Weekly Topic 1: Second Banana

Apparently both life and hockey still go on even as we Caps fans recover from our heartbreaking first round exit (who knew?) - so it seems as good a time as any to hitch my wagon to some other poor, unsuspecting team.

Luckily for me I already have a few backups lined up, teams that I follow all year long to some degree or another - and amazingly a few of them are still kicking after the first round! It's come as quite a shock in the CC household to not fully despise every team in the playoffs, I have to admit.

I'm always keeping an eye on the Sharks and Stars out west because I have a number of players I like on each team...but I have to admit the team I'll be watching the most is Les Habitants, the Montreal Canadiens.

And I swear it's not (just) because they face Philadelphia in the next round.

I've been waiting for this type of season from them since I first started watching them eight years ago, when I was but a wee innocent American studying in Montreal, and I have to say watching them this season in the games that they dominate has been a true joy. When I was initiated into the world of the Habs back in 2000 they were the scrappy underdogs; today, when they play to their potential, they are nothing short of breathtaking. How can you not love the awesome puckhandling skills of Alex Kovalev, the whirling dervishes that are the Kostitsyn brothers, or the bone-crushing checks of Mike Komisarek?

And then there is Carey Price, the rookie goaltender thrust into the spotlight and handed the reins of the historic franchise in the hopes that he could repeat the magic performed by Ken Dryden and Patrick Roy before him. And Saku Koivu, the captain who has been knocked down so many times both physically and mentally over the last ten years and yet still manages to pour his heart and soul into this team.

When your hopes are dashed early it's almost more painful than not making the playoffs at all, but I'm really trying to enjoy playoff hockey again - hopefully my Habs can help me out to the tune of a little thing called the Stanley Cup...

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Weekly Topic 1: One Round Later

As the playoffs approached I was giddy with anticipation. Like most hockey fans I love playoff hockey. One of the best parts about playoff hockey is the opportunity to watch teams that I rarely or never saw play during the regular season. Because of the time change, lack of Center Ice or the NHL Network, and the NHL schedule, I was most excited to watch the Eastern Conference playoff match ups. There wasn't one team I was most excited to watch and follow, but three players: Crosby, my favorite d-bag Avery and, of course, everyone's favorite Russian. But with one round down and three to go, I now find myself following several different players and, to my surprise, an unlikely team.


Last year I eagerly anticipated the moment when Crosby would take over the entire Senators squad. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, that moment never came and I felt cheated in all the hype surrounding young Sidbits. I knew it was only his first playoff appearance and that his fellow cast was relatively young and inexperienced, but I still wanted to see more. This year I was fairly confident that I would be treated to quite a show. The only problem so far has been that unlike last season, when VS and NBC seemed to televise every single Pens/Sens game, I've only seen one game, the first game of the series. Maybe I would have seen more if the Sens had actually won a game, but I won't blame them because at least they made the post season unlike a certain team that likes to make a habit of ending the hockey season early. In the only game I was able to watch, I was slightly disappointed with Crosby's production. He was still noticeably good, but Evgeni Malkin stole the show that game and I instantly became a fan of another Russian. I've heard that Crosby played particularly well in a couple other games and I'm secretly (well, not anymore) hoping that the TV guys will crawl back up Crosby's butt because I can't wait to see Crosby and Malkin tear it up in the second round.

I think my brother and I are the only Sean Avery fans left in the hockey world outside of NYC, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop liking him just because everyone else can't stand him. I laugh and smile whenever I see him annoy opponents and every time he scores or assists on a goal, I sigh and wish the Kings would bring him back. He may be childish, but he gets the job done. He may annoy the living crap out of opponents (and possibly his teammates), but he gets the job done. With NY now pitted against Pitt, I wonder how Marc-Andre Fleury will deal with his new best friend and whether Laraque and Avery will come together in a heated exchange. I can only hope that VS will capture every single word those two spit at each other because I bet they could outdo Mara and Ruff.

I didn't catch too many VS games this past season which meant I saw Ovechkin play maybe one or two times this year. I didn't think the Caps had a shot at making the post season but once they clinched a spot I couldn't wait for the Philly/Wash showdown because I knew those games would be televised. But after watching several games I found myself not only anticipating every time Ovechkin touched the puck, but also squeeing whenever Briere and Lupul were on the ice. Even though I predicted, before the playoffs began, that Washington would make it to the Eastern Conference Finals (and I wanted them to make it to the Cup Finals), by the time Game 7 rolled around I honestly couldn't decide which team I wanted to see advance. Suddenly I found the Philly squad endearing and wanted to see them win just as much as I wanted Ovie and his boys to win. It was a bittersweet moment when Dreamy-Eyes-Lupul potted the game winner in OT because I was excited to see Philly win but sad to see the Caps go home and even sadder when the camera zoomed in on a somber looking Ted Leonsis and a defeated, yet appreciative, Ovechkin.

