No, I’m the opposite. I’m a disgruntled former Leafs fan.
I have. It was some old fart interviewed on TV who seemed to be part of a multi-generational family of perennial season seat holders, and he said he was sure that this was the year the Leafs would finally win the Cup. I think it was about ten years ago. [Narrator: They didn’t.] I doubt he was the only one.
The truth is that attending a live Leafs home game is pretty magical and one can really get swept up in the spirit of the thing. The trouble is, when the team lets you down again and again – sometimes embarrassingly badly – it make it all the worse. So no, I’m done.
Heheh, I was in band practice for most of the game. When I got out, we were still down 3-1. By the time I got home, we were in the lead. Twas a thing of beauty.
Skinner couldn’t be blamed for the loss, but at times he didn’t look like an NHL goalie - handling the puck like a grenade and getting totally disoriented on the 4th goal.
The Oiler’s strengths and weaknesses (PK) were on full display this game. I expect a tighter, smarter game 2.
Heck, this is one of those games where the score doesn’t really seem to reflect how tight most of the game was. The Oilers seemed to have this game under control for two periods. Without three power plays in the late second/early third, it’s unlikely that the Stars would have been able to pull out of it.
The only thing that makes me think that the Oilers might be a bit unhinged and the Stars may have gotten under their skin was the meaningless bunch of roughing both engaged in at the end of the game. But they kept it together and beat us last year, so I imagine it won’t be a long term condition.
But as to why he’s gone, that article reflects exactly my thinking – bolding mine for emphasis on the point I’ve been making for at least 25 years:
The club’s parent company announced Thursday it would not renew Shanahan’s contract as president and alternate governor after more than a decade on the job and just two post-season series victories — despite an embarrassment of high-priced offensive talent.
You (the general “you”) may argue with me about whether the problem with the Leafs could be properly expressed as institutional complacency, but there sure as hell has been a problem for over half a century, call it what you will.
When the team you were outed by gets outed you get some immediate revenge satisfaction, but there is also something to the saying “If you lose it’s best to have lost to the eventual champions”. Watching the Canes get dismantled just makes you think “If the Canes are this bad, how bad were we?”
That was a weird Game 3 in the Panthers-Hurricanes game tonight. Hurricanes held their own in the first two periods, but totally fell apart in the third, which seemed to turn into less of a hockey game than a riot – fights breaking out every couple of minutes, and two players sent out on 10-minute misconducts.
Monday’s game should be fun. Looking like a Panthers sweep.
ETA: Who was the guy who went out with a shoulder injury in this game after crashing into the boards? Apparently one of the Panthers’s best players. Hope he’s OK. One good thing if the Panthers sweep the series is they’ll probably get some good rest while the Western Conference battles it out.
That was a brutal, dangerous game. Luostarinen’s check on Blake was pretty terrible, earning him a misconduct. Since it’s the playoffs, it seems doubtful he’ll get a suspension, but he deserves it.
