Off Wing Opinion

Tampa Bay 2 Philadelphia 1: Congratulations to Tampa Bay for making the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history.

As for heroes, there were plenty for Tampa Bay. Early in the first period, Nik Khabibulin kept Philadelphia off the board as the Flyers controlled much of the run of play. Then Ruslan Fedotenko game Tampa Bay a lead it would never relinquish, as he scored on a power play to make it 1-0 Tampa Bay. It was his sixth goal of the series for the ex-Flyer, who only scored 17 goals in the regular season. Early in the second period, Fred Modin made it 2-0, with Brad Richards getting his second assist of the night.

Though Philly managed to close the gap to 2-1 midway through the second period, they would never seriously threaten the rest of the way, and had goalie Robert Esche to thank for only being down one at the end of the period after being peppered with 17 Lightning shots. But the game was essentially over, as Tampa Bay continually disrupted the Philadelphia attack, and mostly kept them penned inside their own zone.

The loss was hard to take inside the Philly locker room, as the realization probably sank in that the combination of a lockout and roster shake up meant the end for the current Flyers lineup. But even there, Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock saw something positive for the game in Tampa Bay's victory:

``My feeling is there are trends that develop in the NHL,'' he said. ``You had the Edmonton Oilers and then you had the 1-2-2 system and now you have the way Tampa plays. If other teams follow suit, Tampa is capable of setting a trend back to how the game was played in the 1980s. Hopefully, they are able to sustain this kind of presence.''

That's nice of him to say, but you have to wonder if Hitchcock isn't talking out of both sides of his mouth. After all, he was one of the coaches who helped solidify the hold that defensive play has on the professional game right now.

Some other thoughts. I happened to catch the abbreviated version of the NHL2Night postgame show. In an instant analysis of the Stanley Cup Finals, both Ray Ferraro and Barry Melrose said that Calgary was better at penalty killing than Tampa Bay -- this despite the fact that Tampa Bay's penalty killing was better than Calgary's by several percentage points, something I found out by simply looking at the graphic that ESPN2 was running on the screen. Which makes me wonder, do these guys have any idea what they're talking about?

Tampa Bay wins series 4-3.

UPDATE: Barry Melrose amended his comments on the later broadcast of NHL2Night, explaining he had to give Calgary the advantage in just one matchup. As it turns out, the 1:00 a.m. edition of NHL2Night was the last ever, as ESPN has cancelled the program. Thanks to the team that put together the program for nine years, and tried to sell hockey as best they could, without a whole lot of help from the game they love so much.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 23rd, 2004 at 12:14 pm by Eric McErlain and is filed under Hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Philadelphia 5 Tampa Bay 4: This game delivered just about everything you could ask for in a Game Six: multiple lead changes, multiple storylines (Lecavalier, Fedotenko, Primeau, Gagne), and finally, a thrilling OT period that sends us off to a Game Seven. Again, it was another example of why playoff hockey is so exciting, and just the kind of game you'd like to expose a hockey novice to in order to introduce them to the game.

Heck, even the folks in Calgary have to be happy this morning, knowing that whoever they play in the Finals is going to have to endure an emotional trial in another Game Seven. As for the Bolts, they were simply manhandled by the Flyers, though they managed to stay in the game until the end by dint of their incredible ability to capitalize on the limited scoring opportunities they managed to generate -- especially in the second period when they were led by the relentless Ruslan Fedotenko:

Fedotenko's two goals punctuated a period dominated by the Lightning. The Bolts outshot the Flyers, 13-5, and didn't allow them a shot in the first 11 minutes of the period. The problem was that one of the shots, by Kapanen, went through the leg pads of Nikolai Khabibulin from a tough angle for a 3-2 Flyers lead.

But this had been a series in which shifts in momentum have taken place within the games rather than from game to game. In the third period, Tampa Bay may as well have been wearing different colors. Overwhelmed and appearing gassed, the Lightning did not play like the same team.

Roy Cummings from the Tampa Tribune put it this way:

The portion of the scoreboard that tallied the shots on goal told the story of the Flyers' 5-4 victory in Thursday's Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. It told a good portion of it, anyway.

On the Flyers' side of the board was a big, fat 43. That's far too many, even for a game that stretched well into overtime. Simply put, this was not one of the Lightning's better defensive efforts.

