The 2nd period woes will not be going away. The 2nd period is the speed period, and that's what we're lacking most. It was a problem last year, and it will be this year too.
Speed had nothing to do this Tyutin scoring a screen shot from the point, or us having 4 guys near the crease letting Nash wind up from the top of the circle. It's just a bad habit that needs to be broken.
Speed had nothing to do this Tyutin scoring a screen shot from the point, or us having 4 guys near the crease letting Nash wind up from the top of the circle. It's just a bad habit that needs to be broken.
/presses left d-pad arrow
/changes defense strategy from "collapsing" to "staggered"
/presses right d-pad arrow
/changes defense pressure from "conservative" to "puck side attack"
Falk is holding his own. It looks like he's earned that 7th defenseman spot. It hasn't been really from him performing above expectation though, it's more of how terrible his competition played. He looks like he's gotten a bit more aggressive though, which is certainly needed.
/presses left d-pad arrow
/changes defense strategy from "collapsing" to "staggered"
/presses right d-pad arrow
/changes defense pressure from "conservative" to "puck side attack"
/presses left d-pad arrow
/changes defense strategy from "collapsing" to "staggered"
/presses right d-pad arrow
/changes defense pressure from "conservative" to "puck side attack"
The one thing, more so that "speed", that gets this team burnt so often is that the current squad doesn't have a whole lot of puck possession players. Especially on the backend. They can not take that extra stride or move to buy themselves more space to open up to other options on the ice. It leads to a lot of pucks being senselessly rung around the boards in the defensive zone which in turn leads to turnovers. It's one of the primary reasons as to why the team gets caught in their own end for long stretches numerous times per game.
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After Meaningless Win - 3/29/12 - Game 77 | SoH-"Who knows, that could have cost us a Cup tonight." | Dooohkay
The one thing, more so that "speed", that gets this team burnt so often is that the current squad doesn't have a whole lot of puck possession players. Especially on the backend. They can not take that extra stride or move to buy themselves more space to open up to other options on the ice. It leads to a lot of pucks being senselessly rung around the boards in the defensive zone which in turn leads to turnovers. It's one of the primary reasons as to why the team gets caught in their own end for long stretches numerous times per game.
I think a big part of the second period is our defensive play style. It seems like everyone digs in for some sort of gritty, defensive style, but no one steps up and tries to make moves down to the offensive end of the ice. Once that fails and we're playing from behind, we start getting more aggressive and taking offensive chances. It's like we don't know how to play with a lead.
Can anybody give an analysis of the lines and players? I missed the first two periods, then only got to half-watch the third with it's not so great video quality.
I thought Scandella looked good again. Koivu's line was dangerous, but still not on the same page. Lats-Brodziak-Bouchard was actually creating some really good chances (but nothing to show for it). Bottom two lines didn't do much for what I could tell.
Falk is holding his own. It looks like he's earned that 7th defenseman spot. It hasn't been really from him performing above expectation though, it's more of how terrible his competition played. He looks like he's gotten a bit more aggressive though, which is certainly needed.
Thanks for the insight. He strikes me as a guy with a good career ahead of him- maybe not the most offensive, although I think he can chip in from time to time, and would more if he focused on it. Obviously that's not his primary role, though.
Can anybody give an analysis of the lines and players? I missed the first two periods, then only got to half-watch the third with it's not so great video quality.
I thought Scandella looked good again. Koivu's line was dangerous, but still not on the same page. Lats-Brodziak-Bouchard was actually creating some really good chances (but nothing to show for it). Bottom two lines didn't do much for what I could tell.
Scandella showed he needs ice time. He played well in bursts, but then would make a couple mistakes. He clearly has the talent to play in the NHL, but I think he looks like he needs a lot more time on ice to finish developing.
The top line has a tremendous amount of talent, but they still need a lot of work to finish meshing. The basic chemistry is there, but they really don't know what each other are doing yet. Koivu has been taking preseason off apparently. It's like he's only playing for part of the game.
Brodziak is capable of singlehandedly ruining a powerplay. He is absolutely atrocious with the man advantage, and needs to stay glued to the bench when we're up a man. His play on the second line was relatively what we saw last year. He's not going to beat out a true #2 center, but he's not much different than Cullen there either.
Latendresse is a beast.
