D4s L33t B33r P0urs F0rth

yes, this entry is back-dated… was hella tired after the game and was extremely busy at work the next day and just wasn’t in the typing mood that evening

Game 2… is Ottawa going to show up to this game and show the rest of the world that they deserve to be here for the Stanley Cup Finals? Or is Anaheim going to come out and make Ottawa wish they were wearing more padding under their uniforms?

In attendance: WrathGlory… CacheCrash… Milady (missed most of the game due to Disney)… ChefWhoDidn’tBringFoodForMilady… and me…

First period began very much like Game 1… Ottawa came out hitting hard. But Anaheim was not going to sit there and take that crap for long… and Anaheim started delivering the physical game that they are known for. And the penalties begin somewhat early with a boarding call on Ottawa…
And then Miller Lite (Andrew Miller, who is the younger brother of Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller… and has “Miller Time” on his goalie mask) took an interference penalty for Anaheim trying to open up the ice for Selanne. I will not fault him for that one… it was a good play that could have gone either way.
Another Ottawa player called for boarding… seriously? Damn Ottawa, Anaheim must have really gotten under your skin…
I will however fault Shawn Thorton for taking a stupid penalty for charging… and Chris Pronger for slashing a minute later giving Ottawa their second 5-on-3 advantage of the series. Thankfully Giguere is in goal for Anaheim otherwise I would have turned off the game at that point… but wait… Ottawa isn’t taking the shot. Really? If I was on the 5-on-3 I’d be slapping that puck towards the net every chance I got… something is bound to pop through. Ottawa cycled the puck around trying to create something that didn’t materialize. Smooth move Ottawa… want to give us a real challenge? We are handing you the momentum change by giving you not one but two 5-on-3 advantages and you can’t capitalize on either of them. What do you want? For us to pull everyone off the ice except Giguere? How about we leave the empty net… think you might be able to score on that? Didn’t think so…
First period is coming to a close… oh damn… Corey Perry nailed to the ice… Ottawa gets two for roughing. Though Perry could have (and should have) gotten a penalty himself for his wrestling moves out there while play was going on. And then he looks like he’s oblivious to what happened… uh huh… sure. Perry… just skate with the puck and put it on goal. You’re not big enough to be playing it rough…

Overall not a bad first period… not great… but not bad. Anaheim is out shooting Ottawa… out chancing Ottawa… and out hitting Ottawa… out skating Ottawa. And this is only the first period. It’s a scoreless game… but not to say that there have not been opportunities to put the puck in the back of the net for either team (more so for Anaheim though).

On to the second period… what the hell is going on here? No parade to the penalty box for Anaheim? Nothing for Ottawa either? Both teams are playing rather disciplined… crap, spoke too soon. Ottawa gets levied two minutes for tripping.
Ninety seconds later Andy McDonald plays stupid and gets hit with a hooking call. Nice one Andy… dumb fuck… hooking in the offensive zone? Sit down Andy… and don’t get up again until you learn to not take stupid penalties…

Second period ends much like the first period… scoreless and a lot of hitting. there is definitely some bad blood out there. Brad May is out there hitting and hitting and hitting. Corey Perry seems to be a marked man who is getting run over constantly. And Ottawa’s top scoring line isn’t doing crap… thanks to our top shutdown line. Oops… I’m sorry, but is the Swede making a pest of himself? Bummer…

Third period… this may be one that will go in the record books for this playoff season. An entire period of Anaheim not taking a penalty. Nor did Ottawa. Then again I think the refs put away the whistles… play was a lot more physical, but it was definitely Anaheim’s game. Ottawa is about the speed… Anaheim is about the physical. Ottawa is trying to play Anaheim’s game and getting pounded for it.
Halfway through the third period I’m starting to think we might go into overtime and I’m going over statistics in my head. Anaheim is 12-1 in OT in playoff games… and sadly I was in attendance to the one loss in OT that was what… three OT periods? Damn alcohol stopped being sold halfway through the third period of regulation… I was sobering up… *cry*… but I digress.
So I’m thinking OT… and with each passing minute it’s becoming even more apparent that we are heading to OT… and somewhere I look away for a moment and I hear the announcers going apeshit. I look up… Anaheim is celebrating and we are all celebrating now.
Sammy Pahlsson taps one home on a turnover by Ottawa. An Ottawa player is screening Ray Emery… and facing Emery. Not the type of heads up playing that one would expect of an Eastern Conference Championship team. Oops? No oops there… Ottawa is facing something that they haven’t experienced in all of the playoffs… losing two games in a row.

