How nice was that? They were jittery in the first, but came back to look much better in the second and third. I have hope, that's for damn sure.
It was a nice way to finish what was an inordinately stressful personal weekend, so I damn near cried at the sight of Sergei Zubov being his crazy, Russian self. I think that insane spin-o-rama lifted my spirits...a lot.
Well played, guys -- and a lot of the youngsters came through again. Two goal night for Hagman.
And how about that Brad Richards, huh?
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
A Letter to Robi
Dear Monsieur Robidas,
Bless you, broken nose and all; I don't care how many people say you've done an "adequate" job on the blueline with Russian being out. You did a stellar job before and you're doing stupendously now. I feel like I should even have some of those crackheaded scratch and sniff "You're A-MAZ-ING!" type stickers your teachers used to stick on moderately well-done schoolwork.
Robi, this made humiliating myself that one day totally worth it.
You've been extraordinarily kind to the fans, great to the team and an all around solid player.
It's nice to have you here. I'm sorry that weirdo Chris Simpson insulted you on national TV, but we like ya, Robi, and we know what you're made of.
Thanks a million,
Caitlin
___________________________
It's such a nice feeling to be out of the first round.
If the Sharks beat Calgary, it'll be a Stars/Sharks second round series. Groan, groan, groan. Operation: Ignore Jeremy Roenick has been going so well, too.
Stupid Roenick.
Bless you, broken nose and all; I don't care how many people say you've done an "adequate" job on the blueline with Russian being out. You did a stellar job before and you're doing stupendously now. I feel like I should even have some of those crackheaded scratch and sniff "You're A-MAZ-ING!" type stickers your teachers used to stick on moderately well-done schoolwork.
Robi, this made humiliating myself that one day totally worth it.
You've been extraordinarily kind to the fans, great to the team and an all around solid player.
It's nice to have you here. I'm sorry that weirdo Chris Simpson insulted you on national TV, but we like ya, Robi, and we know what you're made of.
Thanks a million,
Caitlin
___________________________
It's such a nice feeling to be out of the first round.
If the Sharks beat Calgary, it'll be a Stars/Sharks second round series. Groan, groan, groan. Operation: Ignore Jeremy Roenick has been going so well, too.
Stupid Roenick.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Notes And Thoughts Before Game 4 (On The Stars And...Everyone Else)
I'm seriously not upset about losing to Anaheim in Game 3.
I promise.
It's not the loss that leaves something unpleasant niggling at the back of my mind. It's periods 1 and 2 of that game from the Stars' perspective that bother me. I don't know what it is that caused them to play that way, but I'm going for optimism here and saying that it was a mistake, but one they're going to correct.
I didn't post my predictions here for how many games it would take for each team to win their respective series, but I thought it would take 7 games for the Stars to pull it out. I haven't revised that estimate.
I think the Stars can do it. I think they're just as sick of playing the Ducks as I am watching the Ducks, so there you go.
...But, if I were running a wishlist for Game 4, it would look a little something like this:
In other news, let's take a look at my preferred teams for the playoffs:
Detroit Red Wings vs. Nashville Predators
So far, that crazy Russian Radulov and Co. seem to be doing their very bestest to win the Great Caitlin Playoff Derby Whositwhatsit. Seriously, Nashville just tied up the series.
2-2
San Jose Sharks vs. Calgary Flames
I feel a little dirty cheering for the Flames, but ah, what can a girl do? This series is kinda putting me to sleep.
2-2
Minnesota Wild vs. Colorado Avalanche (I lose either way, here.)
Look, I don't like the Avs, so by default I'll run to the Wild, but ... I haven't watched much of this series to tell you the truth.
2-2
Montréal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins
Woo, Habs!
3-1, in favor of Habs.
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Ottawa Senators
The Pens SWEPT the Sens. Good job, team with more Russians!
4-0, in favor of the Pens.
Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers
Come on Russian-loaded team of the NHL. You're Russia's OFFICIAL team. Let's not let the Motherland down, shall we?
2-1, in favor of the Flyers.
New Jersey Devils vs. New York Rangers
The Devils, apparently, failed to hop on board with my Playoff Plans. Damn it, Devils.
