May 28, 2007 - Senators v. Ducks

Well, alright! The Stanley Cup Final! Lots of pomp and circumstance surrounding this game. Well, maybe a bit more pomp than circumstance, but whatever. There was a bunch of comedy right off the bat for this one before the puck even dropped. First of all, let me just say that I’m not familiar with Mike Emrick, the play-by-play guy on Versus, because I don’t really ever watch hockey on this channel. However, I will say that he looks exactly like Dana Carvey impersonating Ross Perot from SNL back in the day. So that put me in a good mood right off the bat.




The singing of the national anthem, or in this case, anthems, is always a big deal, but it seems more epic during marquee sporting events, such as opening day, any all-star game, the Super Bowl….err…I mean the “Big Game”, and of course, the Stanley Cup Final. Now, I’ve never been a fan of Crosby Stills Nash and Young, and I always just assumed it was for the same reason nobody else liked them – you know, because of Neil Young. However, after hearing Stephen Stills’ rendition of our beloved anthem, I’m going to reconsider my thinking on the subject. Man, that was just awful. And on Memorial Day no less! Is it un-American for me to think the Canadian anthem was performed better? I certainly hope not.

Another funny moment in the early going was when the Governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, performed the pre-game ceremonial dropping of the puck. While Arnie posed, holding the puck over the ice, staring at the camera with a plastic smile, someone involved in the ceremony could be heard saying something to the effect of “Okay, go…..go ahead and drop it……DROP THE PUCK!!” All the while, Arnie was just smiling at the camera, not moving. Finally, he dropped it, but obviously not before pissing someone off tremendously. I was absolutely dying.

During the game, the commentators mentioned how they thought there would be period of ‘feeling out’ between the two teams since they didn’t meet during the regular season this year. They were surprised at the physical play early on. Well, I don’t know why they’d be surprised about it. We’re talking about the possibility of this series going as few as four games. I don’t think either team wants to spend a whole lot of time getting a feel for the other. Hell, hit ‘em early and try to score first. That’s what I say. Forget about trying to figure out the other team’s game plan.

When Samuel Pahlsson of the Ducks tried to help J.S. Giguere by flipping his stick to him, it prompted the question “If you’re an NHL goalie and a stick and a puck are both flying at you at the same time, which do you attempt to stop?” The answer, apparently, is neither. Nice job, Pahlsson. Maybe next game you can take your skate off and beat Jiggy over the head with it while Dany Heatley fires the puck at him from point blank.

Unbelieveable stat alert: Has Anton Volchenkov really blocked 273 shots this year? Think about the damage his body must have sustained during the season with that kind of punishment. His torso must look like Edward James Olmos’ cheeks.

So, game one is in the books. And it was a good one. Can’t believe hockey isn’t more popular than it is. Of course, there are millions of soccer fans wondering the same thing about soccer…or is it futbol? Whatever.