Subject :econd, and Chicago took a 2-0 lead thanks to Shaws goal on a deflection with
6am Bar ClosingsYour partner just left you for your best friend and took the cat. cheap nfl jerseys . You lost your job. Your folks are getting a divorce. You drive a 93 Hyundai Elantra. You like Coldplays new album. Life could not get much worse. This is what it feels like when your teams season ends prematurely. This is how we feel in Montreal, and our new Mayor, Denis Coderre, has pushed through legislation that will allow some bars to call last call at 5:45am. Bars will close at 6am. Corderre wanted David Desharnais benched or traded or lynched in November, so Im not sure why hes allowed to make laws, but either way three extra hours of drinking do not bode well for a city of broken hearts already adept at drowning its sorrows until the wee hours.Reliving the PastIn the quiet aftermath of a series lost, one can be driven to madness through contemplation and consideration of responsibility and complicity. Im not talking about the players, or management, or coaching staff. Im talking about each fan, individually, wrapped in the curious superstitions of sport; adults who believe their habits and regiments supernaturally affect those of their team. For example, during game two of the Bruins-Habs series I had a cocktail with a woman who has no interest in hockey but may have interest in me. Did my shunning of the 1st period adversely affect the balance of the Habs universe? The other day, in anticipation of seeing my mother, I very discreetly and almost unnoticeably trimmed my beard. Did I bring on some bad juju? Ive watched the last two games on CBC. Had I watched RDS, would Price be okay? Would the Habs be up two games? Would Henrik Lundqvist be mortal? Well never know…No Nos AmoursAt no time is it more apparent that the Expos are gone than right after the Habs disappoint. And this summer, the cut runs a little deeper, a little more steeped in vinegar and salt, after a weekend in April of Expos nostalgia and games at the Big O. Sure it was just the Blue Jays and Mets, but it was as close to Major League Baseball as weve seen on the Island of Montreal in a decade. The tricolore hats were everywhere, and not just on Brooklynites in town for Osheaga. Larry Walker, Marquis Grissom, Felipe Alou, and the 94 team spent the weekend. We were reminded of what once was, and for a moment gleaned hope that it could be again. But then the playoffs started, and we forgot all about it. Now on the precipice of an abrupt end to the postseason, what are we to do? Cheer for the Blue Jays? That kind of talk will get you kicked out of the bar at 4:45.TouristsTheres a brief respite in the Montreal calendar in May and June. Its right after the students have left to their parents basements in Mississauga, a convoy of minivans heading west, Ikea skeletons ominously freckling the McGill ghetto, and the arrival of tourists. Its a peaceful time. A time for quiet contemplation, for being able to find a seat at Starbucks, for going through alleys looking for a new couch. But then the tourists settle in. Unwanted aliens in your favourite haunts, fratish bachelor party weekends, and F1 fans, who make Bruins fans look quaint. That late spring void is best when filled with Habs reverie, double overtimes, Boston-hate, and large crowds in early evening bars yelling at Glenn Healy. We had that for a while this spring. Not long enough.ResponsibilityEverything is forgotten during a Habs playoff run. Debts are excused. Infidelities are forgiven. Commitments are eschewed. As Montrealers we are focused on the mirth and minutiae of Les Glorieux. We live in the echoing resonance of Ginette Renos final notes. We are oblivious to all else. But, in the absence of that distraction, we are left to tend to the discard and detritus that is our lives. Have I filed my taxes? How long has that stain been on my pants? Have I paid my rent? Did Aunt Wreatha pass away? Are these evenmy pants? Was it Mothers Day recently? When the last time I showered? Did laundry? Ate a vegetable? The humbling truth of reality sets in, and it can be early August before weve trimmed our playoff beards, made amends for our indiscretions, and recovered from our revelry.Im still hopeful for a miracle. AsBarDowns Twitter feed noted, I am a glass half-full type of guy. Game three in New York could very well be where a legend is born, where a Humboldt, Saskatchewan native becomes this generations Ken Dryden, or Steve Penney, or Patrick Roy. And maybe Carey Prices knee recovers, and all of this worry, this fretting over what might have been returns to the hope of what just might be. And maybe spring stretches out a few more weeks. Until then there is only Dustin Tokarski and prayer. Or Peter Budaj. Frankly, I dont care who it is as long as they hold off summer just a little