3-1, in favor of the Rangers.
___________________________
So far, I correctly predicted the Penguins to win it, and hopefully other teams will follow suit.
I have to refavor for Round 2, so that should be exciting.
I promise.
It's not the loss that leaves something unpleasant niggling at the back of my mind. It's periods 1 and 2 of that game from the Stars' perspective that bother me. I don't know what it is that caused them to play that way, but I'm going for optimism here and saying that it was a mistake, but one they're going to correct.
I didn't post my predictions here for how many games it would take for each team to win their respective series, but I thought it would take 7 games for the Stars to pull it out. I haven't revised that estimate.
I think the Stars can do it. I think they're just as sick of playing the Ducks as I am watching the Ducks, so there you go.
...But, if I were running a wishlist for Game 4, it would look a little something like this:
- Bench B.J. Crombeen. I like B.J., and I like the player he's going to be in a season, but seriously, dude needs to go back down to Iowa. Let someone else play. If you're going to scratch Miettinen, I've totally resigned myself to fate and I'm okay with that. Crombeen knows how to give a hit, but has yet to learn when to hit. I'm psyched to see what he can do after another season, but it's seriously not working out right now.
- Play Mark Fistric. If anyone has 100% deserved a shot at the playoffs, it is Fistric. He's extremely solid and a good defenseman. Give him the chance, at least.
- Someone Give Matty Norstrom A Gold Star. He at least gets an apology from me. While his play hasn't been absolutely top-notch, it's been so much better than his regular season play, shockingly enough. He's been good enough to make me take back bad things I've said about him. Better played, Norstrom!
In other news, let's take a look at my preferred teams for the playoffs:
Detroit Red Wings vs. Nashville Predators
So far, that crazy Russian Radulov and Co. seem to be doing their very bestest to win the Great Caitlin Playoff Derby Whositwhatsit. Seriously, Nashville just tied up the series.
2-2
San Jose Sharks vs. Calgary Flames
I feel a little dirty cheering for the Flames, but ah, what can a girl do? This series is kinda putting me to sleep.
2-2
Minnesota Wild vs. Colorado Avalanche (I lose either way, here.)
Look, I don't like the Avs, so by default I'll run to the Wild, but ... I haven't watched much of this series to tell you the truth.
2-2
Montréal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins
Woo, Habs!
3-1, in favor of Habs.
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Ottawa Senators
The Pens SWEPT the Sens. Good job, team with more Russians!
4-0, in favor of the Pens.
Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers
Come on Russian-loaded team of the NHL. You're Russia's OFFICIAL team. Let's not let the Motherland down, shall we?
2-1, in favor of the Flyers.
New Jersey Devils vs. New York Rangers
The Devils, apparently, failed to hop on board with my Playoff Plans. Damn it, Devils.
3-1, in favor of the Rangers.
___________________________
So far, I correctly predicted the Penguins to win it, and hopefully other teams will follow suit.
I have to refavor for Round 2, so that should be exciting.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
I Still Have A Few Words In Me
Just in bullet point format about Game 3 against the Ducks.
- The Stars should have played all three periods against the Ducks like they did the third period. I felt like some of 'em started punching their time-cards to play halfway through the second.
- There's nothing worse, I think, than feeling a totally energized arena where 18,000 fans are excited for an awesome playoff game deflate like someone just let all the air out of a balloon. Seriously.
- There was one guy that summed up the mood of the evening. The Jumbotron camera operators zoomed in on a guy with glass seats who was sitting with his girlfriend. Poor guy had his head in his hands and Jen thought he might have been crying. His dutiful girlfriend was rubbing his back like, "There, there, honey."
- I never want to sit behind a Ducks fan cheering, "TOOOOODDDDD BERTUUUUZZZZIIII!! GOOO TODD!" ever again.
- The Stars were slow, passive at times and just...lost. They looked like they needed to get a road map to get back on track.
- Losing didn't make me sad. The fact that the guys looked like they made a complete 180 from the last game against the Ducks made me sad.
- Brenden Morrow is awesome.
