ATD #10, Foster Hewitt Quarterfinals. Dallas Blackhawks (7) vs Kenora Thirstles (2)

[papershoes]

OK, that made me laugh. But, Elmer Lach was a generation and a half before Dryden. It's only fair to make an adjustment for size. I see 6 inches and 40 pounds using actual size. Using my own simple formula that works amazingly well, based on players' dates of birth, I'd call the difference 4 inches and 25 pounds. Still.... good point.

It's comments like this that make me wonder how committed to the all-timeness of this thing you really are. It's not Holmes' fault that seasons were 25 games long, plus 3-8 playoff games. If he played the full schedule, it means he was capable of playing the full schedule. Simple as that. We have to look at everything relatively; otherwise any modern player would generally be assumed to be bigger, faster, and more accustomed to longer schedules. That's not fair.

thanks for making these points - you've worded them much better then i did!

 

[papershoes]

- this is perhaps the worst possible matchup for Marcel Dionne and the Kenora 2nd line, even moreso if Boivin moves up. I think the idea of putting Dionne on a 2nd unit was a great idea; it takes pressure off of him and likely creates mismatches against opposing 2nd units...but here we have Chris Pronger anchoring the second unit: yikes! Not the team I would have wanted in the 1st round if I was paper.

agreed - pronger is certainly not the defenceman we would have liked to see lining up against dionne. that said, dionne has "jethro" riding shotgun. gillies size, strength, and work ethic is strong enough to offset some of the impact pronger would have on dionne and martinec. with gillies willingness to head into the corners and take a beating in front of the net, he'll upon up more ice for dionne and martinec to be offensively creative.

and, should pronger take too many liberties with the thistles 2nd line forwards, gillies would have no problem dropping the gloves and demolishing pronger. since ck thinks ambulances will be parked outside the arena, lets save a stretcher for pronger after this tilt.

- Robinson was a great all-around defenseman, but he liked to carry the puck up ice a lot during his offensive heyday, and was fortunate to have the great Serge Savard covering for him when he was caught out of position. The idea of Robinson as an impenetrable wall in his own zone is a myth created by people who only caught the end of his career, by which point his offense had seriously tailed off. I'm not saying it happened all the time or even often, but you do face the turnover issue to some extent with Robinson. He was not a "conservative" offensive producer like a Harvey or a Lidstrom. In fact, very few players were (you could make a long anti-highlight reel of all the odd-man goals scored against the Bruins while Orr was trying to skate back into the play - it doesn't diminish his greatness, but it's reality). Larry's offense comes with a certain amount of risk involved, and Kenora's 1st unit absolutely has the gear to create and capitalize on turnovers when Robinson ventures up ice. Of course, Robinson is capable of playing a conservative game, as well (and did so during the latter part of his career), but keeping Larry on a leash would leave the Dallas 1st line virtually dead in the water. Who else is going to carry the puck on that unit? Lindros?

good point!

- both Butch Bouchard and Elmer Lach are generally overrated in the ATD, and for the same reason: both were Habs, many-times champions, and both earned more than half of their personal accolades during the war years. A quick look over their profiles at hockey-reference makes this abundantly clear, and I'm sort of mystified why they continue to be picked as high as they are. Both were great players and I'm not calling them scrubs, but I don't think either of them belong in a serious top-100. This one cuts both ways, as they are on opposite sides of the 1st unit matchup.

i think elmer lach is very much a top-100 player, and should fall somewhere between the 70-100 range. it's a fair argument that his offensive numbers were boosted during the war years but, in no way did he "disappear before or after". that said, his incredibly strong defensive game and playmaking ability make him a top-notch first line centre (and in no way am i implying that he's the greatest atd centre there is).

 

[MXD]

I've never seen a team load up on the players I hate that much (Lindros and Hunter in particular... Not to mention Hunter is hugely overrated around here : the guy never dropped his f***ing stick, so forget about any kind of toughness, and IMO goes down in history as a coward's coward). I'm probably even more critical of Hunter than pappy is of Ferguson, and that says something.

