Takes and trash talk from both ALL sides of the NHL's most obscure PATHETIC* rivalry

* Thanks, Kevin Lowe!

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Just in time

Tonight was a close one. I made a very un-clutch move and only Tivo'd the Stars-Sharks game according to its Guide listing of 6-9. This made the OT period just that much more agonizingly intense, since there was a voice in my head that kept screaming, "The end of this game lies beyond that invisible 9:00 p.m. barrier, dipshit."

Amazingly, Mattias Norstrom's OT GWG happened around about 8:59.99 p.m. or something, and I just managed to see the win for the Stars.

I don't have much to say since working late sapped my already limited Tivo-hockey guruship*, but I'll provide a few miscellaneous thoughts:

  • It's always interesting to hear what a jilted fan says about the playoffs. Earl Sleek brought up the question of this Round 2 being the worst ever, which is absolutely reasonable from an objective standpoint. The funny thing is, even though most of the series have lacked a certain level of drama I've been loving it simply because my favorite teams are winning and good is (mostly) prevailing over evil (aside from the obvious super villains in Philly).
It just goes to show you that perception is everything. Although I do admit there is a lack of drama, it's not like last year's playoffs was a pulse-pounding thrill ride either. (Only one Game 7 I believe, no Cinderella story of note...*yawn*)

Sleek loves the '07 playoffs for obvious Duck-related reasons and Stars fans think this year's playoffs could be called an edge-of-your-seat-thriller for the same, simple reasons. It's just interesting that perspective plays such a big role in a person's enjoyment of the playoffs (though any hockey fan will tell you that the NHL's postseason consistently destroys most other sports').

  • Bud Light should pay to get Brian Engblom a fuckin' haircut or something. Because that stupid "cold hard stats" thing always covers up the puck/puck carrier/one-third of the entire screen whenever they put that big obtrusive thing up at the start of the third period.
That has to be the worst bit of in-game advertising this side of Swedish Elite Leagues.

  • At this point, the Stars aren't just dancing with lady luck. They're unhooking her bra.
* - I'd like to blame fatigue for making up a lame word like guruship, but that's just what I do.

6 comments:

RudyKelly said...

I was pretty stoked when I saw Matty score. Also, is that Ziggy?

Earl Sleek said...

At this point, the Stars aren't just dancing with lady luck. They're unhooking her bra.

Awesome, dude.

Yeah, and perspective's going to be huge; everything looks great when your team's winning, no matter how many suckerpunches or elbows to the head you willingly ignore. Heck, if I was a Stars fan right now I'd be in the hospital with a severe case of pinching.

And I don't mean the games haven't been watchable or anything--it's kind of stunning that there's been three 3-0 leads, given the number of coin flip games. But in a broad sense, it does give us all a lot less to talk about before the conference finals.

Mike said...

Great lady luck quote, but I think the Stars' victories have as little to do with luck as any games I've seen played this postseason. The Stars seem to find another gear, forcing the Sharks to take dumb penalties, commit turnovers, and play as tentative backing into their zone as I've seen all year.

The one stroke of luck in your favor was Ron Wilson playing Semenov and Plihal. You're welcome.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, about Semenov. What the hell? Is Ron trying to get fired or something? "The Stars have been forechecking like crazy all series, so let's put in a giant but slow D man who often doesn't make good decisions with the puck! They'll never expect this!"

Unknown said...

Why isn't Ozolinsh playing? Isn't he supposed to be good at moving the puck out of the defensive zone? With lots of playoff experience under his belt too. I was sure he was going to get inserted in Game 4, not Seminov. What the heck was RW thinking?

Earl Sleek said...

Why isn't Ozolinsh playing? Isn't he supposed to be good at moving the puck out of the defensive zone?

You may be thinking of another Ozolinsh. Sandis certainly has a different reputation in the defensive zone.

Still, I think it's not a bad idea to give him a try--the Stars need offense, and that's more Ozo's game anyway.

Plus, I'm pretty sure the last time Ozolinsh played a postseason game against the Stars, he scored the series-winning goal past Turco in Anaheim's G6 with 1:06 left in regulation. Maybe the magic's still alive?