Category: Hockey

Third Period

11 minutes left in the third period and the Bruins have a 3-1 lead.

A two goal lead.

Was it the great Johhny Bucyk who once said that a two goal lead was the scariest lead in hockey? I’ve also heard people say that three goals is the scariest lead in hockey, but I’ll take it at this point. I’m guessing an eight goal lead is not scary at all. I’ll take that too.

Eight minutes left in the third. The Bruins are starting to look like they are playing prevent defense and that’s a bad sign. Two goals is starting to look pretty scary right now, I tells ya.

Game Four

Bruins/Capitals Game Four of their first round series from the Gahden in Boston tonight. One period down, no score. What else is new? I was hoping the B’s would jump out to a 10 goal lead in the first few minutes so that we could have a stress-free game night experience. 33.3% through regulation and no luck yet.

It’s Nana Sitting night and I’m sitting in her living room watching the game. Jen and the kids are at home watching whatever they are watching on our swanky new 4K Apple TV which was delivered today. Our old Apple TV was getting buggy and weird. They announced the new one right at the exact time we were starting to think about replacing it. If I were a conspiracy theory loving red head, rather than the sane and rational cat that I am, I would think that was a bit too much of a coincidence. Nope. Not me.

Go Bruins.

Cough

Two hours ago I ate a granola bar. It feels like the teeny, tiniest little spec of granola, barely a molecule or two, has some how gotten stuck near the back of my throat. I’ve been coughing ever since. I brought a water bottle full of our delicious Poland Spring water, flavored with some delicious grape flavoring. I drank the whole thing while trying to dislodge the speck of granola. I failed. There’s no delicious spring water here at my parents house. I filled up the water bottle with tap water. Then I remembered I was supposed to bring a grape flavoring bottle with me tonight. I had some here, but not enough to adequately grape-ify my water bottle. Shit, cough cough. Shit.

The Bruins and Capitals are playing game three of their first round series. Similar to games one and two, game three has gone to overtime. The Bruins have been rolling in the overtime period with nothing to show for it. I could really go for a Bruins game winning goal right now. Two minute left in the overtime period. I’m starting to get a bad feeling about this one. Shit, cough cough. Shit.

For the second consecutive Nana-Sitting night I am having all kinds of bad allergies. Sniffles, runny nose, the works. All of that on top of my stupid granola bar cough. Shit, cough cough. Shit.

I have a pimple on my left ear lobe. It hurts like furious, bloody murder. Shit, cough cough. Shit.

I wanna go home.

Grinds My Gears

What was I talking about?

I was about to write a post that rips off a Family Guy episode but Taylor Hall just scored a highlight reel goal in game three of the Bruins/Capitals series and it’s all I can think about right now. Ovetchkin scored a power play goal to put the Caps up 1-0 in the second period, and then the Bruins came right back and scored to tie it. The goal was fantastic, but the blind backhand pass that set it up was utterly spectacular. Was it Krejci? I didn’t see. I need another replay.

So what was I talking about? Oh yeah, wanna know what really grinds my gears? When I’m on gmail.com and I go into the spam folder to clear it out and in the instant that I click to delete everything, a new spam message shows up and I am left with one unwanted message when I should have zero.

Yeah, that wouldn’t have been an interesting post even if it hadn’t been interrupted by an awesome goal. I think the blind backhand pass that setup the Hall goal came from Craig Smith.

Seven minutes left in the 2nd and the Caps are putting on some serious pressure. Lots of back and forth in this game though. It’s a good game right now.

Go Bruins.

Game One Loss

I listened to the first period on the radio and I watched the overtime. The Bruins lost to the Capitals in game one of their best of seven first round play off series.

I fear that the reason they lost a game where the higher seed’s #1 goalie left injured in the first period might have had something to do with me wearing a Red Sox t-shirt instead of a Bruins t-shirt. It’s possible on some cosmic level that I messed things up. The Red Sox beat the Angels 9-0 so maybe I accidentally sent all of my super powerful red head vibes to the Red Sox when I meant to send them to the Bruins?

I’ll do better for game #2 tomorrow night.

Go Bruins.

NHL Stanley Cup Quarterfinals Predictions – Round One

Here’s the thing about the NHL this season. I didn’t watch a single game outside of the East Division. There are 12 teams in the playoffs this year that I know literally nothing about. Here’s how I am going to handle it, predictions wise. For the East it is business as usual. For the other three divisions, I am going to make a gut feeling pick based mostly on the standings, but I am also going to make a coin flip pick. After the first round is over, I’ll compare the two and see how it went.

