I suppose it was a fair assumption that Alexander Radulov wasn't the type to sacrifice everything it took to win after his first NHL stint all-but-ended with an unceremonious benching for (allegedly) fleeing a dry island to wet his whistle with his homeland's most potent export the night before a Western Conference Finals game. Still, it's good to see he's (literally) down to do whatever possible to flip the script on that narrative. Assuming he wasn't just drunk again, that fall was 100% intentional and boy would it have been super fucking embarrassing if it came just prior to get stoned by a sieve of a backup like Ondrej Pavolec. Now, I'd still turn into an overly strict parent if Alexander Radulov were around any unlocked liquor cabinets while the Stanley Cup was on the line, but selling out to throw a goalie off his scent during a gimmicky tie-breaker? That's not just a step in the right right direction, it's a (mis)step that not every player would be willing to take. More often than not a lack of expectations is the key to success, and - in that quick, fleeting moment of incompetence - not one player on the Rangers thought of Radulov as the highly-skilled Russian winger that he is. If nothing else, setting himself up to become the butt of the joke had the opposing goaltender quicker to his knees when he followed it up with a display of stick handling that wasn't exactly characteristic of the type of player who is prone to a toe pick. He might clutch to the bottle like it contains his lifeblood but he's not obsessive about people thinking he's coordinated, and apparently that counts for at least one point in the standings.
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