Last night the Wings 'found a way to win'--as Mickey Redmond said--against St Louis. While they were playing better than they were earlier, I expect much more from them. Come on now, they have THE best team--on paper--that is assembled this year. And they can't do better than finding a way to win? They should definitely be winning by more than one goal--and they should NOT give up a three goal lead and have to worry about ending regulation play in a tie! The power play is coming together and the Hossa-Datsyuk-Holmstrom line is starting to find the chemistry that was hoped for, finally. Zetterberg came back after being out two games and got a goal, so he is doing good. The rest will get better, I'm sure. At least they won. Now they have to do it again on Friday against Atlanta and Saturday in Chicago!
--St. Louis Blues' Paul Kariya, left, skates up the ice as Detroit Red Wings' Pavel Datsyuk, of Russia, defends during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2008, in St. Louis. (AP Photo)--
So, what were the highlights? Well, here goes:
--one of the Rangers got a hat trick AND even got an assist for four points on the evening
--the second goalie was SUPERB in the net and made some spectacular saves
--we got to see a fight, but only one
--the Rangers forced the opposing team to change goalies
--the Rangers killed off several five-on-three power plays and kept the other team from scoring
Despite a slow start, the game was much fun and I am impressed with the team. We can't wait to go again--could be as soon as Friday night! Yes, you read it right, I might go to watch a game instead of stay at home and watch the Wings--but I WILL record the Wings game to watch later. :)
After the game, the players' jerseys were auctioned off. Sadly, we didn't get any. K wanted one player's and I wanted either the one who scored the hat trick or the second goalie's, but they went for too much money. We set a limit and even bumped THAT up a bit, but to no avail. Criminy, for what these jerseys were going for, I can order--and have AUTOGRAPHED--an authentic, personalized jersey of my Baby Boy! But if we would have gotten one tonight, it would have been worth it--the money went to the Cancer Center at our local hospital.
The best part of the auction was when some of the players tried to entice the crowd to bid higher and higher. The first player to try took off his jersey in a bit of a strip tease--and he got at least 100 more dollars bid. The player that went all out for the money, went ALL OUT--a la Slap Shot. (If you haven't seen Slap Shot, do so--then you can get my reference.) Anyway, he decided to do his teammate one better and took off his jersey, shoulder pads, elbow pads, UNDERSHIRT, and untied his pants--but he was stopped before he could drop them. Good grief, but he was cute as a bug's ear. AND he got an extra $200+ for his effort. Great fun was had by all. The jersey to get the most money--I believe it was $650--was purchased by the player's grandmother, who was bidding against the player's mother. Wow.
It had been a while since I actually saw a game in person, so I was apprehensive about whether I could follow the action or not. No problem, though. I was able to see everything as well as I can on TV and even saw some things I don't notice on the screen. I didn't see all of the penalties, but that isn't surprising as so many of them happen away from the main play. The other thing I forgot was how very cold it is in an ice arena. Yikes! I really could have used a long-sleeved jacket and boots--something I will remember the next time. K was like a K-sicle by the time we left the arena--he really should have had gloves as his hands were practically turning blue. Oh well, live and learn. It actually seemed warmer OUTSIDE than it was in the arena! Being cold DID give us incentive to go to the local pub for drinks--I had hot, buttered rum, so I was toasty warm in no time. :)
And here is a picture of the Rangers in their pink jerseys--aren't they just as cute as can be?
