Rob Blake
Rob Blake
Robert Bowlby Blakeis a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player and the current assistant general manager of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League. He was originally drafted by the Kings in 1988, appearing in the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals, winning the James Norris Memorial Trophy and serving as team captain for five seasons in his initial 11-season stint with the club. In 2001, Blake was traded to the Colorado Avalanche and helped the team win their second...
ProfessionHockey Player
Date of Birth10 December 1969
CitySimcoe, Canada
They played hard but we gave them a lot of help, and our power play wasn't as effective as it should have been.
He's been great. He's a reaction goalie and he's been on since Day 1 through the whole season. He's a reason their team is up so high.
His presence will still be there, even if he can't be there in person. He's the greatest player in the world, and his presence and name means a lot to Canadian hockey.
They've always had a history of being in the right places, and they cause turnovers. Their 'D' are very good at moving the puck quick and they have a lot of speed up front.
It's a new season for him, and he knows he can be the difference in the series.
It wasn't about the Stanley Cup the year before, it was all about the gold medal. That's been the talk the last three years, and now this year. When you go home in the summers, the gold medal is remembered more. The difference now is defending the gold medal.
Not good. It's not the outcome any of us wanted by any means.
He was thrown into a defensive role because of his speed. He can use that the other way, too. He usually gets a chance or two a game where he's all alone on the goalie, so he'll be very effective for us.
I think people understand there's a business side to the game and that's been put in the past now. It's time to move on and the excitement of the game will live again.
Honestly, it's not a distraction to us whatsoever. We're going over there for two weeks to bring back a gold medal.
The last month of the season did help us prepare for the playoffs. But, the guys still have to understand what's at stake in the playoffs and that the intensity will go up even higher.
There's an ongoing investigation, and we talked about this before the game that when an investigation's going on, there's nothing (that is) going to come out of our room.
It's a different feel for that game than any other game on your schedule. It has in the past, and always will.
It's pretty awesome when you can come with a 1-2 punch like Peter and Joe. But it's going to be a little difficult to designate a line to slow down another line if they call obstruction the way they say they will.