2nd Period Live Blogging

Perhaps to follow up on my 1st intermission post, the announcing team starts heaping praise on Mike Fisher. They praise Fisher for such ordinary things, such to-be-expected-from-leaders things as giving his all and knowing he won't "mail it in". Newsflash for Ottawa: What Fisher shows is called character. Regardless of the fact that a C is not stitched on his chest, you might want to emulate his example if you don't want to watch another team win the Cup this evening.

Teemu Selanne leaves the penalty box. And, for a few minutes, the officials decide to take a break from seeing if they can give Ottawa a chance to get back in the game. A less cynical perspective, or less biased, depending on your own point of view, would say that the Ducks don't take penalties for a few minutes.

The Ducks are getting chances, but have yet to score. Pierre thinks Murray should take a timeout to settle down the Senators. I don't expect Murray to take Pierre's advice. Memo to Ottawa: Finding the character to believe in yourselves and play effectively in the face of a bigger, stronger opponent might be helpful. (Not that I should be providing help to Ottawa.)

Musing: I've always enjoyed the Sounds of the Game segment (partially because usually the tickets that close to the ice were always too expensive for me to purchase). But sometimes I wonder if the NHL should somehow make arrangements to "bleep out" the sometimes colorful language used by players in the midst of exchanges that are enlightening, informative, and entertaining. Let's be honest: Hockey players sometimes use certain language as par for the course. Rather than only give us tidbits of sounds, give us the real stuff. Bleeped out, of course, and nothing too ridiculous. But give us the trash talk and the challenges. Not only does it entertain, it does get fans "inside" the game.

Growl: Just as I'm about to say that if I'm Anaheim, I hate the idea of Daniel Alfredsson playing with Mike Fisher, Alfredsson puts the puck behind Jiggy. Apparently character playing with talent can help talent perform as talent should. But really, who should be wearing the captain's C for Ottawa? And what does it say that Mike Fisher, who I've come to respect but who is not an out-of-this-world offensive talent, is really the best player on the ice? There's something wrong with the Senators, but it's not Mike Fisher.

Tit for Tat: Pierre and Edzo have been bickering throughout the second period. More so than Emerick has been calling the game. More on Pierre and Edzo later. If I feel like it. I might not. They're still nowhere near as laugh-aloud hysterical as were FSN guys Steigy and Errey this year, though.

Wow: Just as things had been turning around for Ottawa, and momentum had swung their way, and it was the Ducks standing still, according to Pierre (I agreed, but I hate saying that), Chris Phillips, pressured by Rob Niedermayer, puts a puck behind Ray Emery. It's a bad luck goal, but luck matters. And momentum shifts.

More Wow: Phillips is another one of those solid character people the Senators actually have (unfortunately two of their star players don't appear to have this--more on that in a second). But the look on his face, the defeated look, the "I can't believe that happened," portends another facial expression, and that's a facial expression of disbelief, one of, "I can't believe we can come back." The Ducks are much better equipped to deal with the Senators than were any of the Eastern playoff teams.

Momentum is a Fragile Thing: Getzlaf loses the puck on the PP, and Alfredsson scores shorthanded. I will never root for Daniel Alfredsson. Amazingly, I think Alfredsson scored without Fisher on the ice with him. Wow.

Momentum is a Fragile Thing, Part 2: In the thirty seconds it took to type the previous sentences (yes, I type fast), Beauchemin scores. Anaheim converts on the PP and has a 2 goal lead once more. Beautiful.

Getzlaf/Carlyle versus Spezza/Murray: Missing person jokes are circulating around the Internet about where Jason Spezza has been throughout the Finals. This period, Pierre informed the viewing audience that Murray was screaming at Spezza and Spezza was screaming right back at his coach. While Murray is right to call out Spezza for certain plays, it's worth remembering Spezza's a kid (not a child, like the Pens' teenagers). Murray needs to do what good coaches do: do whatever's necessary to give a talented kid the chance to succeed. And yes, that means calling Spezza out, screaming if necessary--but it also means, well, things should have taken place before screaming and things should take place after screaming. Those things are called adjustments. Adjustments to a different line or to missing a shift or just to teaching a kid how to play an opponent who plays a style the kid's totally unaccustomed to seeing.

Speaking of kids like Spezza, Ryan Getzlaf is also a kid. Pierre didn't bring us a report about what Carlyle said when Getzlaf got "too cute" and Alfredsson scored, but I wondered. Getzlaf's been called out for taking "stupid" penalties, and perhaps if he had taken a penalty there, Alfredsson doesn't score. I wondered what Carlyle said and how he said it. Because there's a time and a place for call-outs, rebuking, and screaming. But if you're a good coach, a coach who wants to coach a champion, you know you need your best players, even if they're just kids, to be your best players. Say this for the coaches, and I'm not making judgments of the players here: Carlyle has done more with Getzlaf, and gotten more from him, way more, than Murray has with Spezza. And when it comes to kids, that's not just a reflection on the players. It's a reflection on the coaches.

End of Period. 4-2 Anaheim. When do I get to see a picture of the Stanley Cup? Where is the Cup in the building?