he is kind of a hard ass. i will admit he is much friendlier to both the players and in general this time around, but he still is no peach. toronto was a fall to earth for him, taught him a lot about contemporary players and the league today.

i do agree with him that the scheduling was bullshit, but hey, maybe don't fuck around and go to 7 with edmonton if you want time off.

there is no denying that bernier sucked (first goal is weak, third goal is hella weak) or that they had some critical calls go against them (big missed call neal in OT Game 1 right before the winner, the swing in Game 5 where they should have had a four-minute power play and instead ended up shorthanded and giving up a goal). but you know what? if you're counting on a call or a bounce or a backup goalie when you're trailing, you already put yourself in a position of weakness.

he knows that, obviously. i asked him why they were getting tossed around late in games in games 3/4/5 in particular and he said maybe we should create more separation earlier in the game. he's right. the ducks turned it at will sometimes (three-goal rallies against edmonton and calgary, two other two-goal ones) but they sure as hell turned it off, too. we saw what they were capable of tonight, where was that in game 5?

btw my favorite carlyle moment as a player was an old clip where he missed the open net from point-blank range against chicago. he had played with the idea of going to med school after his career. don cherry goes "look at this, would you want those hands operating on YOU?"

i fell the fuck out.