Live blogging live from North Bay!

7: 36 p.m. I'm in North Bay, making my way towards my new life in Ottawa. Since this is my first Saturday night of in forever, I figured I should be productive. So here is my second live blogging attempt. Interspersed within the hockey notes will be some useless travel anecdotes from my last couple of days on the road.

If any of you happen upon this blog during the game, check back often and enjoy. If you are reading this after the fact, I hope it's not too long.

7:41 p.m. I got the idea of doing this somewhere after buying really expensive gas in Upsula Friday night. Being a journalist and super geeky I got my tape recorder out and starting making audio notes of the trip. An audio log book so to speak.

7:46 p.m. For the record, Friday's day included a 9:30 a.m. departure from Winnipeg, a stop of a little over an hour in Kenora to meet up with some of my former colleagues at the Miner and News and Lake of the Woods Sports Association, followed by a drive to Nipigon where I spent the night. Today I made the trek to North Bay.

7:52 p.m. I'd better chime in with a prediction before they drop the puck. I'm going with 5-1 Ottawa. They'll carry their momentum from Thursday's third period to build a 3-0 first period lead and cruise to a win from there. Goals from: Spezza (2), Fisher, Corvo and Alfredsson for Ottawa and Hecht for Buffalo.

7:58 p.m. One of the satellite radio stations I've been flipping to on occasion is XM 171, Open Road. It's designed for truckers and they call in using their nicknames. My favourite so far: Rubber Duck.

8:04 p.m. Did Don Cherry just say that Buffalo hasn't played a good game yet in the playoffs? I haven't watched as much hockey as he has, but I find that hard to believe. I also love the fact that he just predicted the Sabres will lose the series right in front of a half dozen young Sabres fans.

8:05 p.m. I've said it before, I'll say it again. I love the Sabres colour scheme this year. The logo has been a bit of an acquired taste, but it's growing on me. Now they just need to get rid of that stupid tiger mascot.

8:08 p.m. On his radio show Friday Tony Kornheiser (available on XM 144) was talking about what aspects of Canada are better than the United States. The top of the list, the Canadian national anthem versus its American counterpart. Also included: the Canadian Niagara Falls and Canadian bacon.

8:11 p.m. Only one French official, if Shane Doan were playing, he'd be happy.

8:14 p.m. Only 1:51 into the game and my prediction is wrong. This is why I'm in last place folks. As for the goal, Alfredesson should have tied up Roy's stick rather than just stand there.
The goal is under review and despite the puck hitting the glove I think it should count.

8:18 p.m. I agree with the point Harry Neale was trying to make on the goal that was disallowed. Since Vanek never took his glove off his stick, I thought it should count. Even if there was a batting motion, the intent was it hit it with the stick not the glove. But I guess the rules disagree.

8:23 p.m Buffalo got it right back. And since neither team has lost after scoring the first goal, I guess I should just flip to whatever else is on right now, because this game must be over.

8:27 p.m. Bob Cole pulls out his first 'Oh Baby!' of the night and the Sabres go up 2-0. Maybe I should reverse my prediction, although Hecht did score.

8:29 p.m. Most ironic part of my trip so far: I drove through Sunshine, Ont. at dusk on Friday; I drove through Moonbeam, Ont. at midday Saturday.

8:36 p.m. It's worth pointing out, as bad as it looks for Ottawa right now (they're down 2-0 and being badly outplayed and outchanced), their long term hopes are still strong. You see, I have Buffalo in the pool.

8:42 p.m. Great passing play for Ottawa's first goal. Harry Neale has crowned Alfie as the best player in Ottawa Senators history. I think he must be forgetting about Andreas Dackell, Scott Levins and of course Alexei Yashin.

8:49 p.m. Two things I kept track of on the drive were dead dear and RCMP/OPP patrol cars. The dead dear gave the RCMP a run for their money on the prairies and even held a 4-3 lead at one point. But the OPP got the coppers back in the game and as of tonight they have a 16-6 edge. In fact I didn't see a dead dear anywhere today (although I did see a live black bear this morning).

9:09 p.m. Don Cherry touched on the NHLPA fiasco during Coach's Corner tonight. They were also talking about on on XM 204, Home Ice when I was tuning in this afternoon. One of the rumours they were floating on the radio was Donald Fehr coming in to take the reigns. That would be a huge mistake on the players part. Despite the salary cap, life is pretty good for NHL players these days. Revenues are increasing and so are their pay cheques, they have a stake in the league's success and there is labour peace. Fehr and his anti-salary cap mentality will only make more trouble.

9:15 p.m. I laughed out loud at Chris Neil's ridiculous attempt to protest his innocence when he was laying on top of Derek Roy. A holding penalty was very much justified.

9:22 p.m. It's 2-2. We've got a hockey game. And I'm two-for-two in predicting Sens goal scorers, and one-for-two on the Sabres side.

9:27 p.m. Another thing that kept me amused as I drove was all the little slogans the cities and towns use to describe themselves. Since I hail from Winnipeg (One Great City), pretty much anything else sounds original. On the prairies it was heritage this and heritage that. Today in northeastern Ontario, Kapuskasing (The Model Town of the North) is dueling it out with Smooth Rock Falls (The North's Biggest Little Town). Latchford, Ont. decided to go very specific. They are "The Best Little Town by a Dam Site." There was also a town further south that boasted having 2 billion square feet, but I neglected the name in the audio log book.

9:36 p.m. I think Bob Cole's senility is contagious. When teamed with Jim Hughson earlier in the playoffs, Harry Neale was on his game. Tonight he's doing a worse job of identifying players than Bob "The Ottawa defenceman has the puck" Cole.

9:38 p.m. It must be pointed out at this point that this is a very exciting hockey game.

9:45 p.m. Wow, great shot by Redden and great second period by Ottawa. If only Redden could have scored a few more of those during the regular season when he was a part of my under-achieving pool team.

9:49 p.m. I've been a keen observer of billboards the past few days. The most professional promotion award goes to Fort William Historical Park in Thunder Bay. They had a series of signs every 10 km or so advertising their park. I didn't check it out, so I can't comment on their veracity. Timmins went a different route, they just put up a giant picture of Shania Twain.

9:54 p.m. I was stopped a number of times for construction the past few days, usually for no more than 10 minutes. I was also stopped once as they were pulling the trailer of a truck out of the ditch after an accident. I kind of liked these breaks, they gave me a chance to stretch my legs and take my mind off the road. But the real reason for this segment is to point out the crew just east of Longlac had the best looking flagwomen I've ever seen.

9:57 p.m. Quote of the day during the satellite hotstove, Scotty Morrison on Neil Smith: "Remember those 40 days he was in charge on Long Island, he did a good job." Morrison was not being sarcastic.

10:09 p.m. I passed a lot of cemetary's the past few days. One even had a 'No snowmobiling' sign at the entrance. There is only one reason why some town council felt compelled to put up that signage, at some point a jackass decided the best place to take his new motorized sled for a test drive was around all the headstones.

10:18 p.m. Some people say the federal NDP are out-of-touch with the general population. Charlie Angus' slogan isn't doing anything to help their cause. He has a massive billboard that says: "New ideas for a new century." Might have been a good idea six years ago, but now it seems a little stale.

10:25 p.m. If the Senators hold on for the final five minutes tonight, they will win the series. A loss tonight for Buffalo (blowing a 2-0 lead at home) would be tough to overcome. All Ottawa would need is a split at home to go up 3-1.

10:28 p.m. I love how Bob Cole continues to describe a play long after it's finished. Dany Heatley just had a great scoring chance to score. It was a quick bang-bang play, but by the time Cole had finished describing that two seconds of action, the puck had already been turned over and the Sens were changing lines.

