Big Phil
Registered User
- Nov 2, 2003
- 31,703
- 4,150
Malkin had his first experience of playoff hockey he had 4 assists. Not bad in 5 games, but of course not good. Now a lot factored into that. First off the Sens did not want to lose to a team that can barely shave yet because if they did you can bet that the likes of Bryan Murray, Alfredsson and maybe even Emery would have been changed up. Keep in mind although Crosby played well he still had just one more point than Malkin. Crosby played better but still keep in mind some of the greatest to ever play the game didnt fare great in their 1st playoff appearance.
Gretzky had 3 points in 3 games. Messier had 3 points in three games. Sakic scored 105 points in '93 but only had 6 points in 6 games in his first playoffs. Lafleur had 5 points in 6 games. Lafontaine had 9 points in 16 games. Richard.........oh bad example. So anyone that thinks this is a problem needs to relax. Besides Malkin did very well in the WJC and when push came to shove in the big games he collapsed so let's just see if all of his points will even matter first in this tournament.
Oh and as for Kovalchuk I like what he did to Avery. Atlanta shouldnt have been swept and he can share some blame but not all of it. I too thought back in 2001 that Atlanta was making a huge mistake drafting Kovalchuk ahead of Spezza. I thought the same thing that Spezza would make the players around him better. I also said that last year when Crosby was being shelved over Ovechkin. It's funny how sometimes even the NHL Draft can get caught up in the heat of the moment( remember when Legwand was considered to be possibly #1 overall over Vinny in '98? Yikes!)
Gretzky had 3 points in 3 games. Messier had 3 points in three games. Sakic scored 105 points in '93 but only had 6 points in 6 games in his first playoffs. Lafleur had 5 points in 6 games. Lafontaine had 9 points in 16 games. Richard.........oh bad example. So anyone that thinks this is a problem needs to relax. Besides Malkin did very well in the WJC and when push came to shove in the big games he collapsed so let's just see if all of his points will even matter first in this tournament.
Oh and as for Kovalchuk I like what he did to Avery. Atlanta shouldnt have been swept and he can share some blame but not all of it. I too thought back in 2001 that Atlanta was making a huge mistake drafting Kovalchuk ahead of Spezza. I thought the same thing that Spezza would make the players around him better. I also said that last year when Crosby was being shelved over Ovechkin. It's funny how sometimes even the NHL Draft can get caught up in the heat of the moment( remember when Legwand was considered to be possibly #1 overall over Vinny in '98? Yikes!)