February 23, 2008

Five things.

2008 has not been a kind year to me thus far, and dealing with the multiple fall-outs has kept me from writing here. I like to maintain my air of mystery, so rather than dwelling on the non-hockey negative, and because I finally have MY COMPUTER back (all hail the baby brother, king of technical computer stuff!) here's five things I've been meaning to talk to you about but have been unable to do so:

5. I have no idea who is even on the Boston team any more. Because when I check out of things, I apparently check out of things good. Sure, I can probably name many of the players if I sat down and thought about it, but I've lost the ability to deliver the roster with a rapid-fire cadence like I could before. I'm disappointed in myself, naturally, but when I look at trying to make time to keep up with Boston or LA or Ottawa or any of the other NHL teams I've held more than a passing interest in, I get so overwhelmed by exhaustion that it's really just better for everyone involved if I check out of Boston's successes and failures right now. I hope that next season will be different.

4. Bobbleheads amuse me more than they ought to. That's really all I have to say on the topic. You can't really expound much on a bobblehead. I do have to admit- of all the Providence ones so far (Jon Sigalet, Mark Stuart, Matt Lashoff, Dave Krejci, and Nate Thompson. Tuukka Rask's night is in April), Nateful's is the only one that really actually looks like a Nateful in more than just a, "Yeah, I could see how that could be ____.".

3. Speaking of Nateful... I take back every hesitation I had about him being captain. I'm not in the locker room, so I am not entirely sure how much of Providence's success is Nateful's leadership and how much of it is the right team chemistry, but I've like what I've seen on the ice. AND Nateful has even had some dramatic goals- the kind I've always wanted to see from him because he is capable of them. His long hairdo is also amusing. If the hockey thing doesn't pan out for him, he's always got a shot at being a TV mobster. Don Nateleon, at your service.

2. Tuukka Rask. I want to trust him in net, and I want to like him, but I can't do either. While he may have played fantastically in Boston on recalls, he's been playing like poop in Providence. He has a habit of letting one goal lead to two or three consecutive goals. And not just "consecutive" in that the third goal follows the second goal that follows the first goal, but "consecutive" as in a perfect goose egg on shots one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight, but goals on shots nine, ten, and eleven. Or on shots six, seven, and eight. Or shots thirteen, fourteen, fifteen. The number of shots always changes, but the pattern is the same. This drives me absolutely insane, because he's a better goalie than that -- we all know this -- and I am trying to be patient because I know it's his first pro year, North-American style, but it's the most frustrating thing to watch happen from the stands. I want him to do better because I want the team to do well and to go far, but offense can only score so many goals and defense can only stop so many attempts before they can't cover for the goalie's weaknesses any more. It wouldn't be so obvious, week in and week out, if the goaltending tandem was a bit more balanced, but I feel like if repeating myself on this topic hasn't worked yet, then I ought to just stop saying it. Insanity is defined as repeating the same behavior and expecting a different outcome with each repetition, and while my behavior defines a lot of things, I am not quite ready for it to define that.

1. Providence's successes (and failures). I happened to be on theahl.com lately, and I came across this poll:

I know it's old (from last week), and I know that it's just a poll, and I know that the same 53 people could have voted dozens of times to achieve the results in the screenshot, and I know that the final numbers probably differed from the final totals, but it warmed my heart that so many people on the internets believe in my boys. Providence is hanging on to the top spot in the league (by a single game; Chicago is in a very close second), and maintaining a grasp on the number one seed in the conference (Hartford is nipping at their heels with only a five-game difference) with a 40-12-2-1 record. I know that in 2008, I've seen more losses dealt to Providence than I would have liked, but as it befit my moods, I haven't really complained. Some of the games Providence lost redefined "terrible refereeing" in a whole new craptastic way, and some of the games they lost were their own fault. At any rate, they're 6-4-0-0 in their last 10 games, and they seem to be slowly climbing back to the team I know and love. They're away on a roadtrip until after the start of the month (and yes, I am aware that several of these games mean that they're just not home, but still "local," in as much as Springfield and Hartford are local), and I am eager to see how the rest of the season plays out. I am doubly eager to see how the playoffs pan out. I believe Providence has the chutzpah to go far, and I believe that if they want it bad enough, they could bring home the Calder. I want that for them.

by Heather | 10:24 AM | 0
filed under: 07-08 season || providence bruins