouraged by the successful penalty kill? How would you know which players are the best in the world at which thing?
Yeah, I hate Pierre. He got a special mention at my blog tonight.
Apparently I chose one heck of a game to miss.
I also want Pronger’s head on a pike, preferably with his eyes gouged out with olives in its place.
Then again, that’s nothing new.
Poop. I just got home all tipsy. I missed the game because I was working and then drinking, but this post and the subsequent comments were hockey enough for me tonight.
Chris Neil’s baby is such a little jerk.
Maybe I’m bias, but I prefer not to drag a perfectly innocent baby into this.
I also just saw the replays. My favourite part is when Fisher pinned Getzlaf [it was Getzlaf, right?] to the ice and showed him who’s boss. RUN PRETTY BOY, RUN!
I was just kidding. I’ve never met Chris Neil’s baby. I’m sure she’s a really nice gal.
I also want Pronger’s head on a pike, preferably with his eyes gouged out with olives in its place.
Yeah, well when we get Neil’s, you can have Pronger’s. I do hope McAmmond’s okay though.
Oh sure…I miss a kick ass liveblog all because I had to play GOD DAMN hockey!!!! Just turning on the TiVO now…..
GAHHHHHHHH………………………………..
I don’t want Pronger’s head solely due to the McAmmond hit though. In all honesty, I don’t think the hit wouldn’t have seemed as bad if McAmmond hadn’t hit his head on the ice. It was more to the chin, than the head. My problem with it is that it’s not the first time that Pronger has gone all Hulk on somebody else’s head after his team was down in a game.
Oh, and that he’s a jackhole in general.
Ladies, you know I read and love everything you write. But I think that tonight’s liveblog may just be the Great Gatsby of your estimable resume. I had an extremely tenuous hold on my bladder for most of this post. And no hold whatsoever during the Cindy Crosby portion. Just brilliant.
And the “awakening of Penner” is all about “Motzko” and the pancakes. NBC is pissed that they got scooped.
And Pronger! That effing worm. Why does everyone massage his orbs so much when he is the Overlord of the Untimely Penalty/Suspension? If they suspend him maybe “Motzko” will step in. He can play defense. He can do anything.
I don’t want Pronger’s head solely due to the McAmmond hit though. In all honesty, I don’t think the hit wouldn’t have seemed as bad if McAmmond hadn’t hit his head on the ice. It was more to the chin, than the head.
Put “Neil” in every place you have “Pronger” and maybe “Drury” where you have “McAmmond” and I pretty much agree :-) I will say that fatherhood – I don’t know if you heard, but Neil has a child now – cleary agrees with him because he was all over the place tonight.
And I can absolutely agree that Pronger is a very special breed of ass and I hope his teammates string him up from the rafters by his toenails if he gets suspended. Good Lord, it’s the Stanley Cup Finals! Use your brain! And don’t tell me you’re 6’6″. You’ve been 6’6″ for a very long time now. You should be used to it at this point.
Bill and Ray laugh about Brett being on HNIC right now. (They ask Sid if he ever watched Coach’s Corner, and Sid chirps, “Oh for sure. It was like a religion. I used to stay up late, watch it, then go to bed.”
So if Sid stayed up late to watch Coach’s Corner, that would make his original bedtime, what 7pm? If Coach’s Corner is on during the first intermission, a 7pm game would have an intermission around 745. That Sid, what a rebel.
Did I really just try to figure out Crosby’s bedtime?
We like the giant Canadian flag unfurling over the crowd
I’ve seen the flag thing happen at NASCAR races, and I always feel bad for the people trapped underneath the giant monstrosity of a flag. Its got to be very claustrophobic under there. Looks cool on TV, though.
And the worst part is, this series was going so well. Games 1 and 2 were all about what is great about hockey, and today was all about everything that’s wrong with it.
I am a brand new hockey fan (the Sabres sucked me in during the playoffs), and I have to say, Pronger’s hit on McAmmond sort of made me turn my head away in shame. I realize I am totally uninformed (not that I’ve ever let being uninformed stop me from spewing my opinion), but when I saw that hit, I thought, “That guy should be in jail”. Seriously.
I’ve made a lot of jokes recently about how hot it is to watch grown men slam each other around the ice, but I think the violence creates a genuine uneasiness for many casual fans. I kept one eye on the third period while in a bar last night and after Pronger’s hit, a friend with a six-month-old son turned to me and said, “I just don’t want my son to see this kind of thing.”
I guess all I’m trying to say is that I think hockey loses a lot of potential fans because of this crap. Many people on the periphery of fandom watch that kind of ugly slow-mo replay on Sports Center and think “ew”. I know that’s how I felt about hockey for the first 31 years of my life. Just, ew.
