Fun Things To Make Fun of Pierre McGuire During the Stanley Cup Finals

Tonight kicks off the final culmination of the two teams left in the race for the Stanley Cup. And like many of you out there in California or anywhere else rooting for the Kings, or the tiny little blip in the tri-state area that's rooting for the Devils, you'll probably have to watch the game on NBC. Which means you'll have to deal with a lot of the voices of Doc Emerick, Eddie Olczyk, and Pierre McGuire.

As time has gone by in these Stanley Cup Playoffs, you learn to accept their voices, or inevitably switch to TSN. Myself personally, I'm annoyed by two-out-of-three of the NBC crew. Doc Emerick has credentials of being a fine commentator, but his colorful vocabulary and voice just rub me the wrong way. I'd much prefer to have Gary Thorne back, but for some reason he really wants to commentate the Orioles so, screw me right? Eddie Olczyk is the only one I can tolerate of the crew. He offers good insight on things, analyzes the game well, and makes good points considering he isn't interrupted by this guy...

For those who don't know what that sound is during NBC playoff games that makes their eye twitch, this is the culprit. His name is Pierre McGuire. He is a "Stanley Cup Winner" twice with the Pittsbrgh Penguins as a scout. He was also a a coach for the Hartford Whalers at one time. Now, he makes a living being a very, very annoying feature to the NBC broadcast team.

After watching my share of NBC games over the years, my animosity has turned into mockery. Here are some ways I'd like to give to the public to help come with the game tonight...

Why I Will Not Be Surprised If the New York Rangers Season Ends Tonight

The Rangers are, once again, on the ropes of being eliminated.

This has become a common thing for this team, as the Rangers have gone to two consecutive Game 7 series', prevailing as the victor in both of them. The Rangers battled back from a 3-2 deficit against the Ottawa Senators, and took the Washington Capitals to another Game 7 in the following series. In both series', the Rangers have never held a two-game lead.

Now, the Rangers are back in the same position against the New Jersey Devils. Down 3-2, with a lot of wear and tear showing, and now it has them at a game disadvantage. Everything in this series, besides two stellar games by Henrik Lundqvist has been going wrong for the Rangers. No offensive scoring on a consistent basis, lack of defensive plugs, and just the Devils resilience has just been overwhelming for the Rangers all series long.

It's a long year, and the Rangers fought valiantly. I know it is not over yet, but I do not see a victory for the Rangers coming tonight. And if they do win, Game 7 is going to be a long shot. There is only so much a team can take, so close a team can get to the edge before they walk the line too far and slip. That is what I foresee happening to the Rangers tonight.

Playoff Prescription: Round 3 Rangers vs. Devils Game 5

Best of three.

The Rangers and Devils are laying it all out on the line in this series, trying to be the team that will reach the plateau and face the Los Angeles Kings in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Kings clinched an advance to the Finals yesterday night after Dustin Penner tucked in the inning goal in the final minutes of overtime.

Now, they have to wait as the East finishes up its series. The Devils pulled the series even two nights ago after they hopped on an early lead and rode it all the way to a 4-1 victory. The Rangers were lifeless in every aspect of the game. There was minimal fore-check, hardly any offense sustained, and the defense couldn't help Hank out if they tried. It was a brutal game, which had a lot of emotion in it.

Now, tonight the Rangers have a chance to pull ahead once again, or sink in the series to the Devils who outplayed them severely last game.

Playoff Prescription: Round 3 Rangers vs. Devils Game 4

Slowly but surely, the Rangers are inching their way closer to advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals.

And tonight, they add a new chapter to the Eastern Conference Finals as they take on the New Jersey Devils in Game 4. What a series this has been. If there was one word to describe this series it would have to be; odd. Henrik Lundqvist and Martin Brodeur are showing everyone why they are the best in the game by pulling out miraculous saves every night. But thing that really surprises me about this series is the scoring, and how it is happening.

For the Rangers, so many of their goals are coming off of a defensemans work. In Game 3, Dan Girardi scored the first goal of the game in the 3rd, followed up by a Ryan McDonagh shot that tipped off of Chris Kreider and into the net. The offensive players for the Rangers have been damn-near nonexistent in this series, but the defense is picking up the slack. Can you imagine what they'd look like if the forwards were chipping in as regularly as the defense?

Critic Critique: Shot Blocking vs. The Trap Defense

In professional wrestling, there is never a set style of how the company operates itself. The World Wrestling Federation goes through era's. Back in the 70's, there wasn't much flash, and people just enjoyed the spectacle. In the 80's, the over-gimmick era began with ridiculous costumes and even bolder characters. In the 90's and early 2000's, the WWE was in it's self proclaimed "Attitude Era," and since then have moved into their current for-the-family "PG Era." Nothing ever stays the same, no era is unanimously liked.

Much like the sport of hockey, strategies change all the time. Sometimes on a yearly basis. Last year, we saw the Tampa Bay Lightning exploit their 1-3-1 defensive strategy which lead them all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals. This year, their strategy failed to have them even sniff the playoffs. Teams adapted, and conformed to their strategy.

