2024-25 NHL Conference Finals (after 3 games)

East

Panthers 5-2 Hurricanes

Panthers 5-0 Hurricanes

Hurricanes 2-6 Panthers

Yawn. This series was over almost instantly, the Panthers are better at both ends and in every way than the Hurricanes, who are struggling to even look competitive. I'd be kinda shocked if this isn't over in 4. 

West

Oilers 3-6 Stars

Oilers 3-0 Stars

Stars 1-6 Oilers

In Game One, the Oilers were up 3-1 going into the 3rd period. Out of the blue, the Stars dominated the shit out of the Oilers for 20 minutes and easily took Game One. Other than the 3rd period of Game One, the Oilers have completely controlled this series, again, better at both ends than their hapless opponent. They did give away a game, so this one will be going 5 games instead of 4, but this probably should've been a sweep. 

We are headed to a rematch of last year's Final, which was a wild series with each team running 3 straight before the Oilers kinda collapsing in Game Seven. I suspect this year's series will be tighter but should still go 7 games. 

2024 NHL Stanley Cup Finals (Game Seven)

Oilers 1-2 Panthers

The Panthers opened the scoring in the first few minutes of the game. I believe Game Two is the only game of this series where the winning team didn't score first. so it felt momentous that the Panthers got on the board first--especially so quickly. But the Oilers came right back and tied it up quicklike and it felt like this might be a goal fest. Both teams possessed well and defended well, too, both teams played well. But the Panthers were able to find the goal again in the 2nd period and though the Oilers had a few good looks, they just couldn't match it. In the final minutes of the game, the Oilers were just out of gas, even though the clock was running out, they just didn't have the energy or the legs to come up with a solid possession. 

Good win for the Panthers. Like the Heat last year, they came to the edge of blowing a 3-0 lead but managed to regroup and outlast their opponents. I watched all of the games against the Rangers and the Oilers and though the Panthers did occasionally have a dud game, when they tightened up their defense, the Panthers were basically impossible to score on and those were two good offenses that they overcame. 

Congrats, Panthers. I don't watch much hockey but I really do love it and I'm glad I got to catch so much of this year's Cup.

2024 NHL Stanley Cup (Game Six)

Panthers 1-5 Oilers

I thought the Panthers flat out sucked in the 1st period. They didn't get destroyed too bad, down just 1-0 going into the 2nd period, though the Oilers found the goal early in the 2nd period. The Oilers added to the lead again right at the end of the period, I wondered if the Panthers would ever show up. 

In the 3rd period, the Panthers finally found the goal on a weird play, where the goalie just sorta fell over, leaving the net wide open. It felt like the Panthers had at least picked up the tempo, trying to get into the game. But as the game wound down and the Panthers had to go to the empty net, they just couldn't maintain possession and the Oilers tacked on two empty netters to send the crowd into a frenzy and the Series back to Florida.

Been a wild ride, glad I stuck with it. The Edmonton Oilers are my new favorite team! But Game Seven is still anyone's ball game, though the dominant defense that got the Panthers up 3-0 in the Final has vanished and the counter attacking offense went with it. They've got 60 minutes left to get it back and if they can then they can still win it (worked for the Miami Heat last year who nearly squandered a 3-0 lead on the Celtics last year). The Oilers definitely have the momentum but they still gotta go finish it off.

2024 NHL Stanley Cup (Game Five)

Oilers 5-3 Panthers

Okay, it's on! The Oilers came out cooking in the 1st period got up 3-0 early in the 2nd. The Panthers cut the lead to 2. Oilers pushed it to 4-1 (holy shit, that goal was sweet! The way McDavid knifes through the defense, then lays the easy-as-you-please layup was a thing of beauty, Magic to Worthy, Luke to Lively, some Diego Maradona shit, some Bo Jackson shit!). The Panthers immediately come back and cut the lead to 2.

Around the 7 minute mark in the 2nd period, I thought the Panthers took the attack back. The Oilers got sloppy on D and went through a long stretch of not protecting the possession and the Panthers kinda dominated for a while. The Panthers got the score to 4-3, then the Oilers finally clamped down and went back to some offense. 

The Panthers pulled the goalie with about 4 minutes to go, the crowd was going nuts, but the Oilers stood up and almost scored an empty netter (wow, I don't think I've ever seen an empty netter hit the post), then a miraculously awesome defensieve swipe warded off another attempt. But the defense was too shredded to stop McDavid working the rebound to finish it off with about a minute to go. 

