Game 7, 2001. A retrospective.
by Andy_ on Aug 16, 2010 7:56 PM MDT
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PrintFor those of you who may not know, the NHL is selling a bunch of "classic" hockey games on iTunes. Maybe I'm the last one left to figure it out. I just watched game 7 of the 2001 Cup finals, which I hadn't seen since 2001. My impressions:
1. There is something deeply wrong with the fact that the announcer made the statement: "The New Jersey Devils have the best offensive team in the league." I expected _someone_ to snicker at least. I know, Arnott was a monster and was greater than a point a game that season, and had around 2 points per game in the finals. Sykora had an even better season. But still.
2. Any Avs players that might read this: _That_ was an Avs team that was good enough defensively to sit on a lead and still win. When _you_ are on a team that is that good defensively then feel free to sit on leads. Otherwise, just stop it.
3. _That_ was a team that could clear the zone. I know, I know, the rules are different now, but still.
4. Joe's goal really was just a thing of beauty. Sure, I've seen the replay of it before, but damn.
5. Joe spent about half the game trying to set up Tanguay so he could have a home-ice, game 7 hat trick. I miss Joe.
6. I miss the young, full of energy Hinote.
7. Chris Drury could sell a dive. I don't think I really realized that. The penalty in the first period that he drew was pretty weak and he had me fooled until I saw the replay.
8. I miss watching Roy wander out of the goal crease to play the puck and make a weak pass right to a player from the other team. Okay, no. I really don't miss that. But I do miss watching Roy.
9. The game really is better without all the clutching a grabbing. That said, it was still amazing how quick the game could be despite all the defensive liberties.
On a personal note: We were in Santa Barbara that week celebrating my daughter's first birthday with her godparents. The three of us spent the morning on the beach watching dolphins swim by and playing. We were later joined by a whole bunch of people I hadn't seen in a long time for an afternoon of volleyball and general fun. Then we all went back to the house to watch game 7. What a perfect day. My daughter took her first steps the very next day, and I'm sure that it was watching Bourque skate that gave her the idea.
I do want to thank the Avs for all the good memories they've given me. I sometimes get wrapped up in the frustrations of the here-and-now, so it's good to take a step back and see where it all can lead. I promise, I won't gripe about Avs management not doing anything this summer more than 6,000 more times before the season starts. Well, maybe 7,000.
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I was there, and one of my greatest memories was the fan sernading Melrose with the ‘devils in six’ chant.
Son, when you participate in sporting events - it's not whether you win or lose, it's how drunk you get.
by An Unmitigated Disaster on Aug 16, 2010 9:11 PM MDT reply actions
8. I miss watching Roy wander out of the goal crease to play the puck and make a weak pass right to a player from the other team. Okay, no. I really don’t miss that. But I do miss watching Roy.
Funny, this past year, I found myself yelling “Dammit Roy, get back in your net” at LEAST once a game!
Colorado Avalanche Offseason Strategy - Please wake us in October
LOL. Exactly. He had such a chip on his shoulder that here was something that Brodeur was better than him at, so he had to keep trying. Despite the fact that he was just so very bad at it. I would’ve laughed, except for the fact that every time he went back there my nails would dig three inches into the arm of my chair.
I was talking about Andy this last year. Lots of flashes of St. Patrick, mostly good, but not all!
Colorado Avalanche Offseason Strategy - Please wake us in October
Ah, I got ya. Yeah, kind of the early Roy, huh? Flopping around all over the place, but still making all the saves. I hope he has the same kind of drive. I wonder, though. Sometimes I think he smiles too much to really push himself. :)
So there’s a question for you all: There have been so many one-hit (one year) wonders in goal in the NHL the last few seasons. Where are the next generation of Roys and Brodeurs? Workhorse goalies that can carry a team with some consistency year-in and year-out? Is it that the game has changed? Or is it the mentality of this younger generation of goalies? Get the big paycheck and coast?
This was the topic of a great post on MHH last week. I think the conclusion is that since the lockout, no “workhorse” goalie has won the cup.
Darren Eliot at SI had some more observations. Workhorse goalies are expensive (generally), and with the changes in the game, goalies tend to get injured more often. It doesn’t make financial sense to spend an extra $4M on a goalie that will save you 20 extra goals over the course of a season. 2 serviceable goalies are cheaper, and then you spend the rest on scoring 20 more goals, or on defense to reduce the number of quality chances.
Running-dog lackey counter-revolutionary malcontent, Not an expert.
by Busted Twigg on Aug 17, 2010 8:44 AM MDT up reply actions
I did see that post and I get the reasoning there. But I also just don’t see goalies with the fire to be the best any longer. I see plenty with, “I want to help my team win,” but I don’t see any with, “I want to be the best goalie this game has ever seen.” Maybe Roy and Brodeur just set the bar too high? Is it like with forwards? Nobody ever comes out with the drive to beat the single-season goal scoring record. Did Gretsky make it impossible for forwards to even dream that dream any more?
What I don’t get about the NHL (okay, there are a lot of things I don’t get about the NHL) is: It’s all fine to have game seven. But I would full-on pay the $10 to get the whole finals. And what I would really love is to pay $30 or something to get every game in the playoffs that year, so I could follow the whole bracket from both sides and get the real feel of what culminated in that game. Heck, even just all of the NJ games and all the Avs games in that playoff year. I mean, I realize that this is off a TV season and the show is just about finals clinchers, but come on. How hard could it be to put together packages of each season’s playoffs? Sell the whole package or let people choose individual games for $2/each. It’s not like the NHL isn’t paying peons to go through and digitize their whole archive already, right? You might as well make the game available for people to watch.
