Captain Blye and the Rabbi: Episodes 17 & 18

Welcome back hockey fans. Sorry I've taken so long to post. In last week's show, Ethan and I spend the first two periods (and OT) wrapping up the Olympics. The first period we devote to the men's team and its triumphant march to the Gold. Russia, Slovakia and finally the USA all fell to the mighty Canadian juggernaut. Okay we weren't quite a juggernaut. More accurately we survived the Slovaks and the Americans by the skin of our teeth. Still, Ethan and I break down the knockout phase with special attention paid to the final. In period two, we revisit the issue of whether or not NHLers belong in the Olympics at all. The third period brings us back to the NHL where we chat about the trade deadline. For all of the hype, could there be a more boring day on the hockey calender? Finally in OT, we return one last time to the Olympics and discuss our golden girls. They won (of course) but after the victory the Canadian Women's hockey team decided to celebrate on the ice. Some in the media have taken the girls to task for it. Ethan and I do not.

In this week's edition, The Rabbi and I open with a frank discussion on head shots in the NHL and what the GMs are proposing to improve the safety of their players. We wonder whether this will work and if it goes far enough. In period two we talk about ol' time rivalries and how they've become largely diminished in these past few years. Leafs-Habs was once life and death. We don't think it's the case anymore. In period three, we get into the topic the Vancouver Canucks "marathon" roadtrip. Yep, were on the road for 14 games but split up by the Olympics...which just so happened to be in Vancouver. Hmmm.

Check em both out!

Quick thoughts on last night's game, tonight's game and a post-Olympic notice

Great. We beat Germany 8-2. We should beat Germany 8-2. I'm not going to dissect the game because a) I'm likely going to do that on the podcast tonight; b) I didn't watch the whole game (went out with Miss Unfinished Business last night and turned the game off when Canada was up 4-1) and c) Did I mention that this is Germany vs Canada? Aside from that, I'm glad Weber blasted the puck through the net, that Thornton scored, that Iginla scored twice, that Pronger and Neidermayer didn't look like geriatrics on the ice and that Roberto Luogno was at least competent. I'm still not thrilled with the power-play though. Paging Mike Green...

On to tonight. I'm going to talk more about this game during the podcast but I'll say here that I expect Canada to win. Why? Quite frankly, I expect Canada to win every game it plays. For all the usual reasons (it's our game, most players in history, most players in the league, we're on home ice, blah blah blah). But also, the Russian are overrated. There, I said. Russia has elite level talent on the top two lines and that's it. Their 3rd/4th lines are old, slow and okay in their own end. This elite talent hasn't blown anyone out since beating a fifth-rate Latvia team 8-2. It couldn't beat Jaroslav Halak for more than one goal in regulation or go better than one-for-seven in the shootout. And it put a big four goals in against the Czechs. Defensively, they're okay. And just okay. Heck, they would be mediocre if it wasn't for Markov and Volchenkov (a man that they haven't been playing enough). In goal Nabakov is again okay, but he hasn't been tested and has never proven himself in ANY major competitions (Stanley Cup, Olympics, World Cup of Hockey). Is Russia good? Of course. But are they the boogie-man our media is portraying them as? Not chance.

When Ethan asked me who would win and medal in this tournament, I said Canada to win, with the US in second and Sweden in third. I still stand by this prediction. Regardless of how the team has played so far, I believe it has the talent to beat anyone in a one-off game. I expect tonight to prove me right.

Finally, I'm finding myself very limited by the scope of what I initially set out for this blog. I might love the Avs, but it's tough to write about them all the time when I don't have Centre Ice. I also feel that there's much more to write about than just hockey. So beginning after the Olympics, this blog will definitely be less Avs-centric and slightly less hockey-centric. The Toronto Raptors are in the midst of a great playoff run and the NBA as a league has never been as enjoyable since I started watching basketball. College basketball season is coming down to its wonderful conclusion. The CFL and NFL aren't on the surface but they're always on the horizon. And, I love talking about all things hockey. Come playoff time, that's all that will appear (with extensive Avs coverage, assuming they're in).

The "An Avalanche fan living in Leafs Nation who spent five years in Montreal observing the daily worship of La Sainte-Flanelle" will be replaced with something a little more appropriate. But it will still me writing. Being as honest and unmerciful as I can be. On that I promise to never change. (Bonus points to anyone who identifies the previous line.)

Canada 3, Switzerland 2 - We won...barely

What I liked: The sustained Canadian fore-check throughout the game; The Shark-Attack Line; The relatively competent play in our end; Martin Brodeur's performance (for the most part). You can sort of blame him for the first goal which was a great shot. But there's no way he can be blamed for the second. It's not the goaltender's fault when a centering pass is redirected in by his own player's skate (Patrick Marleau); Dan Boyle in both ends (again); Sidney's Crosby's goal in the shootout; Jonas Hiller's performance (from a pure hockey point of view; hated it from a partisan Canadian's POV); That this might have the effect of the Sweden loss in 2002 and knock some sense into these players.

