|
|
Find Downline, get $5 for each of it.
Free Register
Klik Below Banner
|
Friday, June 8 |
|
Senators, frankly, were beaten by superior team
|
It came with so much hype, but let's face it, this spring's Stanley Cup final between the Ottawa Senators and Anaheim Ducks turned out to be a big boring dud.
Not in terms of how Ottawa reacted to the Senators being in the "Big Dance," and not because the home team lost, but in the way the series unfolded and then ended, with a whimper.
Consider:
- The series went only five games and was over in nine days, exactly the same time the Senators waited between rounds to play their Western Conference rival for the Stanley Cup. It was also clear by Game 4 that there was little or no chance that the round would go to a sixth game, let alone a seventh, as was the case in the past three exciting Cup finals: the Edmonton Oilers versus the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006; the Calgary Flames versus the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004; and Anaheim versus the New Jersey Devils in 2003.
The Senators-Ducks series was more like that insipid Carolina-Detroit Red Wings final of 2002 that was also over in five games, with Detroit the clear winner. But at least in that series, a real hockey city won (even if it wasn't Canadian).
- It was a series in which the Senators only looked good in one game, which they won, 5-3, but could have also easily lost. Remember, Anaheim took the lead three times in that game before Ottawa finally jumped ahead.
- There wasn't a millisecond of sudden-death overtime, which is like going to a Tim Hortons and not having a doughnut.
- Anaheim dominated Ottawa for 11 periods, maybe 12, of the 15 played in the five games. Basically, only one team played consistently well in the Cup final.
- You knew the fifth game was over when Ducks centre Andy McDonald scored early in the first period on home ice. Sure, Daniel Alfredsson still tried to make a game of it as the Ducks kept pouring it on. Alfredsson valiantly tried to light a fire under his team with two goals in the second period, but all he got was a lot of dense smoke. Anaheim's fourth goal, 50 seconds after Alfredsson scored his second, was the turning point of the game. Too bad it was a fluke and not something that makes you want to say: "Now that's playoff hockey."
When the buzzer sounded Wednesday night, the 6-2 score reflected how anti-climactic the 2007 Stanley Cup final turned out to be.
So why did the final stink? How could the Senators, who cruised by the Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres to get to the final, end up being so overmatched by the Ducks?
Well, we saw. The Ducks were a faster, tougher and bigger team than the Senators, and they didn't deviate from their game plan: A strong skating game, a strong forecheck, excessive hitting and creating an impenetrable defensive wall in front of goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere whenever Ottawa had the puck.
As well, the checking line of Samuel Pahlsson, Travis Moen and Rob Niedermayer shut down Ottawa's triumvirate of Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley so effectively coach Bryan Murray broke up the line for Wednesday's game.Labels: news |
posted by ^%&^
@ 9:35 PM
  |
Permalink
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