- I heart Joel Lundqvist.
- God bless drunk men staggering out of the arena and saying, "Whasss up, lay-deez", all alky-like. Those guys made us laugh more in five minutes than we did in two hours. Thanks, drunk dudes.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Around The Playoffs
Jen over at The Shootout does a far better, much more coherent job of keeping track of the playoff numbers than I do; no, I haven't been hitting the NyQuil especially hard recently, why do you ask?
I'm watching the Caps pretty much blow chunks right now, which is always...not fun. They beat the Flyers last night but with little over half of the second period left in this game, they just look...bad.
Montreal beat the Bruins last night in overtime. Due to my little guidelines, I'm rooting for the Habs, so that's exciting. Not as exciting as this picture, though:
Okay, I really have no effing clue what Hamrlik and that...other Habs dude are doing, but that Habs fan in the upper right? Classic! Awesome! Dude, it's like he's flying out of his seat.
Given the level of Habs mania up in Montreal, I wonder what the dude had to do to get glass seats up there.
A closer look? It's like Prince William on Habs-crack, y'all. I seriously have no idea why this made me laugh so hard, but it did. (Perhaps, also, the fact that he's rockin' a dress shirt under his Habs shirt. Hee.)
In other news, the Sharks and Flames are tied up, 1-1 in the series.
Wild/Avs are tied up, 1-1.
Rangers lead the Devils series, 2-0.
Detroit, unfortunately, leads the series against Nashville, 2-0.
Devils/Rangers and Sharks/Flames are on TV tonight, so tune in for some...exciting hockey?
Also, the magnificent Jen landed us tickets for Game 3, because she's a badass, so we'll be at the game on Tuesday, wearin' black. You know.
And now, your moment of Sven: Ilya Bryzgalov, making Caitlin happy:
CAN YOU IMAGINE? WHY YOU HEFF BE MAD?
Never fails to make me smile. Thanks, Ilya. Somehow, someway, even though you've played for Anaheim and Phoenix, I still like ya.
I'm watching the Caps pretty much blow chunks right now, which is always...not fun. They beat the Flyers last night but with little over half of the second period left in this game, they just look...bad.
Montreal beat the Bruins last night in overtime. Due to my little guidelines, I'm rooting for the Habs, so that's exciting. Not as exciting as this picture, though:
Okay, I really have no effing clue what Hamrlik and that...other Habs dude are doing, but that Habs fan in the upper right? Classic! Awesome! Dude, it's like he's flying out of his seat.
Given the level of Habs mania up in Montreal, I wonder what the dude had to do to get glass seats up there.
A closer look? It's like Prince William on Habs-crack, y'all. I seriously have no idea why this made me laugh so hard, but it did. (Perhaps, also, the fact that he's rockin' a dress shirt under his Habs shirt. Hee.)
In other news, the Sharks and Flames are tied up, 1-1 in the series.
Wild/Avs are tied up, 1-1.
Rangers lead the Devils series, 2-0.
Detroit, unfortunately, leads the series against Nashville, 2-0.
Devils/Rangers and Sharks/Flames are on TV tonight, so tune in for some...exciting hockey?
Also, the magnificent Jen landed us tickets for Game 3, because she's a badass, so we'll be at the game on Tuesday, wearin' black. You know.
And now, your moment of Sven: Ilya Bryzgalov, making Caitlin happy:
CAN YOU IMAGINE? WHY YOU HEFF BE MAD?
Never fails to make me smile. Thanks, Ilya. Somehow, someway, even though you've played for Anaheim and Phoenix, I still like ya.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Picking Your Favorite Playoff Team
Look, we all know I really like the Stars, but occasionally you want to cheer for some other teams. And God forbid, if the Stars get knocked out, I'd like a team to be a playoff fling of sorts, a team I can bandwagon onto to root toward the Cup. Sad, yet true.
While puzzling over the playoff lineups, I thought to myself, "Self, there has to be a consistent way for you to pick playoff teams; there has to be a way in which you know which teams are giving you the best possible deal". In short, I don't want to blindly drop myself into liking a team that I discover later on is populated by jerkfaced idiots that you don't want to really root for at all. While I trust myself to already know this, I figured I'd be an enormous nerd and develop a set of guidelines for favoring teams.
