Karim
05-27-2004, 10:23 PM
<a href="http://www3.telus.net/public/knogas/team3.html">Team 3</a>
<a href="http://www3.telus.net/public/knogas/team6.html">Team 6</a>
The Case for Team 3
Team 6 revolves around Gretsky. Fortunately, Esa Tikkanen plays for Team 3. When Gretsky played for Los Angeles against the Oilers, Tikkanen was assigned to shadow Gretsky. This annoyed Gretsky to no end, making him take uncharacteristic penalties and shutting him down offensively. Meanwhile, Tikkanen was counter-attacking and scoring big goals. With Gretsky shut down, Team 3's impenetrable defence of Orr, Robinson, Park, MacInnis, Niedermayer and Savard will ensure that Team 6 will not be able to establish the offensive zone. An ineffective Gretsky leaves a physically dominant Messier, Clarke and superstar Bobby Orr to rule the show and take Team 3 to victory.
The Case for Team 6
Team Three is a great team. When I first saw the lineups, I thought they had the best team in the tournament. But I think they had the bad luck to run into the one team that matches up well enough to beat them. I could go into detail about how their skilled-but-soft defencemen would be decimated over a long series by wave after wave of the NHL's all-time greatest power forwards. I could mention Wayne Gretzky, the greatest player in history, being the type of player who would take a close series like this and win it singlehandedly. But I think the big deal-breaker here is the most important factor in any hockey matchup: goaltending. As much as I like Team Three's roster, Billy Smith is not an elite goaltender. He won his Cups by being a good goaltender on a great team, much like Grant Fuhr and Chris Osgood. Bill Durnan was arguably the best of all-time, undoubtedly Top Five, with six Vezinas in a seven-year career. Smith was good, but he's not even better than his Team Three backup Bernie Parent and is simply out of his league in this tournament. We all know that in a tight series, the team with the best goalie almost always wins, and in this case Durnan vs. Smith is a mismatch.
<a href="http://www3.telus.net/public/knogas/team6.html">Team 6</a>
The Case for Team 3
Team 6 revolves around Gretsky. Fortunately, Esa Tikkanen plays for Team 3. When Gretsky played for Los Angeles against the Oilers, Tikkanen was assigned to shadow Gretsky. This annoyed Gretsky to no end, making him take uncharacteristic penalties and shutting him down offensively. Meanwhile, Tikkanen was counter-attacking and scoring big goals. With Gretsky shut down, Team 3's impenetrable defence of Orr, Robinson, Park, MacInnis, Niedermayer and Savard will ensure that Team 6 will not be able to establish the offensive zone. An ineffective Gretsky leaves a physically dominant Messier, Clarke and superstar Bobby Orr to rule the show and take Team 3 to victory.
The Case for Team 6
Team Three is a great team. When I first saw the lineups, I thought they had the best team in the tournament. But I think they had the bad luck to run into the one team that matches up well enough to beat them. I could go into detail about how their skilled-but-soft defencemen would be decimated over a long series by wave after wave of the NHL's all-time greatest power forwards. I could mention Wayne Gretzky, the greatest player in history, being the type of player who would take a close series like this and win it singlehandedly. But I think the big deal-breaker here is the most important factor in any hockey matchup: goaltending. As much as I like Team Three's roster, Billy Smith is not an elite goaltender. He won his Cups by being a good goaltender on a great team, much like Grant Fuhr and Chris Osgood. Bill Durnan was arguably the best of all-time, undoubtedly Top Five, with six Vezinas in a seven-year career. Smith was good, but he's not even better than his Team Three backup Bernie Parent and is simply out of his league in this tournament. We all know that in a tight series, the team with the best goalie almost always wins, and in this case Durnan vs. Smith is a mismatch.