a good needed win

Great win...another win in front of a big crowd: 18,000 plus.

A couple of thoughts: (I had the TSN feed)

Staal continues to look impressive. The Toronto announcers and studio team
were very impressed with Cole and Staal.

Great to see Brind'Amour back..and his presence made a difference. It looks
like he will certainly have a 60-80 point year if he stays healthy.

Was Stillman a healthy scratch?

Great shootout goals by Cullen and Vrbata. I wish Vrbata would show that
more and maybe the goal will get Cullen hot again.

On Sat, 26 Nov 2005 02:55:35 GMT, "Adam Prince"
<aprince4.DeleteThis@nycap.rr.com> wrote:

>Staal continues to look impressive. The Toronto announcers and studio team
>were very impressed with Cole and Staal.

Staal seems to be able to rush the puck better than anyone. Cullen is
also good, but Staal has that long reach that allows him to push the
puck forward over the blueline and dangle it just beyond the
defensemen, allowing his line to forecheck with more ease. He makes
anyone who plays on his line a better player, and that is the highest
complement.

>Great to see Brind'Amour back..and his presence made a difference. It looks
>like he will certainly have a 60-80 point year if he stays healthy.

He made a huge difference, and he got huge ovations from the crowd.
It's amazing that having him back to win big faceoffs allows Cullen,
Adams, and Staal to win no-so-big faceoffs. It's like our those 3 are
our 2nd/3rd/4th string, and if they can match up against the other
team's 2nd/3rd/4th, they win...but if they have to bump up one spot,
they don't do so well.

>Was Stillman a healthy scratch?

Didn't see him on the Injury List. Him or Tverdovsky. Hmm...looks
like a message is being sent. I like that, and I think they needed
it. When Brind'Amour and Wesley go down, those two need to pick up
their game and be The Men. It was evident that they did not. Still,
they are important to the team, they will be back next game, and odds
are they will both get points on Sunday night.

>Great shootout goals by Cullen and Vrbata. I wish Vrbata would show that
>more and maybe the goal will get Cullen hot again.

Cullen did a great job of waiting Tvellquist out, and Vrbata's
backhander was evidence of the tremendous skill he possesses.

This team needs to come out hard against ATL on Sunday night. It is a
huge game. I think a lot of hitting (read: Craig Adams) would get in
their heads. I think ATL is a soft team, and I think that if you
punish them with the forecheck, they will shy away from making the
good outlet pass from their own end. A win would do much to stamp
their dominance on the SE, as well as do much to restart the fire that
the 3-game losing streak doused. I'm looking forward to it.