Aside from Hunter, the philosophy clash is extremely interesting. Playing Dionne on the 2nd is genius, but I don't think he'll produce that much against Chicago's defense (but he could have his way with the forwards, as I consider Dionne's toughness underrated), and Bouchard/Robinson - while not the best 1st pairing of the draft - is a very interesting blend, and somewhat not unlike Robinson-Savard. Bouchard isn't half the puckmover Savard was (and not the greatest skater as well), but it's not like Robinson won't provide Chicago with some puck-moving anyways.

I'm eagerly awaiting for Gillies to punch Hunter silly. Not sure Gillies prevents everything -- he's probably not the strongest player in this round anyways -- he will prevent a lot.

PS : I dislike Lindros, but it's hard to say anything against him, considering Dallas gameplan and gamestyle. And he's, for sure, not in the same boat as Hunter as far as overratedness goes. Might even has become underrated, actually.

 

[seventieslord]

Bouchard isn't half the puckmover Savard was (and not the greatest skater as well), but it's not like Robinson won't provide Chicago with some puck-moving anyways.

I know this doesn't exactly answer this point, but if you look year by year at where each player ranked among the NHL's defensemen in points, Bouchard's offensive credentials are about the same as Savard's.

 

[MXD]

I know this doesn't exactly answer this point, but if you look year by year at where each player ranked among the NHL's defensemen in points, Bouchard's offensive credentials are about the same as Savard's.

And correct me if I'm wrong, but they're also below a guy riding the bench for the bra and panties.

Bottom-line : No desperate need for Bouchard offensive contributions, especially if he plays with Larry Robinson

 

[nik jr]

I know this doesn't exactly answer this point, but if you look year by year at where each player ranked among the NHL's defensemen in points, Bouchard's offensive credentials are about the same as Savard's.

i think that is misleading.

bouchard played during the war on the least depleted team with arguably the 3 best forwards in the NHL. that was also a weak period for d-men.

savard played in a time of elite d-men.

 

[ck26]

I've seen the word "intimidation" used a couple of times as if all the Dallas Blackhawks will be doing is scaring the Kenora Thistles throughout the series. Intimidation is good stuff, and I certainly won't discourage the Thistles from playing scared, but intimidation is a product of pain. I'm not suggesting Toe Blake and Marcel Dionne are going to run away from the fight; I'm saying they're going to get hammered over and over and over again and that this will be the most miserable two weeks of their vertically-challeneged lives. To run away and be scared or to bow up and be motivated is entirely Elmer Lach's decision; I'm merely saying that he'll have lots of time to ponder it while he's picking himself up off the ice. Robinson, Pronger, Lanny, Boivin, Butch, Lemieux and MacLean will bring the lumber and simply wear Kenora out; the elbows and slashes are up to Pepe Lemieux, Hunter, Rat Linseman and Maddog Madden. And watch out for those d-men -- when you're 5'8, every hit's a high hit.

Notes From The Desk of Coach Hitchcock
--No immediate lineup changes for the series.
--Forward lines are going to roll pretty evenly. Expect the 4th line to get 12+ minutes a night and make an impact in all three zones.
--We're going to match Madden's line against Lach's. Madden can go stride-for-stride with Lach and Blake and MacLean's got the testosterone to lean on Toe. McPhee has the smarts to hang with Lafleur but nothing even resembling the speed, something that my two left-side defensemen (Robinson and Pronger) will probably be able to help out with.
--Dionne's line -- if he decides to show up to lead it -- will be matched by Broten, a nice skater with the all-around game to do a servicable job. I don't love the Bellows v Gillies matchup on paper, but I'll take my chances that it won't be goals from Gillies that tilt the series. Bellows' offense should help keep his little island buddy off balance a bit.
--Robinson and Pronger's pairs will get big time; expect both on the ice 25 minutes a night. We will lean on the Boivin-Johansson pair primarily for special teams.
--The scouting report on the Thistles is incomplete, but we think we're looking at a small(ish), skilled 1st d-pair and a pretty generic bottom 4, a very skilled, generally small group of top-6 forwards, and a bottom-6 that are all nice, but nothing we need to gameplan against. We see two goaltenders with marginal-to-poor puck-handling skills which we will try to exploit.
--The Hawks will be playing it close to the vest and will be dumping-and-chasing throughout.
--We don't have the super-skilled playmakers to do a lot of fancy work in the offensive zine, so we aren't even going to try it. The plan is get across the center-line, dump it cross-ice and soft where those goalies can't deal with it and then get on our horses and get the forecheck started. **concussions will happen here** Once we get control of the puck in the offensive zone, it's a jailbreak to the front of the net. Puck goes to the point, where a handful of booming slapshots are waiting. Once we throw it into the chaos, it's up to our forwards to dig for glory.
--In our own end, Bouchard, Pronger and Boivin will be statues in front of our own net, using their size, strength and generally bad tempers to keep interlopers away from Kenny Dryden. The others will be responsible for chasing pucks into the corner and playing the floating role. If that gets to be overwhelming, McPhee, MacLean, Linseman, Berenson, Broten and Madden are all more than willing to pitch in and win a fight in the corner for a loose puck.
--Tony Esposito will be responsible for mixing the Gatorade ('Cool Blue' flavor) and running the stereo in the locker room. In heavy rotation: Dallas bands Pantera, The Old 97's, Drowning Pool and Stevie Ray Vaughn.