What I didn't like: Canada's play in front of the Swiss net. It seems that our best players forgot the first thing that they were ever taught: Keep your stick on the ice; The officiating. How Crosby is high-sticked in the face and cut open and there's not a penalty called is ridiculous; The power-play. 1-7 on the PP is simply unacceptable for a team with this much talent. I've said it once and I will keep saying it: there was no reason to leave Mike Green off this team. If only to play 7-10 minutes a game as a PP specialist; The weird decisions to move Iginla from line to line. Just keep him Nash and Crosby; Chris Pronger's boneheaded play late in the second period that led to the second goal. Pronger was left out of position after he put Swiss forward Andres Ambuhl into the boards drawing what would have been a penalty and left Boyle and Marleau to play in front. Just dumb; That Canada likely needs to beat the Americans to earn a bye into quarter-finals.

Why we should panic: Because were Canadians and we didn't win 5-0 (or better.)

Why we shouldn't panic: Because we still won; Because Jonas Hiller is a real NHL goaltender who has won a Stanley Cup and backstopped the Ducks to victory in a triple-OT playoff game against Detroit in Detroit; Because there's still plenty of hockey to be played; And we still outshot Switzerland 46-25.

Captain Blye and The Rabbi: Episode 15

Good Evening Hockey Fans. Welcome back to another episode of the finest hockey show on the interweb. It's been a couple weeks but in this week's episoide, Ethan and I have caught the fever...Olympic Fever. We open with a discussion of women's hockey and specifically how dominate Canada (and the Americans) have been so far. We like, we love and we want more of it. In period two, we get into the Men's team and run down last night's 8-0 shellacking of Norway. We're a bit nitpicky, but I feel you need to be when so much is on the line. In period three, we expand the discussion and get into who we like to take home Gold (and silver and bronze for that matter). I take Canada. Ethan, the pinko, likes Russia. I've got his email if you want to send him hate mail. Finally, we go into a shootout and sort through a few things in the NHL that we haven't talked about.

Enjoy!

Canada 8, Norway 0 and Olympic Hockey Thoughts

What I liked: The second and third periods; Mike Babcock's decision to finally put Jerome Iginla with Crosby and Nash for these second and third periods; Dan Boyle's play on defence (great in both ends); The Shark Attack line; The PK; The power-play after the first period; Jenn Heil showing up and cheering on her compatriots; The Schwartz's Smoked Meat Sandwich I had last night; The obvious chemistry between Getzlaf and Perry; The play of Norwegian goaltender Pal Grontes. Yes, he let in eight goals but he still turned away 32 shots and was perfect in the first period; Eight goals. The notion that this team should take its foot off the gas is ridiculous. Goals matter in this tournament. Scoring margins matter. Keep up the offense. I'd love to see them score 10 next time against Switzerland (though I doubt they will since Jonas Hiller is real NHL goaltender).

What I didn't like: The Crosby-Nash-Bergeron line in the first period, which was thankfully jettisoned after twenty minutes; The power-play in the first period. Way too cute. Too many passes in the offensive zone and passing up perfectly good scoring opportunities. Shoot the fucking puck! (which they did after the first period); Pierre McGuire.

Let's not forget that we played Norway: I'm glad Roberto Luongo now has an Olympic Win (a shutout to boot) but he only faced 15 shots. None of which were particularly challenging. Martin Brodeur will go tomorrow night and unless he lays a total egg, will get the call against the United States; On a similar token, I'm glad that they peppered Pal Grontes with 40 shots (and scored five times in the third period). It's a very nice warmup win and hopefully the first period was just early tournament jitters.

I can't write a hockey post and not talk about the reigning Gold Medalists: 18-0 over Slovakia and 10-1 over Switzerland. The Canadian Women's team (and yes, I'm calling it women's and not ladies' hockey) has been wonderful for its first two games. Hat tricks for Meghan Agosta and Jayna Hefford. A goal and five assists for Hayley the Great. Caroline Ouellette has a tournament leading six assists. The defence has only allowed 21 shots. And the goaltenders have stopped 20 of them. Of course, we expected all of this. We expect the blowout wins over the Slovakias and Switzerlands of the world. Even tonight's game against the defending silver medalists from Sweden is expected to be another lopsided affair (5:30 start in Ontario and Quebec). As a Canadian fan, I of course want another big win (especially when total goals/differentials matter). But as a fan of women's hockey I'd love to see at least a competitive period or two. I know Canada will win but is it too much to ask for a tied, close game through 20 or 40 minutes? I want the game to grow and the only way to do so is show that the rest of the world can at least compete with Canada and the USA.