Day 8: Oy vey....

A picture of most of my Habs stuff. I have accumulated more stuff since I took that picture, but yeah, figured I'd show off some of some of it to support the guys =)

1. I find it sad, maddening and pathetic that I can't go downtown because I'm afraid that if les boys lose tonight, there will be a riot. I got mad yesterday when someone said that they dont' want the team to win (or I guess lose either?) because they didn't want to see riots. I was mad not at the people for saying that, but at the morons who go around rioting because they don't represent most fans and they don't represent the team. I don't appreciate being thrown in the same boat as these people who think it's okay to go destroying things and just plain causing chaos.
   
2. I find it sad, maddening and pathetic that there will be people booing the team. How is booing them going to help anything? If it's so damn easy to beat the Bruins maybe they should go out on the ice and give it a try. Yeah... that'd go over really well....
   
3. I find it sad, maddening and semi-pathetic that the media will go moaning and moaning after this loss. Stuff it. Again, if it's so damn easy to win all the time, then you guys try it. Whining isn't going to change what happens.
   
4. Oh and I have proof that it ain't over until it's over: After blowing a 3-0 lead, the Whalercanes won 4-3 with .02 seconds left on the clock in regulation time. Brodeur had a fit and I laughed for about fifteen minutes. What? I was tired.
   
5. Is it just or is this first round progressing rather quickly? The poor Blues were swept last night and the Habs could be swept tonight. The Jackets and the Flyers could also face elimination tomorrow as well.
   
6. Tonight we cheer for the Habs and the Caps!

Win or lose, I still love my Habs. And you should love them too *nods*

GO HABS GO!

I've come to a very sad decision....

If Team Canada picks Brodeur, Crosby and Lucic to be on their team for the Olympics, I'm cheering for Russia. Sorry Canada, but there is no way in hell I'm going to cheer for a team that has Lucic on it. No bleeping way. The guy is a moron. And that's putting it nicely.

But aside from the morons on the ice, the morons in the stands and the morons in black and white, the Caps, Bulldogs, and Habs didn't help themselves one bit today. They simply did not put up enough effort, enough emotion, and in the case of the Habs, they were too undisciplined tonight to win. Fine, fine, so some of those calls weren't real and there was no way in hell that the Bruins only went to the PK ONCE at the end of the period but still... the Habs were not playing like a team. Price and Kovy showed up and we saw glimpses of other people but on a whole...the team didn't show up.

Which baffles me completely. It's a playoff game, people. I know you're tired and demoralized but just flopping over and quitting isn't really a great option. I said this before but I'll say it again: I don't give a damn if the Habs are swept in four games PROVIDED that they go down fighting. If they lose the next two games playing like they did tonight, I will not be a very happy person. This team is very much capable of at least making Boston's lives miserable. They can do it. I realize that this isn't the ideal matchup and we didn't get the ideal seed going into the playoffs. But honestly.... suck it up, guys. Moping ain't going to change who you're playing. Essentially we're seeing the same two teams from last year. There isn't that much of a difference. The difference appears to be in their heads right now.

Right now the Bruins are playing like a team while the Habs... aren't. And damnit, the Habs better snap out of this depressed "woe is me, can we just finish this already so I can go crawl into a whole and die" attitude or else I'm watching the Wings full time. Crazily enough, I still believe in these guys. I still believe that they can get it together and actually win a game or at least give Boston everything that they've got.

So there we have it. I'm still trying to figure out why 1) the networks and media all seem to be against the Habs and 2) why the hell my teams didnt' show up to play. They treated it like it was a game in the middle of February and 3) why it feels like the refs were completely biased against the Hammies and the Habs tonight....

Oh and..whoever thought the Habs game was bad.... I assure you Troy the movie was a lot worse.... Watching Brad Pitt pretending to be a Greek is like watching Milan Lucic trying to give an interview.

Random thoughts about the playoffs part 1

I'm putting off going to sleep so I figured I'd throw this out...There will probably be a part 2 sometime in the near future....

