Well, we were watchable tonight. I'll take watchable considering the sporting options I've had recently.
We played really well the first 40 minutes except for about a 30 second lapse which they scored on, and you could see Calgary starting to break us down as our legs started fading late. They also did a great job of clearing us out of the slot; I don't think Kiprusoff faced a screened shot all night.
Maybe we'll play to our competition again and beat Vancouver.
One defensive lapse that they capitalized on turns out to be the game. 26 shots on net, but too many low percentage point shots. What a difference 24 hours makes ... last night the boys got traffic to the net, played with some fire, tonight it was all absent.
SK was invisible except for his walk down the tunnel in the 1st. Leggy, Fisher, Erat, Hornqvist all with bad nights.
The only real bright spot I saw is Josi. No glaring errors from him and he managed to neutralize Iginla ... not bad for his third NHL game.
One defensive lapse that they capitalized on turns out to be the game. 26 shots on net, but too many low percentage point shots. What a difference 24 hours makes ... last night the boys got traffic to the net, played with some fire, tonight it was all absent.
SK was invisible except for his walk down the tunnel in the 1st. Leggy, Fisher, Erat, Hornqvist all with bad nights.
The only real bright spot I saw is Josi. No glaring errors from him and he managed to neutralize Iginla ... not bad for his third NHL game.
Agreed. Josi and Halischuk are about the only two other than Pekka that get a pass.
We obviously are low on skill, but as has been a theme this year, we're low and inconsistent on effort. I've never seen a Predators team that moved its legs less.
The problem going into the offseason and back through the playoffs from last year was the offense. So what is our problem again the OFFENSE. Wilson and Smith are our only playmaker who actually make an effort with some skill to go to the net. The rest look lost. Legwand went south after his couple game absence and we haven't played good sense. SK is actually afraid to put a body on anybody and he is afraid to shoot always passing what has happened to him. Erat has one good game and 10 so so games. I could go on. The positive is Josi is the best of the new bunch of defenseman and looks like a keeper, very confident and not out of position. We need a scorer now...and I'm not talking about Mueller from Milw. Poile needs to work the phones and she what it would take to get a Ignila or a Bobby Ryan. Calgary looks bad and should have got beat but we can't score.
In the last 5 games, the only forwards to score are Tootoo and Spaling. I'm sure Weber and Suter can't wait to resign with this bunch of winners.
Earlier in the year people blamed injuries, now who is out of the lineup for us? We're completely healthy and this effort over the last 5 games is the best we can do. Thanks Poile, it's just about time for you to move on.
The problem going into the offseason and back through the playoffs from last year was the offense. So what is our problem again the OFFENSE. Wilson and Smith are our only playmaker who actually make an effort with some skill to go to the net. The rest look lost. Legwand went south after his couple game absence and we haven't played good sense. SK is actually afraid to put a body on anybody and he is afraid to shoot always passing what has happened to him. Erat has one good game and 10 so so games. I could go on. The positive is Josi is the best of the new bunch of defenseman and looks like a keeper, very confident and not out of position. We need a scorer now...and I'm not talking about Mueller from Milw. Poile needs to work the phones and she what it would take to get a Ignila or a Bobby Ryan. Calgary looks bad and should have got beat but we can't score.
This team sucks and will continue to suck for long stretches of the season until we have consistent goal scoring. it really is as simple as that. Give wilson and smith another winger worth their skill set. This is ridiculous.
This year was supposed to be different. Same old "breakout year" or "career year from everyone" propaganda from Poile and the front office. Then we are told that we aren't going to be a small market team and that we will add offense and yet we haven't done anything yet.
We are just over a quarter of the way through the season and while a lot can between now and feb. I have zero confidence in consistency from this club. We will win 6 in a row then drop 8. Win three lose four. That isn't going to get it done. Last year we had 12 wins in the first 26 games, while that is really similar to where we are now, take a look at a much more important stat.
We had 8 games last year in the first 26 that had 4 goals or more. This season, we have only 6.
This year 60 goals in the first 26 games, an average of 2.5 per. Last year through 26 games we had 70 goals, 2.7 goals per game.
