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CANUCKS HOCKEY BLOG

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Oilers 2 Hurricanes 1

Like Andy Grabia, I decided to check out the NBC feed to last night's 2-1 Edmonton Oilers win over the Carolina Hurricanes. It's too bad that we were probably only two of maybe 5,000 people to watch it (and our TV sets won't even count towards the Neilsen ratings), the broadcast was actually quite good. Doc and J.D. kept the commentaries simple; Pierre McGuire suits his role as the "ice-level reporter"; Eddie O., Bill Clement and Ray Ferraro were adequate in the broadcast studio.

The one thing I liked the most was how they talked about the cast of characters in the playoffs - they had a feature on Joey Moss, the Oilers' long-time dressing room attendant who also has Down's syndrome (he is also Wayne Gretzky's ex-girlfriend's brother); they also had one on Cam Ward, the Hurricanes goalie who grew up in Edmonton; they talked about Matt Greene and his career with the University of North Dakota. What these little bits do is introduce TV viewers to the players, coaches and crew they are watching. Give a little tidbit about each of them so they are not just a bunch of guys on skates throwing a black thingy around the ice.

Now, to the game...

It's the Caniacs turn to be upset about losing a game in this series. Stormbringer did not like the way her team played last night:

Unlike a lot of Caniac message boarders (at least those at Scout.com), I *really* did not see a good Canes team take to the ice in the Rexall Centre tonight. And of course the Oilers are going to look great when the opposition is making like a Hoover... (shakes her head and sighs)
Ron Francis says that something is not right:

To me, it just seemed like something wasn't right for the Canes from the start. Maybe it was the long flight, maybe the nerves that come with being this close, or maybe the hostile environment. For whatever reason, they didn't seem to be skating like they can and although the ice wasn't totally tilted in one direction, the Oilers could have been up by a larger # at the end of the 2nd if not for the play of Cam Ward.
The Acid Queen is simply telling everyone "I told you so":

It's not over yet. Now would you asshats that are already engraving the Hurricanes' names on the Cxp please STFU until it's all over? Thanks.
On the Edmonton side, Oilers folks are breathing a bit easier. Here's sacamano from The Battle of Alberta:

Anyway, back to the important stuff: THE OIL ARE BACK IN THIS SERIES, BABY! This is just a crazy team we're supporting this year. What a gut check of a game to win. Ugly? Yes. Just what the doctor ordered.
Covered In Oil concurs:

Holy shit, did we ever need that. I had a post lined up that actually broke down what went well with the game tonight, but I accidentally deleted it —but really, do you need me to tell you? Everything the Oilers needed to do right they did. We scored the first goal. Every time we touched the puck in our own end, the play slowed down. Despite some nerve-wracking wandering, Jussi came up big in ways I previously thought impossible. We scored a garbage goal — this is a bigger success than some may realize.

Fuck it. I'm drunk, we won, I'm going to bed. This series is not over yet.
It's not. Game 4 goes on Monday night. See you again, Doc and J.D.

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Comments/Questions: Feel free to post in the comments section or email me at gocanucksgo10 (at) hotmail (dot) com.

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posted by J.J. Guerrero, 7:32 AM

4 Comments:

At June 11, 2006 9:56 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wasn't the score Edm 2 - Car 1?

 
At June 11, 2006 8:34 PM, Blogger andy grabia said...

I can't even begin to express how superior NBC's coverage was.

 
At June 11, 2006 10:48 PM, Blogger J.J. Guerrero said...

Grrr... corrected it. Damn these early morning pre-coffee posts.

 
At June 11, 2006 10:49 PM, Blogger J.J. Guerrero said...

Andy - Totally. Now if only more Americans would tune in to the game.

 

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