Eastern Conference

Bruins/Habs

Who's winning this: Bruins take it in 5

The Habs can win if: They put poison in the Bruins' water bottles

It would be nice if...: The Bruins dropped off the face of the earth

Things we expect to see:

• Bloodbath
  
• Price will play better than Thomas and still let in more goals
• Lucic will hurt someone
• Media will be stupid

Things we don't expect to see but would love to happen:

• Thomas giving up softy from the neutral zone. Happened before. Can happen again!
• Bruins blowing up like the Habs did last year versus them
• D actually backs up Pricey

Caps/Rangers

Who's winning: Caps in 6

Rags can win if: If they stuff Ovie, Semin and Backstrom in a trunk

It would be nice if: Someone smacked Avery upside the head

Things we expect to see:

• Avery annoying Theodore
  
• Rags trying to beat up Ovie
  
• Semin NOT trying to "fight" Staal bro. no. 2
  
• Caps not forgetting that if a Rag hits their own player who then knocks their goalie out of the net and the Rags score, it will count as a goal.
• Tortorella going insane

Things we don't expect to see but would love to happen:

• Avery going out with another spleen injury
• Avery being beat up by Semin
• Avery being beat up by Ovie
• Ovie getting a hattrick versus the Rags
  

Whalercanes/Devils

Who's winning: Someone in 5,6, or 7..... Haven't figured out who will win this yet...

Someone can win if: They can stay awake. You stay awake you win. Simple.

It would be nice if: this matchup actually turned into something interesting....

Things we expect to see:

• Snooze fest
• Brodeur doing something
  
• Staal bro. no. 1 doing something
• Brodeur being booed
  
• Brodeur breathing
• Brodeur not saving the puck

Things we don't expect to see but would love to happen:

• These two teams actually made the game interesting by getting a little grumpy with each other
• Brodeur being pulled
  

Pens/Flyers

Who's winning: Pens in 6

Flyers can win if: Scott Hartnell's hair scares the Penguins out of their minds

It would be nice if: Crosby got the flu and sat out the entire series...

Things we expect to see:

• A bloodbath
• Fleury will outplay Biron like he always does because he's Fleury and Biron is a sieve
  
• EP trying to balance her love for Fleury with her hate for the Penguins
• Staal brother no. 3 will be forgotten in all the Malkin and Crosby hate

Things we don't expect to see but would (sorta) love to happen:

• Biron displaying some of that very annoying talent against the Habs..... did I just say that?!
• Richards gets a shorthanded goal in a game that the Flyers actually win
• Me forgetting that I actually want to see a Flyers victory

Western Conference aka the conference that EP doesn't follow

Sharks/Ducks

Who's winning: Sharks in 5

Ducks can win if: they get a better name. I mean, DUCKS?

It would be nice if: The Sharks didn't have to wear teal.....

Things we expect to see:

• Thornton making silly comments about how big and strong the Sharks are
  
• Me hating the Sharks
• Everyone declaring the Sharks the major favorites in the entire league

Things we don't expect to see but would love to happen:

• Ducks stick it to the Sharks and go to a game 6 or 7
• Me not caring about this series as supposed to angsting over whether Thornton will get kicked around
  

Wings/Jackets

Who's winning: Wings in 6

Jackets can win if: Mason drinks a lot of Red Bull and Osgood continues as usual...

It would be nice if: Osgood and/or Conklin didn't look silly compared to Mason

We expect to see:

• goaltending being a major factor in this series
  
• a potential meltdown for the Jackets in their first ever playoff series
• Datsyuk getting at least three sick goals
• Wings not being upset

Things we don't expect to see but would love to happen:

• Osgood actually doesn't give up 10 goals in a period
• The Wings don't underestimate the Jackets as supposed to going into it with the "been there done this *yawns* like you're going to beat us?" attitude
• Jackets implode
  

Canucks/Blues

Who's winning: Canucks in 5

Blues can win if: They send Luongo to Australia

It would be nice if: The Blues extended the Canucks to 7 and even took the series

We expect to see:

• Those creepy twins being a factor for the Canucks
  
• Luongo being good
• TSN loving Vancover and wishing that they were the only team that existed in Canada besides the Leafs
• Blues making a go of it
  
• Me forgetting who every Blues player is..
  

