(Photo by Andre Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images)Sometimes, things look mighty bleary . . .
So tonight . . . I’m forced to keep track of the score from my cell phone and the tv’s at the National Art Centre while in rehearsal for an upcoming production of Shakespeare’s “King Lear”. The dreaded double-book hit me today. Obviously I’m not much of a technocrat, I tried recording the game in its entirety before leaving the apartment and somehow tonight I can’t play it. But I’ll tell you, my heart sagged when I saw the score was 2-0 for New York early in the first. Checking the box score, it drooped even further. Strahlman and Callahan, and both from Richards and Gaborik. Great. Power-play goals or not, they’ve woken up, I thought. Was this the end for Anderson, would the Rangers take the game by a landslide . . . and so on and so forth. There I was, sitting in Rehearsal Hall ‘A’ , with my mind torn between two things, getting into character for my small role, and hoping to heck inside that the Sens could find a way to claw their way back into the game. But rehearsal ended early, and I had time to zip straight home to catch the 3rd period at least. I checked the boxscore on my cell phone before leaving at 9, and saw finally that Ottawa was on the board. Michalek from Carkner and Spezza. Now, I have a real thing about goals that are scored when a team is down two. The next goal either puts a team back in the game, or it puts the other team up and out of reach. With Ottawa down by only one, I hopped the bus and put my cell on refresh for the score. Hoping. Then . . . boom. Gonchar from Foligno and Neil. Tie game.
Home Sweet Home . . .
Getting home, I logged on facebook and twitter hoping to catch some sort of vibe while anxiously throwing on the game. And something hit me. I’m watching the third period and all of it’s action, the play going up and down, back and forth, and I realize, wait a sec, what about asking from the people I know what they think? I could tell by the sound that Scotiabank was loud. And I love that. I’ll tell ya, this town has the bad rep of fans that sit on their hands and a city that rolls up the red carpet at 10. I do defy that. So hearing that, I do get excited. And what do I hear?
People have their volumes on loud at home. Restaurants are going nuts. And yes, the decible level at Scotiabank is incredible. This was a game that everyone was behind that I heard from. From partisan fans? Yes. But tonight, that’s what I wanted to hear. Jason Spezza makes his way back in the third after a scare, and I’m happy. Fans at the rink are chanting Alfie’s name, and I’m seeing this is something special. For some reason, objectivity left me tonight, and I was a fan once again.
The third period ends in a flurry, and I’m on my feet just hoping for the right player to score.
Magic . . .
Overtime begins, and Ottawa is being pressed hard. Thankfully, no shots or bad bounces find their way in for New York. Then, on an inoccuous 2-on-2 rush . . . .
Turris.
On a screen shot from a Jim O’Brien drop pass that fools Lundqvist and reaches top-corner.
And the series is tied at two-apiece. Incredible. Unbelieveable. Emotional. And simply put, the Senators have given themselves a chance to do something no one expected of them this year.
I will say, this might just be the tightest match-up of the first round. And it’s been a rollercoaster. Game 5 is three days away, and it could not arrive any sooner.
This team, with it’s resiliance, actually has me saying . . . ‘What if?’ Silly? Perhaps. But I’m going with it. One thing is certain, these Sens aren’t playing like they’re rehearsing any longer.
Thanks for reading. And tonight, Go Sens Go.
