Wings clipped! An Oil gusher? And NHL playoff thoughts...

Well, my Oilers should be christened the cardiac kids. What a game last night! I was up until after 2 a.m. watching another game in this series go to a second OT. This one turned out better than game one though, as Jarret Stoll took a backhand whack at the puck that got past Manny Legace. (See top) Rexall Place went wild, and so did I. This game should have been in the bag in the third period. With nine minutes to go, Edmonton enjoyed a 3-1 lead, but the Wings wouldn't die. That comes as no surprise, though. Hey, the Wings won the President's Trophy for having the league's best record, so I knew going in this series was going to be a tough fight.

The Oilers must stay out of the penalty box if they hope to win this series. One powerplay and one lost faceoff later, and the Wings tied it with about six minutes to go in the game. That's where the Wings can kill you - on the faceoff dot and when your players are in the penalty box; Detroit had the best powerplay in the league this season. So, I'm hoping Edmonton learns the lessons of game 3 for game 4. A 3-1 series lead would be huge, but it won't be easy. I fully expect the Wings to come out fighting for their playoff lives tomorrow night. The Oilers had better be ready, because Detroit isn't just going to roll over.

One more word on my Oilers before I move on to another topic that vexes me, and that's the local team, the Flyers. I've watched a fair amount of hockey so far in the playoffs, courtesy of the best thing going, the NHL Center Ice Package. I'm yet to see an arena more jacked for the playoffs than Rexall Place in Edmonton last night. It was deafening, and that was just from watching it on TV! The crowd totally drowned out the introductions, and the last half of O Canada couldn't be heard. There are many great hometown crowds in the NHL, but Edmonton has to be in the top 3 when it comes to the playoffs. Hell, even in the regular season. All but one regular season game was sold out at Rexall this past season, and the one non-sellout was only a few hundred short. Edmonton loves its Oilers, and so do I.

These playoffs have been nothing short of remarkable. One year ago, no one would have predicted this. The NHL was on the ropes, life support, whatever metaphor you choose. It's amazing how the league has charged back and had a wonderful regular season, and the playoffs are looking to be the same. A record number of fans came to the games this year, and every playoff team is playing in front of adoring standing-room-only crowds, and it's awesome to see.

The one thing to complain about so far in these playoffs has been the officiating. It's been uneven, to say the least. There have been plenty of non-calls, and that's incredibly frustrating to watch. However, I've been watching hockey long enough to know that it's part of the game. There are imperfect players playing the game and imperfect officials making the calls. Good teams overcome the random non-call or borderline penalty. That's just the way it is. However, would someone please tell this to the three-headed jackass otherwise known as Steve Coates, Jim Jackson and Gary Dornhoffer? (Second from top, from left to right) These guys are flat out ruining Flyers games, which are bordering on unwatchable because these goddamn crybabies are criticizing every call that goes against Philadelphia. I've never heard anything like it in my life. (Hey, last night Michael Peca got clubbed in the head - no call. The Oilers OR the announcers didn't bitch about it - they kept fighting and won the game in the end.)

To wit, in game 2 of the Philly/Buffalo series, Philly's Denis Gauthier slammed Buffalo's Thomas Vanek into the boards. Boom - game misconduct and Buffalo goes on the power play. More on the hit in a minute. So, as I'm watching the game, the trio calling the Flyers game decried the penalty being called and couldn't figure out why Gauthier was given a game misconduct. Coates even said, "Does he [the ref] have a minutes quota?!?" Unbelievable. I just started laughing at that point - what little credibility these guys had in my mind was gone at that point. Hey, a garbage hit is a garbage hit, and that one was garbage. Not only did Gauthier deserve to be kicked out of the game, he should serve a multiple game suspension DURING THE PLAYOFFS for that hit. Of course, the NHL, as it's wont to do, didn't suspend him. The NHL front office has historically been wimpy when it comes to doling discipline during the postseason, and this was no exception. I don't dislike the Flyers. Quite the contrary. They are the only team in Philadelphia that I could ever root for, ever, and that's because I love hockey so much. Flyer fans deserve a winner, and so far, "Clarkie" the GM hasn't delivered. Hopefully someday he, or his replacement, will. I root for Philly when I'm not rooting for Edmonton, and when the two teams aren't playing one another.

