A night that coulda been better
Sticking with sports since my hockey team is competing for a little jug that some Canadian governor donated 114 years ago.
Some say a sporting series does not begin until one team wins in the other's arena. I disagree. For example, the Hurricanes/Devils series didn't begin when the 'Canes won Game 3 in the swamps of Jersey, the first road victory for either side in that series. The 'Canes had a 3-0 lead as a result, and the series did not begin, it was OVER. Jersey put up a nice fight in Game 4, but fell as all teams that fall behind 3-0 do, with the exception of the greatest chokers of all time the New York Yankees.
Thus, I propose a new theory, kinda like those man-law dudes that sit around making stuff up: A series does not begin until both teams win in the other's arena. To cite the Jersey example, the series certainly would have been on had Jersey won Game 5 in Raleigh and taken the series back to Jersey for Game 6.
And this is what we have in the Stanley Cup Final. The 'Canes fell at the RBC Center for the first time since May 20th, losing to Edmonton 4-3 in overtime, and must now deal with the loony eskimos up in northern Alberta once more .
The problem with this game is the 'Canes did not sustain a level of play worthy of finishing off such a gutsy and, I'll admit, talented team. The first period was great from an effort and performance standpoint...yet the 'Canes trailed 3-2 at the first intermission thanks to some well-taken Oiler goals. Ales Hemsky was once again at the center of the Oiler attack, scoring one goal and assisting on the other, and surely will be one of the top players in the league sooner rather than later. The 'Canes, and few other teams, have a match for his speed and skill. Ward had no chance to stop his lazer to knot the game at 2.
After this, the 'Canes really tailed off. An equalizer did come but the Oilers won most of the 50/50 battles and threw their bodies around, taking Aaron Ward and Doug Weight out of the game for brief points. Then the Oilers came out ready to play in OT, bombed away and burned our defense-deficient power play for the first short-handed overtime goal in the history of said cup.
Shock at this goal was palpable. I could do nothing but raise hands to head and stare at the screen, which seemed to be the par-for-the-course reaction at the RBC as well. A power play that had been doing such an amazing job of putting the puck in the other team's net for 3 consecutive series was picked apart. This indeed was a night that coulda been better.
A greater sense of urgency and higher levels of performance from top players will be needed to finish this team off. If this not occur, this newborn series could become quite tenuous quite quickly.
Some say a sporting series does not begin until one team wins in the other's arena. I disagree. For example, the Hurricanes/Devils series didn't begin when the 'Canes won Game 3 in the swamps of Jersey, the first road victory for either side in that series. The 'Canes had a 3-0 lead as a result, and the series did not begin, it was OVER. Jersey put up a nice fight in Game 4, but fell as all teams that fall behind 3-0 do, with the exception of the greatest chokers of all time the New York Yankees.
Thus, I propose a new theory, kinda like those man-law dudes that sit around making stuff up: A series does not begin until both teams win in the other's arena. To cite the Jersey example, the series certainly would have been on had Jersey won Game 5 in Raleigh and taken the series back to Jersey for Game 6.
And this is what we have in the Stanley Cup Final. The 'Canes fell at the RBC Center for the first time since May 20th, losing to Edmonton 4-3 in overtime, and must now deal with the loony eskimos up in northern Alberta once more .
The problem with this game is the 'Canes did not sustain a level of play worthy of finishing off such a gutsy and, I'll admit, talented team. The first period was great from an effort and performance standpoint...yet the 'Canes trailed 3-2 at the first intermission thanks to some well-taken Oiler goals. Ales Hemsky was once again at the center of the Oiler attack, scoring one goal and assisting on the other, and surely will be one of the top players in the league sooner rather than later. The 'Canes, and few other teams, have a match for his speed and skill. Ward had no chance to stop his lazer to knot the game at 2.
After this, the 'Canes really tailed off. An equalizer did come but the Oilers won most of the 50/50 battles and threw their bodies around, taking Aaron Ward and Doug Weight out of the game for brief points. Then the Oilers came out ready to play in OT, bombed away and burned our defense-deficient power play for the first short-handed overtime goal in the history of said cup.
Shock at this goal was palpable. I could do nothing but raise hands to head and stare at the screen, which seemed to be the par-for-the-course reaction at the RBC as well. A power play that had been doing such an amazing job of putting the puck in the other team's net for 3 consecutive series was picked apart. This indeed was a night that coulda been better.
A greater sense of urgency and higher levels of performance from top players will be needed to finish this team off. If this not occur, this newborn series could become quite tenuous quite quickly.
posted by Coop at 9:49 PM
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