3rd Period Live-Blogging

As I eat my dinner, I watch Mike Fisher go after the puck like a madman. If only the rest of the Senators could match that all-out effort and desire.

The unfortunate 3rd goal aside, Chris Phillips is still a solid defenseman. His stick breaks, and rather than taking a penalty, he uses his skate and kicks the puck to another Senator. Solid play by a solid player. If only the Senators could get more of that...eh, I don't want the Senators to win, so let's forget that.

Scott Niedermayer for MVP. Niedermayer's shot on net results in another Anaheim goal. 5-2 Anaheim. I do like a three goal lead. I would like a four goal lead better, and a five goal lead better still, and well, you get the idea.

Songs of "Emery, Emery," resound, followed by "We want the Cup! We want the Cup!" Have I mentioned how much I LOVE playoff hockey?

Oh, and prior to the start of the period, the Cup is finally in the building. I don't get to see it yet; it's still inside the case. But the Cup is here. Edzo is talking about where he took the Cup.

The current Anaheim PP aside, waiting for time to tick down when you're in Anaheim's position is.....time lags, every second feels much longer than it is, and--

Penalty Shot! For Ottawa! Still playoff hockey....Jiggy says no. Mike Emerick tells us the Sens still trail by 3.

From my own limited perspective, penalty shots matter. Jaromir Jagr scores on a penalty shot against the Rangers in 1992 was one of the goals that helped the Pens to win a tight game when Mario Lemieux was out with a broken wrist. Ken Wregget had to stop a penalty shot in the "pajama game" of the Pens-Washington game back in 1996. The game wouldn't end with the penalty shot in the 2nd OT; that had to wait until the fourth OT. On the flip side of the coin, Aleksey Morozov failed to score on a penalty shot against the Montreal Canadians. The Pens lost the game, the series, and Morozov. While blaming Morozov's entire North American underachievement on that one unconverted penalty shot is a bit much, that penalty shot made a big difference for the game, the series, and the player. Anyhow, unfortunately for Ottawa, this penalty shot goes to Anaheim, not to them as a "series turning point."


The "We want the Cup" chant starts again, and I concur. Keep playing your game, Anaheim, and watch the seconds tick off the clock...

Memory: My ninth birthday was two days before the Pens won their first Cup. In my third grade naivete, I assumed that all Cup victories would be as lopsided as that 8-0 victory was. As soon as the Pens had put up a couple of goals, the rest of the game felt like a ridiculously long wait. A wait for the Cup. A wait for dreams come true. Ah, the memories.

Clock Check: Seven minutes and thirty three seconds left, and a Senator goes to the penalty box.

Crushing a team's will to win? The Ducks are very, very good, but no team in the Cup Finals should have their will to win crushed. C'mon, you're playing for the Cup. (Note: Yes, I realize it's unlikely, but those tried and true cliches are tried and true for a reason. You play as hard as you can, to the best of your ability, until the buzzer sounds.)

Mike Fisher reference #1,789 (that's what it feels like, anyhow): Either these commentators really like Fisher, like me, or they're seeing what Murray and I are seeing. (Inside my Head Commentary: How in the world are Murray and I seeing the same thing?) Murray comes to his senses and decides to double-shift his best player. Unfortunately for a team with Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza, and Daniel Alfredsson, Mike Fisher has been Ottawa's best player this game and this series.

Memo to Self: I really hope Evgeni Malkin's somewhat lackluster play this postseason was the result of fatigue and needing to adjust to the North American game. This postseason, Sidney Crosby and Jordan Staal weren't as good as they one day will be. But I hope Malkin's issues are ones of needing to adjust and get experience rather than....well....I don't even want to say it yet because it's not fair to put a certain onus on a player as young and inexperienced as Malkin. Draw your own inference.

It's not official yet, but it is: Justice. Alfredsson's pass goes astray, and Perry scores. 6-2 Anaheim with less than 3 minutes to go.

Countdown to the end: The stories come now, and begin by Emerick talking about the joy and sadness that both happen when championship games are won--or lost. The great jubilation of the champions contrasted to the stark sorrow of the team who finished second best. They talk first about the Senators taking pride in a terrific season--true, but how empty that feels at this moment. And now about Randy Carlyle, who played for so many not-so-good (understatement) Pittsburgh teams, finally winning the Cup. And Teemu Selanne, perhaps, possibly, retiring as a champion.

Less than a minute to go. Time to watch the greatest prize in sports get awarded. And enjoy as much of the show as NBC TV will permit me to see.