However, what Ed Snider and Clarke are doing by having these three dickheads call Flyers games is a disservice to Flyers fans and hockey in general. And, I don't think it's a stretch to say that all of this whining and crying by the Flyers' broadcast team carries over to many (but not all, Chris) fans. What this trio says during broadcasts is generally picked up and believed by many people who watch the game. Jackson I can stomach - he's actually quite a good play-by-play man. But Coates and Dornhoffer and more annoying to listen to than a bin Laden tape. Another quick example, if I may:

In game one, R.J. Umberger took a whale of a hit by Buffalo defenseman Brian Campbell. It was a clean, bone-jarring hit. Umberger was on the ice for quite a while. I told a friend the next day I was reminded of the old Snickers commercials with the line "Not going anywhere for a while?" I love to see good hits in hockey, but I don't like to see anyone get hurt, and I hope Umberger returns to action soon (I hear maybe game 4). Anyway, Dornhoffer and the Philly announcers start whining that Buffalo was replaying the hit over and over on the scoreboard and that it "contributed to the bloodlust of Sabres fans." First off, if the hit was being replayed while Umberger was on the ice, then it's not a classy thing for the Sabres to do, case closed. You don't do that when a player is laying on the ice. But, I have several things to say about the Philly announcers and their comments. For instance, if the exact opposite where true, say, Umberger laying out Campbell at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, can we be certain that Philly wouldn't have been replaying the hit? Um, no. And second, would some Philly fans would have been cheering? Again, it's a hypothetical, but you can be sure that more than a few would be.

Most Philly fans conveniently forget or try to minimize how many (most) at the Vet cheered as Michael Irvin was stricken on the turf following a hit in 1999 in a Cowboys game vs. the Birds. (The clean hit, to the lower part of his neck, ended his career.) Philly fans loved it, because they hated Irvin and they hate the Cowboys. I watched the game, and I was nauseated. Hey, if Philly fans hate the player or the team enough, or if the game's important enough, they'll cheer and a few idiots will even hope for injuries to the opposition. So, I wish all Philly announcers would fucking stop it already with the "Woe is Philly" whining. Some of Philly's reputation is exaggerated and perpetuated by the media. (Enough with the booing Santa Claus references already!) But, some of it is well deserved, too - the aforementioned Irvin incident, the snowballing of Jimmy Johnson in '89, the bounty that Buddy Ryan put on the Cowboys kicker, and the fact that the Eagles and the Philadelphia Police Department had to put a municipal judge in the bowels of Veteran's Stadium to discipline lawbreakers at Eagles games. A great deal of Philly fans' bad reputation is well deserved. If Terrell Owens gets hurt this season during the grudge match at the Linc, you think Eagles fans will keep quiet as he lays on the turf?!? Riiiiiight. But, I digress.

I just found it amusing that an integral piece of the "Broad St. Bullies," (as the Flyers were known in the 1970s and early 1980s) Gary Dornhoffer, chose to decry any kind of violence in hockey like he did the other night. That's tantamount to Adolf Hitler coming back to life and criticizing Saddam Hussein for his genocide. Puleeze. Dornhoffer was at his hypocritical best following the Umberger hit. Those Flyers teams in the 70s tried to hurt people and actually took pride in it. Hey Gary, enough already.

An interesting footnote is that Comcast owns the Flyers, and the trio of Jackson, Coates and Dornhoffer are actually employees of the team. That doesn't seem right to me, and I wonder how many other teams have this sort of arrangement? For instance, the Oilers have a broadcast team that calls the games, but they work for the network that broadcasts Edmonton games, not the team. A small but important distinction. Sure, Oilers broadcasters want to see the Oilers do well, but there's at least some separation between the broadcasters and the team.

Okay, rant over about the Flyers announcers. I hope Philly bounces back tonight and I think they will. Esche is starting in net, so that's the big unknown. The question is, which Esche will show up - the game-one Esche who was virtually a sheet of plywood over the net, or the Swiss Cheese game-two Esche who had to be pulled after the first period? We'll soon see.

One thing's for certain - well actually, two things - I can't wait to watch, and I envy my best friend Chris, who will be at the game tonight. Cheer loud for me, bro!

Get Cup Crazy, ya heard?!?