Crosby2010
Registered User
- Mar 4, 2023
- 1,075
- 886
The funny thing is, thanks to taping this on VHS I was able to watch it many times afterwards. Even in a torturing loss I still watched it. Canada did not play well that game. They were sluggish the whole game and it was making me nervous. When the Czechs went up 1-0 I can remember Bob Cole saying that "You just get the feeling, I don't know why I say this, that Canada is going to tie the game." I felt it too, keep in mind up until that time all we had was the blowout in 1981 and then the U.S. beating us in 1996. Canada always came through. Once 1998 happened it struck a lot of fear in us. But I do remember the goal. MacInnis unleashed a howitzer of a shot that only he could do, and it was his classic type, hard, low, dangerous, etc. but Hasek was there. Lindros gobbles up the rebound and Linden's shot deflects off a stick and above Hasek. Tie game.
On the ice was Lindros, Shanahan and Linden up front. Here is the thing, and even with the goal I still blame Crawford. For starters there was a minute left and I am not even sure they were pulling the goalie. Secondly, I know he got the goal, but why was Linden out there with a minute left down a goal? He did have a big game reputation, and maybe we hadn't had enough time to see that his game wasn't the same, but it really wasn't even from 1996 to 1998. Just more disorganization from Crawford. And while I might pick Yzerman or Recchi as snipers on the shootout I do agree that you have to take the x-factor with Gretzky. He was slow by then, he was never great at structured play, and that's what a penalty shot was. He was 2/6 on penalty shots in his career. But come on, Bourque and then Shanahan? No. You at least go down fighting with Gretzky and Yzerman in there. Gretzky would have probably done what everyone should have done and that was just shoot it on that bad ice at that time (Fleury did that I guess you could say)
On the ice was Lindros, Shanahan and Linden up front. Here is the thing, and even with the goal I still blame Crawford. For starters there was a minute left and I am not even sure they were pulling the goalie. Secondly, I know he got the goal, but why was Linden out there with a minute left down a goal? He did have a big game reputation, and maybe we hadn't had enough time to see that his game wasn't the same, but it really wasn't even from 1996 to 1998. Just more disorganization from Crawford. And while I might pick Yzerman or Recchi as snipers on the shootout I do agree that you have to take the x-factor with Gretzky. He was slow by then, he was never great at structured play, and that's what a penalty shot was. He was 2/6 on penalty shots in his career. But come on, Bourque and then Shanahan? No. You at least go down fighting with Gretzky and Yzerman in there. Gretzky would have probably done what everyone should have done and that was just shoot it on that bad ice at that time (Fleury did that I guess you could say)