What a difference a round makes. I'm still following Avery but Ovie is off the list, Crosby is on the fence and now I've got Malkin and the entire Philly squad on my mind. I can't believe I'm saying this, but 'Go Philly Go'!

(side note: I finally changed my blogging name from 'kms2' to 'k.m.stiles'. Feel free to use either name.)

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Weekly Topic, and MOAR!

I am a total Western Conference girl. Normally, at this time in the season, my Stars would be slumping away with their tails between their legs, getting ready to tee up for the summer, and I would be forced to pick another Western Conference team to root for. Not this year. This year, Baby Hockey Jesus answered at least some of my prayers.


But, for the sake of the question, I have to pick another team that I'm looking forward to seeing in the playoffs. Again, normally, I'd say Calgary, and although I would LOVE to see Calgary upset San Jose, I just can't really root for them to go all the way - for obvious reasons. Instead, I'm going to go with the Penguins.

Yes, the Penguins. I know, Sidney Crosby is overexposed and overrated blah blah blah whatever, but I can't help how much I love that kid. I think the Penguins have some great goaltending in Marc-Andre Fleury, and they've proven they can get the job done in round one. Besides, I don't get to see much of the Eastern Conference, so it'll be nice to have a team to latch onto.

Now, my Stars. If you had told me two weeks ago that I would not be on the losing end of the first round, I may have called you a liar, or at least looked at you in surprise. I always try to be positive about the first round, but, to be completely honest, the Stars haven't given me much reason to be positive. This year, though, they managed to pull out a first round victory. I think this is highly important for them - it may give them the confidence and belief in themselves to go on further than anyone imagined.

Sergei Zubov and Philippe Boucher are both out (Boo-Boo will be re-evaluated this week, and Russian is skating, but still listed as day-to-day), leaving three rookies on the blueline. Mark Fistric has been performing SO well in his very first playoff games. Nicklas Grossman is a great shut-down guy. Matt Niskanen...Well, okay, let me preface this by saying that I adore him more than words can say. He is my favorite, will always be my favorite, I love him, etc. etc. But he hasn't been doing so great. He's without his best defensive partner, Sergei Zubov, and paired with Mattias Norstrom, who, up until a couple of weeks ago, had not earned anywhere near his 4.25 million salary. He's a thinking player, which makes Anaheim's rough-and-tumble style of play a little harder for him to handle, I think. In Game Six, though, he stepped it up a little more - I thought he played really well (but then again, I'm biased, and others would probably disagree).

Round One is almost over, guys, and I still have a reason to pay attention. It feels really weird.

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Weekly Topic 1: Oh, the Irony!

There's no difficulty for me in making my decision but the answer provokes something approximating fits of multiple personality disorder!

The team I most wanted to see this post-season was the Washington Capitals. Since we all know how much the Hockey Gods love to mess with fans, it figures Philadelphia had to play them this round.

I've enjoyed watching the Caps' bounce-back from the basement. (I remember our season-long vacation there last year!) The scrappiness, the trade deadline transactions, the goalie situation...it's kept the season exciting for those who followed them.

Here are the players that sealed the deal for my interest in the Caps and why it sucks that I can't fully enjoy watching them in every game we play right now:

Alexander Ovechkin: I love to watch the ever-evolving sense of humor and personality that Ovie displays. From the golf clip to the hilarity of his online dating actually working out for the (right now?) best, the kid keeps me laughing and dazzles me more than Cindy, er, Sidney Crosby.

Olaf "Godzilla" Kolzig: Zilla is among my squees from other teams. He's been one of my favorites since he started playing. And let's be honest, how many bad-ass goalies like him are playing in the NHL right now? Combine that with his off-ice charity work and there's just that much more to admire in Olie the Goalie.

Sergei Fedorov: When I really became a hockey fan, there were only three non-goalie players in my universe and I affectionately called them The Troika. Mogilny. Fedorov. Bure. They rocked! So what happens? As a twenty-nine year old, one of my childhood dreams comes true with Feds' trade to an EC team and we have to play them in the first round? Murphy's Freakin' Law strikes again!

Add to this continued exposure to CapsChick and Shmee's insanely witty posts of their favorite players' antics and I just couldn't help but cheer the Caps on this year.

Right up until the pairings were announced.

Now, if you'll forgive me, I need to go figure out how I can be the Flyers fan I am and reconcile it with the fact that I don't passionately dislike the "enemy."

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Weekly Topic 1: Let's Go...???

It's just so difficult, isn't it? There's so much at play here, and it's hard for me to decipher all of my feelings.