bit longer. nfl jerseys china . And he thinks its "irresponsible" for the Buffalo Sabres to suggest otherwise. The NHLs new sheriff reacted strongly to complaints from the Sabres on Monday after he elected not to suspend Bruins forward Milan Lucic for his collision with Buffalos Ryan Miller.cheap jerseys . The solutions? Not so much. Given an extra week to stew over the worst start in 45 years, Tomlin is tweaking the lineup hoping to find a spark that will help his team begin the long road back to respectability. CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks helped their coach reach another milestone by putting forth the kind of buttoned-down, hard-nosed effort Joel Quenneville admires. But it came with quite a price -- an injury to leading scorer Patrick Kane that is expected to sideline the star forward for about three weeks. Corey Crawford stopped 23 shots for his second shutout this season, backstopping the Blackhawks to a physical 4-0 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night that gave Quenneville his 700th NHL win. "Ill take any kind of win, but I certainly liked everything about how we went about tonights game," Quenneville said. "It was a real solid team victory for us, something weve been trying to do against these guys all year." It was a costly victory, though. Kane left the game at 7:56 of the second period, favouring his left leg as he headed to the dressing room following a collision with Brenden Morrow. Kane is expected to miss about three weeks with a lower-body injury, Quenneville said. "Hes a special player," Quenneville said. "Well work our way through this. Its a huge loss for us." Duncan Keith, Andrew Shaw, Marcus Kruger and Ben Smith scored as Chicago ended the league-leading Blues nine-game point streak (8-0-1) and dealt St. Louis its first regulation loss against a Central Division opponent this season. The Blues entered 20-0-2 against division foes and hadnt lost in regulation since a 1-0 defeat at Anaheim on Feb. 28. Quenneville, who previously guided St. Louis and Colorado, has the most wins of any active NHL coach and ranks third all-time behind Al Arbour and Scotty Bowman, now the Blackhawks senior adviser of hockey operations. Crawford earned his 10th career shutout in Chicagos first win against the Blues this season after three losses. After St. Louis set the tone early, the Blackhawks regrouped, pushed back and took charge for the remainder of the game. "Tonight we knew was going to be a tough matchup," Crawford said. "It was physical -- it seems like its always physical against these guys. It felt like a playoff atmosphere." Kane, who has 29 goals and 40 assists, set up Keiths oppening goal. wholesale jerseys. His loss tempered one of Chicagos biggest victories this season. "He brings so many things to the table offensively for us," Keith said. "When you have a guy like that out with an injury, you have to look at the positives from it." St. Louis goalie Ryan Miller lost in regulation for the first time since joining the Blues following a trade from Buffalo on Feb. 28. Miller, now 7-1-1 with St. Louis, was replaced by Brian Elliott at 7:58 of the third period after allowing four goals on 27 shots. "We let him out to dry," Blues captain David Backes said. "We could have had three goalies in there on some of them. We just didnt play well in front of him." St. Louis needs one win to clinch a playoff spot for the 38th time in franchise history. But on Wednesday, the Blues got shut down after a solid start. "The first 10 minutes we were really good," coach Ken Hitchcock said. "Then they dialed it up and we started reacting and they took it to us. A good wake-up call." The win moved Chicago one point ahead of Colorado for second in the Central Division and fourth in the Western Conference. The Blackhawks have struggled this season against their top rivals in the Central. Chicago entered Wednesdays game with only one win and five points in eight games against St. Louis and Colorado. Keith scored the only goal in a physical first period on a power play with 58 seconds left. The play got tighter and grittier in the second, and Chicago took a 2-0 lead thanks to Shaws goal on a deflection with 4:25 left in the period. Kruger and Smith scored 2:15 apart in the third period to ice it for Chicago. Notes: Blackhawks C Michal Handzus played in his 1,000th NHL game and was honoured in a pregame ceremony. ... St. Louis RW Vladimir Tarasenko underwent surgery for a right hand injury sustained last Saturday at Nashville in the final minute of the game. He will be re-evaluated in six weeks. ... Blues RW T.J. Oshie returned to the lineup after missing one game for the birth of his first child. ... Chicago LW Brandon Saad sat out his second game with an upper-body injury and is day to day. wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
