What is it with the western Canadian road trip? It was the nadir of the 2008-09 campaign and last night against the Canucks certainly stirred up some bad memories. However, the guys will rally and will bounce back on Saturday against the Oilers. I still have a lot of optimism.
One thing that I'm not liking seeing is the excuse that it was their second game in as many nights.
I'm not superbly concerned at this point; I'd like to think it was just one bad game. Hey, it happens. Look at the Minnesota Twins: after an epic 12-inning victory replete with high drama on Tuesday, the Yankees smoked them 7-2 last night. They couldn't turn to their bullpen, the bats were tired, and while the mind was willing the body just wasn't able. But they've played 163 games already. If we're having to fall back on that 4 games into the season this could be a truly ugly campaign. I would have trouble playing a full 60 minutes on two consecutive nights, and I'm sure many of us other faithful followers would as well. But we're talking about (presumably) elite-level athletes with superior conditioning. If they're so wiped out, listless, and prone to on-ice mental/physical breakdowns after playing the night before and it's early October, what can we expect to see on a back-to-back in February?
Like I said, I'd like to think this was just a bad game, and not an ominous glimpse into what we can expect. I am far, far away from giving up my seat on the bandwagon. But I truly hope that giving up and going to bed after two periods doesn't become a regular event.
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