With thanks to the Goalie Post.I come to you this morning via Via rail Wi-Fi. It 8:00 AM and I have a scotch in one hand and a laptop in the other. On route to Montreal to take in the Ducks and Habs tomorrow night.
Apparently all you have to do to get served at 8:00 AM is ask for a drink, the steward then says he can't and proceeds to bring you your drink in a coffee cup. I LOVE VIA RAIL!!
Be kind if my thought process wanders, I am feeling pretty good. I'm about as useful as a pair of Britney Spears underwear right now.
Back to hockey.
Can somebody explain to me why the Senators still have no goaltending? Even fantasy sports have realized that you need elite goaltending to win a championship. There is a reason that roto leagues have 40% of their categories dedicated to goaltending and shutouts are worth 2-5 pts each. But for some reason John Muckler and Bryan Murray have decided that 200M wrapped up on their top line is more prudent then investing in an elite goaltender, or Zdeno Chara and Wade Redden.
The Maple Leafs overachieved in the Pat Quinn era mainly due to unbelievable goaltending. Curtis Joseph and Ed Belfour help to mask plenty of the Leafs deficincies in the early millenium. Yet year after year the Sens would trot out Tom Barrasso and Patrick Lalime and lose series after series to an inferior team. Well this humiliation would certainly get the point across right? Uh, not exactly.
The Sens spent their entire Stanley Cup window trying to win the Stanley Cup with suspect goaltending. A scouting staff that stocked it's team with great players like Marian Hossa, Daniel Alfreddson, Jason Spezza, Zdeno Chara, Pavol Demitra and Wade Reddon, yet was totally incompetent in providing a reliable goaltender.
Immortals Damian Rhodes, Ron Tugnutt, Peter Sidorkiewicz, Patrick Lalime, Jani Hurme, Don Beaupre, Ray Emery, Mike Bales, Martin Prusek and Darrin Madeley have all patrolled the crease of the Sens at one time or another. Even John Ferguson Jr realized the importance of goaltending, unfortunately he also though Andrew Raycroft was better than Tuuka Rask. But I digress.
Now the braintrust has tied their future to Alex Auld and Martin Gerber? They seem to be riding their bike with no handlebars. Unless your defense is anchored by Nik Lidstrom, you CANNOT win a Stanley Cup without elite goaltending. Simple as that.
On to tonight's games
Anaheim Ducks @ Ottawa Senators
JS Giguere is the probable facing Alex Auld in the nation's capital tonight. How things have changed, it was only 18 months ago when these two teams were battling for the Holy Grail. Now both teams seem to be rudderless ships with little direction other than hanging on to fringe contender status.
Philadelphia Flyers @ New Jersey Devils
Talk about a mismatch. The extremely overrated Martin Biron to face off against Martin Brodeur in beautiful Newark, New Jersey tonight. Once again, it looks like one of those no brainer picks, Philly is struggling, "Fatso" is on fire, yet these are the ones that usually end up 4-0 for the underdog. These games my friends is why Vegas does not care wether the 200-1 Rays win the World Series or not. Let's just say they have it covered.
NY Rangers @ Columbus Blue Jackets
Stephen Valiquette is the probable for the Rangers tonight, facing Pascal Leclaire.
San Jose Sharks @ Florida Panthers
Probables look to be Nabokov and Vokoun, no confirmations as of yet. After a strong start Nabokov has come crashing down to earth giving up 14 goals in his last 3 games. If Nabokov was owned by a trader in the market today they would SELL, SELL, SELL him for the rights to Justin Pogge then after a shutout BUY BUY BUY him back for the rights to Sidney Crosby. I wouldn't want these guys running my fantasy team, let alone determining the outcome of our economy. Sigh
Atlanta Thrashers @ Detroit Red Wings
Probable's Kari Lehtonen and Chris Osgood. Question. If you had the choice in round 10 of your fantasy draft and Vesa Toskala was available or an XXL Red Wings jersey that was to be hung between the pipes for 50 starts this year, you would choose the jersey right? I mean it's a no brainer right?
LA Kings @ St. Louis Blues
Jason Labarbera gets the nod against probable Manny Legace. The only way I would watch this game is if it was Glen Hall appreciation night and they made both goalies play without their masks. Can somebody make this happen please? Damn Players Association!
No comments:
Post a Comment