``Except for the second period, they pretty much dominated us,'' Lightning forward Tim Taylor said. ``At the end, we were just kind of hanging on there. We got away with it last game, but not this time.''

Of course, none of the defensive breakdowns was more obvious or damaging as Daryl Sydor's giveaway in the first period that turned into another Keith Primeau goal and a 2-1 Flyers lead.

But despite the Philly win, I couldn't help but be struck by the fact that Tampa Bay didn't put together nearly enough of an effort to win, yet still came within inches of closing out the series last night. What we saw last night might very well be the kind of loss that sends a message to the Bolts about what it really takes to win in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. See you on Saturday night.

Series tied 3-3.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 21st, 2004 at 10:31 am by Eric McErlain and is filed under Hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Calgary 3 San Jose 1: That giant boom you heard late last night was the Off Wing Stanley Cup pool collapsing under its own weight. With the Sharks crashing out of the playoffs with last night's loss, we only have four contestants remaining. But some props have to go to Liz from Breakfast of Losers, who actually picked Calgary to win it all.

As for the Sharks, exactly what team came out onto the ice for last night's game? It was apparent after only a few seconds that they had no energy at all, almost resigned to the inevitability of losing the game and the series. One hates to point fingers, but where the heck has Patrick Marleau been since the hat trick he scored in the series against the Avalanche? Though he wears the 'C' in San Jose, Marleau was completely shown up by Calgary's Jarome Iginla.

But you have to wonder just how chagrined the entire Sharks front office is this morning. Essentially, the Sharks' season was ended back in November when they traded Miikka Kiprusoff to the Flames for a second round draft pick in 2005. And if that didn't hurt enough, they were dispatched by Darryl Sutter, the head coach they had most recently dismissed, a man who took a team that hadn't been to the playoffs in years, and revived them working as both the coach and the general manager.

The Sharks won a Pacific Division title with a 104 point regular season, and went further into the playoffs than any other time in their short history. They'll be back next year (or perhaps not), but it doesn't mean a heck of a lot now.

As for Calgary, here's a priceless moment from Ray Ratto:

Darryl Sutter was trying to celebrate what just happened to the Calgary Flames while at the same time trying to plan what is about to, when he got a phone call.

"It was the prime minister (Paul Martin)," the head coach said with one of his best you-can't-make-this-stuff-up smiles. "And the thing is, he's a Liberal, and out here, we're not. So I had to watch what I said. I didn't want to say something like, 'What are you gonna do about this mad-cow thing?' "

So he held his tongue, accepted gracefully, and went back to preparing for Calgary's first Stanley Cup Final in 15 years.

15 years? That's 15 years since Lanny McDonald helped Joe Nieuwendyk, Joey Mullen and Al MacInnis eliminate the Montreal Canadiens on home ice at the vaunted Forum? Wait no longer Calgary. Welcome back to the Finals.

Calgary wins series 4-2.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 20th, 2004 at 11:56 am by Eric McErlain and is filed under Hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Tampa Bay 4 Philadelphia 2: Before last night's game in Tampa, Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock told the ESPN crew working the broadcast that the key to winning a Game Five on the road was being able to survive the first period.

Getting outshot 18-8 and ending a playoff period in a 1-0 hole isn't exactly my definition of surviving. After only the first few minutes of the period, it seemed like only a matter of time before a besieged Robert Esche would give up a goal -- one that was eventually scored by ex-Flyer Ruslan Fedotenko.

The second period became the Brad Richards show, as he loosed a pair of cannon shots Esche had no hope of stopping to make it 3-0 -- the point where I turned the game off for a few minutes in order to miss the pair of Philadelphia goals that helped make the third period more interesting than it deserved to be.

How'd Tampa Bay manage to do it? First off, they found a way to neutralize Keith Primeau -- using a variety of players to batter him all night long and keep him off his game, primarily defenseman Pavel Kubina:

``He's physical, so I was trying to be physical against him,'' Kubina said of him and defensive partner Darryl Sydor matching up against Primeau. ``He's their best player in this series. Any time he steps on the ice, we have to know about it. All the guys did a great job against him. It's not about him and me.''

