Monday, January 26, 2009

Recap of the NHL All-Star Game

Moving past the immediate issue that fan voting - while seemingly noble is not representative of the quality of the players voted for starting positions (i.e. Ovechkin not being named a starter yet he's the best player in the world right now), it was at least fitting to see him secure the shootout win for the East.  There seems to be concern that the All Star game is searching for relevance.   Burnside makes some good points about how players are getting there, hopefully the league can work that out. Moving on, here were the highlights from the evening:
  • Kovalev wins the MVP award in front of the Montreal fans
  • Video montage of Top 10 plays of the year so far (ESPN had Ovie's goal against Buffalo at 10 though Vs had it at #4)
  • Tim Thomas (don't like Boston, but apparently he's gotten past his lack of conditioning from his Vermont days, he was pretty amazing)
  • Lundqvist getting shelled, yet he's still better than Al Montoya
That being said, if no one's going to play defense - which is fine...and this game is just for fun and to showcase ridiculous things (read: Malkin's between the legs goal), then why not just play it 4 v 4, so there's more open ice?  The YoungStars game is ridiculous at 3 v 3, but is a bit like Wayne Gretzkey's 3D Hockey (for N64).  Why not take out icing while you're at it, and goalies can't freeze the puck?  Then you pretty much have a total "pick-up" game of the best players in the world doing the most absurd things that will make every kid want to immediately go play street hockey so he can try and make that same move.

On a side note - that was a BS call that gave the decision to the judges for the Cerrone/ Varner fight.  At the very least, the Colorado guys on this blog can say that they we knew Cerrone back in the day - and I truthfully never saw this coming.  Good for him, it's better than prison I guess (in the words of Lanier).

7 comments:

Mister Pro said...

Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey was sick. The goaltender would actually morph into a brick wall when he was on his game. Not as good as NHL 94 though. Nothing is as good as NHL 94, not even Blades of Steel.

Mister Pro said...

Tim Thomas is also a meathead.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/photos?photoId=2126805&gameId=290119001

In that game last week he surrendered the tying goal with 0.8 sec remaining, and Saint Louis won in the shootout. Check out the third period box score from that game, it's pretty amazing.

2-1 Blues until five minutes remain, then the Bruins score three in under two minutes to take a 4-2 lead. Saint Louis scores with a minute and a half left, and then David Backes takes a last-gasp swipe at the puck in mid-air and knocks it to the twine behind Thomas.
Phenomenal puck.

The Doob said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mister Pro said...

Tim Thomas meatheading his goal

Mister Pro said...

You can't fault having Malkin and Crosby - the league's top two scorers - starting ahead of Ovechkin. But where were Caps fans to stuff the ballot boxes for him like Habs fans did for Kovalev? Since this is just a pick-up game, a celebration of the game and its talent, you can't fault the NHL for letting fans pick the starters. I guess Ovie just wasn't one of the three most popular Eastern Conference forwards.

The Doob said...

That's alright, we'll see how Montreal likes watching from the sidelines after the first round this year while Washington plays Boston in the EC Finals.

Mister Pro said...

Theodore is currently proving his worth, and also showing that his depature is a major reason the Avs are searching for a piece of driftwood to stay afloat in the West. Lottery? It may not be far off with no goaltending and your top two centers sidelined for half the season.


East darkhorse: New Jersey with a healthy Brodeur

 
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