Peach Fuzz vs Way Too Much Fuzz

I'm going for the roof in the eastern conference so now I ask.... Wings or Hawks in the west? To help me decide I've compiled a list of pros and cons for each.

Pros to cheering for the Hawks:

• Captain Sideburns Toews
• Cabbage Patch Kid Kane
• Byfuglien (pronounced "BUFFlin")
• Versteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeg
• Havlat is not a Sens anymore
• Any by extension of the last one... anyone who is not a Sen anymore is a good person. Unless they're a Leaf, a Bruin, a Duck or a Shark, or a Penguin.
  
• Burish has big hair
• Lots of Canadians on the team
• Made Luongo cry
• Beat the Crapnucks
• If the Hawks win, the Leafs will have the longest Stanley Cup drought.
  
• Toews and Kane can possibly cure my Post-Ovechkin-Syndrome.
  

Cons to cheering for the Hawks

• Toews irks me
  
• Kane irks me
  
• Seeing Byfuglien's name and trying to figure out how it's pronounce "BUFFlin" irks me
• Crabby Khabby isn't Maffy.... or Simmy... or Pricey.... or Jaro....He's Crabby Khabby. He irks me.
  
• Their logo irks me.
  
• their white jerseys blend in with the ice more than anybody else's do for some reason... that irks me.
  
• peach fuzz "beards" irk me (blame Puffy No Beard for that)
  

Pros for cheering for the Wings

• I respect the heck out of them
  
• I've spent the better part of the season defending them and as such I feel obligated to continue to cheer for them
  
• They dont' irk me
• I don't particularly fancy the idea of the Western Conference's Puffy and Malkin getting a Stanley Cup so that means I go with the defending champs
  
• I like calling Datsyuk a Turnip *g* there's a new one to put in the dictionary!
• Another Cup for the Wingsies will put them ahead of the Leafs. Or something. Reminding the Leafs of their awfulness is a good thing.
  

Cons for cheering for the Wings

• They don't particularly excite me. Post-Ovechkin-Syndrome calls for exciting goal scorers, please. Yes, you get the job done. Yes, you make it look scary with the precision in which you've scored some of your goals but it's not Ovie-cool.....
  
• Despite defending him for the last few months, Hossa stills irks me as a former Pen fan...
  
• Osgood gives me Halak-attacks. Actually, it's worse than a Halak-attack...
• While I admit that the Wings do have good playoff beards, I can't stand playoff beards to be honest and all the fuzz irks me. Then again.... peach fuzz a la Crosby and Kane irks me too....How about we just ditch the playoff beard altogether? I am sure that is the one and only thing that the Anointed One and I will ever agree on.
• Does Detroit really need another Stanley Cup?
  

So. That is totally not helpeful..... Peach Fuzz vs Too Much Fuzz....

Guess it's bandwagon time!

Well, it was officially bandwagon time as of last night actually. And it's fun. I love this. For now. Until I pick a team that I want to win..... then it won't be fun....

I went from cheering for the Bruins to cheering for the Whalercanes, back to cheering for the Bruins then back to cheering for the roof to cave in. At the end of the night, I decided to go to sleep, figuring I'd wake up tomorrow and see who one.. Only... I left tweetdeck open on my comp in my room and.. lo and behold, I saw a Whalercanes victory when I came upstairs. Oopsies...... That's not how it was supposed to work. Not only will I not get to see Looch suspended for life for taking out Puffy for good, but now I have to see TWO Staalclones? No way. NO WAY. I've been completely robbed of a Looching. And a Looching of the Pens is a good thing. BAH. I swear if someone is fixing this stupid playoffs, I'm going to waterbottle them.

Then again... my Habs hockey soul was just saved from having to cheer for the Bruins...

