jackp

Well, you won't need to skip my posts anymore. I just knew I would draw a flurry of negative responses when trying to defend Halak. You guys seem to miss all the positive posts about Price. (There were at least *5* after the San Jose game). You're fed up of the argument only after I post. Why wasn't there any comments directed at Bar when he went on and on about how great Price played? If sociologists ever needed any proof of the herd instinct, they just have to come here.

One thing he said is true: we need every damn point we can get. This is it. They are either starting their run to the playoffs now, or it's "see ya next year." We can't afford any more losing streaks. We need to win most of our games.

He looked shaky?????!!!!! Not according to Hrudey and Healy in the postgame. They absolutely love him and don't understand why he didn't get a star. No 3 goalposts tonight and still only 2 goals allowed. While they praised Price for his last 2 games, they out and out said that Halak was the better goalie. Two former NHL goalies - I think they know what they're talking about. BTW that move by Kopitar almost always ends up in a goal. The guy is skating faster and beats the goalie to the far side. i saw Glen Anderson score a goal like that against Patrick Roy in the forum once. The only possible defense against it is the poke check, and then you can get beaten like Miller was by Crosby in the Gold Medal overtime. (I've watched that goal in super slo-mo on my PVR a few times and I'm convinced Miller thought Crosby was going to the net a la Kopitar tonight. He was completely "not ready" for Crosby's shot.) The 2nd goal was not the greatest, that I admit. But Halak made the saves when he had to. And just like you, I'd probably go with Halak but for a different reason: because he gives us the best chance to win. (Now that Halak is no longer our Olympic enemy, I'm back in his corner.)

And you guys call me a pessimist! Gomez singlehandedly steamrolls 5 Kings... Gionta grows 5 inches... Lapierre performs a double axle... (in the stands of course) Jacques Martin grows a beard and starts calling his players "dude"... Golden nickles start coming out of Halak's a-- And Habs win by 2.

I agree. If they're gonna allow fighting (something I'm against BTW), then they should get rid of this stupid instigator rule. You push someone from behind into the boards, then you should have to be prepared to answer for it.

If you hit a guy legally, then that's part of the game, even if you hit him hard enough to hurt him. Legal hits give the guy being hit a chance to defend himself. Illegal hits (like hitting from behind or clipping in football) do not give the victim a chance to defend himself and the nature of the hit is in itself inherently dangerous (which is why the rules of the sport ban it). If I'm in a game, and the opposition is constantly hitting me legally, then it's up to me to "suck it up" and play through it. But if someone slashes at my ankle or pushes me from behind head first into the boards, there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. And anyone can do an illegal hit. It takes talent and grittiness to perform legal hits. That's why, as mentioned, Lapierre seems to always miss when the guy is facing him. (How many times have you seen him slamming into the boards right beside the guy.) Yet he's great at slamming someone from behind.

Years later, when I found out Clarke had purposely broken Kharlomov's ankle in '72, it took a lot of satisfaction out of what I had gotten out of that series. After the '76 (?) series, H. Richard refused to shake Clarke's hand. He said something to the effect of that what Clarke was playing wasn't hockey. I've always thought that when someone has to cheat in order to win, then they don't believe that they can win fairly. And I don't understand what satisfaction anyone can get, knowing that they cheated in order to win. Hey, if this is what you believe in, then let's bring it to its logical conclusion. If we play Pittsburgh in the playoffs, let's get a 4th liner like Maxwell, to swing his stick and break Crosby's ankle. Is this what you want? Would you get satisfaction out of winning the series afterwards?

Granted. But Joe, can't we expect the refs to call the game properly? After the lockout, they started calling interference and hooking properly and, despite braindead protests from knuckleheads like Cherry, the game improved immensely. If they started calling the thuggery properly, we'd see more skilled play and the game would improve even more. Bar says he likes feisty play. So do I. Legal feisty play, like that check Robinson put on Dornhoeffer when he broke the glass with the force of the check. No one is advocating removing hitting from the game. Hell, I liked to hit, having also played football. But hits from behind, which require no guts and can seriously injure a player, have no place in the game. Anyone can hit from behind. A guy 5'2" can hit Chara from behind. It doesn't take guts; it takes a mean, cowardly spirit. Didn't Grabowski hit Markov from behind and kill any hope we had in last year's playoffs? Can anyone seriously advocate this?

"Misplaced romantic ideals"?!!!! Like good sportsmanship? Fair play? Good, solid clean hits? Take a lesson from Team Canada and Team USA. That's how hockey should be played.

Couldn't have said it better myself. Terrific post...

In a different thread, I agreed with you about the Moore hit - should've earned a suspension too. You know, there is some truth in your argument about dirty play, but the good skilled teams still win more than the goon teams. When is the last time a Boston or a Philly won the Cup, as opposed to Pittsburgh or Detroit? I think the last time was Anaheim, and that's why I laugh when I see the goon-master, Burke, trying to build another Anaheim in Toronto. When I played, I was a scorer and was therefore subject to "goonery." I settled it with my fists which is why, though I'm generally opposed to fighting in hockey, if they're going to have it, then get rid of that stupid instigator rule. It only protects thugs like Lapierre. And finally, let me ask you a question: didn't you prefer that beautiful hockey displayed in the Olympics to the garbage you usually get in the NHL? Good clean hitting, along with great skating and playmaking. A guy like Lapierre would never get within a country mile of making teams like those. This is what hockey should be like. This is what it could be if the NHL started calling all penalties and not just hooking and interference.

This quote makes me happy that I'm usually at odds with you. I guess it's corny to demand good sportsmanship and winning by out-skating and out-playing your opposition? The Habs of the mid 70s showed the goons from Philadelphia how hockey should be played. 4 straight in the final and "goon hockey" was dead. It's truly sad to see some modern-day Habs fans cheering this kind of roller derby hockey. You think this kind of hockey is fine? Great! I don't. As far as Lapierre is concerned, it's sad to see a guy who almost always "just misses" when the opponent is facing him, but manages to hit him bang on when his back is turned.

Whereas I think he got what he deserved. I hate p----- who hit you when your back is turned, yet don't have the guts to face you when you're not. Mike Milbury when he played was a prime example of a dirty player who loved to hit people from behind into the boards. The guy that Lapierre hit could've broken his neck on that hit. I think the NHL should start giving more than a paltry 4 games for blatant attempts to injure like that. In this particular case, the play was already going the other way, when Lapierre decided to perform his thuggery. And for those of you who think it's okay, you'd probably be screaming bloody blue murder had it happened to someone like Markov. (And yes, that hit on Moore into the post should also have been punished by the NHL.)

Simply a great post! Thank you, Brobin!

Certainly dramatic. Gave us the record for Gold medals (14). And... it's current. People have short memories. They were just as excited after 2002. ("First Olympic hockey gold in 50 years", yada, yada, yada) 1972 remains the penultimate. Henderson still a hero after38 years...