View from the Press Box - Game 4

There is a common cliche muttered in playoff hockey when one team plays better than another but still ends up on the wrong side of the scoreboard: "The game was stolen," or "We stole this game," or "They stole that game from us."

That just about sums up what has happened in Games 3 and 4, and yet the Aeros are now just one win away from the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2003.

FACT - The Aeros have been outplayed in the last three games overall.

Yes, I know Anton Khudobin played his happy birthday little heart out and played one of the best games any goaltender has played in the 2009 playoffs. But the Admirals just can't put the puck in the net during a time when Drew MacIntyre is playing sensational hockey in the other net.

To me, the turning point in this game was the first period when St. Laurent was missing tripping calls right and left and yet the Aeros still grabbed a 1-0 lead on Pouliot's first playoff goal. Milwaukee was not playing disciplined hockey and the Aeros were unlucky only to get two power play chances with which to work.

FACT - The Aeros have played smarter hockey in this series.

The Aeros played a great "their game" yet again, which is basically hiding in the weeds and waiting for that lame little duck to sit in front of the net and then BLAM! Goal. The Aeros are not taking a lot of shots, but they are getting their decent share of scoring chances because they have a good power play and they have a knack for converting mistakes into goals.

It will be interesting to see how Milwaukee responds after what has to be a devastating loss. These games tend to be interesting because 84.6 percent of the time, teams that lose Game 4s to go down 3-1 in a series either lose the next one via blowout or they win in overtime.

And 98.6 percent of all statistics are made up right on the spot.

I still think this series in going back to Beertown, USA, but damn it if Khudodbin has other plans right now.