I was at last night's game too. After I moved down from the top row of the nosebleed section, my seats in the lower bowl were phenomenal. My reflections on the players were similar and yet different from Lone Rogue & HabsSlappy.
Kostopolous: looked the same as last year's version, but not as good as the guy who showed up in the playoffs.
Komisarek: See Kostopolous.
Lang: Improved as the game went along. He was disappointing at faceoffs, but his offensive game was good. He was better than I expected defensively too.
Higgins: The guy worked hard, as per usual, but despite his fitness level he still gets bounced around by nearly every forward and defenceman that's bigger than him.
Chipchura: He also improved as the game went along. Missed a golden opportunity with a breakaway that could have sealed the game before overtime.
Belle: Plays a big / tough game, but does not have good positioning / hockey sense.
D'Agostini: despite his offensive production, he didn't impress me. His skating could use improvement, as could his defensive work.
Beauregard: See D'Agostini.
Wyman: One word: invisible
Bouillon: He played his usual game. I'd like to see him take more offensive chances when they come up, as I know he's capable of it.
White: He had good & bad shifts. Overall, I was impressed given his status as a first year pro player. His skating was better than previous reports I've read, as was his offensive skills.
Trotter: The guy can skate, but he holds on to the puck too long, and even though it was one game he doesn't seem to learn that lesson.
Stewart: He showed that he has the tools to be a decent fourth line player.
Carle: When he was laid out by Tomas Kopecky, I thought it was an elbow to the head. It wasn't until I saw the replay after that it was a shoulder. At the time, he was leading a nice rush up the ice with his head down and was almost at the Red Wings blueline when he was crushed. Unlucky for the second straight season.
Subban: Fun to watch. He has great skating ability, handles the puck well. He has decent size, but could get stronger to better handle bigger NHL forwards.
Markov: Habs best player
Latendresse: Has improved his skating but will never be the fastest guy on the ice. Played a sound game overall.
Lehoux: Better than I expected. Made some good offensive plays, and has great wheels, but his defensive game was nearly invisible.
Price: I thought he should have anticipated the shot that created the first goal, as Holmstrom was all alone, 10 feet in the slot; but it was a good, top corner shot too. He seemed surprised a little on the goal. It helped as a wakeup call, as he played well the rest of the game.
Desjardins: Yes, he nearly made a Dan-Cloutier like gaffe on a 100+ foot slapshot. Overall he played better than I expected. He roams from his crease more than I like. He has an energetic style, and was really pumped up during the shootout.
I was at last night's game too. After I moved down from the top row of the nosebleed section, my seats in the lower bowl were phenomenal. My reflections on the players were similar and yet different from Lone Rogue & HabsSlappy.
Kostopolous: looked the same as last year's version, but not as good as the guy who showed up in the playoffs.
Komisarek: See Kostopolous.
Lang: Improved as the game went along. He was disappointing at faceoffs, but his offensive game was good. He was better than I expected defensively too.
Higgins: The guy worked hard, as per usual, but despite his fitness level he still gets bounced around by nearly every forward and defenceman that's bigger than him.
Chipchura: He also improved as the game went along. Missed a golden opportunity with a breakaway that could have sealed the game before overtime.
Belle: Plays a big / tough game, but does not have good positioning / hockey sense.
D'Agostini: despite his offensive production, he didn't impress me. His skating could use improvement, as could his defensive work.
Beauregard: See D'Agostini.
Wyman: One word: invisible
Bouillon: He played his usual game. I'd like to see him take more offensive chances when they come up, as I know he's capable of it.
White: He had good & bad shifts. Overall, I was impressed given his status as a first year pro player. His skating was better than previous reports I've read, as was his offensive skills.
Trotter: The guy can skate, but he holds on to the puck too long, and even though it was one game he doesn't seem to learn that lesson.
Stewart: He showed that he has the tools to be a decent fourth line player.
Carle: When he was laid out by Tomas Kopecky, I thought it was an elbow to the head. It wasn't until I saw the replay after that it was a shoulder. At the time, he was leading a nice rush up the ice with his head down and was almost at the Red Wings blueline when he was crushed. Unlucky for the second straight season.
Subban: Fun to watch. He has great skating ability, handles the puck well. He has decent size, but could get stronger to better handle bigger NHL forwards.
Markov: Habs best player
Latendresse: Has improved his skating but will never be the fastest guy on the ice. Played a sound game overall.
Lehoux: Better than I expected. Made some good offensive plays, and has great wheels, but his defensive game was nearly invisible.
Price: I thought he should have anticipated the shot that created the first goal, as Holmstrom was all alone, 10 feet in the slot; but it was a good, top corner shot too. He seemed surprised a little on the goal. It helped as a wakeup call, as he played well the rest of the game.
Desjardins: Yes, he nearly made a Dan-Cloutier like gaffe on a 100+ foot slapshot. Overall he played better than I expected. He roams from his crease more than I like. He has an energetic style, and was really pumped up during the shootout.
What I don't understand is that NHL.com lists Lang at 56% on the faceoffs... Isn't it axcellent ?
What I don't understand is that NHL.com lists Lang at 56% on the faceoffs... Isn't it axcellent ?
It's a misleading stat and a responsible stat at the same time.
When Montreal and Detroit played top line vs. top line, Lang was up against Datsyuk. During that, Lang only won 5-12 faceoffs. When you watch the game, that kind of sticks in your head. Against Abdullah the Butcher (Abdelkader), Draper and McGrath, he was 4-4.
So against bottom players, Lang was strong. Against Datsyuk, he was under half.
This is a pretty good thing, to be honest. Lang likely won't be facing off 12 times against Datsyuk on the 30th and will likely be taking more on Draper. Chipchura for me looked more impressive because his average against Datsyuk was better than Langs (though he faced off less times against Pavel) and in the game, it was more memorable to see Chipchura win a faceoff against Pavel Datsyuk than Chipchura lose a faceoff against Justin Abdelkader.
I was at last night's game too. After I moved down from the top row of the nosebleed section, my seats in the lower bowl were phenomenal. My reflections on the players were similar and yet different from Lone Rogue & HabsSlappy.
White: He had good & bad shifts. Overall, I was impressed given his status as a first year pro player. His skating was better than previous reports I've read, as was his offensive skills.
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Ha, I've been waiting for someone to give a report on whitey, thanks for that, it wasn't the normal "he's to slow, not skilled, he won't make it".
Gainey must see something in him to sign him......
Just got back from the Ruins/Wings game. Both teams looked alright, I guess; though Boston pretty much had their final roster out there and Detroit had only two lines of any significance. Thomas played terrible; I'm sure you'll see the highlights tomorrow, but the first two goals that he let in were for the blooper reel. The best forward of the night was by far Zetterberg, he scored a highlight reel goal on the PK that will be, I'm sure, a candidate for goal of the preseason (or at least what we've saw on RDS and TSN).
Wings won 4-3.
Ha, I've been waiting for someone to give a report on whitey, thanks for that, it wasn't the normal "he's to slow, not skilled, he won't make it".
Gainey must see something in him to sign him......
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lone Rogue
White: Had some pretty good plays and some poor plays. Mixed bag.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HabsSlappy
White - He had some good shifts and then some others where he was invisible. I could see him in the NHL eventually, just needs to improve his speed and grit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by habscout
White: He had good & bad shifts. Overall, I was impressed given his status as a first year pro player. His skating was better than previous reports I've read, as was his offensive skills.
Well, at least in terms of this thread, we're all on the same page from watching White One of the few things we are all on the same page about haha.
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One of the few things we are all on the same page about haha.