Final horn sounds… crowd is going apeshit… my place is going apeshit… Anaheim leads the series 2-0. Next game is on Saturday, 2 June at 5pm on NBC.

Food and drink will be available for this game. Guinness on tap… make-it-yourself burritos and tacos will be available as well.
Milady and I will be stepping out for a bit on Saturday for a preview of the new Finding Nemo attraction at Disneyland but should be back in plenty of time… one issue that I am hoping to have addressed quickly, apparently one of the apartments is having their tub torn out and the water will be off in the building. For how long I am not sure, but I am fighting to have it on well before the game on Saturday. If it is off for too long then I am going to be having words and a bit more with the owners… unacceptable to turn off the water to a building on a weekend when most people are home. Especially without giving notice to the rest of the tenants. I only know about it since I asked… but no one else knows.

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and since I was stupid and didn’t post up my pick for the Stanley Cup Finals, here we go…
Anaheim Ducks in 7 games. 29 goals in total will be scored in the series.

Really? 29? 5 of them were scored last night alone, leaving only 24 goals to be divided up over the rest of the series. That’s 4 goals per game. Smart move Niekon… freakin’ moron…

But I digress…
Had the gang over yesterday for the game… Milady… CacheCrash… WrathGlory… and ChefWhoDidn’tBringDinner. The Versus Channel was on by 4pm PT for the pre-game stuff… and national anthems were sung before the puck drop along with a moment of silence (hey jackasses yelling during the moment of silence… chanting “U.S.A” is not being silent nor fuckin’ going to earn you points)…
O Canada… well sung and gal wasn’t too bad looking. Helps she’s got the same last name… but no relation… I think.
Star Spangled Banner was sung by Stephen Stills of Crosby, Stills, & Nash… and I was seriously disappointed in his singing of it. Some parts he was okay… and other parts he sucked.

Ceremonial puck drop by the governor of California. Great… Anaheim just lost the series. Commentators are talking about adding Arnold to the Ducks defensive line as a winger. Bwahahaha!!!! I’m dying here… make it stop… the humor is not funny.
Made me laugh that the refs were telling Arnold to drop the puck… “sir, you have to drop the puck… DROP IT!!!!”

Finally… the game is underway and Scott Niedermayer gets nailed for high sticking in the first minute of the game… and Ottawa capitalizes on that power play by scoring the first goal at 1:38 in the first.
FUCK!!! Not the way we wanted to start the game nor the series.
A couple more penalties are traded in the first and Anaheim ties up the game with an even-strength goal from Andy McDonald on a pass from Selanne.
Not bad for a first period… two penalties for Anaheim. Could have been a lot worse… could have been a lot better to. So much for feeling each other out which is typically what the first period is all about when two teams are meeting for the first time that season.

Second period is controlled by Ottawa… but Anaheim is hitting and hitting and hitting. Anaheim’s 4th line is picking up more and more ice time as their physical play is earning them the additional ice time.
Ottawa got a goal (on the power play… again…)… took a penalty… had a 5-on-3 opportunity (seriously? Is this going to be Anaheim’s continual game plan to give up at least one 5-on-3 per game?).
Anaheim gave up three penalties in the second period… one of them was while Anaheim was on the PK already giving Ottawa over ninety seconds of a 5-on-3 advantage.
Anaheim closes the period with an all-out attack on Ottawa’s zone. Anaheim played better in the second… too bad they took stupid penalties.

