Ilya Bryzgalov has never been one to mince his words. When describing one of the most lopsided victories in the Olympic Games, the Russian quote machine did not disappoint.
Speaking with Craig Custance of ESPN.com, the former Philadelphia Flyers goaltender discussed Canada’s 7-3 shellacking of Russia during the quarterfinals of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Bryzgalov was unexpectedly thrust into the game in relief of starter Evgeny Nabokov in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
“They came out like gorillas out of a cage,” Bryzgalov told ESPN.
“They came on the ice, they were ready. They were prepared. They came to win. They outplay us, they were better than us in every aspect of the game,” Bryzgalov said. “Big picture. Small picture, total domination by Canada.”
Bryzgalov then used his pop culture knowledge to come up with an even better reference than gorillas, taking a page from Peter Jackson’s take on a J.R.R Tolkien classic.
“Not gorillas,” he said. “More like Orcs from ‘The Hobbit.’ You watch that movie, right? Big. Mean. Scary.”
Yep, these scary mofos.
Canada was certainly impressive, dismantling a talented Russian team with ease. The Orcs in The Hobbit were certainly an intimidating threat, but Smaug or even Gandalf would be a more apt comparison. Still, it’s great to see Bryzgalov deliver another All-Star quote. The more Bryz, the better.
[ESPN.com]
