[mbriant]

Quote:

Crosby is a good player, but he's not, from what I can tell, a generational player.

Well, you probably know best.

Sidney Crosby, world's best hockey player, makes it a golden day for Canada - NewsTimes

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/sp...222604/327531/

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/9...-hockey-player

 

[Landis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbriant /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm not sure what replays you saw that would make you believe it was just a fluke shot. The fact that it was instinctively quick, without hesitation, would have helped a lot. It's those sort of small details, even being in the right place at the right time, done with consistency, that gets results and separates average players from great players. Let's not forget that it was also Crosby who scored the winning goal against Switzerland .... on another quick shot that somehow found the right spot and blazed untouched, straight into the net as well. Two very important winning goals in one very short tournament, is probably not a fluke. Against USA: Sidney Crosby scores game winning goal for Canada over USA - Olympics by @jose3030 - TwitVid Against Switzerland: Crosby Scores the Winning Goal against Switzerland on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Consistency is jumping a little far ahead for two similar goals and wins. Fast reflexes are of course what won this-- from the time he got the puck to being able to react faster than the goalie; shows talent for sure, but I still feel that we got lucky with that particular goal. Crosby's stamina is to thank for this win, because if this shot was made on Miller at the beginning of the game, he probably would have stopped it. Sorry if fluke was a little bit harsh, but luck is definitely not.

 

[mbriant]

I agree he's no Gretsky, but who is? It takes much more than luck to be the NHL's leading goal scorer. If you're going to call that goal simply "luck", then 98% of all goals scored by everyone are "luck". Whether it's stamina, skill, instinct, fast reflexes or whatever, if you happen to score more often than every other player in the NHL, while it can sometimes be a factor, there's more than luck involved.

 

[grawk]

Crosby's definitely good, but it's way more complicated than a scoring race or a thread about the olympics can cover. He's definitely one of the most talented players currently in the league, easily in the top 20. He plays on a team with a LOT of talented players, both in the olympics and on the penguins. With the penguins last year, Malkin got the playoff MVP. I think that says a lot. Given the makeup of the canadian olympic team this year, it's a good thing the referees lost their whistles for that game, because there would have been a lot of man down situations for canada otherwise.

 

[oqvist]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Landis /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't really watch hockey, but that game-winning-goal he made was kind of a fluke... It was a quick shot that just happened score. Yes, I'm Canadian and was moderately excited for the win, but after looking at the replays that followed, it wasn't exactly a well aimed shot.

It doesn´t have to be well aimed if it´s fast enough... Don´t watch the slomo you will see it happens real fast. To fast for miller to close the gap between his legs

.

But Crosby the next Gretzky? there was 30 players or so that was better in this tournament? Anyway it´s hard to compare. Back in Gretzkys days noone was allowed to tackle or treat him like todays stars gets treated.
Only time will tell how good he will be. There is a lot of talented people out there.

As for referees yes the referees thought a physical game would benefit Canada and thus let pretty much anything go. But the US players adapted fast and played real ugly the second half

. Found it funny that crosschecking was all suddenly allowed all over the place. Wonder if Canadas team was instructed before what they where allowed to do and what not to?

 

[Rednamalas1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Landis /img/forum/go_quote.gif Consistency is jumping a little far ahead for two similar goals and wins. Fast reflexes are of course what won this-- from the time he got the puck to being able to react faster than the goalie; shows talent for sure, but I still feel that we got lucky with that particular goal. Crosby's stamina is to thank for this win, because if this shot was made on Miller at the beginning of the game, he probably would have stopped it. Sorry if fluke was a little bit harsh, but luck is definitely not.

That's a really bold claim.

if you're are a butterfly goaltender, and you crouch down into butterfly stance. There's ALWAYS 5-hole open, no matter how good you are as a goalie. However, the margin of error is extremely small, so you don't always see the puck going in 5-hole all the time. It takes years and years of practice to make that shot, and he was able to do it when it mattered.

if crosby made that exact shot earlier in the period when miller was in that position? it would've went in.