 

[ck26]

agreed - gillies is the biggest body in our line-up and, will be the biggest presence on the powerplay. but, i'm not sure having a super-skilled team that can cycle the puck like champs, devoid of a big body, is a huge detriment. the montreal canadiens had the leagues best powerplay last season - which big body did they have parked in front of the net at all times? their powerplay was effective because they could move the puck.

Scoring regular-season powerplay goals against Tim Thomas, Martin Gerber, Ryan Miller and Andrew Raycroft is one thing. Scoring playoff powerplay goals against Ken Dryden is something else entirely. Good luck doing it from 35 feet away and solely with finesse.

so, if this is the way we are valuing early era hockey players, then what's the point in drafting them? are you going to shortchange cyclone taylor, newsy lalonde, or other early stars for playing less games? will they as well be more fatigued then their modern era counterparts? chabot may have played less games a season but, he played well those seasons. he may have a 13-17 playoff record but, he has a sparkling 1.54 gaa in the playoffs, and a 2.03 gaa in the regular season.

That's not what I'm doing, I'm just making the point that your goalies have never seen anything like what they're about to. Forwards play 100 games all the time. Keepers rarely do.

If you want to argue relativity of different eras, re-evaluate the sub-2 GAA before the second World War. It wasn't that uncommon. While I was dishing on your goaltenders' playoff records, I forgot to mention Dryden's: 80-32. Pretty salty.

regarding lindros, if we feel the need, we can always line match with the gillies line - gillies has the size and strength to pound lindros throughout the series.

I'd love Marcel Dionne and Clark Gillies to step on the ice thinking defense-first. I'd love that. Hell, if you're doing that, I can get away with NOT having Pronger on the ice for those shifts ... hmm ... wonder what I can do with him while he's not busy abusing Dionne ...

if you want to ice the lemieux - hunter, and linesman lines throughout the series feel free - those lines certainly can't skate with the likes of kenora's top-two lines and defensive unit.

Again, silly ... compare all 28 4th lines to all 54 other 1st-and-2nd lines and you've got a mismatch just about every time. Unless you're going to bench your 4th line outright (again, please do, it's not like Dionne and Lach are going to need the rest), they'll be out there and they'll be a whole lot weaker than the '4th' line Dallas ices. Only play 3 lines against the Dallas Abuse Machine at your own risk.

regarding back-checking, my top line has two phenomenal two-way talents in blake and lach, both of which provide a strong defensive conscience to a unit that will see plenty of ice time. the second unit, though not as strong, has the defensive play of clark gillies to lean on. considering these are the two-lines robinson, carlyle, and pronger will mainly see, kenora has absolutely no concerns in their ability to protect defensively.

Again, as long as Elmer Lach is back-checking and playing in his own zone, Dallas has already won.

 

[Sturminator]

and, should pronger take too many liberties with the thistles 2nd line forwards, gillies would have no problem dropping the gloves and demolishing pronger. since ck thinks ambulances will be parked outside the arena, lets save a stretcher for pronger after this tilt.