Third period was all Anaheim…
Ryan Getzlaf scores on the backhand with Corey Perry and Ric Jackman getting the assist to tie up the game. And as the game was going into the final few minutes I was beginning to thing overtime. Anaheim is 12-1 in overtime… no idea about Ottawa’s OT record in the playoffs…
*wobble wobble* GOAL!!! Travis Moen on a wonky pass from Rob Niedermayer skating around the back of the net.
Chris Pronger doesn’t alleviate the pressure when he gets nailed with a “holding the stick” penalty with under one minute left in the game. Ottawa has pulled their goaltender… but Anaheim can now legally ice the puck since they are on the PK…
Clock is counting down… Duck players on the bench are watching the play and watching the clock… Giguere is down in the butterfly deflecting shots… Ottawa is pouring it on… horn sounds… crowd goes nuts… Giguere still down on his knees raises his arms and stick declaring victory… Ducks bench clears and they get their ten minutes of celebrating before moving on to thinking of the next game.

Anaheim needs to knuckle down on the stupid penalties… and bring back that wall at the blueline that they were known for during the regular season. And for fuck sake… don’t just stand there when the puck is a few feet from you… skate damn it… get control of the damn thing…

Game 2 on Wednesday, 30 May at 5pm PT (4:30 pre-game coverage starts) on Versus… and then the rest of the series will switch over to NBC (why?!?!?!?!) where we have been promised that no games will be cut if they happen to go into overtime (uh huh… sure!!!).
I’m shooting to get out of work on time for Game 2… but if not, please be patient… someone with a key will be along shortly.

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The date: 22 May 2007

The time: puck delivered to center ice for the opening faceoff at approximately 18:15 PDT by LuggageExpress.com… because I know that I need to have my luggage couriered whenever I travel. Seriously, this is the same bloody sponsor of the opening faceoff for every fuckin’ game in the NHL Playoffs. Can we please get a new sponsor for the faceoff now? LuggageExpress.com is now becoming the butt of a lot of jokes…

The place: Anaheim Ducks playing at their home arena, the Honda Center… me? I’m sitting in my comfy chair a mere three miles away from the arena.

Who: me, Milady, CacheCrash, WrathGlory, and youngest brother who has no nickname or handle yet…

Why: Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals… what could become the elimination game for Detroit… and the “welcome to the final boss level” game for Anaheim…

Game starts out really well for Anaheim… good puck control… getting shots on goal. A total turn around from what we had been witnessing in the previous games from Anaheim. Somewhere along the way a goal is scored by Anaheim… a shorthanded goal at that. Total elation exudes from me and my guests.
Then there’s another goal put in by Anaheim… and another. Then I think to myself, wonder if we can actually get a shutout this game… Niekon you moron, you fuckin’ jinxed it. Within a couple of minutes Detroit scores to get on the board.
And the ever surprisingly horrible march-to-the-penalty-box second period actually turned out to be pretty damn good for Anaheim for once…
Anaheim puts another puck into the back of the net… now they are up 4-1 and things are looking great. If only Anaheim could sustain that pressure for the rest of the game…
Fuck!!! Niekon, you jinxed them again… just shut the fuck up and stop wondering about shit like that. Anaheim is playing sloppy… taking penalties… and sitting on their heels. What in the hell happened to the team that was skating so well in the first two periods? They seem to be in the locker room celebrating prematurely… the game isn’t over yet and they seem to think that they have it locked up. Detroit scores two more goals…
It is now coming down to the final minutes… I am nervous as hell… my guests are nervous as hell… we’re all shouting at the TV… we’re all watching the clock… we’re all screaming for them to clear the puck out of the zone… and the final buzzer sounds. Foghorn blows… the game is over!!!

