It kills me to put a picture of someone in that jersey but Howard really was good in this game. Fortunately, he wasn’t good enough. (Photo: Dinur Blum/flickr)

The Blackhawks finally got back on the ice as their series with the Red Wings started….sorry, I fell asleep during that sentence. In all seriousness, the third period was actually entertaining but the first two periods made me wonder if the plan to win the series was to put everyone to sleep. Case in point, even NBC noticed it was quiet in the Madhouse!

Both teams started slow in the first period, combining for five shots through the first ten and a half minutes. Somehow two got in the net as Marian Hossa scored the first of the series on the power play after a beautiful passing play by Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp. Good to see the captain on the board early in the series but he’s still looking for his first goal of the playoffs. A little less than two minutes later, the Wings tied it as Damien Brunner got his third of the playoffs.

And then things got boring. I honestly have nothing to say about the remainder of the first period or the second period except to give these two stats – Detroit had the edge in hits in the first period 21-9 while the Hawks had the edge in shots in the second at 17-5. So I guess the Hawks still dominated play while they put the rest of us to sleep.

» Continue reading “Howard Tries But Hawks Take Game One”

Mr. Insurance Goal, Ryan Getzlaf. (photo:screenshot/TSN.ca)

Another early goal let in by Cam Ward was the downfall for Team Canada during the first period; that and not being able to capitalize on their power play opportunities. While unfortunate, the first period was motivation to Canada get their behinds in gear and get the rest of the game done.

» Continue reading “Another For the Canadians”

(Photo of Luca Sbisa: Bridget Samuels/flickr)

Kevin Romy scored the eventual game-winner in the third period, lifting Switzerland over Belarus 3-2.

Tobias Stephan, who got the nod and gave Reto Berra the day off, made sure to keep the game in the Swiss’ hands by stopping a Mikhail Grabovski penalty shot just a few minutes after the Romy goal. Stephan made 19 saves on 21 shots, in what was a much more even game than the 5-1 win against Kazakhstan. His Belarusian counterpart, Vitali Koval, stopped 32 of 35 and faced a barrage of shots in the first period alone (19-1 in favor of Switzerland), giving his teammates the go-ahead to make a 2-1 lead a 2-2 tie in the second period on the shot of Konstantin Koltsov. Alexei Ugarov was the other scorer for Belarus.

The Swiss were a bit undisciplined in this game as well. Leading the way in PIM was Luca Sbisa (pictured) with 4, as well as the play that led to Grabovski’s penalty shot. Thankfully, Stephan was equal to the task, as was the penalty kill. The top line of Simon Moser-Romy-Damien Brunner scored all three goals, which isn’t exactly what you want from a team whose offense needs to improve on all four lines, but it at least guaranteed a win today.

Next up is Finland on Tuesday, and that will be the real test. The Finns have only outscored their opponents 2-0 in two games, but that says much more about their defensive capabilities than their lack of offense. Stay tuned.