I don't even know if I can finish watching this game. The Stanley Cup on the line, because its gone if they lose, Ottawa came out and laid a big fat egg.
They needed a herculean effort, and they played like a bunch of weiners.
There are two moments, both from the third period, that really stand out for me as examples of why the Ottawa Senators lost this series.
The first was Anaheim's fifth goal. By my count that came on their 14th shot of the game. That's FIVE goals on 14 shots. You know, Stanley Cup or not, I think I could do almost that good. And nobody's paying me. I'd be doing it for pride.
Now I don't mean to say that Emery had a bad series. That couldn't be farther from the truth. For the most part I thought he played great. But its an example of how the TEAM played. When the chips were down and they had to play the best hockey of their lives, they mailed it in. They played like they ate huge bowls of oatmeal right before the game. Emery, who'd done all but stand on his head the whole series, plays like a slaughtered lamb and lets in 5 goals. That's not his game. But this was the BIG ONE and like the rest of his team-mates, he tanked it. That's why they didn't win. They had to be their absolute best, and they weren't even in their top 10 performances of the playoffs.
And the other example was the penalty shot. If there was a reason why Ottawa had no chance to win this playoff series, that penalty shot provides the example. What happened when he came down the ice? He juked three times, threw in a head fake, and tried to put the puck in on his backhand. But the puck squirted away harmlessly and the penalty shot was useless.
SHOOT THE BLOODY PUCK!!! You can't score if you don't shoot. And Ottawa didn't shoot. Time and again it was three passes, most around behind the net, and then flick it harmlessly off a blocking defenceman. Over and over again it was the same drill. Pass, pass, pass, turnover. And when they did shoot it was some useless shot from the point. Never in front, never banging away at the goalie, never with an open net to shoot at. Giguere had it easy because everyone else on the ice got hit with more rubber than he did. If you want to win, just blast away at the net 30 times. The law of averages says you'll score a few.
Defencemen shouldn't have the lead in shots on net. And that's what Ottawa tried to do. They got out shot, out skated, out hit, and out played. They lost because they were second best.
BOOOO!!!!!!!
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