- The Sabres were noticeably more sluggish after Derek Roy went out. He's been really buzzing lately and they missed his zip.
- Jochen Hecht had probably his worst game of the season. I'll cut him some slack though since he's been so solid.
- Dmitri Kalinin looked pretty good considering this was his first game back after such a long absence - calm, dependable, and even a little bit physical. I don't know what happens when Teppo Numminen comes back and I'm not going to hazard a guess right now. We'll just have to see how Tri plays and how Teppo looks after his return. Although I thought Nolan Pratt had earned a spot over Nathan Paetsch so what do I know?
- Ryan Miller won this game. He could've been all three stars. He's really put together a nice string of games. But geez, could he get a little help? Out shot 43-17? Pretty sad. That's expecting an awful lot of your goalie. I'm glad we're winning close games, but like Rob Ray said during the postgame show, that's playing a dangerous game. Some of the opponents we have coming up aren't going to be as easy as the Islanders.
- Speaking of Rob Ray, he was full of crazy little asides tonight. I think my favorite was the following exchange:
Kevin (doing highlights): There's Denis Savard, coach of the Blackhawks -
Rob: He spit on me one night.
Kevin: Did you deserve it?
Rob: No!
ETA: I knew I was forgetting something! I just wanted to say my piece on Chris Simon's suspension. As someone who works with emotionally disturbed kids (I hate when people say "as someone who..." - sorry), Simon looks very much like one of them all grown-up. He appears to need help that's far beyond what the NHL can offer him. I have some sympathy for him, but I feel pretty good in saying that it's not safe for him to be working a job that involves high levels of emotion and adrenaline and hard physical contact with others. Most of my kids would be powder kegs waiting to blow in that kind of situation and Simon doesn't appear to be much better off. He should've been gone for the season at the very least.
E(again!)TA: This is what I really forgot. This exchange during the postgame interview with Jason Pominville cracked us up at our house.
Rob: Jason, how does a team with so much offensive talent only manage to create 17 shots on goal?
Jason (tapping headphones and looking around): What? I didn't hear that question.
I'm sure Pommers was being sincere but it totally had that, "You're breaking up! I'm losing you, Rob!" feel about it.
5 comments:
I liked Tri's game today too, for a first game back. If Numminen comes back and Paetsch isn't the one sitting I just might vomit.
I was sitting on the end where the Islanders shot twice so I certainly saw a lot of action . . . it's a good thing Miller was so fabulous.
Great work on the blog - I just stumbled on it recently, and I'm enjoying reading your take on things!
I liked Tri's game as well. Pretty much all you could hope for from a guy coming back from a pretty long injury.
Tallinder and Lydman had some scary moments, though. Lydman is one of my favorite players, but he had me tearing my hair out when he tried to pass the puck across the slot and an Islander player intercepted it. Again.
Maybe you should draw Toni a diagram like you did for the defense about putting people on their asses in the crease. ;)
Lydman is one of my favorite players, but he had me tearing my hair out when he tried to pass the puck across the slot and an Islander player intercepted it
I just about had a heart attack when he did that. Really, Toni, what possessed you to think that was a good idea?
tessa, thanks so much for reading and commenting. Please chime in any time!
I'm assuming we're talking about the play where the Islander almost deflected it into the net? That was Toni, right? Yeah, that was pretty frightening. Good think Ryan was on his toes. Toni's good for one of those every once in a while but that was really bad. I'll just tell myself that he's re-adjusting to playing with Hank and Hank's still shaking off a little rust.
Maybe you should draw Toni a diagram like you did for the defense about putting people on their asses in the crease. ;)
Probably not a bad idea! We'll also rule that a Spin-o-rama Free Zone.
Toni is solid for the most part, but when he makes a mistake, it tends to be an enormous brain fart.
We'll also rule that a Spin-o-rama Free Zone.
Good call.
And Paetsch should also learn that, for him, the entire ice surface is a Spin-o-rama free zone. I don't know what possessed him to try that a few games ago, but it was pretty frightening.
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