Mike Ilitch on the Wings
Wings owner Mike Ilitch recently did an interview with the Detroit News (mainly about the Detroit Tigers’ success) and some Wings-related questions popped up:
On whether he believes Wings Captain Steve Yzerman will return or retire: “Everybody keeps saying he’s taking his time so he’s gonna come back. But knowing Stevie, I’m not so sure he’s gonna come back. Because I don’t think it would take him quite that long to make the evaluation on his physical health. But I’m guessing just like everyone.”On whether the team welcomes him back: “Oh definitely, if he wants to come back and he feels he can do the job. That’s why we can’t push. To be honest with you, we stopped talking about it because (GM) Kenny Holland doesn’t know and I don’t know. We have so much respect for him, he’ll make his decision.”
On the Wings’ first-round playoff ouster: “I worry about it because we were the best team the whole season and we couldn’t win a best of seven. What did we do wrong? Can our scouts make the difference? No more can you lay out all the money.”
On whether Joe Louis Arena will be renovated or a new arena built: “My sons have been taking care of that. It’s not the most accessible place but it can be done beautifully, renovation-wise. We haven’t made a final decision. (For a new arena), a lot has to do with being able to put a site together.”
Lidstrom & Datsyuk award winners
The second trophy awarded tonight, the Lady Byng, was given to Pavel Datsyuk. He was not there to receive the trophy and head coach Mike Babcock was supposed to come up and say a word of thanks in his place. But, he didn’t come up to the stage and the presenters awkwardly walked off with the award. Later in the show, Babcock was seen smiling so he was there. Very weird.
Datsyuk was named on 94 of 128 ballots and received 41 first-place votes for 669 points, finishing well ahead of 2004 Lady Byng winner Brad Richards of the Tampa Bay Lightning (442).
Defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom received his fourth Norris Trophy [in just five seasons], one more than fellow teammate Chris Chelios. His thank you speech wasn’t anything special, but he did say something to the tune of “we’ll talk tonight” in a joking tone after thanking GM Ken Holland. He is expected to talk to Holland this weekend while in Vancouver regarding his future with the team.
It’s special,” Lidstrom said. “After the lockout, I wanted to come back and have a strong season and I think I did that. I’m very proud of the season I had.”
Lidstrom’s career year helped land him his fourth Norris Trophy in five years.
Lidstrom led all NHL defensemen in scoring with a career-high 80 points (16 goals, 64 assists), helping the Presidents’ Trophy winners post a 14-0-0 record when he scored a goal. Lidstrom ranked third in the NHL in ice time per game (28:06) and posted a plus-21 rating.
“It’s an honor to be among the players who have won this award,” Lidstrom said, pointing to Chris Chelios, Paul Coffey and Ray Bourque. “To be mentioned with them is an awesome feeling.”
Lidstrom said a combination of health and playing time has combined to make him a strong player. “Staying healthy is a big part of this and getting an opportunity to play a lot of minutes are key factors,” Lidstrom said. “I play better when I play more.”
Here’s a couple screencaps of Nick winning the award.
It’s so weird to see all these hockey players in tuxes if you ask me. For those curious, Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin’s tuxes were both rented [they were asked in the CBC interview before the awards show].
The award winners…
Hart Trophy, Most Valuable Player — Joe Thornton
Calder Trophy, Top Rookie — Alexander Ovechkin
Vezina Trophy, Top Goaltender — Miikka Kiprusoff
Selke Trophy, Top Defensive Forward — Rod Brind’Amour
Norris Trophy, Top Defenseman — Nicklas Lidstrom
Lady Byng, Sportsmanship — Pavel Datsyuk
Masterton Trophy, Perseverance and Dedication to Hockey — Teemu Selanne
Pearson Trophy, MVP voted by NHLPA — Jaromir Jagr
Adams Trophy, Top Coach — Lindy Ruff
Maurice Richard Trophy, Most Goals — Jonathon Cheechoo
King Clancy Trophy, Humanitarian Contributions — Olaf Kolzig
Curious as to how these awards are decided?
