Revenge is a dish best served on ice

I will always love the NHL playoffs, but this season has been a bit melancholy, given that my mind often drifts to how much more meaningful things are when my favorite team is participating in the tourney.  I mean Phoenix got swept out of the first round by Detroit yesterday, and might not have a team come this time next year but even in the dire straits their currently occupying, they found a way to make it.  No money to spend, no fans, team in flux, they make the playoffs.  Minnesota sells out games, spends to the cap, and can't even get the courtesy of a beating by a superior opponent.  Such is life.

But there was a brief respite from all the drudgery last night when I encountered a couple of fellows from Long Island at my favorite watering hole, Joe Senser's.  These guys were passionate fans of the New York Rangers, out looking for a spot to watch that night's game.  Fortunately for them, they found the best spot in town.  I showed them how to use the portable speakers so they could hear the audio of their game, they bought me a beer for my troubles.  It was good to once again be around impassioned NHL fans rooting on their favorite team.  We bonded, and I rooted for their Rangers to even the series in full throat.

Unfortunately things ended in rough fashion for my new pals, as they watched their team cough up a 3-0 lead in the third period, and eventually the game winner in the second OT.  This particular dagger was the result of one of the most boneheaded plays I've ever seen in playoff hockey.  Watch the last goal in this video, our old pal, Marian Gaborik, pulls one for the ages in handing the game to the Capitals.  On a night where he finally broke a postseason goal drought that had reached double digits, my least favorite NHL player ensured not one Rangers fan would be discussing that this morning.

Now you can say "heat of the moment" to explain this one away, but it's another chapter in the story of a man who's playoff resume is shorter than my personal guide to vegan cuisine.  I can't think of a single situation where it seems wise to smack the puck away from your goalie when he's falling to cover it.  Maybe if the opposition is right on top of him, even then it seems risky to keep the puck in play.  Sure it was a crappy bounce, but once again, Gaborik displayed the lack of situational awareness that give one the impression he will never succeed in the postseason.  Skill is the price of admission, but winning in the NHL postseason hinges on grit.  Mary Ann is to grit what guys built like me are to the Boston Marathon: Search all you want, there's just none to be found.

Marian Gaborik screwed the Minnesota Wild around pretty good during his 8 years in Minnesota.  He used his contract status to influence personnel moves, nursed chronic injuries that often seemed to be of questionable severity, disappeared in the postseason, and just generally came off like a little bitch.  The man was the highest paid player on the team, but did not lead by voice or example.  Declining to talk to the media after last night's calamity is the latest example of a player who seems to think his obligations end at popping in a goal or two.

Now I don't know the man, he might be a great guy, maybe even a great teammate, who knows?  It's not in everyone's personality to be a rah-rah leader, firing his teammates up.  But when you are the highest paid player on a team, and one of the most well-compensated in the entire league, you are obligated to bring more to the table than some pretty offensive moments.  Sports is a business, and if you're going to claim Gaborik screwed the Wild by leaving, then you have to acknowledge how badly team management dropped the ball by not seeing the writing on the wall more clearly.  But that doesn't mean he gets one ounce of quarter from this Wild fan, who continues to view his departure as an Eff you to a city and fanbase.

They're killing him in New York today.  Good.  Eff him.  While I'm sorry my new pals had to endure a heartbreaker last night, I couldn't be happier to see who ended up as the goat.  Maybe next time they'll stop and think about handing all that money to tin men like Mary Ann Groinorik, because if you're counting on him to lead you, the only place you're going is the golf course.  Probably not, but just maybe.  Here's hoping for one more Rangers win, so the Garden faithful can get the chance to let Gabby hear what they think of him.