Anaheim are the 2006-07 Western Conference Champions and are on their way to face the Ottawa Senators for the ultimate prize in all of sporting… the Stanley Cup. If you have never seen it in person, then you have not lived. I have had the honor of posing for a photo with the Cup… and never touched it, much like Scott Niedermayer didn’t touch the Campbell Bowl last night when it was presented to him and the Ducks. No touchy… you touchy, you jinxy…

and let’s see… what did I call this game in? Nailed it…

Next round? I’ll have to do some number crunching and whatnot… plus I have to even go one step further for a little thing I’m doing on Gamingforce that is requiring total number of goals that will be scored in the entire series. *sigh*

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An earlier than usual game for those of us in Southern California took place yesterday… the game that could push one team or another towards that final game that would advance them to the Stanley Cup. The Best of Seven series was down to a Best of Three series… and Anaheim now leads that series 1-0. A win on Tuesday evening in Anaheim would lock them in to represent the Western Conference for the Stanley Cup Finals. But enough about the aftermath of the game… let’s talk about the game itself…
In attendance at my place yesterday: WrathGlory… CacheCrash watching at his place but we were in contact via Trillian… Milady was stuck at work, but did manage to catch some of the 1st period.

Advantage: Detroit… it was their home town… their fans… they got the last line changes on the ice to match up against Anaheim. Nothing against Anaheim, but they have been outskated and outplayed by Detroit for most of this series. If not for Anaheim’s goaltender, this series would have been over a while ago. The Game 3 meltdown seems to have been one hell of a wake-up call for Anaheim too… Game 4 showed that they can win without their #1 defenseman even though two other defensemen ended up on the ice for 34+ minutes in Game 4.
Chris Pronger ,Scott Niedermayer, and Francoise Beauchemin ended Game 5 with 35+ minutes on the ice… funny since Pronger spent four minutes in the penalty box (much to the enjoyment of the Detroit fans).

And Game 5 saw a few new faces in the line-up for Anaheim… Joe Motzko was brought up from the Portland Pirates to help fill in the gap of the missing Chris Kunitz (who has been traveling with the team since his surgery). Motzko was part of a minor-league swap between Anaheim and the Columbus Blue Jackets around the end of January this year… welcome to the big leagues kiddo… next time you play for Anaheim, don’t take an offensive zone penalty… you won’t be playing in future Anaheim games pulling stupid crap like that.
And welcome back Carter… Ryan Carter that is. Playing in his second game for Anaheim, but also a transplant from the Pirates (which I need to get a jersey from at some point). Thankfully he didn’t screw up like Motzko… or else we would not be hearing from either player for the rest of this year and possibly even get traded out of Portland… ^_~

But on to the game itself… first period was good for Anaheim. Not great but not horrible either. They seemed to be staying with Detroit on the shots and scoring opportunities. Detroit kept getting hit with penalties and Anaheim managed to stay out of the box save for a coincidental roughing penalty on Corey Perry (really? Perry for roughing? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!)…

Second period was not so good for Anaheim as they began the continual trip to the penalty box. Thanks to Todd Marchant, Detroit got to enjoy two powerplays in a row… both due to Marchant doing something stupid. Pronger and O’Donnell didn’t help things either by giving Detroit a 5-on-3 opportunity either. That goodness Giguere was in the net… or else I would have considered the game over long ago. Detroit scores around the 6 minute park of the second period… from there Anaheim begins their self-destruction that seems to plague them in every second period.
Anaheim starts to pull their head out of their ass in the final minute of the second… cycling the puck down low… taking shots on the net… but not enough to be worth anything as Detroit outshoots Anaheim 15-3 in the second. Anaheim needs to improve dramatically in the third to even have a chance…

Third period begins and Detroit looks tired out there. Anaheim is skating hard… where in the hell was this playing in the other periods? They are shooting the puck… crashing the net… and just being pests in the Detroit zone. But Detroit woke up and started hitting again… and making pests of themselves towards the Anaheim players. Game is winding down… and Paval Datsyuk is called for interference. Anaheim could not have called this one… they are now on the power play. And just to fuck with Detroit, they pull Giguere for the extra man. And that seems to have done the trick… finally…
Scott hits the puck into the back of the net and the game is now tied… and facing overtime with 48 seconds left on the clock. Detroit fans who had been cheering are now silent. The monster known as Anaheim has been awoken and they know that if they end up in overtime that things are not in their favor… no matter who has home ice. Period ends with the score tied…

