Losing grip?

It is said that being up 3-0 in hockey is the worst lead you can have. Ask the Rangers today, they'd probably agree. When "Brodway Sean" Avery scored the 3-0-goal in the beginning of the second period no-one could have thought of an ending like this. But, 08:13 into the same period, Jarkko Ruutu scored, 3-1. And just 14(!) seconds later, Pascal Dupuis scored 3-2.
And things got worse. Much worse. 04:40 into the third, Marian Hossa made it 3-3 and just 20 seconds later, Petr Sykora scored the 4-3 goal. At that point I thought (and probably numerous Rangers fans with me) the game was over. But, having just passed the half period mark, Scott Gomez tied things up. With just about two minutes to go, I began to wonder. Could the Rangers turn things around? Would they have the energy to kill the game? And all of a sudden, the game was dead. Killer? Sidney Crosby. 5-4, Penguins.

I'd never thought that there would be that many goals. It was a great match, speed and skill in the attacks. Add to that solid hits and good refereeing. Next round, tomorrow @ The Garden. If things go my way, there will be some live blogging that time.

There was one more Conference Semi Final being played last night, out in the West. The Shars vs. The Stars. In The Shark Tank, it was the Stars who put themselves in the drivers seat. Being outshot 18-27, their victory was somewhat unfair. But if you don't score goals, you don't win matches. After two, the Stars were in the lead, 2-1, after goals from Mike Modano and Brenden Morrow (Sharks goal by Milan Michalek). In the third, Jonathan Cheecho tied things up and the match went into OT. There, Brenden Morrow scored his second of the night, giving the victory to the Texas team.
Tough luck for the Sharks, who needed that victory. You don't want to loose a playoff game at home, and the Stars should have gained a lot of momentum from this. However, "all" it takes from the Sharks is a victory in Dallas. Impossible? I think not.

Tonights games might not be that well covered, we'll see. But tomorrow I'll be back with the Rangers again. If everything goes as planned.

"The Cup Changes Everything"