Rubbinio's Weekly Review (Week 1)
Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2005 8:40 pm
Well, guys, I decided to post a small review at the end of each week, and my oppinions on who were the good and the bad surprises of the week.
To start of just a quick note on the first two game days so far:
Good Surprises:
1. Montreal Canadiens & M. Rider
after trading Hossa to Rangers in order to keep Perzoghin and Higgins and combined with their small size many people already wrote the Canadiens off. Combine that with a start of season with 3 games in 4 days and all away and many saw them at the bottom of the standings after 3 games.
What was not counted was M. Ryder, who struck late for the second straight night, firing a wrist shot into overtime to give the Canadiens a 4-3 victory over the New York Rangers after beating Raycroft with 11 seconds left the night before.
A win against the TO next and the Canadiens will have to be take serious when it comes to playoff. In both games Kovalev showed great vision and the fact that his experience will prove crucial in Mtl quest for a new Cup to add to their tally. And with lots of promising youngsters in their roster the Canadiens look good for the future.
2. The Sens
After going down to TO after less than 5 minutes and playing very bad for 55 minutes, the Sens gave the impression that even with a revamped rooster they can not find a way to beat their arch rivals. But then Alfy, the man that the leafs fans hate the most struck and gave more hope. And yet again the Sens decided to scare the fans by conceding with 1 minute left on a bad penalty taken by Neil. But the captain was to the rescue again, taking a good feed from Spezza scored with second left in the game to quite the building. And to add even more despair to the TO fans, Alfy went on to score on the first penalty-shot of the season with a beautiful placed shot on the left of Belfour.
And even though the game was harder than it should have been, the Sens showed that unlike in previous years now they play until the last second and they are a true cup contender.
Bad Surprises:
1. The Flyers
With many people picking them as the team to beat in the East and even in the NHL, the Flyers started the game against Rangers on a roll and looked comfortable to win up to the 3rd period. And then, Esche decied to give the fans something to worry about conceding 3 goals in 10 shoots and giving the Rangers a victory that no one would have predicted. If he is unable to rebound and find a way to improve his game, the Flyers will find it harder to win than it should be because no matter how many good forwards you have you will not be able to score 4+ goals every game.
And while the team looks very strong up-front, the goal tending could be better.
To start of just a quick note on the first two game days so far:
Good Surprises:
1. Montreal Canadiens & M. Rider
after trading Hossa to Rangers in order to keep Perzoghin and Higgins and combined with their small size many people already wrote the Canadiens off. Combine that with a start of season with 3 games in 4 days and all away and many saw them at the bottom of the standings after 3 games.
What was not counted was M. Ryder, who struck late for the second straight night, firing a wrist shot into overtime to give the Canadiens a 4-3 victory over the New York Rangers after beating Raycroft with 11 seconds left the night before.
A win against the TO next and the Canadiens will have to be take serious when it comes to playoff. In both games Kovalev showed great vision and the fact that his experience will prove crucial in Mtl quest for a new Cup to add to their tally. And with lots of promising youngsters in their roster the Canadiens look good for the future.
2. The Sens
After going down to TO after less than 5 minutes and playing very bad for 55 minutes, the Sens gave the impression that even with a revamped rooster they can not find a way to beat their arch rivals. But then Alfy, the man that the leafs fans hate the most struck and gave more hope. And yet again the Sens decided to scare the fans by conceding with 1 minute left on a bad penalty taken by Neil. But the captain was to the rescue again, taking a good feed from Spezza scored with second left in the game to quite the building. And to add even more despair to the TO fans, Alfy went on to score on the first penalty-shot of the season with a beautiful placed shot on the left of Belfour.
And even though the game was harder than it should have been, the Sens showed that unlike in previous years now they play until the last second and they are a true cup contender.
Bad Surprises:
1. The Flyers
With many people picking them as the team to beat in the East and even in the NHL, the Flyers started the game against Rangers on a roll and looked comfortable to win up to the 3rd period. And then, Esche decied to give the fans something to worry about conceding 3 goals in 10 shoots and giving the Rangers a victory that no one would have predicted. If he is unable to rebound and find a way to improve his game, the Flyers will find it harder to win than it should be because no matter how many good forwards you have you will not be able to score 4+ goals every game.
And while the team looks very strong up-front, the goal tending could be better.