Earlier...in another thread...Barry33 posted the following...
.....I am tired of all of this "If Saks had not gone down we would have gone a long way in the playoffs" stuff.....Was Saks going down a factor? Of course.....But the turning point in the series was when the Canes got some goaltending!
That...in a nutshell...HAD to be said...and it is such a valid point! Barry33 also went on to say the following.....
...Gurber (And-o thinks he meant 'Gerber') was simply brutal in the first 2 games. Cam Ward came in and shut the door, series over. Plain and simple.
...sooooooooooooooo true...and without any 'blinders' on!
Saku's injury sure was a huge factor...but it was no 'turning point'!!! The tide was shifting wayyyyy before Justin William's stick smacked Saku in the eye!
Great post Barry33...Gainey knew/knows this is what happened as well!!! Cripes, there are maybe 5 players in the entire game today capable of having such an impact on a series upon leaving due to injury.......and Saku ain't one of 'em (maybe Brodeur, maybe a younger Forsberg, maybe Neidermayer, maybe Ovechkin...he will likely be this calibre of player in a few short years...and maybe Chris Pronger)!!!
Saku is a proven PPG playoff guy. We lost every single game by 1 goal meaning with Sak we don't go into O.T. for 2 of the 4 losses. Also note we were ahead 1-0 in game three before the true turning point of the series.
Granted Ward played an enormous amount better than Gerber but Huet could have stood his own ground if not for the momentum shift of Saku going down and no one else on the team being able to step up and deliver.
Earlier...in another thread...Barry33 posted the following... .....I am tired of all of this "If Saks had not gone down we would have gone a long way in the playoffs" stuff.....Was Saks going down a factor? Of course.....But the turning point in the series was when the Canes got some goaltending! That...in a nutshell...HAD to be said...and it is such a valid point! Barry33 also went on to say the following..... ...Gurber (And-o thinks he meant 'Gerber') was simply brutal in the first 2 games. Cam Ward came in and shut the door, series over. Plain and simple. ...sooooooooooooooo true...and without any 'blinders' on! Saku's injury sure was a huge factor...but it was no 'turning point'!!! The tide was shifting wayyyyy before Justin William's stick smacked Saku in the eye! Great post Barry33...Gainey knew/knows this is what happened as well!!! Cripes, there are maybe 5 players in the entire game today capable of having such an impact on a series upon leaving due to injury.......and Saku ain't one of 'em (maybe Brodeur, maybe a younger Forsberg, maybe Neidermayer, maybe Ovechkin...he will likely be this calibre of player in a few short years...and maybe Chris Pronger)!!!
From my perspective the turning point was the save Cam Ward made on Bouillion's break away with the habs leading 1-0, in game 3. Boullion scores that goal the habs go up 2-0 late in the game and probably salts that game and the series away for the Habs. The reality is Ward makes a great save and enables the Canes to comeback. Those types of timely saves were the reason Ward was named the mvp of the playoffs. Ward was the difference.
Injuries, unfortunately happen, and we could all get into historical examples of teams being adversely affected by losing key personnel, you have to deal with what you have and move on. Certainly Koviu's injury was huge, it exposed the Habs glaring weakness down the middle, and Higgins and Ryder looked completely lost without their centerman. Nonetheless, Ward's goaltending was more of a factor.
Sad to see that Saku is the only heart that this team beats by. Hopefully others step up in that dept. so if it ever happens again there will be a more solid foundation. My question is "Did anybody step up in that capacity?" Obviously not and the team never bounced back.
Earlier...in another thread...Barry33 posted the following... .....I am tired of all of this "If Saks had not gone down we would have gone a long way in the playoffs" stuff.....Was Saks going down a factor? Of course.....But the turning point in the series was when the Canes got some goaltending! That...in a nutshell...HAD to be said...and it is such a valid point! Barry33 also went on to say the following..... ...Gurber (And-o thinks he meant 'Gerber') was simply brutal in the first 2 games. Cam Ward came in and shut the door, series over. Plain and simple. ...sooooooooooooooo true...and without any 'blinders' on! Saku's injury sure was a huge factor...but it was no 'turning point'!!! The tide was shifting wayyyyy before Justin William's stick smacked Saku in the eye! Great post Barry33...Gainey knew/knows this is what happened as well!!! Cripes, there are maybe 5 players in the entire game today capable of having such an impact on a series upon leaving due to injury.......and Saku ain't one of 'em (maybe Brodeur, maybe a younger Forsberg, maybe Neidermayer, maybe Ovechkin...he will likely be this calibre of player in a few short years...and maybe Chris Pronger)!!!
