ATD #10 - Red Fisher Conference Final: San Francisco Spiders vs Winnipeg Jets

[Know Your Enemy]

San Francisco Spiders
co-GMs: Sturminator & Transplanted Caper
Coach: Cecil Hart​

Johnny Bucyk (A) - Joe Sakic (C) - Alexander Maltsev
Frank Foyston - Denis Savard - Ed Litzenberger
Dean Prentice - Don McKenney - Ron Ellis
Bruce Stuart - Jack Adams - Dirk Graham
extras: Fred Stanfield, Vladimir Vikulov​

Bill Gadsby - Niklas Lidstrom (A)
Hod Stuart - Cy Wentworth
Phil Russell - Bert Corbeau
extra: Rod Seiling​

Grant Fuhr
Dave Kerr​

Power play units:
PP1: Bucyk - Sakic - Foyston - Maltsev - Lidstrom
PP2: McKenney - Savard - Litzenberger - Stuart - Gadsby​

Penalty killing units:
PK1: Sakic - Graham - Lidstrom - Wentworth
PK2: Prentice - Maltsev - Stuart - Gadsby​

Winnipeg Jets
Co-GMs: vancityluongo & Evil Speaker
Head coach: Jacques Demers
Assistant coach: Lindy Ruff​

Reg Noble - Norm Ullman - Jaromir Jagr
Rick Martin - Dale Hawerchuk (A) - Rick Vaive
Jere Lehtinen - Doug Risebrough - Claude Provost
Shayne Corson - Keith Primeau - Jim Peplinski
extra: Wayne Merrick​

Rod Langway (A) - Doug Wilson
Hap Day (C) - Ted Green
Paul Reinhart - Gary Bergman
extra: Keith Magnuson​

Terry Sawchuk
Bill Ranford​

Power play units:
PP1: Martin - Ullman - Jagr - Reinhart - Wilson
PP2: Noble - Hawerchuk - Vaive - Bergman - Day​

Penalty killing units:
PK1: Risebrough - Provost - Langway - Green
PK2: Primeau - Lehtinen - Day - Wilson​

Click to read more...

 

[Know Your Enemy]

Line-up change- Gary Bergman will be inserted into the line up replacing Keith Magnuson. Bergman played a strong physical game like Magnuson, but was also a fluid skater and smart offensive player.

 

[vancityluongo]

Looking forward to this matchup. Congrats on making it this far Sturm and TC, and good luck. You guys have a solid team.

 

[Sturminator]

Hmmm...somewhat mixed feelings seeing one of my favorite teams on the other side of the ice for the conference finals. Congrats on making it to the final 4, vcl and Speaker. It should be a good one.

 

[camperjr]

These are the two teams I've voted for all along. It was hard to pick one of you.

 

[Nalyd Psycho]

San Francisco will win because:
-No real flaws. A very effective and well rounded team. The only thing they lack is an instigator of physicality, but core players are proven to be undeterred by physical play.
-More talent on the blue line.

Winnipeg will win because:
-Huge edge in goal.
-Better defensive specialists.

Which adds up to one of the best penalty kills in the draft and the best one remaining. That 1st PK unit is absolutely stellar.

 

[nik jr]

2 very even teams.

winnipeg has superior goaltending, SF has a superior blueline.

the main difference i see is that winnipeg has 2 gamebreakers, sawchuk and jagr, both of whom have been playing very well.

 

[vancityluongo]

Damn, time has flown by...school starts tomorrow!

This could've been a heavily discussed series as I know both TC and Sturm can really back up their opinions, but I think all four of us GM's have been very busy.

I'll just say quickly, I think we can win this series. I believe we have the better overall team defense, even though San Fran has a big advantage in top end talent on the blueline. And while I'm a huge Sakic fan, and it's hard to argue anything against Burnaby Joe, he is nowhere near the gamebreaker (offensively) that Jagr is (as nik pointed out). Coaching is a wash, or very close to it. No advantage for either team, IMHO. Biggest advantage either way is of course goaltending, in favour of Winnipeg, and IMO, that should be the deciding factor in the series.

Other than that, I agree with your mixed feelings comment Sturm. It's hard to pick apart such a well-rounded team built by two of my favourite GM's in the draft. I think this should definitely go at least 7 games, and may the best team win.

