Follow @james_tanner123 The Capitals and the Knights will start the game in minutes (possibly even be already playing by the time this is posted).
If the Caps win, it's a 3-1 stranglehold. IF the Knights win, it's back to Vegas with a tie.
No kidding, right?
The toughest thing about blogging is trying to come up with interesting ways to preview a game in the playoffs.
Talk about first world problems.
The problem isn't just that it's the same teams playing again and again, but as you move into the later stages of the playoffs, there's more and more people covering the same series.
In doing research for this blog, I came across the following observations:
"The first few minutes will decide the game"
"It might come down to puck luck"
How can I compete with that?
Might as well just say that the teams are evenly matched and the best goalie will likely win.
Or offer some Keys to the Game, or KTTGs as they're sometimes called:
"The Capitals need to defend and neutralize the Knights best players."
"The Knights really need to focus on special teams tonight, Bill."
I shouldn't make fun, it really is hard to keep coming up with stuff to say like every single day. But a playas gotta play and a sports writer has got to sport.
That's why I don't just do Keys to the Game, I do the Inverted Triangle of Sportsing.
It looks like this, and is self explanatory:
///////Winger- Centre - Winger ////////////Defense - Defense ///////////////////GOALIE
Whoever has the best triangle is sure to win!
What I really want to know is can (insert player who hasn't played all series) make an impact on the game? Probably not, Bill, or else he'd be playing the whole time.
But if the x wants to win, then (insert player who's underperforming) really has to get it going!.
How many I's in team again, Bill?
Here's some meaningless stats that have no impact on the game: The Capitals are 1-2 at home, on Mondays on nights when it's raining in Ontario.
Here's Bill with the news you've been waiting for: "Well Jim, after a long and intense practice, it seems Backstrom is going to give the old high-fives a try tonight."
Oh man, the game is on, and I talked through the whole opening, just like a real sportscaster would do!
Go Caps!