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There’s a great scene in Rocky when the night before the big fight with Apollo Creed, he goes down to the arena to look at the ring and just get a feel for things. Rocky notices the fight banner with his likeness has the wrong color trunks. The fight promoter shows up and tells Rocky he should be in bed. Rocky then says “My trunks are the wrong color on the banner,” to which the promoter says, “It doesn’t matter now does it?” It seems like that might be a familiar response in San Jose. It seems like no matter what San Jose does each season in terms of milestones, the overall response may just be that; it doesn’t really matter now does it? I think right now with confidence I can say that the moves that Bob Murry made were dead on! I was the only one in my blog universe (as far as I know) that stood by the moves and felt they would make a quick return. It’s safe to say that just by the mere fact that we’re in the playoffs and have a three games to one lead on the “best” team in the NHL, Bob Murray should get GM of the year.

Come on guys, there's no crying in hockey

Speaking of Ryan, his line mates Getz and Perry were great. In game 3 you could see and hear the frustration of these two when things do not click, as Getz was yelling at Perry after missing a pass….yeah, frustrating to say the least.

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I told you. The Sharks had to win last night. One thing is to a lose a series; another thing is to throw it away completely. I know what the Sharks are feeling right now. Last year when Dallas dropped kicked us out of the playoffs, I could not believe what was happening. All I could think was, “Don’t get swept!” That was about all I could ask. We didn’t make the second round, but we were not swept. And sometimes that’s about all you can ask for.

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Sgt. Marchant fearlessly looks the enemy right in the eyes.

You’re down two games to nothing; and everyone is writing you off especially your home town. It’s a low that is indescribable. It’s bad enough when a team is having problems clicking, having everyone else dump on them is not helping things. What I am afraid of is what could happen. A fire could be lit underneath the Sharks, that could be a problem for the Ducks. I love the way the Ducks have been playing, and enjoy the two game lead, but if Randy (head coach) is smart, and I know he is, the Ducks are well aware of what could happen. Right now the Shark players are reading all the bad press; “Big Joe” is reading about what a disappointment he is again; the Sharks head coach is reading about the fact that he’s a rookie coach, and can’t match up to Carlyle. The Sharks locker room is breathing heavily right now, and waiting to burst. Tonight’s game is monumental. Its not game three for the Ducks. Its not the first home game for the Ducks. Its not the first round anymore. Tonight’s game is game seven of the Stanley Cup finals for the Sharks. You see, something interesting starts too manifest itself in the mind of an athlete right about now. Its called doubt. And immediately after doubt sets in it is followed by anger, followed by desperation. The Sharks are a mad and desperate team right now, and tonight is the night they explode. They’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain. The good news? most mistakes happen when a team loses its cool. The bad news? They just might be able to instill some doubt in our own team. I am looking at this series the way I did when we faced Vancouver in 2007. I knew they were a good team, and knew they could potentially be trouble for us, but nothing happened. I kept saying after every game, “They’ll show up tonight,” to which they never did.This is a great series because there are two very important questions that are being asked by every NHL expert: Are the Sharks choking? or are the Ducks just that good? After tonight, there will be 4 games left for the answer. it’s going to be amazing; it’s going to be loud (Mr. P); it’s going to be a war; it’s playoff hockey….the greatest time of the year. So here’s a video to get your juices flowing for tonight…..here is tonight’s anthem! Go Ducks!

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Woody, Woody, Woody; think before you speak.

It's hard to take someone named Woody serious.

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The Ducks celebrate after a Getz breakaway and game winner.

That must be what Bob Murry was thinking when he made the trades that shocked the Ducks world! Who knew that by trading Moen, Sammy, Huskins, Morrisson and Montador that somehow the Ducks would then be able to make a play for the a playoff spot? Bob Murray, that’s who. At 7:30 pacific time last night, the Ducks began their 4th playoffs in a row. It was a game that everyone was labeling as an inevitable victory for the Sharks. Writer after writer kept saying that the Ducks were not suppose to even be in the playoffs and that the Sharks superiority at home would be the downfall of the Ducks. Everyone had alot to say about San Jose and nothing to say about the Ducks. That’s all changed this morning.

If you didn’t know it, you would not know who the Ducks opponent was last night. In fact, today everyone loves the Ducks. Last night while interviewing “BIG JOE” Thorton (Whose the same size as Getzlaf), some reporter asked him what he thought of their [Ducks] rookie goal tender..to which Joe said, “They played well.” They played well? The media keeps saying we stole game 1. Stole it? I give credit to the NHL on the Fly analyst that responded with, “They didn’t steal it, they earned it!” Adam Brady over at the DucksBlog gives us these stats to drool over:

Hiller admiring his work

And that’s not all, I looked around the boards looking for peoples comments, and it seems that the Shark faithful are jumping ship. One reader commented with this:

“The crowd was in shock all night. It was like a library in there and the fans never seemed to know when it was time to get behind their team. Both the Sharks and their fans made it easy on Hiller last night. That game was more like a regular season match, than a playoff game. All the Ducks big players showed up and played great games. The Sharks looked disinterested.”