Third line looked on and off. Johnson seemed pretty good in the offensive zone, but he finished -2 along with Powe, Scandella, and whichever other D Scandella was paired with. I think Powe looks better at center than wing.
The fourth line is where it's at. Bulmer is ridiculous. I'd love to see the more indepth stats (which I'm sure weren't recorded) for the game because it seemed like every shift the fourth line had ended with an offensive zone faceoff. You can see that Bulmer needs to bulk up though, he was getting manhandled by the bigger players. He certainly seems to have the offensive potential to eventually be a second liner as well. He's pretty much what Gillies could have been if his development hadn't been so botched. He's also lightyears ahead of the development that Gillies had when he came into the NHL. Gillies was what we've come to expect from Gillies, and Nystrom was Nystrom, solid, reliable, not going to get you offense.
Send Scandy to the minors, keep Bulmer up and give him lots of ice time. Let the team suck balls as long as they want to, unless they get their act together. Basically, throw them into the fire and see what happens. Worst case scenario, we get the #1 overall pick and learn who does or does not fit. Best case scenario, our guys figure out how to play hockey and fight for a playoff spot.
Part of me wants to see this team win, but another part of me knows that the future is not on this team. Granlund, Zucker, Coyle, Phillips, Brodin, Scandella, Hackett, etc...those guys aren't here. Guys like Cullen, Nystrom, Zidlicky, Zanon, Backstrom...they are just mediocre placeholders for a better player to come along.
Is it reactionary to just lose all faith in a team after a few crap preseason games? Maybe. But wow did this team ever take a Cleveland steamer when it's supposed to matter more. We read that the first week of preseason is evaluating borderline players and the second week is for guys to get ready for the season. Well, what we're seeing is that Koivu and Heatley are awesome, Latendresse is awesome, Bulmer is awesome because we have no expectations, and the rest of the team is awful. Just like everyone said they'd be.
I like Yeo and don't think he's to blame for these letdowns. But at some point in time, these guys need to be sent off to the locker room, not just benched, but send them home. If they aren't going to show up for 20 minutes of hockey for the third year in a row, pack your bags and leave. Inexcusable.
Send Scandy to the minors, keep Bulmer up and give him lots of ice time. Let the team suck balls as long as they want to, unless they get their act together. Basically, throw them into the fire and see what happens. Worst case scenario, we get the #1 overall pick and learn who does or does not fit. Best case scenario, our guys figure out how to play hockey and fight for a playoff spot.
Part of me wants to see this team win, but another part of me knows that the future is not on this team. Granlund, Zucker, Coyle, Phillips, Brodin, Scandella, Hackett, etc...those guys aren't here. Guys like Cullen, Nystrom, Zidlicky, Zanon, Backstrom...they are just mediocre placeholders for a better player to come along.
Is it reactionary to just lose all faith in a team after a few crap preseason games? Maybe. But wow did this team ever take a Cleveland steamer when it's supposed to matter more. We read that the first week of preseason is evaluating borderline players and the second week is for guys to get ready for the season. Well, what we're seeing is that Koivu and Heatley are awesome, Latendresse is awesome, Bulmer is awesome because we have no expectations, and the rest of the team is awful. Just like everyone said they'd be.
I like Yeo and don't think he's to blame for these letdowns. But at some point in time, these guys need to be sent off to the locker room, not just benched, but send them home. If they aren't going to show up for 20 minutes of hockey for the third year in a row, pack your bags and leave. Inexcusable.
I have full faith in Yeo that if any of our top 6 take a regular season game off (like everyone but Latendresse and maybe Bouchard did last night) they will get a healthy scratch. You play 60 minutes, or you play 0 minutes, those are the options and I don't see him hesititating to make that clear once the games start to count. With the Johnson waiver claim, we actually should have that option as well. While he doesn't look like a guy who should get regular top 6 minutes, he seems to be able to fill in for spot duty. The only guy in the top 6 who we can't bump off for a night is Koivu, and hopefully we won't ever need to make an example of him.
Maybe you don't realize that the location of the player benches makes a huge difference in how the game is played. In the 2nd period the faster team will have a big advantage.
Maybe you don't realize that the location of the player benches makes a huge difference in how the game is played. In the 2nd period the faster team will have a big advantage.
Meh, conditioning and making smart changes are just as important. Great passing can also neutralize it pretty well.
