Unbelievable. That game was just how I imagined it could be, but light years ahead of what I thought it would be.
The Ducks did what I expected, which was a lot of elbowing and instigating and hitting for its own sake. And the Stars did what I hoped, which was to point out how stupid that strategy was by scoring goals while Ducks were in the penalty box.
The Stars scored four power-play goals. FOUR! You’d have thought, after the first period when the Stars scored two PP goals, the Ducks would try to clean up their act a little bit, but they jumped right into the second period with two more back-to-back penalties right on the heels of the one they were killing from the first period.
Things could have been even worse for the Ducks, penalty-wise. At the end of the first period, Todd Bertuzzi only got a roughing minor for crossing the rink to join a tussle that Boucher and Selanne were having, grabbing Bouche and slamming him to the ice. Not only should that have been an instigator penalty or even a “third man in” penalty and a game misconduct, I’m pretty sure it violates his parole. Surely he’s under some specific restriction against bouncing players’ heads off the ice.
Marty Turco was brilliant. The power play is getting the attention, but Turco got a shutout and it wasn’t as easy as it looked. There were several times when the puck was bouncing all over the place and all the players from both teams were within arm’s reach of Turco, yet he didn’t let the puck get by him.
Defense looked great. Boucher, Robidas, Daley, and Norstrom did a fine job. Norstrom had a great hit, where he actually picked the Ducks player up and slammed him into the boards. Boucher got into a scrap with Teemu Selanne after Teemu cross-checked him in the chin. (I think that’s in “Checking 101” at Chris Pronger’s School of Hockey.) Robidas got a couple of assists, and Daley made some fine defensive plays.
Matt Niskanen and Nick Grossman really shone. They were poised and calm and aggressive. Even though they’re rookies, in their first playoffs, they didn’t seem to be afraid of making a mistake and just played like they’ve been playing.
Nick Grossman is impressing me more and more every day. He plays a tough, mature, smart game and doesn’t look at all like a rookie. Mark Fistric was a scratch, but I think he’d have done well, too. They just didn’t have a slot for him, and as long as they’re doing well, they probably won’t find a slot for him for a while. But it’s not because of a lack of confidence in him, I imagine. He’s going to rack up a lot of playoff games in his career, I feel sure.
Speaking of impressing me more and more, Loui Eriksson is really looking good. He’s a reason why I believe the coaching staff when they think somebody should be scratched, because early in the season everybody out here in the stands thought Eriksson should be, and Dave Tippett just kept him out there until he started building a little confidence. And now he’s soaring. His offense is climbing, but his defensive play is already high.
The Stars played like a pack, just like they planned. They swarmed the Ducks and never failed to come back to help each other out. It was just a great game all around.
If this is how they’re going to play, I’m wildly encouraged. I can’t wait to see how they play in Game 2. The next game is going to be tougher. Anaheim is likely to be horrified by the way they played and try to do better, so the Stars will need to be braced for it. I think they can do it.
By the way, the Three Stars last night were a comic travesty. The home press picks them and Brad May, he of the seven minutes of ice-time, got the second star of the game. Razor, several days ago in his blog, called out the Anaheim press box about that very thing.
It’s hard to figure out how they could be so blatant in their homerism when selecting the three stars. They either (a) are so blind, they really thought Brad May was a better player that night than, say, Turco (3rd star with a shutout) or Brenden Morrow (a goal and 2 assists); (b) they are homers enough to insist on at least one Duck always getting a star and just figured May played so little that he was actually the only one that helped; or (c) they were doing it because they thought it was funny and they have no respect for the three stars.
It’s all part of the Anaheim Ducks’ mystique, I guess.
Dallasstars.com has a good game recap (and will for each game) that includes photos, video, links, and other stuff.
And Bob Sturm of The Ticket has a nice recap up, too. He’s got a regular column on the site now.
I’ll try to make my post-game posts more timely, but don’t get your hopes up. After a game like that, I’m too keyed up to think straight. And after a particularly crushing loss, I’m too distraught to think straight. (Maybe it’s just thinking-straight problem in general.) Plus, it was midnight. The games that are in our own time-zone should be easier to do right afterwards.
I know it’s just one game, but I’m already having so much more fun than I expected to.
Oh my god, I screamed unbelievably loud at every goal scored. My neighbors are going to hate me even more during playoffs. I even screamed when Minnesota beat Colorado in overtime earlier. SO AWESOME.
I even screamed when Minnesota beat Colorado in overtime earlier.
Aren’t the playoffs great? I get all wrapped up in just about every game, no matter who’s playing.
Of course, that Stars game sure helped me enjoy all the other games I watched. :D
Excellent post Patty, as always! Like your opening line said, this was the kind of game I knew they could play but just didn’t know if they would. After all the talk about the defense before hand, I was so proud of the way they all played. The lovely Mr. Boucher had six hits, six!!! My little d-men really kept their heads. Yeah!!!
On offense, I noticed Brad Richards a lot. I haven’t checked his shots on goal yet, but he certainly seemed to be around the net a lot more. I’ve also been impressed by Toby Peterson in the last couple games. He just seems to be everywhere when he is out there, so much hustle.
“After a game like that, I’m too keyed up to think straight.”
I know what you mean. I’m only now beginning to think coherently about it. What a thrill ride! I am anxiously awaiting tonight’s game.
That game was one of the best Round 1 games I think I’ve ever seen! It was so perfect and poetic and wonderful. I’m counting on the participants involved to do the same thing tonight!
On offense, I noticed Brad Richards a lot.
I meant to mention Brad in the post, because I thought he did a great job. He only had one assist (a beauty, though), but he was all over the place and had some good chances.
I’m counting on the participants involved to do the same thing tonight!
That would be PERFECT!