Now of course, I aspire to be a super fan just like all of you, but I think my arriving at fandom is really only because I am fortunate enough to live in a community (Buffalo) where hockey is hugely celebrated. I had no choice but to become a hockey fan if I wanted to be able to carry on a conversation with my neighbors. After only a few weeks of watching hockey I am enthusiastically enthralled enough to be voraciously reading hockey blogs, but until 2007 I could not have cared less.
I don’t understand the intricacies of a clean hit versus a penalty hit, but neither does most of North America. It didn’t take much to make me a rabid fan, but it takes a lot less to make a casual viewer think “ew” and change the channel.
I can feel all of your eyes rolling at me through my computer screen. :) I deserve the rolling eyes, I know. I would like to state once more that the discovery of IPB and other female penned hockey blogs has pretty much doubled my enthusiasm for hockey. Thanks guys!
Kate, I’m not rolling my eyes at you. I think you’re right about the casual fan being turned off by stuff like Pronger’s hit last night. I am rolling my eyes at the fact that Pronger’s hit will be the only highlight many newscasts show and it’ll be shown a bajillion times on ESPN, creating the idea among the casual fan that that’s all there is to hockey when that’s not the case at all. That drives me batty.
Thanks for the non-eyeroll, Heather. I guess I just think (again, allow me to qualify my statement by fully admitting I know nothing) that hockey would be better off by taking a hard line stance against this kind of hit. Just zero tolerance regardless of intent to cause harm. No hitting fellas in the noggin’. Ever ever ever ever ever. Pronger might be the Patron Saint of Good Sportsmanship for all I know, but his punishment should be more significant than a two minute penalty (which he didn’t even get, right?).
Pronger might be the Patron Saint of Good Sportsmanship for all I know
Hee hee hee! Funny! :-)
He wasn’t penalized which is crazy. I know it’s tough to see things at full speed sometimes but there was a linesman RIGHT THERE. I will agree that hits to the head should be penalized, intentional or not, and reviewed later for potential suspension. And I’d include elbows and shoulders to the head. I think that and hits from behind got way out of hand this season.
Kate – no eye rolling from me, I can see your point and I’ve heard that take on it before, e.g. from Canadian broadcasters who use it as a reason to explain why the NHL doesn’t do as well in the U.S.
So I’m not even disagreeing necessarily, but it occurred to me – I keep hearing how UFC has become huge in the U.S. – now I don’t follow the sport at all (so I am really uninformed) but from the clips I’ve seen I would say it is uber-violent.
Perhaps I’m comparing apples to oranges though. I’m not sure.
I think Pronger should be suspended. A penalty would not have been enough. But I agree with Heather B. that incidents like that get splashed across the media far too much – someone not familiar with hockey would of course jump to the conclusion that it’s a bunch of goons.
And I like fighting in hockey. But of course I would have no problem with a tougher stance on hits from behind and elbows to the head and that kind of thing.
Kate, we will roll our eyes, but not at you. Rather, at the people who see a hit like Pronger’s on TV and assume that hockey condones that kind of violence. He should get suspended for that, just like he was for the head shot he took on Holmstrom in the last series (a play for which he was not penalized during the game). Hockey fans, hockey players and members of the hockey media all disagree with that level of violence and unanimously agree it should be removed from the sport. However, thanks to the encouragement of the lazy mainstream sports media, causal fans are led to believe that’s not that case.
Furthermore, comparing hockey to the NFL, the only other major professional sports league that includes full-body contact as part of the continuous action, casual fans are able to make to the leap that hard illegal hitting is just that — illegal. The hitting in the NFL is more violent and more concussive than it is in the NHL, but because of the popularity of the sport, the national dialogue is never hijacked by people who want to wring their hands and say that contact sports are, by their very nature, venal.
Just to clarify, what left a lingering bad taste for us in this game last night was only in part the Pronger hit. As with every occasion (and it doesn’t happen often) the dirty hit was upsetting, but what also diminished our joie de vivre was the inconsistency of the league’s interpretation of the kicked goal rule.
And Kate, distinguishing a clean hit from a dirty hit just takes practice. Keep watching! This sport is a beautiful thing, and we all too often let a few bad apples ruin our opinion of it. Sure I wouldn’t want my hypothetical six-year old seeing Pronger play dirty, but why not let him be inspired to greatness by seeing Scott Niedermayer playing clean?
Sorry Schnookie, didn’t mean to bolster my point by quoting you out of context.
And don’t get me wrong! I am totally into the hard hitting! Surprisingly so. Perhaps alarmingly so…..
But that might be a post for another day, on a different kind of blog. ;)
I was just sort of grossed out by Pronger.
(Oh, and Margee, I’m so glad you enjoyed the Sid Crosby commentary. Someday we will meet, and we will share with you the joys that are our Sid Crosby impersonations, and you will see that everything, always is about making fun of Sid here at stately IPB Manor! Of course, we kid because we love. But we love a lot, so we kid a lot. And Amy, I am shocked that Sid would stay up ALL THE WAY until 7:45. He really is terrible naughty, isn’t he?)