The Professional Hockey Writers’ Association (PHWA) cast ballots for the Hart, Norris, Selke, Lady Byng and Calder Trophies. The PHWA also voted on the Masterton Trophy. The 30 NHL General Managers voted on the Vezina Trophy. The NHL Broadcasters’ Association (NHLBA) submitted votes for the Jack Adams Award, and a special panel of representatives from the PHWA and NHLBA chose the King Clancy winner. Voting for these awards was conducted at the conclusion of the regular season.
Balloting results were tabulated by the accounting firm Ernst & Young, with the exception of the Masterton and King Clancy trophies. The results for these awards were tabulated by the PHWA and the National Hockey League, respectively.
Rumors: Luongo and a new arena
Luongo?
On one hand, Holland is saying, “He’s [Pavel Datsyuk] going through a process on how to be successful in the playoffs. He loves to play hockey and he loves to compete. I believe Pavel will have a breakout in the playoffs next year that Henrik [Zetterberg] had this year…We feel we have some good building blocks, but we won’t completely overhaul.” He has yet to name the possibility of trading Datsyuk away. Yet, speculation about this move/rumor is running rampant around the blogosphere.
BUT, would Holland trade Datsyuk? Would Holland give up one of our “good building blocks” for a better goaltender? While the idea of having Luongo in net is appealing to me, I would not be willing to give up Datsyuk and Howard for him. Sure Datsyuk hasn’t had a breakout playoff performance, yet. He did have an injury to start the playoffs and I want to see what he’ll do next year (healthy) before I write him off. Plus, Howard is going to be a great goaltender (or so we believe) and I don’t want to lose our first solid goalie prospect in years. We can’t trade away our future for a goalie who isn’t really proven come playoff time, although a good goalie. Give me a decent goaltender who doesn’t have confidence issues and a gritty physical defenseman. That’s what I want.
Aside from Detroit, who else is in the running for Mr. Luongo? The LA Kings. Paul at Kukla’s Korner has informed the blogosphere that both Leafs Lunch and the LA Times are reporting that LA forwards Alexander Frolov and Dustin Brown and goaltender Mathieu Garon have been ‘offered up’ in exchange for Luongo.
New Wings Arena?
The LGW forums are full of speculation regarding the future of the Wings arena. Will they renew their contract with the Joe? Will they build a new arena? Will they fix up JLA, which is the fifth oldest NHL arena?
The arena is currently in a 30 year lease with the city of Detroit through 2009. The Detroit News speculates that naming rights and luxury boxes for a new arena could bring $10 million more a year in revenue to the Wings.
Chris Ilitch, President & CEO of Ilitch Holdings, owner of the Red Wings will have a heart-wrenching decision to make soon — whether to consign Joe Louis Arena to the wrecker’s ball.Since it opened in December 1979, “The Joe” has been a name synonymous with hockey excellence. But renovating the old facility might be financially unfeasible compared to building a new one.
“We’re conducting parallel feasibility studies,” spokesman John Hahn said Tuesday. “One for rehabilitating Joe Louis, and another for building a new arena. But it’s far too premature to predict any decision. We do hope to have the studies done and ready for consideration by the end of the year.”
One LGW user (Sepster) summarized a recent Crain’s Business Detroit article regarding the future of the Wings and JLA.
With regards to renovating the Joe, two companies that build and renovate stadiums (one of which did a cost and feasability study for the Illitch’s about six years ago) said it would cost between $180 to $200 million to bring the Joe up to speed. They said that the main problem is that structurally it is completly outdated. The gentleman who’s company did the cost/feasability analysis said, “there is no way I would dump $200 million down the drain to renovate that building.” That, coupled with the fact that the city wants to use that area for expansion of Cobo Hall (which Olympia Entertainment also operates and whose lease also expires in 2009) pretty much requires that a new stadium will be built.The other option, of course, is build a new stadium. The article addresses the Tiger Stadium site by saying that the land is owned by the city and that Illitch would most likely want to build on land he already controls, plus the announcement that Mayor Kilpatrick made about future reatil and residential use, squashes that idea.
