Outside the Shipping Lanes

by Ryan


Daniel Paille's new nickname is "Fat Crosby". Trust me, this makes sense. A friend of mine said this at the Sabres/Thrashers game a few weeks ago, and it really didn't hit me until now. For those of you that need photographic evidence, I give you this:

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I know it's a bit rough, but there isn't exactly a plethora of Dan Paille photos floating around the Internet. But please, for me, the next time you see Paille on TV flash an image of Sid the Kid through your mind. Get back to me on the results.

The only reason I mention it is because it takes someone with serious hand-eye coordination issues to miss the puck hanging above Vokoun tonight. Seriously, Dan, that thing hovered there forever, and you Ole!-ed it like nobody's business. Thank God you did, but still... it's pretty hard to miss a duck like that.

It also takes a special individual to beat Mike Van Ryn to the puck, out muscle another Panther, and rip it by Vokoun on the penalty kill. That's not only a great play, but a player showing some of the intensity that was sorely lacking from the past handfull of games.

What kind of player does both in the same period? Fat Crosby does.


Some other lingering thoughts:

- I've never actually seen Paul Hamilton until tonight. Based on his voice I had always thought of him as a skinny short guy. I... was a bit off. Still, I really respect him as a beat reporter. The players seem to trust him, and he isn't afraid to give his opinions, no matter how critical.

- Hamilton made a really good point about Florida's second goal. At first I thought Sekera made a terrible play throwing it up along the boards, then ending up nudging Miller in front. Vanek really was to blame for it because he didn't drop into position along the wall. He waited for it to leave the zone instead and Peltonen picks it up. A few seconds later it's on Peltonen's stick and Vanek is behind Miller. Yikes.

- Vanek didn't have a good game at all. He took a terrible, lazy penalty late in the game that killed a great power play. He lost the puck and hooked instead of skating, which is disgustingly lazy. Even if the puck leaves the zone, we have at least 30 seconds of PP time left. Instead it's 4 on 4 and the Panthers get a chance to push for the tie.

- I hope that C Hecht has on his uniform is Velcro, because I don't see him having it much longer. I think Captain Goose is quite realistic as of now...

- Quote of the night from Harry Neale:
“Last year I went to the beach and the lifeguard told me to stay out of the shipping lanes”

- Overall the effort was much better. The team skated, played with a bit of an edge, and made a minimal amount of mistakes. I thought Weber didn't play too bad, our penalty kill was excellent, and Miller made some key stops late.

Up next is the St. Pete Times Forum and the Lightning. I hear it's pink thundersticks day down there, so that should be fun.

More to come tomorrow.