But still. I wanted a Looching *pouts*

Obviously I don't support a Whalercanes/Puffles series either so I'm off to the Western Conference. I've been rooting for the Wings now, but I swear if I could just figure out the magic formula for liking Kane and Toews, I'd do it. I like exciting hockey. The Wings, I'll be honest, don't make me excited. I respect the hell out of the Wings and I think they're great, but I'm going through Post-Ovechkin-Syndrome right now... And besides... Semin technically endorses Kane and Toews, right? *G*

The ONE and only plus to a Whalercanes/Puffles series is the StaalClone drinking games. Not that I drink (even the best of them would be out in 5 mins anyway). And I don't think I could stomach a full series of StaalClones. Especially not THESE two Staal clones. These two have to be the worst. I wonder if it's a coincidence that these two look a like? Really. 1 and 3 look a lot alike and 2 and 3 look a lot alike. Really! But whatever....

If you are a Hawks or Wings fan, feel free to try to win me over. If you're Whalercanes or Puffles fan... well.... you can try to persuade me but it won't work. Even if Maffy is the most likable goalie left...

And on a more serious note.... Bs fans.... I'm honestly sorry for you guys. Your team had a great year (mainly at my expense, I'll be honest *g*). It's scary to think that they'll come back just as strong, if not stronger, next year. You've been fantastic and it's been a... well.... after my team went out and I got over it, it's been a pleasure chatting on Twitter with you all *g* Almost looking forward to seeing the Bs and the Habs next year...! In the words of Boston's really annoying PA guy: WHOOOOOoooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooOOOOOOoo

Hello PK Subban

(yeah, I totally stole this from Number31 who completely beat me to this. But anyway, doesn't this pose remind you of a certain lovable Russian for the Caps?).

Hey, some good news for once!

How would you like to celebrate your birthday by signing a three year entry level contract with your favorite NHL team? Needless to say, I'm insanely jealous and pleased about this (jealous because that is just too cool of a birthday present).

Yup. PK Subban just signed a three year contract with the Canadiens.

I have no idea what his development as a player has been at all so don't go ruining my day by coming in here and telling me he can't actually play defense. I just know that he's got a pile of character which this Habs team doesn't have right now (no, Price, your little justified fit doesn't count. Sorry), he was insanely fun to watch a the WJC last year. And he's a human quote machine.

YES!

If there's one thing I wish the Habs could take from the Caps, it's a player with character (ie, Ovie *g*). We're sorely lacking that and it'd be totally refreshing to see someone who doesn't look like Atlas carrying the whole damn world on his shoulders.

If I don't see you as a Hab next fall then I'll be seeing you as a Hammie... assuming the Hammies are still the Hammies............let's not think about that one for a while..... WHOOO FOR PK SUBBAN!

Real mix of emotions here....

First of all, this was not the way to go. This really wasn't. It was a... how to put it? A Habs-esque ending. This series deserved better. The Caps deserved better. The fans deserved better.

But guess what?

I think I love the Caps even more than I did before. They're a fantastic team. With some tweaking they can be even better (how about SOME D, eh?). They need to take this experience and come back a better team in the fall. Ovie was very classy at the end with dishing out hugs for the Pens (none for Sid though. I was rooting for him to punch him out if you weren't wondering what I was thinking). And actually, I was incredibly surprised to see the Verizon Center crowd cheering their team on in the last 2 mins. That Montreal, is how you support your team. I hope you were watching that. Because THAT is how you treat your team.

So thanks Caps. I know this wasn't how it was supposed to end, but you'll be stronger for it in the end. Promise. The Stanley Cup is coming to Washington and Ovie's going to be there going insane. Just you wait =)

GO CAPS GO!

I didn't see much of you this year during the season, but you can bet you'll be fighting for time with my Habs in the fall =)

And now... I think I'm going to do something I'm going to regret but I have no choice really....

G-g-g-o B......b.......r.........brooo..............................in.......s.........?