I don’t understand why they’re not making the Cup run videos from the past available on DVDs. Instant cash there. A lot of people wouldn’t download them to iTunes. (Oh, and thanks for the heads up…did not know they were selling that!)
I just like the fights.
by Cheryl Bradley on Aug 17, 2010 9:11 AM MDT up reply actions
Just as a further FYI you can also get game 4 of the ’96 Cup final. :)
Sandie
"We called him Clark Kent because away from the rink, he was just a nerd. Then he'd go into the Colorado dressing room and put on his Avs jersey, and all of a sudden he was Super Joe"- Theo Fleury
by Sandie Gauthier on Aug 17, 2010 9:08 PM MDT up reply actions
The game really is better without all the clutching a grabbing.
The clutching and grabbing coast us at least one Stanley Cup, and the lack of penalties back then also cost Foppa his spleen.
I'd say two
No way Dallas wins either of those WCFs in 1999 or 2000 if they don’t allow clutching and grabbing. And maiming, as was the case with Hatcher and Matvichuk.
Your 2010-2011 Colorado Avalanche: Reaching Up to the Cap Floor
by Bob in Boulder on Aug 17, 2010 9:33 AM MDT up reply actions 1 recs
Sakic's goal
Joe Sakic’s goal at that game, no matter how many times I’ve seen it, is my favorite “oh my god” moment in hockey. What a goal, Brodeur just stays there and watches it go by…
God I wish I lived in America
ITunes over here is not offering anything like that. I don’t have my VHS tapes of the SC 01 anymore as to be honest, the quality was really bad even then.
I would even settle for some full radio commentary if there was some floating about on the interweb. Also, because I live in stupid Europe, I can’t buy Region 1 DVDs without buying a new DVD player :(
My opinion is worth about what you paid for it: Nothing.
Could someone download the files onto a memory stick and then mail them to you? I’m sure they’re too big to email, but certainly they could be mailed via post.
I just like the fights.
by Cheryl Bradley on Aug 18, 2010 9:21 AM MDT up reply actions
Also some of the uber cheap DVD players try to cut corners by not putting the region setting in.
Sandie
"We called him Clark Kent because away from the rink, he was just a nerd. Then he'd go into the Colorado dressing room and put on his Avs jersey, and all of a sudden he was Super Joe"- Theo Fleury
by Sandie Gauthier on Aug 18, 2010 1:26 PM MDT up reply actions
The files are 1.25 gigabytes or so and I think they have them in a format that checks copyright and purchase.
Can’t imagine it’s any different with vid files as it is with music files. If you can email/save to portable drives/memory sticks music files and then burn them to CDs, why couldn’t you do that with vid files & DVDs? I’ve never done it but it seems logical.
I just like the fights.
by Cheryl Bradley on Aug 18, 2010 2:37 PM MDT up reply actions
I was also at the game. My favorite memory was of Tanguay’s first goal, and how quick he was on that play. Video replays don’t do justice to how fast it looked live. Wow, did the Pepsi center erupt after that goal…still gives me goosebumps thinking about it.
Funny side note, I saw Drury and some of his friends/family come into the (now defunct) White Spot at about 3:00 AM that night. For those of you that know Denver, that was about the last place I expected to see an Avs player on the night he won the cup.
Roy
I heard this on TSN a couple of years ago.
Apparently after the Devils were up 3-2 Brodeurs wife told someone on the Devils staff (or press I can’t remember) that she can’t wait to win another cup and get another ring. This person told Hartley who then told Roy. Roy (being Roy) was furious that she was already predicting a Devil win so told Hartley “Score one goal each in the next two games and I’ll do the rest”.
Roy was one crazy, bad tempered puck stopper but my word did I love watching him play goal.
9601, pissing off Canuck fans since 1995.
by 9601 on Aug 19, 2010 12:57 AM MDT reply actions 1 recs
Roy won that series in the first period of game 6 in NJ. Iirc, they were all over the Avs and had something ridiculous like the first 12 shots of the game. Then Marty lets in a softie by Foote, the tide totally turned, and the game was over. As was the series. And anyone who argues that Marty is better than Roy needs to put down their crack pipe and watch the last two games of that series.
Your 2010-2011 Colorado Avalanche: Reaching Up to the Cap Floor
by Bob in Boulder on Aug 19, 2010 9:23 AM MDT up reply actions
Thanks Bob for reminding me. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Roy’s 1st period of game 6 was perhaps the single greatest example of clutch goaltending I’ve ever seen, before or since.
It was Roysome
But I remember watching the 1993 Canadien playoff run, including the finals against the Kings, and thinking “OMG is that guy unbelievable or what?” too.
I was also at game 7 against the Devils. Certainly still my number one sporting moment as a fan. I was also at game 5, lost by the Avs as NJ went up 3-2 in the series. Some NJ fans were celebrating on the way out of the game. I yelled at one of them, “Are you going to be back here on Saturday? Because I will be.” Prophetic? No, just me spouting off as I am prone to do.
Your 2010-2011 Colorado Avalanche: Reaching Up to the Cap Floor
by Bob in Boulder on Aug 19, 2010 2:09 PM MDT up reply actions
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