Seattle at Portland on FSN Live Blog

So I'm still sick so I decided to skip Gators (not because I wanted to) to keep away from people to try to recover.

So I figure I should just live blog here from home.

- Seattle pretty good early, with Pickard making a few of his usual big saves. This game looks very similar to some of the recent games we've seen where the effort is good early and the ability to get a lead will be critical for Seattle. If Portland is able to get a lead and push their goals to 3 you might see things fall apart again like they did last week.

- Aasman and Ross with a short and quick little scrap. I think there was a case there for an instigator on Ross but the two get only matching majors.

- Ramsay and Boychuk with a bit of a scrap... though I'd hardly call it that unless we missed most of the punches because of the camera. What started it was a penalty called on Schappert that will give Portland a PP.

- Tbirds have got to maintain possession. We just aren't good enough at holding onto the puck... which shows why the shots are 10-3 already.

- Whoa... a Tutt sighting.

- In order for Seattle to break this losing streak, their best players have to be just that, their best. Pickard has come to play tonight, but we need Prab Rai to be more of a force. Prab needs to dominate the puck more and set things up for Wells and Nielsen.

- Turnovers Turnovers Turnovers... this is driving me crazy.

- Rutkowsky gets called for interference and Seattle goes on the PP.

- This PP has been horrible for Seattle. No scoring chances, they've given up two golden chances at the other end and now take a penalty to wipe out the last 12 seconds. Just horrible.

- PRAB RAI!!!! Now THAT is what I'm looking for. Great defensive play in the doorstep by Muth leads to a 1 on 1 break for Prab Rai the other direction and he dangles around Eric Doyle and beats Carruth for shorthanded goal and the 1-0 Seattle lead.

- Dillon drops the gloves for the 3rd time in recent memory and goes to a draw with Gabriel at the end of the period. Gabriel got Dillon's helmet off but just as he did so Dillon caught him with a nice one. Overall not a convincing win for either. You gotta like seeing the Tbirds drop the gloves more and more lately. It may not really mean that much in the end, but I like feeling like the players are just as frustrated as we are. We all want to punch Portland players... so when they go out and do it, it makes us feel better.

- Shot on goal in the 1st period. 16-5 in favor of Portland. Thank god for Calvin Pickard.

- Silvester and Ross dance a little bit. Not much of a fight there either as neither one really landed much in the way of punches.

- Disputed call there as Portland thought they had a goal. Trying to be as objective as I can it looked like the puck "might" have gone in, but there definitely was no definitive camera angle that showed the puck over the line and Iverson ruled that he had blown the whistle before the puck would have had any chance to go in anyways.

- Cross check penalty to Eliot(t) gives Portland their 3rd PP of the night. Kind of obvious to say that each one of these penalty kills are huge for Seattle.

- Great set up and pass by Aronson to Nino and Portland ties the game at 1. Absolutely nothing that Pickard could do about that.

- 2-1 Portland and this is where it gets really tricky for Seattle. Yes, it's only a one goal game but I feel like it sits on the brink of disaster here. Wotherspoon with a blast from the point that was deflected by someone from either team and suddenly the Winterhawks have the lead.

- Nice play by Schappert to cut off Gabriel before Pickard simply robs Boychuk from point blank.

- Portland is dominating this game. Seattle is going to be very fortunate to stay in this thing.

- Bonsor takes a penalty and this is could be the games more critical 2 minutes. A goal here by Portland and this thing is likely over.

- 3-1 Portland as Sbisa drills home another one. Hate to say it but I think this one is over with 24 minutes to go.

- Little bit better PP from Seattle there as they had a few chances and another Portland penalty will give them a second straight PP.

- And Seattle has life!! Jeremy Schappert gets a shot to the net and Carruth was screened in front of the net by Chance Lund and Seattle cuts the deficit to 3-2. Well... can Seattle score 2 goals in the 3rd and keep Portland off the board?

- Hate to be a talking cliche here but the first goal of the period is the most important. Fall behind 4-2 and this thing is definitely over.

- 4-2 Portland and it's Johansen sneaks one past Pickard and now Seattle has a mountain to climb.

- Incredible backhand goal by Wells pulls Seattle to 4-3. So each time the Tbirds have looked like they were going to be dead they have come back to cut the lead to 1 goal.

- Yikes. Just when the Birds are back in it, Nino beats Ramsay around edge and beats Pickard on the short side. Ian Furness just said it before I could type it, but that isn't a goal Pickard usually gives up.

- Rai bangs one off the post here with 50 seconds left. This one is oooooover.

- Empty netter ices this thing 6-3. This was game Seattle never really deserved to win as they get 3 goals that were basically the product of individual efforts (the Schappert goal aided by a nice screen by Lund in front). This team just isn't playing with any kind of confidence and it shows, they throw bad passes all over the ice and they rush with the puck even when they have more time than they think they do.

Growing pains people. Growing pains. This is a young team and the older players just aren't good enough to carry them to wins. Rai was good at times tonight, Schappert was good at times tonight, but those two alone really can't win you games all by themselves. Pickard was great in the first and second period before giving up a couple of soft(er) goals (not really soft) in the 3rd period. You just can't give up the number of shots that they did without wearing out your goaltender and that is what it looked like happened tonight. 46 shots in a road game is just too many.

I'm not sure what else to say people... we just aren't very good right now. Better days are ahead.