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16
May

Whine & Cheese: The Sequel

By Daniel 33 Comments
Categories: 07 Playoffs, Conference Finals, Ducks, Game Reviews, Hockey, Injuries and Players

Wow, that was a pretty embarrassing loss. I don’t think anyone should take it too seriously though, but the Red Wings sure did roast Anaheim last night. I can’t really single anything out except the late goal by Holmstrom in the first, that one looked like a punch in the stomach. Everyone played like shit last night, especially Scott Niedermayer, but we already know that don’t we? He let two cross ice slot passes by that went in for goals, that is pretty bad. The Ducks seem like they thought tonight would be cake, that Detroit wouldn’t have anything left in the tank after losing game two in over time. I personally thought the same thing, I didn’t think the Red Wings would be able to shake the loss off that easily, but I was wrong and they did.

Detroit did an excellent job of mixing everything up last night, Mike Babcock and his coaching staff drew up some good stuff in the sand. That goes to show you how good their team is and how cohesive they are if you can role any three forwards together and get results. One way to stop the shut down line of the Ducks is to make sure they aren’t playing against your teams best forwards, last change didn’t mean a damn thing in game three, they were beaten at every level.

As for the big hit on Holmstrom, they nabbed the wrong guy, Niedermayer hit him with his shoulder and Pronger shoved him. Pronger also hit him in the upper back and rolled up to his head with the forearm. Holmstrom’s helmet came off a little to easy, as was evident a few other times in the game. I am not saying what Pronger did was right, it is fucked up to try to injure anyone, if that was his intention. Obviously I come from my perspective as a Ducks fan and say a penalty for Pronger, but no suspension needed. So all the Red Wings fans get up in arms, you want the suspension and you want him arrested, etc. You would have the same reaction if the roles were flipped, but you wont attest to that, so lets just keep going.

But some of these comments you guys leave are fucking ridiculous. The Red Wings won in a very exclamation type fashion, you all stayed up late so you could go to all the Ducks blogs and comment on how awesome your team played. Some even saying “we”. Players don’t say ‘”we”, they say the fans were great or they call them a sixth man or something like that. Some people need to separate fantasy from reality. Then others wish mortal harm against Chris Pronger? What the fuck!?!

I never did like him, funny how I felt sorry for him when he took the puck to the heart a few years back. Now I recognize him for the goon he is. - Rocket Rob

Then someone else was chirping about the Getlaf high stick was a good thing, which was about an inch from ending the wonderful career he has ahead of him. This is some sick shit, real classy. I cheer for a team that played a not so clean game last night, really one play, but I will be damned if I EVER wish harm on someone.

The league will go ahead and do what it wants about this whole issue. So you can throw up all your little poles, buzz about in your comments and forums or call the commissioner. I have zero problem with the Red Wings hockey team and even most of its fans. Like I said, you are like Yankee fans and think you are on a pedestal, maybe that will change in game four, seeing as how you can’t borrow goals from a previous game.

I think what upset me the most about the game last night was that I upgraded my cable package so I could get the MOJO channel, which switches to Versus HD when a hockey game is being broadcasted. Not only did the Ducks lay a golden egg, the quality of the video was half ass. Plus the commentators for Versus couldn’t get anyones name right either, damn it!

Let the hate comments commence…

13
May

Knew It All Along

By Daniel 12 Comments
Categories: 07 Playoffs, Conference Finals, Ducks, Game Reviews, Hockey and Injuries

I wont be a complete ass tonight, because I was very impressed by the character of this Red Wings team. They had an answer for every goal the Ducks scored, except the last one of course. They took the pounding and even handed some of it out as well. But that doesn’t really matter right now, the series is tied and it’s time to come back to some nice weather. The Wings know that this one slipped away, the look on their faces when they went to the locker room summed it up. I know this is the most biblical Red Wings team in recent memory according all the online fans and I don’t know what I am talking about when it comes to the team, blah blah blah. Let us see what they come with on Tuesday after losing in OT.

As for the Ducks play, what can you say. They played physical, they played fast but they were not that sharp. I don’t have enough fingers to count the turnovers or bad passes they made. That isn’t normal, one thing Anaheim does well is pass, especially the outlet pass, they looked like crap. But they won the game without on of their best forecheckers and more responsible forwards. So it should be a great game three, hopefully the crowd can ignore their cell phones long enough to cheer for the team without needing the “LETS GET LOUD” graphic.

I wont pick scores anymore, at least not to where a team wins by more then one goal, because that probably wont happen.