Yeah, Gillies was certainly a great fighter - even tougher than he looked, actually. I've been critical of Gillies' draft position in the past because I don't consider his skills quite on par with the players among whom he's drafted (Bill Barber, for example), but he does hold the distinction of being one of the few ATD 1/2-unit players who was also the heavyweight champion of the league for some time. I think he would surprise the bigger Pronger and put a hurting on him if the two ever tangoed.

i think elmer lach is very much a top-100 player, and should fall somewhere between the 70-100 range. it's a fair argument that his offensive numbers were boosted during the war years but, in no way did he "disappear before or after". that said, his incredibly strong defensive game and playmaking ability make him a top-notch first line centre (and in no way am i implying that he's the greatest atd centre there is).

Concerning Lach: no, Elmer did not "disappear" after the war years, but he wasn't quite top-100 dominant, either, in my opinion. After 1946 (which I consider an extension of the war years for reasons already discussed at length), Lach has one truly great season (Art Ross in 47-48), and one other excellent season (51-52) - both of which earned him 1st team all-star nods. Outside of these two years, however, Lach has only one other appearance in any top-10 category, 49-50, when he placed 5th in assists. Elmer's playoff record after 1946 is also pretty underwhelming. Lach seems to have gotten pretty banged up after 1946 - missing about half the season in both 46-47 and 48-49, and I get the impression that health was a problem for him for the rest of his career. At any rate, Lach played another 8 seasons after the war, and what I described above is the extent of his offensive laurels.

Lach was obviously an excellent 2-way player, but was he better defensively than Frank Boucher or Norm Ullman? I see no reason to believe that. So if we're going to value Lach above, for example, Norm Ullman (who is climbing, but always seems to fall outside of the top-100), it must be for his offense. But I really don't see that, either. Lach's peak was probably a bit higher (though Ullman peaked at 2nd in league scoring, IIRC), but Ullman easily beats him in career value, and has a better playoff record, as well, not to mention being one of the greatest forecheckers and faceoff men of the era, something I don’t think has ever been said of Lach (correct me if I’m wrong on this).

It's not so much that I want to pick on Elmer Lach, but if some players rise, others must fall, and I think Lach's one guy whose ATD draft position has been sort of defined in the past (what I call "ATD canon") and not really adjusted properly going forward.

 

[papershoes]

Robinson, Pronger, Lanny, Boivin, Butch, Lemieux and MacLean will bring the lumber and simply wear Kenora out; the elbows and slashes are up to Pepe Lemieux, Hunter, Rat Linseman and Maddog Madden. And watch out for those d-men -- when you're 5'8, every hit's a high hit.

no ones questioning that your team is super tough (arguably one of the toughest in the draft). i've said it before, i'm a big fan of your team. but, with dallas bringing the "lumber, slashes, and elbows" alongside some "high hits" they are going to get called for penalties over and over again. we'll take the chances having our top-ranked powerplays on the ice for numerous minutes a game.

--We're going to match Madden's line against Lach's. Madden can go stride-for-stride with Lach and Blake and MacLean's got the testosterone to lean on Toe. McPhee has the smarts to hang with Lafleur but nothing even resembling the speed, something that my two left-side defensemen (Robinson and Pronger) will probably be able to help out with.

we'll take this matchup any day. the lafleur line will see plenty of ice time, and, with blake and lach's phenomenal two-way play, can defensively stifle any of dallas' scoring lines. with your 3rd line on the ice for a considerable bulk of the game, you are seriously cutting a leg off of your already minimal offensive punch.

**concussions will happen here**

once again, if we are anticipating concussions, then what's your game plan for when glass-jaw lindros is levelled by gillies while skating with his head down, eliminating him from the series? where will your offence come from?

--In our own end, Bouchard, Pronger and Boivin will be statues in front of our own net, using their size, strength and generally bad tempers to keep interlopers away from Kenny Dryden. The others will be responsible for chasing pucks into the corner and playing the floating role. If that gets to be overwhelming, McPhee, MacLean, Linseman, Berenson, Broten and Madden are all more than willing to pitch in and win a fight in the corner for a loose puck.

both gillies and lach were highly regarded for their corner-work, capably digging the puck out and passing it to their skilled forwards. these should be some exciting corner battles to watch.

