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Scratching my head over Sting + Shaggy plus NHL scouting combine followup |
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Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final goes Monday night, and is an opportunity for the Washington Capitals to take a 3-1 stranglehold on the series in front of their home fans.
I've gotten a little less interested since the Vegas juggernaut hit its first real adversity—well, ever, really. This is the first time in the playoffs that the Golden Knights have lost two straight, and the first time since dropping two meaningless games to close out the regular season after Shea Theodore ruined the Sedins' party with his shootout winner here in Vancouver on April 3. Vegas has never lost more than three in a row; that happened three times during the regular season.
Of course, I'll still watch. Heck, I've been watching the Calder Cup Final, which is tied 1-1 after a 2-1 win by the Texas Stars over the Toronto Marlies on Sunday. That's Toronto's first loss since dropping Game 4 to our Utica Comets back in the first round. After beating the Comets, the Marlies went on to sweep both Syracuse and Lehigh Valley.
Game 1 against Texas was a battle, too. The Stars had a 4-2 lead in the second period before giving up three straight, then came back to tie the game 5-5 before the Marlies took the win off Trevor Moore's power-play goal, midway through the third.
Because it's the Marlies, all games of the Final are being broadcast on TSN2. Game 3 goes Tuesday at 5 p.m. PT as the series now shifts to Austin.
I've also had one eye on the NBA Finals. Mostly interested in how ticket prices, attendance and entertainment compare to the NHL packages.
This certainly caught my eye:
TV-wise, though, it's a very different story. The NHL is doing better than usual this year, but still delivering a fraction of the eyeballs that tune into the NBA.
Ratings-wise, it seems that people are still interested in a LeBron vs. Steph matchup!
And I have to admit, I did enjoy Carlos Santana's rendition of the national anthem last night in Oakland. I've been a Cindy Blackmon fan since back when she played drums with Lenny Kravitz!
Meanwhile, in Washington, we got the head-scratcher that is the new Sting/Shaggy collaboration. I never thought I'd see those two names together!
Their album collaboration came out on 4/20 (heh) and I'll be the first to admit that I knew nothing about it, so I guess the appearance was productive from their end. But I wonder how much it drove downloads or streams? Despite the reggae influence in the work of The Police, I'm not sure this is a pairing that I needed to see come to fruition.
The entertainment for Game 4 goes back to an old NHL standby, Fall Out Boy. Their songs have been used in many a pump-up montage, and they also performed at the 2015 NHL All-Star Game.
On the ice, full credit to Washington for limiting Vegas to just 22 shots in Game 3, and to Alex Ovechkin for a monster first period that included a huge shot block on Nate Schmidt.
When Braden Holtby gave the puck away early in the third period to set up Tomas Nosek's goal and narrow the Washington lead to 2-1, I thought we might be in for another round of classic Capitals heartache. The Caps were able to regroup and get over the finish line without allowing another meaningful chance.
Will they be able to hang onto their momentum today, or does another stumbling block await?
Also during Monday's game, keep an eye out for a group of the top prospects. I expect they'll be on with Don Cherry, as usual, for their annual meet and greet.
Here's another rundown on the Scouting Combine, which once again makes me think the reporters had to search long and hard for compelling stories to tell this weekend:
One item I'll note from that article: I don't think our notorious video-game addict was actually a victim of Fortnite—at least not initially. When the story first came out last month, Jeff Marek initially said the new was at least a year old. As ubiquitous as it has quickly become, Fortnite didn't launch until September of 2017, less than one year ago.
There has been some talk about top prospects visiting teams that might be interested in choosing them. The Ottawa Senators, with the fourth and 22nd picks in the first round, sound like they're being particularly aggressive on that front.
If you remember, Elias Pettersson visited Vancouver last year, which was part of what tipped us off that the Canucks were serious about choosing him.
No word yet on any similar invites going out so far this season.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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