Now to see if NBC is going to pull the same stunt like they pulled the day before where they didn’t show the overtime session where Ottawa scored and knocked out Buffalo in order to advance to the Stanly Cup Finals… Saturday’s game got the plug pulled for a horse race… is Sunday’s game going to get yanked for a poker game? NBC should not be allowed to broadcast the games if they have that kind of power to just stop airing a game because of some other event happening. The fuckin’ horse race didn’t even go for another hour… so people who were watching the hockey game got an hour of pointless jabbering… more than enough time to fuckin’ cover the damn OT session. Thankfully the OT session for the Saturday game was covered by Versus… too bad not everyone has access to that channel.
So far so good… no announcements from Bill Clemente that the OT session is going to be carried over on Versus. Looks like we might be able to actually watch the entire game on the same channel.

Fourth period… Anaheim looks like they are on fire. Where in the hell has this fire been over the past few games? What… we need to go to OT for every game in order to get a fire lit under their ass? Giguere is 11-1 in playoff overtime sessions… that’s career stats.
Near the twelve minute mark Andy McDonald is making a pest of himself in the Detroit zone… and Teemu Selanne isn’t exactly being invisible himself. Just enough pressure has Detroit giving up the puck in their zone… Selanne scooping it up… fake shot #1… Hasek takes the bait… shot #2 is the real deal this time and Selanne puts it in the upper corner of the net.
Game over… Anaheim is one win away from advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals… Giguere’s stats improve to 12-1 in overtime… and Selanne has come alive with two more points in Game 5.

Game 6 is Tuesday, 22 May at 6pm PDT on Versus. For those in the SoCal area… you are more than welcome to join us at my place for the game. Guinness is on tap… Milady is calling out that day… CacheCrash is contemplating calling out that day… WrathGlory is probably on board… and Earl from Battle of California might be visiting as well if he doesn’t attend the game.
The more the merrier… Fowl Towels are on hand… but not as many as one might think. Cache… bring yours with you if you show up.
Food is whatever folks what to bring or have delivered. There is a Pizza Hut that delivers along with some Thai restaurant that delivers. Other food places around the corner… Taco Bell… Carl’s Jr….
Me? I’ll be happy with my pint glass… and whatever soft things are in my fridge/freezer….

Red Wing fans need not apply… :P

EDIT: Earl won’t be making it this time around due to proximity of where he lives and where I live. Maybe next time… I hear Stanley Cup Finals are coming up ^_~

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please note I will try to update this as the game progresses…

First Period
1:37 – Corey Perry scores unassisted after making a great play on Detroit’s attempt to clear out the puck and move into the Anaheim zone… Anaheim leads 1-0

3:29 – Daniel Cleary scores with an assist from Chris Chelios on an Anaheim attempt to clear the puck… score tied 1-1

10:19 – Mikael Samuelsson serving time in the box for Too Many Men On the Ice for Detroit

11:46 – Ric Jackman making his first appearance in the playoffs for Anaheim scores on the power play with an assist from Teemu Selanne and Ryan Getzlaf… Anaheim leads 2-1

13:51 – Pavel Datsyuk hit with a 2-minute for tripping Travis Moen as Moen makes for the net with the puck… Detroit fends off the power play…

18:31 – Selanne hits one home to extend Anaheim’s lead with an assist from Todd Marchant and Francois Beauchemin… Anaheim leads 3-1

20:00 – end of the first period

Second Period
0:49 – Scott Niedermayer hit with a 2-minute tripping call while trying to vacate the zone and gives up the puck at the blue line

2:03 – Sean O’Donnell give Detroit a 5-on-3 power play while taking a tripping penalty. Come on Anaheim… you were doing so well in the first period.