12
May

As Advertised

By Daniel 3 Comments
Categories: 07 Playoffs, Conference Finals, Ducks, Game Reviews and Hockey

There was lots of traffic, probably the most I’ve seen this year… - Dominik Hasek

Game one was a pretty good barometer of what this series should be. Both teams were playing well in the corners, they were both going hard and both did not give an inch to the other. The Ducks lost, sure, but I wouldn’t say they were defeated. The Red Wings have some things they need to answer for. One of the bigger questions, can they really allow the Ducks line of horses (Penner, Perry, Getzlaf) to just cycle the puck for 2 minutes? Wings fan were shaking, you know they were expecting a penalty or a goal. Neither happened of course, but that is a preview of games to come, that will happen every game from those three. Even the May, Marchant, Thornton line got in on some cycle action.

Another question they should ask. How the hell is Hasek going to not start taking penalties for getting run so much. Detroit let the Ducks in the kitchen so many times it isn’t funny and it was even McDonald and Kunitz some of those times. Shawn Thornton mixed it up with Danny Markov the second he touched him in a physical way, more of that will happen as well. The pounding will continue.

I am not glad the Ducks lost, but I think the positives are going Anaheim’s way more so then in Detroit’s favor. Bounces may win you games, but they wont win you a series. Look for the exact same Anaheim team in game two. They do not need to change a thing. Dominik Hasek is the only reason the Red Wings won, the only reason. Nothing was impressive, they were out shot, out chanced, out hit and out played. They won where it counts, but they can’t be lucky every game.

Just to end, I think Todd Marchant played an excellent game. He should be a nice catalyst in this series. Sew up some discipline problems and everything is fine, lets come home with a split in Detroit.

04
May

What A Game!

By Daniel Closed
Categories: 07 Playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Ducks, Game Reviews and Hockey

I think we all have to look at Roberto Luongo and say WOW! He stopped a lot of pucks in this round, phenomenal performance in goal. Then look at the other end of the rink and say WOW again, because Giguere was no slouch himself. Very impressive on both ends and I hope that Vancouver will be smart and add some depth at both skating positions for next season, that would have really helped in this series.

Then we have to say thank you to Brad May, even though I still think he is an ass, he kept the puck in his skates setting up the entire play. He may not be the most gentlemanly hockey player, but you know he has the experience. Thornton, Shannon or Parros would not have been able to do what he did on that shift. I saw enough of him though, thank you for the one good shift, now please let that be all.

The 2nd line was awesome this entire game, they drove the Canucks defense crazy. On one shift they were even able to sustain pressure long enough to one-by-one change up. That is going to be a battle going to next round, who is going to want to go up against those guys?

Defense in this series was outstanding, especially from Anaheim, but you have to figure that would be the case anyway. It seems like the only time the Canucks got a sniff was when Pronger blew that one attempted chip along the boards in game 2 and when DiPenta and Huskins were on the ice. Randy Carlyle figured that out after the tieing goal and in overtime he split those two up and paired them with one of the other four. He should have his hands full in the next round trying to negotiate those situations.

The dueling Norris’ pretty much end up on the ice each minute of the game. It must be really nice to end a series in 5 games, because with each of them playing 30 minutes a game, they will have 5+ days between each series to rest, negating the fact that they play so much. Bad news for whoever comes to town next round.

Now that Anaheim is in the conference finals, the hockey media will HAVE to start talking about them. They love to ignore them even though the team is as good as it is. Southern California jealousy? Not a hockey market? Whatever, it may not be a hockey market, but we have a damn good hockey team in Orange County. Time to get to work, I will write some more later, but I will try to break down opponents for next round, giving them each a post. Enjoy the weekend, drink up, be merry, welcome to the Western Conference Finals!

PS: Sammy, good luck with the Selke, I am pulling for you. You deserve it and an even better contract then what you just signed!

29
Apr

Game Day Gut Check

By Daniel Closed
Categories: 07 Playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Ducks, Game Reviews, Hockey and Pre-Game

So which team is going to show up today? If the team that show up in game one comes to Vancouver, then we all know what can happen. You have to hope that Randy Carlyle will stress that to the team, then again the players in the locker room should be saying the same thing. Anaheim made one mistake that actually cost them in game two and it just happened to bbe Chris Pronger who made it. Luongo played his ass off as usual and kept his team in the series.

The one player who shines in every game, for me at least, is Ryan Getzlaf. This kid is simply a stud. He has an amazing slap shot, soft hands and a nasty edge to him. All of this while being a decent two way player. He sure can’t be blamed for not hustling and giving his all in every shift. Getlaf and his line mates need to be more of a factor in this series. They need to cycle like the Sedin’s in game 2 and use their size to dominate, so I guess that is two of the same thing huh?

