They turned chances into CHANCES
I haven’t given a whole lot of discussion to actual hockey lately, so I thought I’d talk about last night’s game 1. Calgary played the same game that they’ve played all playoffs (though maybe with a slightly different style) First, get an early goal by hook or by crook.
Lucky, unlucky, they’re the guys with the lead.
Second, play tight defensively. Be tough in your own end, win the battles for loose pucks, don’t get outhustled ever. This is never more obvious than when either goalie froze the puck. When Khabibulin froze the puck, there were between 1 and 3 Flames players hovering around him, waiting in case the puck squirted loose. Conversely, when Kiprusoff covered the puck, there were between 3 and 5 Flames hovering around him, making sure that no Lightning player was around if the puck squirted loose.
There were several occasions where the Lightning player skated nonchalantly towards the puck, only to be beaten there by a Flames player going full tilt. Calgary looked hungry, they looked ready, and they looked confident. Even though Tampa had good pressure in the third period, Calgary kept them to the outside mostly.
I know that they call the shootout/penalty shot “the most exciting play in hockey” but for my money, I’ll take a breakaway where the skater has to be going at top speed, because there’s someone on his heels. Plus, the rebound is still available. My heart was beating a mile a minute when Jarome jumped up with the puck short handed. Great shot that Khabibulin couldn’t control, and a great play to put the rebound in the back of the net.
So, yeah, you could say that I’m on the Flames bandwagon. Only to the extent that I think they’re a team that deserves to win based on their work ethic, and I love to see the underfunded teams of the league start to prosper. I’m a big Jarome Iginla fan, regardless of any of it though, the guy is just a class act. Hey, he plays video games too (scroll down about halfway.)
On an unrelated note, I’ve been making some changes to the site, so some stuff might not work properly, or might look different. Let me know if you spot anything that seems out of place.
Simpson’s quote of the day: “Me fail English? That’s unpossible!” – Ralph