 

[Know Your Enemy]

Thanks for the comment nik jr. but I think it is only fair to call Sakic and Lidstrom game breakers as well.
In all I think the Spiders have more impressive top end talent in their top 6 forwards and top pairing defensemen, but we have the better goaltender, team defense and our depth players match up well against the Spiders.
One thing i'm a little worried about is the amount of playoff heros the Spiders have amoung their top guys like Sakic, Savard, Foyston, Bucyk and Lidstrom, all of whom have had great/heroic playoff years.
I think the most important factor in this series will be which teams 2nd line will outshine the other as well as goaltendng. If Martin-Hawerchuk-Vaive can play to their potential, I can see Fuhr having a hard time, if Foyston-Savard-Litz can play at their best we will have a hard time containing them, but at least we have Sawchuck to fall back on.

 

[BrutalWolf]

Sakic and Jagr's playoff record are nearly identical. Sakic has 7 more goals in 3 more games. Assists are the same.

The homer in me is saying I rather have Sakic than Jagr. But that may not matter if Sawchuk plays up to his potential.

The real matchup is if Fuhr can make key saves vs. whether or not Sawchuk is able to sustain an elite level of performance against a team that, I think, will have better puck possession and better scoring chances.

 

[Sturminator]

Urgh...sorry I missed the discussion in this series and the voting in this round. Holiday cruises to warm places that offer amoebic dysentary but not internet aren't worth the time, trust me.

 

[VanIslander]

Jets soar over the Bay Area

(VI) The home crowd in San Francisco watched as a demi-god with the initials J.J. wielded his power in scoring five points and a hat trick in a 6-0 Jets win over a flat Spiders team squashed at one end of the ice by a slow-footed penalty kill and at the other end by stellar goaltending.
The boys from Winnipeg opened the scoring at the four minute mark when Reg Noble stole the puck from a surging Alex Maltsev on a poke check which bounced the puck back to the left winger who cross iced it to Mario Jr. for a one-on-one undressing of Cy Wentworth, then Grant Fuhr.
The Spiders went on a 5-minute powerplay soon after when Rod Langway drew blood in high sticking a charging Bill Gadsby. Sawchuk denied four quality scoring chances as his team's best penalty killer, including what looked like a sure tip in by Bucyk on a Lidstrom shot that the netminder somehow managed to block with a sudden raised knee. Compounding the home team's frustration was the visitors' shorthanded marker when Doug Wilson cleared the puck and Jere Lehtinen one-timed a fifty footer over Fuhr's right shoulder to end the period's scoring 2-0.
Special teams again went the Jets way in the second, as Jagr and Vaive extended the lead to four with the man advantage before the midway mark and the capacity crowd was quiet enough to hear the wind outside in what quickly turned into a rout when Reinhart pushed the total to five in coming late on a rush by Jagr and slapping the rubber past Fuhr from the top of the left circle.
The Spiders changed goaltenders to start the third but to no avail as Dave Kerr made just two saves before Jagr closed out scoring at the 6:40 mark of the third.
"They stole my playbook," coach Cecil Hart shook his head in disgust at the postgame press conference. "Speed and constant pressure. They had it, we didn't." He was not impressed with any of his team's 27 shots because they were too far out and too easy for the Jets star netminder to see. "Terry will stop those all day. We must increase traffic at the net. We will make changes for game two."
The three stars of the game: 1. Jaromir Jagr 2. Terry Sawchuk 3. Rod Langway

 

[VanIslander]