First, though, the East Division…

No. 1 Pittsburgh Penguins vs No. 4 New York Islanders: The Islanders have two strikes against them and the Penguins only have one. The Islanders are from New York (BOO!) and I have no faith in them at all. Two strikes. The Penguins’ only strike is that they are the friggin’ Penguins and I really hate the friggin’ Penguins. Still, I gotta pick them for this round. Pittsburgh will win.

No. 2 Washington Capitals vs No. 3 Boston Bruins: So there I was, at the trade deadline thinking, Taylor Hall? Really? He’s not going to put us over the top. He’s no winner. Well… I might have to stand here corrected. I am standing here beside myself corrected. I hope. My heroic, triumphant Boston Bruins have had a few clunkers of late, but I see them steam rolling the Caps in the first round. Please please please please please don’t make me eat those word too. Boston will win.

Next, the Central Division…

No. 1 Carolina Hurricanes vs No. 4 Nashville Predators: Not much doubt about this one, even without knowing anything about the two teams. I say Carolina wins this one. The coin flip (heads for the higher seed) says Carolina wins too.

No. 2 Florida Panthers vs No. 3 Tampa Bay Lightning: I’m picking the upset here. Probably because I am still thinking of the Lightning in terms of last season. I say Tampa Bay wins. The coin flip also says Tampa Bay wins. Weird.

On to the North Division…

No. 1 Toronto Maple Leafs vs No. 4 Montreal Canadiens: I hate the Montreal Canadiens with every fiber of my being. I hate them I hate them I hate them. Also, Toronto doesn’t have to play Boston in the first round so they won’t automatically lose again. I say Toronto wins, and probably wins the next round too. The coin flip says Toronto wins too. Is the coin like, reading my mind? Spooky.

No. 2 Edmonton Oilers vs. No. 3 Winnipeg Jets: I could maybe try a spoiler here too but I won’t. I say Edmonton wins (and probably pretty easily too). The coin says Edmonton wins too. Okay, this is starting to creep me out now.

Finally, the West Division where I will once again just pick the higher seed.

No. 1 Colorado Avalanche vs. No. 4 St. Louis Blues: Hey St. Louis, I got your Stanley Cup right here! (imagine me making a very rude hand gesture) You buncha jerkies. I’m not picking the Blues because I’m still pissed off about the last time. Also because I have a sneaking suspicion that the Avs are going to have a parade this year. They might get to do some on ice celebrating, possibly in Toronto. Hashtag foreshadowing. I say Colorado wins. The coin says St. Louis wins because the coin is an asshole. At least we finally have one where we didn’t pick the same team. Hey coin, I got your randomness right here! (imagine me making a very rude hand gesture)

No. 2 Vegas Golden Knights vs. No. 3 Minnesota Wild: Did you know that Minneapolis, MN is the only city outside of Boston, MA where I’ve attended an NHL game? Think that will lead me to pick them to win this series? Think again. I say Vegas wins. The coin, however, says that Minnesota wins. We shall see, Mr. Coin… we shall see.

There you have it, my first round playoff predictions for this the second 2021 playoff season which is also the second Covid-19 playoff season.

Go Bruins.

Bruins First Round Matchup

The Bruins still have one more game in their regular season, but with their win over the Islanders last night they locked up their final spot in the standings. They will go into the playoffs as #3 in the division, and their first round matchup is already set.

They will play Washington, starting Saturday night.

Washington scares me a lot, but really so do all of the teams in the division. Except Buffalo, I guess. The sad part of the series is that they have to play against former captain Zdeno Chara. That’s kinda sad. Not that sad though. He was our captain last year, this year he’s the enemy. I hope they mop the ice with the ancient bastard.

Go Bruins.

Good Things

The Bruins are beating the Devils

The Red Sox are smoking the Tigers

There’s a new Star Wars show on Disney+

There are new episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale

I get to see my father tomorrow

I closed all three activity app rings

All good things. Looking for bright sides everywhere.

Thoughts on a Tuesday

I spent my whole afternoon so far looking through a customer’s database for an example of a piece of data that I am now pretty convinced does not exist. Le Sigh, as the French (don’t) say.