Yesterday, I read an article on thehockeynews.com about how the Rangers and their block-first-ask-questions-later mentality is BAD for the sport of hockey. The writer of the article, Ken Campbell, condemns the Rangers for making the sport boring to watch, and is not appealing to the audience. Campbell called out the series with the Capitals as being uninteresting because of how many shots were blocked, and even went as far to compare their strategy to The Trap defense that was mainly used by the New Jersey Devils in the early 2000's, which is now referred to as the "dead puck era."

I have many quarrels about this article, so much so that I feel I could make a nice pamphlet in Adobe InDesign, print it out, and air-mail it to Mr. Campbell.

First, let's compare The Trap to blocking shots.

Playoff Prescription: Round 3 Rangers vs. Devils Game 1

Oooooooooh boy.

This series is going to be a wild one. The New York Rangers managed to knock off the Washington Capitals in their Game 7 matchup to advance to the Conference Finals against their rival, the New Jersey Devils. And it is going to be a doozy.

The Rangers, while looking fatigued, got a much needed lift from their defense in recent games. Marc Staal, Dan Girardi, Michael Del Zotto, and Anton Stralman have all lifted their play to assist the Rangers in a playoff year where the goals haven't come easy. Not only that, but every game has been close. Too close for comfort. Six out of the seven games against Washington were ended by a one goal differential. Some of them came in overtime, while others came in the final minutes of regulation. When looked through that perspective, one can really appreciate all that the defense has helped out with in these playoffs. Without them, they would be eliminated right now.

The Rangers took half of the games from the Devils this year, while the Devils took the other half. Aside from each side getting a shutout, every other games winner came out with a total of four goals during their win. The scoring in this series is probably going to be a bit less than these teams saw in the regular season, because of the heightened play of both their goaltenders. Henrik Lundqvist and Martin Brodeur are esteemed in their position, and reel in excitement every time these two duel for a win. It is no doubt in my mind that both of these goaltenders will be able to pull off a stellar series in their respective styles.

Playoff Prescription: Round 2 Rangers vs. Capitals Game 7

And just like that, it comes down to one game, again.

The Rangers failed once again to close out a series, and now face elimination tonight as they meet the Washington Capitals for the final game of this series. Some games for the Rangers have been impressive in this series, others have not been. Game 6 was not an impressive game.

While there was some time of offensive pressure being put on by the Rangers, any lack of production was swallowed up by the Capitals defense, and Braden Holtby.

What can you say? Other than the Capitals have been able to match the Rangers stride for stride the entire series. As a Rangers fan, I have to give them credit. There is no other option. The Capitals overcame an abysmal start to the season, lost both of their goalies before the playoffs, and STILL have managed to hang in the hunt despite everything that has been thrown at them. The Rangers have not shown the same resilience.

Playoff Prescription: Round 2 Rangers vs. Capitals Game 6

The final two teams battling for contention will try to even, or end their series tonight, as the Rangers and Capitals take to the Washington ice.

The Rangers took away a victory from the Capitals in Game 5 after Brad Richards put a puck past Braden Holtby in the dying seconds of the 3rd period to force overtime, where a blast from Marc Staal ended the game swiftly to give the Rangers the advantage in the series.

Now, all of the pressure is on the Capitals. A loss like the one the Rangers handed them is so crushing to a teams morality, but it can easily be turned into motivation for the following game. The two teams the Capitals could show up as tonight are a team who is deflated and has given up hope, or a team rejuvenated looking for redemption to force a Game 7.

Same can be said for the Rangers. If they are not prepared to deal with the over-energized Capitals team, they will have a hard time figuring them out, and could potentially drop this game. The Rangers need to avoid distraction, and keep a level head so they do not give them a chance to come back into the game.

Playoff Prescription: Round 2 Rangers vs. Capitals Game 5

No one ever said that this would be easy.

This best-of-seven series is becoming more heated each minute that gets played. The Rangers and Caps are dueling every single night trying to get that extra advantage, which leads us to the tie we have right now with both teams with two wins.

Along with the heat of each game, my blood pressure continues to rise. I'm a 20-year-old healthy boy who feels like his heart is one day going to just go *PFFFT* and explode out of his chest watching Rangers hockey one day. This team that had all of these good fortunes going on in the regular season is now scrambling for wins and goals, and it's not fun to watch, believe me. But, whatever gets it done, do it I suppose.

Playoff Prescription: Round 2 Rangers vs. Capitals Game 3

No matter what team it is, the playoffs will always be a battle. Nothing is ever gauranteed, no matchup will go as planned exactly. It is all a game of will and determination and hard work.

The Rangers dropped their first game of the series two nights ago as a late goal by Alex Ovechkin lifted the Caps in the 3rd as they fought off an onslaught by the Rangers in the later part of the game. The Rangers lost that game because they dug too deep of a hole, and when they climbed back up, the Caps pushed back and toppled them over. They were not as gritty, and did not get as much support offensively to keep them in the game. Everything they needed to do, they didnt.

Now, the Rangers have a chance at redemption. They have a chance to get back the lead, their momentum, and start anew. As learned in the Ottawa series, when they play the gritty style of play tha has supported them all year, good things happen. What happened in Game 2 was what happens when the Rangers get too pretty with the puck.

It will be a battle of will tonight. Whichever team is willing to scratch and claw for that extra inch will get the win.