--Tony Esposito will be responsible for mixing the Gatorade ('Cool Blue' flavor) and running the stereo in the locker room. In heavy rotation: Dallas bands Pantera, The Old 97's, Drowning Pool and Stevie Ray Vaughn.

i almost spit tea on my computer reading this - probably one of the funniest quotes from this installment of the atd.

 

[papershoes]

Scoring regular-season powerplay goals against Tim Thomas, Martin Gerber, Ryan Miller and Andrew Raycroft is one thing. Scoring playoff powerplay goals against Ken Dryden is something else entirely. Good luck doing it from 35 feet away and solely with finesse.

once again, i'm a huge dryden fan, and agree with most of what you say about dryden. in my opinion, he's unquestionably top-10 and, i'd place him 6th overall for goalies all-time. that said, you make it seem like dryden was an impenetrable wall. he was beat and, he was beat by finesse. the soviets potted a bunch of goals in '72 with a very strong roster in front of him. does this mean dryden will let in a ton of goals in this series? heck no. but, he will get beat.

I'd love Marcel Dionne and Clark Gillies to step on the ice thinking defense-first. I'd love that. Hell, if you're doing that, I can get away with NOT having Pronger on the ice for those shifts ...

never said they'd step on the ice thinking defence-first - quite the opposite. but, should the need arise, gillies brings a solid defensive presence to the line, and the ability to help minimize the dallas offense. same with the lach line - offense first but, blake and lach can play defense when needed.

Again, silly ... compare all 28 4th lines to all 54 other 1st-and-2nd lines and you've got a mismatch just about every time. Unless you're going to bench your 4th line outright (again, please do, it's not like Dionne and Lach are going to need the rest), they'll be out there and they'll be a whole lot weaker than the '4th' line Dallas ices.

so, you've admitted that there will always be a mismatch between 4th lines and 1st/2nd lines...yet, you plan on icing your 4th line (and 3rd line) against kenora's top-2 lines. we'll take this mismatch anyday.

as for 4th lines - you're right, your 4th line is much stronger physically then my 4th line. no one can question that. but, arguably, our 4th line packs more of an offensive punch then your 2nd line.

 

[papershoes]

...harry "hap" holmes

just a few tidbits regarding hap holmes and why he's a viable option as an all-time draft starter. and, in no way am i implying he's better then dryden - i'm fully aware he's a lower-tier starter but, in my opinion, a starter nonetheless. holmes brings consistency, longevity (for his time), and clutch play to the thistles roster.

One of the preeminent netminders of his era, Harry "Hap" Holmes excelled in all five of the top pro leagues from 1912 to 1928. He made an impact in the National Hockey Association, Pacific Coast Hockey Association, Western Canada Hockey League, Western Hockey League and National Hockey League. A sterling playoff performer, Holmes backstopped two Stanley Cup wins in Toronto and one each in Seattle and Victoria. He was the leading goalie six times in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association/Western Canada Hockey League when such rivals as Hugh Lehman and George Hainsworth were still on the ice. In Stanley Cup play, he out-dueled such legends as Georges Vezina and Clint Benedict...

Early in the 1915-16 season, he joined the Seattle Metropolitans with former Toronto mates Jack Walker and Frank Foyston. Once again Holmes was a part of history when he backstopped the Metropolitans to the first Stanley Cup won by a U.S.-based outfit...

Holmes returned to Seattle for the 1918-19 season and remained for more than five years. In his first year back, he was present during the tragic final series against the Canadiens that was called off due to the global influenza epidemic. The fourth game of the series was arguably his finest performance. Following a scoreless 60 minutes of regulation time and 20 minutes of overtime, referee Mickey Ion declared the game a draw.

Holmes ventured east again with Seattle in 1920 to challenge Ottawa for the Stanley Cup. Despite his brilliance, the westerners lost a close series to the powerhouse Senators. He led the PCHA in shutouts four times and in wins on two occasions. He enjoyed two successful years with the Victoria Cougars from 1924 to 1926, leading the WCHL/WHL in his goals-against average.

