Liveblogging the Stanley Cup Playoffs: Game 4

This is the Detroit Red Wings vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins, in Pittsburgh. Detroit won the first two games, Pittsburgh the third.

20:15 Eastern Time: a moment of silence for Luc Bourdon, who died in a single-motorcycle accident a few days ago. He had got his learner’s permit six weeks ago and had had the motorcycle for only two days.

Game starts: the first of three 20-minute periods.

• Face-off. I was washing dishes and did not see who got the puck in the first scramble.

• A penalty against Detroit: they will play short-handed for two minutes. Pittsburgh scores on the power-play, ending the penalty. Score 1-0 for Pittsburgh.

• Five minutes. Another power play, this time for the Red Wings. Detroit’s Eric Lindstrom fires in a beautiful long shot and scores at the end of the power play. Score, 1 - 1.

• Eight minutes. The Pittsburgh goal is knocked off its position; play stops. Someone got a stick in the face but the referees didn’t notice.

• Penalty against Detroit for roughing up another player (plus a bit of high-sticking): power play to the Penguins for two minutes or until they score. The Penguins are all around the Red Wing goal. Then the Red Wings shoot the puck to the other end of the arena (clearing it down the ice).
• The puck gets tossed into the crowd, stopping play. Play starts again with a new puck; the Penguins fire on goal but Detroit’s goalie Osborne stops the puck. Red Wings clear it down the ice.

• Eleven minutes: Pittsburgh players are slowing down. Another couple of close shaves. Penalty is over.

• Twelve minutes: Wide-open play courses from end to end of the ice, repeatedly.

At this point I have to go out. Back later with results.

… I got back in time to see the last 50 seconds of the second period. The score is still 1 - 1.

Third period:

• The Wings swarm the Pittsburgh goal, looking energetic and determined.

• Two minutes, 30 seconds: Detroit scores scores a goal on a slow backhand shot. The Wings are even more energetic.

• Pittsburgh goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury, gets a penalty for batting the puck out of the playing area after he makes a save. That’s for deliberately delaying the game. The goalie doesn’t go off the ice; someone else serves his penalty. The Wings go on a power play and swarm the Penguin’s goal again.

• 5′ 30″: Puck is shot over the boards again. This time it is deemed an accident.

• Penalty is over. Intense end-to-end play. Detroit’s net is off the posts. One of the Pittsburgh players, Evgeni Malkin, a victim of almost constant interference in this game, was propelled right into the goal.

• The Red Wings are beating the Penguins to the puck. Wide-open, skating game.

• A Red Wing tripped a Pittsburgh player with his stick and got a hooking penalty. It’s a chance for Pittsburgh to score. THEN another Red Wing got an interference penalty. There will be five Penguins on the ice against three Red Wings for almost two minutes.

• A Penguin shot and missed the goal! Henrik Zetterberg kept the Penguins guessing. The puck was cleared down the ice. There’s another face-off in the Wings’ end. The Penguins may have got the puck, but Zetterberg stole it and fired on the Penguins’ goal. Fleury made a save.

• The puck is down at the Red Wings’ end again but the first penalty is over. The second penalty is over. The Penguins couldn’t make a goal.

• Two minutes left to go. Pittsburgh needs to make a goal.
• Last minute. Detroit pulls their goalie to put another active player on the ice. Pittsburgh gets a shot at the empty net and misses! Detroit gets the puck back to the Pittsburgh goal end and hangs on for the win.

The Red Wings now lead the series three games to 1 and are going back to Detroit, where they will be the ones being cheered. Pittsburgh seldom loses a home game, so t his is a tough loss for them.

Now I have to get to bed because there’s the 25-km Ride for Heart bike-a-thon.

New phone

I picked up a replacement cell phone today. The vendor very nicely copied my photographs from the nonworking phone to the new phone. So I should have some photos for the blog soon: I’m still arranging them.

After getting the phone we went to 1200 Sheppard Avenue East to pick up our entry stickers for the Ride for Heart bike-a-thon on Sunday. It had quite an impressive lobby. Here we are looking down from the fifth floor interior balcony. That greyish blob in the goldfish pond is a sculpture as tall as I am.