10:35 p.m. Hockey Night in Canada started this evening with a video of captains Alfredsson and Briere. Well, Mr. Briere just came up big for Buffalo. Bring on overtime.

10:40 p.m. As someone who is interested in all things historical, roadside plaques have always piqued my interest. But as a child, driving with my father we never stopped unless we needed gas or if he had to use the washroom (the rest of us had to hold it). I've carried on that mentality to my own road trips so I rarely stop to the read the plaques. But thanks to the Internet and audio log books I've been able to do some research upon my arrival here in North Bay. Turns out I passed the site of a bloody labour dispute, two fires, the birthplace of a war hero and a major expedition.

10:51 p.m. I guess it's time to pick my OT scorers. Buffalo: Campbell. Ottawa: Neil.

11:05 p.m. What happens to make otherwise sane goaltenders go crazy when they try to play the puck? Emery just about cost his team the game because he didn't factor in the angle the puck would rebound off the boards when he cleared it. It's the second goof he's made today and Miller has also coughed up the puck.

11:11 p.m. Power play for Buffalo in overtime. This could be the turning point.

11:21 p.m. And this game will continue into the second OT, but this live blog will not. I've got to continue this road trip tomorrow and that means getting some sleep tonight.

It's hockey night

Alright, here we go with this live blogging attempt. Not sure what I'll write about for the next six hours, but it can't be that hard right.

5:04 p.m. - My big plan today was to try and get two TV's going so I could watch both the CBC and TSN games. But for whatever reason, I can't seem to pick up CBC over the air. CH, Global, City and CTV all come in clear as a whistle, but Canada's national broadcaster is nowhere to be found. So I'll have to settle for flipping with the remote control.

5:07 p.m. - The moment of silence for the Virginia Tech victims was classy. Yesterday I couldn't help but think about what it would be like to be a student and res fellow at that school.

5:09 p.m. - Anthem dude (I didn't catch his name) sure rushed through the Canadian version.

5:13 p.m. - Good, quick pace to start the game. If it continues like this it will be must-see-TV

8:41 p.m. - That camera in the corner angle can be quite annoying at times. You miss what's happening on the rest of the ice.

5:15 p.m. - Fluky goal, but they all count. This just proves the age old adage that it's never wrong to shoot the puck. The goal is under review, but I agree with the announcers, Neil never touched it.

5:20 p.m. - Uggh. 1-0 Rangers. My Atlanta pick isn't looking so hot. In fact going into tonight three of my first round winners (Minnesota, Calgary and Atlanta) are a combined 0-7. Looks like continued futility in this pool is assured.

5:30 p.m. - The Sens just got away with having too many men on the ice. That's a penalty that's not called enough. In last night's games there were at least two certain too many men on the ice calls that were missed.

5:32 p.m. - 2-0 Rangers. The Thrashers got into the playoffs for the first time in franchise history this year, but it's looking like they won't win a game. And now it's 3-0.

5:35 p.m. - Can you imagine how good the Peguins power play will be when Crosby, Malkin and company actually grow up?

5:45 p.m. - Brenden Shanahan just took a holding penalty on Greg De Vries. The MSG Network announcer said it was a good penalty because De Vries had a step on him. But it was Greg FREAKING DeVries. He scored a grand total of three goals this year. The Thrashers probably have a better chance of scoring on one power play than De Vries connecting on one of 10 clear-cut breakaways.

5:55 p.m. - What was the point of Cherry showing that long clip from Sunday's Coach's Corner tonight? I assumed it would be to prove he was right about something, but he just showed the clip and signed off.

6:08 p.m. - Crosby finally draws a penalty. He's gone down three times in front of the net, but the referees (wisely) didn't call anything the first two times.

6:13 p.m. - One reason to like Bob Cole, calls like "The fans sense something is about to happen. I wonder..." One reason to dislike Bob Cole, his inability to identify Christoph Shubert until a good five seconds after the play was over.

