i was going to make a comment about the pens winning, then immediately following that up with “april fools!” however, i thought about how much that pisses me off when people (over the age of 14) say something stupid on the 1st of april, then twist your mind around by proclaiming “april fools.” so instead, i give you cold, hard “april facts.” the pens lost, but it was an acceptable loss. by forcing overtime, the pens gained a point that didnt seem likely at the midpoint in the game, when t-bo was being pulled in favor of maf. t-bo had let 4 goals in, and maf was called in to stop the bleeding. he did just that, playing solid defense and allowing his team to make a remarkable comeback. ryan whitney scored with 4 seconds left in the 3rd, tying the game, and giving pittsburh a critical point in their race against nj for tops in the atlantic division. by way of the overtime loss, the pens move from 5th to 2nd in the division again, with nj having a game in hand and one more win. unfortunately, kaberle scored with a minute five ledt in ot, and the pens left toronto with 1 out of a possible 2 points.
i tip my hat (im not wearing one right now, so i guess i’ll tip my scalp…gross) to the pens, because toronto is always filled to the brim, even when the leafs are terrible. however, the leafs are currently on the outside of the playoff bubble, and the crowd knew it. towards the end of the game, and especially overtime, the toronto crowd was electric, hoping to push their team to a much needed win. you can call it whatever you want, playoff intensity, end of the season adrenaline, whatever, the pens were in hostile territory. getting a point out of this game was remarkable.
watching the crowd, my primary thought was, “playoff atmosphere is gonna rule.” pittsburgh hasnt seen playoff hockey in quite some time, and toronto’s crowd got me pumped up for the start of the playoffs. can you imagine the igloo once the playoffs start?
so far, no one had tried to pull any april fools pranks or shenanigans on me, and heaven help them if they try to.
more later…
(more=mpotd)