I'm sorry. This is purely bandwagon stuff here. But if those Penguins are to go down then really the only team capable of that in the east are the Bruins. I'd like nothing more than to see Lucic get suspended for life after taking out Crosby for good....That would be awesome. Of course the Bs will then lose to the Wings.... or... maybe the Hawks..... maybeh....

Yeah, I realize I'm being immature here. Everyone should be allowed to have their immature moments though, right? C'mon... I have way less moments than the Puffy does.... and he's older than I am *gasp*

I might change my mind in the morning after I've recovered from this.... We'll see....

psst.... Jaro...Happy birthday!

I didn't even know it was Halak's birthday today. I feel kinda bad for not looking. Kinda. I don't want to look like a stalker or anything. Even if it says what it is on his profile... which I've never actually looked at... WHATEVER.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JARO!

I know you'll never see this and you're probably doing something interesting in Europe somewhere but yeah. It's the thought that counts, right? Right.

Yay for little Slovak goalies!

Game 7

I detest Game 7s. It's like OT. Everything is on the line. There is no "well, if I lose, I could still have a chance next time". No. It's do or go home. Game 7 is where you bring everything you've got. Needless to say, it's very unpleasant to be the loser of a game 7. Knowing that you were that close and yet ultimately you fall short. Not that I've ever been on the losing end of a game 7 actually.... I've only sat through one with my team and my Habbies blanked the Bruins in that one (I can still see that 4th or 5th goal slide right past Marshmallow....)

But now I have to suffer through not 1, not 2 but 3 game 7s. How's that for some insane bad luck?

The Bs remembered that they are the Bs who finished second overall and started demolishing the Whalercanes. The fact that I had the Bruins winning this in 6 with the Whalercanes forcing the extra games, doesn't really make me feel any better with the probable Bruins victory.

The Dumb Ducks also won a few bad bounces/lucky breaks. When I say dumb, I do mean it as they took two too many Ducks on the ice penalties. Obviously counting it not their forte. I also laugh every time I hear the words "Ducks" and "fight". I mean, yeah, it's all the DUCKS know how to do, but really... I've never seen a real duck fight. A goose, yeah. They're nasty. But a duck? No way. It should be an interesting final because I think the Wings will remember who`s the boss here and will at least try to put up a better effort back home.

Anyway, everyone else can drop of the face of the earth right now (except for the Wings) because all that matters right now is what's going to happen in less than 10 hours at the Verizon Center.

I'm pretty nervous about this one. I don't think anybody really doubted that this series would go the distance. That this series has actually lived up to the hype and gone beyond in some cases, is pretty unbelievable. It's been a very wild ride so far and I hope for the Caps it continues into the next round. I'm not offering up any advice or anything on this one.

You know which team I want to win. You know I'll be sitting there screaming in a Habs shirt because rocking the red in a Habs shirt is lucky. And you know that, no matter what the outcome is, I'll still be planning my trip to Washington next year to see them live =)

Edit: Oh Bruins fans, you are so nice to me! (no sarcasm meant this time! *g*) Dwatson783 got me to listen to "The Pretender" by the Foo Fighters. I've never heard it before but man, I am listening to this all day. We're calling this Ovie's pre-game song with a certain Puffle in mind =)

Nobody ever said I was the most... sane fan out there...

GO CAPS GO!

Hey, maybe there is something to the Anointed One

We all know that in game three, Gonchar went out with a serious injury when Ovie collided with him, right? The Pens fans were screaming to have Ovie suspended for life for a deliberate attempt at death by kneeing. Gonchar's injuries were apparently severe enough that he would be out for the rest of the playoffs (assuming that the Penguins were to make it past the Capitals).

Well, guess what? Today we have reports that Gonchar was seen practicing on the ice with the team.

This is amazing when we consider that he was supposed to be at death's door after that attempt to finish his career by Ovie. I have no idea how he made such a miraculous recovery other than to surmise that it must have been the work of the Anointed One. We doubted his abilities but today, people, we have proof that the Anointed One can cure his teammates.

