Marty Turco and the Dallas Stars are the surprise team in the West, eliminating the defending champion Anaheim Ducks in the opening round and going two up in their series with the San Jose Sharks. (CP Images)
Complain about twirling the octopus, whine about the calls, fret over bad ice, scream about anything and everything. Go ahead, knock yourself out!
What to do about whining via parentcenter.com...
Define it. Before you pin on your No Whining button and draw a line in the sand, make sure your child (hockey fan) knows what you're talking about. Adults often assume that children (hockey fans) know what whining is and realize how awful it sounds - but that's not necessarily the case. Explain that whining sounds yucky and makes people stop listening. Practice "good" and "not so good" voices together - hearing you at your whiniest will probably elicit a good laugh from your child (hockey fan).
Getting the picture hockey fans? The whining has to stop. Every hockey fan could be doing it but isn't. Every hockey writer could be doing it, but most don't.
It isn't healthy for you and it isn't healthy for the game! It makes you look bad and when the bounces start going your way, which they normally do, fans of your opponent begin to whine, basically feeling if you could do it, so can they. It continues to gain momentum unless you decide to put an end to it.
Whining has never won a game and never will. Drop the whine line now. It's time to move on and start looking for things to turn around, like it usually does.
2-0
The Wings and Penguins did what was expected of them. By winning their first two home games, they have put themselves in a great position, but winning Game 3 is now their focus. As we have witnessed in recent history, game 3 is key for the road team — win and the momentum is all theirs; lose, and the home team is back in the series and have the much-needed incentive to win Game 4.
Both the Wings and Penguins are on a roll right now, but a Game 3 victory by the Avalanche and Rangers will quickly shift the momentum in their favor. Great teams put away their opponent as quickly as possible. The question is now how great are the teams from Detroit and Pittsburgh?
The real shock of the second round is the play of the Dallas Stars. Lead by goaltender Marty Turco, the series heads back to Dallas with the Stars up 2-0 against the San Jose Sharks. If there was ever a must-win Game 3, this is it. I can't see the Stars losing four games in a row, but I can see the Sharks finding their game again and making a run at the Stars. The Sharks have the players to do it, but every one of them needs to show up for Game 3.
As always, feel free to contact me at pk@kuklaskorner.com with any questions, comments or rants (but no whining) you may have. See you on Thursday!
Paul