And we go back to Edmonton for Game Six and I'm looking forward to it! If the Panthers had come back from being down 4-1 in the 2nd, that would've been awesome. Otherwise, I was rooting for the Oilers and I guess I'll continue to root for them as long as they're the underdog. Coming back from 3-0 really could happen here. I'm into it!

2023-24 NHL Stanley Cup (after 4 games)

(ONE) Oilers 0-3 Panthers

Man, both of these defenses are drum-like in their tightness. I thought the Panthers had basically two good looks at the goal--finished them both--and picked up an empty netter on the way out. Meanwhile, the Oilers had zero good looks at the goal in 60 minutes and scored zero goals. This reminded me of Game One in the Eastern Conference finals where the Panthers beat the Rangers by the same score. That, too, felt like a harbinger of an all-defense series but maybe not, that series had a fair amount of scoring and the Oilers-Stars version in the West had a lot more offense. So, while this has gotten off to a full-on defensive start, that might not be the shape of it. 

The 1st goal was a nifty fast break where the third guy in the attack had just enough room to find the net because the forward defender couldn't recover in time, leaving a gap up the middle. The 2nd goal was a lovely searching pass that just happened to find the defender stretched out of position momentarily leaving an empty space in front of the net where luckily the forward was able to find the top shelf; don't want to discount its awesomeness, but the pass that led to the finish was just a piece of luck, really, a hopeful pass that was rewarded. In short, neither of those are examples of the cornerstone of the Panther attack.

I watched all of the Eastern conference Finals over the Rangers and most of the Western Finals over Dallas. My gut feeling is both of these teams have more offense and I expect this Series to loosen up, especially if Edmonton can keep it going. Not that I don't love some defensive hockey, just saying I think there's going to be goals scored. 

(TWO) Oilers 1-4 Panthers

More of the same. The Oilers took the lead early when a rather innocuous breakaway chance dribbled through Bobrovsky's legs into the goal. Bobrovsky has been getting all the love, and that's great, but it seems to me that it is the full Panther defense that is parrying away the Oiler attack. Bobrovsky has certainly been good but he's mostly getting hit in the chest by desperate shot attempts. Thought it was weird that he gave up this piece of fluff, though.

But Rodridues was able to finish two tight rips in the 3rd to seal it. And they tacked on another empty netter. 

The Panthers defense is so good that it creates patience opportunities at the other end. If the attack just maintains possession, they'll eventually find the lane. Not over yet but unless the Oilers find some kind of scoring acumen and do something to upset the Panther defense, then this one is over. 

(THREE) Panthers 4-3 Oilers

Man, this series is looking exactly like the Mavs-Celtics series: in Game Three over there, the Mavs trying to avoid a sweep, got a nice lead early, couldn't hold it, got way down to the Celtics, who fell asleep and let the Mavs back into the game late, but held on to win anyway. (Replace Mavs with Oilers and Celtics with Panthers) I'm still so amazed that Edmonton just can't get a sniff of the goal. Everyone is praising Bobrovsky, and he's playing well, but his defense in front of him is leaving him very little to do. And the Panther attack is methodical, takes its time, but is punching holes more than the Oilers can hang with. Dude, the 2nd period of this match was like target practice for the Panthers, the Oiler D was getting stretched and the keeper got peppered. 

3-0 is pretty much over--even in hockey--and, uh, yeah, this feels over to me. Maybe getting 3 goals (even in a losing effort) will ignite the attack...maybe....that could happen. But the Panthers are playing really well, I think they'll finish it in 4.

(FOUR) Panthers 1-8 Oilers

Well, now, wait a second....After 4 games the NHL Final looks an awful lot (right?) like the NBA finals. The better team is up 3-0, the drowning home team in Game Four steps and gets a big win. But the Celtics rolling over to the Mavs' last-gasp onslaught is not the same as the dominant Panthers defense getting steadily dismantled. In the first 8 periods the Oilers scored 2 goals; in the last 4 periods the Oilers scored 10 goals. The Oilers have dug a pretty deep hole, I'm not yet ready to say that they turned a corner at the end of Game Three, but I am more curious for Game Five than I thought I would be (whereas I fully expect the Celtics to rail the Mavs in Game Five and finish that series). 

The Panthers looked untouchable til the 3rd period of GameThree, were they just taking the night off in Game Four? We'll see.