Actually, apparently his magic curing abilities aren't just limited to his own team. Remember Scott Walker's smashing of Aaron Ward's face? Ward was supposed to be a goner too. But now we have reports that he too will be back on the ice tonight for the dratted Bs. Hallelujah!

All hail the Anointed One and his magic curing abilities. We were wrong to doubt you.

GAME SEVEN HERE WE COME!!!!!!!!!!!!

(group hug!)

CAPS WIN IT IN OT, BABY! WE ARE GOING TO GAME SEVEN!

Excuse me while I go collapse now after that very intense game.

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Okay. I'm back.

David Steckel tipped the puck in, and for once the deflection went into the back of the opposing team's net. YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES! (sorry Maffy....)

The Caps didn't look like they wanted it at the beginning though. The Pens dominated and were rewarded with a... either Puffy goal and a Puffy assisted goal. Whatever. It was two on one and Simmy had no chance. And that was it for the period. Shots on goal were apparently 18-4 which sort of reflected the Penguins total attempt at decimation.

Second period was... I'm trying to remember... We had a Kozzy goal - which reminded me of Andrei's awesome rocket shots (*sniffles* Andrei.....come back soon.....), a Flash goal after A2 got tripped up and *le gasp* they actually called a penalty. But it wasn't needed and A2 set up Ovie (or somebody) who attempted to score but Flash put it in past a sprawling Maffy. Of course the Puffles got a power play at the end of the period and scored on it. Meh. Still, we went into the third tied 2-2.

And then it got scary.

Between the 4:40 and 6:07 mark we had three goals. First from some Puffle - I thnk it was The Vampire - and then we had an A2 goal (FINALLY!!!!!!!) which I think actually went off of Laich (pffft). And THEN we had another goal from Kozzy. Because Gill sort of obstructed his own goalie. Hm...

And then with less than five mins left... guess who ties up the game? Puffy! *pukes*

AND THEN! We had a Puffles powerplay with TWO minutes to go. Heart-attack time.

Plenty of close calls but NO GOALS.

OT!

I thought the Caps really pressed hard in OT but of course it was the Pens who looked like they would have the break. I freaked out every time one came near the Simmy. And...and...and...THEN! Some Puffle shoots the puck and it rings off the post. OFF THE POST! Finally a lucky bounce in favor of the Caps! AH!!!!!!!!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand...... Steckel who got sent to the box at the end of the third period finally tipped in Laich's shot past Maffy. GAME OVER. See you Wednesday.

Of course this isn't over. Not by a long shot. We have 60 mins or more left until we know who will make the next round.

But for tonight, we will celebrate this win. Tonight, we will think about all the things that went right. We will remember that as the truly delusional fans that we are, we ignored the "experts" saying that the Penguins had the advantage and we never stopped believing that the Caps could send it back home for a game 7.

Well... their home. Unless they want to take over the Bell Center. I bet our ice would be better than crap at the Igloo. For an igloo with Penguins in it, the ice was crappy.

To quote that really annoying PA guy in Boston: WhoooooooOOOOOOOooooooooooooo!!!!!!

GO CAPS GO!!!!!

Useless info: With all kinds of puffy flowers poofing my sinuses have been bugging me so I was pretty low key about the game (until that wild third period). It didn't help that I was feeling great until the game started and Puffy came on the TV. I think I'm allergic to him.....

And... is it just me or does the that Win a Honda commercial use the Bruins goalhorn? You know... the commercial where the car pulls up into the garage and the goal thingy goes off.

By the way... The Hawks just finished off the Canucks. Now, as much as I'd like the Wings to win, could you imagine a final with the Caps and the Hawks? I may hate Kane and Toews but Semin does have a point about them. They can score and they can score awesome goals. Imagine... Ovie vs Kane.... Ovie would crush Kane of course.... =) It'd be battle of the showboats *g* (not that I necessarily think Ovie is a showboat.... *coughs*)

MAKE IT HAPPEN!