One Heck of a Hockey Game

I've been really dragging around today. Why? Well, maybe it's because I stayed up until 1:30 last night watching the Stars and Sharks play a little more than 2 full games in one shot. Their game went the normal 3 periods and then went an extra 4 overtime periods. It started at 8:00 pm and ended about 1:30 am. I was happy when the game ended and I can tell you I won't have any problem going to sleep tonight that's for sure.

I'm not a die hard, life long hockey fan. In fact, I really didn't watch much of it before moving back to Dallas in 1999. That was the year that the Stars won the Stanley Cup and the entire town was in a frenzy over hockey. I usually don't watch much during the regular season though. Every once in a while I might turn on a game if Dallas is playing Colorado, Detroit, Anaheim or San Jose but probably won't watch it from stem to stern...I really don't have the motivation to watch the spare-to-fare middle of the season hockey game. And since hockey season and basketball season run concurrently, the Mavs get most of my attention during that time.

However, playoff hockey is something different. You can just tell that the intensity and speed are dialed up a notch and the deeper into the playoffs the more intense the teams get as well as the crowds. Hits like this, which happened in last night's game, are not uncommon in the playoffs:



Last night's game was game 6 and Dallas was leading 3 games to 2 in the series. All the Stars needed was one more victory and they would move on to the Western conference finals. They had actually gotten up on the Sharks 3 games to none but San Jose came back and won the next 2. As I mentioned above, the intensity in last night's game was through the roof and both teams were playing like their lives depended on the game. But the best thing about last night's game was the goal tending on both sides. Turco (for the Stars) and Nabokov (for the Sharks) were unflapable and neither one wanted to be the first to blink. Both teams were exhuasted both mentally and physically. In the end, it took 3 1/2 overtime periods for Brendan Morrow to deflect a centering pass past Nabokov for the game and series winning score.

It was fitting that Morrow got the game winner. Not only is he the captian but he was the difference maker in the series. In fact he had 2 goals that were reviewed and overturned in game 5. He has been the best player on the ice, not only for the Stars, but on both sides of the puck.

Dallas now faces the hated Detroit Red Wings which actually look like the old Soviet Union hockey team. The Red Wings which are a little like the Red Sox of hockey. They have a storied history in the NHL, have pretty big fan base across the country and are almost always at or near the top of the Western conference. And Dallas' goal tender, Marty Turco, doesn't have a great record against them either. So, this could be interesting. It all starts again on Thursday night. And hopefully I won't have to stay up until dawn watching it either.