Yes, I know Massachusetts claims Mr C-Note as their citizen, but Boston's out of the playoffs, so Ben is all about Filthydelphia for now.
Last night saw the Habs pull off a minor miracle. Most hockey fans will acknowledge that when a team keeps missing one gorgeous scoring chance after another, it usually comes back to bite them. After hitting the post twice, and missing an easy gimme tap-in later on, the Phblbllblbltyers managed to squeak one in off Patrice Brisebois's stick, who, heretofore, had been replaced by a weird doppelganger who was scoring and playing solid defense. Last night showed that the "Evil Brisebois" had been returned to his own universe and everything was back to normal.
The Flyers then struck again, aided by some truly sloppy play in Montreal's own end. I have to say I had no doubt the Habs would get at least one goal back, but Big Tits's missed penalty shot had me anxious that the Habs could not buy a goal. I was already planning for today's recap to go along the lines of "bad bounces, better team doesn't always win, yadda yadda."
Then, for some odd reason, Don Van Massenhoven decided that when a player gets rabbit-punched in the back of the head by an oncoming forward, that first player should be guilty of interference. Mike Komisarek was sent to the box to feel shame for daring to skate after the puck whilst being mauled from behind.
Well, the Phlyers made the Habs pay for their peccancy, putting the puck past Price. (This sentence has been brought to you by the letter "P". Now back to you, Kermit.) Then, the sleeping giant that is the Habs power play finally awakened. (Nice of you to join us!)
What can I say about the Smolinski-Begin-Kostopoulos line? One of the few truly good coaching decisions Carbonneau has made during the playoffs has been to go to these guys after every goal, arguably the most important shift in hockey. These boys don't quit, and they are true playoff performers.
Big A-plusses to the Habs third line. Kovy gets an A for two goals and no crap plays/bad turnovers. Koivu gets an A as well for dominating the faceoff circle, including the decisive one with 30 seconds left to let Kovy tie it up.
Of course, not everyone was as good. Higgins continues to disappoint, and Markov gets the nod as possibly the game's worst player, with bad passes, poor puckhandling in the offensive zone, and sloppy defense work.
The Habs could have been unfortunate victims of an inability to score despite playing well, but they finally made their own luck. We'll see how game two goes. Apparently, the Flyers feel they got the raw end of the deal, despite their gift power-play in the third period. Filthydelphia apprently needs to be reminded that when a ref signals "Goal" on the ice, the evidence has to be CONCLUSIVE that it was NOT a goal. And Kovalev's stick hit the puck at or below the cross-bar. Now STFU. That is all.
As for the Detroit game, all I have to say is, apparently Jose Theodore has a bad reaction to seafood. He left the game after being shelled, and then left the building to do some pukin'.
2 comments:
"Higgins continues to dissapoint"
Wow - we are watching two different games. Rnd 1 Game 7 - Higgins was the best player (outside of Price) on the ice. Last night he/Kovy/Koivu dominated Boston's offensive zone (see first period especially).
Last night he was nowhere near the player he was in game 7 but I thought he played a good solid game.
Dandy/Streit/Breeze though, that's another story, I say bring on lats/ryder/O'Byrne.
Anon, I agree that he was magnificent in game 7. But that was an aberration. He has largely been absent, failing to convert on opportunities. What I should have said was, "after a brief resurgence in game 7, he is back to his old ways of coming short of his potential and squandering chances."
Bride of Kovalev and I have had it with Streit too. But don't count out Dandy--I have a feeling he is dying to prove he is on par with Smolinski/Begin/Kostopoulos.
And yeah, why the hell are they giving O'Byrne such a hard time? I must not be seeing what Carbo is, because I think he is in many ways much better than Gorges. Ryder would do well in this series, I believe.
But speed is what's needed against the Phblbllyers, and Lats ain't got it.
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