Quick impressions from six hours of playoff hockey, Day 2:
... I'm "following" VersusNHL on Twitter, and they've had some helpful updates and highlights links. But why do they direct message me to tell me "The NHL is on Versus!"? First, it's in their name. Second, this is a hockey blog!
... Speaking of broadcasts, Versus' re-feed of TSN's broadcast of Chicago-Calgary had louder crowd noise than ... Comcast's broadcast of Chicago-Calgary. Maybe it was just my questionable cable provider, but the difference was hilarious -- like watching two separate games. I went with Comcast for the great Pat Foley's voice and to avoid MONSTER Pierre McGuire.
... In honor of John Madden's retirement, here's how he would break down the OT winner in Chicago:
"Now, I want you to watch this. See there's a turnover, and the Hawks go into the zone like gangbusters, and watch here, Ladd, he's just gonna push to the net: keep pushing 'n keep pushing 'n keep pushing ... and that leaves Havlat open for the pass, and then - BOOM, Hawks goal. And that's how you win right there."
(Not sure if Madden would have illustrated the play like this, though.)
... If this blog ever goes mysteriously dormant, you might check the police blotter to see if anyone's been arrested for hunting down the creators of that stupid credit report commercial that airs non-stop. You know the one, with the guys playing guitar and singing. The one that was created specifically to get a truly putrid jingle stuck in your head -- the lowest tactic in advertising? Yeah, that's the one. To say nothing of the ethics of anyone who preys on the ignorance and insecurities people have about their credit ... or who traffics in automatically subscribing you to a paid service when you retrieve "free" information about yourself that you are entitled to have. Disgraceful. (I'm sure the service is essential, though.)
... San Jose-Anaheim: Wow, that game did not disappoint. Did not expect a shutout in San Jose from Hiller -- did not expect the repressed fears of Sharks fans to materialize after the first game. This series is going to be fantastic.
... Montreal came off looking really, really ugly for their after-whistle shenanigans last night. The Lapierre altercation after the empty-netter was ridiculous -- and I dare say Mathieu Schneider tried to spear Marc Savard in the following scrum. Then Kostopoulos' attempted elbow and the after-the-buzzer stuff ... was that an eye gouge by Mike Komisarek? (Something bloodied Matt Hunwick's eye.) Maybe the Bruins pulled a lot of sneaky tricks to get the Habs off their game -- I only saw the second half. But either way, the Habs need to refamiliarize themselves with the concept of composure.
... Only half the series have opened the way I expected -- God, I love the playoffs -- but one of those is DET-CBJ, which opened just how I feared: The BJs hang in there, tie it up, and then two unfortunate goals happen in a snap and the game has completely changed. Detroit and their aura, they make their own luck. But Manny Malhotra's "hot potato" maneuver to try to glove the shot, then change his mind but not soon enough to avoid deflecting it over Mason and in -- now that was high comedy.
That was all I could keep up with on this night. I'm already sugar buzzing from the playoffs, but it will be tricky navigating social "commitments" with Mrs. Lighthouse this weekend while trying to sneak games in. I may have Homer Simpson moment or two. But I'm doing whatever I can to catch SJ-ANA and BOS-MON, the latter of which is going to be like some old Battle of Quebec or Blues-Blackhawks bloodfest.
And you know what else I'm doing this weekend? I'm signing up for a free credit "protection" service for $15 a month. That just sounds brilliant!
