Yeah, go ahead and act like you weren't thinking it as well.
You can claim, a la Don Cherry, that Colby Armstrong had nowhere to go, but that still doesn't justify him flying in low, and bringing his shoulder into Patrick Eaves' head (who was having an above-average series before this, by the way). Fair hits aren't always acceptable hits. Claims of remorse were made, but Armstrong didn't seem to have any problem with running Ray Emery full-steam in Game 2 -- you know the guy is going to pull stuff like this. Retaliation by the Sens was measured tonight, but the meanness level still needs to be ratcheted up a notch -- without taking unnecessary penalties (like Christoph Schubert's late in the third).
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Dean McAmmond dropping the gloves last night was hysterical. Dangly arms, and didn't seem to react at all to Maxime Talbot's first punches. It reminded me of that episode of The Simpsons where Homer becomes a boxer, and allows his opponents to hit him until they tire themselves out. (Scroll to the :37 mark for a refresher -- this is worth watching just to hear the theme from The Contender again.)
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Yet another word on the PP -- what on Earth is the point of having a player like Dany Heatley down low? He won't fight to stay in position in front, and if he's standing to the side, he's useless unless the pass/rebound comes directly to him. If it's in his vicinity, he's inevitably beaten to the puck by a nearby Penguin, due to his incessant floating.
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Can we please acknowledge what a great playoff series Chris Kelly is having so far? He's always willing to do the dirty work, and I was so thrilled for him when he scored in Game 2 -- if the kid's got a knock, it's his woefully lead-filled hands. On the flip side of the coin: Memo to Dany Heatley -- the playoffs have started. You can begin scoring now.
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Not much negativity via the email regarding yesterday's column -- I had one missive which referred to me as "brain dead" that was also sent to the op-ed section, so I'm sure you'll be able to catch that in the paper in a couple of days. Good times. Strangely enough when I wrote the guy back, he wasn't able to come up with a reason why it's unacceptable to boo Crosby, yet taunting Marc-Fleury is considered fair game. Actually, none of Crosby's supporters in Ottawa have been able to explain how that works. Funny that. Where should we turn in times like these for a bit of common sense? Would you believe...a Leaf fan? From the TUC inbox:
Good morning Erin,
Great article today. I live in Ottawa but bleed Blue and White and I had
some buddies saying how classless of the Sens fans etc. But I agree with
you 100%. When you purchase a ticket you have the right to voice
whatever opinions you want. I don't think Sidney goes home and cries
afterwards. I think it's great to see the building so loud and into the
games because it seems to only happen when the Habs or Leafs are in town
and that's only because the fans are 50/50. No I don't have a rev up the
red shirt or Sens car flag but I guess if a Canadian team has to win
well.............I'll leave it at that.
Two words: Gets it.
P.S. Do you think anyone in the Ottawa media will have anything to say about the boos that were heard during O Canada last night? There was a boy in the building from Cole Harbour, NS last night -- good God, it's happening again! (In all seriousness -- a truly classless demonstration by those select Pens fans, and a proper demonstration for media members like Hugh Adami that provided the real definition of unsportsmanlike behaviour.)
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