So last night’s game was pretty sweet. I’ve seen a couple Ottawa – New Jersey games before, and they’ve always been 1-0 snore-fests. This one was great, starting with everyone being surprised by Alfredsson popping one top-shelf less than five minutes into the first. There was a half-second of silence while everyone realized what happened, and then the place erupted. It pretty much stayed that way for the rest of the night.
Super entertaining back and forth, and Chris Neil played the best game I have ever seen him put in. He skated, he hit, he cycled, and he had a great rush that he couldn’t quite finish (I think he was surprised he made it to the net). The rest of the team was solid in the first and third, with a bit of a let up for the first 12 minutes or so of the second. Remarkable to see how much poise they have now.
I’m amazed at how effective the Senator’s positional play and set defensive formations are. Couple it with the confidence the team is showing, and I can’t help but think this may be their year. As a Leafs fan, this pains me. But they are my hometown team, and if the Leafs aren’t in it, I’ll happily cheer for them on. (especially if it means the cup finally returning to Canada)
Funniest part of the night was when we were chatting with the folks behind us. I was with Coop and Rob, and Coop was wearing a New Jersey Devils tee. I was wearing the Alfredsson jersey pictured here, and was cheering the boys in red on. The women behind us were making faces and booing sounds at Coop until I admitted that the Leafs were my team, and then I got all the grief and more. I guess Ottawa fans really don’t like us. *sniff*
Irritating part of the night was the Team 1200 post game show constantly opining that Brodeur had a terrible game. I’d like to see them stand in front of a snap shot from Alfredsson or Fisher from the top of the slot and see how fast they react to a shot that has the corner pegged. Fucktards; I guess that’s why they’re on AM radio.
Entertaining across the board, and it was even worth the $200 price of admission. That said, that’s probably it for me this playoff run; I was just happy to see them win a playoff game (this was my seventh, and the first one where I’ve seen them win).
It pains me greatly to have to cheer for the Sens after my Canuckleheads begin the yearly early exit to the tee.
Go Sens Go!
It was a great game. I only felt mildly uncomfortable at the Glen and during the game sitting next to Coop. Also, I’m quite proud of the Sens fans not dousing us with beer. The only beer that got poured on me was from Coop and it only covered one of my shoes.
And yeah, AM Radio is the Slashdot of the broadcast spectrum. Whatta bunch of losers.
I’ve been up way too late these last couple of weeks watching overtime periods.
Despite the requirement of Ottawa losing to NJ, I thought it would’ve been interesting to see Luongo and Brodeur play each other – the battle of “St. Leonard”, a suburb in Montreal, where apparently the parents Brodeur and Luongo know each other.
It seems to me this playoffs so far have really been an amazing demonstration of fantastic goalkeeping. Dallas’s Giguere kept amazing me, and Luongo, well, really it’s a shame Vancouver lost the way they did. The excitement of seeing Sabourin in for the 3 minutes was a bit more than I could take. Brodeur’s always interesting, and Emery’s doing well.
But, as I was pointing out to a european colleague, a little more scoring would maybe raise the game above the excitement level of “football”.
There’s been good games but I haven’t seen a lot of beautiful plays, really, since Pittsburgh lost.
Though I didn’t watch the Islander series, I still think that Montreal had the best chance against Buffalo. Sorry kev… 😉