Back on track.

Hey Sexmachines,

Sorry for the lackluster performance over the weekend. You know how it is - sometimes people do more than just watch hockey all the time. I am one of those people, believe it or not. I have a brain, and a body, and a soul, and these things need to be put to use sometimes. I can't just sit around like a mindless idiot, dissecting a game with a bunch of overgrown Canadians slapping a black disc around a sheet of ice. I can't just do that all the time. Some of the time, ya. There is a time and a place for everything, and I put some priorities over hockey this weekend. I'd like to promise that I'll never do such a thing to all y'all again, but I will make no such promise. You just never know, right?
Cool. Well, I did allot some time to be a mindless idiot today. I watched the game.
And you know what? I really thought Tampa was gonna win this series. I think they're a better team, still. I really do, and I want them to win strictly based on the fact that I just like the players on their team alot more. Love St. Louis, the resurgence of Lecavalier, the coming out of their blue-collar workhorses, and Guy Boucher is the most entertaining coach in hockey (Sorry, John Tortorella. You gotta be coaching a good team to make the cut.)
But now, I mean, I can't really bet against Boston. They're one win away. Thanks to Tim Thomas. Goes with the Mark Messier-guarantee for the game tonight! ballsy move, and it paid off and he was great tonight.
But now, with both Boston and Vancouver just ONE win away from playing each other in the Cup Final, I want Boston to win just so the Canucks can play them, and BEAT them! And here's why:
couple things: first, Boston's powerplay is TERRIBLE. I'm not even gonna rip Thomas Kaberle like everyone else in the hockey world is doing, because my heart couldn't take bullying a guy like that. A guy that has been that big of a flop. It's painful to watch him on the powerplay, skate the puck to the blue line, dump it in, only to have a Lightning defenseman pick it up off the boards and send it back down the other way. Granted, Tampa's penalty kill has been a huge story in this playoffs, and they've been near-perfect. But let us not all blame the ex-Leaf (as fun as that is to do. fucking Leafs), and let us remember that hockey is a team sport, and it takes all 5 skaters to score on a powerplay.
So I say, bring on those fucking Bruins, let them take penalties all series long, and let them be introduced to Mason Raymond, Jannik Hansen, Ryan Kesler and Alex Burrows. Let the penalty killers from Vancouver get chances like they have all playoffs-long, and let that be one of the differences in the outcome of the finals. Mmmmm I would just love to see that.
the other reason I want to see a Vancouver-Boston final is this. One of the themes of this playoff run for the Canucks has been "slaying demons". Chicago, getting Luongo out of the second round, Luongo winning in San Jose, proving the Sedins are invaluable in the playoffs, proving Kesler and Burrows can play in the playoffs too, proving Sami Salo can play more than a playoff series without having his arm amputated. All these things have happened, and proved the typically cynical Canucks fan wrong (myself included...especially regarding Luongo and the Sedins)....
So, a quick history lesson for you all. Known in many sports fans minds as "the worst trade in history", The Canucks traded a young, tough forward named Cam Neely to Boston for a 1st round draft pick (that ended up being Glen Wesley...a damn good defenseman for 20 years in the NHL) and Barry Pederson. Barry Pederson ended up not turning out to be a star, but the young guy from Maple Ridge named Cam Neely sure as hell did. He became one of the best power forwards of all time in Boston, had 3 50 goal seasons, and would've had WAY more points if not for having hip replacement surgery. After his playing days were long over, he took up a position in the Bruins front office, and now, he's the president of the club.
So if this years Canucks are slaying demons, why not slay one more in the finals? make up for the biggest fuckup in the club's history, and put all the 40 years of mediocrity behind them?
I say yes, Kick C-bass's ass.
peace.

xosmlxo