After the game all I could think of was the great scene from Gladiator. Everybody and their dogs said that the series would be boring Mc. Trap out there, dead wrong. Free wheeling, fast paced and great back and forth hockey is what viewers were treated to. It looked a bit more like two skill teams playing then two defensive grinders. Maybe I’m biased, but I thought this game had everything it was supposed to except ultra physicality. It seemed like most of the players put away their hacksaw and played with finesse.
So the Coyotes take an “unexpected” lead in this early series. Yet they didn’t play their game that most would have expected. Dave Tippett like many coaches has various strategies, against a free flowing puck possession team he clogs the neutral zone and forces forwards to the outside and dares them to do something other than a 40 foot wrister from a bad angle with all that possession. Against a team like Nashville he allows more activation from the defence and one man high for counterattacks. It isn’t a real scoring strategy, but it allows for a much more open game.
The Coyotes played pretty well until the third period. They are getting in to this absolutely moronic tendency to stand around like lemmings and let their opponent squash them. The passivity in the third period kind of boggles my mind, especially when you see the success they consistently have when pressuring with their speed. It has led to an epic amount of third period collapses. All that said, you can’t give them guff when it comes to needing that last dagger. They played very well in overtime.
What ever happened to the battle of the “could be” Vezina winners (Yes I know Smith wasn’t nominated but he was good enough)? Mistakes and some jitters. Mike Smith seemed to lose his cool after being the victim of the glass. As he went to play the puck it ricocheted right to Brandon Yip who was alone in front of the net and laughingly put it into the empty net to tie the game at 1-1. Now most goalies would become very cautious and not venture out of their nets, it is a common reaction. If you get burned you don’t put your hand near an open flame without hesitation and thought. Mike Smith did the opposite; he went berserk in his need to play the puck. At one point he was a good 30 feet out of his net and doing a spinarama. I like confidence, but he was pushing it. Both he and Pekka Rinne spent a lot of time on their arses, mostly from some overaggressive plays. All in all I felt both were nowhere close to their round one form. Mike Smith did make some great saves, but his over confidence was definitely a weakness in the game. He needs to get into that zen puck stopping mode he was in against the Blackhawks. Patric Hornqvist was everything the Hawks didn’t have. He was a pest in front of Smith all night long and was super effective at screening him. They will need a way to box him out, or he will be a big problem. Outside of that, you can’t really fault a guy who made 39 saves on 42 shots.
Mikkel Boedker is either having a coming out party (Not the closet) or he is having a flash in the pan moment. I would say its closer to him finally realizing his potential. He has always been a fantastic skater with a flair for the defensive game. His scoring and playmaking were not matured however. Bob MacKenzie said it best in the second intermission by saying that Boedker was probably rushed and with the increase in ice-time he has found a niche as a 2nd/3rd line all purpose player. Essentially Lauri Korpikoski 2.0 but younger and with a higher ceiling. I’d take that any day of the week. He added his 3rd goal of the playoffs giving him 5 points in 7 games. Once again it was all speed and the forcing of a turnover. This time however it wasn’t a softie. He pulled up and out waited Rinne before blowing one past him. Rinne was pissed and I can’t say I blame him. He got trolled hardcore by Boedker with that wait.
Rostislav Klesla and Oliver Ekman-Larsson continued to add to their amazing playoff run. Klesla really got some use out of the time off and his eye was mostly healed outside of a big red bruise. He added a goal and an assist to give him six points so far. Not bad for the guy playing in defensive situations and a lot on the PK. Tippett has him playing the best hockey of his career. OEL just continues to play at a ridiculously high level. He’s just a smart player; add that to his elite level of speed and conditioning and you have yourself a top-pairing defenceman.
The VHW line was finally where they needed to be and played their best hockey of the playoffs. Whitney of course got the game winner, but he was much sharper on the puck than before. No longer was he holding it like a grenade. He made some excellent passes. Vrbata got his first in true garbage fashion. His shot still isn’t there, but he is improving it. TSN briefly mentioned that he had suffered an allergic reaction that had temporarily created pustules on his hands and body causing him to not be able to grip his hockey stick. Not sure if that was what was still ailing him or if the Shaw hit is? Either way…wtf? Hanzal looked a lot stronger this game.
The penalty kill without Boyd Gordon looks like crap. When he was penalized with so much momentum on the Preds side I knew they were in trouble. Lo and behold they completely controlled the play and penned them in the zone resulting in a goal. Gordon has been one of the teams MVP’s with his amazing face-off and PK prowess.
Some are wondering if the hit by Francis Bouillon on Boyd Gordon will get some attention. It was strictly speaking a hit to the head, a mild one however. I don't think anything will come of it. Gordon was angry, but probably because a midget just got him in the head (Bouillon is 5’8). No penalty on the play, no injury and no stars. The NHL will likely do nothing and I would agree with that.
I really loved watching this exciting game and hope others will. If I hear Gord Miller and Darren Pang as the commentators again however…I think I could scrounge up enough cash for a hitman a la Horrible Bosses. Seriously they were the most boring, useless pair of tits I’ve ever heard. I know the ratings won’t be great so you want to focus the well paid talent elsewhere, but TSN get your shit together.
Join the Discussion:
»