Hockey

We've said it all about this series. All that's left is to let the team speak. And some really bold ESPN statements. ORLY LET'S FIND OUT. Mattie Cooke undresses the D, Mark Eaton is a gorgeous human and makes a pass that flashes 08/09 when his knees stopped exploding, and Morrow takes it and gets it in off of his skate maybe a little. There's really no motion and the setup was so gorgeous that we are already ready to incite violence when we hear that it's being reviewed. But Penis McGuire thinks it looks pretty good and he is a jag about potentially illegal moves in the paint, so we feel comforted by his gleaming brow for once in our lives. The call on the ice stands and we're up 1-0 a little less than halfway through the first. Never safe. Never comfortable. But still....sigh of relief. One of the Worst Calls Ever puts Sid on the bench for "hooking." Eric Condra's personal space is Very Important. It was really just an amazing play but that's illegal now in hockey, so good thing we're being sticklers with new rules. Luckily we kill it. The period wears on and there isn't a lot of high drama, which is confusing. Some excellent chances on either side, and it's generally a good game to watch, especially because we are dominating by a sufficient margin. The break comes up and we're jauntily sipping our drinks, legs up on the coffee table, pretending we won't be dying again once the second starts. The second is hilarious in that the Rules apparently don't count when it comes to the Sens. There are two blatant penalties that, unlike Sid's Penalty for Unrealness, do not get called. We enjoy the way such things bond us all in agonized bitching on Twitter, though, so that's a bonus. Finally the Sens get called for a gross crosscheck, and we get a penalty that is more overdue than the news of Max Talbot's first illegitimate child. (No, Max, this is not an invitation to Talk to Us, it is just an easy comparison to make, now go back into your hot tub and don't look us in the eyes.) Kris and James make an amazing play that ends with the puck pushed over the line, and for some reason it has to be reviewed because WAIT THE PENGUINS SCORED AGAIN MOTHERFUCKER DOUBLE CHECK THAT SHIT TO MAKE SURE THIS CANNOT STAND. Seriously what is this officiating. Goal stands because the war room is like "dudes come on, we have real things to do, cut it out with this shit." Much to the ref's chagrin, it's 2-0. There is a 4-4 (of course, because how could the Penguins ever have a PP how could it happen) and Kris Letang makes Pierre have an existential crisis. First it's all WHAT IS THAT PLAY ON THE BLUELINE, SHAME and then it's all THAT'S WHAT THE COACHES WANT TO SEE FROM KRIS LETANG when he scores. Because great analysis. Another 4-4 because of some Unrest and ads;fklasdfkj Gene and his slack-jawed face make our dreams come true on a breakaway. Which is untrue because we don't even get moves like that in our dreams. Sorry for lying to you. Then there's this, but we're ignoring it. WHAT ISN'T ANYONE GOING TO CALL UPSTAIRS TO MAKE SURE IT'S LEGIT? Our shoes are on the coffee table once more when the clock winds down into second intermission. It's all bravado, no worries. Cockiness is a death wish. There's an exchanging of penalties in the beginning of the third that leaves us up for a tiny bit of time that ends up not mattering. Then Neil thinks that his opinions matter. Murray's bloody nose begs to differ. It's only two minutes because why. It's cool - foolishness lands them in the box AGAIN, making us think someone with a bone cleaver in hand and Primanti's on their breath gave the refs a Talking To during intermission. The third is totally the penalty game we know and hate. The Crown Royal Robocam is our favorite robot. Lol no just kidding. James gets all up in Gonch's biz behind the net, took the puck, and came out in front, putting it where it wants to be. The Sens cough a death rattle when Kris fucks up, making it 5-2. He

Can't sleep? Too much coffee? Just got in from your Friday night and need some time to wind down? Here are some reading suggestions since personally -- I got nothing. Shall we go from the rediculous to the sublime? Yes. Here is an example of the rediculous: Eyes on Isles by Michael Willhoft and his idea of what John Tavares' personal journal would look like. Um. No. But it's a distraction. Here is Tony Stabile's End of Season review for Hockey This Week and the respect the team walked away with -- for a change. And here's the reason for that respect, all the work that Jack Capuano did these past few seasons. This is a great article by Travis Betts on Jack and developing a belief in his system. Then if you want to spend money, there is the Islanders jersey auction. Got $6,000 for a John Tavares jersey? I was out of it as soon as I noticed I couldn't find a Matt Martin jersey. What's that all about??

ShareThis Hear what the captain had to say after what could be the last game of his career. ShareThis

ShareThis While marathoners in Ottawa are limbering up for their long Sunday ramble, the Senators' run has come to an end. ShareThis

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports In the wake of last night’s shutout loss, the fury from Chicago Blackhawks fans was immense. They called for Ray Emery to take Corey Crawford’s place. They even demanded that everyone in the front office should be fired, from general manager Stan Bowman down to the assistant coaches. But in their rage, they’re failing to realize a painfully obvious point: firing people won’t fix what’s wrong on the ice. I’m seeing so much go wrong with the Blackhawks, things that they made look so effortless in the regular season. They had their way with the Minnesota Wild and their goalie troubles, but now they’re up against a Detroit Red Wings team that has nothing to lose and a goaltender that has frustrated them. The most frustrated of them all seems to be Jonathan Toews. It’s Toews who has the C on his chest, the one who is supposed to lead this team every night. But lately the guys are playing like they have no leader. Toews has no goals to his credit in nine games and has been losing faceoffs. You can see the frustration he feels in the scrums between whistles. On Thursday, it bubbled over and cost the team six minutes of shorthanded ice time, two of which resulted in a power play and broke their streak of 30 consecutive penalty kills. Brent Seabrook even had to go over to the penalty box and tell Toews to calm down for fear the frustration would spread over the rest of the team. If Toews really wants to help the team, he needs to put his words into action. It’s not enough to give fans and the media lip service by saying that they’re optimistic and need to focus on one game at a time. Toews needs to show the team itself how to handle being down three games. The biggest way he can do that is through discipline. If Toews steps up his game and handles himself like the captain he is, the others will follow suit. That’s especially important to his younger teammates like Andrew Shaw, who’s been rather hotheaded in this series. We can call Toews one of the best captains in the league, but that means nothing if he can’t lead his team through this series. His failures reflect on them and affect their play and attitude, and that in turn comes through on the ice. If he truly wants to win the next game, he’ll have to fix what’s wrong with himself first.

This week: Canada's Team, the Messier Award, Per Djoos, and a 1992 profile of Jaromir Jagr's mullet.>> Read the full post on Grantland

ShareThis The long, bumpy road of the shortened season, full of countless potholes and unforeseen lifelines, finally came to an end for the Ottawa Senators Friday. ShareThis

[Game Summary] [Event Summary] [Faceoff Report] [Time on Ice] [Corsi] [Zone Starts] [Shift Charts] You can complain about the refereeing at times in this series, but the fact of the matter is that Ottawa was outscored 22-11 in the series and 13-5 over the last two games. The better team won the series in convincing fashion. Ottawa will have better days ahead, with a healthy Erik Karlsson and Jason Spezza next season they have a lot to look forward to. But for now, the season is over and it doesn't feel good. But let's keep things in perspective, when Karlsson went down in mid-February, most fans including yours truly thought the season was over. Instead the club won 5 playoff games and played into late May. We will have more analysis on this game and the season in the coming hours and days.

The Kings-Sharks Game 6 is set for 5 p.m. PT Sunday at San Jose. The game will be televised on the NBC Sports Network, TSN and RDS. The Kings lead the best-of-seven series 3-2.