Berard: 1G, 2A, 7 shots
Guerin: 3G, 4 shots
Campoli: 4A
Bergenheim: 1G, 3 shots
Satan: 2A
Hunter: 4 hits
Fedotenko: 5 hits
DiPietro: 27-29
PP: 3-5
PK: 6-6
Faceoffs: 24-46
That's a lot of very encouraging numbers to add up. One way or another, their sum equals a very convincing 5-2 win over the Capitals. Also encouraging was the way this team responded to giving away a 2-0 lead in the 3rd period, even after having a goal disallowed. Talk about finishing strong. The three-goal 3rd was exactly the type of killer-instinct/finish-them-off mentality that a lot of people thought was missing from Willie Randolph's Mets this year. I'd love to see the defining characteristic of this Ted Nolan team be that it takes care of business and closes out games in the third.
Watching Rick DiPietro now reminds me of what it was like to watch Ziggy Palffy in the 1995-96 season. Here was this guy who we had all pinned our hopes for Islanders' success on. He had the talent to be a super-star scorer in the league, but would he fulfill that promise? I remember watching with pride as Ziggy unleashed his first 40-goal season on the NHL. It was so satisfying to see him realize his potential. Obviously, Rick has demonstrated his ability to be a top goalie prior to this season. But through the first seven games of this year, I just don't think about him anymore. I know he's going to be there giving the team a chance to win almost every night. That's such a great feeling to have about a goalie. And the difference between Rick the goalie and Ziggy the sniper is that Rick can take the team places all by himself.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Nice Numbers
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1 comment:
Great point about DiPietro. I hadn't thought about that, but now I realize that I don't even worry about him anymore either (outside of health).
He's done enough now that you know he keeps developing and getting more consistent, you know he's not a flash-in-the-pan, and you know he can put the team on his back. If/when he has a bad night, I'm comfortable thinking it's "just one of those nights -- everybody has 'em." That's a nice feeling.
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