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.

Penalty to #18. Two Minutes For HEY ARE THOSE DONUTS?!

Moose and I went to the Staples Center tonight to encourage the Kings to try and beat the Christ-are-they-boring Vancouver Canucks. We should have kept rooting. Marc Crawford decided to start Manchester Monarchs third Daniel Cloutier whose name rings a bell...I can't remember him. Was he in the NHL before? Oh well. Cloutier played fairly solid, and by that I mean he didn't let in 4 goals by the time Moose had to take his first leak. Damned by faint praise, Dan-o let the Canucks back into it with a couple of minutes left and then got completely beaten on a penalty kill in overtime. Let's just say that Steve "Hanging Out With Greener" Stamkos will have to look good in a Kings uniform. Don't worry, I'll tell him every good thing we said about him.
Weird thing happened during the game. A couple of minutes in, Alex Edler of the Canucks takes a penalty. He goes into the box and sits down. They put him on the jumbotron like they do every game, I look up, and Edler is sitting there eating a donut! It was all, "...wha..."? It was the weirdest thing I'd ever seen. Moose and I couldn't figure it out. Has anyone ever seen that? Has anyone seen Moose figure anything out?

~~~

I also walked past Ru Paul on Santa Monica Blvd. the other day, and I swear to you all, the first thing that came to my mind was, "So that's what Hal Gill looks like!" I'm not sure if Hal Gill sports a red leather Michael Jackson "Beat It" jacket like Ru had on, but what Hal Gill does behind the closed doors of his bedroom is simply none of our concern.

Look! I've added a poll to our pushily amusing HS/HS coterie of features! Please take some time with a coffee and consider your polling options. This weeks poll is: What is Kyle Wellwood Eating Right Now? As always, we know you have a choice of polls, and we appreciate you choosing HS/HS polls. Serving you faithfully since last night.