Brind'Amour Cheating
McKenzie: Issues in the net and faceoff circle
TSN.ca Staff
6/6/2006
It is a question that could be asked back at the start of the season for the Edmonton Oilers.
And it's also a question that can be asked going into Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Will it be Ty Conklin, or Jussi Markkanen in net?
Now anyone associated with the Oilers will tell you that they have two very accomplished and proven goaltenders.
Well, there's nothing more debilitating in this game than a team not having confidence in its own goaltender. And over the course of the regular season, the Edmonton Oilers were plagued by inconsistent goaltending from Conklin and Markkanen. The skaters in turn lost their confidence in them.
Now the team isn't going to go stand up on the mountain and point that out as the case. But by the same token, these two netminders did not provide the saves that the team needed to stay in games and win.
Conklin and Markkanen were not awful goaltenders this season. But when the game was on the line, they didn't make a play. And that was certainly the case on Monday night with Ty Conklin.
That being said, there's got to be a little hesitation and doubt for the Oilers. They'll try their best to overcome these feelings, but I can't help but feel that their psyches are a bit damaged going into Game 2.
There are those who believe that Conklin won't be able to get over the loss in Game 1, but I'm not so sure.
While Jussi Markkanen was good for the Oilers early in the season, he was brutal in the second half. By contrast, Conklin wasn;t that great either but did much better in Edmonton's second half. With that in mind, I'm left to wonder if the Oilers will go with Conklin because he's a bit more mentally tough.
Where the Hurricanes are concerned, a big contributor to their victory on Monday wasn't just Conklin's performance but what they did at the faceoff circle. Carolina won 45 of 73 faceoffs in Game 1, due in large part to Rod Brind'Amour's work on the draw.
The Oilers, in turn, have labelled Brind'Amour - the league's top faceoff man this season - a 'cheater' on faceoffs.
Oilers centre Shawn Horcoff wasn't shy about saying that at all. Brind'Amour fared better than 80 percent on the draw, compared to about 30 percent for Horcoff. The Oilers argue this was made worse by the fact that Brind'Amour's a veteran who gets benefits from the linesmen.
Horcoff, who had a running battle all night with the linesmen and referees, said that Brind'Amour did get tossed out of the circle on a few occasions. But it was only because they complained so much that the referees started making the calls instead of the linesmen.
Horcoff had a real nasty exchange with one of the linesmen in Game 1, and some video will be put together for the NHL and its officials on what they believe to be Brind'Amour's 'cheating.'
The Oilers' argument will be that he does not line up straight at the circle and comes in on an angle. They'll also point out that he benefits from putting his stick down and lifting it up again.
For TSN.ca, I'm Bob McKenzie.
TSN.ca Staff
6/6/2006
It is a question that could be asked back at the start of the season for the Edmonton Oilers.
And it's also a question that can be asked going into Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Will it be Ty Conklin, or Jussi Markkanen in net?
Now anyone associated with the Oilers will tell you that they have two very accomplished and proven goaltenders.
Well, there's nothing more debilitating in this game than a team not having confidence in its own goaltender. And over the course of the regular season, the Edmonton Oilers were plagued by inconsistent goaltending from Conklin and Markkanen. The skaters in turn lost their confidence in them.
Now the team isn't going to go stand up on the mountain and point that out as the case. But by the same token, these two netminders did not provide the saves that the team needed to stay in games and win.
Conklin and Markkanen were not awful goaltenders this season. But when the game was on the line, they didn't make a play. And that was certainly the case on Monday night with Ty Conklin.
That being said, there's got to be a little hesitation and doubt for the Oilers. They'll try their best to overcome these feelings, but I can't help but feel that their psyches are a bit damaged going into Game 2.
There are those who believe that Conklin won't be able to get over the loss in Game 1, but I'm not so sure.
While Jussi Markkanen was good for the Oilers early in the season, he was brutal in the second half. By contrast, Conklin wasn;t that great either but did much better in Edmonton's second half. With that in mind, I'm left to wonder if the Oilers will go with Conklin because he's a bit more mentally tough.
Where the Hurricanes are concerned, a big contributor to their victory on Monday wasn't just Conklin's performance but what they did at the faceoff circle. Carolina won 45 of 73 faceoffs in Game 1, due in large part to Rod Brind'Amour's work on the draw.
The Oilers, in turn, have labelled Brind'Amour - the league's top faceoff man this season - a 'cheater' on faceoffs.
Oilers centre Shawn Horcoff wasn't shy about saying that at all. Brind'Amour fared better than 80 percent on the draw, compared to about 30 percent for Horcoff. The Oilers argue this was made worse by the fact that Brind'Amour's a veteran who gets benefits from the linesmen.
Horcoff, who had a running battle all night with the linesmen and referees, said that Brind'Amour did get tossed out of the circle on a few occasions. But it was only because they complained so much that the referees started making the calls instead of the linesmen.
Horcoff had a real nasty exchange with one of the linesmen in Game 1, and some video will be put together for the NHL and its officials on what they believe to be Brind'Amour's 'cheating.'
The Oilers' argument will be that he does not line up straight at the circle and comes in on an angle. They'll also point out that he benefits from putting his stick down and lifting it up again.
For TSN.ca, I'm Bob McKenzie.
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