Thursday, October 05, 2006

 

Just Warming Up...

Opening night was a little bit boring, thanks to only 3 games on the schedule and none of the teams all that interesting to me. Tonight is the real kick-start with a much more robust slate of games and the debut of Pavol in Minnesota Wild colours.

Wade Belak - Making an early bid for the LVP (Least Valuable Player) on defence. He played about 8 minutes last night, all in the first half of the game, in which he took 2 bad penalties and looked like a newborn horse trying to walk for the first time.

I'll point the +1 wagging finger of shame, however, at coach Paul Maurice for his stupid decision to even play Belak on defence in the first place. Why would you put such a liability on the ice? Belak as a forward playing 3-4 minutes a game is acceptable. Playing Wade Belak on defence for any length of time is not. I'm glad he'll be making stupid coaching decisions like this all season for the Leafs.

As for the Leafs/Sens game itself, there were over 70 shots, but the whole game seemed to be played in slow motion. The pace was awful, and it was just a bad way to start the NHL season. The game reminded me of the 'dead-puck' era, except with a lot more outside/perimeter shots that were easy for Gerber and Raycroft to stop.

(I didn't see the Canes/Sabres game, but I heard it was much more exciting.)

Does Tie Domi add anything of value to the TSN broadcast team? Sure, but the value is definitely a negative number. The hiring of Tie Domi just shows how Toronto-centric TSN really is. Sure, I'll give Domi a chance to develop and grow into the position, but the early returns aren't good. I just wish that doofus James Duthie would ask Tie how good Belinda is in bed. Either Tie will slip out an answer, or elbow Duthie upside the head. Either way, we all win!

The second tilt gave us the old rival Dallas Stars vs. the Colorado Avalanche. These two teams have been featured on national broadcasts so long that I yawn just looking at their sweaters.

I was glad, however, that the game itself was pretty good, especially compared to the Sens/Leafs snorefest, and featured an amazing OT winner by Adam Sandler Sydor. How often does a defenseman get a breakaway set up by a goaltender?

Check out the video highlights and watch, near the end, as Turco makes a heads up pass to Sydor, who just exited the Sin Bin. The Avalanche had just 2 full minutes of playing with the puck on the Power Play and couldn't bury any one-timers past a sharp Marty Turco.

Comments:
Haha, you're totally right. I've been saying for years that Darryl Sydor is a dead ringer for Adam Sandler - especially when he's in the sin bin for some reason...
 
...I kind of love James Duthie. I get the feeling that could be something he'd ask off-camera.
 
I watched the second half of the Stars-Avalanche game.

That PP you were talking about, it didn't seem like the 'lanche were passing all that well or quickly. I'm an Oilers fan - it reminded me of an Oilers PP from 03-04, with the defending team knowing exactly where to go and what to do because the puck movement was just that || much too slow.

It was a pretty decent game though, even if I didn't know which team I wanted to lose more. It's almost like old times though, seeing Sydor back with Turco, Modano, Morrow, and Zubov. (Yeah, I don't watch a lot of Stars games.)
 
Last night's boredom may continue for a few days as we await Rostislav Klesla's return from suspension.

*The new season begins with Jes blindsided by the 5-7, buck-fifty Sharkalope ;) *
 
Klesla is about as exciting as a sleeping beagle. He's no Balastik.

When are the Stars going to trade for Derian Hatcher and Ed Belfour to backup Turco? That would make the cycle of evil complete
 
The cycle of evil can never be complete again. Brett Hull retired, remember?
 
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