For Kubina, it was another opportunity to make a statement defensively, like he did against Washington's Jaromir Jagr in last year's playoffs. ``I'm just trying to do my job,'' Kubina said. ``They are different players. Primeau is more physical. Jagr is more of a skill guy. I was just trying to stop him any chance I got. That's the way it's going to be. It's a great challenge for me.''

The other difference in the game was the Tampa Bay power play, which scored three times last night, while the Flyers were held scoreless in three opportunities with the extra man. With their decided size advantage, the Flyers have to expect to be in the box more often. But the blame here has to lie with Philly's penalty killing unit, who left Esche defenseless in more than one situation last night.

Tampa Bay leads series 3-2.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 19th, 2004 at 10:53 am by Eric McErlain and is filed under Hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Calgary 3 San Jose 0: After watching Game Four in Calgary, I didn't think the Flames had much of a chance at all. But it was clear from the time they hit the ice last night that they were going to play with more energy and determination than San Jose could muster in their own building.

On NHL2Night, Barry Melrose outlined how and why San Jose lost this game -- identifying three separate mistakes that Calgary capitalized on immediately for scores each time. But there was one person who could see what was happening before Calgary even scored their first goal:

"Two minutes into the game," [San Jose head coach Ron] Wilson said of last night's 3-0 defeat. "I could see everything.

"You would expect people would see what was going on and simplify everything but we started the same way we did in Games 1 and 2.

"A shift or two in, we're not dumping the puck, turn it over at the offensive blueline and putting our defence on their heels."

Say what you will about Wilson and the effect his salty personality can have on a locker room, but there's little doubt he engages the media head on, whether the news is good or bad.

Here's Gary Peterson of the Contra Costa Times:

Sure, you're aware that with the Sharks' 3-0 loss to the Flames on Monday night, the visiting team has won every game of the series, which now stands at 3-2 Flames and is headed back to Calgary. But really, how long can that go on?

You know the Flames' power play has all the get-up-and-go of a shiftless roommate. In other news, the sky is blue, and probably always will be.

What you're looking for is a way into this bad boy, a key, something to look for, a reason to believe you understand the game. We feel your frustration, and we're here to help.

Try this: First goal wins.

As I've said before, playoff hockey is looking more and more like European Soccer, with a one goal lead all but insurmountable as the playoffs wear on. As for this series, I've given up on guessing which way it's going to go next.

Calgary leads 3-2.

POSTSCRIPT: Calgary head coach Darryl Sutter ignored the advice of the media in Calgary (advice I agreed with), and kept Chris Simon in the lineup last night after a disastrous performance in Game Four. The best that can be said about last night was that Simon didn't prevent his team from winning -- not good enough to kep him on the ice if you ask me.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 18th, 2004 at 10:29 am by Eric McErlain and is filed under Hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Tampa Bay 4 Philadelphia 1: Want to sum up this game in just a couple of seconds. Let's go to the opening minutes of the third period last night in Philadelphia. After seeing Flyers goalie Robert Esche give up a pair of soft goals, Flyers center Keith Primeau cut the Tampa Bay lead to 2-1, absolutely electrifying the home crowd. But just 43 seconds later:

[Martin] St. Louis, outracing a pair of Flyers to the puck along the boards, fired a pass toward the middle to Lecavalier before the Flyers could react.

``I saw Vinny splitting the D, and I thought if I could just get the puck right up to him and not have to fish it off the wall, I thought he would have a chance,'' St. Louis said. ``They didn't expect that. I think they expected it to go off the wall. I just shot it right up the middle where I thought he would be. It definitely took the crowd out of it.''

An absolute backbreaker. It's one thing when your team makes clutch plays fighting in front of the net, get a good bounce, and tipping the puck into the net. Heck, everyone loves grit.

But what we're seeing with the Lightning is different. We're seeing skill trump size and strength as Tampa Bay scored goal after goal in dramatic fashion in terms of both timing and style. As for Lecavalier's goal, he absolutely embarassed the Flyers defense with that score. And with Nik Khabibulin rounding back into form after Monday night's wipeout, I'm having a hard time seeing Philly turning this around.

One last note: last night's loss was Philly's first in the postseason. On the other hand, Tampa Bay is now 5-0 on the road this playoff season.

Tampa Bay leads series 2-1.

San Jose 3 Calgary 0: With the clock well past one in the East, and having just returned home from a party with some of my co-workers congratulating me on a new position (more on that next week), I was more than happy to turn off the television last night after Alexander Korolyuk's pretty goal in the last minute gave San Jose a 2-0 lead.

