As I was out on the Island Thursday night, I did not see that game, except for the few minutes I Tivoed through.
I was out Friday night as well.
I plan to watch/skim both games tomorrow sometime. (Wishful thinking though it may be.)
But, I did watch some pieces and I got some quotes for you. I will try - and I do hope other's do the same - to keep the Prucha updates coming as much as possible. That much will not change, I promise. The uniform changed, but my devotion will not.
Surely it'll just take more effort from me, but come on now, what truly great things in life came easy, hmmm?
To get started, before the Yotes -(am I allowed to call them that yet?)- /Sabres game, the talk centered around the new players on the team and their first game the night before.
"Petr Prucha came as advertised. A kid that is willing to take a hit to make a play. Gets up after he gets hit. Gets into the scoring areas." - Darren Pang
And after he got an assist - his 1st point as a Coyote and 114th of his NHL career - on Matthew Lombardi's Powerplay goal:
"Prucha did a lot of work though. Prucha was strong on the puck. Protected it. Went to the middle. And then just got it over to Lombardi and Lombardi finished it off."
Looks to me from the replay like Prucha went behind the net, got tripped up by Sekera, popped back up, regained control of the puck, and brought it out to a location where Lombardi could make a nice move in front of the net.
Now where have we seen that before? When have we NOT seen that before?
I've only seen a few moments of these games, and I cannot imagine I will be able to watch them in their entirety or see all the remainging games for the team, but a few things encourage already.
Prucha getting the opportunity to play with Shane Doan (a guy having a marvelous year and one of the game's great leaders) and Matthew Lombardi on the 1st line.
Prucha getting powerplay time.
Prucha playing with a young, energetic lineup.
Prucha being coached by Wayne Gretzky.
Tell me that's not a goal scorers dream.
Phoenix, whether it's for just this year or beyond, will be good for Prucha and for for Nigel Dawes as well.
And take comfort in knowing that from my earliest indications, Pete is the same player. He will play with the same spirit, heart, and moxie that we know and love him for. And he will be just fine.
He will be more than fine.
2 comments:
I watched the Coyote game last night! They lost (obviously) but they didn't come out that strong. The third period they came out flying, and the first line in particular. Mueller misses a tip in... all he had to do was elevate it but he missed the net! Prucha with two great deflections... completely made the play on the goal. ::glowing with pride:: Dawes with some good plays too! Then the Jovanovski takes a tripping penalty and TGO complains about it until they give HIM a minor, which Prucha serves. Down 3-1, going into the 5 on 3... and of course, Buff scores twice!
It sucks, because they came out so strong in the first. I have to admit, I enjoyed the game. Good work by a lot of young players, despite the score. I'm not really familiar with the roster, so I don' know what I should be expecting out of whom. But they ARE on the road and they ARE dealing with new players and they DID just beat Boston, so this could be a decent team to play against over the next couple weeks.
I have an easier time watching Prucha on the Coyotes then watching the Prucha-less Rangers.
I am glad you enjoyed the game. I didn't get to watch it all, so yet another game sitting on the Tivo for when I magically get the time to see it...
I really, really think it's normal/fine/okay that you are having a hard time watching the Rangers (I mean as if we weren't having a hard time ALREADY this season), and are enjoying the Coyotes instead. They are a young fun team and I have a lot of respect for Shane Doan.
I always try to watch many different NHL clubs. Prucha going to Phoenix just means that instead of them being maybe the 10th team I'd watch out West, it would probably now be the 1st I'd choose.
As for the Blueshirts, I meant to say to you before. I spent a almost two years not watching them over ten years ago, because I was angry and fed up. And I came back better for it, I think. I missed some stuff I wish I hadn't, but I wouldn't take it back. I lived different parts of my life back then, so it was a tradeoff I didn't mind making.
But I'm telling you, if there is ever a year to NOT watch this team, this would be it. We knew that coming in.
Still I'm having an easier time than I thought with the situation. (Maybe I'm in serious denial? I'll see when I go to the Garden tomorrow!)
It will never be a good situation and it will never stop hurting completely. And reminders will be everywhere. But, really, as long as we get to see him play and as long as he's happy, that really is all that matters. My only hope now is that he finds a team to play on next year - be it Phoenix or elsewhere - that is in the NHL.
As for the Blueshirts, I will not lose sleep for them. I hope for reasons in my last post that they do make the playoffs, but I still do not necessarily "like" more than half of the players on the team, and the ones that I don't "like" are going to be there for a long time. It's going to be a hard road for a handful of years for this team, and even harder because our favorite player and a big piece of their heart is missing.
We will endure though.
And thank goodness for CentreIce.
Post a Comment