(FIVE) Oilers - Panthers

Yeah, I'm getting pretty excited for tonight's match! Whereas the Celtics easily finished off the Mavs in Game Five even after a shaky performance in Game Four, it feels different over here in the hockey world. I don't think you can just mail in a game in hockey like the Celtics do from time to time in basketball. Though the Celtics fans certainly felt shaky going into Game Five, you knew and I knew that the game was going to be a triumphant Celtic stomping (and it was) because Game Four was just a fluke.

But in this series, the sheer dominance the Oilers turned on in the last 1.3 games looks like they figured something out on the Panther defense--that wasn't simply a hamfisted performance by the Panthers or a lucky night for the Oilers. That was two teams and going at it and for the first time in the series, the Oilers looked like the dominant ones. Can they keep it going? I look forward to finding out tonight.

2021 Stanley Cup Finals

Lightning over Canadiens in 5

All I saw was Game Four and Game Five and I gotta say, the Lightning were the vastly superior squad in both matches, not at all surprised they were able to repeat. 

In Game Four, I thought the Lightning straight dominated the 1st period but the Canadiens got the goal and were up 1-0. In the 2nd period, I thought the Canadiens straight dominated but the Lightning got the goal and the match was tied. The 3rd period was great back and forth action, each team scored and when the Lightning failed to get the decisive goal during a long power play at the end of regulation, I thought they really missed on an opportunity to finish the series. They were still unable to capitalize in the OT and the Canadiens were able to poke one in to win 3-2 and stayed alive. 

In Game Five, man, the Canadiens never came close to looking like they were gonna score. It was a defensive struggle and though the Lightning attack wasn't particularly scintillating either, they were able to steal the goal needed to finish the series. The Canadien power play was just awful--awful!--even with a man advantage they couldn't maintain possession much less push forward to attack.

I watched not a lot of hockey this season but if you told me that the Tampa Bay Lightning were the best team and the deserving champion, I'd have to agree. They looked so much stronger than the Canadiens in the handful of games I saw. 

Recent Sports Watching

NHL
I love hockey but the Stanley Cup Finals is pretty much all I get to see. I caught Games One, Four, Five, Six and Seven and I think I found the Blues to be the better team in general. The Bruins were wild and up for anything, the Blues were more controlled and tended to want to dominate possession. But the game is all about energy and when the Bruins bring the active, they score more goals.

Blues 2-4 Bruins
Blues looked better, Bruins played better. Bruins had the energy and pretty much controlled throughout but the Blues showed flashes of an offense that could hold possession and attack.

Blues 3-2 Bruins
Bruins 7-2 Blues

Bruins 2-4 Blues
Opposite of Game One: I thought the Bruins played more compact and reliable but the Blues played wild, brought the energy and locked down this W early on.

Blues 2-1 Bruins
This series will be remembered for Game Five where the Blues committed an obvious penalty and finished the play with the goal that finished off the win. Okay: I don't watch a lot of hockey and I sometimes miss which interactions are illegal and which are just par for the course, but even I could tell right away that that was a foul--no idea how the refs missed it. Just to hammer home the point: the dude who committed the foul got the puck passed back to him after the dude he fouled turned it over--and he wasn't ready for the pass because he was already arguing with the ref who didn't even make a call! That makes him the guiltiest-looking human being I have ever seen. That kid with the chocolate icing smeared on his face who has no idea what happened to the cake has been moved to 2nd place. The Blues dude gave up on the play to start arguing--that's guilty! That alone should be 2 minutes in the box! And even though the Bruins dominated the final ten minutes or so of that match, they could not overcome the Blues' lead.

Bruins 5-1 Blues
Game Six was set up for the Blues to finish it off, but they didn't show up, man. I thought the Blues were the better team but they played tight and got frustrated by their inability to score. This game was still close deep into the 3rd, Blues sorta checked out by the end, Bruins piled it on, Blues got chippy late but never challenged the scoreboard. Again, I generally thought the Blues were the better team but once the Bruins started scoring, they just piled it on. (I think Binnington (Blues goalie) has been great and should be MVP if the Blues win; but he does have two games (Three and Six--both home games!) where he got beaten like a Bond villain and that is awkward)

Blues 4-1 Bruins

Game Seven: Whoever brings the energy will win the game. Bruins came out crazy but the Blues were able to snake two goals (one right before halftime--I love/hate those!) and seem pretty well in control after the 1st period. But I thought both teams were frisky and in it to win it, so I still expected more goals, maybe even a tie game going into the 3rd. But the 2nd period was pretty even, both teams played better defense than offense, which kinda surprised me: I thought we'd see more playmaking, more guys trying to be the hero, rather than tightening up on D. But the 2nd period was pretty conservative as neither team ever got their offense set up. Still close enough where anything can happen. But a beautiful counter attack goal by the Blues with around 9 minutes left sucked the life of the Bruins. Their defenders start slacking out there, Blues got another goal and this game was over. The Bruins scored a late on to give the fans something to cheer about (nice top shelf knuckleball). 