Looks like I missed something good. I'll let Ray Ratto explain:

Whether it was the extended "My mother? Your mother!" debate between Jonathan Cheechoo and Jarome Iginla early in the third period, or Nabokov's modified breaststroke kick while trying to free himself of Ville Nieminen's tender mercies, the series of pigpiles that NFL referees Ben Dreith once lovingly described as "the business," or general manager Doug Wilson's assertive throttling of a press box chair as Simon pummeled defenseman Mike Rathje in the final minute -- well, let's put it this way: The Sharks and Flames manifested what we can only assume will be a new and ever-increasing distaste for each other's company.

That would apparently explain the rain of beer and soda upon the ice at game's end, as a sellout crowd of 19,289 saluted Korolyuk's decision to hesitate on his empty-net goal, and their team's step back toward the pack.

Game Four is Sunday in Calgary.

Calgary leads series 2-1.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 14th, 2004 at 12:28 pm by Eric McErlain and is filed under Hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Flames 4 San Jose 1: After their Game One OT loss to the Flames, the Sharks talked about how they weren't about to panic after finding themselves in a 1-0 series hole.

Just what the heck do they think they're going to do now? After thoroughly dominating play in Game One, and peppering Flames goalie Mikka Kiprusoff with more than 50 shots in Game One, the Sharks came out completely flat in Game Two, giving up a goal in the first 20 seconds of the game. Before you knew it, it was 2-0, and the Sharks weren't coming back.

For the night, the San Jose only managed to put 18 shots on goal, as Calgary's relentless forecheck took them completely out of their game:

Shark coach Ron Wilson was left shaking his head over his team's performance.

"We were spinning our wheels and weren't in sync," he said. "We weren't supporting the puck, we weren't surrounding the puck. That's why we got whipped the way we did."

Wilson was frustrated that six of his forwards -- including Vincent Damphousse and Mike Ricci -- didn't have a shot on net. There could be changes in the Shark lineup.

"I've got some healthy forwards who deserve a shot," Wilson said. "I have to look at some of the guys who have struggled throughout the playoffs."

Wilson said the Sharks, who won the Pacific Division and came into the playoffs as the No. 2 seed, aren't going to roll over.

"We've been resilient all season long," he said. "I don't see why it would change now. We lost two in a row to Colorado and everybody wrote us off. We've got to go out there and win the next period, then move on from there."

I've heard this sort of brave talk before from Wilson -- namely right after the Capitals lost the first two games of the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals to the Red Wings. And something tells me everyone remembers how that turned out.

Here at Off Wing, a Sharks loss in the Western Conference Finals threatens to completely blow our Stanley Cup pool out of the water, so to speak. Next to the Maple Leafs, the Sharks were the most popular choice in the pool. Coupled with a Tampa Bay loss in the East, our pool may very well be down to two contestants by next week.

So much for the power of prognostication.

Calgary leads series 2-0.

POSTSCRIPT: Though PJ at Sharkspage promised me an all-babe photo gallery from last night, he got sidetracked instead. Considering who he visted with, I'll forgive him this time.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 12th, 2004 at 6:45 am by Eric McErlain and is filed under Hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Philadelphia 6 Tampa Bay 2: Was there anything positive the Tampa Bay Lightning could take away from last night's demolition on home ice? Let's see. It was the end of an eight game playoff win streak that started back in Game Three of their first round series with the Islanders. Even better, it was the end of an eight game win streak the Lightning had over the Flyers stretching back to last season.

Oh, and Nikolai Khabibulin, previously untouchable, yielded four goals, three in the first 12 minutes of the game, when the outcome was essentially decided.

Guess the best part about this game is the fact that it's over. Here's Martin Fennely of the Tampa Tribune:

This is what it's like to lose. This is what it's like to be embarrassed. This is what it's like when you're not ready to play. This what it's like when your previously superhuman goalie turns human. This is what it's like when the other crew plays more desperate. This is what it's like to endure garbage time in an emptying home arena.