Holy smokes you both are so wrong. Cam Ward was awsome but the habs were coming at him with guns a blazin...they would have cracked him.
When Koivu went down you could actually see and here the air coming out of the habs rear tire...Watch those games again they looked like two different teams almost the instant Koivu went down.
I am not saying the habs would have gone all the way...but the Koivu injury allowed Carolina to regain control and start the momentum they required...and Cam Ward kept the momentum going.
Koivu was part of it..but if one player deflates and kills a team like than then Gainey needs to very seriously look at the depth or lack of on his roster!!!!!!!!Did Edmonton fold when Roloson went down? Can anyone here tell me that Roloson was not every bit as important (or more so) to Edmonton's playoff run then Koivu was to Montreal?!?? CMONNNNN guys. Montreal did not have (and still does not) have NEAR the depth that Carolina had, or Buffalo, or Edmonton or.....that my friends was the difference. Compare the habs 2nd and 3rd lines to Carolinas..who do YOU want?? Montreal did not have the depth to deal with Carolina in a 7 game series plain and simple. When Carolina finally got someone in the nets who could stop a beachball (after Gerber jumped in front of a bus and tried to kill himself, only to have the bus go between his legs), Montreal did not have the scoring talent and finish (the only "Finnish" guy they had was hurt) to do anything about it. Kovalev disappeared when there was a real goalie in there. Sorry guys..Koivu does not score goals. Did they miss his leadership? Obviously. But as deflated as Montreal was by Koivu going down, Carolina was lifted up by the fact they had a real goalie in there. Ward stepped up and carried that team to a cup..Montreal had no one willing, or able, to do so.
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I'm as confused as a starving baby in a topless bar!
Koivu was part of it..but if one player deflates and kills a team like than then Gainey needs to very seriously look at the depth or lack of on his roster!!!!!!!!Did Edmonton fold when Roloson went down?
Not disagreeing with you there. From day one in september I was saying that as long as Ribeiro is the number two center...the habs have no chance.
barry33 wrote: .....When Carolina finally got someone in the nets who could stop a beachball... End of story! It's just that simple!
Hey and-o. Take off the Romulin mask...it is obviously very difficult for you to see out of it...and put some clothes on to! The image of a naked guy wearing a Romulin mask typing at the computer is freakin me out...
No I figure And-o is too eccentric to bother with the obvious...i.e a vulcan mask.
I figure he has a collection of star strek gadgets...you know like a Borg model that he put together over a 6 month period...instead of the game "operation' he has a life size blow up doll of Bones...
But his favorite is the Romulin mask...and a picture of Ribeiro wearing a really tight fitting star trek outfit...
No I figure And-o is too eccentric to bother with the obvious...i.e a vulcan mask. I figure he has a collection of star strek gadgets...you know like a Borg model that he put together over a 6 month period...instead of the game "operation' he has a life size blow up doll of Bones... But his favorite is the Romulin mask...and a picture of Ribeiro wearing a really tight fitting star trek outfit...
i dont know if you guys are argueing the same point im trying to make if koivu does not get highsticked then we beat the canes , i dont know if we go any furthur but we beat the canes , yes they got some goaltending but we also didnt generate much o because they shut down our only other weapon (kovy). ryder and higgins were lost without koivu . so thats the point im trying to make .
Jonny G wrote: macneil wrote: i dont know if you guys are argueing the same point im trying to make The only thing that Muller and I were debating was whether Ando cross-dresses as a vulcan or Romulan. It is possible that he is dressing as a Vulcan undercover as Romulan...
the wait is over...and-o revealed!
edit: oops, for some reason i thought i read cross-dressing vulcan/romulan