HDIC Game Thoughts

Ottawa Senators vs. Edmonton Oilers

If anyone wonders why these two teams are in last, look no further then the first period of this game. Mistakes and turnovers were the story for both teams, but the bad bounce on Ottawa's second goal explained the Oilers for most of the game. Edmonton did pick it up in the second and third, but couldn't grab the lead. It's kind of saddening since Ottawa barely played better after the first. The big difference was that the Sens were able to capitalize on the Oilers mistakes more than vice-versa. Overall, both teams seem to try and force plays to happen. The few higlights of this game include Penner’s 2 goals (really nice shots off the post both times) and the Kovalev-Regin 2-on-1.

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadiens

The beginning of this game wasn't much better than the other one. Maybe the only difference was that the Sens and Oilers were able to score a couple while both teams here either didn't or couldn't create chances. The only highlight of the first period would probably be the fight between Subban and Lupul. Thank god they (in this case, the Habs) picked it up in the second. The Habs scored two near-identical goals in which the Leafs failed to recognize the guy in the slot BOTH times. They later added one more in the third to win 3-0. I'd like to know what the hell Darryl Boyce was thinking in the third period. Three penalties, with the added insult of shooting the puck at Subban on the third might have given his team no chance to comeback, much less break the shutout. In other news, Mike Richards just praised #47 on the Leafs for his “physical play”. As a Habs fan, it’s hard to say it, but I felt a little sorry for the Leafs. Their best chance (and I’m using that term loosely) was probably whenever MacArthur had a shot. Other than that, Kessel only added to the even more depressing Kessel-Tracker (half of me wants to praise CBC for the idea, the other half thinks that stuff should stay on TSN). Hopefully, their next matchup will be better, but with the same result in the end.

Calgary Flames vs. Vancouver Canucks

I missed some parts of this game, but from what I seen it was a hell of a lot better than the other two. Enough said. More? Well, for starters both teams actually had good chances instead of just shots on net. More physical than the other games (then again, the Habs-Leafs was the only other rivalry game and even then the odds of Habs repeating Wednesday night was pretty slim). Overall this was a better game than the other two, it’s a shame though that, due to the time change, it's kind of hard to stay up for it (note: general opinion that excludes me).