Things we don't expect to see but would love to happen:

• Me remembering some Blues players
• Those creepy twins implode
• Sundin does nothing at all
  

Blackhawks/Flames

Who's winning: Flames in 7

Hawks can win if: They don't get run over by Dion Phaneuf first Edit: apparently he's injured so... uh... yeah... oh well... the Flames will have to come up with another way of burning the Hawks

It would be nice if: This wasn't the "battle of the godawful goalhorns".....

We expect to see:

• sort of experience pull through
  
• the Hawks celebrating being in the playoffs
• Toews and Kane looking a little lost at times
• someone actually caring about this series
• there are actually enough players to play
  

Things we don't expect to see but would love to happen:

• Everyone staying hush about the Hawks making the playoffs

IN CONCLUSION:

The playoffs sound boring right now. Someone please go out and prove me wrong and do some upsetting while playing some entertaining hockey.

Isles get blown up 9-0...

I mean really. I know they wanted to lose but that's crazy. Really crazy. I feel for you guys. I really do. In other news, the Caps downed Kovalchuk. Ovie was originally credited with a goal but then they gave it to Fedorov. Poop. But the Caps did win the game 4-2. So we'll take that. It's time for some serious Flyers love tonight as the orangy people won 2-1 over the Panthers. Thank you Philly. I love you guys (for now).

Oh and yes... the Habs lost. Obvious by the title, right? Right. They looked so lost out there... My poor team. They looked tired both physically and mentally. I'll just leave with a few notes to certain players:

• Sean Avery: You are an idiot. A huge idiot. The refs may have missed your cheap hits but I didn't. You are an idiot. I believe I've called you an idiot and a moron at least 20 times tonight.
• Price: ....oh Pricey.... you weren't awful. You weren't your normal wonderful self that we needed to see tonight, but on a whole I don't believe that you are to blame solely for this loss.
• Komisarek and Gorges: When you play the amount of minutes that you guys did last night, I guess you were bound to be tired but..... that was brutal at times...
• Komisarek: Mind you.... you did make up for that horridnes son the first goal by making the save of the night. Plus you hit Avery. Brownie cookies for hitting Avery.
• Breezer: How is it that you're the only D not to have been injured this year? How? You did have one good save though. So congrats.
• Kovy and Koivu: Where the hell were you two?
• Tanguay: stop those passes to nobody. They are stupid and lead to giveaways (duh)
• Lapierre: You should have buried Avery when you had the chance
• Metro and Dandy: You two were good but Metro is too sloooow....
• Pleky and Andrei: You two are going to be the death of someone....
• Refs: You were bad.
• Gomez: Wow... you showed class when RDS peppered you with questions in an attempt to get you to bash us. Wow. You are the one good Rag today.
• Price Bashers: I'm sorry but, you win and lose as a team. Price was not the only one to blame for this. The D was awful. The offense was dead. How is it Price's fault that the guys in front of him scored all of one goal? - and for the records, it was a very ugly goal by Dandenault. How it is Price's fault that his team was grossly outshot? How it is Price's fault that the PP has now gone to hell? It's not. Was he brilliant tonight? No. But did his team help him? Uh nope.

Enemy watch

• Brodeur and Co got trounced by the.... Leafs.... Uhuh.....Brodeur you never cease to amaze me...
• Boston got trounced by the.... Sens.... Uhuh.... Obviously you don't underestimate the power of meaningless games
• Malkin broke Malone and the Bolts lost. Whatever.

Junior Deathwatch

• Poor souls lost 6-1....

A win puts us in the playoffs while a loss.....

doesn't. Rags can't catch us if we win and neither can those stinky Panthers. Still, should one or both win tonight, we could be in some serious trouble. The Wingsies helped us last night by crushing the Sabres last night. Now we need the Flyers to be the Flyers and crush the Panthers (or maybe Briere could go all Crosby and randomly fight a guy who made a perfectly legal hit on a teammate?). And as much as I detest the Devils and the Bruins, I want to see them decimate the Leafs and the Sens. Crush them into itty bitty pieces. Doesn't matter if the Devils win at this point. The Leafs must be crushed. If you could all hit Grabs that be awesome. It'd be cool if the Islanders actually beat Cam Ward but I'm not holding out for that.

Anyway... It's raining/snowing outside today. Even my dogs dont' want to go out in this weather. So. I'll be inside, trying to think of a way to shred Grabs or plotting some evil plot to do with freezer-paper stencils on clothes....

