THERE IS NO TOMORROW, EVERYBODY IS ON THE SAME PAGE, IT'S DO OR DIE: and other cliches

It's now or never. This is for all the marbles and we are behind the 8 ball. We are still alive and we are still in the mix. We are on the outside looking in. We have to run the table. We are in the driver's seat of our own destiny. We have turned the corner. It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the fight in the dog.
We have to find a way to put pucks on the net, cos when you put the puck on the net, good things are going to happen. All of our lines have to be the hardest working lines in hockey tonight. We cannot get beaten to the puck and we cannot be content to sit on a lead. We cannot give up the first goal. We cannot give up a soft goal. We cannot give up the equalizer. We cannot muck it up in the corner.

We have to stand them up at the blue line. We have to go right through them. We have to buzz around the net. We have to pepper the goalie. We have to make good wholesale changes. We have to light the lamp, put the biscuit in the basket and find the twine. We have to go top shelf, we have to go upstairs. We have to beat them five hole. We must smell the blood in the water. We must be off to the races. We must answer the call. We must hit on all cylinders. We must play like a well oiled machine. We must go for the jugular. We must have the game in the bag. We must run roughshod over them. We must put on a clinic.

We cannot look out of synch. We cannot play to lose. We cannot play back on our heels. We cannot be on the ropes. We cannot circle the wagons. We cannot play tentatively. We cannot go to the well once too often. We cannot chip away at a lead. We cannot go quietly. We cannot let the fat lady sing. We cannot let this one slip away. We can’t let it rain or pour. We cannot let the wind out of our sails. We cannot let in a back breaker. We cannot let the roof cave in or the wheels fall off. We cannot have the final nail in the coffin. We cannot let the lights out. We cannot be a train wreck. We cannot get shellacked. We cannot play ugly.

We must play with a sense of urgency. We must draw first blood. We must not let it be a nail biter or a pressure cooker. We cannot have a see saw game. We cannot have a barn burner or a game of inches. We must fight tooth and nail. We must silence their crowd and take them out of the game. We must get the crowd into it. We must make the crowd go wild. We must electrify the fans and keep them on their feet. We must not let the clock be our enemy.


It's gut check time.