I think on the whole, Tampa Bay has more talent than Calgary, but none of them are on a par with Iginla's talent. LeCavelier comes pretty close but he's missing a few key attributes that Iginla has in spades.
Calgary the team is definitely a case of being more than the sum of its parts. They have great chemistry and work ethic for one thing. I don't know that I've ever seen a team work harder than Calgary has this playoff season. Really. Even hard-nosed teams like New Jersey or Buffalo from a few years back don't quite have the same intensity Calgary has.
I don't think Iginla is Jordan-like, to borrow that phrase. I'm not even sure Mario Lemieux was "Jordan-like" during his best days. But he does elevate the level of his team's play, as all super-stars do. I actually think that they tend to follow his intensity level (and maybe Sutter's intensity level) a bit, more than they depend on him to make all the plays...
...sometimes the Bulls would depend on Jordan to make all the big plays to get them through to the next level, but they didn't win any titles that way. Only when other guys like Pippen and Paxson and Kerr started making big plays did the Bulls start winning championships (instead of just the first round or two of the playoffs).
Man I am getting psyched already. I can't imagine what a mad-house Calgary is going to be in a few hours - although the police reports indicate a very civilized crowd (unlike the fans of another Canadien franchise, who will remain nameless) - I would love to be there right now.
I hope Iginla sets up Gelinas or Nieminen for the GWG... that would be so perfect and typical of this group. Everyone has contributed and skated their ass off for the most part... all playoff long. Would love to see Calgary and Canada at large get the Cup back. I might've rooted for Tampa had they been playing Detroit or even San Jose (never liked Ron Wilson much), but not against any of the western teams from Canada.
The teevee announcer on Sports Page after 11pm a couple of nights ago followed a video segment of celebrating female fans on 17th avenue by publicly noting Flamesgirls.com. I just about sprayed scotch on the screen expecting him to be canned by the next commercial break.
Still works at the station, apparently. (The site passed 2 Million hits since then)
Got my fridge full of chilled beer, but I'm thinking it's smarter to pick a pub full of flamesgirls to watch.
and a Gelinas overtime winner would be surreal...
four series GWG in OT in one playoff season... against four division champs.
Imagine if Don Cherry had plugged (no pun intended) that site on the air. The Canadian government would've forcibly removed him from the studio before the show was over.
Less than two hours away now... I am pumped! Time to fire up the grill and get ready for Lord Stanley *knocks on wood*....
This is disgusting. One of the most poorly officiated games I've seen all playoff long.
TB gets powerplays every dive they take, and Calgary doesn't get shit called when TB drags Iginla to the ice by his arm or trips him. Fucking refs litening to the Bettman & Co. again before the game. Just call it tight both ways or let them play!
Well, I haven't really seen any of that. Lots of no-calls really. What I have seen is Calgary playing poorly in their own zone and Lecavalier suddenly getting in the thick of things again. The Tampa D is blocking everything. Even when Calgary was outworking them in the last five minutes of the 2nd period, despite having bodies and offensive zone time, almost nothing came in front or towards the net.
For Calgary, the problem with being so dependent on one player is that the player not only is a target of the opposition D, but the other players on the team will look too much towards him to get the job done. That player might bear too much of a burden on his own shoulders too and try to do everything himself. That's what it looked like with Iginla after that second goal. I haven't really seen much of Gelinas either tonight, but everyone is focused on Iginla's lack of production. Kiprusoff has kept it close.
20 minutes. If Tampa Bay lays off for a short time, things could change quickly.
Well in the end TB played the better defensive game and made their opportunities count.
The officiating didn't end up as the deciding factor but there were a couple of things with Iginla I thought should've been called in the first and second period. And that third powerplay where Richards or whoever it was just tumbled over like he had been hit by a tree after minimal contact was just... that was bad any way you cut it. Would've been a bad call in teh regular season let alone game 7 of the Finals. Home ice advantage I guess; shouldn't expect different.
Congrats to TB. They survived a huge period of sustained pressure from Calgary. I almost think Khabibulin deserved C. Smythe more than Richards but TB was a really steady team the whole playoff season.
I just hope we have a Stanley Cup playoff next season. The World Cup might be all we get (in September).
Comments
Calgary the team is definitely a case of being more than the sum of its parts. They have great chemistry and work ethic for one thing. I don't know that I've ever seen a team work harder than Calgary has this playoff season. Really. Even hard-nosed teams like New Jersey or Buffalo from a few years back don't quite have the same intensity Calgary has.
I don't think Iginla is Jordan-like, to borrow that phrase. I'm not even sure Mario Lemieux was "Jordan-like" during his best days. But he does elevate the level of his team's play, as all super-stars do. I actually think that they tend to follow his intensity level (and maybe Sutter's intensity level) a bit, more than they depend on him to make all the plays...
...sometimes the Bulls would depend on Jordan to make all the big plays to get them through to the next level, but they didn't win any titles that way. Only when other guys like Pippen and Paxson and Kerr started making big plays did the Bulls start winning championships (instead of just the first round or two of the playoffs).
I hope Iginla sets up Gelinas or Nieminen for the GWG... that would be so perfect and typical of this group. Everyone has contributed and skated their ass off for the most part... all playoff long. Would love to see Calgary and Canada at large get the Cup back. I might've rooted for Tampa had they been playing Detroit or even San Jose (never liked Ron Wilson much), but not against any of the western teams from Canada.
Still works at the station, apparently. (The site passed 2 Million hits since then)
Got my fridge full of chilled beer, but I'm thinking it's smarter to pick a pub full of flamesgirls to watch.
and a Gelinas overtime winner would be surreal...
four series GWG in OT in one playoff season... against four division champs.
Imagine if Don Cherry had plugged (no pun intended) that site on the air. The Canadian government would've forcibly removed him from the studio before the show was over.
Less than two hours away now... I am pumped! Time to fire up the grill and get ready for Lord Stanley *knocks on wood*....
I had to miss the game last night. Damn baby nephews and their birthdays.
So is Iginla better than St. Louis, Lacavalier and Richards put together? We'll find out on Monday!
TB gets powerplays every dive they take, and Calgary doesn't get shit called when TB drags Iginla to the ice by his arm or trips him. Fucking refs litening to the Bettman & Co. again before the game. Just call it tight both ways or let them play!
I hate it when refs meddle with big games.
For Calgary, the problem with being so dependent on one player is that the player not only is a target of the opposition D, but the other players on the team will look too much towards him to get the job done. That player might bear too much of a burden on his own shoulders too and try to do everything himself. That's what it looked like with Iginla after that second goal. I haven't really seen much of Gelinas either tonight, but everyone is focused on Iginla's lack of production. Kiprusoff has kept it close.
20 minutes. If Tampa Bay lays off for a short time, things could change quickly.
The officiating didn't end up as the deciding factor but there were a couple of things with Iginla I thought should've been called in the first and second period. And that third powerplay where Richards or whoever it was just tumbled over like he had been hit by a tree after minimal contact was just... that was bad any way you cut it. Would've been a bad call in teh regular season let alone game 7 of the Finals. Home ice advantage I guess; shouldn't expect different.
Congrats to TB. They survived a huge period of sustained pressure from Calgary. I almost think Khabibulin deserved C. Smythe more than Richards but TB was a really steady team the whole playoff season.
I just hope we have a Stanley Cup playoff next season. The World Cup might be all we get (in September).