In 1924-25, his brilliance led Victoria past the Saskatoon Sheiks in the WCHL playoffs. In the Stanley Cup championship match with the Montreal Canadiens, Holmes starred along with Jack Walker and Frank Frederickson as Victoria became the last non-NHL team to win the Stanley Cup. The heroic netminder became the first goalie to win the Cup with four different franchises. That year he also attained his own personal triumph over Habs netminder Georges Vezina, against whom he'd waged the memorable but undecided battle in the 1919 championship series.

Happy Holmes was an exceptional goaler who played in both the east and west, compiling an average that is second only to that of Clint Benedict when weighted with the length of his career. He was on seven championship teams, four of which won the Stanley Cup.

This great goalkeeper seemed taken for granted and little reference was made of the extraordinary record that he was compiling. The eccentricities of other goalers kept many of them in the news but Holmes, if mentioned, was usually reported as playing a steady game. This he maintained throughout his career.

#28 Harry "Hap" Holmes

Holmes came up big at the most important time of year. He posted a playoff goals-against average below 2.00 in six of his ten pro seasons.

Notable Achievements: Hall of Famer; seven-time Pacific Coast Hockey Association All-Star; Western Canada Hockey League All-Star in 1924-25; backstopped the first U.S.-based Cup winner [1916-17 Seattle Metropolitans], the first NHL Cup winner [1917-18 Toronto Arenas], and the last Cup winner from outside the NHL [1924-25 WCHL Victoria Cougars]; led the PCHA in wins three times, in shutouts four times, and in goals-against average five times; led the National Hockey Association in wins once and shutouts twice; led the WCHL and Western Hockey League in GAA once each; played in five different major pro leagues [NHL, NHA, PCHA, WCHL, and WHL] and reached the Stanley Cup final with clubs from each; American Hockey League goaltending award was named in his honor.

Harry "Hap" Holmes was goalie of uncommon grit. Sportswriters called him "Nerveless." He played in 409 top-level contests in his career with Toronto, Seattle, Detroit, and Victoria. If there had been a trophy for the league's top goalie in his day, he may very well have taken half a dozen. In all, he counted 40 shutouts, adding 7 more in 48 playoff contests, and he put up a career goals-against average of 2.81 and backstopped seven league championship squads and four Stanley Cup winners.

Retroactive Awards:
Hart (PCHA) - 1922
Vezina (NHA) - 1914
Vezina (PCHA) - 1917, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922

what other gm's have said about holmes:

-- "Minnesota selecting Holmes at 366. While I do think there is a fairly substantial difference between the first and last goalies taken, I think taking Holmes (as the last starter, no less) was a good move. I think he's a better goalie than some taken before him, and I think the drop off in talent when you get into the bottom half of starters is nowhere near the dropoff from the top to the bottom. Waiting out several rounds from where some of the other middling starters were taken was a good move." (atd #9 summary - smartest / best strategic pick)

-- "Waiting to get a goalie is always prudent. Guys like Giacomin, Vachon, Lumley, Holmes and Rayner won’t cost you a championship. They won’t steal you a championship, but you’ll have an advantage over everyone else because you waited." (atd #9 summary - smartest / best strategic pick)

-- "One of the more underappreciated and underrated goalies in history. In his 16 year career he played for the Stanley Cup 7 times and won 4 (maybe more since one of his 7 appearances was cancelled for the flu epidemic). He beat the best goalies of his era in playoff situations and won a top player in every league he played in. We happily name him the starter and feel he's an excellent starter than won't be at a disadvantage to anyone in a playoff series." (atd #9 draft thread)

-- "Goalies are graded on how they did against their peers. (Holmes was quite clearly the 2nd best goalie of his era and probably the most money goalie of his era.)" (atd #9)

 

[Jungosi]

In the beginning there was fire

Even before it started everyone knew that this series had huge potential for bad blood. Players like C. Lemieux, Hunter, Pronger or Linseman aren't exactly Lady Byng Candidates while Gillies and Schultz would do everything to protect their scoring stars.

