Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Post Goose Egg Game Recap

Well, that was weird.

I think whoever described it as a chess match during the post game coverage was right. The 'Yotes weren't there to win so much as they were there to shut down the Sharks. They played for a stalemate, essentially. And rather successfully too, I might add.

Obviously both sides got lucky and the goalies were both en fuego last night. It was crazy. Goaltenders' duel. Like a pitchers' one but with less baseball.

Last night's game felt like 2. It was odd. It wasn't as if players weren't moving, it just felt slow.

We spent a lot of time in our own zone. The 'Yotes were also more aggressive then I have seen them be in awhile.

So uhm, next time can we play on a night that Tippet has off? Thanks.

On the amazing side of the game was Nabby. Both goalies were, of course, brilliant, but Nabby plays for the team I was rooting for. Sorry Bryz! He was like super save city. And that behind the back, behind the net catch? Someone give that man a MLB contract. If you were waiting for the return of unbeatable robot Nabby, he was on the ice last night.

At some point in the third, I confessed to Odin (our kind host over at Five for Howling), that not only was I dead tired (implying that I was also quite ready to hit the hay rather than watch the rest of the game. That rarely ever happens) I also had a sense that the night would end with me being disappointed, e.g. a Sharks loss either in OT or the SO. I don't think he believed me until his Coyotes won in the shootout, though.

It just felt like the type of night where the puck wasn't going in, and wouldn't. Not in regulation, anyway. Perhaps in OT but I saw that being far more likely for the 'Yotes given their extended periods of pressure in the Sharks zone for most of the game.

I didn't actually think the game was that bad, just a tad slow paced, and obviously with a different ending than I'd have preferred. It was certainly a good challenge for the Sharks to face early on, and Nabby shined. My hope is when we next see the Coyotes, we'll be able to turn the chess match into a game of Battleship, where only the 'Yotes team boat sinks.

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