The Value of Desperation

Hockey, Major Sports

Posted by Obiora, May 16, 2008 - 11:52 am

It is said that it’s not wise to take on an animal that’s been cornered. The point being that desperation can serve as a catalyst for behavior and results that one might not normally expect. We’ve had two such examples of brilliant desperation in each of the fourth games of the Eastern and Western conference finals. Detroit and Pittsburgh failed to finish off Dallas and Philadelphia, respectively, in large part because they did not match the desperation level of their opponents.

The Stars got a couple fortuitous calls from the ref’s who disallowed an apparent goal by Pavel Datsyuk because of interference and then allowed a goal by Loui Erikkson though he may have been in the crease before the puck got there. Even though the Red Wings subsequently tied the game in the third period, they didn’t outwork or out-hustle the Stars, who finally showed up in this series. Two third period goals put the Stars ahead for good as claimed their first win of the series.

Philadelphia finally got the early break for which it was looking when Joffrey Lupul put the puck past Marc-Andre Fleury in the first period and it was off to the races. The much-maligned Mike Richards finally played like the world-class player he’s reputed to be and the Flyers added a third goal to the tally before the end of the first period. The Flyers finally matched the Penguins’ physicality, constantly challenging the road team’s composure in between whistles. Yes that’s right, the Penguins, a team constantly misconstrued as solely finesse, had shown more edge and attitude than the vaunted Broad Street Bullies prior to game four. Although Pittsburgh cut the lead to 3-2 in the third period, the Flyers hung on for dear life and Lupul scored his second goal on an empty-netter to cinch the win.

The question going into the weekend is whether the Flyers and Stars can maintain the intensity they showed in staving off elimination. Each will have to win on the road in game five, something they have failed to do in these conference finals. For the Stars, they finally played the game they are capable of playing but are unlikely to get as many fortunate bounces of the puck as they did in game four. The Flyers, on the other hand, may have tested the limits of their capability. They have to hope that they will get back not just Braydon Coburn but also Kimo Timonen (if only in limited minutes) to continue the level of play they so desperately achieved on Thursday.

Photo Credit: AP

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