So there was no suprise when the first game had a very rough start. Hunter immidietly started to show that there will be no prisioners in the series when he drove Dionne into the boards. The hitting continued with a monster hit by Boivin laid Bob Pulford. Intimidated by this physical display Kenora hesistated to go into the high traffic areas and did not get any quality scoring chances in the first period. Ken Dryden had very little to do until when Blake forced a turnover in the neutral zone and went on a 2-on-1 with Lafleur at his side. He decided to go for the shot but Dryden kept the tie wis a monster glovesave. Just moments later Eric Lindros laid a devasting hit on the forecheck and got the puck to Andreychuk who netted it top-shelf. With the lead in their hand Dallas reduced their offensive effort in order to maintain the lead. The game got rougher and second before siren would sound Gillies was hi-sticked by Hunter and they dropped the gloves. Hunter was probably very lucky that the linesman got in quickly or else we would have left on a stretcher. Both got majors and game-misconducts. With Gillies out Dallas went running wild with very little resistance by the Thistles. Larry Robinson scored the empty netter to settle the score.

Dallas wins 2-0 and leads the series 1-0

Boxscore
1st period - scoreless
2nd period - 10:23 Andreychuk 1 (Lindros)
3rd period - 19:12 Robinson 1 (unassisted) EN

 

[Jungosi]

Riposte

"We can't let them run around and hit everything in sight. We are not willing to play their game so we'll have to awnser with goals and show that we aren't intimidated." This was said by Captain Elmer Lach before the second game of this Best of Seven. The game would show that physicality isn't always the way to win.

Kenora came out flying with two quick goals by Lach and Lafleur. Robinson and Boucher probably had not realized that the game started or at least they looked that way. Dallas lacked the power they brought in game 1 and wasn't able to give any kind of response to this early strike. Dryden wasn't exactly at his best either when he gave up a huge rebound on a harmless shot Kelly. Blake converted with little trouble. The game lost it's pace from then on because the Blackhawks were absolutely unable to get the puck on the net. Henderson scored another goal after a give away by Carlyle which settled the final score of 4-0.

Kenora wins the game 4-0 and ties the series at 1

Boxscore
1st period
1:22 - Lach 1 (Lafleur,Kelly)
2:01 - Lafleur 1 (Blake)
17:38 - Blake 1 (Kelly,Tremblay)
2nd period
scoreless
3rd period
10:01 - Henderson 1 (Fredrickson)

 

[Jungosi]

Choke on this!

Marcel Dionne always had trouble scoring in the post-season. Even though he often played on subpar teams he was never really impressive. In this game proved all his critics wrong with an impressive performance not only on the scoresheet.

The game however had a better start for the Blackhawks. Brian Bellows scored on a nice feed by Broten midway through the first period and continued his strong display with a big hit on Tremblay what created another chance for Dallas but Holmes was there to keep the score close. With the beginning of the second period the Dionne-show begun. He set up both Martinec and Gillies for two nice goals and later added two more by himself. This time the Blackhawks fought back. Lindros and Robinson scored a goal each in the third but despite this effort Kenora was able to maintain the one goal lead. Some dirty action after the finals whistle lead to a 1-game suspension for Chris Pronger and Clark Gillies.

Kenora wins the game 4-3 and leads has the 2-1 lead in the series

Boxscore
1st period
12:41 - Bellows 1 (Broten,Linseman)
2nd period
3:44 - Martinec 1 (Dionne,Grant) - PP
5:16 - Gillies 1 (Dionne,Griffis)
11:08 - Dionne 1 (Martinec) - PP
15:37 - Dionne 2 (Gillies,Martinec)
3rd period
5:58 - Lindros 1 (Robinson,Johansson) - PP
7:51 - Robinson 1 (Bouchard)

 

[Jungosi]

Not just a questin of ......

Sexuality? You all know Al Iafrate who brought us the rememberable quote "Emtpy netters are for h****". Because Pronger was suspended for this game the Blackhawks dressed Iafrate who would go on to become the (arguable tragic) hero of the game.

After a very slow first period that featured some remarkable goaltending by Ken Dryden. Dryden made 15 saves in the first period alone it took a magnificent deke by Guy Lafleur to finally get past the Octopus. Dallas tried very hard to tie the game but in a strong team effort on defense kept them of the sheet. Early in the third period however , Lafleur took an unnecessary hooking minor. Iafrate fired an absolute canon from the point to tie the game. MacDonald score the go-ahead goal moments later and now it was Kenora trying to overcome the bulwark of Robinson, Bouchard and Dryden. They failed and a eloquent young man scored the empty net goal. You might have already found out who did it.....

