Scores
Montreal 1
Philadelphia 3 (Recap)
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Notable Numbers
* Er…I’m not used to typing this, but we’ll see how it goes: (double-checks spelling)… Andrej Meszaros had a three points night for the Flyers (all assists). So, that’s cool. Steve Mason also stopped 19 of 20 shots for Philly.
* Henrik Lundqvist stopped 35 of 37 shots and Marc Staal chipped in two assists in the Rangers win over the Blackhawks. On the road, no less. Impressive.
* Paul Stastny had a goal and two assists, while Tyson Barrie had one and one to lead the Avs past the Sens in OT.
* The Flyers haven’t lost at home in their last 10 contests. Since November seventh. Holy smokes.
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What Happened
Late rally
Paul Stastny scored with under three minutes to go in the third period to tie the game versus the Senators (stick-tap to Gabriel Landeskog for that net drive, of course)…
…and Tyson Barrie’d the game winner to clinch the game for Colorado.
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GWG
Carl Hagelin scored with under six minutes left to lift the Rangers past the Blackhawks. The sneaky Swede juuust managed to chip it past a prone Corey Crawford:
Blackhawks’ coach Joel Quenneville was not pleased with his team’s performance:
“We shouldn’t be looking for excuses. We shouldn’t be looking for whether we’re tired. We got enough days off. We got enough time away. You’ve got to find meaning and purpose for every game. I know that human nature some nights says that it’s tough to get excited about every game, but you’ve got to find a way when you might not have your ‘A’ game behind you or might not have your ‘A’ pace behind you.”
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An Opinion
I kinda think P.K. Subban uses a stick that’s a little too long for him.
Now, I know what you’re going to say. He won the goddamn Norris Trophy last year. He’s one of the best players in the NHL. He’s clearly got it figured out. But, you gotta consider – there’s a lot of incentive for a defenseman to use a longer stick.
They can use it to cover a bigger chunk of a passing lane, or to better poke-check the puck away from attackers, or to win more centimeter races to pucks, or to shoot the puck one mile-per-hour harder, or to tip an extra few pucks over the glass as an opponent goes to shoot…there’s tons of reasons why bigger is better. (Whereas forwards may prefer to use shorter sticks to handle the puck in tight better, keep it away from defenders, etc, etc.)
You often see a d-man on your team make a stick a quarter-inch longer one week and try to use it in practice, which usually results in some heeled passes or clumsy plays by their feet until they get used to it. Sometimes, they push the attempted growth too far, and realize “I’m just not a guy who can use a stick this long, I’m be better off using a slightly shorter one, and controlling the puck better when I get it. It’s the safer play for me.”
There’s no doubt P.K. “has it figured out.” I just see a few too many blunders that make me think “Really? For a guy who can do some of the things that guy can do…really?” I think a shorter stick would eliminate a few of those oopsies. But of course, what another man chooses to do with his stick ain’t none of our business, so he’ll continue to do as he sees fit.
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Other News
* While we’re talking Subban: Michel Therrien benched P.K. Subban after a penalty for oh, 10 minutes or so while the team was down two goals in the third period. I’ll let that sentence say what it says and move on.
* Hey cool, Loui Eriksson should be back from his concussion soon.
* The Oilers would consider trading Sam Gagner. Oh, wow. — *Yawn* — Let me file this in the same folder as “Oilers would trade Yakupov” and Oilers would trade Hemsky,” etc. etc. Way to keep all your players on pins and needles. Bet it’s been fun to be an Oiler the last handful of Januarys.
* And finally, Gabriel Landeskog made a video for You Can Play. The organization has now done an amazing thing: they have an ally on every single NHL team (the only league that can claim that, I believe). Really great stuff.
