Fillet O’ Fish and ‘Flame Off’

Do the Ducks stand a chance? A snowball’s chance in H-E-double-hockey-sticks? Mathematically, it’s a mid-level ‘maybe’. Emotionally it’s the same old same old. Vocalizations during games are pushing the 100db range and I am very fortunate that my neighbors are incredibly understanding. Once, when I apologized for being loud, he said, “its okay. We think it’s great you love your team so much. We can tell when they’re doing well and when they’re losing…that’s when you guys get really quiet.”

During the last few games, we’ve been rupturing vocal cords and I’ve been doing the happy hockey dance (and no, I will not record it for your amusement).

The last two games have been particularly significant. Beating up the ‘Nucks was HUGE in terms of building confidence. The game itself was actually pretty workmanlike. I usually like to insert sound bites from the announcers and/or fellow fans/writers, but the game was so straightforward that there was really not much to say. The only real moment of note was that this was Ryan Getzlaf’s return and he put a Bobby Ryan-worthy check on Dan Hamhuis. The Hockey Gods up in Toronto reviewed the hit after the game and deemed it legal, but if you check out the Canadian feed, their announcers claimed Getzlaf left his feet prior to the hit (to which they also cried “blindside”)…which is patently erroneous as you can see it’s a clean shoulder to shoulder and Hamhuis knew full well Getzlaf was steaming in. BTW, no, I’m not saying I’m happy Getzlaf basically knocked Hamhuis out standing up, but these things happen. Without hitting it wouldn’t be hockey.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9DhHejqQcg

The game against the Flames was another aggressive push by the Ducks and they absolutely refused to go quietly into that good night. The icing (no pun intended) on the cake was Cam Fowler scoring the winning goal in OT with seconds left. The group hug that ensued made it look like the game was a Cup final. Also of note, this was the Camster’s first display of a goal celebration.

Finally, it’s awesome to have Beauchy back. You know when your dog runs away and you think you’ll never see him again, but a year later he turns up at your doorstep? Yeah. That’s the feeling. Francois is back where he belongs and all that’s left to say is…

well, there it is