Check out the rest of the summary for two locations where we might find the new arena.
We know that the new arena will be downtown because Ilitch has too much invested in the city to go elsewhere. The most popular place to put the arena would be the Ilitch owned land behind the Fox Theater. This post on LGW has two wonderful satellite photographs to help us picture where the arena could potentially go.
The Crain’s article also reported that the “two companies said a 18,000 seat stadium would cost $250 million with an additional $100 million for parking structures and lots” [again, that was not an exact quote of the article]. We should an expect an announcement on this very issue by the end of the year.
A new arena sounds exciting, but I’ll miss the Joe [even though it desperately needs to be updated]. And a new arena will probably result in a funky sounding name. The JLA was the perfect arena name.
Complete Wings Randomness
It’s been storming and raining like crazy all day. Ridiculous. Anyways, I have plenty to ramble on about so bear with me…
Wings 2006-2007 Pre-season
The Minnesota Wild announced their pre-season schedule for the upcoming season. They will face the Wings twice. The Wings have yet to announce their pre-season games.
Tuesday, September 19 - Xcel Energy Center - 7:00 PM
Wednesday, September 27 - Joe Louis Arena - 6:30 PM
The Red Wings curse?
Since the Wings won the cup in 2002 (what a glorious year), each of their opponents who have ousted Detroit in the playoffs has gone on in the finals only to lose. Curse?
Fun Wings Photos
These photos are fun for the whole family.
Draper and his two kids enjoying the summer…
In honor of me obtaining a Chris Chelios autograph today, here’s Cheli trying out the sport of bobsledding.
Henrik Zetterberg enjoying his 2006 Olympic gold medal with his Swedish teammates and getting his groove on.
Kirk Maltby and Kris Draper celebrating a Cup victory.
Compuware celebration
Compuware workers met outside Detroit headquarters to watch the unveiling of the new banner celebrating the Carolina Hurricanes victory. The banner was actually made when the team was up 3-1 in the series.
Compuware spokeswoman Lisa Elkin said Tuesday it was too soon to tell when the Stanley Cup would be on display at Compuware headquarters or how the company would celebrate.
Behind the Blog: Casonblog
Today’s Behind the Blog features Scott at Casonblog. His blog is a great read for all that is the Carolina Hurricanes, especially this post-season. Hopefully for his sake, he’ll have a reason to celebrate tonight.
Oh, I will not be liveblogging tonight, but I’m sure Alanah will.
Q.1 – Your archives date Casonblog back to July 15, 2005. Why did you decide to start a blog dedicated to covering the Carolina Hurricanes?
The connection to the Hurricanes is one of the things I miss most since I moved to Tucson. CasonBlog was created to keep that connection going. I never thought it would amount to more than an outlet for my ravings, but folks seem to be listening in.
Q.2 – What are your thoughts / feelings / emotions heading into Game #7 of the Stanley Cup Finals after your team was up, 3-1, in the series?
Heading in I was still numb from the bad way game five ended. Got a momentary boost upon seeing Erik Cole return to the ice, but that feeling was quickly dashed. Last night was really not a painful as game five, because I guess down deep I sensed the tide was turning. Game five was the Hurricanes for the taking in OT.
Q.3 – What stereotype do you hate dealing with the most regarding your fellow Hurricane fans?
That’s a great question. Hockey fans are hockey fans. Every club has a cadre of bandwagon folks who show up when it’s the “in†thing to do. Every fan base needs time to develop. Some folks don’t want to give the Hurricane fan base that time. They believe by accident of birth in northern climes they assume some higher caste in hockey culture. The tide is changing, hundreds of thousands are leaving northern cities and migrating south and west, and many are hockey fans. Those émigrés will retain their Red Wing or Sabers, but their kids will embrace the new.