And this came from another person who simply identifies himself as “Jerseyfan”:

“Scott Niedermayer has won at every level he has played!!! He is the ultimate clutch D man and will be walking into the hall of fame on his first ballot!!! The Ducks are going to give the Sharks nightmares!”

So true Jerseyfan, so very true. So with last nights shutout, the Sharks have now gone 147 minutes, 24 seconds without a playoff goal, dating back to their four-overtime Game 6 elimination against Dallas in last year’s conference semis. That’s a long time, and although its only a matter of time before the Sharks start scoring, I like the confidence that a win like last night instills in “Hiller the shot Killer!” There were so many things that happened last night that are worth mentioning, and I’ll list them one by one:

Scary Moment of the game:
“First period: San Jose defense man Rob Blake lost his footing near the corner boards and his left skate came up and appeared to strike Ducks wing Bobby Ryan in the face. Ryan flinched wildly and immediately checked his face but appeared to be unhurt.” I thought the worse for a moment. I normally can not stand Blake as a player, but I saw him look concern for a moment, and it reminded me that he is a human being that cares about his fellow players. I tip my hat to you Rob Blake.

What Is The Deal With Rob Niedermeyer?: This guy was all over the penalty box like it was Scott Neidermeyer’s paycheck! I know Robbie normally shines in the post season, but 3 out of 6 penalties? Chill out dude!

Beauchemin: The impact he has made is huge! By Frankie coming back, he’s given Chris Pronger and Scottie a combined ten minutes of rest time. That not only adds another blue liner that can shoot, but keeps our Big “2″ fresh when it counts. Frankie truly is a trade deadline pick up!

Mike Brown and Todd Marchant: These guys are studs! First of all Brown can skate! He is a fast Sucka, and has a ton of grit when he needs to get down and dirty, and yes….his stick touching the attempted pass creating a break away situation for Getzy was huge! Marchant is the hardest working hockey player in the NHL! Remember in 2007 when he was designing shirts? He was hurt….now he’s playing in the playoffs and motivating the team with his performance! He is a walking, talking and skating motivational poster!

Scottie and Getz: What else can be said about these two? OK, how about the fact that for both Getzlaf and Niedermayer, it was their only shots of the entire night, and we won 2-0.

So how did the San Jose crowd feel after the loss? Like Sore losers. I read that on tv “Right after the final buzzer sounds, they show Hiller, and then it cuts to the Anaheim bench. Everyone who hasn’t left the bench is looking behind them, towards the crowd, including the coaching staff. Then Randy Carlyle rubbed his hair, like he was trying to get something out of it.” Basically the fans took it upon themselves to dump crap on the Anaheim Ducks coaching staff. Real classy folks. That’s not the way champions act. If you’d like a tutorial, go to a game in Anaheim.

Gary Peterson of the Mercury News sums it up nicely; “Is it too early to panic?
This was the danger of drawing the Ducks as a first-round opponent. They may not be the team they were two years ago. But they remain fearless, tested and tough-minded, capable of doing all the little things right, and making the big moments conform to their whim.”

Right back ‘atcha Gary!

Game 2 is Sunday night. Right now I hope the Ducks are relaxing, and having fun. They’ve been here before. They now have home ice advantage, and like Shaun O’Donnel once said, “home ice only matters if you win.”

Finally I read this funny story asking the question “Who is tougher an NBA player or NHL player?” Even though the answer is very obvious, it’s written for the hockey to appreciate.

P.S….the ducks are back in my pool this morning! Go Ducks!

Follow me: http://twitter.com/eltorolatino

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Well, well, well….can you smell what I smell? The 2009 playoffs have started! i was watching highlights last night of the first day of games that were played and I must say there’s some good hockey being played. Lets talk about some of the games that went on yesterday.

Vancouver/ Blues- This series is going to be entertaining. There is a lot of speed on both sides. I’m glad Andy Mac has a shot at the cup once again, and I think the Canucks are a good team, but for some reason I see St. Louis upsetting. I am very excited for the Blues considering at one point this season they were in last place, only to crash the playoff party as the #6 seed! WOW. I see this one going 7 games.

Pens/Flyers- I think Pittsburgh is going to take this series with little noise from Philly. Why? Chris Kunitz. He has added grit and a spark that I think is enough to get to round 2. Yea they have Crosby and Malkin, but so what! They had them last year too. Pens in 5.