And garbage time last night was almost unending. Sure, the Bolts scored twice in the third period, but only once the Flyers had killed off not one, but two of their own two-man advantages in an attempt to not run up the score. But just because the third period took forever to play, doesn't mean it wasn't uneventful, as the frustration level mounted, and the Lightning began to play a bit more physical. In response, Philly's Donald Brashear clotheslined Tampa Bay center Tim Taylor, and a nasty fight ensued. But Brashear never dropped his gloves, and somehow managed to stay out of the penalty box.

The folks running the scoreboard in Tampa started endlessly replaying Brashear's hit on Taylor, something that got under the skin of Philly head coach Ken Hitchcock -- a man who deserves the lion's share of the credit for the Flyers win last night. Here's the Philadelphia Inquirer's Phil Sheridan:

But this one belonged to the coach, if only because every button Hitchcock pushed got exactly the result he was looking for.

Early yesterday, he met with LeClair to tell him to ignore the media criticism that was beginning to achieve critical mass. When a team loses a series opener by 3-1, it's natural to wonder about the $9 million-a-year forward who hasn't scored a single goal in 12 playoff games.

Hitchcock followed that by offering a spirited public defense of LeClair. The gist of it was that the media fail to understand that LeClair's role has changed - partly because the game has changed, and partly because of what Hitchcock is asking him to do.

"I don't want to tell you guys how to do your job," Hitchcock said, "because I can barely do mine."

He was half wrong. He knows how to do his job, and this was an example of his doing it sublimely. With his coach acting to deflect the pressure on him, LeClair fired his first shot of the series between Khabibulin's pads to start the snowball rolling.

Series tied 1-1.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 11th, 2004 at 6:36 am by Eric McErlain and is filed under Hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Philadelphia 3 Toronto 2 OT: That massive snapping sound you heard coming from Canada last night was caused by about a third of the nation angrily shutting off their televisions after Jeremy Roenick ended last night's game in OT, spoiling a splendid comeback and sending a team of aging stars to the golf course. As Stephen Brunt of the Toronto Globe and Mail puts it, the sting this year is a little different:

Because who knows when the next hockey year will roll around. Because who can tell how accommodating a brave new economic world might be for a team that has traditionally relied more on its vast stores of cash than on brains and innovation.

And because this incarnation of the Maple Leafs, an over-the-hill gang that for a time bore a striking resemblance to the ancient heroes of 1967 -- the last Toronto team to win the Stanley Cup -- in dawn's light simply looks old, and full of question marks, especially with a long, labour war looming just beyond the horizon

Click here to see what Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun thinks about next season. As for Roenick's goal, it almost didn't happen, courtesy of a train wreck hit Darcy Tucker laid on the Flyers' Sami Kapanen:

As Kapanen strode full speed toward the puck, Toronto's Darcy Tucker came like some combination of Ronnie Lott, Scott Stevens and the bullet train to Tokyo. He hit Kapanen with all the force he could muster.

Roenick, on the bench, didn't just see it. He felt it.

"Scary," he said. "I got hit just like that here last year. Same guy."

Tucker gave Roenick a concussion during a playoff game at the Air Canada Centre last April. So Roenick knew exactly what was happening as Kapanen struggled to get to the bench.

"If he stays down, they blow the play dead," Roenick said. "As long as the guy is trying to get up, they usually let it go. Sami is tough. He got up."

Kapanen is so tough, he got up three times. That's how many times it took for him to get his legs under him well enough to make it to the bench. His teammates had to pull him over the boards and off the ice. Roenick was one of them, but he had another problem.

"I was supposed to go on for my shift," Roenick said. "So I'm trying to pull Sami in and get past him at the same time."

The rest, as they say, is Flyers history. Now, it's on to Tampa Bay for the Eastern Conference Finals against a healthy and rested squad. BTW -- Tampa Bay swept Philadelphia in their four games this season, outscoring the Flyers 18-8.

Philadelphia wins series 4-2.

San Jose 3 Colorado 1: History was denied last night in Colorado, as San Jose's incredible depth finally overwhelmed the Avalanche. The Sharks put the game away in the second period when they scored three times in 11 minutes, a spree capped off by an incredible goal by an up and coming playoff hero:

Jonathan Cheechoo and Ricci broke in 2-on-1 against Paul Kariya, a forward caught in a defensive position on the power play. Cheechoo's delay shook Kariya, and the San Jose forward beat Aebischer at 12:03 for the Sharks' first three-goal bulge since Game 2.

