sleddy2008
02-08-2010, 11:32 PM
C/P from TSN.ca
Ray Ferraro 2/8/2010
No matter what teams look like on paper, the results are never certain.
Since the lockout ended, we have seen greater parity among teams than at any time in the last 30 years.
Just look at the Stanley Cup champions from the mid-1970's until last year. Three teams won the Stanley Cup between 1976 and 1988 (Montreal, New York Islanders and Edmonton). There were back to back winners in 1991 and 1992 (Pittsburgh) and 1997 and 1998 (Detroit). Since that time, only the Red Wings have won it twice. Since the lockout ended, we've seen four different winners in as many years.
And right now, it looks to me that we'll five different winners in as many years.
I watched the fabulously entertaining Pittsburgh-Washington game on Sunday and can't help but think that it's going to be pretty difficult to de-rail the Capitals. Looking at a team that has now won 14 straight games, I saw a few similarities to an untested, dynamic and reckless Edmonton Oiler team right before they won their first Cup.
There is that frenetic style that is difficult to tame. The Oilers would toy with opponents, putting a needed burst on here and there when they needed to in order to win. But when the importance of the games increased, so did their tempo. They made you try to keep up. They were big. They were more physical than you realized. If you scored four goals, they scored fives. There are also personnel similarities that can't be ignored. Follow along with me here and you'll this is not far fetched! Don't forget, I'm thinking of the pre-Cup winning Oilers here.
Let's start with a high risk, high reward defenceman in Mike Green. He can be erratic - as Paul Coffey could be at times - but both would play like a rover, pop-up at odd spots on the ice with the puck on their stick and make opponents have to worry about them at all times.
Wayne Gretzky was clearly on a different level - joined only in his generation by Mario Lemieux - but it was his feel for the game and his sublime passing skills that really awed me. Niklas Backstrom plays in that role in Washington, and while I am not saying that he's Gretzky (and who is?), he is a brilliant passer and is only coming into his own at age 22.
Grant Fuhr caught right handed, was highly acrobatic, and was just developing the "big game" reputation that he deserved. Jose Theodore catches right handed, is probably in the Caps' net only because of an injury to Semyon Varlamov, but in his own acrobatic way has come off the mat and resurrected his career with a personal 10-game winning streak.
Mark Messier was an absolute brute with a predator feel to his game, whether he was looking for the big hit or pushing the dagger in with a big goal. Sound familiar? Doesn't Alexander Ovechkin have a lot of that in him? The Caps never seemed too far away trailing 4-2 and Ovechkin made sure there was life left in their winning streak with his two third period goals.
The Caps as a whole have outscored teams by an unbelievable 30-6 margin in the third period of their winning streak. Their pace wears teams down. They will take chances because they are confident that they can outscore any mistake.
And here's the stat line that shows that they have the necessary will to battle back when they trail: only one team in the NHL has a winning record when they give up the 1st goal. Yup, that's the Capitals – who are 15-6-2 after Sunday's win.
Until the Stanley Cup is awarded (of course nothing is guaranteed), the Caps have to be at the very top among the contenders.
Now one last point - there is nothing more compelling than watching Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin play head-to-head against each other. They drive each other towards incredible performances.
Ray Ferraro 2/8/2010
No matter what teams look like on paper, the results are never certain.
Since the lockout ended, we have seen greater parity among teams than at any time in the last 30 years.
Just look at the Stanley Cup champions from the mid-1970's until last year. Three teams won the Stanley Cup between 1976 and 1988 (Montreal, New York Islanders and Edmonton). There were back to back winners in 1991 and 1992 (Pittsburgh) and 1997 and 1998 (Detroit). Since that time, only the Red Wings have won it twice. Since the lockout ended, we've seen four different winners in as many years.
And right now, it looks to me that we'll five different winners in as many years.
I watched the fabulously entertaining Pittsburgh-Washington game on Sunday and can't help but think that it's going to be pretty difficult to de-rail the Capitals. Looking at a team that has now won 14 straight games, I saw a few similarities to an untested, dynamic and reckless Edmonton Oiler team right before they won their first Cup.
There is that frenetic style that is difficult to tame. The Oilers would toy with opponents, putting a needed burst on here and there when they needed to in order to win. But when the importance of the games increased, so did their tempo. They made you try to keep up. They were big. They were more physical than you realized. If you scored four goals, they scored fives. There are also personnel similarities that can't be ignored. Follow along with me here and you'll this is not far fetched! Don't forget, I'm thinking of the pre-Cup winning Oilers here.
Let's start with a high risk, high reward defenceman in Mike Green. He can be erratic - as Paul Coffey could be at times - but both would play like a rover, pop-up at odd spots on the ice with the puck on their stick and make opponents have to worry about them at all times.
Wayne Gretzky was clearly on a different level - joined only in his generation by Mario Lemieux - but it was his feel for the game and his sublime passing skills that really awed me. Niklas Backstrom plays in that role in Washington, and while I am not saying that he's Gretzky (and who is?), he is a brilliant passer and is only coming into his own at age 22.
Grant Fuhr caught right handed, was highly acrobatic, and was just developing the "big game" reputation that he deserved. Jose Theodore catches right handed, is probably in the Caps' net only because of an injury to Semyon Varlamov, but in his own acrobatic way has come off the mat and resurrected his career with a personal 10-game winning streak.
Mark Messier was an absolute brute with a predator feel to his game, whether he was looking for the big hit or pushing the dagger in with a big goal. Sound familiar? Doesn't Alexander Ovechkin have a lot of that in him? The Caps never seemed too far away trailing 4-2 and Ovechkin made sure there was life left in their winning streak with his two third period goals.
The Caps as a whole have outscored teams by an unbelievable 30-6 margin in the third period of their winning streak. Their pace wears teams down. They will take chances because they are confident that they can outscore any mistake.
And here's the stat line that shows that they have the necessary will to battle back when they trail: only one team in the NHL has a winning record when they give up the 1st goal. Yup, that's the Capitals – who are 15-6-2 after Sunday's win.
Until the Stanley Cup is awarded (of course nothing is guaranteed), the Caps have to be at the very top among the contenders.
Now one last point - there is nothing more compelling than watching Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin play head-to-head against each other. They drive each other towards incredible performances.