in Montreal. How about old Jimmy Dowd with the slapper that beat Price in the first? Talk about unsung heroes. Those two are about as unsung as they come. Of course, the most skilled players were the best players on the ice. Alexei Kovalev and the Kostitsyn's were fantastic last night.Faceoffs late in games can be extremely crucial and it showed last night as Montreal's tying goal was scored right off the faceoff on a beauty wrister from Kovalev. The winner by Kostopoulos was scored off a broken play as a result from a faceoff. If the Flyers are practicing today John Stevens certainly has the team working on faceoffs (though it's unlikely they are practicing after a seven game series and only one day off in between, generally they have optional skates this time of year. In fact, I just confirmed that they did have an optional skate.)
Kovalev had an up and down series vs. Boston, but he was spectacular last night. He was easily the best player on the ice and when he's in a grove he's very dangerous. He's one of those players that is so fun to watch, even when he doesn't have the puck. He's always lurking in the shadows and seems like he might break out at any moment.
The Western semi-final kicked off with a bang. Detroit and Colorado played a crazy first period before settling down, as the Avs nearly climbed all the back from a 4-1 deficit. Jose Theodore was not at the top of his game and it may have been due to his apparent illness. Either way, he cannot be faulted for the second Detroit goal from Dan Cleary, who's wrister hit Theodore in the shoulder, bounced high in the air over top of him and slid in the net. That was about as fluky as they come.
Henrik Zetterberg's goal was magnificent as he made the Avs defence look silly. What did I say about Colorado's blueline?
It's nice to see Johan Franzen grab all the headlines after his two goal performance. He scored a quiet 27 goals and is a very solid defensive forward. He epitomizes the Red Wings (or their forwards at least) in many ways. He goes about his business quietly, scoring goals when counted on while playing a strong defensive game.Chris Osgood was a bit shaky for parts of the third period, but the crowd got behind him and he made a game saving stop on Milan Hejduk who was wide open from point blank range. Colorado proved that no lead is safe against them as they have plenty of offensive ability up front to create several chances. Had Peter Forsberg not been a late scratch because of a groin injury, they may have stolen this one. Colorado hasn't had any problem winning games when Forsberg is in the lineup. It's never a question of Foppa's ability but his health instead. His return or absence could be the difference in this series.
Another two games on the sked tonight as the other two series' get started. No channel flipping either as one goes at 7, the other at 10. It's a shame last night's games had to overlap like that because both were fun to watch. Thank god for PVR's!
No comments:
Post a Comment