It’s a funny thing in sports, the whole talk of “pressure” and “momentum” and how they shift from team to team.
I often laugh at the notion that the team who is on the ropes isn’t under pressure, or is under less pressure than the team with the advantage, but if it’s ever true, then it has to be in situations like this, when the team on the ropes has gone from down 0-3 to 2-3.
The Kings breezed through three rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs without much adversity. Then they jumped out to a 3-0 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final, extending their perfect road record in the process. But losing Game 4 on home ice in the final minutes and then seeing their dominance away from home come to an end in Game 5, with the Cup in the building on both occasions, begs the question, are the Kings now feeling as much pressure as the Devils are? Are they facing even more pressure?
I know L.A. has two lives left while Jersey is down to their last life, but you would have to assume the Kings are looking at tonight’s game, the last home game of the season for them, as a must-win, whether it actually is in reality or not.
Now here are your morning links:
- Momentum swing putting pressure on Kings (Calgary Herald). Right on cue.
- For the Kings, winning only looked easy (National Post).
- The Kings remain upbeat and confident heading into Game 6 (NorthJersey.com). If they have to get back on a plane to Jersey for Game 7, it will be hard to pull off the “upbeat and confident” thing again.
- New Jersey tries to turn over new “Leaf” in Cup history (New York Post). Mind the pun.
- The keys to Game 6 for the Devils (NorthJersey.com).
- Georges Laraque is planning an NHL comeback (theScore.com). Yup, I linked to a post you can easily find on the side bar. Deal with it.
- KHL team rumoured to be chasing Ondrej Pavelec (Winnipeg Free Press).
- Broken glass, messages of hope: one year after the Vancouver Riot (The Vancouver Sun).
- Nikolai Khabibulin has been a one-man rebuilding machine for the Oilers (Edmonton Journal). Salt, meet wounds.
- Cory Clouston is weighing his coaching options (Alberta Daily Herald Tribune).
- Porn star Taylor Stevens will be back behind the Devils’ bench for Game 6 (Puck Daddy). Probably the most fruitful of all the links for you this morning.
