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April 28, 2004
NHL Playoff Notebook
Tampa Bay 4 Montreal 3 OT: Oh, what might have been. How many times have you thought just that about your favorite team? You know what I'm talking about. One moment, the way to the promised land is open, the next, it's shut forever. For me, that moment came in Game Three of the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals. Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York. Islanders-Canadiens. Isles down 2-0 to Montreal in the series, but it's much, much closer as Game Two went into OT before a Canadiens victory. Sure, we're down 2-0, but this Canadiens team is vulnerable. They can be taken, especially since we've got them on home ice. Game Three goes into OT as well, tied 1-1. Islander Pierre Turgeon, miraculously healed after a Dale Hunter cheap shot in the first round, beats Patrick Roy with a wrist shot. A shot that clangs off the crossbar like Big Ben at Noon. Not long after, Guy Carbonneau sticks the dagger into the Isles. New York rallies to win Game Four at home, but the outcome really isn't in doubt. By some cruel quirk of fate, I pick up the French language broadcast of Game Five on my car radio as I drive back to Washington from my brother's college graduation. The Islanders haven't won a playoff series since. I'm guessing that's how the fans of the Habs are feeling this morning. Down 2-1 last night, they engineered a hard earned comeback in the third period, overcoming Tampa Bay's stifling defense to score twice in the third and take the lead. But fate had other plans. What else could you say after Vincent Lecavalier's goal with just 16.5 seconds left to tie the game? Another goal scored from between a player's legs? Twice in just a few days? And then to have Brad Richards end it in OT on a shot he banked off the back of Jose Theodore? In the end, this Canadiens team left the ice heads down, shoulders slumped and looking for all the world like people with the windmills of their minds spinning out of control. I think I have an idea. Philadelphia better hope they finish off Toronto in a sweep. Tampa Bay leads series 3-0. Calgary 3 Detroit 2: How much fun are they having in Calgary right now? In the third period of last night's game, the cooperative operators of the rink aimed their video cameras at the one and only Theo Fleury -- out of hockey, but never far from the thoughts and prayers of the hockey faithful in Calgary. The place absolutely erupted with chants of "THEO! THEO! THEO!" It was a great moment, one that unfortunately ESPN neglected to show us on camera. Like just about anyone else watching this series, I know the fate of the Flames is tied up in the performance of Jarome Iginla and Mikkaa Kiprusoff. But the prominence of those two players is obscuring the contribution of some other players who are more integral to Calgary's success than you might realize. Last night, it didn't seem like there was one shift where Calgary defenseman Robyn Regehr didn't hurt somebody. The boy is a beast, and I'm sure Pavel Datsyuk was consumed with nightmares about him after his head hit the pillow this morning. The other player you ought to be watching is Calgary center Craig Conroy. The guy seems to skate the entire length of the ice and back on every single shift. He's speedy, and a maniac on the forecheck. Grab a list of everything a hockey player is supposed to be doing when they're away from the puck, and Conroy checks off everything on the list. And I've given up counting the number of times a poke check from Conroy has broken up a Detroit breakout. Players like that carry the load too. And now it appears that it's going to be enough to take the Wings to the limit. Even if Detroit comes back to win this series, it looks as if they'll have a well-rested Sharks squad waiting for them in the Western Conference Finals. Calgary leads series 2-1.
Eric
07:25 AM
Trackback PingsTrackBack URL for this entry: CommentsAnd oh, what might have been--maybe something of a dynasty, had David "Francisco Cabrera" Volek and the Islanders not beaten the Penguins in OT of the seventh game in the previous round back in '93. Posted by: at April 28, 2004 11:08 AM Don't forget Marty Gelinas. That guy has been incredible for the Flames. I'm still holding out for a Calgary/Lightning final now that my Bruins are gone. It would be a fast, wide open, hard-hitting series and it would give Gary Bettman nightmares. A western Canadian team and a southestern team? Ha! I love it. Posted by: at April 28, 2004 01:32 PM Would a Tampa Bay/San Jose final be Gary Bettman's worst nightmare, or what? Posted by: at April 28, 2004 02:23 PM Post a commentThanks for signing in, . (If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.) |