There are smart and passionate hockey fans in the Triangle, just as there are in Tampa and the ATL (much as I hate to admit the latter). I think regional media plays a major role in belittling the fan base, thereby fueling the derision of opposing fan bases. The News and Observer has run articles designed to “educate†the locals with simplistic rule breakdowns, lists of hockey buzz words and guidance on how to dress the part of a hockey fan. The put out the same drivel they put out in 2002. It’s more about their arrogance and ignorance than the fans.
Q.4 – What advice would you give to fellow bloggers, especially newcomers?
When I first started, I thought the role of the blogger was to recap or aggregate information. I thought it was about statistical breakdowns and rumor mongering. Then I went to a blog seminar last fall and one of the presenters listed what he called the “4 P’s of Blogging.†He said good blogs were all about passion, a clear point of view, perseverance, and they reflect the personality of the blogger. Right after that I discovered Jes Golbez’s Hockey Rants and realized it was Ok to tap into your darker side. So my advice would be, “to thine own self be true.â€
Q.5 – What do you hope your visitors get out of reading your blog? Do you have any “blog goals” for the next year or two?
I hope people have a laugh and want to keep visiting for an irreverent take on events, personalities, and hockey culture. I do it to have a seat at the bar and be part of a conversation I really enjoy, even though I live over two thousand miles from Raleigh.
As far as goals go, I’m torn. We had a saying in the Navy, if it’s not fun; you’re not doing it right. I want it to be fun and as long as it’s fun I’ll keep it up.
The marketeer in me thinks I should craft a business model for the blog and work to generate revenue. That might come at the expense of fun. Fun rules.
Q.6 - When did you become a Carolina Hurricanes fan?
I became a Caniac during the 2001 playoffs. The Hurricanes were down three games to none, and the Devils were beating them and beating them up (déjà vu all over again?). I remember listening to game two on the radio driving down from Manassas, Virginia to Raleigh. That was the game Scott Stevens knocked out Shane Willis. During the week, I watched game three, where Stevens knocked out Ron Francis. As a former Ranger fan, I was never a fan of the Devils, so I naturally took to the Hurricanes and the whole hockey south experiment.
Q.7 – Why did the Hurricanes make it to the Stanley Cup finals this year? What do the Canes need to do to win Game #7?
Jim Rutherford/Pete Karmanos built this team for the “New NHL.†They made a lot of cost effective acquisitions in preparation for this season, and saved enough cap space to bring in veteran players at the trade deadline. They hired a dynamite coach, got great clubhouse leadership from Rod Brind ‘Amour, Glen Wesley, Kevyn Adams and Cory Stillman, and enjoyed the fruits of breakout seasons from Justin Williams, Erik Cole and Eric Staal.
To win game seven, the Hurricanes need to skate like it’s game one of the season. Somehow, they need to find a reserve of energy to put some speed and killer instinct back into their game. They need to open the ice back up and play like they believe in themselves. Screw the last two games. Start over and come out of the tunnel with the swagger and guile that got them to the Stanley Cup Finals. If they allow themselves to get bullied and take bad penalties on Monday night, it’s close but no cigar time again.
Q.8 - When did you attend your first hockey game and who was playing?
My first hockey game was a WHA game around 1977. The Cincinnati Stingers were playing the Winnipeg Jets. Bobby Hull played for the Jets. My first hockey heroes were Rick Dudley and enforcer Dale Smedsmo of the Stingers. When we played pond or street hockey, my pards and I used to trade off being Duds and Smo-The goal scorer got to be Duds and the first guy to pound him got to be Smo. I don’t remember ever seeing Barry Melrose as a Stinger.
Q.9 – Which player, do you believe, has had the greatest impact on this SCF series whether it was an Oiler’s player or a Cane?
Chris Pronger. He is the constant calm in the storm and an absolute stopper on defense. They didn’t even need Jussi last night. Pronger has ice water in his veins and the reach and instinct of King Kong. Even when the Oil were down 3-1, Pronger had this look in his eyes like he had the Canes right where he wanted them.
Q.10 - Who is your favorite hockey player (either current or retired player)? Why?