This team is no better than last years and lacks the heart of last years team.
Last edited by Hustlechuck24: 11-30-2011 at 12:05 AM.
This team having no offense will be the sole reason why Suter/Weber dont sign here if that happens.
This is VERY true. They want to play for a cap team with some forwards who can actually score some goals. The Preds are in negative territory in the Goals For vs. Goals Against stat, and you can't make the playoffs unless that number is positive.
Defense is not the issue, especially with Josi in and Hillen playing with Klein. Poile needs to shake things up to get some goal scorers in here.
At least point, we will very rarely score more than 2 in a game, which means Rinne and our defense have to totally shut down the opposition. I have a feeling we'll be involved in a lot of 1-0 or 2-1 games over the next dozen
We've been shut out once now and are still a rather average scoring team right now (down to 2.5 goals/game, 18th in the league). The PP is 18th in the league after last night. Basically we're still a mid pack team that is far from out of it even after losing 5 out of 6. The team is five points back out of the division lead with a game in hand on Chicago.
The last couple of games have been relatively solid defensively. There are still a few costly gaffes per game, but, overall there is improvement. The Klein/Hillen pairing is working for now, Josi/Blum as the third pair are doing OK and not making any huge mistakes. Now if we could just figure out the big riddle as to why all of our alleged scoring forwards have gone cold at the same time. Leggy, Erat, Fisher, Wilson, Hornqvist are all snakebit. SK is invisible. We're getting good jump out of Tootoo, Smith is still getting an assist here and there, but we need the big salary boys to improve their play. The offensive mindset we saw against Edmonton needs to become the rule rather than remaining the exception.
Getting a big scorer doesn't solve the problem of 9o% of the team being invisible.
Was excited about josi. Smith Wilson and horny need to be put back together.
Heck, put tootoo on a line with leggy or erat to see if he can get them moving.
Speaking of tootoo,,,,isn't this a contract year for him? He now has this same fraking agent as weber....bye jordin
That's the same thing going through my mind, but I didn't want to say anything.
yeah its really frustrating sometimes with this team. alot of people dont get how much we invest in this team year after year... and every year its the same.. sad.
Getting a big scorer doesn't solve the problem of 9o% of the team being invisible.
Was excited about josi. Smith Wilson and horny need to be put back together.
Heck, put tootoo on a line with leggy or erat to see if he can get them moving.
Speaking of tootoo,,,,isn't this a contract year for him? He now has this same fraking agent as weber....bye jordin
I suspect tootoo would be gone anyways.
I disagree with you. elite talents raise the abilities of their teammates. Paul Karyia, for example, made Legwand a much better player than Legwand actually is.
Taking a step back and looking at this game separate from the 4 game losing streak, it was a decent effort in my opinion. Back to backs in Western Canada are brutal and this team played like any team on the second half of such a scenario.
The Preds have the same offensive issues they have had for years and I don't see the situation changing measurably in the near term. There's a lot of doomsdayish posturing around here; I still think this team has more upside potential over the remainder of the year than almost any team out there. I hated Hillen at the start and I honestly think he has showed massive improvement. Josi looks solid. We have people on the main board asking who these Wilson / Smith guys are because they continue to play well even when the lamp isnt lighting up. Last year's 5 losses, 4 losses, and 5 losses in a row in Nov and Dec had a lot of people saying the same things people are saying now. I think we'll be fine.
One issue I have is the lack of line consistency. At some point Trotz needs to stick with the same lines for a while so each set can develop some chemistry and intuition with each other. Horny / Smith / Wilson needs to happen not just because they had a few hot games together. The chemistry between Wilson and Smith is undeniable. They pass well and are some of the only forwards we have that can skate the puck deep (Erat does it also, but I would argue Suter is better than any of the remaining forwards at it). They need the hungry presence in front of the net to cap it off and Horny is the guy. Stop changing the lines every game; even the best trios have off nights. Over the long run, wilson / smith / horny will produce.
Only player I have been really disappointed with lately is Fisher. Been terrible with the puck lately and a defensive liability.
Had to type this on my phone so forgive any spelling issues. Really wish work didnt block HF
