Tuesday, February 27, 2007

As Good As It Gets

I am not going to lie and I apologize to all NHL fans out there but I am not one of you. I do not like the NHL much at all. I much prefer college hockey. I, for one, feel like they play a much more pure and finesse game and there's a lot less of just, "I'm going to skate right through you" attitude. Although I particularly dislike the NHL I have been waiting for the right time to post an NHL article and I think this is about as good as it gets (as far as the NHL is concerned).

I'm sure you all already know what this is regarding but it's just too good to pass up. It was probably the best game of the season thus far and Hell, any time you have a goalie fight and 100 penalty minutes it can't go unnoticed, and I won't allow The Sports Flow to miss this one(however mildly delayed it may be).

Things took a turn for the worst (better in my opinion) at 5:07 into the second period with Buffalo up 3-2 when Drury was bowled over by a blind-side hit by Ottawa's Chris Neil. Drury lay on the ice with blood flowing from his forehead, while Sabres rookie UND's own Drew Stafford fought Neil, both receiving 5-minute fighting penalties. The remained of the ensuing chaos occurred after the subsequent face-off.

The brawl began after the ensuing faceoff when Buffalo's Adam Mair punched Senators' star Jason Spezza in the head. All 10 players then squared off, while Biron skated to center, where he was met by Emery. Both goalies traded several punches before Peters took on Emery, landing several heavy blows. Then things really got interesting as both coaches got in to a heated yelling match. The game was delayed for about 20 minutes while officials sorted out the penalties.

I know that a lot of readers might think that the shot on Drury was a cheap shot but I don't. The hit came about .2 seconds after he had shot and his head was still down. The league has proclaimed the hit clean and so does The Sports Flow. The dirtiest part of all was when Peters came in on Emery. Granted about another 30 seconds and Emry would have killed Biron (Sabres Goalie) but you can't go after a goalie like that - unless if you are a goalie...then that's just plain awesome.

I know it's a few days old but this is a great video and you should watch it. The more I watch it the more I like it and that's what convinced me to finally do an NHL post. My favorite part is when the goalies are ripping off their helmets and gloves and Emry, for the Senators, has this smile on his face that is screaming "Bring it on."



As far as I'm concerned this is as good as it gets in the NHL.

7 comments:

stephen a said...

drew stafford isnt a und graduate. good post though. and i think that with the recent rules changes the nhl is a lot more of a finesse game and it allows skill players to be much more creative

grittysquirrels said...

My bad didn't know he didn't graduate. Well the new rules do help i still think the College game is much more finessed and I still find it more preferential myself. No doubt it helps though, absolutely

stephen a said...

oh yeah i like college hockey more too dont get me wrong, and i hope you guys have a bracket projection for that ncaa tourney too haha. but i just find the nhl much more enjoyable now than what it used to be.

grittysquirrels said...

agree

grittysquirrels said...

agree

Pat said...

Sorry, guy. You're dead wrong on your post. Mair warned Spezza three or four times before they fought, and the whole Ottawa team whined and turtled like babies sucking their mom's tits. Emery also has Gold Gloves...meaning he's a full fledged boxer. Peters and him isn't unfair, just people don't like it becasue it's player vs. goalie.

Pat said...

Also, Your first sentence of the post really reflects the rest of it. If you're a Senators fan, which you're not, your point of view would be understandable. Everyoine thinks their team is in the right. Unfortunately, the rest of the NHL community thinks it was a dirty hit, and Chris Drury did not have his head down, as you so plainly stated in your writing. If you would go over the play again, watch his head up and towards the corner of the ice where the puck is...in no way is his head down. The hit was completely unnecessary, and after Chris Neil's antics in the Saturday rematch of Thursday's game, you have all the proof you need to know that Neil was headhunting, which is dirty. End of story.