It ain't over till Schoenfeld bets his career
I'm happy.
The Coyotes' overtime 1-0 loss in Game 7 to the St. Louis Blues
means I only have to write about the Desert Dogs one more time in
the Season-in-Review issue.
Being based in Pittsburgh, it's kinda hard for me to see Phoenix
games. And watching the pride of Phi Kappa Sigma, Keith Tkachuk,
makes me sick.
But I did watch Game 7. And I did enjoy myself while doing it.
Why? Because it was one of the best games of the season.
Sure, watching the game that started at 10:30 p.m. EDT and didn't
finish until 2 a.m. made it hard to get up in the morning. But it
was well worth it. Game 7 was simply an incredible contest between
two teams that desperately wanted to advance to the second round of
the playoffs. Unfortunately, only one team could.
The Blues will be that team, thanks to a Pierre Turgeon deflection
that found its way past goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin for the game
winner.
The teams went to overtime in a scoreless draw, but it wasn't your
run-of-the- mill, regular-season sleeper. This was raw,
unadulterated playoff hockey at its best.
There were tremendous hits, like the one on Dallas Drake that led to
a bloody nose. There were spectacular efforts, like those of St.
Louis defensemen Al MacInnis and Chris Pronger, who seemed to never
leave the ice. There were amazing saves, like the acrobatic stops by
Grant Fuhr and the quick reflexes of Khabby. There was the annual
heroic comeback, as Jeremy Roenick, who is still sucking in food
through a straw, returned to the lineup despite his broken jaw. And
there was a great storyline, as Coyotes coach Jim Schoenfeld put his
job on the line (as if it wasn't already) and guaranteed a Phoenix
win.
Alas, there was only one winner. It wasn't Phoenix.
So now the Coyotes are left scratching their heads and dusting off
the golf clubs. The Coyotes, remember, had a three games to one
lead in the series. But they blew it. With the Game 7 loss,
Schoenfeld is almost guaranteed to get the axe. He's been in this
situation before, and he hasn't faired well.
Roenick or no Roenick, there was still no excuse for blowing a 3-1
series lead. Expect some major changes in the off-season. We'll
break all of the options down in the season-ending issue, but for
now let's all just take a month or so to sit back and clear our
heads of all the bad things associated with the playoff loss.
Just think happy thoughts. Like the tremendous effort the Coyotes
put forth in Game 7.
And if that doesn't work, just crack open that bottle of
Jagermeister chillin' in the fridge and take a big gulp. The happy
thoughts should start flowing any second now...
