Hello out there, we're on the air, it's hockey night tonight! Tension grows, as the whistle blows, and the puck goes down the ice. The goalie jumps, and the players bump, and the fans all go insane . . .
So we'll see if Edmonton can even this up.
FIRST PERIOD
Had to laugh like hell during Hockey Central on Sportsnet about an hour ago. Darren Dreger noted that the Oilers had opted to start Jussi Markkanen in goal -- just as Nick Kypreos had predicted yesterday! In a related story, Kypreos also predicted that next week will have a Sunday in it and that the sun will come up tomorrow.
Craig MacTavish's Oilers obviously want to set the pace -- the "crash line" with Georges Laraque, Ethan Moreau and Rem Murray is out in the second minute. Laraque threw his weight around down low, but when the puck turned over, the Hurricanes got a dangerous-looking rush where Doug Weight carries over the Oilers blue line, but has his pass go behind Ray Whitney.
At 3:26 Edmonton gets the first power play, as Craig Adams goes off for interference. Cam Ward makes a couple nice saves and Aaron Ward helps out his goalie with a couple shot blocks.
Here's a "tell" for when a team is nervous -- they end up making the dreaded "extra pass." Mike Peca came in off his off wing and tried to centre instead of shooting from the top of the circle. The pass gets blocked.
It's evident early on that Edmonton is trying to push the tempo. This is risky since Carolina can play at a high speed, but is smart enough to play like they're on the road -- play defence and counter-attack.
The Oilers turn it over. A 4-on-1 is developing for Carolina, but Mark Recchi's shot goes wide.
Edmonton comes down on an odd-man rush and does the absolute worst thing you can do -- the old drop pass to nobody. Now it's 3-on-1 for Carolina since the Oilers were changing their defence. Andrew Ladd -- the guy who was knocked into Dwayne Roloson in Game 1 -- uses Eric Staal as a decoy and shoots, beating Markannen.
1-0 Carolina, 6:21 in.
And which defenceman looked like he tipped the shot? Marc-Andre Bergeron, the guy who knocked Ladd into Roli. Ouch.
An icing call. Good chance to catch our breath. This has been high-tempo.Markkanen with a nice save. He's not terrible. He's just not very good by NHL standards.
At 11:08, Pronger goes off for hooking. The 'Canes do little and the power play ends early with an interference penalty to Cory Stillman.
Harry Neale notes there's been about 6 odd-man rushes. That's two more than the entire 2003 final between Anaheim and New Jersey had.
With about five minutes left in the period, Neale takes note that the Oilers are "making too many extra passes."
Under three minutes now. It's obvious, as Peca has a shot from 10 feet blocked, that the Hurricanes are using the Playing Card Five to perfection. The Oilers are carrying the play, but can't generate anything since it's 3-on-5 once the puck gets inside the top of the faceoff circles.
Not sure why this isn't obvious to Neale, who keeps saying variations on "Edmonton needs to shoot more."
With 1:14 to go in the period, Edmonton gets its third power play when Whitney hooks Radek Dvorak.
irst period's over. Cam Ward only had six shots, but if you go by his rebound control -- every save, the puck headed toward the corner or bounced far enough away that he has time to reset -- Carolina should feel good. As for Markkanen, he hasn't cost Edmonton.
Intermission: Don Cherry suggests Laraque should be taking a regular shift. I looked back at what I wrote earlier: there's a reason why he doesn't. Teams are still obsessed with defence and systems.
Did Grapes raid Tom Wolfe's closet for that suit?
Cherry makes a good point about three-star selections. Frankly, it's almost a month later and I can't still figure out Game 3 of the Oilers-Sharks series, when neither Roloson or San Jose goalie Vesa Toskala was a star. Roloson, as you'll remember, made a season-saving stop on Rocket Richard Trophy winner Patrick Marleau in overtime of that game. Not bad for a "garden variety journeyman goalie."
SECOND PERIOD
As Ryan Smyth misses a pass, here's an off-day angle: What's happened to Captain Canada? One goal in seven games.
Nothing doing on the Oilers' remaining power-play time. Carolina's scouts did their homework.
Frustration might be setting in for Edmonton -- after a missed chance, Matt Greene takes a cross-checking penalty.
Sergei Samsonov is another Oiler who hasn't scored in a while. He gets a chance from about 10 feet out but decides to play hit-the-logo.
Then Jason Smith gets a roughing penalty, giving Carolina a 74-second 5-on-3 power play.
Markkanen is keeping Edmonton in the game. The Oilers survive a penalty kill of 2:46.
Eric Staal doesn't seem like the same guy he was in the regular season and early in the playoffs. The 'Canes set him up, but he couldn't get a good shot. General body fatigue that can afflict a young guy might have caught up to them.
Refer back to what I said about frustration -- at 8:52, Raffi Torres goes off for interference and Carolina's back to the power play.
Frantisek Kaberle buries one on the power play: 2-0 Carolina.
It's good to see Edmonton respond now that it's down a pair: Jarrett Stoll, who's also goal-less, drives to the net and draws a penalty. Before the whistle, Samsonov is stopped on his backhand by Ward.
Edmonton's power play is a little more dangerous than it was the first three times. That's not saying much, but it's obvious Ward is the main reason this isn't a 2-1 or 2-2 game.
Another unneccessary penalty for Edmonton, as Staal's knocked down without the puck. The fifth power play coming up for the league's best PP.
Edmonton kills it off.
How did that not go in? With Ward down and the puck loose, Shawn Horcoff's backhand goes over the net. There's 2:37 left in the second.
That's the kind of goal you give up when you're a fragile team.
Markannen makes a good glove save on Glen Wesley with 13.2 seconds left in the period. All the Oilers have to do is win the ensuing faceoff and pin it against the boards or clear it to centre ice. But remember, faceoffs are Carolina's strength. (See my series preview from Monday.)
Carolina wins the draw and gets a shot... the rebound goes behind the net, and with Markannen out of position, Stillman circles the net and deposits a backhand into the net with 2.4 seconds to spare. 3-0 Carolina heading into the third.
Digression: Ray Whitney wears No. 13 for the Oilers. Time was, you never saw a No. 13 in the NHL. Twenty years ago, there was Kenny Linseman, and that was it. In minor hockey, I remember our team would get a set of 17 sweaters numbered 1-18, with No. 13 left out.
What happened? Well, more Europeans who didn't have a hang-up about No. 13 came into the league. But I like to think some of the North Americans grew up in the '80s watching Euro-teams come over and beat up on NHL squads, and were consequently influenced.
3 thoughts from the Dwayne Roloson between-periods interview:
Roloson mentioned the NHL enlarging the crease by a foot for next season: This would give the goalie a security blanket since defencemen can no longer put the hook into a speeding forward.
Interesting that Roloson mentioned how closely he used to work with the video guy, Tom Woodcroft, when he was with the Wild, and how Woodcroft wasn't there to help him this season, when his GAA went from 1.88 in '03-04 to 3.00 at the time of his trade to Edmonton.
Roli's probably the most famous alumnus of the Junior C Norwich Merchants. However, they might be reluctant to honour one of Simcoe's favourite sons, seeing as the Simcoe Storm have beaten Norwich in the playoffs three years in a row. (This is the kind of knowledge you only get as a Simcoe Reformer sports editor.)
News flash: Ted Nolan will apparently coach the Islanders next season. Apparently the gentleman's agreement to ostacize Nolan is waived here, since it really doesn't matter who coaches the Islanders.
Quick check on the Jays: it's 4-3 going to the eighth after Edgardo Alfonzo makes a great diving stop to retire Jeff Conine.
THIRD PERIOD
You're only down three, Edmonton.
And after Roloson's talk with Ron MacLean about goalies getting run, what does Edmonton take only 91 seconds to get a penalty for? Goalie interference. Samsonov's off.
Weight tips one past Markkanen, and after a video review that shows a shot went off his skate, ticked his stick and went in, it counts: 4-0 Carolina, 2:47 into the third.
Make that 5-0 Carolina. Kaberle gets credit for his second power-play salvo of the night after another tally of the pinball variety. By unofficial count, four of Carolina's goals have been on shots that changed directions -- and the other came off a mental lapse in the final seconds of a period. Who let the Ottawa Senators wear the Oilers uniforms?
The goal's been changed to Mark Recchi. Hey, look, Carolina's on the power play again.
How many Oilers fans want to see someone start a fight, just to redeem something from this night?
There's some positives for Edmonton. They weren't outworked early on -- this is just a case of a fragile team not getting rewarded with an early goal, and getting frustrated far too easily.
Edmonton hasn't played too badly now that it's garbage time -- but how that translates to Game 3 will remain to be seen. Have the Oilers shown much evidence that the Roloson injury didn't turn them from vital to a vapour?
Georges Laraque gets the early shower -- major and game misconduct -- after taking a free shot at Ladd with a check from behind. For Edmonton, that ranks as one of the more dignified aspects of its evening.
With the Jays ahead 5-3 going to the last of the ninth inning, time for a quick flip over, expecting to see a block of commercials after B.J. Ryan makes short work of Baltimore. Instead the tying runs are at second and third with only one out with cleanup hitter Ramon Hernandez up. However, Aaron Hill chases down Hernandez's pop up to short left, and Melvin Mora gets the bright idea to try and tag up from third base. He's out by a mile. Jays win! Jays win!
FINAL ANALYSIS
- Edmonton's mistakes can be corrected. And five goals on 26 shots allowed notwithstanding, can you really pin this all on Jussi Markkanen?
- Checking the box score: Carolina had a 28-20 edge (57%) on faceoffs. (In Game 1, it won 62% of the draws.
The HNIC crew mentioned the Oilers' charges that Brind'Amour was cheating on the draws but he was only 50% tonight, 10-for-20 -- his teammates accounted for the edge. However, how many times did you hear Bob Cole and Harry Neale talk about this? - This is looking a lot like Canada at the Olympics -- not able to generate chances, lots of frustration penalties. However, Edmonton has enough character that it won't roll over and play dead, but it's going to take a lot more than that.
- The Hurricanes just look like a surly rat terrier that won't let go even if it finds a 100-pound rat. To quote from Coach Carter, they realize Edmonton's on the edge of a cliff and just needs a push.
June 7, 2006
Ottawa, Ont.
neatesager@yahoo.ca
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