During the regular season if I have to root for a team aside from teams I've come to know rather well through blogs (Sabres, Devils) I usually just go off of "Which team has the most Russians?" In the playoffs, however, that loose rule could easily mean the difference between rooting for Detroit or...anyone else. So I worked with it a little bit and came up with a set of guidelines for cheering for specific teams.
It is as follows:
For every ex-Stars player, a team receives one point;
For every Russian player, a team receives one point; and,
For every easily hated player on Caitlin's list, a team is deducted one point.
Team with the most points wins.
I'm automatically biased for former Stars players, so there's that. I view my irrational love of the Russians as charming and a nice balance to crazy, whacko nutjobs like Don Cherry. The Finns are an added bonus. The cherry on the top is the fact that there's a lot of players out there who just irk me and I have a difficult time rooting for their teams.
Please note that when I say "Russian player", I mean a player who has citizenship in the Russian Federation, for purposes of argument. It was pointed out to me on IPB one day that although Evgeni Nabokov is listed as being from Kazakhstan, he is most likely ethnically Russian. While I'm willing to totally acknowledge that, for the guidelines I'm counting players listed on their roster as hailing from Russia.
First up?
DETROIT RED WINGS
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
SAN JOSE SHARKS
CALGARY FLAMES
MINNESOTA WILD
COLORADO AVALANCHE
ANAHEIM DUCKS
MONTREAL CANADIENS
BOSTON BRUINS
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
OTTAWA SENATORS
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
NEW YORK RANGERS
So, from best to worst, here are the rankings:
1. Caps - 9
2. Devils - 6
3. Habs - 6
4. Pens - 4
5. Preds - 2
6. Sens - 0
7. Bruins - 0
8. Flames - (-0.5)
9. Sharks - (-4)
10. Wild - (-6)
11. Rangers - (-6)
12. Avs - (-6)
13. Ducks - (-8)
14. Flyers - (-9)
15. Red Wings - (-22)
So, by this policy, the initial playoff matchups with my favorings will look like this, with the favored teams in bold:
Detroit Red Wings vs. Nashville Predators
San Jose Sharks vs. Calgary Flames
Minnesota Wild vs. Colorado Avalanche (I lose either way, here.)
Anaheim Ducks vs. Dallas Stars
Montréal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Ottawa Senators
Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers
New Jersey Devils vs. New York Rangers
Did you make it through all that? Good, good!
Aside from the Stars, go Caps!
While puzzling over the playoff lineups, I thought to myself, "Self, there has to be a consistent way for you to pick playoff teams; there has to be a way in which you know which teams are giving you the best possible deal". In short, I don't want to blindly drop myself into liking a team that I discover later on is populated by jerkfaced idiots that you don't want to really root for at all. While I trust myself to already know this, I figured I'd be an enormous nerd and develop a set of guidelines for favoring teams.
During the regular season if I have to root for a team aside from teams I've come to know rather well through blogs (Sabres, Devils) I usually just go off of "Which team has the most Russians?" In the playoffs, however, that loose rule could easily mean the difference between rooting for Detroit or...anyone else. So I worked with it a little bit and came up with a set of guidelines for cheering for specific teams.
It is as follows:
For every ex-Stars player, a team receives one point;
For every Russian player, a team receives one point; and,
For every easily hated player on Caitlin's list, a team is deducted one point.
Team with the most points wins.
I'm automatically biased for former Stars players, so there's that. I view my irrational love of the Russians as charming and a nice balance to crazy, whacko nutjobs like Don Cherry. The Finns are an added bonus. The cherry on the top is the fact that there's a lot of players out there who just irk me and I have a difficult time rooting for their teams.
Please note that when I say "Russian player", I mean a player who has citizenship in the Russian Federation, for purposes of argument. It was pointed out to me on IPB one day that although Evgeni Nabokov is listed as being from Kazakhstan, he is most likely ethnically Russian. While I'm willing to totally acknowledge that, for the guidelines I'm counting players listed on their roster as hailing from Russia.