"I was going to pass it to Reech, but he (Kariya) fell down in the passing lane,'' Cheechoo said. "I didn't want to hit him; I'd done that already in the series. I got around him and I had an open space to shoot at.''

Believe me, it looked a lot better on video -- so good in fact, that Kariya is probably wishing he didn't come back from his ankle injury to play last night.

Despite all the fun, Ray Ratto at the San Francisco Chronicle is still counseling caution, despite the fact the Sharks had never been this deep in the playoffs before:

Now, they're, well, closer than they were, but not close enough yet. Because, though all this history is fine and dandy for the fans, who expected nothing and got more than they ever have, the players operate on the theory that history is only useful in the rearview mirror.

"This is a big obstacle we just cleared," said center Vincent Damphousse, who scored Tuesday's first goal, "but we're no more than a month away (from winning the Stanley Cup). If we want it, we can get it."

Back in Denver, there are nothing but questions -- whether they're talking about Kariya, Teemu Selanne, or Peter Forsberg:

He has given his heart, his soul and his spleen.

Question is: Does Peter Forsberg have anything left to give the Colorado Avalanche?

And if he does have gas left in the Saab, does the sweet-skating Swede even want to return for an 11th season in the NHL?

Questions or not, the Avalanche look to be in far better shape going into the offseason than their rivals in Detroit. Even if they lose all three of those players named above (two of whom -- Kariya and Selanne -- contributed next to nothing this past season), there still loaded to the gills with talent, with Joe Sakic around for another season.

Shed no tears for the Avalanche.

San Jose wins series 4-2.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 5th, 2004 at 7:27 am by Eric McErlain and is filed under Hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Calgary 1 Detroit 0 OT: When is the first day of Summer? If you go by the calendar, it's June 21. Culturally, here in the States, we usually mark Memorial Day Weekend as the traditional kickoff to the Summer season.

But in Detroit, the start of Summer is marked differently -- especially over the last 10 years. That's because Summer in Detroit usually starts the morning after the Red Wings play their last game of the season.

Most years, that date has been closer to June 1st than May 1st. But for the second year in a row, the best lineup pizza money could buy wound up going home early. And you have to wonder if last night was the last look we got at a unique collection of NHL All-Stars -- a lineup that changes in the league's collective bargaining agreement might make impossible to replicate ever again.

Here's Mitch Albom:

Paradise lost. Bottom line: Detroit's dream season fell two rounds and 10 victories shy of a Stanley Cup. In other words, not even close. It ended with a defeat to a No. 6 seed. It ended with a gasping power play, a slowed defense, and a big goose egg, when Martin Gelinas, who played a brilliant game all night long, popped the puck past Curtis Joseph, who stopped all the shots but that one.

It ended with the Wings promising a storm, but delivering only gloomy clouds.

"I expect our best hockey is still in front of us," Brendan Shanahan had said before this game.

Unfortunately for Shanahan and the Red Wings, just the opposite is the case. During this series, the Wings looked old. They looked slow. They looked like they expected to be able to turn on the juice and overwhelm the Flames at the time and place of their choosing. But the Flames took their best shot -- including the incredible emotional let down in Game Four when their incredible comeback was blunted by the Wings on home ice in Calgary -- and then managed to overcome Detroit with speed, superior goaltending (but not by much), relentles forechecking (harrasment, thy name is Craig Conroy) and stifling positional play.

And speaking of Calgary, the team that's moving on and keeping the Spring thaw at bay for at least another playoff round, the elation is all about Martin Gelinas -- a player who first became known to us as a "kid" with the 1990 Edmonton Oilers, but decided that wasn't all he wanted to do with his career.

Now, 14 years after that first Stanley Cup appearance, Gelinas has become the first player in the history of the league to end three separate playoff series on an OT goal. Said teammate Jarome Iginla of Gelinas' goal:

We don't draw that up, that's Gelly always in those spots," said Jarome Iginla, who started the play by grabbing the puck in the corner and pushing to the front of the net.

"He works so hard, every shift you know you're going to get absolutely everything and he won't stop whacking away."

He's got at least one more series of whacking ahead of him. As for the fans in Detroit, enjoy the Summer. At least the Tigers are playing better these days.

Calgary wins series 4-2.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 4th, 2004 at 7:10 am by Eric McErlain and is filed under Hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.