Thursday 19 May 2011

Playoffs Daily | WCF Game 2 | May 19th, 2011

Two high-score games in a row. Even this series got exciting! And there was some added excitement that got my FB and Twitter buzzing ;) ... I actually worried that that was all there was to this game. So when I checked the highlights this morning and read up on reports I was happy I DVR'ed this game. So I got home, had dinner and cranked up the game and in parts it lived up to it's promise.

[Sharks-Nucks] 7-3. Nucks lead series 2-0. By no means a flying start to this game, unless you count the quick PP goal Couture scored two and a half minute into the game. It reminded me of a statistical fact a buddy of mine shared the other day. I think he said that of all teams who score first, 78% also goes on to win the game. What a nutty stat. Anyways, let me continue with the notable moments:

♦ For a while it was a very even first period and in fact, also a bit boring. Then Daniel Sedin scored on the PP and that sparked some energy and within the next minute, the Nucks scored again. Then another PP and somehow a Marleau shot confused Luongo and trickled across the line. 2-2 was a good score, considering neither team excelled in the first period. Both teams had 13 shots on goal, further confirming the equality
♦ So not sure what you lot thought about the second period but apart from the Nucks goal it was dull. It lacked a certain energy although the Nucks did have the edge there with puck possession and some good shots on goal. At least the goal woke up the audience ... and there was the Bieksa-Marleau fight. Which got Clowe to start chirping Kesler. As for shots on goal, the Nucks had 14, the Sharks just 9
♦ And then came the third period! It started innocent enough, but it soon became grittier. Lots of little mean checks that went unnoticed and of course the more apparent fouls, many committed by Ben Eager. The Nucks went on to score four more times, twice on PP! And in the final ten seconds of the game the Sharks lost what little composure they had left and went for a brawl. Of course Eager was at the centre of it. But if we look beyond the hits, the fouls, the brawl, we saw the Nucks skating better, creating chances, taking shots on goal (11 versus the Sharks' 9) & capitalising on PPs. Kudos to them for keeping their cool, whilst the Sharks lost it
♦ I often joke about Timmie flopping around like a fish, but damn, Luongo is not much better. Thankfully his team mates scored so often, I was not impressed at all by him
♦ Clowe was particularly pesky I found, but Eager takes first place for being an all-round idiot
♦ Bieksa got a Gordie Howe hat trick. Cool!
♦ Interesting fact: five of the ten goals scored were PP goals

So in case you missed it, all that Twitter buzzing I mentioned before also involved Eager. And the penalty box. And with the Green Men banned, it did not involve them. But it did involve a crazy female Canucks fan, flashing Eager whilst he sat out the roughing penalty in the third period ;) ... not sure if this type of taunting is actual taunting ... could have been a request for a date ;) ... I would post the pic in question, but I like to keep things clean here lol. Oh fuck it, here a link to a twitpic posted by @CountBettman. If you are offended, drop me a line :p

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