What’s the Opposite of a Trap Game?
January 14th, 2009, 8:33 am
Ok, ok, I guess I called the Tampa Bay game a bit wrong. I mistakenly thought the Lightning were something resembling an NHL team, and they just aren’t. They’re a motley collection of players and coaches, most of whom aren’t very good. We break all this stuff down and more on this week’s podcast.
Nice to see Pavelski off the schnied- that second line sure looked good. Not quite as good as the first line (which happens to be the highest scoring line in hockey), but still very good. Michalek puts in a goal after one was disallowed. Pavelski and Clowe both score. This game really had everything, except a good fight. I don’t know about you, but I’m glad the refs separated Mike Grier from Artyukin late in the third, because Artyukin makes Semenov look like a shrimp. Not sure if he can fight, but why tangle with a guy like that when you’re up six goals?
The Sharks got a good momentum going into two very tough games this week, and I know we can be sure that the focus will be there. It’s going to be exciting to watch.
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I like Grier, but I think he would’ve gotten destroyed if the refs let them go. I’m glad it didn’t go that far so the Lightning couldn’t salvage any dignity from last night’s game.
How about that PP unit of Vlassic, Murray, Grier, Staubitz and Semenov. Scary stuff.
Although Ehrhoff, Cheechoo, Goc, Grier and Joslin ended up -1 I don’t think anyone looked bad out there (even Semenov was involved in Plihal’s goal). Cheech battled, and it looked like he was out there trying to be a playmaker rather than a sniper.
Yeah, that PP unit isn’t going to be scaring anyone anytime soon, but there was no reason to have Joe and Patty out there late in the game. You never know what a struggling team may try when they’re getting embarrassed.
Yeah I totally agree, I just thought it was funny that most of the offensive attack from that unit was coming from Murray.
It would’ve been nice to get Thornton his hat trick, but it’s better to keep him rested and healthy especially for the next two games coming up.
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Good win last night. But, per your closing thought from above: “Do we (really) know that the focus will be there?” for these two upcoming games?
They certainly weren’t there in the last two games against Calgary and Detroit. In the latter game, they tried to use the excuse of being the back end of a back-to-back. But for the Calgary game, first game of the road trip, several days off to rest, and going into a knowingly revenge-seeking hostile environment.
Also, I don’t know about all this stepping off the gas pedal stuff for San Jose. They’ve blown a lot of teams out after the first 10 minutes at home, and there seems to be a bit of double-talk by the coaching staff. They say they want to compete for 60 minutes, but then, clearly, they change things up like putting the 4th liners on the PP. Why not keep scoring and keep attacking? Sportsmanship? Ugh. I grant you that you might not want something physical to happen late in the game against your star players. But if you talk about bad habits, turning it on and off, especially after one period or so is a bad practice. Surely, in the playoffs, games go the full tilt. Look at San Jose opening that 3-0 lead in Calgary last year. And so on.
at 7-1 they’ve finished the game. The Lightning were never going to come back at that point, they had been effectively put away. If it was 3-1 you would have seen Thornton on the ice.
We have two games coming up against excellent teams and we need that top line fresh and healthy. Look at all the dirty crap some of those lightning players were doing near the end. Would you rather them plant 10 consecutive cross checks into Semenov or Thornton while he’s standing in front of the net on the 5 on 3 power play. The refs weren’t going to keep calling penalties, it had already gotten out of hand. I’d rather guys that see little ice time anyway take the beating than our skill players.
Even with the change up to the lines to protect the stars SJ never let up. The 3rd and 4th lines continued to push the play for the remainder of the game. They cycled the puck, grinded their brains out, drew penalties, etc. There is running up a score, and there is finishing a game. Last night we finished the game.