Interesting article by Tom Wakefield.
Mar 16, 2002 14:56:57 GMT -5
Post by Cranky on Mar 16, 2002 14:56:57 GMT -5
I don't know about you guys, but I am begining to like what he has to say. He can almost be good enough to post in HabsRus. Has that "edgy" style that I enjoy in a column or post.
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canuckshockey.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=displaysection§ionId=14
Montreal (CH) -- They came. They saw. They got shot at.
With pucks, that is. Jose Theodore made 39 saves and his defence blocked 21 more as the visiting Dallas Stars stormed back from a 3-1 deficit to tie Montreal 3-3 Thursday night.
In a battle of two teams teetering on the brink of the playoffs, Montreal (27-27-10-3) played a tremendous second period but book-ended it with two periods of rope-a-dope hockey. And we all know what happens when the Habs go to the prevent defence – Dallas came at them, in wave after wave after wave.
Rookie Marcel Hossa picked up a goal and an assist in his first game since being called up and revitalized Montreal’s second-line, fitting in nicely with Yanic Perreault and Sergei Berezin.
Perreault and Andreas Dackell scored the other Hab goals, as the team moved to within one point of the eighth place New York Rangers.
Mike Modano, Brad Lukowich and Jere Lehtinen replied for Dallas (31-23-8-4), who remain in eighth in the West.
Ed Belfour made 18 saves in the Dallas net.
PAGING DR. ANDREYCHUK
Nostalgia’s great, but here’s hoping the rumours of a Dave Andreychuk appearance in bleu, blanc et rouge are just that, rumours.
The big guy, toiling down south where hockey players go to retire (seriously: Denis Savard, Dino Cicciarelli, Brian Bradley, John Cullen, Darren Puppa, Shawn Burr, Ray Sheppard all played out their careers there) is available, and Montreal supposedly has interest.
There’s no doubt the man can still cause havoc on the powerplay, but Montreal ranks 10th in the league with the man-advantage (an under-appreciated stat around Montreal). What Montreal needs is a consistent scoring threat that can fit into their fast, counter-attacking style.
Dave doesn’t fit in. He’s faster in running shoes on ice than he is on skates. And while it may seem attractive to pair him with Doug Gilmour again, that reunion’s failed twice already – in New Jersey (96-98) and in Buffalo (00-01):
Dave Andreychuck
New Jersey: 157 games, 41 goals, 68 assists
Buffalo: 74 games, 20 goals, 13 assists
"Together Again Totals:" 231 games, 61 goals, 81 assists
Doug Gilmour
New Jersey: 83 games, 20 goals, 53 assists Buffalo: 71 games, 7 goals, 31 assists
"Together Again Totals:" 154 games, 27 goals, 84 assists
Veteran, playoff experience would help this team immensely. But shoehorning Andreychuk into this team’s line-up – this team’s style, would not work.
LASTMANBACK
I’ve seen enough. Let Hossa ride out the year up in the "bigs." If he can become a spark-plug offensive player down the stretch, Montreal won’t have to make a deal...For the record, if I’m an opposing coach I’m hammering the Hossa-Perreault-Berezin line early in the game, because I’m not convinced they want to play through the rough stuff...Little known stat: for the calendar year of 2001, Jose Theodore led the NHL in save percentage...Mike Modano may just be the fastest player in the NHL, but I wish he was known for more than his 2-way play. I’ll always wonder how great he could’ve been playing in an up-tempo style, rather than the Stars anti-hockey system...Am I the only one who looks at the Western Conference and thinks both St. Louis and Dallas are vulnerable, not only first round opponents, but to make the playoffs? They’re safe now, but who knows what’ll happen down the stretch. And while I was never sold on St. Louis (too top-heavy in talent. No second line or goaltending), I never thought Dallas would look this old, this slow, this quick...Love that Mike Ribeiro’s been sent down. Now he needs to play 24-minutes a night down there to regain his confidence. I have no doubt he’ll be a player in the NHL, he just got lost in the shuffle with the Canadiens...
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canuckshockey.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=displaysection§ionId=14
Montreal (CH) -- They came. They saw. They got shot at.
With pucks, that is. Jose Theodore made 39 saves and his defence blocked 21 more as the visiting Dallas Stars stormed back from a 3-1 deficit to tie Montreal 3-3 Thursday night.
In a battle of two teams teetering on the brink of the playoffs, Montreal (27-27-10-3) played a tremendous second period but book-ended it with two periods of rope-a-dope hockey. And we all know what happens when the Habs go to the prevent defence – Dallas came at them, in wave after wave after wave.
Rookie Marcel Hossa picked up a goal and an assist in his first game since being called up and revitalized Montreal’s second-line, fitting in nicely with Yanic Perreault and Sergei Berezin.
Perreault and Andreas Dackell scored the other Hab goals, as the team moved to within one point of the eighth place New York Rangers.
Mike Modano, Brad Lukowich and Jere Lehtinen replied for Dallas (31-23-8-4), who remain in eighth in the West.
Ed Belfour made 18 saves in the Dallas net.
PAGING DR. ANDREYCHUK
Nostalgia’s great, but here’s hoping the rumours of a Dave Andreychuk appearance in bleu, blanc et rouge are just that, rumours.
The big guy, toiling down south where hockey players go to retire (seriously: Denis Savard, Dino Cicciarelli, Brian Bradley, John Cullen, Darren Puppa, Shawn Burr, Ray Sheppard all played out their careers there) is available, and Montreal supposedly has interest.
There’s no doubt the man can still cause havoc on the powerplay, but Montreal ranks 10th in the league with the man-advantage (an under-appreciated stat around Montreal). What Montreal needs is a consistent scoring threat that can fit into their fast, counter-attacking style.
Dave doesn’t fit in. He’s faster in running shoes on ice than he is on skates. And while it may seem attractive to pair him with Doug Gilmour again, that reunion’s failed twice already – in New Jersey (96-98) and in Buffalo (00-01):
Dave Andreychuck
New Jersey: 157 games, 41 goals, 68 assists
Buffalo: 74 games, 20 goals, 13 assists
"Together Again Totals:" 231 games, 61 goals, 81 assists
Doug Gilmour
New Jersey: 83 games, 20 goals, 53 assists Buffalo: 71 games, 7 goals, 31 assists
"Together Again Totals:" 154 games, 27 goals, 84 assists
Veteran, playoff experience would help this team immensely. But shoehorning Andreychuk into this team’s line-up – this team’s style, would not work.
LASTMANBACK
I’ve seen enough. Let Hossa ride out the year up in the "bigs." If he can become a spark-plug offensive player down the stretch, Montreal won’t have to make a deal...For the record, if I’m an opposing coach I’m hammering the Hossa-Perreault-Berezin line early in the game, because I’m not convinced they want to play through the rough stuff...Little known stat: for the calendar year of 2001, Jose Theodore led the NHL in save percentage...Mike Modano may just be the fastest player in the NHL, but I wish he was known for more than his 2-way play. I’ll always wonder how great he could’ve been playing in an up-tempo style, rather than the Stars anti-hockey system...Am I the only one who looks at the Western Conference and thinks both St. Louis and Dallas are vulnerable, not only first round opponents, but to make the playoffs? They’re safe now, but who knows what’ll happen down the stretch. And while I was never sold on St. Louis (too top-heavy in talent. No second line or goaltending), I never thought Dallas would look this old, this slow, this quick...Love that Mike Ribeiro’s been sent down. Now he needs to play 24-minutes a night down there to regain his confidence. I have no doubt he’ll be a player in the NHL, he just got lost in the shuffle with the Canadiens...