My all-time favorite player is a guy named Helmut Balderis. He played for the Soviets in the 70’s and was a magician with the puck. He was the first guy I ever saw score a goal off a 360 with the puck on a breakaway. He got a sniff in the NHL with the North Stars, but was far beyond his prime.
Q.11 – What did you do to pass the time during the lockout last year?
I scanned Spector and the media outlets for a glint of hope every day. I also started playing hockey again here in Tucson.
Q.12 – What changes do you see the Hurricanes making in the offseason?
I think the Canes will let Gerber, Weight, Kaberle and Recchi go. Glen Wesley will probably retire. Hedican may as well. I think JR will try and move Oleg Tverdovsky.
I think the core of this squad in years to come will be Cam Ward, Staal (x2?), Cole, Stillman, Williams, Ladd, Commodore, Aaron Ward and Nic Wallin.
I hope the Canes make the move to shed Jack Johnson and pick up Jordan Staal with the second pick. I don’t think Johnson wants to play for Carolina, so good riddance bubba. Throw in Tverdovsky or Kaberle if they want the pot sweetened.
Q.13 – Where do you see the NHL in 5 years? Why? Is there some area that you’d like to see the NHL improve during that timespan?
In five years, I think the NHL will become more established in the south. I think the Lightning have some nice momentum going, the Capitals are building a solid team and starting to bring back fans, and the hated Thrash are going to be a consistent force in the league. I’m not sure about Nashville’s long term viability, but the lure for players to play in warmer climes, solid management running southern teams and growing fan bases will fuel this change.
Q. 14 - Which team surprised you the most this season? Disappointed you?
The Hurricanes and Sabers surprised me most. Nobody picked either to be contenders and both were top teams, wire-to-wire. I thought some of the teams that departed the playoffs without a whimper were disappointing-namely the Rangers and Avalanche.
Q.15 – Is there any hockey blog or website that you look to for inspiration?
Inspiration comes in many forms. I’m a total homer, so I really dig our little Caniac blog quinfecta. Red and Black Hockey, Sweet Tea…, Stormbringer, and the Penalty Killer are my first stops for inspiration.
I go to Hockey Rants, Covered in Oil, Japers’ Rink, Vancouver Canucks Op-Ed and Ingmar Bergman expecting to laugh. I go to Off Wing, James Mirtle, SISU and Kukla’s to be educated. When I’m looking for a little provocation, I go to Bfloblog and mudcrutch79. And I go to A2Y to see where this media is heading and to marvel at the machine IwoCPO has built in so little time.
Any additional comments?
The biggest thing CasonBlog has created for me is a connection to smart and passionate hockey fans. I really enjoy an ongoing dialog that crosses continents and perceptual and cultural barriers. I think our new media is going to change the way this sport is covered, promoted, and grown. We are an untapped resource that NHL media heads need to start paying attention to. Thanks Christy for this feature. You’ve done a lot to build this community. I’m honored to join the ranks.
Can we say momentum swing?
Wow. There is 5 minutes left in Game #6 of the Stanley Cup Finals and all I can say is wow. Here are some thoughts regarding the game and its impact on the series.
Wow, the Canes look…wait, are they even out there on the ice? I think they all may be hiding in the penalty box.
And I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who thought Carolina’s coach looked like he was gonna explode - it reminded me of those looney tune cartoons…
Seriously, how many penalties are those Hurricanes gonna take? Gosh. There were 10 total penalties for the Canes, 4 apiece in the second and third periods. The Oilers had 7 penalties.
Saturday Wings Notes
The Yzerman Decision
Nothing really new on this front.
“Steve’s not prepared to make a decision at this time,†Holland said. “He’s better of postponing it until he’s comfortable with the decision he makes. It’s a very difficult decision for him.â€
As I mentioned in my last post, Holland is willing to give him all summer to make his decision. Obviously, he’d appreciate it if the decision was made before July 1st so Holland knows where his cap will stand before going after any free agents or mulling the trade possibilities. Yzerman is on vacation with his family and then Holland is in Vancouver for the June 24th NHL Draft so they won’t talk until the week following the draft.
