Game 2 Review

Well, yesterday's game was another beauty, in hockey terms.

The Ducks pulled off a second straight win from a second straight goal by a second checking line player in the second game of the Ducks' second trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. Too bad it's not the second round, that would be an insane amount of seconds. Anyways, take a look at these key factors and interesting notes.
Goaltending- Game 1 featured some timely scoring by players who have had a knack for timely goals, at least in this playoffs. But Game 2, on the other hand, involved stellar goaltending by both goalies. As a matter of fact, it took an accidental screen by Joe Corvo, and a ripping wrist shot from Samuel Pahlsson to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead, which turned out to be the final score.
Forwards- Every forward had his own story in Game 2. I can't exactly go player by player, but I'll name 4 players that I saw a story in.
Jason Spezza- It really bites to have to criticize this guy, but, to put it in one word, he stunk (Oops that's two). Spezza had a mediocre night, highlighted (not in a good way) by two awful shifts in the second period. He hasn't made an impact in the Finals yet, and it would be a wise choice to put Mike Fisher on the top line for at least Game 3.
Corey Perry- The guy was as much of a magnet for hits as Elvis was a magnet for fans. And not just during the first few minutes, like Scott Niedermayer was in Game 1. Despite his constant shadows, Perry managed to have a pretty good game, even putting on the physicality mask himself for small periods of time.
Dany Heatley- Unlike his DDJ (Dany, Daniel, Jason) line mate, Heatley managed to have a strong game. He didn't get any points, but managed to be in front of the net often, and was out there when Ottawa had multiple opportunities at a Power-Play goal.
Samuel Pahlsson- Yes, I have to profile the guy who scored the only goal of the game. Are you saying you wouldn't? Pahlsson scored a pretty goal late in the third period, after causing another Senator giveaway. He also continued to play a strong defensive game.
Physical play- This was much more of a factor than any other part of the game. Whether it was the smashing hit Chris Neil put on Francois Beauchemin, or the battle of Fisher and Perry, you had to notice the amount of physical play in this game. Players were crunching each other left and right. Good thing nobody went Colby Armstrong and accidentally injured someone. The only times of concern were when Perry (I told you he was a target) got up slow from an early hit, and some other Senator got hit pretty hard and appeared to have his face hit the boards painfully.

Once again, here are some highlights provided for any of you who don't get Versus. I'm sure some of you don't.



Thanks to HockeyPacific for providing these videos. Nice to get some highlights up here. Unfortunately, this video doesn't show much of the physical play, but does highlight the excellent goaltending, and gives a good view of Samuel Pahlsson's goal.

I'll post on Saturday or Sunday about Game 3, and might be able to find something to write about tomorrow.