Too Little, Too Late as Sharks Take 3-1 Lead
Well I must say guys, I'm pretty close to just giving up on this series, on hockey as a whole, after this game. I've dealt with too much playoff frustration from this team; they just aren't even close to being what they need to be to compete. Whatever the Preds need to do, they don't. Whatever their competition needs to do, they do. And down 3-1 again, for the second straight year to the same team, after a 3-2 loss, that 2nd goal coming out of desperation on a 6-on-4 extra attacker goal, I'm spent. I sat and watched the latest episode of "Lost" during most of that third period, I'm that far gone.
When you hear things like "fanned on the attempt" and "missed the wide-open goal" or "Nabokov makes an unbelievable save" immediately followed by the Sharks scoring on a seemingly nothing attempt, then you realize quickly you don't have a winning team. Everything that can possibly go wrong will go wrong. If this is the beginning of the end of the Predators, then I'm pulling out early. Their next loss in this series might be the last game I listen to or watch.
It sounded like, again, the Preds dominated and worked hard and still lost. What's the point? This team is star-crossed and it's even more painful by the fact it's the same team. If this could have been any other team, it might have let up on the sting; not much, but at least it wouldn't be the same team getting the better of my team two years in a row. I hate the Sharks, I wish them nothing but the worst whatever happens. Especially after last year, where they looked like world-beaters and then lost to freaking Edmonton. If you're going to dominate and humiliate my team, at least have the common decency to do it to other teams.
Really, honestly, I wish I didn't care that much.
posted by Chris @ 4/18/2007 11:27:00 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Through the magic of technical difficulties, I was not able to watch the last period, and I listened to the firs two on the radio. So I may have had different impressions.
To me, it sounded like we dominated that game--at least the way Pete and Terry were calling it. Sounded like we had way more scoring chances than the Sharks, but that through a combination of great goaltending by Nabakov and bad luck, we just couldn't get the puck in.
Granted, we got caught up in multiple penalties again--the bane of our existence. But it didn't sound--at least on the radio broadcast--as though we were getting owned. Even sounded like we were playing better than them for most of the game.
My general reaction this morning is: why do we even bother? Doesn't seem like we can win for losing. I'm more bummed than pissed. Had I watched it all, I might have seen something different. But from my perspective as a radio listener...it sounded like we did well but we just didn't convert the chance into goals.
I don't guess I have to tell you how likely it is that we win three straight to take the series.
I freaking hate playoffs. We have a great regular season, but now it means nothing. This is exactly what I was afraid of. What corporate sponsor is going to pony up the cash to pay for playoff tickets in the future? And without them, we don't have a team.
I know only the little I've heard about Nashville's supposed move, but what is the exact deal? Is there an attendance policy that we are not going to meet or do the owners want to sell? I'm just curious if someone could clear this up. Because Stanley Cup or not, we have made the playoffs three seasons in a row I believe, and that would be more than enough to keep just about any professional establishment above water. Although, I realize hockey doesn't bring in the revenue that football, basketball, baseball, NASCAR, etc., I'm just curious is someone could break this down.
Well, as I understand it, next season is the year an option kicks-in for the Preds...that if they don't average a certain number in attendance over the course of the regular season (I think it's around 15 or 16 thousand) then they can get out of their 30-year lease.
Also, Kansas City is already building a downtown arena and is actively courting existing hockey teams to fill it, with Nashville's team at the top of the list.
The theory is that going deep in the playoffs is the only way to generate enough excitement for us to actually get to that average attendance next year.
The local business culture has had 10 years to "get it" and climb on board, but they haven't yet. I doubt another first-round exit from the playoffs is going to create the kind of buzz we need to get over this attendance hump.
By the way...it's game day morning, and I'm more optimistic than I was yesterday.
Of the previous 214 times a team has had a playoff series lead of 3 games to 1, the trailing team has come back 20 times. Hey, that's 10%. So our odds aren't that long. And I'm liking that two of these three games we have to win are at home. Hopefully somebody somewhere in that locker room figures out how to motivate these guys. We've certainly had many three-game winning streaks all season long.
Go Preds!!
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