NHL Stanley Cup Finals

[Chasse-Spleen]

I am rooting for Chicago, but in a way, it's a win-win situation for me. Despite being a die-hard Ranger fan, I've always had a perverse admiration for the Flyers, as they were in their prime when I first started watching hockey. Were the Islanders so successful because of Mike Bossy's brilliance? Or was Bossy so successful because the Islanders had four or five guys who could kick Dave Schultz' (and his ilk) ass on any given night? Such complexity is the beauty of hockey.

One play I will never forget is a Rangers-Flyers game where with around 3 seconds left and the Flyers down three to two, Bobby Clarke perfectly won a draw in the right hand face-off circle of the Rangers' zone. He back-handed the puck straight back to Barber in the left high slot, who drilled a wrist shot into one of the low corners of the net, probably on the stick side. The Rangers almost won that one.

-Chasse

[Chasse-Spleen]

Dave Schultz-smaller.jpg (129.67 KiB) Viewed 3847 times

[JimHow]

The Hound and the Hammer....

[Chasse-Spleen]

Looks like the odds are in Chicago's favor after their 6-5 victory last night.

[Chasse-Spleen]

Interesting game... The Flyers seemed more in control but didn't get many real scoring chances. Great goaltending from Chicago and Hossa showed why he's still in demand. Great wrist shot on the winner, beautiful screen.

[dstgolf]

Back from 12 day golf trip to Ireland. Fantastic! now I can see the end of the finals. Hate to say it but I can't stand the Flyers. Bobby Clarke is an ... and the team has always come up short. If they had a more reliable goal tender they might challenge the Hawks but I think the Hawks have the total package this year. Looking forward to the next game. Go Hawks Go!

Danny

[Chasse-Spleen]

Tonight's the night! Jim - who is the "Hound"? And I don't mean Houndsong. I always thought the guy behind Schultz in the picture was Dave Seleski, but after looking at pictures of him, I'm not so sure. Whoever it is, I'm fairly sure that he's saying, "You tell 'im, Schultzie."

Danny,
I'm all for the Hawks to win. But I'm not so sure of their dominance. Didn't they win their division? They should be able to better control the game against a team that got into the playoffs on the last shot of the season, on a shootout, no less. Last time I remember the Flyers in the finals was when Detroit ripped them to pieces, 4-0, after the Flyers just terrorized the Rangers including Gretzky in the semis. That was a tough team and they were completely outclassed by the Redwings. These Flyers are giving Chicago a run for their money. They lost the second game by a bounce or two.

-Chris

[JimHow]

Chris, I think you may be right. That's Dave "The Hammer" Schultz on the left, I thought that was Bob "The Hound" Kelly on the right, but now I'm not sure.

[Harry C.]

Of course it is the Hound. And for all the Bobby Clarke haters-you wouldn't care except he was a winner! And he led the Flyers to a win over the Soviet Red Team. Where were the other teams who won???

[Chasse-Spleen]

Thanks Harry C. for clearing that up. Watching the Flyers dominate the Blackhawks tonight, one thing that dawned on me is that there is a dearth of name stars between the two teams. Chris Pronger could make the difference. The way he plays the point is amazing, and his play around his own net is a pleasure to watch, as long as you're not one of the opposing forwards.

-Chasse

[Harry C.]

Remember this name-Claude Giroux.

[Chasse-Spleen]

Harry C.
I did notice that guy, especially the beautiful goal that he put in from the left side of the net - great hands. It was a really hard pass - almost like a shot - and he controlled it perfectly. When they said that he had 12 career playoff goals I was like, 'big deal.' Then they added that he had scored 10 of them in these playoffs. That's something, obviously he's coming into his own. If he doesn't notch a couple more, it could be bad for the Flyers. There's no way you can win the Stanley Cup without a couple of guys scoring 10 to 15 goals each in the playoffs. When the Rangers won in '94, Graves, Messier, Leetch and Kovalev were all well into double digits.

[Harry C.]

