Bergfors isn't as good as some people think he is. He looked fairly decent at times last year, but looked like he just didn't have the hockey sense at other times. As for Kovy... ugh. There is a perfectly good reason which I've mentioned before here. Post lockout this is a different game, and the Devils old system wasn't getting it done anymore. They could win games all year long in the regular season, but in the playoffs teams had more time to study that system, and other teams had the ability to ratchet the intensity up a notch. The Devils were a team that just couldn't compete in the playoffs, and it was time for a change. With a good core of skill from Parise and Zajac, a few REALLY talented young forwards in Tedenby and Josefson coming up, what appeared to be good young DMen (Urbom, Corrente, Taormina) waiting in the wings and a nice corps of veteran defensemen (Greene who has taken a MASSIVE step back this year, Volchenkov who has been hurt and Tallinder... my god I think he's the worst NHL veteran defenseman I've ever seen and I've been watching Colin White) the team should have been one dynamic presence away from being a constant threat. That presence should have been Kovalchuk. But the D got off to a slow start. Volchenkov got hurt, the vets played bad, Greene regressed and the rookies (ESPECIALLY Urbom) weren't quite their yet. So Kovalchuk quit. He was late for a meeting, he got benched for it (which he deserved) and he just decided to quit. He barely looks like he's trying, and it's so fucking frustrating. That's the thing nobody could have predicted. A lot was said about how Kovalchuk wasn't a winner and other assorted crap, and it seemed absurd to me. Placed on a team where winning was expected should have changed that. Getting to play with guys like Parise and Brodeur, getting coached by a guy like Scott Stevens, having Ken Daneyko around all the time should have altered that perception. Instead, the opposite happened. The team looked good early on except for some Defensive shortcomings and a slow start by Brodeur. Then Kovalchuk quit and appears to have turned into a massive locker room cancer, infecting younger players with his complete lack of awareness. Also, Arnott is being a dick. That doesn't help.
I know this must be difficult for the Penguins brass to understand... Fleury: 1-6-0 Save%: 85.3 GAA: 3.55 Johnson: 6-1-1 Save%: 94.3 GAA: 1.63 START JOHNSON EVERY GAME!!!! Don't wait for Fleury to be the human sieve in nets for the first 7 minutes of the game then pull him. Just deal with the fact you have a goddamn dud of a goalie right now who's costing you 5.5 million a year. Put the 600k guy in the net and let him win some games. Fuck!
WELCOME TO MY WORLD. MUAAHAHAha--oh wait. The Leafs are shit too... Seriously though, this will end in a month or so and the Devils will go back to normal. I know Parise is out, but you still have 3 or 4 more forwards than the Leafs do, so expect a reversion back to the norm. The East is terrible after all. It could be worse. You could be a T.O. fan where the nightmare NEVER ends. I'm still waiting to wake up.
I'm wondering if someone actually hired Kovalchuk to sabotage the Devs. How does he whiff so bad on a shootout? Hey, I'll take it because the Sabres need every point they can get, but that is not how I saw that one ending. I guess all those two teams needed was to bench their starters to have a real barn burner. Fun game to watch for once.
I don't wanna talk about it. Seriously though, as terrible as that was, it was nice to see my team score goals for once. Presumably if Johan Hedberg wasn't so goddamn terrible we'd have had a chance to win that game. It's not promising that Brodeur is STILL not practicing with his, ahem, "bruised" elbow. FUCK
Sean Avery further cements himself as the biggest piece of shit in the NHL. Skip to 3:30 to see Avery decline Ladislav Smid's challenge to fight, only to sucker-punch him the second Smid lets his guard down and begins to skate away, giving a player with a history of concussions another one. It looked like he was winding up for another right hand while he was on top of Smid, but the linesman jumped in to stop it. Fucking pathetic.
Ever notice how often he pulls this shit against Western Conference teams he won't have to see for a while? I just can't believe a team hasn't called a guy up from the minors just to beat him into a pulp.
I will become an instant lifelong fan of any player who 'Bertuzzi's' Sean Avery (even if they play for the Leafs). I don't mind pests, but he goes way over the line all the time. total chicken shit. Also, the book is closing on the the Crosby/Ovechkin debate.
Just watched a couple of replays of the Wings vs Devils game and it may be an early call and he may catch fire again during the season but I think Broduer is on his way out. He has not looked at all like himself this year even before he got injured and the second goal he let in from Cleary should have been a gimme for someone of his skill. Having lost the D-men that thewy did during the offseason I think he is going to face way too much traffic and is going to come out of this season with atrocious numbers.
I actually kind of like Avery. He's a massive dick and he's incredibly easy to hate. I absolutely understand why everyone does, but after seeing a couple of interviews with him I have to respect how utterly unapologetic he is. He never back pedals on the shit he does and he's not a bad player either. Also when asked about his interest in fashion he had a pretty good quote. "A lot of people call me gay just because I involve myself in those things(fashion shows) just open up a magazine and look at my track record, I can't be THAT gay." I'm paraphrasing. Also, dare I get excited for the Canucks this season? If they lose to Chicago in the playoffs again I don't think I'll be able to take it. I don't even want them to win the Stanley Cup (ok yes I do) all I want is for them to knock Chicago from the playoffs.
Has anyone been watching the HBO 24/7 series? Outside of laughing at Mike Green riding a Vespa, it's one of the best things I've seen on TV for a while
My sister's have them dvr'ed, I'm hoping to catch up on them while I'm home. Heard great things about them. Anything with this: has to be awesome. I also loved this scene on the plane: "Suck it, Talbo!" Curious to see what the Caps' locker room was like after last night's loss too.
Ozzy got his 400th win today against the Avalanche facing 49 shots. A 400-216-95 record in 742 games is pretty handy and take into account the cups he has under his belt I really can't see how he can have so many doubters. Yes he has been extremely shaky at times since he won his last cup and this year should probably be his last but the record speaks for itself I think.
The only thing that is bothersome is those close up interviews make Crosby's eyes look like a damn robot. Freaks me out.
If anyone would be so kind to PM me a download link for Ep. 3. Cannot find it today at my usual places for some fucking reason and it's getting annoying. Otherwise, it's the best thing on TV at the moment for me.
It just hit the major trackers now... And I'm quite liking it so far. Seems that someone in the NHL has FINALLY taken a play out of the NFL's playbook... don't know why they've never really done it before...