Lemieux, Crosby, Ward, Shootouts!

I went to the Carolina Hurricanes home opener on Friday night, and boy, what a game! The hockey wasn’t so great, but what an exciting night! Well, Crosby was blanked, but I got to see his second NHL assist/point. Don’t think I’ll ever forget that play; it was very simple and very good.

This was the first time I ever saw Lemieux play (in person). WHAT A TREAT. It was just amazing to watch him skate and you could tell how, and why, he’s a Hall Of Famer. It was absolutely brilliant play. I did notice that he lagged behind on a lot of the plays, which I mean he is 40, but I think he was hoping to use the two line pass to his advantage. I’ve seen some excellent plays on the ice, and I’ve seen some brilliant players. Hull was amazing to watch as was Yzerman, Stevens too, but no skater has ever captured my attention like Lemieux did. His vision was absolutely the best I’ve ever seen, I don’t think I can accurately describe seeing him play, it was an experience more than anything really.

Crosby is a good player, but honestly Palffy, Lemieux, and Gonchar out played him. He pulled some amazing moves, but they were too infrequent, and his hockey wasn’t quite as sound as the aforementioned three. Does he have the potential? Oh, you better believe it. There definitely is some sort of adjusting or something that needs to be done. The only thing that made Crosby really stand out was his incredible stick work. It seems as though the stick is an extension of his body, he’s just so fluid with the puck.

Cam Ward… I can’t speak any more highly of this guy. He was very gracious when I met him, and not to mention he’s a killer goalie too. The focus he has is absolutely impeccable for a goalie of his age/experience. I tell all my hockey friends that they need to see this guy play some time soon. Pressure seems to be his ally more than his foe. He may not be the next Roy or Brodeur (yet), but he has the ability to become a championship goaltender.

Canes notes… Most of our defenseman ended up at the goal line of the attacking zone for some odd reason, not sure what Laviolette intended, but it was interesting seeing a guy like Nic Wallin trying to act like Bobby Orr. It was very bothersome to see forwards like Cole have to go to the blue line because a defender was in the net area.

Penguins notes… They have the potential to kill any penalty thrown at them. The first power play the Canes had, the Pens played such an excellent defense on them, that I’m not upset we got basically zero scoring chances on. The defense was that good. Short lived, but it was good. Pens have difficulty generating offense. They can’t pass worth a crap. Crosby can, Lemieux can and that’s about it. Their passing was just horrendous at times; we were intercepting passes left and right. It’s mainly an issue of timing than player placement. For instance, Lemieux on the power play would get crap half the time. The other half, it would be intercepted. Now, I doubt Mario Lemieux was not in his proper position, he just doesn’t do stuff like that. I did notice that the guys doing the passing hesitated a bit too much at times. Other guys would be doing the “one timer” (for lack of a better term) passing and be able to connect with great ease. Olczyk also needs to work on shuffling his lines.

The shootout was incredibly fun. It’s not every day you get to see a goalie block Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby, and Ziggy Palffy. Stillman scored the lone goal in the shootout, which is no surprise because he scored on Caron on a breakaway when he came out of the box and caught a homerun pass.

Also, I love my new mini-Stanley Cup. It’s quite the little knick-knack to decorate my room.