Abel to Yzerman
Longest Summer In History Ends Today
by IwoCPO on 10/03/07 at 03:41 AM ET
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The offseason hadn’t been this short in nearly five years. But it sure did drag. A lack of drama over the summer, perhaps? Most likely. Our big discussion topic was a Russian kid who’s not even on the roster, and may very well play his way back home.
Other than that, it was a summer of recovery. Recovery from losing in the Western Finals to a team the Wings had on the ropes, and to a lumbering idiot like Chris Pronger. Since last May, two Wings have defected to the hockey hotbed of SOCAL and Anaheim named a Sasquatch their Captain.
Have you forgotten precisely how you felt about Pronger? I think I had, so I went back and read a few posts from last May, just to get the hate working in preparation for the season opener on Versus!!!!
Here. Watch this, then let’s review a little bit.
“Of course, I’m going to hit him in the head,” Pronger said. “He’s quite a bit shorter than me. It’s just law of physics.”
16 May, A2Y
“Too many choices made the big man start swatting at flies. Datsyuk on one line, Zetterberg on the other. Cleary and Filpulla. Draper and Franzen. So many forwards. His head short-circuited, then got fried when Homer starting calling him dirty names. Confusion swam around Pronger’s head until he couldn’t take it anymore and snapped. He lost it and ran the Wing who’d damaged his ducks the most. He didn’t pay last night, but he will because that’s his track record. We’ll see that temper again, guaranteed.”
On May 20th we pointed you to a column from Jerry Green labeling the poultry as the “dumbest team in sports.” Excellent.
Live blogging Game 5, kinda…also on May 20th.
1818 EST: Ahhh…Andreas. Man.
22 May, just prior to Game 6.
Oh good God. If you’re looking to board, you must hurry. I can’t say that strongly enough. The Stress Train is full and I can’t guarantee you a spot.
Please take a few minutes now to remember the frantic third period of Game 6, the comeback that almost was. Recall the play of two young kids cementing their roles as leaders of this team. Both will wear the “A” tonite. Game 6 was brutally stressful, but it wasn’t the death of the Wings last year. Nope. The real scars formed immediately after 5.
If you don’t realize that The Kick To The Groin had everything to do with the listless first two periods of Game 6, then you’re misguided.
It stuck with them and they couldn’t shake it until it was too late. And it wasn’t Lilja’s mistake that will be the wretched memory of this series. It wasn’t Lilja’s lapse in judgment or the steal from Selanne and that eventual goal.
Nope. The image that will stay with us like Larry Bird and Dennis Johnson, and like Darrell Evans getting picked off third, will be that bastard of a fluttering puck floating over a suspended Dominik Hasek, moving so slowly that it took us all a moment to realize that it was even real. The OT loss was almost inevitable. Allowing Anaheim to tie Game 5, after multiple attempted clears and maybe even one offsides, was the beginning of the end.
Because no matter what Ted Kulfan told us, or Helene St. James or Ansar Khan. No matter the descriptions they gave of a confident plane ride and an upbeat Babcock, it was Game 5 at the Joe that really did us in.
Despite an effort from two kids that came of age in the third period of Game 6, they didn’t have enough to overcome the absolute disaster of Game 5, The Kick To The Groin.
The Wings’ toughest month of the season starts tonite. Every Western competitor twice before November 5th. Remember, it’s ok to hate.
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About Abel to Yzerman
Welcome to Abel to Yzerman, a Red Wing blog since 1977. No other site on the internet has better-researched, fact-laden and better prepared discussions than A2Y. Re-phrase: we do little research, find facts and stats highly overrated and claim little to no preparation. There are 19 readers of A2Y. No more, no less. All of them, except maybe one, are juvenile in nature. Reminding them of that in the comment section will only encourage them to prove that. Your suggestions and critiques are welcome: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
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