First of all, I have been programed at birth to hate the Islanders and the Devils. Being that the Islanders didn't make the playoffs and that the Rangers played the Devils in the first round, it was quite hard to put any team immediately on my "I hope you lose and lose bad" list. I also hate the Flyers, but I'll get to that later.

There are certain characteristics of teams I like. Original Six is an important one. Props to Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings for making the playoffs. But the Canadiens and the Red Wings happen to be the 1st seed in their divisions, and no one really like a front runner. The other problems with Original Six teams are that rivalries are in full swing. How can a self-respecting Rangers fan like myself root for the Boston Bruins?


And then the complications of the playoffs hit. If I root for the Bruins, and they win, the Rangers will likely play the Caps or Philly. If I root for the Habs, the Rangers will face more challenging opponents such as the Pens or the Canadiens. So I rooting for the Bruins so that the Rangers have a better chance of moving on.

And then there are gut feelings. Why am I rooting for the Avalanche over the Wild, while I hate how Colorado is trying to get an "old glory days" feel and I'm not a personal fan of broken-foot Forsberg over there? I couldn't tell you. I have gut feelings against the Penguins, too, although that stems from my gut feeling that they have been handed success just for being a franchise that is bad at life. Yet I still like Crosby better than Ovechkin. (I want a Sidney Crosby winter classic jersey for my birthday sooo soooo bad!)

Speaking of Ovechkin, I hate the Caps Cinderella story- and I'll be completely honest, I'm not sure why. They're playing the Flyers, who I also hate with passion, being from the Atlantic Division and just basically being violent and mean. Toss up here.

So now that I have eliminated cheering for any Eastern Conference team, I look towards the West. Not only do I know little to nothing about each of these teams, I just look at them and draw big question marks and "who cares" feelings beginning to arise. Plus, I do have some Eastern Conference pride. I'd like to say that I care if the Stars or San Jose go on... but I don't, not to mention both teams hurt my "no hockey south of the Mason-Dixon line" sensibilities.

Does California REALLY need three teams? Come on! And don't get me started on Floria.

Anyway. The point of this post?

Let's go Red Wings!... Original Six, all around talented team, and they want to be in the Eastern Conference anyway. They'll choke though. Don't they always?

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Weekly Topic 1: Playoffs

I love the playoffs, and I even love them as a Minnesota fan. Perhaps especially because I am a Minnesota fan. I've decided that Minnesotans have accepted that we are a small market, and that none of our teams will probably ever be powerhouse dynasty types, but every year we remain hopeful. The phrase "hope springs eternal" was practically invented for Minnesota/Leafs fans. Playoff games bring us closer together and like someone has probably said, the atmosphere is always unbeatable.

The last time I went to a playoff game was my freshman year of high school, when the Wild were playing the Canucks. I went to games 4 and 6 of the series. These two games were probably the best two hockey games that I have ever attended in my fairly short life in that I became instant friends with hundreds of other people for at least three hours. These games appeal greatly to my social nature, and I'm a jock, meaning I like high fiving random people almost as much as I like winning.

We got to the game pretty early, but the building was already full. During game 4 they handed out flags (which I still have), and the pregame teaser on the boards elicited a thunderous roar from the crowd. I lost my voice before the game even started. I didn't sit down for the entire third period of the game. The food tasted better, the entire drive home (which I normally loathe, St. Paul is 30 long miles away, and I'm not a good car rider. Short attention span) flew by. People yelling in the streets, honking, high fiving some more. St. Paul is not normally as exciting as Minneapolis...

Game 6 was the game that we poured the hate on Bertuzzi for his comments to the fans, and it was one of the games in our epic come back from being down 3-1 for a second time. Minnesota is the only team in NHL history to come back and win two series after being down 3-1. After that game, life was one tremendous party. Most of the game I spent on my feet cheering, and it was a spectacular win. I sat in a different corner from the game previous, and I got to see Roli play twice right in front of me.

I can sit here and picture being inside the X as clearly as the day(s) it happened five years ago. I had my entire room plastered with playoff stuff, I stayed up later than I ever had watching the games and doing my homework after the games. My parents had never tolerated that kind of thing before, but they made an exception for the playoffs. All my friends and I talked about at school was the playoffs, and even the teachers would talk about hockey after the day's lesson.

Since I moved out west, the Wild have made the playoffs both years (maybe I should stay out here), but unfortunately have made early exits, robbing me of the chance to go and see them again. I have still carried on the traditions as best I can by spending hours on the phone/online with my friends who still reside in the State of Hockey trying to get every detail out of them, but I've found that it's just not the same thing as being there. I don't have the same emotion, the same level of awareness as I did when I was there.