Bah... Oh and it's Avery night. Hmm... You know the difference between Avery and Grabovski is to the best of my knowledge, Avery has not seriously injured anyone this season. Sure, he talks crap, is annoying as hell and everyone hates him, but there's a difference between being a super pest and being a super moron who takes cheap hits at your players.

Proof that we need to clone Markov

Losing Lang was bad. I really felt that his perky manner in front of the media was just as prevalent in the dressing room and that losing Mr. Perky was a big blow to the team. But losing both Markov and Schneider at the time of the year is beyond big blow.

It was really clear that the Habs were struggling without Markov. How much of it was the actual physical loss of Makrov or of the mental impact of losing him, I'm not sure. Probably both. O'Byrne and Janik are obviosuly not the best alternative to Markov and Schneider and Brisebois is only good when he gets in about 5 minutes a game. But on a whole, I didn't think they were awful (I mean, O'Byrne didn't actually put the puck in the empty net tonight so that's good news). Gorges really stepped it up, I thought and Komisarek played a fairly solid game. Both ended up with a bucket load of icetime. Kovy had a goal as did Hammer (!). Higgy had a penalty shot after missing and open net because he got killed. Habs are 0-3 on the penalty shots in their last three games. Go figure. Halak needed to be better than he was but I can only blame him so much. The D was in tatters and the offense couldn't bury their chances.

But damnit, the Sens outskated, outworked, and just bloody well outplayed the Habs. Obviously not a good sign for the playoffs - asuming we get the points that we need and get in. I could go on and on and on about the game but I won't. Suffice it say, it wasn't good and I had to rewrite this damn post three times in a lame attempt at coming up with something that 1) wasn't filled with swear words and 2) wasn't filled doomsday crap. You want doomsday stuff, read the paper tomorrow morning.

I'll finish by saying this: Grabovski better be playing in th KHL next year because as long as he's in the NHL he will play the Habs and he is so screwed if he steps foot in this city. So screwed.

I don't see any togas......?

(no one ever said I could do photoshop things with any skill)

You know, the more I think about it, the more I have to say what a stupid name the "Ottawa Senators" is. I mean really. Think about it. In Canada, senators are those boring overpaid guys who do go around doing boring things while getting overpaid to do it. They may occasionally help draft in a new law but that's really it. I think Senators and Mike Duffy's face pops into my head. Is this really who you want your team to be named after? Oh wait.... Sens=boring overpaid guys who skate around doing boring things while getting overpaid to do it.. OH! I GET IT NOW! EUREKA! I was going to go on a whole spiel about how the dude on their logo is actually a centurion dude thing which made more sense because they did battle related stuff unlike the Senators. And how they should have been called the Ottawa Centurions instead...But I get it now..... Very clever.....

Anyway.... Is it obvious that the Sens Cens are coming to town tonight? This is my last chance for this year to bash the Cens. I want to be able to continue bashing them by the end of the day as well. I want a win and I want a resounding win. Of course... if Markov and/or Schneider are out for tonight, we're screwed because that means Breezer will be in *wails* but we won't think about that while we're sitting in our chairs bashing Jason Spezza.

Edit: Okay, we're screwed. Both Markov AND Schneider are going to be out for tonight. @#$%^. Our D just went out the door. Someone go squash Grabs, please.

We need this win. Mainly because the Pens suck and lost to the Panthers who actually tried. Crosby needs to stop getting into hissy fits against the Panthers. Well, maybe not. It's too funny. This is the second time this year that he's taken on a Panther and the second time that he's gotten extra penalties for his troubles. Ah Sid.... I think ickle Geno can take care of himself, you know? Maybe not... for a big guy he certainly gets knocked around a lot.... Whatever. I still think it should be the other way around...

ANYWAY. I meant to put up a limmerick about Grabs the other day and promptly forgot... So... yes, here is some belated Grabs bashing...

There once was a guy called Grabs
Who used to play for the Habs
He'd whine and complain
And got kicked off the plane
Now as a Leaf he goes around and blabs

And one other because once I get started on this stuff I can't stop...