6:16 p.m. - And we're all even. Hard work pays off.
Oh and for the record, it's 4-0 Rangers. The rout is on.

6:24 p.m. - I admit I was wrong aboutt the Sens picking up Mike Comrie and Oleg Saprykin. I figured they'd both be busts, but it seems that Comrie in particular has been a real asset.

6:29 p.m. - The Pens are dominating the second period. I wouldn't be surprised if they scored very soon.
Over on TSN, Shannahan just literaly jumped into the Atlanta goaltender and the MSG announcers are decrying it as a bad call. Seems like Shanny can do no wrong.

6:38 p.m. - One third of the way through this exercise and I'm having fun. Not sure if anyone is reading this mind you, but at least I'm being entertained. But for all you phantom readers I'm going to take a quick break to rustle up some dinner.

7:00 p.m. - Great start by Ottawa in the third, they've turned the momentum around in a hurry.

7:08 p.m. - Huge goal for Ottawa. That could very well win them the series, and it was Comrie with the pretty set-up. I guess Muckler saw something in the guy no one else did.

7:16 p.m. - Saprykin just missed the net on a good chance. Now THAT'S the Oleg Saprykin I remember wearing the flaming 'C.'

7:25 p.m. - My three stars, voted on with two minutes to go in the game: first Ray Emery, second Gary Roberts and third Mike Comrie.

7:31 p.m. - That's all she wrote. Ottawa weathered the storm in the second and came on strong in the third. Now they have the chance to wrap things up on home ice, and I think they will.

7:34 p.m. - I went 1/3 on the three stars. The actual list: Emery, Staal, Spezza.

7:37 p.m. - We're between games on CBC, but TSN has Minnesota/Anaheim. If the Ducks wins it's over, but I believe the Wild will pull this one out tonight. 3-2 Minny.

As for the Flames/Wings tilt, let's hope that vaunted home ice advantage the Flames had during the first 3/4 of the regular season comes back for the playoffs. If Calgary can get off to a good start and stay out of the box, I believe they can get right back in the series. 4-2 Calgary, with goals from Hamerlik, Lombardi and Huselius (2).

8:04 p.m. - Alright, got the Flames jersey on. We're ready to go.

8:08 p.m. - Good to see Heather back for the playoffs. The Flames had a few terrible anthem singers down the stretch.

8:11 p.m. - I didn't realize American viewers have to put up with Wittman too.

8:12 p.m. - Apparently Hale's flying elbows in Game 2 didn't impress the coaches. Welcome back Marc Giordano.

8:14 p.m. - Early power play for the Flames. A goal here would really set the tone.

8:18 p.m. - How out that schmoozle, Hamerlik gets the only penalty? The only plus to come out the exchange was analyst Drew Remenda using the word 'crap.'

8:24 p.m. - With Chris Pronger's goal, my three winless teams (Minny, ATL, Calgary) are now losing by a combined total of 8-0 tonight. Beautiful.

And now Primeau takes a four minute penalty. Even better.

8:29 p.m. - I don't know what's more entertaining: the hockey game or the guy in the camper trying to parallel park across the street.

8:31 p.m. - Great PK. And dude is still trying to nudget into that spot.

8:32 p.m. - Minny scores. Dude completes his tough parking job. My night is turning around.

8:37 p.m. - Iffy call, but I'll take the power play.

8:38 p.m. - POST! But at least Iginla is shooting.

8:42 p.m. - Poor Rhett Warriner. He has the worst luck.

8:48 p.m. - So the Knuckleheads win another one-goal game. They were a surprisingly popular pick among poolies this year.

8:49 p.m. - How the Flames expectations have fallen. They now get a standing ovation for not losing after the first period.

8:57 p.m. - Apparently Brian Hayward is doing colour on the Ducks/Wild game. Better than having him do the Rangers series, I guess.

8:59 p.m. - Minnesota scores. There's life in those Wild yet.

