ottawa 5, new jersey 4 – senators lead series 1-0
i missed the game because i was watching another bunch of senators, but boy, this was a doozy of the game.
i kept refreshing the nhl scores page, and, quite frankly, thought the game was pretty much over in the first period. ottawa managed to build up a pretty impressive lead – 4-0 – and, when the period was finally over, the devils had only managed to score a single goal.
but in the second period, the devils returned, and came within a single goal of tying the game.
and then in the third period, everyone got a goal and the game ended 5-4.
so what does this game teach us?
1. first of all, martin brodeur is shaky in the first game after a break. he was shaky in the first game of the tampa bay series, and shaky in this game. this leads me to the conclusion: do NOT give martin brodeur a break. make this man a hockey playing machine. no days off. hell, play him against mighty mites if you need to, but DO NOT LET HIM LEAVE THE CREASE.
2. never underestimate the devils’ offense – coming back after a 4-0 deficit to almost win? that’s impressive, and reflective of some nice hockey skills, not any choking habits on behalf of the other team.
3. jersey hates hockey. c’mon – the arena doesn’t sell out during playoffs? over 3,000 tickets are left? that’s just sad.
oh, and the sharks beating detroit 2-0? hunh? sure, san jose may have a better team, but i’m so used to detroit being a hockey juggernaut that it just seems weird to see them get shut out in their first game of the series. i could probably spin this into some tortured metaphor for the old manufacturing economy vs. the new tech-and-service based economy, but in truth, it’s just a hockey game, so i’ll leave it alone. although i gotta note – the sharks are going to lose the series if they don’t get their shots on goal up. by the end of the game, they only had about half the shots of detroit, and good defense alone can’t win three more games.
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