MacNeil: "Al MacInnis just about terrorized Patrick Roy"

The Calgary Herald notes that when the Flames beat the Montreal Canadiens for the Stanley Cup in 1989, Al MacNeil was the assistant GM of the Flames. He feels Al MacInnis's cannon of a shot got into the head of Habs' goaltender Patrick Roy.

“Absolutely,” said MacNeil. “Because it’s an intimidation game. I know they’re always trying to tell you different nowadays. But it’s ALWAYS an intimidation game. In one form or another. When you mention intimidation, everyone thinks you’re talking fisticuffs. I’m talking the ability to overpower, to impose your will, on the other guy.

“And in this case here, Al MacInnis just about terrorized Patrick Roy. ‘Distracted’ is a kind word to use. He had him worried, bad, because of the howitzer. No doubt about it. That was an edge we had. In my mind, Saint Patrick Roy lost some of his mystique in that series.

“When you’ve got a guy that can really fire the bombs, it gives you such an advantage. A guy like Weber is a scary dude. A guy like Souray is a scary guy. Al was a scary guy.”

Source: George Johnson, Calgary Herald