But honestly, the only thing that needs to change for the first game in Vancouver is the power play. They peppered Luongo in game 2 and they need to continue that. Vancouver looks to be losing even more defensemen and they have called up a player. Lets see if Vancouver can be lucky again and somehow squeek out another win, reality says that they were plain lucky.

Nothing has to be said by anyone, you know the players know that they have to play better. Typical Ducks fashion, they took a day off after thinking the team they were facing was not a worthy opponent. Look for the Ducks to pound on the Canucks even more, because they didn’t last game. This is the kind of thing a team looks for to get itself motivated, lets hope that Vancouver stirred something up.

A little end note here. I was at the game on Friday and it was worth the price, except that whole loss thing. My favorite part of the whole night was seeing Garrett Burnett in attendance. If you don’t know who Garrett Burnett is, he was the Ducks enforcer for the 2003-04 season. On December 26th, 2006 he was assaulted outside a bar and was left in a coma after serious head trauma. The fact that the Anaheim crowd knew who he was before they even flashed his name made me smile a little.

26
Apr

The Face Says It All

By Daniel Closed
Categories: 07 Playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Ducks, Game Reviews and Hockey

I think the Vancouver Canucks have started something they might not want to finish. Now I know that Kevin Bieksa and Sami Salo were not in the game last night, but come on, I don’t think that would have mattered one bit. The Ducks looked absolutely awesome from the second period on. I was unable to watch the first period because my DVR didn’t record Versus and not KDOC, so that ruined me skipping commercials and intermissions. But the last two periods were some great hockey if you are a Ducks fan.

Vigneault’s decision to pull Luongo didn’t do much except let Andy McDonald get his first hat trick on a soft third goal. I am sure it was more mental than anything, but you know it didn’t help his teammates, because Luongo is the Canucks silver bullet. He played damn good too, but you can’t just let people around the net like the Canucks did.

There isn’t really much to analyse about this game, it was very tilted. I hope that Vancouver can get all of its players back so no one has to listen to the argument of Vancouver missing key guys here and there.

Something that made me laugh today was an interview that Scott Burnside did for ESPN where he said that if the series could be over in three games,  it would be. Sad, but true. Maybe I can find something stupid to post about later in the day, but I get the feeling that this series is going to be boring and that no one will care until the Ducks play the Sharks in the conference finals.

20
Apr

Wild Wild West

By Daniel Closed
Categories: 07 Playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Ducks, Game Reviews, Hockey and Videos

Yea, that title sucks. Congratulations to the Ducks for moving on. Those predictions from people claiming MIN was going to drag this on were from people giving too much respect to the Wild and not enough to Anaheim. I bet they will pick better next round, because it’s going to be more of the same. I wouldn’t really know though, because I didn’t see last nights game. It wasn’t televised where I live, very disappointing. But after browsing some of the online hockey channels this morning, I saw that Snoop Dogg was on during one of the intermission guests. That means that I will probably not watch hockey next season, thanks Snoop.

Looking ahead, I believe Vancouver looks like the most likely opponent. Luongo has looked shaky, that’s no good for Vancouver. My thought on Dallas has been that they got Norstrom to have a small chance to do something in the playoffs this year. Turco is a great goalie and this isn’t his fault, his team just can not score goals to support him. You figure Norstrom has to be good for at least one less goal for the opposing team, better odds. But to let a Vancouver team that isn’t that good hang in with them, it shows you how not good both teams are when it comes to playoff hockey. Dallas is too old and Vancouver is too thin on the blue line and depends on goals from key players.

When the shut down line does just that to the Sedin’s, can Naslund pick up the slack? Can he also worry about the line of Getzlaf, Perry and Penner if he is matched against them? You have to stack quick, big defensemen against that line and have a responsible center helping out. Maybe they have that, maybe they don’t, I haven’t watched much Canucks hockey this season. Anywho, if you think that Vancouver has more depth then Anaheim, then the drugs are strong within you.

Calgary matches up great against the Ducks, that would be a killer series. I can not think of any goalie who moves like Mikka Kiprusoff and he seems to play very well against the Ducks. Plus Calgary plays a very gritty style of hockey, those are the best games, when they are down right nasty. Nothing over the top like running players, but tight checking and small scrums in front of the net. Damn I love hockey, I can not wait until the next round starts.