Bully ends 2-1 OT Thriller

(VI) Game 2 had less open ice than Rockefeller Center on Christmas day. Just nine shots were recorded in the opening frame, four by the visitors, as matching penalties littered the score sheet.
Dirk Graham and Shayne Corson 1:07 in get five minutes each for fighting. A minute later Ed Litzenberger went off for elbowing and Gary Bergman for unsportsmanlike conduct in taking a swipe at the back of the 6'3 winger's head. The home team got the game's first powerplay at the 5:29 mark with Primeau off for hooking and it soon became a two-man advantage as Jets captain Hap Day tripped Denis Savard. The Spiders capitalized on the ensuing 5-on-3 with a Lidstrom shot thanks in part to a Foyston screen at the crease, drawing claims of goalie interference from the Jets bench, to no avail. Before the period ended San Francisco's Bruce Stuart got ejected from the game and is facing a suspension for opening the bench door just as Rick Martin skated by, sending the winger to hospital with a head injury.
There was no scoring in the middle frame and only two penalties called as each team checked hard and the refs appeared to swallow their whistles on a whole host of marginal calls of interference, holding and roughing.
The visitors tied it up 1-1 at 13:58 of the third on Dale Hawerchuk's first point of the series, a harmless looking backhand chip off of an offensive zone face-off which dropped over Fuhr's head. Regulation ended with shots 24-21 in the Spiders favour, four each by Sakic and Maltsev.
Overtime lasted 7:13 and saw two powerplays as Gadsby and Green marched to the box. With shots tied 3-3 and at even strength, the Jets Doug Wilson dumped the puck in and Peplinski recovered it from Corbeau and shoveled it toward the net, where Corson pushed against big Phil Russell and with one hand on his stick slapped the puck five hole on Fuhr.
"It's not how we like to win games," said Jacques Demers. "But we take them any way we can get them." He credited assistant coach Lindy Ruff for putting the fourth line out there for three shifts in the extra frame. Jaromir Jagr was held pointless and only saw 16:22 minutes of action, over five minutes less than the previous game. The coach attributed the reduction of the star's icetime to the nature of the night, wishing to protect him from the "cheapshots" and "goonery" of the match. It's uncertain whether the Jets Rick Martin will be well enough to play in game three back in Winnipeg tomorrow night. The league will meet in the morning to determine the fate of the Spiders Bruce Stuart, with a 3-5 game suspension at the very least expected.
The three stars of the game: 1. Shayne Corson 2. Terry Sawchuk 3. Niklas Lidstrom

 

[VanIslander]

Late heroics from the bench

It was history re-visited as Vikulov came into the series in relief of suspended Stuart and made an immediate impact scoring two goals, just as he had subbed for Kharlamov in the 1972 Summit Series and then scored twice. And just like that first game in Moscow, one was a game winner in freezing conditions. With 3:62 remaining, the speedy winger surged in with Jack Adams trailing on his right, opting to keep and shoot glovehand on Sawchuk, rattling his shot off the post and in to put the Spiders up 3-2. It was the 48th shot of the game by the visitors against a netminder who until that moment had been unbeatable at even strength, both earlier goals coming on the powerplay from Bucyk and Lidstrom.
It was minus-34 C in Winnipeg tonight, the ice conditions perfect for a fast skating contest. Each team had its chances before the first minute mark, Sakic hitting the post and on the following rush Vaive backhanding a puck just wide of an open net with Fuhr sprawled on the play.
The home team raised the roof when Jagr scored at 4:52 of the first on a highlight one-on-three play which saw the big guy weave through Foyston and Stuart and draw a delayed penalty against a clutching Wentworth as the right winger roofed the opening goal over Fuhr's left shoulder. The period ended 1-0.
The second period was all Spiders as the visitors outshot the Jets 21-6, thanks in part to four consecutive powerplays as Green, Corson, Bergman and Provost marched to the box for minor infractions. The period ended 2-1 San Francisco.
The Jets tied things up 54 seconds into the third on an Ullman tip-in of a Wilson slapshot, Noble assisting. Vikulov finished the scoring with an empty netter just over two minutes after he got the game winner. The final score, 4-2.
"It could have gone either way," said Cecil Hart. "Their goalie gave us fits all night and give credit to their defenders on clearing the crease so fast. We had trouble getting up close for rebounds." Vikulov is expected to play at least two more games in the series as Stuart is on a 3-game suspension for injuring Rick Martin. The wounded Jet is considered a game time decision for the next game but is expected to play game 5 in San Francisco.
The three stars of the game: 1. Vladimir Vikulov 2. Niklas Lidstrom 3. Terry Sawchuk

 

[VanIslander]

The one and only Burnaby Joe

Game four ended 1-0 in double overtime on a give and go between Maltsev and Sakic which saw the first line center wrist the puck over Sawchuk's right pad up close. Each team was playing four skaters aside with Graham and Primeau in the box, and the Jets had just missed the net on a Vaive slapper, the puck bouncing off the boards to Gadsby who fed Maltsev on transition for a 2-on-1 rush. The winger quickly passed to Sakic as the two headed up ice. Jets captain Hap Day played the pass which the Spiders pivot faked before shooting, his fourth shot of the game and the only one of 32 to get past Sawchuk.
"It was a strange game," Jacques Demers said. "We had our chances, they had theirs. Nothing was working." The Jets head coach was happier with his team's play this game than last, and said he expects different results for the next game.
The series is tied at 2 games apiece as the series shifts back to California for game 5 tomorrow afternoon. Rick Martin is expected to be back in the line-up and his replacement Wayne Merrick is expected to sit after recording just over 11 minutes of play and one shot tonight.
The three stars of the game: 1. Joe Sakic 2. Terry Sawchuk 3. Grant Fuhr