Swim workout, May 30

Swim workout in 25-yard pool:

• warm-up: (75 yd. breast stroke + 75 yd. freestyle) x 2 = 300
• 25 yd. “kicking 101″ x 4 = 100
• 50 yd. extended underwater dogpaddle x 2 = 100
• 50 yd. (6 strokes extended underwater dogpaddle, 6 strokes freestyle) x 2 = 100
• 50 yd. (3 strokes extended underwater dogpaddle, 3 strokes freestyle) x 2 = 100
• cool-down: 50 yd. freestyle x 2 = 100

Total: 800 yd.
Concentrate on: breast stroke position, kicking from hips with snap at end, extending body, extending reach, breathing at the right moment, keeping hand extended while breathing, rolling body during freestyle.

Wet phone

I managed to spill water on my cell phone just before dashing off to the STC exec meeting Tuesday night. Now I’m without a working phone again. (The on/off button works but nothing else.) And it has been only a few weeks since I replaced the previous phone after losing it on the Danforth. I’m going up to ABC Cellular to see if they can get the flash card out and replace the phone for me.

Stanley Cup Finals, Game 3

This game in is Pittsburgh, city of bridges: Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Detroit Red Wings. I tuned in late. It was 2 - 1 for Pittsburgh. The first goal was scored by Sidney Crosby. The next was by an older, but energetic, Penguin. Then I think Detroit got a goal.

• Pittsburgh scores
• Penalty against Pittsburgh’s Malkin. Detroit goes on the power play.
• Four minutes left. Someone bounces the puck off an official. Detroit is swarming the Pittsburgh goal.
• One minute left. Intense pressure from Red Wings but Pittsburgh takes the puck down to the Red Wings’ goal and keeps it there.
• Twenty seconds left. Red wings pull their goalie. Swarm the Pittsburgh goal but no score.

Pittsburgh wins, 3 - 2.

32 saves by Marc-Andre Fleury, the Pittsburgh goalie.

This is one of the Pittsburgh players, before a game, looking determined.

Pilates lesson

We missed last week but this week we were back at Pilates. We did lots of small motions with arms and shoulder blades, then with slowly sitting up and lying back down.

Cute but vicious

more cat pictures

When I got up this morning, there was a strange, rather dirty, stuffed toy in the kitchen. It was smooth nylon rather than fuzzy and about 15 cm long—a toy whale. I had never seen it before. I picked it up. It was dirty enough to be part of the jetsam in the nearest parking lot and weighted only a few ounces.

Hypothesis: one of our two youngest cats brought it in from outside. Reasoning: they carry toy balls around the house. Sometimes I find toy balls out in the yard. The young cats bring in earthworms, mice, rats, and birds. Someone has brought in strips of stretchy window caulking, as well. Until the young cats learned to use the cat door, nobody brought in earthworms or caulking or any other inanimate objects.

I put the toy outside. It was soon discovered by Cloud, who carried it down into the yard and had a great time fighting with it, carrying it a few inches, trampling on it, holding it down, flinging it around, then disembowelling it again.

When he left it for a moment, Fog came along and approached the toy very cautiously, ready to run if it moved. When it didn’t attack, he pounced on it and did a little disembowelling of his own. Cloud got interested again and took the toy off towards the cat door. A moment later I heard the cat-door slap closed. I don’t know if Cloud brought the toy in with him. But at least the next time, I’ll recognize it.

Toronto’s Pearson airport Skytrain

The last time I went through Toronto’s main airport, I arrived at Terminal 3. It was sunset and the ground was already dark. I waited for my baggage to be unloaded from the plane. Those are baggage carts.

Then I took the monorail train over to Terminal 1. The train stops are upstairs.

It was just sunset but I could still see the airfield over the roofs of nearby buildings.

One of the airport roofs sports a mysterious pyramidal bump.

The monorail is supported by a heavy framework.

But it still has graceful curves.

This is looking east, so the sky is still bright.

Looking west, everything seems more golden.

Black Petunia: Ode to an orb

Here’s someone who appreciates colour: “Ode to an orb.”

Stanley Cup final, Game 2

The Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins played again. The Wings shut out the Penguins for the second time in a row. Much credit goes to the Wings’ goalie. The Penguins are worried.

• First period, Detroit scored at 6:55 into the game and again at 11:18.
• Second period, no score
• Third period, Detroit scored at 11:48.

Pittsburgh got only 19 shots on goal compared to 32 by Detroit.

Below, commenters Stuart MacLean and Don Cherry: