Thursday, April 15, 2004
Slaying the Eagle
The Sens finally scored on Ed Belfour after two consecutive shutouts. But the Sens didn't really seem to be any better then they have been the previous three nights. They just had puck luck on their side.
The Leafs look like a team that is just praying they can capitalize on their opportunities while hoping Belfour can bail them out in their own end. But that's not to say they should be counted out. I'll never count the Leafs out until their shaking hands with opponents that have big grins on their faces. Gary Roberts, who used to be thought of as the prototypical playoff warrior, is no longer intimidating anyone physically and has to resort to diving and faking to try and help his team. Even the smaller Sens aren't afraid to lay a hit on Roberts.
As for the Leaf fans at the Corel Centre last night, I didn't witness any incidents. However, when I was leaving one of the ushers mentioned that there were a lot of Leaf fans kicked out of the building. There was also a report on the radio this morning about fights in the building.
As for the game tomorrow night, I would bet money that Mats Sundin will be in the Leafs' lineup. But I have no clue about Joe Nieuwendyk. Last year in the New Jersey-Ottawa series, it always seemed like Joe was a game time decision but he never did make it back into the lineup for the rest of the playoffs.
It doesn't really matter who the Leafs have in or out of the lineup as long as Belfour is in it if the Sens keep playing the way they have this series. If Belfour comes up huge, the Leafs will probably take the game but if he doesn't, it should be a Sens win. (0) comments
The Leafs look like a team that is just praying they can capitalize on their opportunities while hoping Belfour can bail them out in their own end. But that's not to say they should be counted out. I'll never count the Leafs out until their shaking hands with opponents that have big grins on their faces. Gary Roberts, who used to be thought of as the prototypical playoff warrior, is no longer intimidating anyone physically and has to resort to diving and faking to try and help his team. Even the smaller Sens aren't afraid to lay a hit on Roberts.
As for the Leaf fans at the Corel Centre last night, I didn't witness any incidents. However, when I was leaving one of the ushers mentioned that there were a lot of Leaf fans kicked out of the building. There was also a report on the radio this morning about fights in the building.
As for the game tomorrow night, I would bet money that Mats Sundin will be in the Leafs' lineup. But I have no clue about Joe Nieuwendyk. Last year in the New Jersey-Ottawa series, it always seemed like Joe was a game time decision but he never did make it back into the lineup for the rest of the playoffs.
It doesn't really matter who the Leafs have in or out of the lineup as long as Belfour is in it if the Sens keep playing the way they have this series. If Belfour comes up huge, the Leafs will probably take the game but if he doesn't, it should be a Sens win. (0) comments
Habitual faking
I didn't watch much of the Montreal-Boston game tonight but it seemed like whenever I turned it over to that matchup there was another Hab faking on the ice.
I saw Richard Zednik take a little whack in the back from a Bruins' defenceman (Boynton maybe?) and drop to the ice like he had been crippled.
Later Andrei Markov tried to get in Joe Thornton's face after Thornton ran over Jose Theodore. Before Markov could do anything, Thornton nailed Markov in the face with his glove. Markov then went down like he took a punch from Mike Tyson. (0) comments
I saw Richard Zednik take a little whack in the back from a Bruins' defenceman (Boynton maybe?) and drop to the ice like he had been crippled.
Later Andrei Markov tried to get in Joe Thornton's face after Thornton ran over Jose Theodore. Before Markov could do anything, Thornton nailed Markov in the face with his glove. Markov then went down like he took a punch from Mike Tyson. (0) comments
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
A habit of faking
I finally saw Mike Ribeiro's little act from Sunday night and it was even worse then what I was expecting. I don't think I've ever seen an NHL player act more like a little girl on the ice then he did. If he had suffered an injury like Malarchuk, Berard or McCleary I'd excuse it. But for an alleged pinched nerve? Yeah right! If you aren't man enough to deal with your "pain" like a man, then you deserve all the scorn and ridicule that will follow you around for the rest of your career.
Then last night Alexei Kovalev decides to try his hand at acting as well. I suspect everyone has seen the play in question. Kovalev has the puck in double overtime, Travis Green hits him on the glove with his stick, Kovalev starts shaking his hand, Kovalev runs into Sheldon Souray, Kovalev loses the puck, Glen Murray scores the winning goal on a breakaway.
The reason I think Kovalev was acting with his hand shake was that Green hit him on the most protected part of the glove. He hit him on the hand close to where the index finger meets the thumb. That's probably the best protected spot on the glove because it is where the top padding meets the side padding. And Green didn't exactly hit him with full force either. It was more of a jab then a hard whack.
It wasn't the officials not calling a penalty on Green that cost the Habs the game - it was Kovalev's faking in an attempt to draw a call that cost them. But the Habs shouldn't be complaining about the officiating. Their first goal shouldn't have counted. Mike Ribeiro was in the blue paint and interfering with Raycroft's stick when the puck arrived on net. (0) comments
Then last night Alexei Kovalev decides to try his hand at acting as well. I suspect everyone has seen the play in question. Kovalev has the puck in double overtime, Travis Green hits him on the glove with his stick, Kovalev starts shaking his hand, Kovalev runs into Sheldon Souray, Kovalev loses the puck, Glen Murray scores the winning goal on a breakaway.