Devils/Carolina- I dont think Carolina has a chance for some reason. I see the Devils going far folks. For some reason I see this team in the finals. I know, I know, what about Boston? What about Pitts? What about Montreal or the Rangers? That’s what i say…what about them? The Devils will be in the playoffs. I saw this earlier this season in my mind, so get used to the idea. Devils in 6.

Washington/Rangers- Ovechkin is amazing. OK enough of that. Lundqvist is nuts! He kept the rangers in the game yesterday but I think Washington has the tools to pull this series off…so I’m picking Washington in 7.

Now tonight the Ducks take on the Sharks at the tank in what promises to be a physical affair (when do the Ducks not participate in rough and tough games?) It will definitely be a playoff game from start to finish and I would imagine is going to be loud. The keys to this game for the Ducks are to stay out of the box, and finish their fore checks. I think if we play smart and keep our cool, the Sharks will implode. All I have been reading in the news is how the Sharks will hoist the cup, all the pressure is on the them, yada yada. As for the Ducks, we just found our identity and its too late, we’re good, but will lose in X number of games, we have experience, and will put up a good fight, but will be eliminated in X games. In fact its so bad, the only guy giving us a chance in the news is Barry Melrose! How about that? Well, lets see how game 1 goes. Its going to be awesome, and I for one know that in the playoffs anything can and will happen! If i remember though, I was the one saying all season long, “if we can make the playoffs, I like our odds better than anyone else in 7 games.” Let the game begin tonight, and fasten your seat belts people…..Game 1 for the Ducks is about to begin!! GOOOOO DUCKS!!!

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Well, after the most frustrating season both as players and fans, the Ducks were able to make into the playoffs this year! It is of course the 4th year in a row, and as I stated before…from here on out anything is possible!! I love the fact that this year members of the original 6 will be making an appearance. Aside from the Ducks I am excited about the The Blues and Bluejackets  representing teams we have not seen in the playoffs before…we need new blood. Remember if the NHL succeeds we all succeed as well! For now I hope the Ducks are resting and getting ready because it is time for the playoffs!!!

So now for my surprise story. As far as jinxing in concerned, it did not work. You see, i was one of the 39 people that got to go down on the ice for the Honda Pilot giveaway! I was so superstitious about the contest that I made the decision that when I qualified I would tell anyone, and see if it would work. The reason for my madness? It was my second year in a row qualifying for the same contest!! The only difference was that last year I made a video to qualify (see it here) and this year i just got randomly picked!

So I attended the last game of the season for the contest giveaway. First i had to go sign in at Vista B on the club level, and also had a little pre-contest party. There was some free food and drinks, and I got a free Honda Pilot bag. (i used that bag to snag 8 water bottles!) We were told to come back at first intermission, to get ready to go to the Zamboni tunnel.

At first intermission, we were told to put on Honda t-shirts and that we would then make our way to ice level where we would watch (actually listen) to the 2ND period. You have no idea how frustrating it is to be just behind a giant garage door, knowing the Ducks are playing in a crucial game, hearing the crowd cheer and jeer and not be able to see anything! The entire time, our host was just telling us about what to expect and how to walk on the ice (which I already knew) and overall making small talk with us. I was snapping away taking pictures.

So finally at the 2 minute mark, the door starts to open and they bring in the Honda Pilot from outside. It looks cool up close especially because someone is going to win it! So the first people top come in from off the ice are the refs. I think its a strange coincidence that it is the same exact crew from last year, on the same night I did not win the truck. Already I did not like my odds. Then we slowly make our way on the ice. It is such a cool thing to have 17,000 fans in their seats while you make your way onto the rink. Even if they’re not looking at you, it just looks awesome. Totally took me back to my Pro wrestling days when I wrestled in front of 15,000 people in San Diego.

As we were instructed earlier, the head of Honda Motors America, would then draw names out of a velvet bag, and the names of the 6 people that would draw keys would then be announced. it seemed like an eternity that I waited to hear the names being called. And within a fraction of a few seconds, I was a loser. Well at least, my name was not called. So my moment in the sun came to a close. After 6 months of waiting, my return to the ice level was just as short as the previous year. And just like that it was over. So there you have it; I wish I was the proud owner of a Honda Pilot, but instead I was the fan of a playoff team….and I’ll take that any day of the week over a new car!

Go Ducks!!!

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For you east coast hockey fans, I want to plug New Jersey Devils Hockey fan, and famous film Director Kevin Smith’s tournament coming up.

Finally, today is a special day. I am going to be part of something cool today, but I can not comment on it until its over. I am big on superstitions and jinxing things, so will not comment on it until tomorrow; when I do though it will be in it’s entirety. That’s all I’m saying!

Here is one more clip for tonight’s game that fires me up beyond belief when I’m preparing for a game, or the gym or just busting chops!! It sums up Ducks Hockey for me, enjoy….and GO DUCKS DAMN IT!!!!

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