 

[VanIslander]

Jets fly into Spiders web

The howling in the San Francisco air today was more from the crowd cheering "Chief! Chief!" than it was the wind as Johnny Bucyk earned his nickname by stepping up and leading his team to victory in scoring two early to set the pace. He later added a third as insurance in a 4-1 home team triumph to take a 3-2 lead in the series back to Winnipeg.
"We dug ourselves a hole we couldn't get out of," said assistant coach Lindy Ruff in place of absent and rumoured furious head coach Demers. The Jets trailed 3-0 at the end of the opening frame, the third coming from Denis Savard on a spin move past Reinhart shortly after the center came out of the box on a hooking penalty.
The Jets went 1-for-7 with the man advantage on a Hawerchuk slapper midway through the second, outshooting the Spiders 27-21 but often frustrated by the blueline and checking of San Francisco. Lidstrom and Fuhr played well but it was Gadsby who did it all, taking two penalties, drawing a 5-minute major when he was cut so badly he had to leave the second period for seven stitches over his left eye, notching three assists, the last one to a standing ovation as he sent in Bucyk all alone on a botched line change by the visitors 4:51 into the third.
The three stars of the game: 1. Johnny Bucyk 2. Bill Gadsby 3. Dale Hawerchuk

 

[VanIslander]

Goaltenders duel all night long

(VI) The contest took nearly five hours to complete and the netminders stopped a combined 108 shots as the game went well into the second overtime before it ended 1-0 in a battle for the ages. The crowd was so appreciative of the saves they were witnessing that they gave the visiting Sawchuk three ovations of his own to go with the five they gave Fuhr. Neither team could capitalize on six powerplays each. Rick Martin returned from his head injury and registered a team high 9 shots, one more than Jagr. The Jets outshot the home team 16-9 in the first and 15-13 in the middle frame but held on in the third as the Spiders held a 18-6 advantage in what seemed like only a matter of time before Sawchuk would cave. Foyston and Lidstrom hit the post and Vikulov appeared to score on what turned out to be goalie interference, as Dirk Graham had pushed the netminder back into the crease just before the shot was taken.
"What can I say? We threw everything and the kitchen sink at Sawchuk and after the first OT our dressing room was a sad, sad place to be," confessed Cecil Hart. "We contained Jagr [to four shots], our penalty kill was working, we had a strong transition game, we even got to the net more often for deflections and screens..." At this point in the press conference in walked the Spiders captain and all attention turned to him. The NHL's all-time leader in playoff overtime goals scored had done it for the second time in this series on what he would admit was a broken play, a scramble near the crease, as shots by Maltsev and Lidstrom were turned away and Ted Green had fanned on the clearing attempt, allowing Joe Sakic a swipe at the puck, which deflected off of Sawchuk's blocker and went in, at 17:06 of 2OT. San Francisco wins the series in six games. The series' three stars are Sawchuk, Sakic and Lidstrom in that order.
The three stars of the night: 1. Terry Sawchuk 2. Grant Fuhr 3. Joe Sakic

 

[Sturminator]

Wow. I am shocked to have won this one in six games. Strangely, I have been to the semifinals three times, and never seen a seventh game (losing end of the first two). Congratulations to Speaker and vcl for assembling a hell of a team. You guys have made the deepest run I have ever seen of a low seed, and deservedly so.

On to the finals, then.

 

[vancityluongo]

Great writeups VanI. Definitely felt like I was reading a real game summary.

Congrats to Sturm and TC. I'm a bit sad to lose after making such an awesome run, but I'm not a bit disappointed, because you guys built an amazing team. Thanks for the great series and good luck in the finals.

 

[Know Your Enemy]

Well that was a good run. No shame in losing to the team I had #1 league wide. Good luck in the finals Sturm.
VCL is mostly responsible for creating this team, and he did very well with the debates that helped get us so far, so I need to give credit were it is due. Good work vcl