6:14: Marchant slashes a Detroit player… and sits for 2 minutes…

7:48 – Todd Bertuzzi scores a power play goal with an assist from Robert Lang and Cleary… Anaheim leads 3-2

8:50 – a rather interesting scrum in front of the Anaheim bench… Cleary hit with a double minor penalty for roughing… and Rob Niedermayer hit with a 2-minute for roughing…

15:18 – Rob called on a bullshit hooking call that was not a hook…

15:36 – Cleary scores the power play goal to tie the game with an assist from Bertuzzi and Samuelsson… score tied 3-3

16:03 – Samuelsson called for an interference call…

19:37 – Perry called for an interference call…

20:00 – second period over. This was Detroit’s period… Anaheim seemed ot be standing still for the most part during that period and took way too many penalties. Then again, it seems like the refs are out to get Rob Niedermayer as was evident in the non-hook hooking penalty he got hit with. Anaheim, control the emotions… play more disciplined… and fuckin shoot the damn puck…

Third Period
0:02 – Rob hit with a cross check on the opening faceoff… WTF?!?!?!?!?! Seriously? This kind of play happens all the time with center ice faceoffs and they just now decide to call it? And against Rob? I am really thinking that the refs are trying to make sure that they call anything and everything against Rob since their fuck up about ejecting him in the previous game. I’d love to join that chant in Honda Center… “REFS YOU SUCK!!!”

4:00 – all hell breaking loose as I’m sitting at the keyboard… a Detroit penalty… a Ducks goal… will update with times and names… Anaheim leads 4-3

4:23 – Cleary hit with a tripping penalty on Moen…

5:24 – Getzlaf slams one into the net on the power play with an assist from Selanne and Beauchemin… lovely shot from the blueline into the back of the net. Way to go Getzy!!! Anaheim leads 4-3…

18:52 – way too much time between penalties or goals… all hell is breaking loose out on the ice and anaheim looks like they might be forced into an overtime because Detroit it just dominating in the last half of the third period.
Rob scores and empty net goal with an assist from Moen and brother Scott… Anaheim leads 5-3. Domink Hasek put back in goal for a short bit of time… you’ll see why in a second…

19:42 – Samuel Pahlsson & Henrik Zetterberg both escorted to the box for 2 minutes on coincidental roughing penalties… Hasek vactaes the net once more to give Detroit a 5-on-4 opportunity…

20:00 – game over… anaheim ties up the series 2-2 with a score of 5-3 over Detroit. Heading back to the Joe Lewis Arena on Sunday, 20 May at 12pm PDT on NBC…

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Chris Pronger was handed a one-game suspension this afternoon which means he will not be suiting up for Game 4 tomorrow evening at Honda Center.

So can Anaheim stand up to the Red Wings and tie up the series at two games a piece? Who knows… if I recall Ric Jackman is out with an injury which brings Anaheim’s defensemen roster from eight down to six since I think Aaron Rome is still somewhere out there (I recall seeing him in the first two rounds). If Anaheim is unable to pull their heads out of their asses tomorrow night then the series is pretty much done for when heading back to Detroit on Saturday.

An interesting interview with Ducks GM Brian Burke after the disciplinary hearing. He’s definitely not pleased with the suspension and does not feel that it was a deliberate blow to the head. Deliberate or not… you need to be accountable for this stuff. Just like your stick when you accidentally carve up the opponents face when you are trying to skate around on the ice (ref: Getzlaf’s face late in the third period last night).

And another interesting press conference with Scott Niedermayer and Randy Carlyle after this morning’s practice. Well worth the read since Scott was confused over what in the hell was transpiring in regards to Pronger having a disciplinary meeting with the NHL today… his brother getting nailed with the game misconduct on what is now being considered a clean hit… and whatnot.

Well… about time for me to head out for the day. Have to see if Buffalo is able to grab the bull by the balls and possibly pull off a win over the Ottawa Senators or if Ottawa will sweep the series…

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