Championship Eve

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Well, at least one of my two picks to make it to the Stanley Cup finals got there, and I don’t think I’m going out on a limb predicting that the Red Wings hoist the cup tomorrow night. Particularly given the demoralizing nature of Saturday’s game on the Penguins, not to mention Crosby going off like he did after the final whistle, I just don’t see a way for the Penguins to come back to win this series, much less win tomorrow night at the Joe. Mind you, I should have known that the Red Wings would get the cup tomorrow night because it’s the only night of the series where I teach on the same night. After all I’ve been through lately, I surely need the visceral thrill of watching the Red Wings bring home yet another championship. (Yes, for those of you who strayed to the Pistons or Tigers or even the Lions, the rest of us will still forgive you for your transgressions. Hockeytown always has room for more residents.)

I will admit that the Red Wings kind of lucked out, facing a very depleted Colorado team in the second round, then catching the Stars after that quadruple-overtime game. There have been a lot of questionable calls going Detroit’s way this whole playoff season, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the NHL Rules Committee revisit the rules on goalie obstruction after the way the Red Wings’ opponents have been complaining about their style of play. That being said, I think a healthy dose of luck is necessary to win any championship, and, well, the Red Wings were due for some luck after the way the past few seasons had gone. I think these Wings still have some championships left in them — only now does everyone seem to be catching on to how the Red Wings managed to stay dominant in the salary cap era thanks to a top-notch front office that scouts out European players as closely as North American players — but I don’t think they’re going to be quite as dominant as the 1997-2002 teams. It’ll probably be a while before the Red Wings hoist another cup, so I’m going to make sure to enjoy this one as much as I can.

This all being said, I’m now more convinced than ever that wherever I go in this country, I will need to pick up NHL Centre Ice just so I keep access to CBC’s NHL coverage. Hearing the analysts on Versus talk about how the next two NHL franchises should go to Kansas City and Las Vegas gave me a headache, not to mention all the American commentators trying to say that Hockeytown faithful were cheering McCarty more loudly than the other Red Wings because of "his story," not because, you know, he pounds the ever-loving crap out of the opposition. I know that hockey will never gain the same national attention as other sports just because the sport dictates facilities that are easier to find and make here in the northern part of the country, but still, the standards for being a "hockey expert" in the American media seem to be even lower than those for being a "celebrity" these days. Some of my students from last semester went on a trip to Toronto this weekend, and I probably should have gone along with them; I doubt I could ever live full-time in Canada just because I’m so attached to my American creature comforts, but I should check things out there at least once.

4 thoughts on “Championship Eve”

  1. As a Toronto resident I can assure you that any creature comforts that exist in Toledo are just as readily available here.

    The rumours of dogsleds and igloo’s are somewhat exaggerated.

  2. Dammit, when I heard that the Wings lost in 3OT, the first thing I thought was “Sean probably made a Red Wings post and jinxed them.” Sure enough…

    Do me a favor and clam up about the Wings until Osgood’s hoisting the freakin’ cup, okay?

  3. -e-: I was referring more to stuff like no First Amendment and having the CRTC throw their dictates around the television networks. I was trying to say that I don’t have the image of Canada being this nirvana that some people in the US seem to think it is.

    Joe: Don’t blame me, blame the refs. If you go back and watch that second OT, you’ll wonder how you and I didn’t get whistled for goaltender interference. Seriously.

  4. You’re delusional if you blame the refs for that loss, especially since they killed off both of those 2nd overtime goaltender interference penalities.

    The Wings came out flat and put themselves in a hole early. It should have been 3-0 with 37 seconds left instead of 3-2. They didn’t have the will to keep the Pens out of the net in the last minute of regulation, and they didn’t have the ability to find a way to put the puck in the next again in the 50 minutes of hocky that followed.

    I’m pretty sure we’re gonna see a Game 7 now.

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