First up?
DETROIT RED WINGS
Ex-Stars? Aaron Downey. (+1)You didn't seriously think I'd honestly consider rooting for the Red Wings, did you?
Russians? Pavel Datsyuk. (+1)
Easily Hated Player? All of them. (-24)
TOTAL POINTS: -22
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
Ex-Stars? Dan Ellis, Jason Arnott. (+2)I haven't forgotten that cheap shot on Robi, Tootoo.
Russians? Alexander Radulov. (+1)
Easily Hated Player? Jordin Tootoo. (-1)
TOTAL POINTS: (+2)
SAN JOSE SHARKS
Ex-Stars? None that I know of. (0)Even if he has reformed his ways partially, I have a hard time cheering for any team that sports Old Man No. 27.
Russians? Alexei Semenov, even though andrew informs me he sucks. Still Russian, though. (+1)
Easily Hated Player? If you need to ask...Jesus, it's J.R. (-5, because I can.)
TOTAL POINTS: -4
CALGARY FLAMES
Ex-Stars? Does Jarome Iginla count? Well, he got drafted by the Stars. Hey, what the hell. (+0.5)I'm so "meh" on Calgary, I don't know where to start.
Russians? This team has no Russians. What the hell kind of hockey team is this? (0)
Easily Hated Player? Dion Phaneuf. Grosstastic. (-1)
TOTAL POINTS: (-0.5)
MINNESOTA WILD
Ex-Stars? Todd Fedoruk, Martin Skoula (ouch!). (+2)Seriously, I don't even know what to say about this team.
Russians? No Russians to be found here. Huh. (0)
Easily Hated Player? Chris Simon. (-8, one for every suspension.)
TOTAL POINTS: (-6)
COLORADO AVALANCHE
Ex-Stars? None. (0)Bad memories and ugly jerseys won't let me overcome my distaste for the Avs.
Russians? Nil. (0) They did come close with Ruslan Salei, who's from Belarus.
Easily Hated Player? LaPerriere. Forsberg. Ryan Smyth. (-6 - double the points since I have to listen all the time about Forsberg's stupid foot.)
TOTAL SCORE: -6
ANAHEIM DUCKS
Ex-Stars? If we ever had any of these guys and I've suffered massive brain trauma and forgotten, I don't want to remember. (0)Since we're playing them, I obviously can't root for them. ...I don't think I could root for them even if we weren't.
Russians: Thankfully, none. (0)
Easily Hated Player? Pronger, Giguere, Getzlaf, and Bertuzzi. Seriously. Bertuzzi is hideous. (-8, two points for each guy.)
TOTAL SCORE: -8
MONTREAL CANADIENS
Ex-Stars? Guy Carbonneau counts, y'all. (+1)Mmm...Kovalev. What was that you said? Huh?
Russians? Shockingly, only Alexei Kovalev and Andrei Markov. The Kostitsyns are from Belarus. Actually, I f'love Kovalev so he gets gold stars and bonus points. (+5)
Easily Hated Player? Erm...none that I can tell? (0)
TOTAL SCORE: (+6)
BOSTON BRUINS
Ex-Stars? Manny Fernandez. (+1)Wow, I really should watch the Eastern Conference teams more.
Russians? None. Seriously, what is with this? (0)
Easily Hated Player: Yeah, I watched the Bruins play exactly once this year -- at the Stars home opener. No one really stuck out to me. Save for Fernandez. (0)
TOTAL SCORE: (0)
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
Ex-Stars? Darryl Sydor. (+1)Even with the Crosby hype machine, I still like Crosby and there's something oddly endearing about the Penguins.
Russians? Sergei Gonchar, Evgeni Malkin. (+2)
Easily Hated Player: I don't think I hate a single player on this team. Plus, Marc-Andre Fleury is so adorkable. (+1 for Flower!)
TOTAL SCORE: (+4)
OTTAWA SENATORS
Ex-Stars? Zip. (0)I think that sums up precisely how I feel about the Sens: nothing, really.
