There Is No "Game11"

Tonight the Oilers game was supposed to be on CenterIce channel "Game11". At least on my network, the channels range from 621 (Game1) to 630 (Game10). There is no "Game11", and sure enough, there was also no Oilers game. I would be fine with no Oilers broadcast if all the other channels were occupied or if no broadcast was available (as has happened during PPV games before), but this was clearly the CenterIce people taking too much acid. The game is apparently still going on, and the Oilers are apparently losing. I hate TV.

Luckily, though, both the Bruins and Avs games were amazing. I missed most of the Bruins game because the quick nap I took at around 5:30 ended up being four hours long. I caught the end of the game, the overtime, and the shootout, though I was a little distracted by the Game11 dilemma. I keep expecting Phil Kessel's shootout luck to run out, but after that last goal I've realized that it's not luck. He just owns.

I caught most of the Avs game. When I came in they were losing 2-1, then went down 3-1. Tyler Arnason then took over. He went through a stretch earlier in the year where he was playing wonderfully, but has tapered off lately. He had a really incredible game, besides his beautiful goal. After he scored it, I said to my parents, "Oh! He can do that. He did it before but he hasn't lately, and it'll be so good if he starts to again!" Since they don't know what I'm talking about anyway, I've stopped even trying to make sense. Despite the wording, I meant what I said- if he can keep playing like this, it's going to seriously help the Avs down the stretch. To quote Joe Sakic, "Arny was flying out there tonight." We need him to keep flying.
A few late-night thoughts:

• John-Michael Liles, one of my favorite players, is back from a broken foot. Even though he wasn't as spectacular tonight as he can be, he's always valuable because of the way he moves the puck. I bet it turns the Oiler forwards on just to think about his passes.
• Patrice Bergeron has played really well lately. I don't know if it's because he's stuck on a bad team, or because he's being overshahowed by Marc Savard, but Patrice has sort of faded into the background this season. Of course he's played well, but he hasn't been wowing us. On the other hand, Patrice is something of a quietly great player. He was picked 45th overall in 2003, the year that Eric Staal was #1. Since then, Patrice has played 203 games, amassing 160 points (.79 PPG), while Staal has played 218 games, getting 178 points (.82 PPG). Yet Eric Staal was an All-Star, while Patrice barely got considered? Even this year Patrice has more points. I know he hasn't had a 100-point season like Staal, but he's one of the most gifted young players around. He's smart, works hard, and not only plays the PP but also the PK. I can't believe that Patrice still isn't fully appreciated.
  
• The one good side effect of the Oilers game not being broadcast is that I was forced to watch the Avs game without switching back and forth. It was a game that shouldn't have been switched from, and while I'd of course have loved to watch the Oil, it was nice to focus on one game.
  
• We play Belmont tomorrow, and we should beat them. Nothing's guaranteed, though.