“But at the same time, he’s making a career decision, and he really, he’s the the face of the franchise. I’ve been here since the early 80’s and Steve was here. If it takes Steve all summer, we can deal with it.”
Todd Bertuzzi?
While IwoCPO @ A2Y doesn’t necessarily see Todd Bertuzzi coming to Hockeytown, he would love to see him in a Wings uniform by next season.
But, can you imagine Bertuzzi on a line with Zetterberg or Datsyuk? He’d score fifty. And, if he regains his nasty demeanor, Delma Huddle would go unscathed. Also, the Wings could open up Detroit’s practices to the public and every day we could watch Hearns/Hagler II as Chelios and Bert go at it.
I couldn’t agree more. Sure Bertuzzi had a very bad moment, but he’s paid his price. I think that a change of scenery would do for Bert and I’d be happy to offer Detroit as his new home. And Bert isn’t all bad, JJ @ Canucks Hockey Blog talked about a nice Bert back in late March of this year.
6/16 Notes
IwoCPO @ A2Y reminds us that 8 years ago, Detroit was celebrating its second straight Stanley Cup title. Following the win, around 1.2 million packed into downtown for the victory parade. The Pistons’ most recent championship title in 2004 couldn’t even garner that many fans for their parade.
Last weekend, Manny Legace was informed by GM Ken Holland that a contract will not be offered for the upcoming season. IwoCPO speculates that Toronto may be interested in Manny’s services.
“I was just … in shock,” Legace said. “I got off the phone with my agent, and I’m all, bitter, and I’m like, ‘Man, we’re not even going to talk, or, we’re not even going to give ourselves the opportunity to make a deal …’“And Kenny (Holland) called, and he made me feel great. It was first-class. I don’t think that any other GM would do that, and it was very classy.”
Wednesday afternoon, Rollie Thompson, the agent for Osgood, said there had been no contract negotiations between the sides but that there had been “an indicator they’re interested, and we’ll probably talk in two or three days.”General manager Ken Holland confirmed as much, saying, “I have interest if it fits into what we’re trying to do.”
GM Holland is spending his time negotiating contract deals with defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom and forward Brendan Shanahan before the July 1st deadline. It’s expected that Lidstrom will want the maximum, around $8 million. We won’t know the maximum salary allowed until June 30th when the new salary cap amount will be released. Holland also expects Shanny to get a raise from last year’s $2.28 million salary.
“I’d like Brendan to stay, and I think he’d like to stay,” Holland said. “He had a tremendous season. It’s the first time since ‘96-97 he’s had 80 points.”
“I’m sure he would be the first to say that he’d like to have done more in the playoffs,” Holland said. “For me, I thought there was great chemistry between him and Datsyuk. Datsyuk getting injured affected him and Brendan. And with all due respect, in Game 1, (Shanahan) played with Mark Mowers. Mark isn’t Pavel.
“We’d like him back. We’re going to make an offer, and we’re prepared to offer more than he made last year.”
Ouch, poor Mark Mowers. If Shanny is re-signed, it’ll be his 10th year in Detroit.
Nothing has developed on The Decision front. Holland doesn’t mind if it takes Yzerman all summer to decide because “I think the club owes it to him.” In John Buccigross’ mailbag, he wrote a nice bit on The Captain when asked what Steve will do and I couldn’t have written it better myself.
Whatever Stevie Y wants to do. Stevie Y does not sleep. He waits. Stevie Y can win a game of Monopoly without owning any property.
In fine print on the last page of the Guinness Book of World Records, it notes that all world records are held by Stevie Y, and those listed in the book are simply those who have come closest to him.
When Stevie Y goes to donate blood, he declines the syringe, and instead requests a hand gun and a bucket. Stevie Y can set ants on fire with a magnifying glass — at night.
When Stevie Y runs with scissors, other people get hurt.
