Arrowhead Pond?
Not quite. But the Anaheim Mighty Ducks’ arena, where they’re hosting the Edmonton Oilers in Game 2 of this Western Conference final, is starting to look a lot more like it’s namesake than anything you want to play hockey on.
The California sun is reducing the surface to a soft, slushy mess and over bettors are feeling the heat. Edmonton’s 3-1 win in the series opener fell under the 5-goal total, bringing Anaheim’s O/U ratio at home in the postseason to 1-4-1. tonight’s Game 2 is also set a five.
"The ice wasn't very good at all,” Oilers forward Shawn Horcoff told the Vancouver Sun. “The puck just never lay flat at all.”
The rubber bounced and rolled all over the ice in Friday’s Game 1 causing players to fan on shots, mishandle passes and making it difficult for them to generate any speed. Unless Southern California gets hit with a cold snap, it looks like quality scoring opportunities are going to be in short supply.
“I don't know if there’s anything they can do anything about it,” Horcoff added.
With Friday’s score falling just one marker short of a push, books haven’t adjusted the total for Sunday’s tilt. Surprisingly, they are also offering a positive payout (+120) on an under wager. However, anyone who witnessed Game 1 knows that three of those four pucks were lucky to get across the goal line.
Edmonton’s short-handed tally to open the scoring came on a Hail Mary pass from goaltender Dwayne Roloson that sprung Micheal Peca on a breakaway. The veteran forward slipped it through netminder Ilya Bryzgalov’s five hole in one of the unlikelyest goals you’ll ever see.
"It's not something you practice, but you know he has the ability to get it to center ice,” Peca told reporters.
Ales Hemsky’s power-play score was no less felicitous. Ryan Smyth blasted a shot from just inside the blueline that struck Bryzgalov in the chest armor and rebounded straight up into the air. Hemsky came slicing in from the side of the goal, batted it out of mid air and into the twine.
Even Todd Harvey’s empty netter was a bit of a fluke. He got off a wrister from center ice an instant before getting plowed by an Anahiem defenseman, and the shot happened to find the vacant cage.
It’s also noteworthy that the poor ice conditions make it easy for teams to shift into shutdown mode.
After esatblishing a 2-1 lead midway through the second period Friday, the Oilers sat back in their own end while Anaheim struggled to set up an attack. With the ice getting sloppier as the game wore on, the Ducks found it impossible to sustain any pressure and Edmonton easily broke up their sluggish pass attempts.
"It was more of a territorial game," Oilers coach Craig MacTavish noted.
"We took what the game gave us," added Horcoff. “We played the game we had to play."
The Ducks are listed at –165 in Game 2.
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