- Game five was an adventure, with Chicago looking unstoppable in the first period and then erratic at best for stretches of the remainder of the game. Even with three different three-goal leads you always had the feeling Philadelphia could still get back in that game.
- Stat of the night - a career worst performance of -5 for Chris Pronger. He was in the penalty box when Dustin Byfuglien scored his first of two on the night. The Hawks did a good job of targeting Pronger and getting him moving and making him pay the price physically.
- Most beautiful goal of the night - perhaps of the playoffs - goes to Simon Gagne, but it was all Ville Leino's doing. That's hockey!
- I remain critical of Patrick Kane. Yes, he's just 21, and yes he's got top-end talent, but I'm not seeing him coming through in big games. Yes, he scored 1 goal and 1 assist as the game moved on, but his defensive coverage on the Van Reimsdyk goal was brutal. Coach Quenneville limited Kane's ice time to just 15 minutes, 7th amongst fowards. Take away his PP time and clearly Quenneville is more enamoured with the likes of Byfuglien, Tomas Kopecky, David Bolland, Patrick Sharp and Kris Versteeg.
- Speaking of Kris Versteeg, I would expect Versteeg will be one of the earlier cap casualties in Chicago, but I can't decide if he's expendable or invaluable. I suspect he'll never be a top line player, at least not in Chicago. But he could be a real nice piece of the puzzle somewhere.
- I'd have to assume Michael Leighton will be back in net to start game 6. Still, in Chicago Leighton has a 5.31 GAA and .831 save percentage. At home in the Final, he has a 2.86 GAA and .918 save percentage.
- Yet, in the "life's not fair" category, back up Brian Boucher was tagged with 2 losses in the finals, even though he was relieving the chased Leighton.
- I started following Stan Fischler on Twitter. Imagine my surprise when "The Hockey Maven," one of the most prolific writers in hockey history, started commenting on my tweets.
June 07, 2010
Puck On The 'Net: The Maven
Here's a few slap shots for Monday:
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1 comment:
"I remain critical of Patrick Kane."
And Niemi and Buff until he showed up in game five. Better late than never.
And still they're only one game away from the Cup.
I'm hoping for a Flyer win Wednesday because:
1. A Hawk win means no more hockey.
2. A Flyer win means a game 7 in a Stanley Cup Final.
3. I love underdogs. Especially if they win a game 7 of the Final. Better if it's on the road. Even better if it's in OT.
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