Sitting in a local Manhattan bar. It's 7:38 pm and not one television has game 6 of the Hurricanes-Devils series on... so I ask for it on one of the mid-sized LCD televisions splattered across this fine establishment.
“Let me see if I can change this baseball game” a cute bartendress says.
“Jeez, I can't get a playoff hockey game on... a local team mind you... over the White Sox-Orioles game??” this dummy (being me) says.
She puts it on.
Ten minutes go by and now she changes it to basketball. I ask for hockey to be switched back on ANY TV in the bar! This exchange goes on through the first 2 periods... until I realize I have beer at home and should just watch it there uninterrupted.
Ahh, such is life as a Devils fan in NYC. For anyone who is clueless about this Devils-'Canes matchup, it is the most exciting series in the playoffs right now. There have already been 2 overtime games - not to mention a game in which a 3-0 lead by Carolina was erased by the Devils who then lost in regulation with 0.2 seconds left on a controversial goal.
Last night, game 5 was phenomenal even for a 1-0 game. 40+ shots on each side? And only one goal??? Most would think, BORING. Not even close. It’s a shame this series is getting no media attention because the small size of each team's respective market. Oh well, understandable.
Now let me revisit the situation I wanted to write about yesterday morning until stupid life got in the way. The 0.2 seconds goal. Yeah, that one... Marty was interfered with when Jussi Jokinen bumped into him outside of the crease. Marty saw Jokinen, and in my opinion tried to draw a penalty in OT and stepped into him. After he was knocked backwards, he was still able to regain his position, and a nasty tip-in ended the game.
While I’m a devils fan, that is what I saw objectively. It was a heartbreaking goal and I thought... the Devils are in trouble now. They came back and played a great game and now have a nice 3-2 lead in the series. Lots of work to do still.
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Five Alive: Last night, the Flyers go into Pittsburgh facing elimination and pull out a 3-0 win to get the series back to Philly for game 6 on Saturday. What a great effort. Claude Giroux - are you kidding me? This kid is legit (Sunday's epic assist). The things he’s done in the playoffs are pretty amazing. I’d be very excited for the future with this kid if I'm part of the Flyers' Faithful. Big game at home for the Orange Crush on Saturday.
Spread Your Wings and Sweep: What do I have to say? The Red Wings are unreal. Right now, they're the only really scary team in the playoffs. Hats off to the Columbus Blue Jackets who didn’t give up last night and kept battling back. Down 1-0. Then 1-1. Down 3-1. They make it3-3. Down 5-3. They end up tying it late at 5-5. Then they lose in heartbreaking fashion in the final minute. Congrats to Columbus on their first short playoff stint and hopefully despite not winning a single playoff game, the fans in Ohio got a real treat.
Oh, and how could I forget? Lastly, way to get that 8th win with 146 games left in the season Orioles! Thank God you were on 8 of 24 screens at the bar tonight.
“Let me see if I can change this baseball game” a cute bartendress says.
“Jeez, I can't get a playoff hockey game on... a local team mind you... over the White Sox-Orioles game??” this dummy (being me) says.
She puts it on.
Ten minutes go by and now she changes it to basketball. I ask for hockey to be switched back on ANY TV in the bar! This exchange goes on through the first 2 periods... until I realize I have beer at home and should just watch it there uninterrupted.
Ahh, such is life as a Devils fan in NYC. For anyone who is clueless about this Devils-'Canes matchup, it is the most exciting series in the playoffs right now. There have already been 2 overtime games - not to mention a game in which a 3-0 lead by Carolina was erased by the Devils who then lost in regulation with 0.2 seconds left on a controversial goal.
Last night, game 5 was phenomenal even for a 1-0 game. 40+ shots on each side? And only one goal??? Most would think, BORING. Not even close. It’s a shame this series is getting no media attention because the small size of each team's respective market. Oh well, understandable.
Now let me revisit the situation I wanted to write about yesterday morning until stupid life got in the way. The 0.2 seconds goal. Yeah, that one... Marty was interfered with when Jussi Jokinen bumped into him outside of the crease. Marty saw Jokinen, and in my opinion tried to draw a penalty in OT and stepped into him. After he was knocked backwards, he was still able to regain his position, and a nasty tip-in ended the game.
While I’m a devils fan, that is what I saw objectively. It was a heartbreaking goal and I thought... the Devils are in trouble now. They came back and played a great game and now have a nice 3-2 lead in the series. Lots of work to do still.
***************************************************************
Five Alive: Last night, the Flyers go into Pittsburgh facing elimination and pull out a 3-0 win to get the series back to Philly for game 6 on Saturday. What a great effort. Claude Giroux - are you kidding me? This kid is legit (Sunday's epic assist). The things he’s done in the playoffs are pretty amazing. I’d be very excited for the future with this kid if I'm part of the Flyers' Faithful. Big game at home for the Orange Crush on Saturday.
Spread Your Wings and Sweep: What do I have to say? The Red Wings are unreal. Right now, they're the only really scary team in the playoffs. Hats off to the Columbus Blue Jackets who didn’t give up last night and kept battling back. Down 1-0. Then 1-1. Down 3-1. They make it3-3. Down 5-3. They end up tying it late at 5-5. Then they lose in heartbreaking fashion in the final minute. Congrats to Columbus on their first short playoff stint and hopefully despite not winning a single playoff game, the fans in Ohio got a real treat.
Oh, and how could I forget? Lastly, way to get that 8th win with 146 games left in the season Orioles! Thank God you were on 8 of 24 screens at the bar tonight.
Hey Troy, I was turned onto your blog by Ian, a high school buddy of mine. Agree with everything you had to say. I did not think Marty was interfered with on the .2 second goal by Carolina, but I was pretty confident about game 5 after Marty flipped out. What are your thoughts on Colin White? He is starting to scare me. For 20 of his 25 minutes or so, he plays great. But his penalties are predictable. After some rough stuff behind the net before a defensive zone faceoff, there was a close up shot of his face. you could see in his eyes that a bad penalty was coming, and sure enough, right after the face off, he throws a left cross at a Hurricane right in front of our net. ANyway, I thought they played pretty well last night, despite the shot total. I dont think any team in the east is playing as well as Carolina and NJ are. Pens and Flyers are trading good and bad outings at this point, the Caps have not learned that grit scores playoff goals, not finesse, and the Queen is the only thing between the rangers being up 3-1 in their series, and losing every game 7-2. And, with all do respect to Boston, Ill just never be sold on them. El Diablo!!!
ReplyDeleteEl Diablo. Love it.
ReplyDeletetest 1-2
ReplyDeleteCouldnt agree more on all fronts. Certain players you just know. You see it, whether in their eyes ot by whats just happened on the ice, you know a bad penalty is coming. That said i still love Colin White. I think he'll always be in that tough spot as trying to take over for Stevens, just not gonna happen.
ReplyDeleteThis series has been amazing, they need to wrap it up in carolina though. Pens/Flyers has been good, but your right it seems one of the 2 just doenst show up each game. and im not sure why, but boston just does nothing for me. they steam rolled an awful canadiens team, yawn. and i know they had a great regular season, but for some reason they just dont scare me.
There's such a thing as a Devils fan?
ReplyDeleteShocking right? Fans who love great goaltending and take pride in an organization that does not try to buy championships. (just covering my bases here because I dont know if you are a flyers or rangers fan...)
ReplyDeleteI don't even think they show Orioles games at bars in Baltimore!
ReplyDelete