Russians? Who in the hell is Antoni Volchenkov? Ah, well, he's from Moscow, so he counts. (+1)
Easily Hated Player? Ray freakin' Emery. I don't even live in Canada and I'm sick of hearing about him. (-1)
TOTAL SCORE: 0
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
Ex-Stars? None to be found here, friends. (0)Sheesh, all the Caps had to do to get me to root for them was load up on Russians. Who knew?
Russians: This team's pretty Russiantastic, with four -- yes, four -- Russians. Kozlov, Ovechkin, Semin & Fedorov. Ovie always gets a lot of credit, which he deserves, but I'm only awarding one point for Russianness. (+4)
Easily Hated Player? I don't hate Fedorov, but he used to play for the Red Wings. He seems to be redeeming himself now with the Caps. (-1) But...Ovechkin is so charming. I know I'm probably going to take a lot of shit for finding Ovechkin kooky and humorous, but "Russian machine never break", "Girls? Where are you?" and "I have five beers before game" as well as just generally being insane will never fail to endear me to Ovie, and by proxy, the Capitals. (+6) Also, not a player, but Fake Ted Leonsis, wherever you are, I ought to award a -1 for you e-mailing me like that. However, I shall restrain myself.
TOTAL SCORE: 9
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
Ex-Stars? Derian "I Injure My Own Teammates" Hatcher; Jaroslav Modry. (+2, I guess.)If I ever, ever, ever intentionally root for the Flyers, I want someone to put me down. Thanks.
Russians? Some dude named Denis Tolpeko. Seriously, I feel gross awarding points to the Flyers. (+1)
Easily Hated Players? Daniel "Frodo Baggins" Briere, Riley Cote, Steve Downie...you know what, let's just make it an even (-12) for all the suspensions and crap I've had to listen to this year.
TOTAL SCORE: (-9)
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
Ex-Stars? JAAAAMIE LANGENBRUNNER! (+2)Whee, Devils!
Russians? Sergei Brylin! (+1)
Easily Hated Players: I don't hate any of them, really. And I'm not just saying that because the -Ookies are watching. No, really. (0) Bonus points for erm, Boxworthy. (+3)
TOTAL SCORE: (+6)
NEW YORK RANGERS
Ex-Stars? None, although Lundy's brother is the starting goalie. (0) Also, I like to forget that Russian played for this team.Russian could go back to the Rangers and I STILL wouldn't root for them.
Russians? Fedor Tyutin. (+1)
Easily Hated Players: Jaromir Jagr (is this a joke?), Sean Avery (earns more than one point), Scott Gomez, Chris Drury. (-7 for the lot, especially Avery. Words can't express my utter distaste for Sean Avery.)
TOTAL SCORE: (-6)
So, from best to worst, here are the rankings:
1. Caps - 9
2. Devils - 6
3. Habs - 6
4. Pens - 4
5. Preds - 2
6. Sens - 0
7. Bruins - 0
8. Flames - (-0.5)
9. Sharks - (-4)
10. Wild - (-6)
11. Rangers - (-6)
12. Avs - (-6)
13. Ducks - (-8)
14. Flyers - (-9)
15. Red Wings - (-22)
So, by this policy, the initial playoff matchups with my favorings will look like this, with the favored teams in bold:
Detroit Red Wings vs. Nashville Predators
San Jose Sharks vs. Calgary Flames
Minnesota Wild vs. Colorado Avalanche (I lose either way, here.)
Anaheim Ducks vs. Dallas Stars
Montréal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Ottawa Senators
Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers
New Jersey Devils vs. New York Rangers
Did you make it through all that? Good, good!
Aside from the Stars, go Caps!
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Playoff Schedule Announced
So, here's what the playoff schedule looks like against Anaheim, via The All-Knowing Heika:
I will be liveblogging Game 1 at Untypical Girls starting at 8:30 p.m., for those of you who are interested.
Game 1: 9 p.m. Thursday at Anaheim
Game 2: 9 p.m. Saturday at Anaheim
Game 3: 7:30 p.m. Tues. April 15 at Dallas
Game 4: 7 p.m. Thurs. April 17 at Dallas
Game 5: 9:30 p.m. Fri. April 18 at Anaheim
Game 6: Time TBD Sun. April 20 at Dallas
Game 7: Time TBD Tue. April 22 at Anaheim
I will be liveblogging Game 1 at Untypical Girls starting at 8:30 p.m., for those of you who are interested.