Yzerman doesn’t need the money. He wouldn’t play for the money. He made $1.25 million last season and he likely would make about a million next year. He had 14 goals in 61 games. I find his grit and will incredible and exemplary, and those kinds of efforts actually make me emotional. To put his humanity on the line out there is beautiful. He did not embarrass himself. The NHL is better with people like Steve Yzerman in it.
The league is losing legends so quickly, perhaps too quickly, that I’d love to see No. 19 give it one more lap. And it would be cool to retire with 700 career goals. He’s eight away. He would pass Mark Messier, who retired with 694, and be one of just seven players to score 700. He’s also 17 assists away from passing Adam Oates for that much anticipated “most assists by a right-handed shot” in NHL history. ESPN will break into regular scheduled poker matches as Stevie Y approaches this milestone.
Random sport ramblings…
Some of my random ramblings about sporting events (outside hockey) that took place last weekend…
According to meet officials, Carter is the first to achieve four NCAA victories since Owens won both short sprints, the 220-yard low hurdles and long jump for Ohio State in 1935 and ‘36.“It’s really not going to hit me until a few weeks later,” Carter said. “Jesse Owens, he’s a legend. He’s the one who started track and field. I feel honored just being put in the same sentence as Jesse Owens.”
I learned a couple of things while up north this past weekend.
1) I hate being around my youngest brother David during World Cup action. Both brothers play premiere soccer and let’s just say I wanted to check out another certain sporting event and was promptly yelled at for changing the channel for two seconds. The US hasn’t even played yet!
2) After listening to ESPN News on XM Radio for what seemed like 30 minutes on the ride home, I had heard plenty about baseball, the NBA finals, Terrell Owens youth football camp, and World Cup soccer action, but absolutely nothing on the NHL. I couldn’t even find out the score of the game until I got home and went online.
Edmonton 4, Carolina 3 (OT)
Man, I hate the Oilers. First, they spoil the Wings regular season perfection with a first round exit. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Pisani scores shorthanded on a breakaway in OT in Carolina where they could’ve won the Cup tonight. Blast those Oilers.
Random comments about this series…
- I am so enjoying watching this series. Tonight’s game was fantastic with all the big hits and scoring (in part due to the 20 bazillion penalties). I actually got every single person in my family to watch the game. My youngest brother and Mom don’t watch hockey unless its the Wings in the playoffs or I take my brother to a Plymouth Whalers game (OHL). It’s been fun to watch.
- I’m actually starting to care. I didn’t think it would be possible for me to want a team other than the Wings to win it this bad. I’m yelling at the TV, clapping, sitting here freaking out like I did during the Wings series (except not quite as bad). Plus, you add the OT element and it’s perfect playoff action (made me think of the 2002 triple OT with Larionov’s beauty). Plus, it doesn’t hurt that everytime Ray Whitney is near the puck, I go all crazy hoping he gets the game winner. I want to win that challenge at Kukla’s Korner so I can save some money on a Kronwall jersey. 
- It’s really nice to watch two teams with so much passion and aggression and fire. And actually their fans too. I realize it is obviously farther in the playoffs, but the Wings vs. Oilers series seems so lackluster in comparison. The Joe was embarassingly quiet - both the Rexall and RBC crowd would put us to shame.
- Plus, who doesn’t like reading Alanah @ VCOE attemps to “liveblog?” Between not knowing if she wants the Oilers to win or not, the drinking, and her humorous self - the liveblog entries are always a favorite of mine. I really don’t know what I’d do without her funny game comments…
- I think I may have enjoyed this game so much because I had been pain medication free since Friday night. I’ve taken Vicodin (1-4 pills daily) since January 2005 and went 5 whole days without anything this past week. Let’s just say it’s been an incredibly long 5 days. But I’ve had a really painful 24 hours so I got to take something tonight and somehow Vike and hockey makes the world go round.
- And you got to give the Oilers credit, they never give up. Between losing their starting goaltender in the first game and being down in the series, they just keep chugging along - very admirable.