Its been well documented that a lot of pro athletes are big videogamers. In that vein, Game 4 reminded me of a bunch of old videogames. Most of which I dominated Anthony in....
-This game was played at an infinitely more entertaining pace than game 3. There was long stretches of continuous play without whistles ala NHL 94 on Genesis before you figured out how to score every time down the ice (Or when both people agreed to play "one-timers only" because of the ability to score by doing the same move every time). Not to mention the fact that Montreal's second goal was very similar to the wraparound that worked every time.
-I know it sounds cliche but Montreal got all the bounces while being severely outplayed most of the night. Like when you would play the computer in Madden, and they would have one or two drives a game (even in a blowout) where they were going to score a touchdown no matter what you did. Tipped balls that were interceptions earlier in the game go to the receiver, the quarterback breaks a bunch of tackles, etc.....Both scenarios are extremely frustrating.
-With the Pens domination but inability to "Finish Them," its pretty obvious none of the players were big Mortal Kombat fans growing up. Its too bad that unlike in Mortal Kombat, NHL teams don't just whither and go away whether you finish them or not.
-Halak was NBA Jam esque "on fire" all night. He made some tremendous sprawling saves and is without a doubt the reason the series is tied. All that was missing was the announcer yelling "Boom shaka laka!"
Basically, the Pens don't need to change anything they are doing on offense. Keep pushing forward and crashing the net. Goals will eventually start to go in like they did in game 1. And Montreal isn't going to get a Kris Letang "own goal" to win every night. Sure, the series is now going to go longer than most everyone predicted, but its still a best of 3 where they have two games at home.
Their motto should be "Stay the Course."
Bird,
ReplyDeleteObvious you missed a big part of the game. In the 90's Mario (I ill not try to spell his last name since I have a grammar / spelling teacher watching)called the NHL a Garage League. Maybe he called it a garbage league. For obvious reasons back then. In case you were still breastfeeding at the time and missed it, the league allowed the mugging on Mario every game. From slashes to cross checks to holding and hooking. Now that the Pens have another superstar and could argueably be a favorite to win the cup, the league once again is allowing thuggery in the NHL to stop Sid the Kid. The numerous cross checks, high sticks and holding that he endures is meant by the league, to allow the opponents to have an equal chance to win or maybe even a favored status to win. That being said, call the game the way the rules read. Then, you will see truly gifted and exciting hockey. You won't be saying idiotic comments like the Canadiens got the lucky bounces...how abusrd. Do you know the definition of luck? Brush up on your dictionary.
And for this Anthony the Great charachter, he is probably laughing at you while he eats another doughnut.
Forced personal attacks aside, I totally agree with your comments about the "garage league" and the clutching and grabbing. NHL refs are the worst and ridiculously inconsistent about calling penalties how they are supposed in the "New NHL." I actually mentioned 66's comments about the league and how Montreal was getting away with 1999 style play in my Game 2 article.
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To this day, I think the thuggery (and his back of course) is what made Mario retire the first time.
Not sure how a deflection off of a defenseman can be taken as anything but a crazy bounce though.
If you look at the tape, the defenseman was looking opposite of where he should have been looking. If his head was on a swivel, he sees the puck coming. End of story.
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