Pokecheque wrote:
Daaaaaamn...now that was a hockey game.
Avs post their first comeback win of the season. Down 3-1 in the 3rd they FINALLY convert on the power play to make it 3-2, then score with the extra attacker in the closing minutes to force OT. MacKinnon seals it with a nasty snipe from the left side.
Fun game, lots and lots of speed, hitting, and deft puckwork all around, unlike last night's slogfest in Nashville.
Abdelkader with another one, a nice deflection that I felt Bernier completely overcommitted on (he was sliding too far to the right and left about 90% of the net wide open). It wasn't a horrible goal but still feel that if you're a legit NHL goalie you should have that one. In any event he made up for it with some huge saves down the stretch.
Athanasiou with, you guessed it, a breakaway goal.
Howard was on his game tonight, was tested throughout. Avs had a couple terrible defensive breakdowns but otherwise this might have been their most consistent effort from start to finish.
Thanks for the recap.
I find it nearly impossible to fault a goalie on a deflected goal at the NHL level. Hell, at nearly any level of hockey its hard to. In the NHL shots come in so fast now that once you've committed or set then its nearly impossible to adjust at that kind of speed. Most goaltending now is being in the right position as the shot is released. If you're reacting too much you're dead in the water. You can have good positioning on tips/deflections but you still have to react, after the shot is released and after its tipped. Looks like Bernier had a bunch of traffic in front too.