The End of the Season
Friday's game against the Coyotes could kind of be summed up as "meh" and this game against the Sharks could kind of be summed up as "PENALTIES OMG" so there you go.
Ott just scored the fourth goal of the game, so he must have known Myra was at the game watching! (Pretty goal, by the way. I love it when they pop the water bottles off the top of the net.) Boucher, I hope you treated Patty kindly since she's there too.
I'm not sure I have many organized thoughts about the end of the season but I am ready to have playoffs here, so there you go. It's nice to have a little marker that says "Here be the end of Regular Season" because playoffs always feel so much different. We're playing Anaheim and by the time I write this, Matty Norstrom must know I'm watching, because he just got two minutes for hooking. You're a spiteful Swede, Matty, and I have no comment on that.
Ott just scored the fourth goal of the game, so he must have known Myra was at the game watching! (Pretty goal, by the way. I love it when they pop the water bottles off the top of the net.) Boucher, I hope you treated Patty kindly since she's there too.
I'm not sure I have many organized thoughts about the end of the season but I am ready to have playoffs here, so there you go. It's nice to have a little marker that says "Here be the end of Regular Season" because playoffs always feel so much different. We're playing Anaheim and by the time I write this, Matty Norstrom must know I'm watching, because he just got two minutes for hooking. You're a spiteful Swede, Matty, and I have no comment on that.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Game Day: Stars at Coyotes 04/03/08
Ribeiro and Richards are out tonight; Holmqvist is in net. I need a good nickname for Holmqvist; I have no idea what kind of goofy nickname to give him.
I actually have a lot of faith in Holmqvist; you never know, he could surprise us!
I'm determined to remain positive about the game against the Coyotes this evening. They can pull it out; they just have to try.
Everyone is reporting that Russian had a procedure done "overseas" to aid in his recovery. Overseas? What the hell does that mean? Are we referring to Russian's Siberian bunker as "overseas"? Did the man go to Moscow for a little R&R?
Either way, I hope it helps and that he's holding up alright, poor dude. Crazy, type A personality Russians tend to not hold up well with this whole not-playing thing.
Also, I'm really worn out, so let's hope I don't fall asleep during the game tonight.
More thoughts after the game, assuming I'm still awake.
EDIT: Russian apparently went to Germany for surgery, or at least that's what Heika thinks. Patty over at Penalty Killing writes much better than I do, so check her post out. I say we take up a collection and send Russian a card and a fruit basket.
EDIT X2: I've changed the blog back to a normal color scheme. Russian's season is over, most likely, and I'm devastated about it. You don't have to know much about me to know that I love getting the opportunity to watch Sergei Zubov play hockey, and it breaks my heart that he has to watch the Stars from the sidelines, but Russian would say, "Caitlin, let's think about the team. And winning. And the Motherland," if he were here, I'm sure.
Well, I'm sure Russian would say, "What is all this about an alligator?" first, but that's besides the point. I wonder if they let the alligator on the plane to Germany with him?
The guys look like they've made a complete 180 as we head into the third period with goals scored by Happy Meals, Robi and Morrownator in the first two periods. God bless 'em all, especially little Robi, who's seriously working his little butt off.
Also, as an aside: Wayne Gretzky is slowly morphing into Barry Manilow. That grey suit just screams "A Night In Vegas With Barry: Now With Even More Copacabana!", Wayne.
EDITX3: 4-2 in favor of the Stars; Mo with the empty netter. Not perfect, but much better, and Holmqvist stunned me. Good job, kiddo.
Via Heika, I found this:
Congrats to everyone's teams who made it to the playoffs; if your team didn't, I genuinely am sorry. Right now it's shaping up to be the Stars versus the Ducks in the first series of the playoffs.
I actually have a lot of faith in Holmqvist; you never know, he could surprise us!
