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

* Thanks, Kevin Lowe!

Monday, June 04, 2007

Ducks Gameday—The excuses are all ready for G4

Round Four, Game Four: (2) Anaheim Ducks at (4) Ottawa Senators
(ANA leads series 2-1, JavaGeek ‘odds’: ANA 69%)

Who says there's no consistency in NHL justice? For the second series in a row, Pronger's elbow becomes a bigger story than an Anaheim G3 loss, and again the Ducks go into a G4 without either of those elbows available. But hey, at least I don't need to make a new graphic.

But there's no use complaining over the games that are over with; regardless of manpower the Ducks enter tonight's game with a series lead and the opportunity to push Ottawa to the brink. Yes, Pronger (and maybe Kunitz?) will be a big loss for the lineup. Yes, the Ducks should probably just expect to be shorthanded more than the Sens (though when given the opportunity to put five guys on a faceoff, don't pass that up again). Yes, it's a road game, and line matching will be difficult. Yes, the Senators are confident and ready to take advantage of their momentum.

But those things can only be the difference if the Ducks let them matter. There's a Stanley Cup at stake in this series, and if the Ducks come ready to play, then Ottawa fans and referees and Canadian media and league review and even the Sens themselves shouldn't be enough to pry that trophy from the Ducks' clutches. Forget the excuses, it's time for the Prongerless Ducks to step up and win a critical G4. Again.

Prediction: Ducks 3, Senators 2. Goals by Selanne, Pahlsson, and Feral Rage.

Go Ducks.

17 comments:

Ingmar "W" Bergman said...

The Ducks have really surprised me. I honestly thought the Sens would overpower them somehow.

Three games later the Sens are lucky they've got a win under their belts.

(Lets hope I'm not jinxing your beloved team by posting in favour of them.)

Ben said...

JINX!

The sens have momentum now, and I really liked the way they played on Saturday. Now, if Heatley and Spezza could score a freaking goal, then the Ducks would have something to watch out for.

PPP said...

Go Ducks Go!

Giguere needs a tighter game tonight but I think that considering the way the Ducks responded in the last series that they can do it again.

My friend and I are on board with the 'Alfie's goal counted to make the series longer' conspiracy especially since Crosby had a goal disallowed that was less dubious than that one. What a momentum changer and what a truly horrific call.

Bryan said...

don't forget Alfredson, he still hasn't "scored" a goal in the series... But I totally agree with ppp, we need a better game for Giguere. He was way out of position for the Pronger tip in goal. And even though the 1st goal happened fast, he can't be giving up 7 hole goals. Its time to turn it up again for the second half of the series. I agree earl, Jackman will have to have a big game. How's Kunitz doing? I just know he didnt play in the 3rd. I couldn't believe when I saw him out there Saturday. Time to rally.

Bethany said...

Go Ducks. I am a little worried about this game...but I have faith.

RudyKelly said...

Maybe we should just leave that picture up until the end of the series, just to cover our bases.

Sean Zandberg said...

Conspirators are fools!!! :)

Should be a tight game with fewer good chances is my guess.

If the Sens top line ever gets going the Ducks are in trouble. But judging how invisible Spezza and especially Heatley are right now, by the time they get their heads out of eachother's asses, it may be too late.

PPP said...

Zanstorm!

Also, the Ducks top line isn't exactly burning up so both teams have ammo to spare.

GO DUCKS!

Rick said...

The series is over. I'm not even going to bother watching.

If I want to see a game where the "heel" has been kicked off stage, I'll watch WWE.

The Senators are going to win game 4, 6, and 7.

Call me a conspiracy theorist or whatever you want, but it's not just the penalties and suspensions that are going one way.

Did anyone else notice the sudden and mysterious non-icing on Ottawa' s first goal?

I've decided that I just don't understand hockey despite almost twenty five years of intense fandom. I don't know what any of the rules are, obviously.

I boycott. The Sens will win the most referee determined Cup since 1999.

Anonymous said...

(though when given the opportunity to put five guys on a faceoff, don't pass that up again)

I laughed...I cried...

Earl Sleek said...

I've decided that I just don't understand hockey despite almost twenty five years of intense fandom. I don't know what any of the rules are, obviously.

I hear you, Rick. I used to be able to call icings and penalties with much greater accuracy back in the day, but these days I need an explanation way more often than I used to.

It's tough in SoCal, also, as I find myself in situations where I'm trying to explain the game to new fans, and I don't have too much I can say authoritatively (I've found it's best to explain chintzy penalties by using the scoreboard as an explanation--very similar to your Mario Kart analogy).

I'm not even going to bother watching.

I sometimes wish this was an option for me, but for better or worse I'm stuck with it.

Anonymous said...

It's official.

I hate the Senators. Alfredsson is everything Toronto said he isn't and less.

What a gutless piece of garbage.

Rick said...

OK, I'd like to apologize for my comment above. It's just something I do to get through a game. It's over, we won.

Anonymous said...

What a gutless piece of garbage.

Too kind.

I guess now we know that "C" stand for Chickenshit.

Stevens8204 said...

Javageek got this one right and Earl you had the score right on....wouldn't ya know it...I didn't pick Penner for the GWG and low and behold...he nails it....heh.

Well one more to go for the Ducks. The BOC has been really great to the hockey blog world and enjoy Game 5 Wednesday night.

PPP said...

Limey, Kevin, we Leaf fans might have a lot wrong with us but our hate of Alfie is rooted in nothing but truth.

I hope Pronger destroys him tomorrow night.

Earl Sleek said...

At any rate, before the postseason I would have said that the three cities that booed Pronger the strongest were (in order):

1. San Jose
2. Edmonton
3. Detroit

So how's this list going to look next year? Unfortunately, though, the schedule means that the Ducks won't play in Ottawa next season.