The Bruins moved into third place in the division with a win over New Jersey last night. The win also clinched a playoff spot. There will be a post season for the Bruins in this Covid Season #2. There are still a few more games to play but if it ended today they’d be matched with Pittsburgh in the first round. Le Yikes, as the French (don’t) say.

I tore the cellar storage apart twice and that little purple knock off uni-vibe pedal is still MIA. Before the great cellar disaster clean up (I’ll give the details someday, but the wound is too fresh for now) it was in a cardboard box on top of the table next to the bulkhead door under one of the last remaining functional fluorescent lights. All of that stuff was packed up and moved into the storage area just to the left of the washer/dryer. Everything else is there, but the little purple knock off uni-vibe pedal with Jimi Hendrix painted on it is not there. (It’s a Moen Shaky Jimi, if you’re curious). I did have a thought as to one place it could be… it could be over Mike the Bass players house. I have an amp (my beloved Fender Deluxe Reverb) and a small board there that have been off limits to me since Covid. I know my Wampler Tumnus is on that board as well as an MXR Phase 95 and a Seymour Duncan Vapor Trail. I have no memory of putting the Shaky Jimi on that board, but there is a chance that it’s there. Waiting for me. Taunting me. Le Lame, as the French (don’t) say.

I’m going to see my father in the rehab hospital tomorrow. I haven’t been there yet, you need an appointment to visit patients, but my brother has. I talked to him a little today. He said I am going to have to take a Covid test before I can see my dad. He suggested I bring my vaccination card with me. Well, I bring that little cardboard bastard with me everywhere I go. I am willing to pull it out and flash it for all the world to see at the slightest moment’s notice. Hell, most times I leave the house I have to stop myself from stapling it to my forehead on the way out the door. I want everyone to see that little guy. I am vaccinated. Two shots plus two weeks, babie. I am up-to-date. Le Groovy, as the French (don’t) say.

Sunday Morning Thoughts

I’m up and showered and ready to face the day and all that. I went to sleep at about quarter to one am. I woke up a couple of times before waking up for good at about quarter to five am. My AppleWatch tells me I failed to reach four hours of sleep. I tried to go back to sleep but couldn’t do it. Early to bed tonight, I guess.

Two WordPress.com items of note:

  1. I have recently gained a handful of new followers here. That’s nice, right? They all have the same profile image. Well… that’s not good. It doesn’t appear to be porn spam, which is nice, but it does appear to be spam of some kind, which isn’t good.
  2. What’s up with stats? WordPress.com has a stats page that keeps all sorts of information, including page view counts and unique visitors, sorted by days, weeks, months, and years. There is also a page called insights which is supposed to be like a summary page. I noticed last month that the view counts on the insight page were off. Not just for that month, but for a whole bunch of random months over the life of this account. I found this off putting because the analyst side of my programmer/analyst brain likes digging through the stats. I was hoping it was just a bug in the calculation and WordPress.com would fix it. Nope. It seems to have gotten worse. Yesterday I checked the stats just before midnight. I had a healthy number of views for the day (thank, folks!) and given that it was the first of the month the day and month counts matched. I went to insight, which defaults to monthly counts, and it gave me a big goose egg of a zero. Huh? Sometimes it takes a few seconds to update, but it never did. I checked the stats again just before starting to write this post and I had one view for the day. I checked insight and it showed one view for the month. It basically skipped yesterday. What the hell, bro?

What else is going on? The Bruins won yesterday, They are a point away from clinching a playoff spot (I think) with five or six games left to go (I think). Color me cautiously optimistic. The Red Sox lost last night. They play in Texas again this afternoon. I thought the Rangers avoided day games at home, but I guess it’s still early enough in the spring that they won’t bake the players and the fans in the afternoon heat. Speaking of fans, the stadium was full for last night’s game. I guess Covid’s over, right? Texas says so. I hope they have contact tracing available for the thousands of folks who went to the game as an outbreak is pretty much inevitable.

Dad called a few minutes ago. He’s hooked up to an IV. Antibiotics, I’m sure. He said he thought he was going to have physical therapy this morning, but how can he do that when they have him plugged in? The hospital has limited visiting hours and you have to make an appointment ahead of time and you can only make one appointment per week. I’m going Wednesday. I haven’t seen him since January. I’m looking forward to a visit. Once again let me put my vaccination to work.

Happy Sunday, everyone. Can’t wait to go home and see Jen and Harry. Until then, I’m trying to make the best of it by writing really long, boring, uninformative blog posts. Cheerio, all.