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Weekly Topic 1: Go Penguins!

Being in the West, I couldn't pick a Western Conference team to follow besides my Preds. But I have to be honest, the Eastern Conference is A BLAST to watch. This year was my first to start watching teams in the Eastern Conference, and I have a hard time just choosing one. BUT after watching a ton of great games over the season, I've got to say I'm pulling for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

It's really a three-way tie between the Rangers, the Flyers, and the Penguins. I have always loved the Rangers (and it helped even more after getting Jed Ortmeyer). Then after losing so many of our players to the Flyers, I became a fan to watch all of our old boys play together. And then out of the blue, I watched a Penguins/Capitals game this season and fell in love with the Penguins. I'm not a huge fan of the all-star players. Yes, I'm happy to have the Alexander Ovechkins or Sidney Crosbys because they bring so much attention to the sport in the mainstream media. But when I can, I usually favor the less popular teams in the league. That being said, I was surprised how much I enjoyed watching the Penguins play. I don't know why, but I love watching that team! They have a great energy and are always fun to watch.

Ahh honestly I love watching everyone play! But for my bracket's sake, I hope to see the Penguins go all the way during the playoffs...until Nashville beats them in the Stanley Cup Finals. (A girl can dream!)

(One more side note for the night: Congrats to the Avs! Another team I was rooting to head to round two!)

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Weekly Topic 1 - Playoffs

Some of you seem to be having difficulty with this one, not I! I have no problems letting you know just who I am rooting during this wonderful, beautiful time.

Honestly, since the Coyotes went on a suck-slump at the end of the regular season and booted themselves out of the playoff run, I've been cheating on them with my mistress. What can I say? She does it for me. ;)

Calgary. My 1B. If I can't win with my home team, I'm going to go for gold with my adopted team. I only wish they weren't paired up with San Jose, who is delighting in playing like their former selves and really trying to kill my (other) boys.

It's actually pretty grand considering I enjoy watching San Jose play, they're quite exciting, but if it's between them and my Flames, to HADES Sharkies.

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Weekly Topic (I'm a sheep!)

This is rather a loaded question for me, because I’ve got ties to two separate NHL teams at this point, both in the playoffs, and my two NHL teams’ AHL teams are currently playing each other for their Calder Cup run. Basically, I spend a lot of time cringing no matter what happens.


But, if I could put all that ulcer-inducing Pens/Caps/Babypens/Bears orgying aside for a moment, I’d have to say that since the beginning of the series, I’ve been keeping about half an eye on the Boston Bruins (although I did choose Montreal to win the series).Currently, they’re fighting back 2-3 against the Habs, so who knows if I’ll get to watch them much longer, but I have to say, their group of little scrappy Czech rookies (Sobotka and Krejci) have sort of warmed the cockles of my heart during the beginning of playoffs.

Player-wise, the specific non-Cap-non-Pens people currently on my radar for playoffs?
Tootoo, who I waver back and forth between liking and wanting to punch.
Biron, the only Flyer I can stand, probably because he’s the only one I’ve never seen pull Flyerish crap (sorry, Nadine!).
Turco, mostly because he’s my car’s namesake and because he’s really a fantastic goalie.

And in the AHL? I’d say I’m watching the Syracuse Crunch, but I’d be lying. I do know they have Brassard and Brule playing for them right now, and I’ve been sort of passively interested in Emo!Brule since he was pegged as the guy in Sid’s shadow for that draft year, and I always feel for the players who do the called up, sent back, called up game. No, I’m really just focused on the Bears. And barring that, on the BabyPens. That's one of the few good things about having ties to two, even if they do play each other from the getgo.... SOMEONE's gotta move on, right?

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Weekly Topic: 08 Playoffs 1 - Lucky13

The team that I'm most looking forward to seeing in the playoffs this year - other than my beloved Rangers (they won the first round last night - woo-hoo!!!) - is the Nashville Predators.

There are several reasons why I have taken a liking to the Preds. First of all, they appeared on the map for me when my boy Jed Ortmeyer was picked up by them after the Rangers brass decided to let his contract expire (jerks). Something about litigation, whatever. So I started paying attention to them more as the 2008-2009 season started up because I wanted to watch Jed play.

Since then, I have taken a trip to Nashville to see them play, and I have followed them in the standings. Their playoff push at the end of the season was both good and bad - they finished in playoff contention - that's good. But they were seeded to play Detroit, who won the President's trophy - that's bad. But I have faith - they did pretty well against the league's best team during their 8-game regular season stand.

Now they are down 3-2 in round one of the playoffs. Not bad, considering they've been coined the sacrificial lamb for Detroit. I'm still hopeful that my Western conference team will provide round one's biggest upset.

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