Disappointing postseason continues

May 13, 2008   ·   Derek Felix   ·   Jump to comments

I finally figured out what’s been nagging me. No. Not the fact the Rangers weren’t good enough. Besides, they have a snake running the asylum who will probably push Sean Avery out the door while failing to address the glaring holes on a soft as vanilla custard team.

It’s just that these playoffs have totally sucked ass. Where’s the excitement? Where’s the one series that’s completely drawn you in as a fan? Nowhere!

Sure. There’s been a couple of close comebacks in the first round and that neverending Game Six between the Sharks and Stars with Dallas finally prevailing on their captain Brenden Morrow’s shoulders with maybe the hockey Gods looking down. Unfortunately for those Stars, maybe they should’ve put San Jose away earlier cause that was the last ounce of strength they had. Detroit has owned them even without Johan Franzen. Who still thinks Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg are soft and can’t be relied upon in crunch time? Guess there won’t be anyone questioning that dynamic duo anymore.

What about the Flyers? What the heck happened to them? Apparently, playing Carey Price and Montreal was nothing like playing Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury and the rest of the Penguins. How awful has this series been? Let’s see. I didn’t bother to watch the first seven minutes and when I flipped it on for a score, there stood another reason to flip back to TNT:

Penguins 2 Flyers 0

I knew right there I didn’t have to bother turning back. The game and series were over and the Flyer fans dressed in orange may as well have started puking at what they were watching.

Face it. These NHL playoffs have sucked beyond incomprehensible belief. It doesn’t help that Versus the All Pens Network has covered it about as badly as humanly possible. There was yet another glaring mistake during last night’s Wings’ 5-2 win over the Stars in Game Three. Somehow, the production truck confused Datsyuk with Zetterberg giving the Swede a goal instead of the playmaking Russian pivot who posted his first career playoff hat trick. They look nothing alike.

Did the network bother to correct the graphic? Nope. Instead, Doc Emrick was there to announce Pavel’s sixth trying to save face. Why? Cause he’s the only one who even tries during these telecasts. Ed Olczyk has become a bland boring analyst with little to say much like that dreadful studio intermission show hosted by the boring Bill Patrick with Brian Engblom and Keith Jones. I miss Bill Clement! How freaking sad is that?

I’m not the only one either. If you want good coverage, you can still hear him, Sam Rosen, Dave Strader, Joe Micheletti and Billy Jaffe on NHL Radio with Joe Tolleson and Dave Maloney hosting. The level of energy’s better and their intermission coverage totally dwarfs the NHL’s National TV Network. Word of advice. Watch the NHL Network. They have much better stuff before and after games. It’s the only sane thing going for this league which badly needs more exposure.

You know that infamous quote from The Sixth Sense where the kid says to Bruce Willis’ character:

“I see dead people.”

Yes. That quote. Well, it applies to a network who can’t be bothered unless they’re showing 9,000 shots of Mario Lemieux or another 12,000 of Crosby. Dead people have actually put in more energy than what those intermission segments have become. Nobody wants to see stale analysts with little to say. Where’s the balls? Why can’t these guys take a stand? Even after Mike Ribeiro’s slash in response to Chris Osgood’s sneaky butt end, NOTHING! They just smiled. Could there be a little emotion?

In some aspect, I actually feel for the Flyers cause it hasn’t been a fair fight. They lost top two defenders Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn and that couldn’t happen for John Stevens’ club to stand a chance.

Finally, I did happen to catch the Pens’ third goal after flipping back just in time to see another brilliant turnover by rookie Steve Downie. Is he a moron? It was bad enough that his lazy play cost his team Game Two. Word of friendly advice to the rook. You don’t pass the puck to Malkin at his blueline with no teammates around and expect to get away with it. Not shockingly, it took Malkin and linemates Petr Sykora and Ryan Malone a few seconds to score and send the sea of puke home. It was a nice ride. Too bad for them the fat lady has already begun rehearsing.

One other thought based on what I’ve seen. What the heck happened to Daniel Briere?

If it’s true that these playoffs have been a letdown, then the league desperately needs a great Stanley Cup Final between the Pens and Wings. They must put on a good show because really. … nobody will watch. These are the best two teams left who possess the most skilled skaters with excellent supporting casts to go with it. So, you have to believe it should be interesting.

Personally, I believe in Detroit. They always seem to have the puck and are killing opponents in the faceoff circle. However, you can’t discount Pittsburgh. Especially with the size and skill they got at center. Jordan Staal really has gotten overlooked. He’s been a beast in all facets. He’ll probably see a lot of Datsyuk next round.

Who do you prefer? A team with experience and some youth mixed in well equipped who just stifles opponents? Or a younger team with the top two talents in the game who can impose their will on games along with an underrated supporting cast.

I’m still taking the Red Wings. They need to win this series for many reasons. One of which that this might be their last shot with that group even though a few of their core will be around a while. Because the Penguins shall only get better. Can a team really win with Chris Osgood in net? He hasn’t lost yet making Dominik Hasek into the NHL version of Wally Pipp. Is this some sort of twisted joke?

No. Only about as much as that crazy dream I had where me and my brother saw Martin Brodeur at a bank out at the Mall and he got all miserable when the talk centered around Sean Avery. No. It wasn’t even forced. But the sour puss look was worth every penny.

Maybe there is some truth to my mind as nuts as it’s become lately. Regardless, I sure hope the Stanley Cup Final isn’t a total bore. Please give us something.