C-S, I do agree they need some of the bigger names to really step up. Carter is just recovering from a broken foot-as is Gagne (Carter was the highest goal scorer on the team in the regular season) Consider also that Leighton is essentially a third stringer and he has played beautifully. (2 pulled games-the one last night he supposedly got a shot on his knee in warm-ups--the word in the press is that this may have bothered him more than he let on. First string Ray Emory-(multiple injuries) then Brian Boucher (injury)). Leino is a rookie and for all intents and purposes Giroux may as well be also. They ain't doing badly. Chicago still looks to be the favorite, but the Flyers have surprised a few teams before them.

[Chasse-Spleen]

The Flyers have suffered from injuries all season, correct? You would hardly know it looking at the first four games of the series. Chicago pulled a brilliant move by juggling their lines in the last game. But their defense and goaltending is still vulnerable and the Flyers may as yet pull it out. But Chicago has got to have a little more confidence now, which they seemed to lack in the first four games. The next game should be a really exciting one for sure.

[Houndsong]

That goal deserves a name:

a) Silent Death

b) The Goal That No One Saw

c) your call

I always enjoyed watching Schultz hammer his face into O'Reilly's left fist.

One interesting thing, former Blackhawk Darryl Maggs (1971-72, he played mostly in the WHA) runs the Crystola Roadhouse right down the hill from me. Really nice guy, very dry sense of humor. The only guys I could remember from those teams were Stan Mikita and Keith Magnusson. Bobby Hull maybe.

[JimHow]

Little Stan Jonathan gave him a good battle once too Hound.

[Houndsong]

I remember it. Stan Jonathan played as though his only intention was to avenge his ancestors upon the White Man. Ultimately I could not endorse him because he rarely if ever foresaked a cheap shot.

[Chasse-Spleen]

The final goal was fitting for the series. Not exactly the most overwhelming teams to make it to the finals. I wonder how the goaltending would rank against the average in terms of save percentage. I think it was pretty awful.

You know I hate, absolute I am embarrassed to digress into the taboo and incriminating subject of hockey fights, but it's a wonder that 'the Hammer' did make his living in such a way. I wonder what a true enforcer such as Tie Domi would have done with him? I assume their careers never overlapped. I'm loath to admit but I saw clip on YT recently of Domi fighting Donald Brashear. Domi must have the hardest head of any man born. At one point, he was down on the ice, but somehow, he popped back up - talk about moves. It was miraculous. You could say he lost on points. I will have to research this Stan Jonathan...

-Chasse

[JimHow]

Ah, Stan Jonathan... He was a little guy, couldn't have been taller than 5'8", as wide as he was tall. Grew up on a reservation.

Type in Stan Jonathan and Pierre Bouchard in youtube and you'll see his most famous fight, when he broke Pierre Bouchard's nose.

He was a thug but somehow it was a little more acceptable because he was a little guy.


John Wensink, another Boston enforcer, was also fighting Canadiens thug Gilles Lupien at the same time.

My friends and I were in college at the time, we were studying Edith Hamilton's Guns of August, and we came up with the nickname Kaiser Wensink....

[Chasse-Spleen]

I looked up Stan Jonathan. He had quite a year around '77, scoring 27 or so goals, over 50 pts, and spending 116 minutes in the hoosegow. I wonder if he ever scored a "Gordie Howe Hat Trick"???

[JimHow]

Wensink when he was in the minors was the inspiration of Oglethorpe in the movie "Slapshot."

[Chasse-Spleen]

This friend of mine who lives in my building is an actor and he's a big Ranger fan. One of his friends was in Slapshot. I'll have to ask him his name.

[JimHow]

I saw the Carlson brothers play live in Lewiston for the Johnstown Jets.

[Harry C.]

Funny you should mention Pierre Bouchard. I was a medical student in Hershey, PA and doing an ER rotation. In walks a guy in full Hershey Bears outfit-skates still on. It's P.B. Being from Philly, I took the case. As soon as I walked in the room he starts saying that he just went on the ice and a guy from the other team blindsided him. Honest, Doc. Well, I told him I was from Philly and have been to a few Flyers games, so don't BS a BS'er. He laughed and we started talking about Hockey. This was apparently an attempt from the higher ups to get him to retire-by placing him in the AHL Hershey Bears. I guess it eventually worked-this was the early 1980s. Oh, even 'blindsided' his face already looked like an old shoe after 3 puppies had at it. But it was fun to shoot the breeze with a Hockey pro.