Just because I didn't do any posting during the game doesn't mean I didn't watch it. As a matter of fact I watched it in real time and it is still on my PVR. Attacking me for posting well after the game is low. Sorry that I had other things to do with my time after the game.
I agree, Rielly makes similar plays as well but he definitely picks his spots more. I understand that the calling of an offensive defenseman is to generate offense from the backend and rushing the puck is a given for any offensive d-man but it is always a risk.
Now did I say I always condoned Rielly for doing it? No, not always but he seems to know when to do it and when not to much more so than Murphy who seems to try those solo rushes with much more frequency. Rielly doesn't always succeed but he has the luxury of really good wheels which allow him to get back into position when a rush fails.
Murphy on the other hand is different and doesn't always get back. Some games Murphy gets a lot of success doing it and today was one of those games. I applaud him for it but there are games where they lead to multiple turnovers that the opposing team can capitalize on which I count as defensive liabilities. You never want to give the opposing team too much that they can use it against you.
I just find a player like Rielly more efficient than one like Murphy. In the end, its just my opinion after watching them for a bit and it's fine if you disagree with me.
It's not attacking you for posting after the game, it's observing the trend that people bashing players who had great games almost always appear after the game when most posters are long gone.
Murphy had only a couple of "solo rushes" in this game always, the majority of the time he led the rush he'd pass off to someone as soon as he broke the Russian lines, the times he didn't do that were if he got through a hole in the Russian defense (The one earlier in the game where he deked through 4 Russians and got a scoring chance for example) or when the Russian's protected their blueline and wouldn't let anyone in (The play with around 2 minutes left when they fired the puck down the ice right after he entered the zone)
I really don't know you can say that Rielly know's when to do it more, he did it pretty frequently last game and unlike Murphy who got through most of the time, Rielly didn't. Now none of that cost Canada, they didn't turn the puck over but how can you say he picks his spots better when Murphy actually got through and generated more scoring chances.
The only less-than-positive assessment was from a source who is anything but reliable when it comes to evaluating Harrington.
He wasn't flashy, but dependable as clockwork. As per usual.
I really love the "he doesn't say what I say therefore he is unreliable" modus operandi when replying to people on these boards. No debate, no rebuttal.