I'm determined to remain positive about the game against the Coyotes this evening. They can pull it out; they just have to try.
Everyone is reporting that Russian had a procedure done "overseas" to aid in his recovery. Overseas? What the hell does that mean? Are we referring to Russian's Siberian bunker as "overseas"? Did the man go to Moscow for a little R&R?
Either way, I hope it helps and that he's holding up alright, poor dude. Crazy, type A personality Russians tend to not hold up well with this whole not-playing thing.
Also, I'm really worn out, so let's hope I don't fall asleep during the game tonight.
More thoughts after the game, assuming I'm still awake.
EDIT: Russian apparently went to Germany for surgery, or at least that's what Heika thinks. Patty over at Penalty Killing writes much better than I do, so check her post out. I say we take up a collection and send Russian a card and a fruit basket.
EDIT X2: I've changed the blog back to a normal color scheme. Russian's season is over, most likely, and I'm devastated about it. You don't have to know much about me to know that I love getting the opportunity to watch Sergei Zubov play hockey, and it breaks my heart that he has to watch the Stars from the sidelines, but Russian would say, "Caitlin, let's think about the team. And winning. And the Motherland," if he were here, I'm sure.
Well, I'm sure Russian would say, "What is all this about an alligator?" first, but that's besides the point. I wonder if they let the alligator on the plane to Germany with him?
The guys look like they've made a complete 180 as we head into the third period with goals scored by Happy Meals, Robi and Morrownator in the first two periods. God bless 'em all, especially little Robi, who's seriously working his little butt off.
Also, as an aside: Wayne Gretzky is slowly morphing into Barry Manilow. That grey suit just screams "A Night In Vegas With Barry: Now With Even More Copacabana!", Wayne.
EDITX3: 4-2 in favor of the Stars; Mo with the empty netter. Not perfect, but much better, and Holmqvist stunned me. Good job, kiddo.
Via Heika, I found this:
Not to get anyone's hopes up...but you never know."After being operated with the “Minimal-Repair-Technique”, the patient can return home right after surgery, walk around normally and also, already lift weights up to 20 kg.
"‘Out of town' patients fly back the same evening. Businessmen/women can start to work the next day and athletes can start to train after 2 days. Footballers can play again after one week!"
Congrats to everyone's teams who made it to the playoffs; if your team didn't, I genuinely am sorry. Right now it's shaping up to be the Stars versus the Ducks in the first series of the playoffs.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Grieving Prematurely
It doesn't look like the curmudgeonly Russian we all know and love will be coming back soon.
According to Heika:
First of all, Mike, let's never use "Zubov" and "girdle" in the same sentence ever again. EVER. Oh, god, that sounds so wrong.
He's got foot issues and groin issues -- still -- and he probably won't be back this week. It looks like another delay.
He's already missed 30+ games! It's so weird to see the Stars skate still without him.
Heather did this over at Top Shelf, but I'm stealing her idea and setting the blog in black over my grief. (Heather, let me know if that's a problem, yo.) I probably wouldn't be all discombobulated over this normally, but I've had a fairly trying week so far.
I just want Russian back! Is that so much to ask?
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go put on The Hunt For Red October and curl up in bed. (Shut up, it's a good movie! With Russians! Okay, fake Russians!)
According to Heika:
I think Zubov's biggest problems are up in his girdle area. I'm not sure if that's the groin or if it's hangover from the sports hernia surgery he had in the summer, but it's a definite problem.
First of all, Mike, let's never use "Zubov" and "girdle" in the same sentence ever again. EVER. Oh, god, that sounds so wrong.
He's got foot issues and groin issues -- still -- and he probably won't be back this week. It looks like another delay.
He's already missed 30+ games! It's so weird to see the Stars skate still without him.
Heather did this over at Top Shelf, but I'm stealing her idea and setting the blog in black over my grief. (Heather, let me know if that's a problem, yo.) I probably wouldn't be all discombobulated over this normally, but I've had a fairly trying week so far.
I just want Russian back! Is that so much to ask?
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go put on The Hunt For Red October and curl up in bed. (Shut up, it's a good movie! With Russians! Okay, fake Russians!)
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