I was really disappointed that Theodore wasn't playing, but I guess they are saving him for Vancouver. Yeah, I know they have their reasons, but I was hoping to do a study on him. Here are some thoughts: Budaj looks good. He hasn't been the rebound king of the past. He seams to have less obvious faults than our starter. I didn't expect much from the Wild offensively. I understand they have some new scoring talent, but I didn't think they were ready to use it. The first period and a half proved me wrong. Avs are showing that they have 2 good lines. That may be all they need up front, as there are few teams who have 2, much less one solid line. The Kid line is so fast and exciting. They are proof of what the future of the NHL is. Wild fans will be complaining about the Gaborik play where he fell. Here is what I saw: Gaborik was breaking, L made a move to knock the puck away, Gaborik got on his heels, which kicked his skates out from under him. That's what happens when you get on your heel, you take a fall. These aren't figure skates. Thank goodness for Brad Richardson. Wow, two goals, and two we needed. The first one was beautiful The game winning goal: Watch Brisebois. If you see the replay, watch him. #71. Basically, when the Wild gain the zone, Brisebois is out of position. Why is he covering the center, when the center was already covered by Wolski? Budaj almost had it, but Brisebois was out of place. Maybe even screening Budaj from the shot. Bad way to lose. Looking at the Superstats: Stastny is loosing too many faceoffs to keep him in the circle; he need to work on this. Even though there were very few penalties called, the Avs still only took three; much better discipline. SOG: 31 Avs - 33 Wild.
I shouldn't be too disappointed. The Avs got 2 points out of 4 in a tight schedule. The Kid line looked great. The first line looked pretty good. The third line even got in there. Overall, the Avs were much more defensively responsible than last season (having 2 guys back was a rarity). But... Good teams, and that means winning teams, capitalize on their chances. Brad Richardson did that tonight, but the Avs as a whole did not. They had the opportunity to win, and did not. Even though these are 2 points that will be needed badly, and they could have just lost, this was a very winnable game. There was no reason they couldn't. They didn't. I hope this isn't what the whole season is like. BTW: why didn't Richardson get a star tonight? Oh well, such is hockey.
Recap via ESPN.com, because the new NHL.com is having troubles, which is another reason the new design sucks.
2 comments:
Gaborik's fall wasn't a penalty. He just lost an edge and that led to the turnover. Good non-call that I was surprised they didn't get in their building. Kudos to the refs.
The Avs gave up a 2-goal lead last night, and tonight they rally and come from behind to get a point.
I hope your team isn't this random all year. You're going to need pepto-bismal for all the Whiskey you'll be drinkin'.
I only caught the last period of the Canucks game, but when I heard it was 3-1 I knew it was over. Man, the Canucks D is SOOOOOO much better than it has been in like... forever. I sure hope this wasn't a one-time thing, or else you won't be the only one needed Pepto :=)
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