The Joe and Mats Show
TOR vs FLA (04/11/06)
No Luongo? Sweet!
I think Gary and Joe marked this game as one they wanted to win BADLY last summer. And despite a goalie monkey wrench in that plan, Joe almost did it himself, taking the lead for the Panthers three different times. He still looks dominant, and he has managed to play 62 games (and counting) despite his back issues. And if they were all played at this level, Keenan got a bargain. JFJ, perhaps letting him go was not the best of ideas.
But for all of Joe's magic (his third was a beaut) Mats DID do it himself, having a hand in all six goals. But Mats isn't a good leader, so this game should be seen as an aberration, a tear in the cosmic fabric, a joke by the hockey gods. Yeah right. Last night might be the most dominant performance I have seen all year in the entire league. Well, it is the most dominant I have seen, and is certainly the best Leaf performance, but I can't speak about the other 29 teams with as much confidence. But whatever, it was awesome. And despite it probably meaning nothing, at least the Leafs are doing their part after not doing their part earlier this season.
My boy Ian White and his partner Richardson were exploited last night by Nieuwendyk and Horton with pretty passing plays at the blue line, forced turn overs and missed assignments. I'm not sure if fault could be separated amongst the pair, but personally I wouldn't want my mentor to be Richardson, especially when you can see him get beat before it actually happens. I'd like to see what Berg and White could do.
And how about Kaberle with the clutchosity? He wasn't the best defender and MVP in the Czech ExtraLiga last year for nothing.
With Atlanta beating the 'Ning, there is still hope. About as much hope as a holographic message spewed from a sandy droid, but it is something. Tampa has two against the Canes and their last game against the Capitals. Atlanta hosts the Capitals and Bruins, then visits Washington and Sunrise, FL. I'm not going to torture myself working out the 'what ifs'. But both teams have goal tending issues, so that is a positive.
UPDATE - I don't read the papers until after I do my little write-ups, so this is mere coincidence...and a rock-solid title choice.
UPDATE2 - Aubin has been re-signed for a year at $525,000. Hopefully this will relieve some pressure to sign a 'big name' FA goalie, and allow Ferguson to bolster the skater corps.
Cox is dreaming if he realistically thinks Lou will let Elias walk. Remember, earlier this year most thought the Devils' GM had painted himself into a salary corner, and somehow he managed his way out of it. Considering how meager the Devils offense was before Elias returned, and the leadership he has displayed for years in the meadowlands of NJ, the Devils can't afford to let Elias leave for more money.
Leaf Lines
Poni-Sundin-Antro
Kilger-Wellwood-Tucker
Steen-Stajan-O'Neill
Domi-Wilm-Ondrus
Leaf Pairs
Kaberle-McCabe
Luke-White
Berg-Belak
AUBIN(30)
Poni-Sundin-Antro
Kilger-Wellwood-Tucker
Steen-Stajan-O'Neill
Domi-Wilm-Ondrus
Leaf Pairs
Kaberle-McCabe
Luke-White
Berg-Belak
AUBIN(30)
No Luongo? Sweet!
I think Gary and Joe marked this game as one they wanted to win BADLY last summer. And despite a goalie monkey wrench in that plan, Joe almost did it himself, taking the lead for the Panthers three different times. He still looks dominant, and he has managed to play 62 games (and counting) despite his back issues. And if they were all played at this level, Keenan got a bargain. JFJ, perhaps letting him go was not the best of ideas.
But for all of Joe's magic (his third was a beaut) Mats DID do it himself, having a hand in all six goals. But Mats isn't a good leader, so this game should be seen as an aberration, a tear in the cosmic fabric, a joke by the hockey gods. Yeah right. Last night might be the most dominant performance I have seen all year in the entire league. Well, it is the most dominant I have seen, and is certainly the best Leaf performance, but I can't speak about the other 29 teams with as much confidence. But whatever, it was awesome. And despite it probably meaning nothing, at least the Leafs are doing their part after not doing their part earlier this season.
My boy Ian White and his partner Richardson were exploited last night by Nieuwendyk and Horton with pretty passing plays at the blue line, forced turn overs and missed assignments. I'm not sure if fault could be separated amongst the pair, but personally I wouldn't want my mentor to be Richardson, especially when you can see him get beat before it actually happens. I'd like to see what Berg and White could do.
And how about Kaberle with the clutchosity? He wasn't the best defender and MVP in the Czech ExtraLiga last year for nothing.
With Atlanta beating the 'Ning, there is still hope. About as much hope as a holographic message spewed from a sandy droid, but it is something. Tampa has two against the Canes and their last game against the Capitals. Atlanta hosts the Capitals and Bruins, then visits Washington and Sunrise, FL. I'm not going to torture myself working out the 'what ifs'. But both teams have goal tending issues, so that is a positive.
UPDATE - I don't read the papers until after I do my little write-ups, so this is mere coincidence...and a rock-solid title choice.
UPDATE2 - Aubin has been re-signed for a year at $525,000. Hopefully this will relieve some pressure to sign a 'big name' FA goalie, and allow Ferguson to bolster the skater corps.
Cox is dreaming if he realistically thinks Lou will let Elias walk. Remember, earlier this year most thought the Devils' GM had painted himself into a salary corner, and somehow he managed his way out of it. Considering how meager the Devils offense was before Elias returned, and the leadership he has displayed for years in the meadowlands of NJ, the Devils can't afford to let Elias leave for more money.
posted by mike @ 8:35 AM
3 Comments:
At 2:10 PM,
mike said…
true.
Duhatschek also does a good job hashing it out today.
At 4:55 PM,
Anonymous said…
The thing about Sundin last night was that he was playing with such an obvious edge. He almost looked angry. He never has that look.
At 12:09 PM,
mike said…
Agreed, though I think 'rarely' is a better choice than 'never.' A couple weeks back (after the first loss in MTL?) there were stories about Sundin being pissed off at practice. Since then he's been on a 9 game point streak.
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