by Hockey Guru
A great night of hockey on Monday. The Guru set the DVR and managed to view all three games in their entirety – almost in real time!
Through the magic of technology, sitting through commercials was unnecessary. The first five minutes of the Montreal-Boston game were watched – then paused – so the Guru could watch the first five minutes of the Rangers-Caps game.
It was hockey bliss.
Boston 4, Montreal 2
The Bruins defense looked shaky throughout much of the game. Whether this was due to bouncing pucks, frayed nerves, or the pressure of playing in Montreal, they simply didn’t handle the puck well, especially around their own net. Had the Canadiens been more opportunistic, they might have scored three or four extra goals.
Sure, Carey Price gave up some juicy rebounds, and the injuries impacted the Habs line-up. I know. But at one point early on, Kovalev had a wide open net to shoot at and he chose to simply dump the puck into the corner (all right, you could argue he was actually shooting at the net, but missing the net by 15 feet, from 15 feet isn’t exactly an “All-Star” calibre effort).
Washington 4, New York 0
Game three unfolded perfectly for Washington. Scoring the first goal of the game is proving to be more important in this series, than in the others. The danger for Washington is that they become complacent or to think that they’ve accomplished something simply by winning this game. Sure, it was a must win game, but they’re still trailing in the series.
The goalie change for Washington was the perfect move, but as the Guru stated in his predictions, it probably should have been made prior to Game 1. Washington is likely still a year away from a serious playoff run. The missing piece is still the goaltender. This season, it's time to find out just what they have, and to allow Varlamov to gain the experience and get a taste, so that he can be better prepared for the future.
Now, this year is not written off by any means – Washington can still make noise in these playoffs, and game 4 is much anticipated, to see if they are ready to compete now (the Guru's hunch is that they may be feeling too good about themselves right now, and that the Rangers and Lundqvist will now have a great chance to take a commanding 3-1 series lead).
Calgary 4, Chicago 2
This was hit-a-minute hockey. Not merely riding guys off, but finishing checks with authority all over the ice. Great hockey, great intensity, great drama.
Calgary got a major break on the go-ahead goal to extend their lead, and cruised to the Game 3 victory. This game was so much closer than the score indicated. This has been a physical series, with the teams trying to wear each other out, regardless of the score.
The Guru Report -
ReplyDeleteWashington Preserves 1-goal loss
Down 2 games to 1, down 2 goals to 1 - late in the third period - Sean Avery takes yet another penalty having nothing to do with the play.
The opportunity for the Capitals to tie the game was there. The powerplay had some chances throughout the game - and the Caps previous powerplay did everything right - but couldn't get one past King Henry.
Three minutes left.
One goal is absolutely necessary or the season is on the brink.
Under the new rules - faceoff is automatically in the offensive zone.
Why not pull the goalie right then?
Make it a 6-on-4.
Get an extra body in front of the net.
That was the best chance you have.
Sure, there's the risk that an empty netter puts you down two and maybe you don't have a chance right to the end - but take your shot when it presents itself.
If you go to the bar and the most beautiful girl there wants to leave with you - do you turn her down because it's not closing time?
Bruce Boudreau played it safe. He wasn't ready to sack up in a crucial situation and send a message to his team - that the time is now - it's do or die.
Instead - he can hold his head high and think about how close he was - only losing by a goal.
Lamenting on how unfortunate that Ovechkin hit the crossbar - about the posts, blah, blah, blah.
Sometimes a coach needs to show some guts.
Guru Report - Random Thought
ReplyDeleteMust-Win games in the playoffs
Teams and coaches prefer to minimize the use of this phrase - and it doesn't make sense anymore.
While the regular season is referred to as a marathon - and the playoffs a sprint - wouldn't it be appropriate for a coach to treat every game as a MUST WIN.
Wouldn't the urgency and importance of every shift be emphasized to the players?
If a play-off game is not a MUST WIN - does that make it an OKAY-TO-LOSE game?
Watching the Flames-Hawks game 4 brought to mind the story Wayne Gretzky has told many times about the Oilers losing to the Islanders in the Stanley Cup Finals prior to their run.
ReplyDeleteIn summation - after losing - the Oilers had to walk past the Islanders dressing room to exit the arena. Players expected to see the Islanders celebrating and whooping it up.
When the passed the dressing room - they saw quite a different scene. Most Islander players were still in uniform. Those that were undressed were covered in ice packs. There was no celebration - more of a MASH unit.
Gretzky realized - that's why they won. The Oilers didn't leave it all on the ice.
How does that relate to last night's Flames-Hawks game?
Look at the TOI report for the game - particularly for the forwards.
In games 3 and 4 - Chicago had a chance to win one of those two to take a commanding lead in the series.
They choose to keep the legs fresh for later in the series (well congrats, Coach Q - there'll be at least 6 games in this series now).
Top 4 forwards in terms of ice time:
Calgary: Iginla, Jokinen, Glencross, Bertuzzi
Chicago: Bolland, Havlat, Paulson, Byfuglien
Guess who won?