What a Night
If anyone had told me that the Ducks would get outshot by the Canucks in the first period of game 2 of round 2, I would have thought they were nuts. Winning by half-way through regulation? No way! Go into overtime with the team that mutilated the Canucks in game 1? Never. But, it happened, and I was there.

Luongo is an amazing goalie and his 97.727 save percentage tonight in his 87:49 minutes allowed the Canucks to beat the Ducks and his teammates better be greatful. Before tonight's game, many were thinking the Ducks might sweep the Canucks.

Going into this round, I figured the Ducks would win in 5. After game one, I thought they might sweep, but figured the Canucks might win one at home. Now that the Canucks beat the Ducks in the 2nd OT in Anaheim, I'm wondering how the series will go. Perhaps the Ducks will need to go to 6 or 7 to beat the Canucks. They obviously have a lot more fight in them than most of us expected. Of course, the Ducks played horribly (with a few exceptions) tonight, so if that changes, a lot will be up in the air, too.

I also think the penalty on Parros with about 5 minutes left to go in the 1st period was BS - even after watching it on Tivo at home. The goal Cowan got was amazing. Giguere is probably still wondering how that happened.

Of course, the Sabres beat the Rangers to go ahead in that series 2-0, the Devils are losing their series 1-0 and the Red Wings are losing their series 1-0. Generally a good time in hockey for me now. :-)

I do think it's great that Giguere got recognized by the press as the number three star of the day in the NHL today, even though he wasn't granted that honor in the game, which I think he deserved. Luongo, of course, deserved the number one star of the game and NHL today. He played amazingly well and was great to be able to watch in person in the playoffs for over 4 periods. What a day for hockey!

Enjoy the playoffs everyone!

Labels: hockey, NHL, playoffs, sports

Posted by Kat @ 11:49 PM | 0 meows

NHL Playoffs Start Tonight!
I'm so excited about the NHL playoffs starting tonight. For the first time in years, I have a team that I love in the playoffs again. Granted, I'd like to see the Kings in the playoffs, too, but you can't have everything. The Penguins are back in the race and I can't wait to see the young players they have in the playoffs. Many of the Penguins have never been to the playoffs before, which a lot of people seem to think is a disadvantage. While I understand that experience can help in coping with the pressure of the playoffs, the younger players tend to be more excited and hungrier for the wins, which could work in the Pens' favor. Although Jagr is definitely no Crosby, he won the cup very early in his career in Pittsburgh. I see no reason why Sidney Crosby can't do the same.

The Penguins are a very good team and I hope to see them raising the cup high at the end of the finals. I'm not holding my breath for the Pens to get the cup this year, but the playoffs will definitely be much more exciting for me than they've been in years. Having a team you love in the playoffs makes all the difference. The Pens won 3 of the 4 games against the Senators this season, so I know they're capable of making it to round two.

Crosby is the youngest player to win the NHL scoring title. I hope the Pens have a long and exciting playoff run. Since the new arena (and staying in Pittsburgh) was announced earlier this year, it would be a fairy tale ending for the Penguins to win the cup this year. I know everyone in Pittsburgh would love to see the cup return.

Let's go PENS!

Labels: hockey, NHL, Penguins, Pittsburgh

Posted by Kat @ 1:46 PM | 0 meows

Latest Updates
As usual, much has happened since the last time I posted. This past weekend, I attended one baby shower and helped throw a second. Since one was for a baby girl and one a baby boy, I got to see pretty much everything in the stores these days for baby boys and girls. Some truely adorable clothes and amazing accessories. Both showers were a lot of fun. It was great to see the friends I never seem to see enough.

I got to see Melissa two weekends in a row, since we were out in Vegas the weekend before the baby showers, which is also cool. It's funny, since I hadn't seen her since she found out she was pregnant and now she's only about 6 weeks away from giving birth and actually LOOKS pregnant. Amazing how time flies. We also got to see Becki & Neale (friends from college), their friends Amy & Mike, and Cirque du Soleil's Love. Tons of fun, as always, in spite of the smoke. Thankfully, Vegas passed a law prohibiting smoking anywhere that's serving food, which at least made eating a bit better.

The Kings won't be in the playoffs this year, so their season ends on Saturday. At least the Penguins will be in the playoffs this year, so I have a team to really cheer for... I also plan on attending the playoff games in Anaheim, since the Ducks are in the playoffs (unfortunately). It's painful as a Kings fan (and former Disney employee) to see the Ducks doing this well again, but at least the Kings look like they can be a very good team next year. Hopefully, that'll work out for all of us Kings fans.

Labels: friends, hockey, life, NHL, playoffs

Posted by Kat @ 9:36 PM | 0 meows