TIM-MAY!!!!

NOW can we quit the Timmy Thomas bashing? You haters know who you are. You're the ones that whine that Thomas doesn't look "controlled" enough. You're the ones that disregard any athletic save he makes by saying "It's because he was out of position to begin with". Whatever. The man is paid to stop pucks. On back to back nights he stopped everything thrown his way. And it couldn't have happened at a better time, as his mates only managed a single goal in each game. Seriously.....what more does he have to do? Was anyone really hoping Julien would start Fernandez against Vancouver? Or against anyone? Julien has made it clear he's at the point where he wants one goalie to take the reins and be "the man". Well, Timmy has a death grip on those suckers now, and I don't know that Manny is the man to take them away. LOVED the decision to play Thomas on back to back nights. That is completely in line with the coach's methodology for the rest of the team. Play well, play more. Play not so well, enjoy the pine. Manny hasn't been "horrible" on most nights, but he's been average at best too many times. If you have greatness on your roster, you don't alternate it with mediocre.

Aside from Thomas, there were other stand out performances in the last couple nights (yeah, been busy and sick so I missed an Edmonton wrap-up & Vancouver preview). Phil Kessel continues to be a joy to watch. Kid is FLYING on every shift. And better yet, he's actually competing for the puck. Never expected him to run people through the boards, but to see him dip his shoulder in and go for pucks is a thing of beauty. Krec is also looking very very good still. As Brickley has been pointing out, the kid just seems to have a great head for the game. He sees the ice very well, and he doesn't have any panic in his game. He's also pretty tough. He's not afraid to take a hit to make a play, which is huge. In Edmonton, I thought Axe had one of his best games in recent memory. He seemed to be everywhere all night and looked ten years younger the way he was skating (must have been that beautiful sheet of ice Jack Edwards wouldn't shut up about).
All in all, an amazing four points gained by the good guys. A win in Calgary is just icing on the cake at this point. But hey, I'm greedy. let's make it a western Canada sweep! Too bad Kobasew is still out, he and Ference making their returns would be a good story.
Go B's- Kynch