Don't get me wrong - I was not happy with crosby's place all olympics, but he was able to score when it mattered, that's not luck. that's years and years of hard work.

 

[grawk]

Hyperbole is the problem, not Crosby's talent.

 

[Rednamalas1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grawk /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hyperbole is the problem, not Crosby's talent.

agreed. pretty hard to fill the shoes of Gretzky and Mario on a 22 year old who only won one stanley cup and a gold medal

 

[Andrew H]

I like Sid a lot, but if just based on the game winner, to me it's the kind of play that anyone could have made. A nice out by Iginla, and Sid just went quick and low for a fiver. However, I will certainly give him that if he really intended to play it into the referee's skates, for the slight disruption in flow that it caused, then that really was quite ingenious.

I was lucky enough to see Gretzky in person for several years (along with 16,004 other fans at the LA Forum). While he certainly had his share of capitalizing on simple and/or broken plays, it's definitely not what made him the Great One. His creativity was simply endless. Somehow, he never seemed that fast or quick, but just so slippery. And I just have a hard time to imagine that when he's out there bobbing and weaving with the puck to single-handedly run 30+ secs off the clock in a penalty kill, that the 3-4 Maple Leafs chasing after him are going easy on him, when the conference final is at stake.

The other thing is, the bigger the game, the bigger was Gretz's showing. In a game like today's, it's hard to imagine that he's need 65 minutes to make something happen.

Of course times change. The overall play keeps improving. The 80's Oilers are regarded one of the best teams in history. But would they still dominate in the modern NHL?

 

[Andrew H]

One thing I should add is that Crosby's flubbed breakaway looked very Gretzky. Those were the one thing that Gretz never seemed very comfortable with.

 

[d3adeyes]

ok I know this was for fun but time to be realistic there is no one in the NHL right now that can be compared to Gretzky,Orr,Lemieux, Bourque or Hull

 

[bcpk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by d3adeyes /img/forum/go_quote.gif ok I know this was for fun but time to be realistic there is no one in the NHL right now that can be compared to Gretzky,Orr,Lemieux, Bourque or Hull

Or Mogilny and Bure, I bet (Canucks fan).

 

[rlanger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidhunternyc /img/forum/go_quote.gif I keep thinking that Wayne Gretzty, for all of his accomplishments, never did what Sidney Crosby did tonight to win gold for Canada.

Is the OP comparing Gretz and Sid the Kid, or simply asking if Gretz had a similar defining moment, as this one will be for Sid (maybe both, IDK)?

Anyway, Gretz had many defining moments. But for all of his prowess as a goal scorer, he was the greatest play-maker who ever played the game. As such, I view this play at the Canada Cup in '87 as one of his best.

To the casual hockey fan, it doesn't seem like much of a play, but 99% of players (pun intended) would have made the pass across to the open Larry Murphy on the 2 on 1, rather than back to Lemieux. Gretz always seemed to have eyes in the back of his head.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9HLX...eature=related

 

[bcpk]

That was some pass.

 

[davidhunternyc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rlanger /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is the OP comparing Gretz and Sid the Kid, or simply asking if Gretz had a similar defining moment, as this one will be for Sid (maybe both, IDK)? Anyway, Gretz had many defining moments. But for all of his prowess as a goal scorer, he was the greatest play-maker who ever played the game. As such, I view this play at the Canada Cup in '87 as one of his best. To the casual hockey fan, it doesn't seem luck much of a play, but 99% of players (pun intended) would have made the pass across to the open Larry Murphy on the 2 on 1, rather than back to Lemieux. Gretz always seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. YouTube - Canada Cup 87

Yes, I don't know much about hockey, which I stated in my opening post. I guess you are right in guessing what my question really is about. Did Gretzky have a defining moment as great as Crosby did in last nights Olympics?