rick@ucla-cs.UUCP (06/11/85)
<<< here little buggy, come eat THIS >>>
Well, it is (past) time to fulfill the terms of a bet with Rob Lake (@alberta).
The Oilers have won the Stanley Cup and now I am obliged to sing a whole
page of praises for them. Gulp, here goes ...
Let's start in net and work forward. Grant Fuhr has become one of the
most outstanding goalies in the NHL. He constantly came up with the big
save at the right time (witness his penalty shot saves against the Flyers).
He reminds me a bit of Dryden and Parent, with a little Esposito thrown in.
My personal opinion is that the Oilers couldn't have won without him, but
could have without Gretzky - my Conn Smythe vote is for Fuhr. Andy Moog is
a quite capable goalie too, but didn't get a chance to show it in the
playoffs.
Defence - what can you say about Paul Coffey. Shades of Bobby Orr, that's
what! I hesitate to say Coffey is in Orr's class, yet, but he certainly
doesn't shame himself anymore. He defensive abilities have improved from
just a few short years ago so that he is actually an asset on the blueline
rather than a deficit (see his break-up of the 2-on-1 against the Russians
at last fall's Canada Cup). But there is certainly more to this defence
than Coffey. Lowe is a solid, if un-spectacular, defenceman (he stops a
lot of goals by covering behind the goalie) and scores the timely goals.
Charlie Huddy has turned into a top offensive player without abandoning
his defensive tasks. Lee Fogolin has helped to steady the younger players
with his play.
Forwards - The true strength of this team is its' big, strong, fast
forwards. Gretzky is certainly the most awesome offensive force in
hockey history. But he also added defence to his game. He has become
an all-round great player. But there is more than Gretzky here. Jari
Kurri is a great right winger, second only to Gretzky in league scoring.
Messier, last year's Conn Smythe winner, combines tough corner work
with speed and scoring touch. Glenn Anderson just flies by people.
Krushelnyski, Napier, Lindstrom, Hunter, and the others are all good
backup role players.
Coaching - Glen Sather has melded a team of once arrogant youngsters
into a solid NHL champion team with a novel approach (for the NHL):
speed, passing, and scoring.
--
Rick Gillespie
ARPANET: rick@ucla-locus.ARPA or (soon) rick@LOCUS.UCLA.EDU
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