The bloom is off the rose...

...Of me being nice and calm that is. Yeah, I know. Already? Jeez, that didn't take long!

Look, it was Day 1. I didn't want to start off ranting and raving right away. Figured if I did that, I'd scare everybody off. But it's Day 2 now, so I only expect to lose half of you. That is, if I even have any "you" to lose...Hello? Hel-lo-oo? Anybody out there??(pounds on glass).

Anyway...what was I gonna do? Oh yeah, rant about the game.

What is there really to say though? It was a disgusting, despicable display tonight. I mean, really. I guess I shouldn't be too upset though as they were playing the defending Stanley Cup Champions. But ya know what? That's just it. They were playing the defending Stanley Cup Champions! And they're supposed to BE Stanley Cup contenders themselves! Well, they looked pathetic in my opinion. Yeah, they out shot the Ducks 33-19, had a good first period, and won 2 of the 3 fights. Big deal. Bottom line is, they were 0-4 on the power play, didn't crash the net, didn't win the battles along the boards, turned the puck over numerous times and they just never took control of a game that Anaheim was begging them to take control of. And after that complete no-show against the pathetic Kings the other night, and then the fight in practice between Avery and Lurch yesterday, I expected more, and I didn't get it, and it's just totally unacceptable. They cannot continue to give games away like this.

Bottom line is, there are 25 games remaining. A 15-10 record will give them 90 points. Is that good enough for them to make the playoffs? Yeah, probably. But they honestly should be better then that and they just aren't right now. What was supposed to be a vaunted offense is 5th from the bottom of the NHL. The power play is a pathetic 19th and Jagr couldn't hit the broad side of a barn right now. I could seriously see them going 12-13 to finish out the season at this point.

Oh, and just in case you weren't keeping score, they are now a nice, big 0-For against the Western Conference. That's 0-7-2 for all you stat geeks. Nice going boys. Stanley Cup Contenders my you-know-what!

Anyway, here's your game recap if you really want to read it. I'm too tired to type anything else. I'm going to bed. Good night!