Reporter : Al , you once said that empty netters are for homos. Do you still think this is appropiate?

Iafrate : Well , somebody had to do it , you know. Larry is even more masculine than me and no one else was in position so......

Dallas wins the game 3-1 and ties the series at 2

Boxscore
1st period
scoreless
2nd period
6:31 - Lafleur 2 (Blake,Kelly)
3rd period
8:12 - Iafrate 1 (Robinson,Lindros) - PP
8:59 - MacDonald 1 (Andreychuk,Lindros)
19:21 - Iafrate 2 (unassisted) - EN

 

[Jungosi]

Storming with menace

After the loss in game 4 the Thistles were looking for revenge in game 5. The arena was packed to the roof and the crowd was hungry for hockey. Their hunger would be satisfied in a more then impressive way.

Dryden was under heavy fire from the beginning on. The Thistles were all over an overstrained Blackhawks squad the whole night. Martinec struck first after a missed clearing attempt by Chris Pronger who returned after his suspension. Lafleur added 2 more goals in the first period. Things didn't get better when Ken Hitchcock decided to gave his back-up Esposito a chance. Red Kelly scored with pointshot during a powerplay and assisted on another goal by Toe Blake. Claude Lemieux let the score look a little nicer with a nice wrister from the left hash mark before Lach scored again for the 5 goal win.

Kenora wins the game 6-1 and leads the series 3-2

Boxscore
1st period
5:16 - Martinec 2 (unassisted)
9:11 - Lafleur 3 (Lach,Kelly)
14:46 - Lafleur 4 (Kelly)
2nd period
4:41 - Kelly 1 (Tremblay) - PP
8:17 - Blake 2 (Lafleur,Lach)
3rd period
10:21 - Lemieux 1 (Hunter)
12:01 - Lach 2 (Tremblay,Kelly)

 

[Jungosi]

Dallas' last stand

"A marvellous display of goaltending that was all in vain." - This quote stems from a deeply disappointed Ken Hitchcock during the press conference after the game. It describes the game in nutshell.

Dryden was all over the net. Whatever the Thistles tried they would not overcome him. He made a ridiculous snowangel save on a breakaway by Blake and continiued his showing with sprawling save on a 2-on-1 with Dionne and Gillies involved. But it was the letter who was destined to overcome him. On a harmless looking play Grant dumped the puck in and Dionnie dug it out of the corner , passed it behind the net to Gillies who scored on a wrap-around.
With nothing to lose anymore Dallas blasted shots from everywhere on Holmes' net and it was Larry Robinson to find the opening and tie the game in the late third. This game would go to overtime.

Dryden continued his display during the first period of overtime and stunned the crowd with to unbelievable glove saves on Lafleur. The finals goal came on broken up 3on3 play in Blackhawk's zone. MacDonald had the puck almost cleared across the blueline but Kelly came flying in and hammered it onto the goal. Dryden was screened by Gillies and the puck went in. The series had found an end.

Kenora wins 2-1 in OT and takes the series 4-2

Boxscore
1st period
scoreless
2nd period
17:11 - Gillies 2 (Dionne)
3rd period
16:01 - Robinson 2 (Lindros,Bouchard)
1st overtime
scoreless
2nd overtime
14:08 - Kelly 2 (unassisted)

The Thistles win the series in 6!

3 Stars
1st Ken Dryden
2nd Red Kelly
3rd Larry Robinson

Congratulations to papershoes for making the second round! A great team that would be a joy to watch.

Also congratulations to cottonking for building this badass team. I had them higher in their division and don't think they deserved a seventh seed.

 

[seventieslord]

I was very critical of this team for not being an all-time team, but I thought it deserved a much better fate than 7th spot and out in 6 games. Congratulations, Kenora. Better luck next time, Dallas.

 

[papershoes]

excellent write-up jungo - really a joy to read.

ck - congrats on constructing one of the toughest atd teams (i'm always a fan of your teams).

looking forward to round 2...