9:04 p.m. - Record traffic on this site tonight, particularily from China. It must be a factor of people clicking on the most recently updated blog button. But still we've had visitors from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Turkey and New Zealand. Granted none of these people stay to actually read anything. But the hit count is getting jacked up.

9:11 p.m. - As Remenda pointed out Mike Babcock is indeed a former Red Deer College Kings head coach. Alas, the men's hockey program at the school died a few years ago. But the women's program is going strong. Of course the men's volleyball team is the class of the country, with eight straight national titles.

10:35 p.m. - Terrible penalty by Tanguay. Well behind the play, in the offensive zone. There was no need for that. Hopefully the Flames don't get burned.
9:21 a.m. - Get your rally caps on Minnesota. The comeback of the year is underway!

9:23 p.m. - The Jets traded Draper for $1? This will require some googling, but really couldn't they have at least gotten a bag of pucks?

9:25 p.m. - GOOOOOAAAAALLLLL! There's my Lombardi goal.

9:32 p.m. - Way to go Langkow and Stuart. Just let Draper walk to the front of the net.

9:40 p.m. - That Draper for $1 is in the Sun, so it must be true.

9:47 p.m. Well it's (almost) after two and the Flames are still in it. Got the Red Wings were they want them, methinks.

10:12 p.m. - Damn you Chris Draper. I'm beginning to wish the Jets hadn't got all gready and looked for that dollar.

10:16 p.m. - Nice to see the goal judge getting involved and creating some buzz. Isn't it about time we got rid of those guys?

10:18 p.m. - God bless Marc Giordano. That should keep him in the line-up for the next game. Although he did get benched after a two-goal game against Toronto earlier in the year.

10:22 p.m. - Fire alarm! Just like the Ottawa Civic Centre. I remember having to evacuate once during a 67s game. Turned out to be a false alarm, but it was still annoying. If memory serves the alarm went off again after we got back in the rink.

10:26 p.m. - BOOO-YAH. Protypical Iginla goal, coming down the wing, quick shot. I love it.

10:30 p.m. - Calder gets goalie interference, I was afraid the penalty was going against the Flames defenceman tying him up.

10:38 p.m. - Those are the type of saves the Flames need from Kiprusoff. Third period, with the game on the line. Let's hope he's not forced to make many more tonight.

10:40 p.m. - I don't know what's less surprising, Warriner getting hit in the face with a puck, or Bertuzzi getting hurt.

10:42 p.m. - My three stars: Draper, Iginla, Kiprusoff. I realize it's contraversial to give the first star to a visiting player on a team currently losing, but he deserves it. The Wings got their dollar's worth tonight from him.

10:45 p.m. - I knew Friesen would come in handy at some point this year.

10:49 p.m. - Just what the doctor ordered. A solid effort. A big win. Calgary is right back in the series. Maybe they shouldn't trade that Iginla character after all.

10:50 p.m. - A big thanks to all who checked out the page tonight and to Lloyd for keeping up the conversation all night.

Booooooo

So Senators fans seem to feel the need to boo Sidney Crosby and it's only gotten worse since the Ottawa Citizen ran this story. The only reason I can think for such loutish behaviour is jealousy.

Smarten up Senators fans, Crosby is the face of everything that's right about the NHL right now. He's the best young player in the world, has a good head on his shoulders and is unfailingly polite (and he just scored the go ahead goal with eight minutes to go in the third period of Game 2).

There are plenty of reasons for fans to boo. Sens fans still heckle Alexi Yashin, and for good reason. Edmonton Oiler fans didn't hold back in giving Chris Pronger the raspberry this year. When the Jets come back to Winnipeg, the MTS Centre crowd will jeer Keith Tkchuck at every available opportunity.

Booing can transcend sport, I know of one poolie in this year's Sons of Manitoba who has been known to boo the Royal Winnipeg Ballet when the mood strikes her.

But there has to be rationale behind the taunting and I don't think that Crosby's talent alone is a good enough reason.