m. patton
A fan wants a few things in order for a playoff season to be fun. First, he wants his team to be in the playoffs and winning. Second, he wants some close games and some late night OT heroics. Finally, he wants that indescribable element that involves nerves, anger and pride all rolled up into one; he wants drama.
So far, aside from the the Rangers/Thrashers series, there have been some great series with some close games. The Buffalo series, although it only took 5 games, kept Sabres fans on edge for a few games, including this one. The Detroit series has some great games and got to game 6 and as we speak, game 7 of the Vancouver/Dallas series is early in the first (0-0). So in all, the hockey is not bad at all and since my team is in it and playing pretty well, the first two criteria are covered down here in Maryland.
So now let's examine that third element of a fun playoff series, the drama. Last year, for the most part, there really was not that much to speak of in terms of real high school caliber drama. Aside from a Lindy Ruff versus Ken Hitchcock verbal podium scrum, I cannot recall any good stuff.
This year is much different. We are not even completely through the first round and already we have several battles that ranged from the absurd to the troubling. The first was of course in the Nashville/San Jose series where a few hits from behind lead to fights, injuries and suspensions. Also, whenever Ron Wilson is involved in any type of extra curricular activities, there will be some colorful comments and humorously aggressive language.
Next, there was the New Jersey/Tampa Bay series which was for the most part tame until late game 5 where there were plenty of PIMs handed out in the last 5 minutes and was capped by a John Torterella tirade towards Lou Lamorello from across the benches. I had not seen such a confrontation since Lindy Ruff had some choice words for Bryan Murray in Buffalo back in February.
Then there was Teddy Nolan. First off, I have nothing but respect for Teddy and most Buffalo fans, die-hard fans at least, will always have a special spot in their hearts for Teddy for what he did for the club back in the late 90's. I also felt that it was not fair that a coach like that had to spend 9 years away from the NHL given what he did for the Sabres' last good era. That being said, I think Teddy may have cried wolf during the Isles series with Buffalo. I know that it's easy to say that since it was my team that were the beneficiaries of the calls he publicly questioned and I'm not saying he shouldn't of questioned them. I am saying, however, that he should have put it behind him an hour after the games were over. He couldn't seem to let go and would bring them up every time he had a chance, even on the days of the next games. It could have very well been a distraction for his players, and probably didn't buy him any favors with any of the officials. Although I am on Teddy's side about his coaching absence, I think that his constant complaining during this series could help people forget that he was, for some unfair reason, kept out of the league for 9 years and help them remember that he couldn't keep his mouth shut about calls that he couldn't change even days after the games.
Two other notable events from that series was first, the suspension of Sean Hill for using performance enhancing drugs, followed by the demotion of the 8 million dollar man to the fourth line before he was held scoreless in the series again by the Buffalo Sabres as he was when he played for Ottawa in 1999. We will revisit this series later.
The most despicable drama, good for writers but bad for real hockey fans, lived in the Detroit/Calgary series. What went on during the last minutes of Game 5 should be documented as the example of the exact opposite of the drama that should live in a playoff series. The most disturbing part of that game was the fact that usually class acts somehow went evil very quickly. Jamie McClennan, who is more unknown in general than known as a dirty player, timber chopped Johan Franzen in an act that could cost him any chance to be a NHL starter, and could cost his coach his job. Either something snapped in McClennan as he sat on the bench watching Kiprusoff single handily keep the Flames from being swept, or he was instructed to go out and chop anyone. Either way, it is an event that should be, but won't be, forgotten.
The next jedi gone bad was Jerome Iginla. The captain, EA sports cover man, former scoring title winner and cup finalist just snapped looked as if he was more concerned with hurting an opponent than trying to score goals. Instead of leading by example by skating hard no matter what the score was, he butt-ended and cross checked his way into the bad memories of that series. It was a real shame that a team like Calgary who has skated some of the all time greats (Mr. McDonald and Mr. Vernon come to mind), would embarrass that tradition and a fan base who would rather see a team skate hard in defeat than cheap shot their way to notoriety. Like the latest John Waters film, it was a dirty shame.
Back to the Islanders thing for one more minute. The Sean Hill thing holds more significance than just a distraction to his team on the night that would eventually be their last of the season, it opens up a whole new can of worms since it was revealed that Sean Hill, a top NY defenseman, was caught during the last weeks of the season and was allowed to play during his appeal. Since there were teams on the bubble (Toronto and Montreal), it can be assured that although it was all by the book, those bubble teams may cry foul and call for a re-writing of that book. Lest we forget, the Islanders made it in by one point, a point they earned in a shootout, which makes them the first team to have their playoff status affected by a shootout point, but I guess Toronto could be grouped into that first as well.
So on goes the drama. My Sabres play an energized NY Rangers team that will be sure bring the dramatics. But like I have been saying all year, I am always nerved up during the playoffs, but I do like our chances, yes I do.
