Hockey Night in Canada's Scott Morrison delivers his insights into the world of hockey, on and off the ice.
Blips during season no reason to ring death knell
Comments (5)
Wednesday, December 5, 2007 | 02:18 PM ET
By Scott Morrison
History is a great teacher.
And often one that is underused, at least as it pertains to hockey.
Consider, for instance, the angst that is being felt these days in Ottawa, where the Senators have lost seven straight. Or in Montreal, where the Canadiens have started a free fall. Or in Calgary, where the Flames have struggled to find themselves and the guy who kidnapped the real Miikka Kiprusoff. Or in Toronto where, well, the panic never stops, it merely takes the occasional rest.
Anyway, recent history, the great teacher, would suggest it is far too early in the proceedings for panic in any of the Canadian cities. Witness what happened last season, when the Senators were brutal through the first couple of months, started to come around in December and through the new year were one of the best teams in hockey and ventured to the Stanley Cup finals.
Witness, too, what happened in Vancouver last season, when the Canucks stumbled through the first couple of months, started to come around in December and from Boxing Day forward were one of the best teams in hockey, won the first round but played one too many marathon overtime games and ran out of gas.
The point is, with the parity that exists in the NHL post lockout, lagging behind in the early months is no longer guaranteed to be fatal. It can hurt, to be sure, but it isn't necessarily a death knell.
Ottawa, for instance, has fallen victim of late to average goaltending, the lack of a diversified offence and sputtering confidence. But just as easily as they have fallen, they will be a team to be reckoned with in the Eastern Conference before it is all over. It's not hard, as Tampa has proven, to be a team that is capable of being good, but also very streaky.
In the case of the Canadiens, they were propelled in the early going, as they were last season, by a terrific power play. But once that production drops to mere mortal standards, if the five-on-five play doesn't improve, you lose games. But it's fixable and they will remain in the playoff hunt, like last season, to the bitter end.
As for the Flames, well, one night Mike Keenan is calling out his goaltender after a loss, the next night he is shaking his hand after a win. Kiprusoff is too good to struggle all year and his return to form will make the Flames better, though it is hard to believe right now it will make them good enough.
But it is still very early, fortunes can change quickly. Heck, the Leafs are proof of that.
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About the Author
Scott Morrison, the recipient of the Hockey Hall of Fameís 2006 Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award, has been covering hockey for 25 years. The Toronto native began his career at the Toronto Sun in 1979. After spending more than 11 years as a hockey writer and columnist at the paper, Morrison became Sports Editor in 1991 and led the section to being named one of North America's top-ten sports sections in 1999 - the first sports section in Canada to receive the AP Sports Editors North American Award. Scott, a former two-term president of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association, joined Rogers Sportsnet in 2001 as Managing Editor, Hockey, and is currently both a commentator on Hockey Night in Canada and a columnist for CBC.ca.
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Comments (5)
Jack
Enid from toronto, i salute you.
In a related manner, Scott Morrison is a brilliant hockey commentator.
Go habs go! They have only won the cup once in my life time, when i was 4 yrs old, so it would be great if they could even get NEAR the finals this year. Overall, i pray for any Canadian team to at least make the stanley cup final, let alone win it, which has not been done, oh -since i was 4.
Posted December 6, 2007 06:12 PM
Joe
Montreal
Enid from toronto, i salute you.
In a related manner, Scott Morrison is a brilliant hockey commentator.
Go habs go! They have only won the cup once in my life time, when i was 4 yrs old, so it would be great if they could even get NEAR the finals this year. Overall, i pray for any Canadian team to at least make the stanley cup final, let alone win it, which has not been done, oh -since i was 4.
Posted December 6, 2007 06:11 PM
Damien
Vancouver
The Vancouver Canucks, WAS the best team after boxing day, not ONE of the best teams, their record, stats and play dictated that.
Posted December 6, 2007 01:00 AM
Enid
Toronto
Finally, a sports-writer with an ounce of sanity. Everyday the TO Star has an opinion piece suggesting that the Leafs should fire their entire head-office and trade away every scrap of talent on the team for draft picks. The next day, different opinion writers say that the Leafs can't scout or draft their way out of a paper bag making seem like the leafs are doomed.
I am reminded of a fan who posted on the Canucks website ten or fifteen games in that the season was over and with a 5-8 record, the Canucks might as well pack it in.
The following month, the Swedish line is piling up points, all lines are contributing, Luongo/defense sets a shutout record and the Canucks go 8-2-2 over 12 games.
The same was said about the 'Nucks last year. In the beginning Luongo was over-valued, the twins couldn't perform, Naslund had passed his prime and the rest of the team had no teeth. Everyone was calling for a trading away Naslund and the defense for a top 6 forward or picks.
I think all fans of Canadian teams need to take vallium and wait until the season is half over. If you're team is sitting with the Cap's at the bottom of the tank with the eighth spot no where in sight then rebuild. If they're outside the cusp, then wait for some action on trade-deadline day or in the off-season.
Posted December 5, 2007 11:37 PM
Blaine Louis
Victoria
This comment is for Scott Morrison regarding this week's NHL power rankings (I couldn't find any link to email or comment to him directly regarding the rankings).
How is it that the Canucks and Luongo recorded 3 shutouts last week and one 2-1 loss to the Wild and they still drop from 5 to 10? That makes absolutely no sense (especially with the Bruins and Devils ranked higher). Did that one loss to the Wild make that much difference?
Posted December 5, 2007 11:08 PM