If you think anything was worse than Dan Boyle launching the puck into his own net in OT on a playoff game tied at 0, well, yea seriously I've never seen anything like that in my entire life...
But when you walk out onto the Bell Center ice, get the anthems sung by the fucking Phantom of the Opera, and have 21 thousand people hoping and praying for you, how in the bloody hell can you self-destruct in one period so quickly?
You know, there's a REASON Price played the Caps all season. No one listens to me when I said Mike K-Nuble would have Jaro for dinner. And while no one can fault him on the first two, you can bloody well fault him on those that blew Game 2 and the bleeding wouldn't have stopped tonight. The difference is night and day between the two. Where one is squirrely because his small stature forces him to over-exert himself thus quickly weakening him, the other is large and strong and efficiently conserves his energy so that fatigue would hit him in 3 weeks. And frankly the moment Price stepped on the ice, he was the calmest one on the team. Gone were the frantic rebounds. Instead point shots were gobbled and squeezed, traffic brushed aside, and you literally had to launch yourself into the kid to knock him over. Did it look like he hadn't played for over 2 weeks, which I remind you is a game he only gave up one real goal and was booed on the 3rd star selection? Our 22 year old thoroughbred has proved exactly why he was chosen in the first round. And while people praise Halak for bringing the Habs into the playoffs, no one seems to remember those two points Price stole in November in Washington DC with an injured roster while everyone was busy writing their latest rebuilding plan. (Never mind the two points he stole in 95% of the games he had barely any chance of winning).
If I could strangle you through my radio I would, various Team990 hosts who said "it's safe to say whoever is the backup in this series is going to be gone next year". The answer is NO YOU MONUMENTAL ASSWIPE! THE HABS HAVE NO DEPTH IN GOAL!!! And yes I am an expert, and I saw the replays.
Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me; but fool me three times? Then I get what I deserved.Game 1 Caps didn't know what they were in for. Game 2 Caps had an epiphany and realized how easy it is to throw Jaro off his concentration. Game 3 Caps curbstomped you. And yet Martin's ego will continuously destroy our promising young prospects because god forbid they have actual talent, and the team will suffer. Perhaps it was a sign from God when both Gomez and Plekanec were serving extended penalty minutes (Gomez's was a fucking joke, what is this grade school?) and Dominic Moore was running your powerplay. Try as he did, it was laughable when he gained the zone and found no one to pass to. What an ideal situation for Sergei Kostitsyn, who made maybe one mistake I didn't even notice in Game 2, and has now been benched for eternity. Darche is a great guy, but he's not the best option for a playoff game in the NHL. Yet in contrast to Sergei, he makes plenty of horrible errors, and gets rewarded with powerplay time.
There is no one that strikes any fear into an opposing player entering the zone. In fact I swear I saw the Caps licking their chops as Bergeron scuttled by. Hal Gill can't be out there forever clearing the crease, and Markov can't/shouldn't be doing that (I bet I'm the only one who saw Price glove-hug him to stop him from fighting the guy in the crease). Hamr is already out of gas and Spacek is also running low. What a perfect opportunity for the Big Sexy to come in and crush some Caps players into oblivion. I sometimes think Martin watches L'Antichambre or L'Attaque a Cinq to get his lineup ideas. Why else would he sit the 3 most talented and needed young players on this team? Is Francois Gagnon whispering sweet nothings in your ears?
I feel so bad for Monsieur Beliveau, who probably wished he were back in his bed resting.
I feel so bad for Metro, who defied the odds and returned into the lineup. He really is part alien. (THAT'S a Masterton candidate, not a guy who followed the regular career path of a small goaltender).
I feel so bad for Gionta who wishes he could stay on the ice forever.
So when I come to the rink Wednesday, and if I don't see Price, Sergei, and Rhino out there on the ice in the lineup, I will jump down from section 410 and punch you square on the nose, Coach Chocula.
Game 3: Bulldogs didn't fare much better
Like their big brothers, the Bulldogs had a monumental collapse in Manitoba (where they play crazy circus music between play stoppages apparently). Jordan Schroeder had a hat trick and they beat the Dogs 7-2, almost mirroring the Bulldogs smack down on them. Now that's how you get your revenge in a playoff game eh?
Not going to get much going when the only two guys that score for you are Chad Anderson (bwah? he never scores!) and future-Habs ass-kicker Ryan White (WOOO!). Also tough when Desjardins takes a .500SV% (4 goals on 8) before getting yanked for poor over his head Robert Mayer who had 13 saves on 16.
Bizarro stat of their night? Henry, Anderson, and Conboy managed to get out of it all as the only players with a +1. And usually when you outshoot the opponent 36-24, you don't give up 7... Then again when you're up 7 goals, you usually don't suckerpunch someone either EH MOOSE?! Idiots.