Why Richards' goal wasn't spectacular, and Cecil is a pussy

16 hours at the grindstone today, but I got a document out for review that I've been putting off and dancing around and dreading for weeks now. Mainly because the first time I submitted it for review, it was so wildly hated by the reviewers that they wouldn't even finish reviewing it. Um. Oops.

Okay, so I laid an egg. It turned into a semi-federal case, and so I've been terrified to put my neck out there again with a second revision. But it HAD to go out. I'll just take my lumps. If I'm not up to the task, then I'm not up to the task. Some days you're Mike Richards and some days you're Marc-Andre Bergeron.

I wore my Hextall Flyers shirt today, but cheered for the Habs. I guess I'm not real superstitious when it's not MY teams in the hunt. I just really love this shirt. Kinda makes me sad that the Flyers are going to the finals, but I think the match up is going to be really fun to watch.

The thing that stood out to me in the game was, of course, Halak's disastrous save attempt to cause the first Flyers goal by Richards.

SOME folks (ahem, Bourney) are determined to label that a spectacular goal. Now I will grant that it was a terrific shift for Richards, but clearly... CLEARLY... that was not a spectacular goal but actually a spectacular save attempt and a rather mundane goal.

I mean, how can an empty net goal with your only impending threat being the itty bitty slapshot committee (Bergeron) swooping in from behind the play be spectacular? You just get up, put the puck on your stick, and toss it in. Big deal.

But the save attempt is what made that goal what it was. Halak, with a song in his heart and ice water in his veins, takes the matter of a big, drifty breakaway into his own hands. He gets a piece of the puck but it slips past him, arms, sticks, and legs flying, Hamrlik in a heap beside him, and Richards recovers in time to take advantage of the pile-up.

My point is, Derek Boogaard coulda put that puck in the net, though if he'd plastered Bergeron like that, MAB would be spending the next 6 months learning to tie his shoes and use a fork again.

What made that awesome was a goalie with flair and brass ones who made a rather exciting decision, didn't get the job done, but still ensured we all got our money's worth out of the game. I mean, really, if you've been watching this series, you KNOW the Habs weren't getting past the Flyers, right? It was so obvious. So, play with gusto. Play like it's the last game you'll play all season. Why not? Why the fuck not?

I loved it, naturally. Been far too long since I got to see some heart attack goaltending. Does the soul good.

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I'm really falling for these BlueJays. I posted on FB that I want to get a cat and name it after Brett Cecil. I hope nobody thinks that's some kind of pussy reference... no, I just wanna name a pet after him but the next dog will get a hockey name (current dog has a football name). I dunno, baseball player names just seem right for a cat.

"This is my cat, Cecil." Seems right, doesn't it? God, that would be a fuckin' awesome cat, no question.

Also, I really like how Adam Lind's eyes are squinty like the Blue Jay's logo bird's eye. It's true, isn't it?

Aren't you glad I'm a Jays fan now so I can point out important stuff like this? Never mind that any time I read about the team (even tweets) and there are numbers/stats, my eyes glaze over. Don't bother me with numbers. I'm going off my gut with baseball and I'm liking it.

Urgh. I had a post JaysWin/document drop celebratory beer and spilled some of it. Now the whole office/guest bedroom smells like stale beer. Gross. Goodnight.