I will agree that hits to the head should be penalized, intentional or not, and reviewed later for potential suspension. And I’d include elbows and shoulders to the head. I think that and hits from behind got way out of hand this season.
I absolutely agree with this. I like the hitting in hockey. I don’t really want to see it diminished, but hits to the head need to be removed from the game. And in the short term I suppose that might have the unfortunate side effect of reducing hitting in general, but in the long term I think the players will adjust and still be able to hit just fine. And really, I think it’ll happen eventually.
Kate, hits like that always make me a bit sick to my stomach, so I’m certainly not rolling my eyes at you either. I think they show a lack of respect not only for the other players on the ice but for the sport itself. And for the spirit of athletic competion in general (although I realize it’s naive to think these things come into play all that much). Either way Pronger, to me, is a great example of many of the things wrong with the NHL (and hell, professional sports in general). It’s too bad the media focuses on players like him so often, instead of on all the players that represent just what a great sport hockey is.
Pronger gets one game. I say that’s crap. He got one game just last round for a similar incident. Message didn’t seem to get through. If it was a different name on the back of the jersey, I wonder if the suspension would have been longer. If it was the regular season, I wonder if the suspension would have been longer.
So I’m new to IPB – did I miss the talk about why Pronger wanted out of Edmonton?
But enough about Pronger.
Today I realized it was Sunday and that means tomorrow there’s another game. I felt a great wave of relief pass over me.
And one last thought – I wonder how Mr. Sleek is doing today…those drinks sure did sound good.
Icing, the league historically weights SCF games much more heavily than regular-season ones when they levy suspensions. In ’96 Claude Lemieux got just two SCF games for trying to kill Kris Draper with the half boards. So I’m not sure what to think about whether this suspension is serious enough, or whether Pronger’s “superstar” status and/or past history of cheap hitting likely factored into it. Suffice to say, I’m tired of Pronger, and I’m tired of talking about cheap hits in hockey — anyone up for a feverish discussion of the gross injustice that Alfredsson goal was? :-)
(Oh, and as for Pronger’s divorce from the Oilers, we’re probably not the people to ask about it. The situation really kind of happened well off our radar, and we were never for a moment surprised or outraged by it… Sorry I can’t help you out much with it beyond just saying he asked out because his wife seemed not to want to live in Edmonton anymore and the Oilers management acquiesced.)
I’m trying to move on from the Pronger hit/suspension, the Neil hit on McDonald, the Alfredsson goal, and everything else that contributed to the all-around crapfest that was Game 3.
Here’s to hoping that the Ducks and Senators return to their respective Game 2 forms. : ) That reality was much easier for me to handle–I liked both teams much better that way.
Grace, I’m taking a swig of my daiquiri to toast your comment! Amen!
Schnookie, as your loyal minion I am currently marching around my apartment holding a sign that reads, “Time to reevaluate the ‘kicking motion’ rules!”, and chanting “No justice, no peace!”. I am a grassroots activist at heart. :P
Kate, I can only hope Gary Bettman and the Competition Committee are keeping an eye on the activist activity in your apartment!
I’m holding a press conference/nonviolent sit-in at 7pm. If that doesn’t grab their attention, I don’t know what will.
And one last thought – I wonder how Mr. Sleek is doing today…those drinks sure did sound good.
I’m a little McAmmonded today.
I would like to blame my non-participation in all this on the fact that I didn’t get to see this game until now, because my cable provider decided I would be more interested in the the Yankees vs Red Sox game.
But y’all are totally hilarious either way.
And the game made me sad. Very sad.
Wait, seriously, Mags, the Yanks/Sox get more coverage even in your neck of the woods? Seriously??? I am so, so sorry.
Yes, yes they did. And then, the Cavs/Pistons game came on. And after that they got around to the SCF. I’m glad someone agrees with me, no one else around here understood at all (they’re all Yankees fans… but then again they’re also Rangers fans…)
as for Pronger’s divorce from the Oilers
I am such a terrible rumour monger. Someone told a group of us that they “have it on good authority” (yeah, that could mean anything, but anyway) that the reason he left was because he had an affair with some young thing and that’s why his wife threw down the get out of town rule.
I hope she elbowed him in the head, too ;)
I am currently marching around my apartment holding a sign that reads, “Time to reevaluate the ‘kicking motion’ rules!”, and chanting “No justice, no peace!”. I am a grassroots activist at heart.
I’m holding a press conference/nonviolent sit-in at 7pm.
Lol. Kate, you rock.
I’m a little McAmmonded today.
Classic.
I’m taking a swig of my daiquiri to toast your comment!
A swig of daiquiri to you all! Woohoo!