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They almost surprised us. Almost.
The Avs nearly pulled a fast one on us. Well, never mind, they got back to their losing type of hockey in the third period. And who's to blame? Well, the Penguins' coaching staff, of course. In their unfair ways, they managed to read the complicated system Sacco put in place. Those coaches... I'm telling you... They should learn the peaceful Sacco way. If a team beats you up, you just shrug and say stuff like "we didn't play 60 minutes", "We're expecting more from X player". Deep stuff like that...
Robert Ciubotaru, Romania, eurolanche@eurolanche.com
17/11/2011 - 13:00
Postgame thoughts: Penguins
They almost surprised us. Almost.The Avs nearly pulled a fast one on us. Well, never mind, they got back to their losing type of hockey in the third period. And who's to blame? Well, the Penguins' coaching staff, of course. In their unfair ways, they managed to read the complicated system Sacco put in place. Those coaches... I'm telling you... They should learn the peaceful Sacco way. If a team beats you up, you just shrug and say stuff like "we didn't play 60 minutes", "We're expecting more from X player". Deep stuff like that...
But what we did saw was the Avs can play. Not for 60 minutes, true, but they can play. What we also see was that most of the goals lately (two against the Pens) come from individual effort and they're not the result of any "system" Sacco might implement. Unless "dump it and sometimes chase it, maybe you'll get it" is a system.
Also, Sacco is unable to adapt to a change. Bylsma learned from what he saw in the first period, changed the game and got 5 answered goals. What did Sacco do? Just stood there, looking preoccupied. Oh, and he also put Duchene back at center, even though with Stastny and the Duke he looked pretty good. Let's face it, Duchene isn't big on doing his defensive duty as a center. He does it, but he doesn't like it. As a winger he has more freedom and that's what he wants. And you witness what he can do on the ice. That goal was a beauty.
Of course, the obnoxious Versus announcers were more in awe of Malkin's goal, but we already knew there'll be a love fest for the Penguins, so I didn't mind that. Or the fact that Malkin grabbed Quincey with his arms before he scored... I also loved how they were so tough on Stewart's hit on Kronwall (if I remember correctly). It was an ugly hit, but they were up in arms because Kronwall will miss games and he was took out on a stretcher and so on.
Later on we saw that the Detroit player walked out off the ice on his own two feet, although with somebody's help. And he returned later to the game. But nothing beats a little TV drama, right?
Of course, the obnoxious Versus announcers were more in awe of Malkin's goal, but we already knew there'll be a love fest for the Penguins, so I didn't mind that. Or the fact that Malkin grabbed Quincey with his arms before he scored... I also loved how they were so tough on Stewart's hit on Kronwall (if I remember correctly). It was an ugly hit, but they were up in arms because Kronwall will miss games and he was took out on a stretcher and so on.
Later on we saw that the Detroit player walked out off the ice on his own two feet, although with somebody's help. And he returned later to the game. But nothing beats a little TV drama, right?
Enough about those guys, let's get back to the Avs. Not there's much left to say. Because probably nothing will change. Even though Sacco can't motivate a fish to swim, he'll still be the coach until the end of the season. At least. And Sherman with his "amazing" trades will still be here. The owner should be the one interested in the product on ice, but he's not, so Sacco and Sherman are on a very long leash, regardless of what people say. But that's what you get for bringing a mediocre coach from AHL and a guy from Accounting to run a team.
Robert Ciubotaru, Romania, eurolanche@eurolanche.com
17/11/2011 - 13:00
