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Saturday, June 9
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Cup goes to the better team
ESPN.com
ESPN's hockey analysts break down Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals, a 3-1 win by the Colorado Avalanche.
Avalanche wanted it more
|  | | | Barry Melrose |
The team that wanted it more won. I thought Patrick Roy was awesome. This team won the Stanley Cup without Peter Forsberg and that's a pretty scary situation. There are a lot of guys who aren't going to get credit for this win who played great -- Jon Klemm, Greg de Vries, Martin Skoula, Shjon Podein, Eric Messier, Stephane Yelle -- the stars get all the credit, but they played great, great hockey. Patrick Roy sent a message that he is still the best goaltender in hockey. The best team won.
New Jersey had Game 6 in its building. If you don't win Game 6 in your building, you don't deserve to win the Stanley Cup. The Devils blew their chance.
This wasn't a classic seven-game series where every team was great every game, but there are a lot of little stories that make it great. The Avalanche go into New Jersey to win Game 6, they upset the Stanley Cup winners from last year, the Devils lose two games in a row -- a lot of interesting things to talk about.
Is Ray Bourque retiring? It's going to be interesting. What else can Ray do? This is the greatest night of his life. Nothing he does in the future will be a great as what happened tonight -- last game, last shift, wins the Stanley Cup. I've got to think he's looking at retiring.
Serves Devils right
|  | | | Al Morganti |
When Patrick Roy played the way he did in Game 6, it was up to the Devils to get to him early in Game 7; otherwise, the wall was going to go up. The momentum, which didn't seem to carry much in this series, certainly carried after Game 6.
Because it went seven games, it's got the "Instant Classic" brand, although a lot of the games weren't classic. Though it was missing arguably the best two-way player in the game in Peter Forsberg, I think what made it a special series was Ray Bourque. Bourque's story goes beyond sports, and Patrick Roy's story -- to go from goat to hero in a matter of a week -- was fascinating. It was lacking in perhaps A-plus games, but it made up for it with A-plus personalities -- Patrick Roy winning his third Conn Smythe and second Cup in Colorado to match what he did in Montreal, Joe Sakic's outstanding play, Bourque's first Cup. You don't want to shortchange the Devils, but it seems every story line came out of Colorado.
For the Devils, it was like they were little kids who did something wrong and their mother said "serves you right." They couldn't button this thing down when they had the chance, just like they couldn't button down other series. It seems they thought they could always turn it on when they had to. But Colorado is an elite team, even without Forsberg. The Devils had their opportunities to sew this thing up. But it always seemed to take them a while to realize the quicksand they were in.
Quick lead was key
|  | | | Brian Engblom |
The key to the game was the quick lead. Alex Tanguay's first goal was bad luck for Martin Brodeur, who got tied up with Brian Rafalski. Though Brodeur was tripped up, Tanguay still made the shot. He hit a small spot. And the line of Tanguay, Joe Sakic and Milan Hejduk dominated when they really had to, they made a lot of great plays and made all the difference. And a 3-0 lead in a game like that is insurmountable. Even though New Jersey came back and had some chances, when you're playing against Patrick Roy, he is not going to let you back in three times. Patrick deserved the Conn Smythe. He proved it again, he can shut the door when he has to.
The home-ice advantage came back around. What they fought for all year worked out for them, especially after losing in Game 7 last year and the year before in the conference finals to Dallas. It didn't work during the series, but it's been like that in the finals for a few years. There isn't a big home-ice advantage except when you get to Game 7. That's when it really helps you and it showed. Colorado has been a powerhouse at home for the last few years and that was the seventh man out there.
Roy: Avs' saving grace
|  | | | Darren Pang |
Patrick Roy was just strong. He didn't waiver from series to series, game to game, except maybe in Game 1 vs. Los Angeles. He was as steady as she goes. I think the Avalanche fed off the fact that with Patrick behind them, he was technically as sound as he's been, and mentally as focused as he's been. His personality is such that he can make a mistake as he did in Game 4 and nobody worries. To play the game of hockey, you need to play on your toes. If you're playing on your heels, it means you're worried about what is behind you. And they were never like that. Think about it, they were without Peter Forsberg and still they were able to beat the very best to get here. That's a phenomenal accomplishment.
Roy's third Conn Smythe sets him apart as far as history is concerned, although it may not be determined until he retires, or 10-15 years from now, that he's the greatest goaltender who's ever played.
I don't think Martin Brodeur played poorly, I just don't think he had a real chance to put anything together -- it's been like that for him all year long. Maybe it's because of the way the Devils play or because teams respect how good he is with the puck, but he never sees enough shots to gain momentum as a goaltender. Going back on the first goal in Game 7, his defenseman, Brian Rafalski, got tripped up with him and caught the knob of his stick. That's what set him off balance. From that point on he made some pretty good saves and kept it respectable.
Overall, it was two different stories. One guy -- Brodeur -- wasn't able to get into an individual groove. The other guy -- Roy -- from start to finish was always a part of the game.
I thought the series was going to be more of a goaltending battle. I think we're all surprised. I thought it'd be more of a consistent 2-1, 3-2 playoff series. It wasn't that way at all. In the end, the drama and human interest angle of Ray Bourque finally getting to lift the Cup is a story we'll remember for a long time. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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