Good win for the Blues! As I keep saying, I thought the Blues were the better team throughout and when they played their game, they were gonna win. Games One, Three and Six were the ones the Blues didn't show up for, those are the ones they lost. The Bruins had a wider range of play, at their best their offense was overpowering but at their worst they couldn't hold their zone against the Blues attack. I don't watch enough hockey to know how momentous this was, but it was the first Cup for the Blues and they were in dead last in the league on January 1, so they've come a long way in the last six months. 

USA Friendlys
USA 0-1 Jamaica
USA 0-3 Venezuela
Well, the bad news is USA looked straight fucking horrible in both of these games: no creativity, no attack, no teamwork, sloppy in the backline, and no individual standouts. The good news is...the afternoons were sunny and breezy. This isn't USA's A-team, rather these were a coupla last look-over games before the Gold Cup, so I don't anticipate this is a preview of that (thank god!). That said, I doubt Jamaica or Venezuela brought their top squads, either, so this is a reminder that everyone else's depth is still greater than ours. (*sigh* Shouldn't USA be better by now?) Int'l soccer comes and goes so its hard to know what the Gold Cup will bring, I try to enjoy each tourney as the discrete event that it is. So I expect USA will be in, say, the final four, but we could just as easily get bounced by Martinique or somebody. I won't make a prediction because I have no idea what will happen.


Champions League
Liverpool 2-0 Tottenham
Ain't gonna lie: this was the dullest Champions League match of the whole season. I just happened to have seen that Liverpool won just as I was about to sit down and watch the replay (thank you Yahoo Baseball! (*)), which didn't surprise me, so I hoped at least for an exciting match. Not really. Liverpool got a PK on basically the first play of the game (dude, why was the defender waiving his arm like that? Wtf was that guy doing?), drilled it and that was pretty much it because Tottenham never could get any offense going. It stayed that way for 80 minutes or so, got a little more furious on the way out, but not much more because Liverpool was the better team throughout and sat on their one-goal lead to strangle this game. They stuck a late goal (nice finish) but that didn't do much to diminish the general lameness of this game.

That's too bad, I kinda loved this whole tournament. I watched as much this year as I've probably ever seen and I dug all of it. I was so into Ajax, really impressed by Barcelona, Juventus overachieved, Real Madrid underachieved, Bayern Munich got real old real fast and, holy shit, Man U was in the quarters (how on earth did that happen?). The big what-if is PSG, all they had to do was slip past a hapless Manchester and they might've done some damage. Liverpool was the best team of the whole tourney (they did beat Barca, too, so they earned the crown) and Tottenham just kept managing to survive all the way to the last game (if it was two games, I'd make it even odds for them to come back and take it).


French Open
I saw virtually none of this (I'm not an early morning sorta joe) except the very end of Thiem over Djokovic in the semifinals. The match was called the night before (for some reason), then suffered a long rain delay the next morning, then back and forth all the way. I expected Djokovic to take control but he never quite did, I expected Thiem to falter but he never quite did. Tennis is weird that way: the competition is so close at this level that the tiniest differences loom large. Either way, the winner was gonna get smoked by Nadal (hey, Thiem took a set off him, nice work).


(*) Angry old man rant: back in the day the sports ticker across the bottom of the screen during a ball game was the greatest invention since the flush toilet and I have actual memories of the ticker itself (1996 SEC Tourney B-ball final, I still don't believe UK lost that game). But now in a day and age when I get any score any time anywhere in the universe, I don't need the damn ticker. And putting in Bundesliga scores is supposed to make you look cool--but I watch my soccer on DVR, so now I have to start avoiding the damn ticker that I haven't needed in forever and just takes up space on the screen. Do you get it? The ticker actually interferes with my love of sports! Like the beeper and the VCR, it had its time and place and now it just takes up space.