Seriously, does a regular season game get any better than this?
Yesterday's Penguins/Capitals game featured everything a hockey fan - or sports fan, for that matter - could want. Stars performing at their best (Sidney Crosby: two goals, Alexander Ovechkin: three goals, one assist), a three goal deficit erased, and an overtime victory, to boot.
There were big hits, timely saves, blocked shots, and tempers boiling. I hate the usage of the cliché "it's like a playoff game," but...this bout was like a playoff game.
While watching the game, I came across a "tweet" from Greg Wyshynski, better known as "Puck Daddy," who wrote, "Part of me wants a shootout so more people understand what a cheap way it is to end great game." I couldn't agree with Wyshynski's assessment of the shootout more. Look, I understand that the shootout can be entertaining. I understand that the NHL employs this gimmick to create excitement for a novice to casual hockey fan, as well as to create parity in the standings, however false it may be. You'll often hear members of the media think that they are settling the argument by asking, "Have you ever seen a fan leave a game during a shootout?" Really? Go figure, fans want to see what the outcome of the game is...what a novel concept.
The shootout is a gimmick, plain and simple. For the outcome of a contest which is the embodiment of the consummate team game to be decided by a skills competition that typically includes just eight of the 40 players involved in the game is a joke...
News broke a few hours ago that Montreal Canadiens General Manager Bob Gainey is expected to step down in a press conference later today. Pierre Guathier will step in on an interim basis.
Why now, Bob? Was he shown the door, or did Gainey make this decision of his own accord? TSN's Bob McKenzie is speculating:
"Many will say he was pushed but there's no evidence I've seen to suggest that and, in fact, I do not believe that to be the case at all...The most credible theory, and it's only that, based on conversations with those close to the Canadiens and Gainey, is that it really boils down to Gainey simply losing his appetite for the job and believing that he was likely not to return as GM after this season anyway...And, rather than stay on for the balance of the season and perhaps make some significant moves prior to the trade deadline that his successor would have to live with, Gainey simply decided the right time for him to leave was now."
Regardless of what you think of Gainey's prowess as Habs' GM, he's a good hockey guy and a good man. Here's hoping he finds himself in another NHL position sometime soon...
If you had to describe the Colorado Avalanche in one word, what would it be?
Young? Hardworking? Overachieving, maybe?
I'd go with "smart." The Avs' find themselves in their current position because their lineup is comprised of savvy, intelligent players. Their vets - Paul Stastny (may be young, but he's an old-timer in their lineup), Wojtek Wolski, Milan Hejduk, Scott Hannah, Adam Foote - the hockey world is already well aware of their high hockey IQ's.
But many of their younger players - Matt Duchene, Ryan O'Reilly, T.J. Galiardi - have shown levels of intelligence that one comes to expect from experienced players, not NHL rookies. Duchene, drafted third overall in this past draft, is able to anticipate where the play is heading a few steps ahead of the rest. O'Reilly (a second round pick in this past draft) and Galiardi (a second round pick in 2007) lead Avs' forwards in time-on-ice while shorthanded.
When your kids possess the smarts to go along with the skills, age can be more than compensated for.
No comments:
Post a Comment