Watch this space, Gentle Reader, for our thoughts and musings as this evening of HOCKEY HOCKEY HOCKEY HOCKEY HOCKEY!!!!! wears on. Did we mention that HOCKEY HOCKEY HOCKEY HOCKEY HOCKEY HOCKEY HOCKEY HOCKEY!!!!!! is on? Because it is! HOCKEY HOCKEY HOCKEY HOCKEY HOCKEY!!!!! EEEEEEEEEE!!!!
7:05 pm
Def Leppard?
Victory Euro Mats is not feeling very victorious right now.
7:25 pm
– We’ve now seen two of the new “Is This The Year” campaign, the one with Phaneuf and the one with “Pete” Kane. After the Phaneuf one, Pookie declared, “Well that was the worst performance in a hockey commercial ever!” When the Kane one finished… Well, let’s just say we’re not impressed with talent scouting and direction in that campaign so far. The whole “having the players continuously shifting their weight throughout the whole commercial” thing only reinforces our own antsiness for the spot to end. We already miss last year’s “Is this the year – NO!” call-and-response. Why must things change, Gentle Reader?
– One thing we’ll give the Red Wings — they’ve got some really classy banners there. Simple, staid, beautiful. Good job, Detroit. Now, how about letting a certain team in Jersey demonstrate this year how capable they are of also putting together a classy banner? Thanks.
7:33 pm
– The Red Wings are picking up right where they left off and the Leafs are picking up right where they left off. As a result, we’re finding our attentions are being drawn to the ginormous stink bug that’s flying drukenly around the living room of stately IPB Manor. Ah, hockey. We’re only 30 minutes into the 08-09 season, and already we’re finding the insectopolis that is IPB Manor more interesting than Wings-Leafs on Versus.
7:57 pm
– Wow, we’re in mid-season form here as we missed the one goal of the period because we were settling in after getting dinner ready. But that’s allowed, since it’s a very hockey-riffic dinner of roast chicken and veggies, including garlic we planted last year when Ottawa was still looking like a juggernaut, and potatoes we planted when the playoff scene was still up in the air. It’s the cycle of life — nature and hockey go together like, well, roasted chicken and potatoes!
8:07 pm
– Wow, Versus is in mid-season form, too, as they open their first intermission show by declaring that the Devils defense is stellar as usual. Who wants to break it to them that the Devils defense is comprised of Paul Martin, a one-eyed Colin White, three minor leaguers, and 16 10-pound catfish? Also, on what planet does Brian Gionta “usually” score 40 goals? Note to Brian Engblom: Brian Gionta once scored 40 goals.
8:35 pm
– It seems kind of weird that the Wings haven’t scored yet.
8:43 pm
– Okay, that’s better. We were becoming kind of afraid of a world in which the Maple Leafs are that much better than the Wings.
9:16 pm
– Be honest, Red Wings fans in attendance, did you see this coming? 3-1 Leafs? Be honest!
9:40 pm
– Huh. Guess the Wings are only going 81-1 this year! Also, the Leafs are ahead of the Devils in the standings right now. Not cook, NHL! Not cook at all!
9:45 pm
– Holy crap. That Rocky commercial, with the dad drawing a target over his kid’s art-project turkey stuck on the fridge, is one of the most brilliantly perverse commercials ever! (Okay, it might not be if you can hear the audio. But muted, that commercial is sublime.)
10:00 pm
– We are skipping the start of the Avs-Bruins in favor of last night’s Daily Show and Colbert Report on tivo. Yeah, even a long, hockeyless summer can’t make a Colorado-Boston matchup sound appealing. (We’re also planning to watch the Ducks-Sharks game instead anyway.)
10:20 pm
– What the hell? We finish up with Colbert and discover the Avs-Bruins game is only just starting. We meant to miss this, dammit! This game just smacks too much of “teams who have retired Ray Bourque’s number” for us to be entirely comfortable with it.
10:55 pm
– The Sharks and Ducks are finally underway, and you know what new horror the Ducks have unleashed on the world this season? That’s right — a line featuring Selanne and Brendan Morrison. *Shudder*
11:45 pm
– It’s over halfway through the second period, it’s 2-0 Sharks, and we’re busy stitching, knitting, commenting in the thread, emailing, and generally just having hockey on in the background. It feels so good to be able to take hockey for granted again!
