You are currently browsing the daily archive for March 6, 2009.
Your post-game analysis that barely scrapes the surface:
During the second intermission, Smokin’ Al interviewed Boyd Gordon on Comcast SportsNet, who said, to paraphrase, that whoever makes the first mistake (in a scoreless game to that point) would win the game. Uh-huh.
While the team may have performed well enough to keep it scoreless through that point, they fell apart after Lee Stempniak’s fortitious negative angle shot deflected off of José Théodore’s heel and bounced over the goal line. Pavel Kubina was left alone to rip it behind a helpless, screened (and arguably interfered-with) JT not 4 minutes later, and there was your ball game.
More on goaltender interference later.
Ready excuses present themselves for losing a third consecutive game, all on home ice:
Against Florida, it was the excuse of the second of back-to-backs, after a playoff-style matinée in Boston, facing a team desperate for a win to put them back into playoff positioning.
Against Carolina, it was “pre-trade deadline” jitters, and a suddenly flu-bitten Théodore, forcing an unprepared rookie in Michal Neuvirth between the pipes.
Against T.O., it was the sudden scratch of Alex Ovechkin and injury loss of Tom Poti, and having to play with 11 forwards.
What will be the excuse against Pittsburgh on Sunday?
