The Bench Boss has a few bones to pick and would like to weigh in with his own thoughts in response to some of the things that the O-Dman said about the cup finals.
1. Huet isn’t good just because he made one nice save. He is terrible and that is why he has never been able to cut it as a starter. Not in Montreal, not in Washington and not in Chi-town.
2. You aren’t seriously giving the goaltending advantage to Detroit are you? Yes, Ozzy has been solid, but let’s get serious here. In the Chicago series the Wings pretty much dominated every game and he only needed to make a timely save every now and then which to his credit he did. However, in the Ducks series when the play was much more even, he was very average. Fleury is probably the best “goaltender” in the league, and by that I mean he’s not just a big log like Luongo who’s game consists of simply covering the entire net. Fleury is not a big goalie by any means and has to actually rely on anticipation, quickess and reflex to make saves. He is proving more and more to be a great big game goalie (unlike Luongo). I’d actually rank him and Lunqvist as the top 2 netminders in the game.
3. The key to Pittsburgh’s defence is not the undersized and erratic Kris Letang, and certainly not the offensive minded Gonchar. The key to Pittsburgh’s success defensively has been and will need to continue to be the underrated and steady play of the likes of Hal Gill, Rob Scuderi and Brooks Orpik. These three can’t be any fun to play against, especially Gill and Orpik, who may lack some foot speed but you can be assured that they will be in your face and there to battle all night. Think back to why Anaheim ws so successful against Detroit. They were in the Wings kitchen all night. Those three Pittsburgh d-men need to be the same way.
Sidney instructing Gill and Orpik to kill Holmstrom
4. The one thing we can agree on is the outcome of the series. I will also go with Detroit in 7 simply because I have now come to the conclusion that Detroit is the best skating team I have ever seen. From top to bottom I have never seen a team skate the way they can. Even bigger players like Franzen and Samuelsson can fly. For Pittsburgh to win its simple really. They need to watch the tape of Anaheim and try and do everything they did, and then watch the tape of the Chicago series and try NOT to do everything that the Hawks did.
from 06-08 Chris huet had the highest save% of any goalie. and that was on a shit habs team that gave up many a good chance
this blog was entertaining, but when it comes down to real analysis, it seriously lacks.
Hmm so then why did 3 consecutive teams replace him? Why did Montreal give the reigns to a 19 year old? Why did Washington sign a declining Jose Theodore to replace him, and why did Chicago go with an ancient Khabibulin over him? Get back to me when you learn the game.
First off. Carey price was 20. Bob thought (still thinks) he was a phenom, and Chris was up for contract at the end of the season. Gainey and co. thought Price was ready for full time, personally I thought it was a little too soon.
Washington signed Theodore for less than what Huet was looking for. You dont have to be a fucking genius to figure that one out.
And “ancient” Khabibulin is 36. A Mere 3 years older than Huet. Ancient Tim Thomas is 35, and he is about to win the Vezina.
Anyways, Khabibulin had a great comeback year forcing Huet to the bench. I know the game just fine thanks.
So what are you saying exactly? Are you arguing that Huet is a top tier goalie even though he has never been able to lock down a starting role with 3 different teams? If he was as good as you think he is, he would have found a place to play and run with it. Three teams have made him the backup for a reason, and its because he has never been able to show any consistency. And yeah 36 is ancient, but I never said you can’t be good at that age did I. I was just saying that it was funny how Chicago gave the reigns to Khabi even though he was thought to be at the end of his career. Just shows how bad Huet must have been throughout the year I guess…
I was just arguing that he is not ‘terrible’. Huet locked down the starting role in Montreal. While it was short lived, it was still his. If it werent for Carey price being Montreals “goalie of the future” he would still be there i believe. Like I said before, Price was rushed in for the experience, and they wanted him to be starter. Huet is a starter and they had no use for 2 starters obviously. So he was traded. Theodore did not chase him out of town, he was with washington for like 3 months and then his contract was up. Maybe he just didn’t want to play there, maybe they weren’t offering enough money, who knows really, I dont think any of that info has been floating around. While he was with Washington he was 11-2 with a .936 save % and a 1.63 GAA. Although he was less than stellar in the playoffs, I’m sure there was more to him leaving than that. And then this year, Huet was brought in to replace Khabi, but Khabi had a rebound/comeback year of sorts and thats all there is to it really.
Some of your logic is counter-intuitive, Bench Boss. For one, you say that the admittedly slow-moving Gill and Orpik are crucial, going up against the “best skating team” you’ve ever seen. I’ll reserve judgment on the Fleury comment as the league’s best goalie until after the series, but I’ll say it’s absolutely retarded to put him even in the top 5 of the NHL’s goaltending elite.
To john doe – I’m glad you find the blog entertaining and I know that entertainment on here is my primary goal. Thanks for the comments
You can be slow and still be successful my friend, just ask the Anaheim defense. Sure if Gill or Orpik get stuck against Wings players on mad rushes they will get hurt, but they rarely put themselves in that position. In their own zone Gill, Orpik and Scuderi are the one’s that get things done. Now, I never said they will be highly successful against Detroit, my arguement was simply that those three are more key defensively than Gonchar and Letang, who basically hang on for dear life in their own end.
Fleury not top 5? wow. I think you’ll get a good indication of how good he is this year. Especially with the amount of rubber he is gonna face.
Goalies better than Marc-Andre Fleury in the NHL today (not necessarily in the following order):
1) Roberto Luongo
2) Henrik Lundqvist
3) Tim Thomas
4) Martin Brodeur
5) Manny Fernandez
6) Miikka Kiprusoff
7) Cam Ward
8) Evgeni Nabokov
9) arguably Steve Mason
I am indeed a fan of Fleury, but he’s not the best. If you want to crown him, then crown his ass! But Marc-Andre Fleury is who I thought he was! And that’s why I made the damn post.
For some reason when I wrote 8 followed by ), it made a sunglasses guy face.
Manny Fernandez? that was supposed to be a joke right?
hahaha I actually messed up and I’m embarrassed. I meant current Minny goalie Niklas Backstrom instead of that old faggot Manny. =(
I fear that the wings are too much for the Pens.
Osgood has demonstrated in these two games what it means to be a winner, and to make the saves when they count.
and what credentials does this ‘john doe’ person have that gives him the right to say htat this blog lacks knowledge and analysis?
screw you john doe
What credentials do you have that give you the right to call me out? Its all opinion retard .
I never said these guys weren’t knowledgeable, and if I did I retract it.
I understand that some things they have to say are over the top, for the sheer entertainment factor
“Its all opinion, retard”