The NHL once had a site
That couldn't get anything right
It announced our doom
When in fact the Sens went boom
Therefore their headlines have no bite

Habs vs Sabres pre-game rant

Fine, so this is actually a big excuse to post my new stick figure drawing... I couldn't help myself. It's like making fun of Crosby.... It's so easy. I'm bad, I know.... Here's another picture of the Crosby voodoo by the way. He now lives in a tissue box. I should probably make it look like an igloo or something....


Anyway.....

Miller's back and I'm thinking I should have made a Miller voodoo doll instead of a Crosby one. Then again, doesn't seem to matter what goalie is in nets though because we all know that the Habs can lose to anyone at any given time. They can also beat anyone at any given time.

So. Which team shows up?

I really hope it's not the one that came to the Bolts game. If the Bolts had been just a tiny bit more... well, I can't say talented, but organized? then we would have seen a different result. The Habs need to play with a tad bit more intensity (okay, fine, a lot more) for 60 minutes. Not 20. Not 40. Definitely not 50. 60! They also need to not freak out if the Sabres take a lead no matter how the goal goes in. And they need to not let the Sabres get a pile of odd man rushes or breakaways. And not getting kicked around by the Sabres would be nice. Thank you. Forechecking is always appreciated, as is hitting anyone in a Sabres jersey. Shooting at the net is a good idea as supposed to going very wide. Staying out of the penalty box is a must. And not having a sucky powerplay would be nice. And not obstructing your own goalie is an absolute must (Komisaurus I'm looking at you!). And of course, a win in any capacity would make this sick fan happy.

What else needs to happen tonight to make me happy

• Pens lose... then again, a Habs victory and a Rags loss in regulation could get the Habs out of 8th because they've played less games...Hmm....Fine. Habs victory and a Rags loss in regulation
  
• Can't decide between a Bruins loss and a Leafs loss.... maybe they could both lose?
• Hurricanes and Devils.... Couldn't care less. Both goalies must be stopped.
• It'd be cool if the Isles beat the Flyers after blanking the Wings...The Flyers had their chance to be the cool people by beating the Panthers and they blew it
• I'd love it if Kovalchuk and co beat the Sens because well.... I just do....
  
• And Dallas MUST beat the Panthers but I'm not really seeing that happen....
  

Should I be embarrassed?

The last time I was at the Bell Center was over ten years ago when I went to see Disney on Ice....Yeah, the same show that ruined the ice for the Habs/Oilers game. Well, anyway, I'm about to fix that and I shall be at the game tonight! Whahoo. If only the Islanders could play like the dead last team that they are and lose nicely... I shall be happy. Then again, it's Yann Danis in nets and I'm guessing that he'll be making a big effort tonight considering he was a prospect for the Habs and all that jazz....I wonder if the crowd will boo Streit or Koivu more?

While I'm squinting down at the ice trying to follow the action, several other important games will be happening.

• Caps/Flyers. Obviously I'm hoping that Ovechkin and Co will get the job done in Flyers country (sorry Kristin!). An OT win over Nashville isn't exactly what I call inspiring and they need to get their act together right now. Yes, I'm looking at the crappy defense and the often less than stellar goaltending........And when was the last time Mr. Ovie scored?! Feels like a long time now.....But the Caps need to win, not just for my sake, but for the Habs sake too. C'moooon, Ooviiieeee......
  
• Pens/Jackets. Steve Mason needs to continue to kill teams and he needs to beat the Penguins tonight. It's really vital because the Pens are only one point behind the Habs. Plus, it's time for the Puffles to go down.
  
• Stars/Hurricanes. Hey Turco, is it really asking too much for you not to screw up on a clearing attempt or whatever and not get scored on in a stupid manner?! Stars must beat the Hurricanes for the same reason that the Penguins must lose. Plus, I don't like Eric Staal. And Cam Ward bugs me too.
  
• Panthers/Sabres. What's a Sabre anyway? Are they referring to the long dead animal or the tooth? We either have a panther versus a dead animal or a panther versus a tooth. Huh. Either way the Panthers have to lose.
  
• Rangers/Predators... Well, Rangers have to lose too.
• Oh and some teams called Boston and Ottawa are playing... Guess who's going to win that one?
  

So basically everyone but the Habs need to lose tonight... what are the chances? If I really had to pick, I'd settle for the Capitals and the Blue Jackets winning... and the Stars....