In case anyone wants to see the Game 5 pre-game scrum AND the Brad May KO, here you go. Brad, you are still a dick…

 

18
Apr

Brad May - Hired Thug

By Daniel 1 Comment
Categories: 07 Playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Ducks, Game Reviews, Hockey and Players

Besides the team collapsing at the end, the game was pretty even. The Ducks were out shot, but I wouldn’t really say out chanced. I also hope that Carlyle doesn’t strip Bryzgalov of his starting role by the actions of the third period. I am a big Giguere fan and will be sad if and when he leaves next season, but I don’t think you can blame the goalie in this game, he deserves to start in game 5. Even J.S. thinks Ilya had a good game.

“If I’m called upon, yeah, I’m going to have to be (game ready), I thought Bryz gave us a chance to win, so we’ll see.” - Jean Sebastian Giguere - O.C. Register

After the goals went in though, it was quite a scene. I guess it started with Kent Huskins and Adam Hall fighting in the defensive zone. Maybe Huskins thought Hall took an extra run, maybe Huskins wanted to get his hands dirty, whatever. That is no problem at all, hell, I don’t even mind that Shawn Thornton jumped in. You could see by the way Thornton went in that he wasn’t going to pound on Hall, he just didn’t want Huskins to be in that fight. Suspensions could go both ways I guess, but I honestly do not think Thornton was going to do anything but protect Huskins.

“Obviously, there was something going on,” May said. “I didn’t even know. I was in the offensive zone. I came back and, of course, when that happens, you pick somebody that’s coming into the pile. That’s the way it is. After that, I have no comment.”

Obviously you are an asshole. What the fuck dude, get a clue. I have seen a few instances since his arrival that he is a prick, another one where he tried to sucker punch Dion Phaneuf. So he drops Kim Johnsson because he was going in to the pile to help out his teammate? Now Johnsson has some kind of head injury that required a hospital visit. What a goon, you are almost as bad as Boogard and that is pretty bad. I hope you are suspended for a couple games and then Carlyle benches your ass. This team plays tough, I do not think they play dirty and you are a dirty hockey player. I wish you were on the ice still when the fans called for the Boogie Man, I would have loved to see him pound your face in.

16
Apr

No Respect…Still

By Daniel 1 Comment
Categories: 07 Playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Ducks, Game Reviews and Hockey

Again, the Ducks get no respect from anyone. The only people covering the team seem to be the local media outlets and the media in Minnesota. They are up 3-0 in their series even though most said they would be tested by the Wild, some even saying they would fall to them. This is a total lack of experience, it has to be. I guess being a west coast teams really gets you the shaft, oh well, Minnesota respects them now, though they do whine a lot.

Game three was another dominant performance by Anaheim. I feel like a broken record when I say they were more physical and had a good forecheck, but that is what happened. Tuesday is going to be an exciting game to watch, because I think the Ducks will come out flying so they can wrap up the series. Layoff should not matter to this group with the veterans they have, you would have to imagine they can pull a locker room together. Motivation shouldn’t be a factor either, only Scott has won it all. I bet he wants to win this year more than any other so he can hand the cup to his brother.

I am not really sure what to think about game 4 though, will Minnesota play desperate or will they fold up and not care. If they care, I bet they can sneak in a win, but if they play like they have been it will be over on Tuesday. If Minnesota complained less after the game and scored more on the many power plays chances given, maybe the series would be different.

12
Apr

That’s a Goal That Shouldn’t Be On the Board

By Daniel Closed
Categories: 07 Playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Ducks, Game Reviews and Hockey

 Cry me a river, jesus. The puck didn’t look to be covered by anything that the goalie was controlling. Maybe if your own player didn’t slam in to you, it would be OK. I thought it was an excellent game, it was full of good hits, chances on both sides and some down to the wire action. Backstrom sure saved the Wild from getting blown out though, the Ducks beat the Wild up and down the rink. The forecheckers were finishing every check and you could just tell that the Ducks were ready for the game. They were flying out there. If Minnesota doesn’t adjust, it should be another beating in game 2. If anyone can say that Minnesota was the better team in game 1, I would love to see some facts on that.

I will admit that I am a homer, I want the team I follow and pay money to go see, win. I really liked what I saw on Wednesday night and can not wait for game 2 on Friday. I simply do not see Minnesota being able to handle this team at all, their best player was smacked around a bit, I know he didn’t like that. The team defense didn’t work all that well, Anaheim just kept crashing the net, winning along the boards, winning down low and the scoring chances were quality. The Ducks powerplay looked good as did the penalty kill, Minnesota didn’t look that hot on the contrast.

I watched the game a non-biased opinion, the Ducks were the better team. Let us see if that continues for the rest of the series.

PS: What nice passes by Beauchemin and Getzlaf to set up the goals. Beauchemin’s pass looked similar to Rollison flip pass to Mike Peca in the Conference Finals last year.

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