I woke up this morning feeling a bit prophetic after last night's game. It kind of played out much like yesterday's blog, right down to the WWE theme. I meant the wrestling quotes in the article to be tongue-in-cheek, but they stuck.
Before I explain further, there will be a glossary of terms at the end for those of you who don't know pro wrestling/carny lingo.
The babyface (or face) Ducks and heel Blackhawks squared off in another heated grudge match with lots of hype surrounding the event. Early on the babyface does something illogical, akin to chasing the heel's manager around the ring before falling victim to a devastating move that puts him/them in a big deficit. In the case of last night's game, Anaheim committed stupid penalties in the opening five minutes, which resulted in two Blachawk power play goals.
True to their heroic pedigree, the face team waged an uphill battle to climb back in the contest. Andrew Cogliano's tally midway through the first period gave the Ducks a huge emotional lift and they went into the first intermission only down by one score. Anaheim's second goal was put in by Corey Perry from Ryan Getzlaf and Sammy Vatanen to close out period two. This was the result of a continued offensive onslaught and it neutralized Chicago's early lead.
From the third period on both sides waged a furious back and forth battle. There were near falls and false finishes everywhere, for the next hour and a half of action. Every time it looked like the babyface had finally done enough to put the game away, the heel managed to sneak out of danger. In reality, last night these sequences, from a Duck perspective, can be described in one word – POST.
A time limit draw result would not due, so the contest went into sudden death extra time. During a second overtime period, the babyface again made a huge tactical error, putting too many men on the ice. In literal heel fashion, the “bad guys… pulled one from the playbook nobody saw coming when Andrew Shaw connected on a header from outside the box (oops soccer reference crept in) to score the win. Shaw's goal brought even more heat from the fans and the controversial finish didn't sit well with those in charge. After review, the authority figure announced that in fact the result will not stand and ordered the game continued. In the wrestling biz its called a Dusty finish.
Finally, in the third overtime Anaheim having fought gallantly, time and again showing the skills and heart their fans love, were out of gas. Blackhawk Marcus Kruger was left alone on the Duck doorstep to hit a big finisher and send the crowd home disappointed.
If this game didn't sell enough tickets and stir enough interest for Thursday's televised rematch, nothing will.
I'll be back tomorrow for another dirt sheet preview of game three from Chicago.
- Ed
Wrestling Glossary (with help from Wikipedia):
Babyface - A wrestler positioned as a fan favorite, also called a "face" Heel - A wrestler who is villainous or a "bad guy", who is booked to be booed by fans. The babyface's antagonist. Finisher - A wrestler's signature move that usually leads to the pinfall or submission False Finish - A pinfall attempt which is kicked out of, usually after a finishing move or series of high impact moves, and usually kicked out of just before the referee counts to three. Dusty Finish - A finish in which someone appears to win a big match, but the decision is later reversed due to to some sort of technicality. This term was made famous by Dusty Rhodes when he was the head matchmaker for WCW. Heat - Boos or negative reaction from the live fans. Authority Figure - Someone who holds onscreen power. Near Fall - An occurrence in which a wrestler's shoulders are pinned to the mat for a count of two, but the wrestler manages to escape before the referee's hand hits the mat a third time. Dirt Sheet - An insider newsletter (or website) in the professional wrestling business.