The reason I think Kovalev was acting with his hand shake was that Green hit him on the most protected part of the glove. He hit him on the hand close to where the index finger meets the thumb. That's probably the best protected spot on the glove because it is where the top padding meets the side padding. And Green didn't exactly hit him with full force either. It was more of a jab then a hard whack.
It wasn't the officials not calling a penalty on Green that cost the Habs the game - it was Kovalev's faking in an attempt to draw a call that cost them. But the Habs shouldn't be complaining about the officiating. Their first goal shouldn't have counted. Mike Ribeiro was in the blue paint and interfering with Raycroft's stick when the puck arrived on net. (0) comments
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
Eddie! Eddie!
Ed Belfour pretty much singlehandedly beat the Ottawa Senators last night. Andrew at Ottawa Senators Fanblog has a good recap of the game.
The Leaf fans were in the hundreds, as opposed to the thousands, at the Corel Centre last night and that might have prevented a lot of the garbage that typically happens at the Corel Centre when Toronto is in town. However, there are still plenty (though probably not a majority) of Leaf fans who (justifiably) create the perception that their fanbase to be the worst behaved in the NHL.
For example, in my section there was one Leaf fan that decided to yell a lengthy string of profanities at no one in particular for no apparent reason before the start of the game. Another Leaf fan, again in my section, yelled out repeated requests for oral sex in vulgar terms after Mats Sundin scored. Since the Corel Centre is supposed to be a family friendly environment and there were kids nearby, I hope neither of these "fans" are back for game 4. I suspect that if there were two in my small section, there were probably lots more around the building. (0) comments
The Leaf fans were in the hundreds, as opposed to the thousands, at the Corel Centre last night and that might have prevented a lot of the garbage that typically happens at the Corel Centre when Toronto is in town. However, there are still plenty (though probably not a majority) of Leaf fans who (justifiably) create the perception that their fanbase to be the worst behaved in the NHL.
For example, in my section there was one Leaf fan that decided to yell a lengthy string of profanities at no one in particular for no apparent reason before the start of the game. Another Leaf fan, again in my section, yelled out repeated requests for oral sex in vulgar terms after Mats Sundin scored. Since the Corel Centre is supposed to be a family friendly environment and there were kids nearby, I hope neither of these "fans" are back for game 4. I suspect that if there were two in my small section, there were probably lots more around the building. (0) comments
Sunday, April 11, 2004
The dark side prevails tonight
The Leafs beat the Sens 2-0 tonight to even their series at one game a piece.
Aside from a dominating opening ten minutes to the game by the Leafs, the Sens deserved better. They just were unable to capitalize on their chances and had no puck luck. Radek Bonk missed two chances while standing on the open side of the net because the puck bounced over his stick.
The Leafs were able to capitalize on their chances while the Sens couldn't and that was the difference in the game.
Some points about the game:
According to Rule 48 Checking from Behind, "A check from behind is a check delivered on a player who is not aware of the impending hit", since Tie Domi clearly hit Marian Hossa squarely in the numbers and Hossa was unaware of Domi's presence why was Domi not penalized?
After the Leafs' first goal, the shot total was 26-15 for Ottawa. Averaged out over a full game the totals would have been 31-18 which is pretty close to Thursday's totals of 30-17 in favour of Ottawa.
Why wasn't Alexander Mogilny given an unsportsmanlike penalty after his temper tantrum? Even though it was strange to see the normally mild-mannered Mogilny make Darcy Tucker look calm, he still should have been given a penalty for his outburst.
Why did Vaclav Varada receive four minutes in penalties for his "altercation" with Mats Sundin? From what CBC showed, Sundin took Varada down by the neck and then Sundin pushed Varada to the ice. Varada never even laid a hand on Sundin! Sundin basically did to Varada what Varada did to McCabe in the final regular season game when he pushed him to the ice. (0) comments
Aside from a dominating opening ten minutes to the game by the Leafs, the Sens deserved better. They just were unable to capitalize on their chances and had no puck luck. Radek Bonk missed two chances while standing on the open side of the net because the puck bounced over his stick.
The Leafs were able to capitalize on their chances while the Sens couldn't and that was the difference in the game.
Some points about the game:
According to Rule 48 Checking from Behind, "A check from behind is a check delivered on a player who is not aware of the impending hit", since Tie Domi clearly hit Marian Hossa squarely in the numbers and Hossa was unaware of Domi's presence why was Domi not penalized?
After the Leafs' first goal, the shot total was 26-15 for Ottawa. Averaged out over a full game the totals would have been 31-18 which is pretty close to Thursday's totals of 30-17 in favour of Ottawa.
Why wasn't Alexander Mogilny given an unsportsmanlike penalty after his temper tantrum? Even though it was strange to see the normally mild-mannered Mogilny make Darcy Tucker look calm, he still should have been given a penalty for his outburst.
Why did Vaclav Varada receive four minutes in penalties for his "altercation" with Mats Sundin? From what CBC showed, Sundin took Varada down by the neck and then Sundin pushed Varada to the ice. Varada never even laid a hand on Sundin! Sundin basically did to Varada what Varada did to McCabe in the final regular season game when he pushed him to the ice. (0) comments
